Shark in Iraq

In Iraq a man and his son netted a shark more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the sea.

Montana

A wild bear mauled a California man in Montana. One swipe from the bear's paw knocked one of the victim's eyeballs from its socket. The incident was the fifth bear attack on a hunter this year in Montana's Park County.

Face-Off

Nick Wadhams has a report about the conflict between humans and elephants in Kenya.

Sumatran Forests

Zoological Society of London:

Scientists at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have discovered that some unprotected areas of Sumatran forests are safe havens for a variety of threatened species, including tigers, elephants, sun bears, tapirs, golden cats and clouded leopards.

The Indonesian Government is currently allocating these areas to oil palm, timber plantations and other concessions, all of which have damaging impacts on the environment. If this strategy is not changed, it will result in loss of habitat that is vital to the future of the Sumatran tiger and many other species.

Indonesia's government plans to relocate the endangered animals.

Unhappy Owner

A frustrated man yoked two buffaloes to his BMW in China.

Ambushed

Suspected Rwandan rebels killed a park ranger at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The atackers wounded one of the victim's colleagues during the ambush.

Kenya

Joe De Capua at Voice of America: "After much news of late about how primates are being threatened across Africa, there’s good news from Kenya. A new population of an unusual species of monkeys has been found in a most unexpected location."

Protective Dog

Grabbing a 17-month-old girl by her diaper, a Doberman pinscher hurled the child away from a deadly king brown snake in Australia.

The snake bit the Doberman. According to a local veterinarian, the dog probably will survive.

Spain

"Giant hyenas, sabretoothed cats, giraffes and zebras lived side by side in Europe 1.8 million years ago," reports Paul Rincon of the BBC.

Senegal

WWF discovered new marine turtle nesting sites on the beaches of Senegal.

Business Heritage

Pelt merchant, Cairo, 19th century

Artist: Jean-Léon Gérôme, French, 1824-1904

Image courtesy of the Art Renewal Center

Fried Elephant

Tripping over an electric wire, a bull elephant died from electrocution at a tea plantation in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Last Friday: Power Line

North Korean Ship

Voice of America: "The U.S. Navy rescued the crew of a North Korean cargo ship off the coast of Somalia Tuesday, after it was attacked by unidentified men who took control of part of the vessel."

Prince of Death

The notorious Asian warlord Khun Sa died.

Lopsided Parrot

A Rhode Island woman allegedly snipped off the right leg of a stolen parrot to remove the identity tag from the bird.

Beware of the Dog

In Iowa a dog shot a man.

Tiger Killers

Wildlife officials arrested four poachers for killing a tiger at India's Dudhwa National Park.

Hurt

A lion injured an environmental inspector in Mozambique.

Thailand

Flocks of birds are safety hazards at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Smithsonian Magazine

The November issue of Smithsonian magazine is online.

Traveling Elephants

Social standing influences how far elephants travel for food.

Working Tigers

As many as 70 Siberian tigers from a Chinese breeding center have jobs.

Season's Greetings

China's Xinhua News Agency reports: "Do not expect customs officials to greet you with 'Merry Christmas' at the international airports this year in the Philippines. It is forbidden!"

Approximately 80 percent of all Filipinos are Roman Catholic.

China Coast

A cargo ship sank near the China coast.

Baby

In South Africa a dog dragged parts of a newborn baby into a yard.

Breakthrough

New Zealand scientists reportedly came up with a way to save frogs from a deadly fungal disease.

Japanese Vessel

Pirates hijacked a Japanese ship off the coast of East Africa.

Puerto Rico

Archaeologists found a well-preserved pre-Columbian site in southern Puerto Rico. The petroglyphs include a carving of a human figure with frog legs.

Dead Dinosaurs

Did a series of monumental volcanic eruptions wipe out the dinosaurs?

Contraband

Lawmen seized tiger claws, leopard skins, elephant tusks, and other items from smugglers of wildlife-related contraband in India. Police arrested three men in the cases.

Sweet Poison

On Saturday a man poisoned guests at a wedding in Somaliland.

Clam

Scientists dredged up a 405-year-old clam off the coast of Iceland.

Ruckus

A trained elephant ran berserk, injuring dozens of people on the streets of Ramnagar. The city is in India's state of Uttar Pradesh.

Master of the Hounds

Egypt, 19th century

Artist: Jean-Léon Gérôme, French, 1824-1904

Photogravure by Goupil & Cie

Eaten Alive

In the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, a tiger snatched a fisherman from a canal. The cat dragged the 35-year-old man into the forest.

Power Line

A female elephant died from electric shock when she touched a high-voltage power line in the Indian state of West Bengal.

"At least 26 elephants have died from electrocution in the northern part of the state during the last 18 months," a busnessman said.

Primates

Almost a third of the world's primates are in danger of extinction.

Curse

Nick Wadhams reports from Kenya:

According to Kikuyu tradition, Karima Hill, a couple of hours north of Nairobi, is a stepping stone God uses to get from his home to Mount Kenya each day. Two sites atop the hill are meant for ceremonies to bring rain, cure illness, and stop insect invasions.

But Kikuyu leaders say the past 20 years have seen Karima Hill devastated by the planting of foreign trees such as eucalyptus and cyprus that have dried up nearby streams. The trees are cut down for use by a local tea company, which paid the county council for an 80-acre concession several years ago.

Locals say the destruction of Karima continues despite repeated government injunctions to stop. So dozens of elders have decided on drastic action: invoke a curse on everyone involved and bring misfortune on them and their families.

Global Jihad

Lt. Col. Sarah E. Zabel of the U.S. Air Force wrote an excellent paper on the military strategy of global jihad.

Animal Car

South African cops discovered two cows and two goats in a compact car.

Maori

A French court blocked a museum's efforts to return the mummified head of a Maori warrior to New Zealand.

Bear Paws

Chinese police found 64 bear paws in the possession of a smuggler.

Teenager

A wild elephant stepped on an Indonesian teenager's head.

Mount Soputan

Mount Soputan erupted, shooting sand and smoke 1,500 meters into the air.

Stingray

Near Auckland a stingray almost killed a New Zealand fisherman.

Shot Dead

Ugandan rustlers gunned down a 60-year-old man at a Kenyan village. The 70 outlaws stole 120 head of cattle during the raid.

Leopard in Nepal

In Kathmandu a wild leopard injured two cops and three other people. Lawmen fired six shots at the cat. A city resident used a knife to kill the dying animal.

"The battle with the leopard lasted more than three hours," a trader said.

Fire Bird

A parrot saved a man and his son from a fire in Indiana.

Urns

South Korean researchers announced the discovery of urns from the Baekje Kingdom. The Korea Times has a report.

Business of Religion

At a London auction a 13th-century Koran sold for more than USD 2.3 million.

Chinese Massacre

In 1871 a quarrel between two Chinese men in Los Angeles escalated into a citywide anti-Chinese riot, ending in the murder of between 18 and 23 of the city's approximately 200 Chinese residents.

A century later, the televison series Kung Fu became one of the most popular TV shows in America.

Today is the 136th anniversary of the infamous Los Angeles Chinese Massacre.

Background: Statement of Remembrance, 2001

Iberian Lynx

WWF reports: "Spanish authorities have announced the discovery of a previously unknown population of Iberian lynx, triggering hope for the world’s most endangered cat species."

Giant Panda

A giant panda mauled a teenage boy at the Beijing Zoo.

Shocking News

Six beer-drinking elephants died from electrocution in India's state of Meghalaya.

Great Escape

Crayfish broke out of an Asian food shop in Germany. Police rounded up the escapees.

Somalia

Somali pirates seized a cargo ship and attacked three other vessels.

Feral Pigs

Phil Mercer at Voice of America: "There are now more wild pigs than people in Australia."

Kindness

"Kindness never pays," a New York businessman told me.

I thought about Marie. In 1755 Marie found an unconscious West Indian sailor near her home in Bordeaux, France. She took the man to her house and nursed him back to health.

The penniless sailor wanted to repay Marie for her kindness. He gave her the only treasure he had—the secret recipe for an extraordinary aniseed liqueur.

With a nephew Marie formed the company to produce the product. Marie Brizard's anisette is still popular today.

Urban Monkeys

A deputy mayor died after a confrontation with monkeys in India.

Trapped

Indonesian villagers captured a man-eating tiger near the nothern tip of Sumatra. They delivered the unharmed cat to government wildlife officials.

Menace

Elephants trampled a villager to death in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

"About 12 dangerous elephants continue to roam the area, destroying trees and crops," a trader reported. "The pachyderms have killed 17 people since August 13. Many villagers have fled their homes."

The hostile herd originally came from the Indian state of Orissa.

"Rangers brought in trained elephants to drive the invaders back into Orissa forests," the trader said.

Previous: Journalist Dies

Elephant Life

What kind of beings are elephants? An article by Paola Cavalieri has a preliminary answer.

Rhino Attack

In South Africa a rhinoceros killed a man at a game reserve.

Big Bear

A large bear injured two farmers in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. One victim suffered life-threatenening injuries. Villagers chased the bear into a forest.

Gold Coins

Digging trenches at a mango orchard in southern India, a 50-year-old farmer unearthed 24 antique gold coins.

Woman in White

Few people will help a woman in distress on India's Old Delhi ridge late at night.

"Occasionally a woman in a white sari stops motorists on the ridge and asks them to drive her home," a trader said. "She is an evil spirit. Any person who helps her inevitably meets with an accident."

Haunted House

Fifteen years ago, I leased a 19th-century Victorian home in Southern California. Periodically I heard coughing inside the house. When I searched the rooms, I failed to find the source of the noise.

One day I flipped through old newspapers at the public library. I read about the death of a man in my house. He had died from tuberculosis in 1912.

Down Under

Business opportunities for enterpreneurs: AusTender is the Australian government’s procurement information system, and GETS is the New Zealand government's electronic tenders service.

Journalist Dies

A herd of elephants killed a 35-year-old journalist in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The victim worked at a daily newspaper.

Coral

According to Australian researchers, many coral species will become extinct over the next 50 years.

Dangerous Volcano

Cops used guns to force people off the slopes of Mount Kelud (Kelut) in Indonesia.

Previous: Defiance

Violent Villagers

Five hundred villagers beat three thieves to death in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

Bottoms Up

Kenyan doctors removed a beer bottle from a man's colon.

Passenger Ferry

A passenger ferry sank off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Lion Deaths

Thirty-two rare Asiatic lions died in India's Gir Forest National Park this year.

Lake Rukwa

Tanzania's government authorized hunters to kill 269 crocodiles in Lake Rukwa.

"Too many crocodiles live in the lake," a tourism official said.

Crocodile Hunt

Thai police with assault rifles are looking for more than 30 runaway crocodiles. The reptiles escaped from a crocodile farm during a flood.

Chomp

In Australia a crocodile bit a 35-year-old tourist on the face.

Trouble in the Air

African elephants can smell danger.

Tribes

Tribal clashes broke out in Indonesia's province of Papua.

Bathroom Snake

When a New York woman washed her hands in her bathroom before dawn on Monday, she discovered a python in the toilet.

Containership

Brandishing AK-47 assault rifles, pirates attacked a containership on the Shatt al Arab waterway between Iran and Iraq. The raiders took money and property from the ship's crew.

Chittagong

Five Bangladeshi pirates boarded a general cargo ship at the port of Chittagong. They stabbed a watchman and stole supplies.

Dead Tusker

A freight train killed a wild elephant in eastern India. The locomotive ran into the adult male pachyderm on a curve.

On The Rails Again

Willie Nelson should write a song about the iron train in Mauritania.

Seafood

People developed a taste for shellfish a long time ago.

Fungus

A deadly tropical fungus has spread from Canada to the United States.

At Risk

Conservationists want the international community to protect Papua New Guinea against mining, logging, and overfishing.

Defiance

Thousands of villagers defied warnings of a major eruption at one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes, Mount Kelud (Kelut).

Yesterday: Volcanoes

Bluefin Tuna

WWF is calling for a three-year closure of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery after a season of unprecedented illegal and uncontrolled fishing.

Background: Last rites for a marvel?

Dispute

The Christian Science Monitor has an article about an ownership fight over Mayan ruins in Mexico.

Reptiles

A University of Bristol scientist found the earliest known evidence of reptiles.

Barred Owls

In North Carolina the city of Charlotte is home to a robust population of very large barred owls.

Celebes Sea

American and Filipino scientists collected potentially new species of marine life during a survey of the Celebes Sea (Sulawesi Sea).

Ancient Art

Chinese workers discovered well-preserved frescoes in a 2,000-year-old tomb.

Volcanoes

Villagers fled homes near Mount Bulusan in the Philippines.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of nearly 30,000 people from the rumbling slopes of Mount Kelud (Kelut) in Indonesia.

More Piracy

Piracy attacks on shipping increased by 14 percent in the first three quarters of this year.

Monks

Religious authorities defrocked two Buddhist monks in Thailand. One monk was caught with a woman in a hotel room. The other monk was caught with a microphone and a whiskey glass in his hands at a karaoke bar.

Treasure Hunting

Spain intercepted an American vessel in an ongoing battle for booty.

Update: Inspection completed.

Screams

News from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland: "Chimpanzees exaggerate their screams when under attack, to attract help from higher-ranking group members."

Cave

A flash flood killed eight people at a cave in southern Thailand. One tourist lived through the ordeal to tell the story.

Restaurant

During a rainstorm a python crawled into a Bangkok restaurant. The 10-foot snake wrapped itself around the leg of a male customer. For several minutes the man and the snake fought, rolling around on the floor. Another man rushed to help the customer. The two men won the battle. Police took the snake into custody.

Old Crocodile

A man-eating crocodile died at a crocodile farm in Uganda. The 62-year-old reptile mauled more than 80 fishermen before its capture in 2005.

Shark Attacks

Two people survived shark attacks off the coast of Australia:

• A 52-year-old woman fought off a great white shark.
• A 31-year-old man escaped from the jaws of a bronze whaler.

Death of a Mercenary

French mercenary Bob Denard died. He reportedly was the model for the lead character in Frederick Forsyth's 1974 novel The Dogs of War.

The BBC's obituary for Denard is here.

Squirrel

In Pennsylvania a squirrel stole food from my friend Roger's mountain cabin.

"Two can play this game," Roger said. "I plan to steal some of the squirrel's nuts if I can find them."

Cats

Three domestic cats surrounded a cobra to keep the venomous snake from entering a house in the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar. A wildlife expert captured the reptile.

Wild Elephants

Elephants destroyed homes on a river island in northeastern India.

Gambler

A house cat picked winning lottery numbers in China.

Drinking Bear

China Daily has a short report about a beer-guzzling bear. Somebody should send the party animal a case of Moosehead.

Man Against Beast

On Tuesday a professional hunter gunned down a man-eating leopard at a remote village in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

"The leopard killed two children since September 19," a trader told me.

Rich and Poor

Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation. The company's success reminds me of a piece of business advice from an old jeweler many years ago: "If you sell to the poor, you live with the rich; if you sell to the rich, you live with the poor."

Flying Tigers

Former fighter pilot Tex Hill passed away at the age of 92. He flew with the Flying Tigers during World War II.

Mexico City

In Mexico City an aspiring horror novelist allegedly dismembered his girlfriend to eat her.

Update: The man killed himself in his prison cell on December 11, 2007.

EU Sales

Sales tip: Entrepreneurs who want to obtain sales leads in the public sector of the European Union can tackle the task the hard way or the easy way. The hard way is to bang on doors in each country. The easy way is to visit Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) on the Internet.

Old Shanghai

American author Elsie McCormick's amusing The Unexpurgated Diary of a Shanghai Baby is available free online. Remember, the book is 1920s humor.

Roma

The BBC has an article about Gypsies in Istanbul.

I like Gypsies. When I was 7 years old, I saw a Gypsy caravan. I stood by the road, begging them to kidnap me. They declined to take me with them.

Yes, yes, I know, the politically correct word for Gypsies is Roma. But I never dreamed about running away with Roma. She was the ugliest girl at school.

Roman Coins

Archaeologists discovered 4,500 ancient Roman coins in Portugal.

Zoo Elephant

An elephant killed a 40-year-old female handler at a Russian zoo.

Alaska

Divers located a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Alaska.

Blasted Dog

From Time magazine, December 20, 1926:

In Lexington, Ky., one pint of nitroglycerin stood at the mouth of an oil shaft. A dog drank it. Workmen ran for their lives. Stimulated by his draft, the loaded cur pursued a rabbit. The rabbit leaped down a bank. Jumping after it, the dog exploded.

Murals

Archaeologists found ancient murals on a bank of the Euphrates River.

White Lobster

Errant shipments of Colombian cocaine bring millions of dollars to poor fishing villages in Central America.

Rampaging Monkeys

This week two monkeys bit 15 people at a town in the Indian state of Karnataka. Five victims suffered serious injuries.

Earlier this month a monkey bit 10 people in the same town.

Gulf of Oman

Nine armed pirates in speedboats tried to attack a fast-moving cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. The raiders stopped their pursuit after an unsuccessful two-hour chase.

Massacre

Shooters blasted 52 red-footed falcons in Cyprus.

Maharashtra

On Sunday a tiger killed a woman in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

"The woman died in a forest near her village," a trader reported.

Bees

Bees scare elephants.

Mosquito

A deadly American mosquito bit a 35-year-old British tourist.

Fact Sheet: Eastern Equine Encephalitis

Farmworkers

In Zimbabwe four farmhands murdered a suspected warlock.

Witchcraft

Authorities arrested a 37-year-old woman for teaching witchcraft to 20 children in Malawi.

"The woman used magic to fly the children to the ocean at night," a businessman said. "The next day two of the children were too tired to attend school."

Eternal Embrace

Turkish archaeologists discovered the tomb of two young lovers.

Frenzy

Two kidnappers attempted to abduct a youth at a village in the Indian state of Bihar. Running to the aid of the victim, citizens used stones, iron rods, and bamboo sticks to kill the criminals.

Sherwood Forest

Robin Hood's forest is almost gone.

Sherwood Forest used to cover more than 100,000 acres in England. Now the largest remnant of the original forest covers about 450 acres.

Local officials hope to reconnect scattered fragments of woodland in the area.

Pachyderms

Small hippos and elephants lived on Cyprus.

Two Tigers

Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants poisoned two tigers in the Indian state of Assam. Last year villagers poisoned four tigers in the region.

"Villagers kill the cats to stop attacks on livestock," a wildlife official said.

Four Injuries

Storming through a village, 11 wild elephants injured four people in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Shaolin Monks

Shaolin monks will not participate in the wushu competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Canadian Sales

Sales tip: MERX is a road to business opportunities in Canada's public sector.

Moose

Alberto the moose is on the loose.

Hunger

Elephants trampled more than 1,980 acres of crops in Cameroon's Far North Province.

War Souvenirs

Selling bones of World War II soldiers is a profitable business activity at several villages in Papua New Guinea.

"Villagers sell the bones of fallen Japanese, American, and Australian soldiers as souvenirs," a traveler reported. "Last month a foreign buyer paid USD 20,000 for a complete skeleton. A tiny plastic bag of bones sells for less than USD 2."

Papua New Guinea was the site of fierce fighting between Allied and Japanese forces during the war.

Previous: Swamp Ghost

Horn of a Rhino

On the fringe of Kaziranga National Park in India's state of Assam, a suspected poacher died with a rhino horn in his gut.

"A female rhinoceros gored him to protect her calf," a trader said.

Over the years the victim allegedly killed several rhinos in the park. Lawmen arrested the man for poaching four years ago. However, the officers released him because they lacked evidence to convict him in court.

Bones

A tiger ate a 35-year-old man in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Villagers found the victim's bones in a forest.

Falling Elephant

Three men and a bull elephant fell off the back of a truck on a curvy road in India's state of Kerala. The tusker landed on one of the men, killing the guy. The pachyderm sustained minor injuries.

Syria

A prominent Italian archaeologist unearthed new discoveries in Syria.

Mount Bulusan

In the Philippines the Mount Bulusan volcano spewed clouds of ash on Thursday. Volcanologists expect another explosion soon.

Sex and the Single Ape

Sibu the orangutan has a sexual interest in tattooed human blondes.

Lost Boy

A 3-year-old boy lost his way during an attempt to visit his father at a farm field in Brazil. For 12 days the small child walked alone in the Amazon rain forest, eating wild plants to stay alive.

"Relatives, local residents, and rescue teams found the boy after a nonstop search," a trader said. "He seems in good health."

Crocodile Tears

Via CBC News:

When someone pretends to be sad, we sometimes say they "cry crocodile tears," an expression that supposedly comes from an old myth that the reptiles cry while eating their victims.

But a Florida researcher has concluded that crocodiles really do bawl while banqueting, though for physiological reasons rather than out of a pretense of remorse.

Crows

Miniature cameras revealed secrets about New Caledonian crows.

Fishing Ban

WWF: "Reef fish and other marine species can breathe easier with the introduction of a fishing ban around Apo Reef, the largest coral reef in the Philippines and the second largest contiguous reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef."

Cobras

Jeremy Grange of the BBC got a close look at cobras in India.

Arizona

A U.S. Border Patrol agent fired his gun at a charging cougar near the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona. The mountain lion ran away.

Several years ago, I went with an old-timer to look at property in the Arizona desert. "Do you see many rattlesnakes around here?" I asked.

"I have spent 25 years in the desert," he told me. "I have never seen a rattlesnake."

"Come over here by me," I said. "Your're standing next to one."

Dolphins

Seventy-nine dead dolphins washed ashore near the Iranian port of Jask. Surprisingly, nobody in Tehran blamed the deaths on the U.S. Navy's dolphins of war.

Lion Hunt

Authorities gave rangers permission to kill two escaped lions in South Africa.

Previous: Lions on the Run

Bonny River

Pirates with automatic weapons robbed passengers on four boats in Nigeria's Bonny River. During the well-planned attacks on the vessels, the raiders kidnapped two people and injured several other travelers.

Three Strikes

Near Phnom Penh a six-foot cobra bit a Cambodian man three times. The 36-year-old victim told friends: "Don't worry. It's nothing a drink can't fix." Unfortunately, the victim died before he reached a bar.

Surprise Package

In the Philippines a customs officer found spiders and scorpions in the mail.

Jellyfish Invasion

Madeleine Brand at NPR: "Giant jellyfish are flooding into the Sea of Japan."

Crocodiles

Crocodiles killed a 23-year-old man in Botwana. Fisherman recovered most of the victim's body from a river.

End of a Marriage

A judge granted a divorce to save a man's penis.

Arundhati

The plight of old Arundhati sparked a major debate about the lack of medical care for wildlife in India. On Tuesday night the octogenarian elephant succumbed to her injuries.

Grandfather

In the Indian state of Uttarakhand, a grandfather freed his grandson from the jaws of a leopard.

"The old man fought with his fists until he forced the cat to release the 6-year-old child," a trader said.

Orangutans

Wild orangutans may become extinct within the next 15 years. The Japan Times has the details in an article by David McNeill.

Sulu Sea

A cargo ship sank in the Sulu Sea.

"Rescuers found four men from the vessel," a sailor said. "Sharks ate some of the 14 missing crew members."

Blacksmiths

Little has changed in hundreds of years for the Wahunzi blacksmiths. Daniel Dickinson of BBC News has a report.

Bizarre Mishap

Last week an estimated 10,000 wildebeest drowned when they tried to cross Kenya's Mara River during their annual migration.

"The wildebeest chose a crossing point that was too steep," a witness said.

Inca Child Sacrifice

The Wellcome Trust: "Hair samples from naturally preserved child mummies discovered at the world's highest archaeological site in the Andes have provided a startling insight into the lives of the children chosen for sacrifice."

American Money

Taliban insurgents hanged a 15-year-old boy for having U.S. currency in his pocket.

Fire Island

A volcano killed several Yemeni soldiers on a small island in the Red Sea.

(Photo by MCpl Kevin Paul, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)