Polish Politician fumes over “gay” elephant in zoo

Nick — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:09:22 +0000

WARSAW (Reuters) – A Polish politician has criticized his local zoo for acquiring a “gay” elephant named Ninio who prefers male companions and will probably not procreate, local media reported Friday. “We didn’t pay 37 million zlotys ($11 million) for the largest elephant house in Europe to have a gay elephant live there,” Michal Grzes, a conservative councilor in the city of Poznan in western Poland, was quoted as saying.

“We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?” said Grzes, who is from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party. The head of the Poznan zoo said 10-year-old Ninio may be too young to decide whether he prefers males or females as elephants only reach sexual maturity at 14.

(Reporting by Chris Borowski; editing by Andrew Roche)

Cat found alive after 5 weeks under rubble

Nick — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:36:11 +0000

BERLIN (Reuters) – A cat named Felix was found alive and well beneath the rubble of a six-storey building in Cologne that collapsed five weeks ago, the fire brigade in German city said on Tuesday.

The 12-year-old cat was in surprisingly good health, authorities said. He was found beneath the city archives building that collapsed on March 3.

Rescue workers were clearing away the rubble from the ruins, in which two people were killed, when they spotted a pair of small paws.

“The men lifted some concrete blocks when suddenly a little cat came to light,” said Dietmar Paust, fire brigade spokesman.

(Reporting by Franziska Scheven)

Wasted Daily News » Pets and Animals

Polish Politician fumes over “gay” elephant in zoo

Cat found alive after 5 weeks under rubble