London Zoo welcomes first tiger cub in 17 years
London: For the first time in 17 years, a tiger cub has been born at London Zoo, with the moment of the birth captured by hidden cameras in a top secret operation. Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to a single cub of the critically endangered sub-species on September 22 during a six-minute labour, the zoo said.
For around 105 days, zookeepers have kept the pregnancy under wraps in order to monitor Melati through hidden cameras that were installed to keep an eye on the first-time mother. It is through these cameras that staff were able to record the birth that lasted only six-minutes. Opened by Prince Phillip in March, Tiger Territory was designed specifically to encourage breeding of this critically endangered and declining sub-species. “We are simply over-the-moon about the birth of the tiger cub; it’s a momentous occasion for everyone at ZSL London Zoo and a real cause for celebration,” Zookeeper Paul Kybett said.
“We were nervous about the pregnancy, as it was Melati’s first cub and we didn’t know how she’d react. When it came to her due date, we were all watching our monitors with bated breath. “The actual birth happened very quickly and Melati’s maternal instincts kicked in immediately, as she started licking the cub all over and it soon began wriggling around – we couldn’t have asked for a smoother birth!” he said.
Kybatt said it’s still very early days, so they are leaving Melati alone to take care of her baby. Cameras allow the staff to watch them both from a distance – and so far Melati is proving to be a doting mother, he said. The new arrival, whose sex is not yet known, is a direct descendant of the zoo’s last cub, Hari, who is the father of mother Melati. Currently snuggled in Tiger Territory’s special cubbing dens with Melati, the cub will remain off-show for a few more weeks, until Melati is ready to show it off to the world. (PTI)
US man survives shooting himself in heart with nail gun
Washington: A 58-year-old man in Minnesota narrowly escaped death after he accidentally shot himself in the heart with a nail gun. Eugene Rakow, a self-employed carpenter from St Bonifacius, was working on his neighbour’s deck last week when the nail gun kicked back and the 3.5-inch nail pierced his chest.
“I was leaning against a board with the gun. I had the gun at an angle, chest level, and it jumped and I still had my hand on the trigger. It impaled the nail in my chest,” Rakow said. “I could feel it gurgle a little, crunch a little. I knew it wasn’t good,” he told Star Tribune. The father of seven ran to his truck and phoned his wife, Carmen Rakow, who drove him to the hospital.
The doctors said Rakow “was extremely lucky, first that he was able to get to a hospital and second that the nail missed the coronary artery by about 2 millimetres twice – going in and going out,” said a spokeswoman for Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where Rakow was treated.
“The sternum also acted as a 2-by-4 and stopped the nail from going in deeper than it did. In the end, [the doctor] put two stitches in the heart,” she said. Rakow was discharged two days later and is taking some months off work. (PTI)
10-year-old takes Zurich university maths class
Geneva: A 10-year-old boy who passed a Swiss final high school maths exam for fun is taking a special course in the subject at prestigious Zurich University, the institution said today. Maximilan Janisch, whose father is a retired maths professor, is the youngest child to ever be allowed to follow such a course at the university, its president Michael Hengartner told AFP.
“He’s a very intelligent child,” Hengartner said, pointing out that the boy, whose parents are German, “understands a lot of concepts for his age”. Gifted Janisch has already skipped three grades in primary school, but cannot officially enrol at the university since he does not have a complete high school diploma. Instead, he will follow a specialised course aimed at talented high school seniors wanting to get a leg-up on the university curriculum.
UK teen plunges to death while trying to save brother
London: In a heroic act, a 16-year-old boy in the UK slipped and fell 60 feet to his death from a cliff while trying to save his younger brother. The brave-heart teenager Toby Hart slipped off the cliff while trying to stop his 11-year-old sibling Stephen, with special needs, from getting too close to the edge in July last year, an inquest heard on Tuesday. The youngster fell onto rocks at the beach. He was taken by an air ambulance to the Royal Cornwall Hospital where he died of head injuries, the ‘Daily Express’ reported. The parents of the boy said there were no warning signs about the dangers of the cliff but they felt it would not have stopped his death. (PTI)