From turkey vultures to goats, buffalo, and North Atlantic Right Whales, animals were contributing heavily to this week’s collection of weirdness and oddball news. And don’t get us started on what went down at Auschwitz:

IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS

In a bid to entice state residents not to catch COVID-19 and subsequently spread the life-threatening virus onwards to friends, family and others, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a lottery system on Wednesday offering a weekly $1 million prize and full-ride college scholarships in a creative bid to encourage vaccinations and overcome the vaccine hesitancy that remains a stubborn problem across the US. DeWine acknowledged the unusual nature of the financial incentives.
“I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money.’ But the real waste, when the vaccine is now readily available “is a life lost to COVID-19,” he added.

HOW DID THAT GET IN THERE?

Lavinia “Lavi” Mounga had no idea a baby was coming when she went into labour on a flight from her home in Utah to Honolulu recently. “I just didn’t know I was pregnant, and then this guy just came out of nowhere,” Mounga said during a video interview with Hawaii Pacific Health. The baby boy, Raymond, arrived early at just 29 weeks while mom was travelling to Hawaii for vacation with her family.

FUN, WOW!

Travel website Tripadvisor has removed an insensitive review of the Auschwitz Museum in which the writer said they went to Auschwitz to “test the chamber” and called the site “fun for the family.” More than 1 million people, most of them Jews, were killed by Nazis at the Polish concentration camp during World War II. Tripadvisor initially said the submission complied with its guidelines but reversed course when asked to take down the post by the museum at the site. The company also apologized and banned the user who wrote it.

HOPE YOU CAN HOLD IT

Citing expense (a whopping $1,734.47) and the ability to clean them to meet COVID protocols, council members of Big Valley, Alta., recently postponed a vote to fund public washrooms this summer in the village. Chief Administrative Officer Tracy Mindus stated that there is uncertainty surrounding things like tourism because of the pandemic, while mayor Clark German said it may be too soon to make a decision on the washrooms and suggested that the question of whether it’s safe or even possible to open the public washrooms be left for a later date. Councillors unanimously agreed to keep the washrooms closed and discuss the issue again at a future meeting.

INVASION OF THE TURKEY VULTURES

Residents of a Florida neighbourhood say they are beset by an invasion of turkey vultures that are damaging homes and causing major messes. Resident Judy Oliveri told WFLA-TV that her neighbourhood in the Tampa suburb of Westchase is overrun with the large black birds, and they’ve been multiplying since they showed up three years ago. “We could have 20 to 25 vultures on our roofs. They land on our screens, their under-feathers are all over the roof, their droppings are all over the place,” Oliveri said.

Other homeowners say it’s possible the vultures were dislocated from their previous habitat by ongoing development in the area, and while the US Department of Agriculture has promised to remove the birds, which are federally protected and cannot be harmed, no timetable has been set.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS

In a country where people like to shoot things, it should come as no surprise that more than 45,000 people applied for one of a dozen spots to help thin a herd of bison at Grand Canyon National Park – a rare, sanctioned opportunity for skilled shooters to kill the animals on the park’s North Rim where park officials say they’ve been trampling on archaeological and other resources and spoiling the water. Potential volunteers had 48 hours to apply, and 45,040 applicants did, despite the exercise having to take place on foot at elevations of 2,438 metres or higher at the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and the requirement to field dress the 907-kg animals as well. Each “volunteer” is eligible to kill one animal. The park has already removed about 90 animals and transported them to Native American tribes.

IT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU BLUBBER

Drone video of two critically endangered North Atlantic right whales swimming in Cape Cod Bay shows the animals appearing to embrace one another with their flippers. The “belly to belly” behaviour, perhaps showing affection and attempts at mating, was recorded by researchers who say it may have been the first time a whale hug was recorded from the air.

THIS REALLY GETS OUR GOAT

More than 350 goats have been enlisted to protect The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum from wildfire danger. The herd returned recently to eat brush around the institution’s campus in the Southern California community of Simi Valley. The goats create a firebreak between the natural vegetation and the facility and were credited with helping keep the library safe from a wildfire in 2019.

SHUT THE DAMN DOOR

The Boutique Airlines plane was speeding down the runway at Minneapolis Airport about to take off when the emergency door flew off onto the runway. A passenger’s bag was also sucked out of the plane.

Tom Yon sitting just a feet away from the door, described it as a ‘scary’ moment.He estimated the plane was traveling at about 100 mph on the runway. “If there had been a person sitting on the plane with a baby on their lap, I don’t know what would have happened.”

The Metropolitan Airports Commission confirmed the incident and said the takeoff was quickly aborted. The damaged door was recovered from the runway.

The plane was travelling from Minneapolis to Ironwood, Mich. and no injuries were reported.