Along the Chicago lakefront, gizzard shad - a type of herring — are dying off in large numbers. Thousands, maybe more, are dead and frozen or floating in Lake Michigan. Geese and ducks are feeding on the dead and dying fish.
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The problem arose after owners Anna and Guy Esposito listed him on the last U.S. Census under "pet."
Anna filed for his disqualification of service. He was not "too old," "ill," or a "convicted felon," so she filed that he "cannot speak English."
The jury commissioner denied this request.
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Note: cat in photo is NOT Sal Esposito.
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Photo: Allwetterzoo Münster
LAKELAND, Fla. -- A reindeer escaped from a nativity scene in Lakeland, but was later caught hiding under an elf house, police said Tuesday.
While the story sounds like a Christmas tale, police say it's true. A caller to police early Tuesday morning said the reindeer had escaped from the nativity scene at Highland Park Church of the Nazarene on Lake Highlands Road.
Church personnel responded to the area where the reindeer, appropriately named Rudy (short for Rudolph, of course), was seen running loose. They chased the deer around the property before finding Rudy hiding under the "elf house," police said.
Rudy, who was unharmed, is now in the care of his owner and being kept at his house to prevent another escape from his enclosure on the church property. Police said Rudy is small in stature and, while he looks like a baby deer, he is actually 3 years old.
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A California couple returning from a trip to the grocery store Thursday found a 9-foot boa constrictor under the hood of their car.
Animal control workers used a little cooking oil to loosen the red tail boa's grip on the car engine.
It's not clear where the snake came from. But animal control workers said they suspect it broke free from its owner's care.
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A judge ordered mental competency testing for Austin Michael Mullins, 26, and Krystal Lynn Lewis, 23.
Muskogee County sheriff’s Deputy George Roberson said Mullins shot the puppy 10 times with a .22-caliber pistol at a park near town, and Lewis then skinned the puppy at her apartment. The pair nailed the hide to a board displayed at the apartment and told investigators they planned to have it made into a belt.
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It started about three weeks ago in the neighborhood, which is in close proximity to a small drainage basin that collects rain runoff during the winter and spring. Neighbors told reporters with TV station KCRA that it's the first time they can remember the basin being bone dry.
Dale Whitmore, a California Department of Fish and Game biologist, said the drought killed all of the fish in the lake. Without any fish to eat the toads' eggs, the population exploded.
The western toads are now about the size of a quarter and range in color from gray to brown to green. By the end of the summer, they will be about the size of a human fist.
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But yesterday the black cat simply walked into the Lower Hutt police station, bringing his escapade to an end.
Realising the cat was probably lost, police called the Wellington SPCA and the owners were traced through a microchip he was wearing.
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Three Australian women vacationing on an island off the coast of the mainland said they were shocked when a koala chose their hotel room bed for a nap.
The koala entered the home from the balcony and settled for a nap on a bed covered with a blue and pink floral duvet.
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The woman was severely injured and was being treated at a hospital. It's unclear why the woman entered the bear habitat, but police issued her a citation for trespassing.
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(via Blame it on the Voices)
Employees of a Pennsylvania pet store expecting a shipment of tropical fish and salt water received a man's dead body instead.
Mark Arabia owns the Pets Plus store in northeast Philadelphia, where the mix-up was discovered Tuesday. He said he learned the body was that of a 65-year-old San Diego-area man who died of early onset Alzheimer's disease.
The deceased man's wife said she was shocked initially, but found the former mailman's posthumous postal mix-up funny.
The body was supposed to go to a research laboratory in Allentown, 70 miles away.
The fish were left at the airport and probably died.
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An Australian traveller raised eyebrows and the suspicions of customs officers after he was found with two live pigeons and an aubergine down his pants. (NOTE to us non-Brits: an aubergine is an eggplant.)
Customs officials said the 23-year-old man was caught at Melbourne Airport following a trip to the Middle East.
Officials searched the man after they discovered two eggs hidden in a vitamin container in his luggage.
Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared aubergine, but are at a loss to explain why the goods were smuggled into the country.
