Real-life Babe the Pig herds sheep

A 2ft tall pig is hogging the limelight after a farmer discovered it had a talent for herding sheep.

Sue the Kunekune pig is learning the tricks usually done by man's best friend and is now being trained in a variety of farmyard skills.

And just like in the movie Babe, Sue is teaching the farmyard dogs a few tricks.

The six-month-old can 'give his trotter', run through tunnels, navigate round poles, climb ramps and even do a figure-eight.

His owner Wendy Scudamore, 51, introduced her pet to sheep and admits he could easily master herding them.

Sue had been intended for a life of breeding on the farm but took on a different role after he was was accidently castrated as a piglet.

Realising he had a talent for tricks his owners decided to teach him some useful farmyard skills, including sheep herding and agility training.

He was given the name Sue after the famous Johnny Cash song 'A Boy Named Sue'.

His famous connections continue as Sue is set to follow in the trotter steps of the film character 'Babe', the talking pig who learned to herd sheep.

Mrs Scudamore said she always knew Sue, who lives on the family farm in Herefordshire, was a special pig.

She said: 'Sue could easily herd sheep, if I used him with the dogs he would be able to copy what they were doing and could become a real-life Babe like in the film.

'He has been watching them through the fence and has even met them up close, although he was a little wary at first.

'Pigs are very intelligent and I would say Sue is easily as clever as a dog.'

Mrs Scudamore said Sue's talents were discovered after her daughter Lucy began training one the family's dogs in the garden.

'The pigs worked out that the dogs were getting treats for doing the obstacles so they started copying them,' she said.

But Sue proved so good at the tricks that he learnt faster than the dogs and his owners now plan to enter him in this summer's Royal Welsh Show's agility event.

'He is a very good specimen of the Kunekune breed and I mainly breed for breeding stock and have exported Kunes all over Europe, so he was destined to be a breeding boar,' Mrs Scudamore said.

'Due to a very unfortunate mix up at the vets he was mistakenly castrated.

'I felt very bad about this and decided not to pass him on to someone else but to try to use him myself in some other way.'

She insists pigs are easy to train with some of her porkers and that she has trained others for entertaining crowds.

'I decided to try Sue at the training and so far he has been a little star so he's on his way,' she said.

'Sue has fun with our dogs, the horses and the sheep, but he really likes playing with the cats because they jump on his back and scratch it.'

She also uses Sue and her other animals to help people with learning disabilities and behavioural problems at Barton Hill Animal Centre, near Kentchurch, Herefordshire.

Daily Mail

Belfast zoo hunts 'elephant angel'

BELFAST (AFP) – Belfast zoo on Monday launched a search for a mystery woman who sheltered a baby elephant named Sheila during World War II.

The woman, dubbed the "elephant angel", housed Sheila in her back garden for parts of the war because of fears the zoo would be hit during the 1941 Belfast Blitz.

"The woman is something of a zoo legend," said manager Joy Bond, adding: "The pictures have been here a long time but nobody had been able to identify her."

Grainy black and white photographs issued by the zoo show the elephant calf with two women, but give no clue as to the identity of either, one of whom is believed to be the mystery carer. Bond said several people had called saying they could be the woman's neighbours.

"Sheila the elephant arrived to the zoo in the late 1930s, and lived until the early 1960s," added zoo chief Mark Challis. "If it wasn't for the care of this lady, that may not have been the case."

During the war the government ordered the killing of 33 animals including one hyena, six wolves, one puma, one tiger, one black bear, two polar bears and one lynx, due to fears they could escape during air raids, the zoo said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090323/wl_uk..._20090323135308

Hen adopts puppies

Source: Ananova



A hen in China has reportedly adopted two orphaned puppy dogs after their mother died.

Owner Cao Fengying, of Majiaqiao village, Jiashan town, says the hen was best friends with the puppy's mother.

But the dog was poisoned just ten days after giving birth to puppies, reports Today Morning.

Cao said: "The hen and the dog had been friends for two years. They would never fight but just play together.

"I thought the puppies would die after their mother went but the next morning I discovered that the puppies had gone missing.

"Then I heard the hen clucking in her coop. I looked over and saw that the little puppies were underneath the hen."

The hen now looks after her adopted children, defending them if anyone approaches and letting them eat first at meal times.

"Once I even saw the hen fight off several other chickens which were trying to steal the puppies' food," added Cao.

Villagers say they can't understand why a hen would be so protective of two puppies - but Cao believes she is simply doing right by her late friend.

Mum bathes baby in breast milk

Source: Ananova



A Chinese new mother is producing so much breast milk that she baths her baby in the excess each day.

Mrs Luo, of Chongqing, says she is producing two litres of milk more than she needs to feed her six-week-old daughter Shan Shan.

Mother, husband and her mother-in-law had all been drinking the extra milk but she says they still have plenty left over.

Luo's mother-in-law said they were all beginning to feel like they were drinking too much milk: "Then I suggested why not give the baby a breast milk bath, and they took my advice," she said.

Luo said the milk bath makes her Shan Shan's skin really smooth and white, reports the Chingqing Times.

But she is looking for someone to donate her extra breast milk to as she feels that bathing her baby in breast milk is too much of an indulgence.

Purr-fect entrance

Source: Ananova

A Hertfordshire-based firm has launched the ultimate posh cat flap for pampered pussycats.

The Swarovski crystal-encrusted cat flap is billed as the latest 'must have' pet accessory that will brighten up any back door.

Encrusted with more than 1,000 Swarovski crystals, it sells for £1,000. Designers Doors4Paws claims a 'minor celebrity' has already placed the first order.

The firm sells a number of special cat flap designs, including one in the style of a stable door and another based on a Roman arch.

However, the design currently generating the most interest is the Swarovski cat flap, says a company spokesman.

Teen's tummy ache was a baby

Source: Ananova

A teenage barmaid was rushed into hospital with stomach pains - and then gave birth to a baby daughter.

Rachael Yanetta had no idea she was pregnant - and the first ex-boyfriend Matthew Burns knew was when she sent him a picture message from her phone.

"I'm still in complete shock," said Miss Yannetta, of South Shields. "Surprise isn't the word, the whole family's stunned."

She was pulling pints when she started complaining of stomach cramps but she battled through the pain, completing her shift before returning home in a taxi at midnight.

But as the pain worsened, her family decided to take her to accident and emergency at South Tyneside District Hospital at about 3am.

"When I got there I started bleeding and the pain was unbearable. The nurse said 'I think you might be pregnant', and everyone just froze, I didn't believe her," said Miss Yannetta.

By 4.15am, the teenager had given birth to a baby girl, weighing 7lbs 10oz, who she has named Grace.

Mr Burns, 18, who had a relationship with Miss Yannetta last year, said: "I woke up on the Sunday morning and saw that Rachael sent me a picture message of a baby.

"I replied, asking 'who's this?' and she said 'it's our daughter'. I thought it was a wind-up but it turned out to be real.

"I had mixed emotions because I was so shocked, but at the same time she's amazing, and I'm looking forward to being her dad. I've told Rachael I will always be there for Grace."

He who dares swims: The man who cools off with lions

When Kevin Richardson decided to cool off in the sweltering South African heat he was joined by an unlikely swimming partner - a giant lioness.

But before you fear a massacre, don't because these two are friends.

Zoologist and animal behaviourist Kevin, 34, raises and interacts some of the most dangerous animals known to man.

With his unusual methods, Kevin has developed some exceptionally personal bonds with his students, playing, sleeping and even swimming with animals.

Taking a well deserved swim in the Crocodile River, just south of the Magaliesburg mountains, Kevin was joined by Meg the lioness.

Weighing a staggering 185 kg this boisterous tawny lioness playfully splashed around with the experienced behaviourist.

'We went swimming purely for Meg's enrichment,' Kevin said.

'That's one of the reasons I believe my animals are so relaxed. They live very enriched lives.

'Those who like it go for swims, others go for walks in the greater area and others just prefer to go and chill under a tree in the middle of the park.'

Meg, seven, and her sister Amy, live in The Kingdom of the White Lion, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Lions, hyenas and leopards reside in the 650 hectare area not too far from the banks of the river.

The Kingdom of the White Lion help to fund predator research in Botswana and are actively involved in creating awareness around the globe.

Kevin, who has been involved in countless documentaries and has just finished working on a new film about white lions, works to create awareness and being active in lion conservation.

With lion numbers in the wild dropping from around 350,000 animals to 25-30,000 animals over a period of 15 years, the statistics paint a grim picture.

However Kevin"s unusual work with these magnificent animals has captured the imagination.

'People are always amazed that she doesn't rip me to pieces with her claws,' Kevin said.

'I assure you every now and again I get a claw going into me. It's unintentional and just reconfirms to me how gentle and in control she tries to be.

'She gets like an excited dog going for a ride in a car. She takes no coaxing to get her to swim.

'You get in and start swimming and the next thing you know there's a full grown lioness beside you doing doggy....umm I mean.... lion paddle towards you.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ools-lions.html