Octopus Bunny
A wild rabbit is alarming residents of a Sioux Falls, S.D., neighborhood. The rabbit’s head and face are covered with growths that look like tentacles, which bob around as the animal moves. Dennis Schorr saw the bunny on July 7: “I walk my dogs every day and I see lots of rabbits — but today was very unusual,” he said. Game Fish and Parks biologist Josh Delger said the growths are caused by a form of papillomavirus found only in cottontail rabbits. He said cases this severe are seen every few years, and the virus can spread from wild rabbits to pet rabbits, but it’s unlikely it would spread to dogs.
Hot Spring
Max Mojave Max, a 33-year-old desert tortoise, lives at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, where he is the official mascot for the Clark County Desert Conservation Program. Every year, he marks the beginning of spring by making his way out of his burrow when his internal clock and the longer daylight hours tell him to do so. This year, Max peered out on March 26 at 12:21 pm. It was 93 degrees in Las Vegas on March 26.
Unclear On The Concept
Keisha Bazley, a mother of nine children in Houston, turned to Child Protective Services for help with her 14-year-old daughter, who had been running away and getting into trouble at school. But her daughter told her that a CPS worker had been telling her she should become a prostitute. The girl had videotaped the CPS support staff member saying this. “If me, the parent, was to do something like this to my child,” Bazley said, “I would be called a horrible parent. I would lose my kids.” She filed an official complaint, and the commissioner of CPS in Texas, Jamie Masters, came to Houston to apologize to Bazley and her daughter. The worker was dismissed from her position on Aug. 10.
I See Feet
Ethan, a 1 1/2-year-old toddler, and his mom, Brittany Moore, of Senoia, Ga., were playing with bubbles in the backyard of their home when Ethan chased one to the fence and noticed something in the woods beyond. When his mom asked him what he saw, he said, “feet.” Ethan had discovered 82-year-old Nina Lipscomb, who had been missing for four days. Lipscomb was alive but disoriented. Her daughter said she had wandered away from a nearby home where she was visiting family. “Her sister lived here in this house, but she passed away in March,” Karen Lipscomb said. The Lipscombs and the Moores got together to celebrate the little boy who probably saved Nina’s life.
No Cell Phones Around The Monkey
A 911 operator in San Luis Obispo, Calif., received a call from the Zoo to You facility in Paso Robles. But when the dispatchers tried to call back, there was no answer. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the zoo. No one there would take credit for the call. But someone figured out that a 10-month-old Capuchin monkey named Route was responsible. The deputies determined that the monkey had gotten his hands on a cellphone left in a golf cart and made the call. “We’re told Capuchin monkeys are very inquisitive and will grab anything and everything,” the sheriff’s office remarked.
Why We Don’t Throw Cheeseburgers
James Hunt and his girlfriend got into it at a Clearwater, Fla., Burger King on Aug. 13, because, policed reported, “the victim was not eating her food.” When the woman left the restaurant, Hunt followed her and launched his cheeseburger at the back of her head, allegedly causing her to fall over a curb onto the ground and hit her chin and lip. How did cops know? There was blood on her shirt and shorts and cheese in her hair. Hunt admitted hitting her with the cheeseburger but didn’t think it would cause her to fall down. He was charged with felony domestic battery and held on $15,000 bond.
He Was Frustrated, Poor Thing
Stephen McCarthy, a physician’s assistant in Allentown, Penn., had been under suspicion of trafficking steroids and stimulants. Federal agents were on the case, but no charges had been filed. Then McCarthy got in touch with one of the DEA agents and threatened to disfigure and rape him. “I hope you get into a car accident and die,” McCarthy added for good measure. His attorney, John Waldron, said his client was frustrated with the ongoing investigation and “couldn’t deal with it anymore.” McCarthy was indicted on Aug. 4 and released on $100,000 bond.
Very Expensive Bathroom Break
A 31-year-old man in Seoul, South Korea, has been ordered to pay his ex-girlfriend $1,150 after an argument ended with him urinating into her Louis Vuitton handbag. The incident took place as the couple argued about her spending habits. The boyfriend let loose into the bag as the woman looked on. He later tried to cover up the evidence by pouring liquid deodorant into the bag, but DNA tests confirmed the presence of urine and tied it to him, and he confessed.
Congratulations, I Guess
Peter McConville and Pavel “Pasha” Krechetov of Austin, Texas, and Abdullahi Salah of Minneapolis, Minn., broke a world record by traveling to all 50 United States in five days, 13 hours and 10 minutes. They started in Vermont and finished the continental part in Washington, then flew to Alaska and finally Hawaii, having spent about $12,000 and 120 hours in a rental car. McConville said the Grand Canyon in Arizona was his most memorable stop: “I can’t even describe what that experience was, not only because we were so tired, but we were seeing so much at once,” he said. The group’s record is listed by the All Fifty States Club, as Guinness discontinued listing speed records in 1996.
Doc Martens Really Are Cool
Remember the fatal lightning strikes in Washington, D.C.? Those shocking events were responsible for the deaths of three people. Amber Escudero-Kontostathis, of Newbury Park, Calif., was with the group huddling under trees during the storm, and she was the lone survivor. Escudero-Kontostathis suffered burns down the left side of her body and initially couldn’t walk. She is now using a walker and looking forward to getting back to her job. What saved her? She and her mother, Julie Escudero, think the thick rubber soles on her Dr. Martens boots helped out. But she also credits the first responders and traveling nurses who happened to be in the park for their quick action. “The trauma doctor … said she’s an absolute miracle,” Julie said.
My Life For My Phone
After an American tourist at Mount Vesuvius near Naples, Italy, dropped his cellphone into the volcano’s crater, he slid into the crater trying to retrieve it. Four volcano guides lowered a rope 50 feet into the crater, where Philip Carroll, of Baltimore, was in “serious difficulty,” then pulled him out. After officials administered first aid, Carroll and two family members were cited by police for going off the authorized trail to snap a selfie. He suffered only abrasions — and the humiliation of a trip to the police station.
Always Check The Crawlspace
As Rich Gilson used a mini-excavator to remove part of the foundation under the porch of his 1920s-era New Jersey home, he came across an unusual windfall. Among the weeds and dirt were two bundles of paper, secured with rubber bands. “I got to look at the edge and it had a green tint to it, and I said, ‘This is money,’” Gilson said. The cash, printed in 1934, amounted to $1,000 in $10 and $20 bills. Gilson said the area where he found the money was previously accessible only through a crawlspace. “Somebody had to crawl under there and dig a hole. My sense is that something fishy happened,” he added. He plans to keep the money.
Penguins With Refined Tastes
Penguins at the Hakone-en Aquarium near Tokyo are turning their beaks up at a new variety of fish after officials switched because of an increase in price. The cost of their standard fare, “aji,” increased more than 30 percent over last year. So the aquarium tried a cheaper variety of mackerel. But the penguins aren’t biting. “Even if they’ll take it in their beaks, they’ll just spit it out,” head zookeeper Hiroki Shimamoto said. If the keepers mix in a bit of aji, they’ll eat it, but without enthusiasm. The zoo’s otters have the same impression of the new menu item. Shimamoto said they could raise admission prices to the aquarium, but “we would like to do our best to keep our facility a comfortable place for our guests to visit.”
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