UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Hippo quietly moved across country

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The National Zoo in Washington said the departure of a 5,000-pound hippo for Milwaukee was handled discretely with a covered crate on a flatbed truck.

Officials at the zoo said Happy the hippopotamus was trucked from the zoo Monday morning without any fanfare to avoid upsetting the animal during the 18-hour drive to Wisconsin's Milwaukee County Zoo, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

"It wasn't in his interest to have him see out (of the crate), or to have anybody be able to see in," National Zoo spokeswoman Karin Korpowski-Gallo said of the hippo.

The move came more than a year after the National Zoo said it was seeking a new home for Happy because his enclosure in the elephant house has been slated for demolition as part of renovation plans.

Officials at the Milwaukee zoo said Happy arrived safely about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

"He was in good spirits when he arrived," spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti said. "He started eating shortly after he was unloaded. He appeared to be in good shape."

Chicagoans getting free chocolate

CHICAGO, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- An unscientific survey of 350 U.S. cities has found that Chicagoans are most in need of a little joy, a candy company says.

The city that poet Carl Sandburg called "hog butcher for the world" is going to receive free chocolate from Mars Snackfood, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

The company says Chicago topped New York, Houston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland as the city most in need of chocolate.

Mars plans to give away 50,000 samples of its M&M's, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Dove and 3 Musketeers between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday at Pioneer Plaza on Michigan Avenue.

Large gator found in Florida school

NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Officials at a Florida elementary school said a 7-foot alligator that wandered into the school was safely removed before children arrived.

Naples police said they received a call about a large alligator in Lake Park Elementary School at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and a trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was sent to remove it, the Naples Daily News reported Wednesday.

"The trapper arrived very quickly and was able secure the alligator before any children arrived," Lake Park Elementary Principal Tamie Stewart said. "Everyone was safe. We were most appreciative of everyone's help."

Naples police spokesman Mike Herman said an exact measurement of the reptile was not taken, but it was estimated at 7 to 8 feet long.

Officer Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said alligators measuring longer than 4 feet are usually euthanized by authorities.

"If the gator is smaller than 4 feet its relocated," Pino said. "Nine times out of 10, the gators that are going to be roaming around the street are the bigger gators."

Neighborhood fills with venomous snakes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Residents of a Florida neighborhood said nearby road construction caused the area to become overrun with venomous snakes.

The Jacksonville neighbors said their problems with cottonmouths and water moccasins began when the reptiles' habitat was disturbed by construction to widen an Interstate 295 off-ramp to Old St. Augustine Road, WXJT-TV, Jacksonville, reported Wednesday.

Several residents said they have had to kill a number of the invading serpents. Bill Richardson, whose dog was bitten by a water moccasin, said he has killed 19 of them.

"Every couple days, there's at least a baby out back," Richard said. "Nothing can work. Moth balls or anything."

Residents said they are hoping officials will step in and help out.

"I know it's the responsibility of the homeowner, but that's a lot of wetlands," one resident said. "We're not going to chase them in there, so how do you maintain?"