California mountain lion shot dead confirmed as cat that attacked boy

A mountain lion that was shot out of a tree by California wildlife officers has been confirmed by DNA testing to be the same cat that attacked a 6-year-old boy earlier this week, state officials said on Friday.

Samples of DNA taken from the 74-pound cougar during a necropsy and forensic examination matched saliva left on the boy's shirt following the encounter on Sunday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a written statement.

Lab tests also determined that the mountain lion was about two years old, healthy and did not have rabies, the department said.

The boy was hiking on a trail with family and friends in a densely wooded preserve adjacent to a winery, just west of the town of Cupertino, when the mountain lion pounced on him and tried to drag him away, his parents told officials.

The boy's father and another man in the group rushed shouting at the animal, and it retreated into the woods.

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Police officer shoots tortoise

8 July 2014, 11:25

A Ugandan police officer has reportedly shot a tortoise dead after being attacked by the "aggressive" creature.

The incident happened in the Nebbi district in the north of the country near the Congolese border, reports the BBC.

Charles Onegiu told the New Vision newspaper that the animal entered his home and attacked him while he was enjoying a post-work cup of tea.

"I tried to scare it but the tortoise became very aggressive. I took a stick to chase it but it instead became more violent," he said.

After attempting to fend off the tortoise with a plastic chair, he said he "instinctively" drew his firearm and shot it dead.

A local Christian group later prayed for Onegiu, "before burning the dead reptile to ashes".

Nebbi district police commander Onesmus Mwesigwa said that his officer's extreme reaction to the attack may have been down to local superstitions.

After consulting local elders and colleagues, Mwesigwa appealed for calm "from residents and police officers, maintaining that lives are not in danger as they may have assumed".

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Police_officer_shoots_tortoise

Poachers shot dead in northern Kenya

Arrests made in Kenya's Isiolo county

January 2013. Two suspected poachers have been shot dead and a rifle, 12 rounds of ammunition and eight pieces of ivory recovered in Kenya's Isiolo County. The two deceased men were believed to be part of a poaching gang that has been linked to a spate of elephant poaching in the area.

Laikipia and Samburu elephant population of 6,454
Preliminary result in a 2012 aerial census estimate elephant population at 6,454 in the 59,000 km2 Laikipia, Samburu and Marsabit ecosystem. Kenya has about 39,000 elephants in total.

A few days before the suspected poachers were shot, two poaching suspects were arrested in possession of ivory weighing 19kgs and a carbine rifle in the same area. KWS officials were following up information volunteered by members of the public that led to the arrest of the gang.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kenya-poachers013.html

Tiger Shot Dead After Killing Zookeeper

A tiger has been shot dead after killing a female zookeeper in Germany.

Police said the giant male cat, called Altai, appears to have walked through a gate which was not shut properly at Cologne Zoo.

It got into an adjacent storage building, and mauled the 43-year-old keeper, who later died of her wounds in hospital.

The zoo's director Theo Pagel told how he used a rifle to shoot the four-year-old Siberian tiger through the building's skylight before it could make its way to the visitor areas.

"Today is surely the most terrible day in my career. We have lost a keeper today who was attacked by our male tiger," he added.

"As it appears, it was a question of inadvertence. Out of respect for the family, we will not name the person.

"I was not at the zoo at the time, and I only came later and shot and killed the animal so that we could enter the enclosure and take a look.

"But the employee was already dead."

Police said it was unlikely that members of the public had witnessed the attack which happened at noon on Saturday.

Officers briefly cleared the area, but the zoo later reopened for visitors.

Cologne Zoo was founded in 1860, and is one of the oldest and best-known zoos in the country. It is home to some 10,000 animals from 700 species.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/tiger-kills-keeper-german-zoo-120829386.html