Plastic six-pack harnesses, used to hold cans of soda and beer, are a great hazard to birds, fish and other wildlife. The harnesses are especially dangerous in water where they are practically invisible. Birds fishing or feeding in the water can easily entangle their bills and necks in the strong plastic rings. This usually leads to strangulation or starvation. Pick up any plastic six-pack holder you find and cut or pull apart the rings and recycle it. If possible, avoid buying products wrapped in these holders; most beverages are available with other packaging.
A vet has performed intricate surgery on a dying goldfish in Australia which was suffering from a life-threatening head tumour.
The 10-year-old goldfish, named George, was admitted to an animal hospital in Melbourne by its owners, who were “quite attached” to the fish.
Dr Tristan Rich, the vet, said the 45-minute operation on the 80-gram fish had been “quite fiddly”. He had offered the owners the option of attempting to remove the tumour or putting George to sleep; they chose the former.
“The fish was having trouble eating, getting around and he was getting bullied by other fish,” said Dr Rich.
“It was quite a large tumour – we had to scrape it off his skull. When it was all done we woke him up in a clean bucket of water … he came through it swimmingly.”
SAUSALITO , California. — Two northbound deer briefly stopped traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge Friday night as they made a run for the hills of Marin County, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The deer, reported at 5:24 p.m., appear to have entered the bridge from the south.
The two deer brought traffic to a halt in three lanes of traffic.
Drivers appeared to have slowed behind the animals, leaving the lanes clear in front of them.
“They pretty much created their own traffic break,” police officer Barclay said, noting that northbound traffic tends to be backed up and slower around 5:30 p.m. anyway.
“That could be what saved the deer from getting hurt,” he added. “If it was lighter traffic the cars would have been moving faster.”
A farmer in northeastern Turkey recently discovered a bicephalic snake; that is, it has two heads. This phenomenon occurs when monozygotic twins fail to separate completely, so it’s really a case of conjoined twins and not a mutation that caused two heads to grow.
When these types of animals occur out in the wild, they tend not to live very long. With two brains governing one body, movement isn’t always smooth and deliberate. Instead, they can disagree about how to move, making it fairly difficult to catch prey. This anomalous anatomy also makes them fairly easy prey for larger predators as well. However, two-headed snakes receiving proper captive care are able to live full, relatively normal lives and even give birth to normal offspring.
The two-week-old snake was transferred to a vivarium in southwestern Turkey in order to receive the specialized care it requires for survival. The snake is likely part of the Coluber genus, which are generally referred to as “racers” due to their thin, sleek bodies and ability to move fairly quickly. (…)
These snakes have throats that are more narrow than usual, so the caretakers need to be careful not to offer any food that is too large, since the snake could possibly choke.
Though technically only one of the heads needs to eat, since they share a stomach and nutrients, the two heads don’t know that and can fight over the food. If one head kills the other, it could be disastrous for the head that was initially victorious. If these snakes were in the wild, the time spent fighting would leave it more vulnerable to predators.
If you want to see what two-headed snakes look like, watch this video:
