Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Four wild elephants from nearby forests paid an unexpected visit to a university in Tanzania’s capital on Tuesday, triggering more entertainment than panic before being chased away by rangers. “When we saw them in the morning, we were initially afraid and informed the …
Read More »Vaccine created to protect Ebola-ravaged chimps
Paris, France | AFP | Scientists said Thursday they have developed a vaccine to shield endangered chimpanzees and gorillas against Ebola, which has wiped out tens of thousands of the wild apes in three decades. The vaccine is given orally, the developers said, which means it could be disguised in …
Read More »Elephants are insomniacs, sleeping just 2 hours a night
Miami, United States | AFP | Elephants hardly ever sleep in the wild, getting around two hours of shut-eye per night and only in the wee hours of the morning, researchers said Wednesday. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE are based on two female wild African elephants — living …
Read More »Why Kenya, Rwanda have banned poultry from Uganda
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan and Rwandan authorities said Wednesday they had banned poultry products from neighbouring Uganda, where a virulent H5 strain of avian flu has broken out. “The government banned importation of poultry and poultry products from Uganda with immediate effect,” said Kenya’s agriculture cabinet secretary Willy …
Read More »Uganda detects bird flu in Entebbe, Masaka
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda announced Sunday it had detected bird flu among migratory birds, without specifying whether it was the particularly virulent H5 strain detected this season in countries worldwide. The agriculture ministry said bird flu had been detected in two spots, one near Entebbe, on the banks …
Read More »Obamas’ dog, perhaps not taking transition well, bites visitor
Washington, United States | AFP | Blood was spilled Monday at the White House, but the culprit’s politics were not to blame: the Obamas’ dog Sunny bit a teenaged guest of the family, leaving a gash above her cheekbone, TMZ reported on Thursday. The 18-year-old girl, whose name has not …
Read More »Baboons make vowel-like sounds, similar to humans
Paris, France | AFP | Baboons make sounds that are similar to the vowels a,e,i,o and u, researchers said Wednesday, suggesting that some monkeys have had the physical capacity for language for millions of years. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE add a new dimension to the long-running debate …
Read More »Year 2016: World burns ivory, battles poaching
Burning ivory, waging war: world battles poaching in 2016 Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | It was one of the most momentous events in the battle against poaching: 11 giant pyres of elephant tusks going up in flames in Kenya as the world looked on. The largest-ever destruction of ivory, which …
Read More »Rare death from snake bite in Australian home
Sydney, Australia | AFP | A man has died a week after being bitten by one of the world’s deadliest snakes in his living room in Australia’s tropical northeast, officials said Tuesday. The 77-year-old, named in local media as David Pitt, was at his home in Cairns when he was …
Read More »Paris rat catchers deployed to tackle rodent scourge
Paris, France | AFP | Paris officials have announced a crackdown on rats which blight parks and gardens around the City of Light and are thought to easily outnumber humans. The city’s rodents were given an image overhaul in 2007 in the hit animated film “Ratatouille” which depicted them cooking …
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