Week in Animals

Who needs to go to the zoo when you got WIA?

BY VANESSA HUANG

Sea Lions Take Back The Night

A herd of over 40 sea lions have taken over southern California's Newport Beach, according to Reuters. They came to sunbathe on the boats parked alongside the harbor's multi-million dollar homes. Apparently, they have not played nice: they've broken windows, worked to collectively sink a boat, and kept residents up through the night with their barking, which Reuters reports "reaches such a crescendo that it can be heard blocks away." To get back, residents mobilized to attend a Harbor Commission meeting, proposing to hire a staff person to "walk around the docks all day banging a stick to scare off the sea lions". But the sea lions are protected under a 1972 federal law from death, harm, or harassment. The commission ultimately decided to ask the City Council to take action to prevent people from feeding the avengers in hopes that "hunger will eventually drive the sea lions elsewhere."

Elephant Exercise

In an effort to keep a 23-year-old Zimbabwe-born elephant from gaining weight during cold Alaskan winters, zookeepers in Anchorage began installing a 20-foot-long, 16,000-pound treadmill on zoo grounds. The treadmill is the first to be designed for an elephant, according to Reuters. In the design process, zookeepers and an outside company consulted data on treadmills for race horses and camels, the zoo's assistant director said.

Sheepish Stardom

Croatian sheep have gathered an audience following through their own "Survivor" of sorts, according to Reuters. This 10-day reality TV show aired on the Internet at www.stado.org, where fans watched the sheep eat and play 24 hours a day. Audience members have the power to voted on which sheep to cast away. One Croatian media outlet reported that the castaways might get eaten. In response to outcries from human rights groups reporting animal abuse, the show's organizer told the outlet he is not "an insensitive bastard who abuses animals" but that the show aims to highlight how "more and more people, especially those who take part in reality shows, are made to look like sheep in every situation." The show ended on September 17. "Josip" appears to be the sheepish star who made the cut, taking home poetry in its honor, according to the show's website.

Praying Mantis, Er, Dog

Of the 30 or so stray dogs finding refuge at Buljang Temple on Chindo island, one has attracted the attention of Korean media and many visitors, according to Reuters. The standout dog "has learned to sit, stay and perform Buddhist prayer rituals" right alongside monks at the temple. The dog goes by "Hama" (Korean for hippopotamus), and claims ancestry in a Korean breed indigenous to the island. Hama has been joining monks in prayer for the past month or so. "The dog bows just like a monk," one college student told Reuters.

Back to Top

the college hill independent

http://www.theindy.com