Ice cream keeps Rio zoo animals cool in heatwave
Rio De Janeiro: Ice cream, fruit and copious helpings of frozen meat has helped keep the sweltering inhabitants of Rio’s zoo cool as temperatures soared. Zoo staff handed out the treats as the thermometer touched 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) yesterday. Chimpanzee Paulinho, 30, bagged two ice creams before bounding off to seek shade, while orangutan Else, 35, and her daughter Tanga, 20, gobbled an assortment of fruit. Carla the elephant wolfed down 50 kilos (110 pounds) of ice cream dragged in by her handler, while Gabi, an eight-year-old jaguar, preferred to slurp on a hunk of frozen meat. “The animals have a problem with the heat like all of us — sunstroke, dehydration, apathy. So we are taking measures to deal with the problems the heat can generate,” zookeeper Karla Cunha told. The zoo has spent weeks preparing stocks of frozen food for the hot and sticky weather which assails Rio this time of year, high summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The zoo also must ensure the animals have access to water — via pools or sprinklers. Meanwhile vegetation is left untrimmed to ensure maximum shade. Providing cool meals “refreshes the animal and stimulates memory function, as well as the palate,” Cunha said. She noted that some of the meat-eaters, notably the tiger, lie on top of the meat as an additional means of keeping cool. Watching Gabi the jaguar take a pre-lunch pool dip, visitor Aline Montez wished she could join. “Look how cool he is over there while we’re here baking in the heat,” Montez quipped. (AFP)
Elephants make mischief in Thai national park
Bangkok: Whether stressed out, frisky or just craving a snack, wild bull elephants have been causing havoc in a Thai national park — shocking visitors by stomping on cars and raiding restaurants. In the latest incident on Tuesday a 30-year-old elephant named “Duan” — “amputated” in Thai, on account of his damaged tail — destroyed a small restaurant because he was apparently unable to resist the aroma of cooking food. “He wanted to get salt, sugar and other seasoning. He likes them,” Kanchit Srinoppawan, head of Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand, told. The giant pachyderm needs the minerals along with the 200 kilogram daily food intake, he added. In the most startling incident another male elephant stomped on the bonnet of an occupied car with his front two legs, before momentarily sitting on the vehicle. The car was among dozens visiting the park on Saturday, Thailand’s Children’s Day. “The drivers stopped when they saw the elephant and the elephant could not cross the road so he felt stressed and stomped the car,” Kanchit explained. “It pushed the car with its tusks and the bonnet fell off,” Kanchit said, adding the young male elephant then headed back into the forest. It was the second time since January 1 that the same bull had attacked a vehicle. Authorities in the vast park, which is home to at least 300 wild elephants, have urged visitors to take care if they see an elephant — more so since it is mating season and the bulls can become aggressive. “When you see an elephant do not honk, do not flash your car lights, do not take photos and keep your engine running,” Kanchit said. But ultimately the protected park belongs to the wildlife, Kanchit said, adding “we must balance between people, wild animals and tourism”. (AFP)
9-year-old boy arrested in US for stealing gum!
Los Angeles: In a shocking incident, a 9-year-old boy in the US was arrested for allegedly stealing a pack of gum. Police in Post Falls, Idaho, arrested the boy who failed to appear in court on charges of stealing gum. The petty theft actually took place over the summer, but a Post Falls officer made the arrest last week, Police Chief Scott Haug said. “A local judge issued an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old for failure to appear in court,” he told CNN. “Our officer located the child sometime last week, transported the child to the detention facility. The child was not handcuffed and was treated very well,” Haug said. Even so, the police chief called the arrest warrant for the child “odd” and said “it is a most unusual circumstance.” The arrest warrant was issued after the boy missed two court appearances, Haug said. The chief said he thinks the court appearances were missed because the boy’s mother was having difficulty finding transportation. “If we had known that, we could have helped sooner with transportation,” he said. Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said he now regrets what happened to the boy. “After reviewing the file today, I have concluded that my office’s request to have an arrest warrant issued was a mistake under the circumstances,” McHugh told USA Today yesterday. McHugh said the boy did not go to jail and was released Friday — the same day he was arrested. “I regret this having taken place and will do everything in my power to avoid this type of mistake in the future,” he said. (PTI)
Thai surrogate mothers seek custody of babies
Bangkok: The surrogate mothers of nine babies fathered by a Japanese man and taken into care by Thai authorities last year have launched legal proceedings to regain custody of the infants, an official said today. The alleged father, who was at the time was reported by Japanese media to be the son of an IT millionaire, left Thailand as a surrogacy scandal erupted in August following the discovery of nine babies in a Bangkok apartment. Tests revealed he is the biological father of at least 15 babies born to surrogates in the kingdom, although his motives for fathering so many children remain unclear. Thai social services have been caring for the nine infants for the last six months, although the mothers have been allowed regular visits. Six of the mothers, who police said were each paid around USD 12,500 to be surrogates, have now launched civil proceedings to get their babies back. “They are seeking custody of the children,” Suvanna Pinkaew, an official from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, told AFP. Their lawsuit, filed at a juvenile and family court, alleges that authorities are failing to care for the children adequately, she added, though she rejected the accusation. “We never said the mothers cannot get the children back… but they need to pass through the ministry’s process,” Suvanna said. That process includes proving they can care for the children and have a child-safe family background, the official added.Thailand’s shadowy commercial surrogacy industry was thrust into the limelight in August 2014 following accusations that an Australian couple abandoned a baby born with Down’s syndrome, but took his healthy twin sister. The couple denied deliberately leaving the boy, called Gammy, with the Thai surrogate mother, who was paid around USD 15,000 to carry the twins. Paid surrogacy is officially banned by the Medical Council of Thailand and authorities moved to close several IVF clinics in the weeks after the scandal. A new law to tighten loopholes is also under consideration by the kingdom’s National Legislative Assembly. It carries tough penalties that could see anyone found guilty of involvement in the trade jailed for 10 years. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of foreign couples are thought to have been left in limbo after entering into surrogacy arrangements through clinics in the kingdom before the summer’s scandals. (AFP)
US woman charged in USD 2M fake death insurance scam
Minneapolis: A woman is accused of defrauding an insurance company of USD 2 million in her ex-husband’s staged death and her son is accused of helping cover up the scheme. Irina Vorotinov, 47, is charged with one count of mail fraud and her 25-year-old son, Alkon Vorotinov, is charged with one count of concealing a felony. Both appeared yesterday in US District Court in St Paul. Prosecutors allege Vorotinov staged her ex-husband’s death in the eastern European country of Moldova. According to the complaint, Igor Vorotinov bought a life insurance policy on his own life in April 2010 and listed Irina Vorotinov and their son as beneficiaries. In October 2011, police in Moldova were called about a dead body at the entrance of the Cojusna village. A passport, hotel cards and phone numbers recovered from the body identified the man as Igor Vorotinov. Irina Vorotinov traveled to Moldova and identified the body as her former husband, prosecutors said. At her request, the body was cremated in Odessa, Ukraine, and she returned to US and filed a death claim, the complaint alleges. The insurance company sent Irina Vorotinov a USD 2 million check, and she and her son opened a bank account and deposited it, prosecutors said. (AP)Between March 29, 2012, and this month, the mother and son transferred more than USD 1.5 million of the life insurance proceeds to accounts in Switzerland and Moldova, the complaint said. According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, a tipster in Moldova told an FBI special agent in June 2013 that Igor Vorotinov had staged his death overseas and was living in Ukraine under a new identity. In November 2013, customs agents stopped Alkon Vorotinov in Detroit as he returned from a trip to Moldova, and dates of digital photos on his computer showed his father was still alive, the complaint said. It was not immediately clear if the mother and son have attorneys. A working phone number for either could not be found. (AP) AJR 01141045