Bulls, roosters, lizards, and penguins ran amok last week, and Hungary did to its weather forecasters what we’ve all dreamed of doing in another weird and wacky week on Planet Earth.
FIREWORKS FIZZLE LEADS TO FIRING
An elaborate fireworks display finally took place last Saturday under calm skies in Hungary’s capital after a postponement of the show the weekend before caused controversy when it led to the firing of the country’s top meteorologists by the government over their weather predictions of a high probability of heavy rain that evening that did not materialize.
Government officials admitted that the dismissals were related to the Aug. 20 forecast, but said that the minister overseeing the weather service had previously been dissatisfied with its performance. In a news conference Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said the service’s assessment of a high probability of extreme weather – which never came – was “the last straw.”
Critics of the move accused the government, led by autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban, of punitive political pressure reminiscent of Hungary’s communist past.
RETURN TO SENDER
Several live lizards were wrongly delivered to a residence in a village north of New York City this week. “Needless to say, the addressee was quite startled when they opened the box,” Port Chester police wrote on Facebook.
Police received the call about the reptiles just after noon on Saturday. They posted a picture on Sunday of three dark-coloured lizards held in a large white container. It was not immediately clear whether there were more reptiles not pictured. “If you lost your lizards and iguanas we have them at the police department,” police wrote.
They said they held the animals until a local animal sanctuary could pick them up for safekeeping.
NO BULL
A bull escaped from its pen last week, setting off a panicked scene in the streets of a central Israeli city before entering an office building and evading capture for half an hour as it scampered through the hallways. Bank Leumi said the bull entered its offices in an industrial zone in the city of Lod, near Tel Aviv. Amateur videos showed residents scurrying for safety as the bull roamed the streets. Several cars appear to have been damaged, and the bull nearly gored one man who got too close.
Inside the building, the animal slid around the tiled floors as it ran through a hallway with several men chasing it. The men unsuccessfully attempted to capture it with a makeshift lasso – a piece of rope that quickly frayed. After being chased out of the bank offices, the bull was tranquilized by city veterinary employees and taken from the area.
IF THE SHOE FITS
A member of the San Diego Zoo’s African penguin colony has been fitted with orthopedic footwear to help it deal with a degenerative foot condition (photo). The 4-year-old penguin named Lucas has lesions on his feet due to a chronic condition known as bumblefoot, which covers a range of avian foot problems, which if left untreated, could lead to sepsis and death by infection.
The zoo’s wildlife care specialists turned to an organization called Thera-Paw, which creates rehabilitative and assistive products for animals with special needs. The company created custom shoes made of neoprene and rubber to prevent pressure sores from developing when Lucas stands and walks.
WHAT A COCK-UP
“Cocky” will now be joined by “The General” at South Carolina football games this fall. The school announced that its live, crowing rooster mascot will have a new name going forward. The bird had previously been called “Sir Big Spur,” but a dispute between its old and new owners led to the name change. Neither the university nor the athletic department owned rights to the former name. The rooster has had a perch at football and baseball games at South Carolina the past two decades. The new name comes from Revolutionary War general Thomas Sumter, who was known as “The Fighting Gamecock.”
ONE-MAN ZOO
A California man who smuggled more than 1,700 wild animals into the United States, including 60 reptiles hidden in his clothing, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wildlife trafficking. Most animals were reptiles and included Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards. The smuggled reptiles were worth about US $739,000, authorities estimated.