Ghost goat
PEOPLE in Minnesota are sleeping soundly following the capture of a large, white goat that had been menacing a Minneapolis suburb. Local news site reports that the animal, of mysterious origin, had been seen staring into homes 鈥渨ith its creepy sideways goat pupils鈥�.
鈥淲e know about the goat that鈥檚 on the lam,鈥� the wrote on their Facebook page. 鈥淒o not hesitate to give us a call (9-1-1), if you spot him. We need to get this billy goat gruff off of Inver Grove Heights bluffs.鈥�
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Following a kid-hunt over several days (and numerous pun-filled updates from the police), the errant goat was captured and thrown in the pen. Iggy 鈥� named for the neighbourhood he haunted 鈥� has since been released to the local farm animal shelter.
In a bind
RAT kings, according to legend, are packs of rodents whose tails have become fused, skittering about as a seething mass of terror. A far more cuddly variation was chanced upon by a resident of Wisconsin, who found a close-knit family of five young squirrels with their tails hopelessly knotted together. The five-headed, 20-legged squirrel king was delivered to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Wisconsin Humane Society.
鈥淎 cosmologically-named town in Missouri, US, is once again the butt of jokes, after local newspaper The Waynesville Daily Guide was replaced by The Uranus Examiner鈥�
鈥淵ou can imagine how wiggly and unruly (and nippy!) this frightened, distressed ball of squirrelly energy was,鈥� , 鈥渟o our first step was to anesthetize all five of them at the same time. With that accomplished, we began working on unraveling the 鈥楪ordian Knot鈥� (Google it) of tightly tangled tails and nest material鈥�.
Following a successful operation, all five are doing well and are free to live rather more independent lives.
Close to home
FIELDWORK and lab work are increasingly linked at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, where scientists studying coastal flooding keep finding their laboratory flooded. The building, which sits on a low-lying strip of land at the southern reach of Louisiana, is under threat from sinking ground and rising seas.
Director Craig McClain told reporters at that, although the lab may relocate eventually, 鈥渙ur location here is very, very important to us. It鈥檚 not, 鈥榦h, there鈥檚 coastal loss somewhere.鈥� It鈥檚 like, 鈥榦h, there鈥檚 coastal loss here and I can see it and experience it and witness it myself鈥�.鈥�
A commendable , though Feedback suspects volcanologists may be hesitant to follow suit.
Snakes and ladders
YOU might think that firefighters in the tropics could take a well-earned rest during the wet season. But for Bangkok鈥檚 crews, monsoon season means a whole different type of call-out.
Built on swampy ground, Thailand鈥檚 capital is teeming with snakes, which emerge from flooded burrows in heavy rains. Not only have firefighters become expert snake charmers, but they are also running workshops so residents can relocate any non-venomous varieties that stray into their homes. That way, the snakes can keep a lid on those other perennial city pests: rats.
Suraphong Suepchai told Agence France-Presse that, in contrast to the tragedies faced in firefighting, 鈥渨hen it comes [to] catching snakes, , and it鈥檚 fun.鈥�
Pod squad
A LONESOME narwhal has found company in a pod of white beluga whales. The animal was spotted by conservationists swimming in Canada鈥檚 Saint Lawrence river, far south of its usual Arctic habitat.
Adolescent narwhals are known for wandering far from home. Highly social, in the absence of other narwhals to accompany they will attempt to make friends with ships or even navigation buoys.
This is the third year the narwhal has been seen with the belugas, suggesting they have taken to the tusked stranger, and .
Post script
SPOTTED by Tim Hamill in London鈥檚 Science Museum: 鈥淭he complex mathematics [of microwaves] were worked out by the late Dr K.Posthumus in Holland in the 1930s.鈥�
Long way round
AUCKLAND residents are upset over an 11.4 cents-per-litre fuel tax imposed by the local government. 鈥淲ith nary a sign of a raised eyebrow,鈥� writes Lindsay Wright, 鈥渟everal local media publications quoted a man grumbling that his commute fuel bill had skyrocketed an extra $40 a week.鈥�
Assuming a mileage of 10 kilometres per litre, says Lindsay, 鈥渋t seems to me that the man should avoid commuting the entire length of the country every day, or perhaps we should be introducing the public to the basics of mathematics鈥�.
Hard cheese
FOLLOWING the news that cheeses 鈥減rotect against death from any cause鈥� (15 September), Graham Legg writes 鈥淚 am concerned that you may not get the level of protection you expect from Dairylea.鈥�
This, he explains, is because its triangles are only a cheese-flavoured paste. 鈥淐an I suggest secreting slices of Limburger or Stinking Bishop about your person? This will not only repel death in all its forms but most people as well.鈥� Win-win!
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