Crazy like a cub
Some clever saboteurs in England have found the taste of vandalism quite sweet.
Detectives in Surrey announced they have identified the perps behind 22 recent reports of compromised car brakes: foxes.
Rats have long been known to chew on brake hoses to get at the sweet-tasting glycol contained in the fluid. So detectives weren't surprised to find teeth marks on the hoses in question. But based on the size of the marks, they believe they were caused by fox cubs.
In response, fox cubs argued that that's racial profiling.
Only in America
A man in Nevada was recently arrested for drunken horse riding.
Deputies in Carson City, Nev., spotted the horse meandering down a city street carrying what appeared to be a sleeping man.
When questioned, the man said he had downed a 12-pack of beer and somehow wound up on the horse. He was jailed to sober up when a breath test showed a blood alcohol level double the legal limit.
Only in Norway
If you visit Norway this winter, watch out for the drunken moose crossings.
Experts are warning that an unusually warm summer this year has resulted in an abundance of fermenting fruit in the forests. The moose are gobbling these up and finding themselves doing things they regret in the morning.
If you find yourself confronted by a drunken moose, veterinarians say, you can expect similar behavior as in drunken humans. Some become harmless, some more aggressive, and a few just want to karaoke to "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
Moo-ve your cows
A group of locals in Bovill, Idaho, including a city councilman, recently abducted a herd of cows they blamed for littering their streets with manure. The cows were dropped off at a livestock pen as strays.
The owner, a former mayor of the city, says he won't pay the $20 per head to get his cows out of the impound lot since they aren't the only ones that poo on the streets.
Cows aren't just causing trouble on this side of the world, though. In Russia, a cow has been cited as the guilty party in an auto accident.
The man driving the car that hit the cow testified the cow walked out in front of him before he had time to react. While the cow was OK, the man's car wasn't and he demanded compensation for the material and moral damage he suffered.
The court believed him, and the cow's owner is now liable for repair costs and for fixing whatever "moral damage" is.
Unexcused absence
Calls from motorists complaining about being cut off are nothing new to Italian police.
Being cut off by an ostrich, however, was definitely original.
Police from Milan headed to the scene and chased the escaped zoo ostrich for nearly four miles before they could safely round it up.
Talk about customer service
When a 10-year-old boy protested having to pay a separate fare to take his hamster on a bus in Britain, the bus firm did more than just apologize.
First they awarded the boy free bus travel for a month. His hamster, Nibbles, was given a lifetime pass.
Then a bus spokesman announced some new amendments to the company's travel policy. "First, hamsters are encouraged to travel free of charge on any of our services. Second, young hamsters will be asked to give up their seat to an elderly or infirm hamster. Thirdly, we request that hamsters do not use mobile telephones or Walkmans while traveling on our buses for the comfort of other hamsters."
