Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Mummified cat finds home in museum EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Contractors renovating a building in Edinburgh, Scotland, were surprised to find a mummified cat believed about 180 years old under basement floorboards. Advertisement In fact, none of the workers would even touch the cat, which has distinct features and its paw resting on its face, The Scotsman reported Tuesday. DX Network Services Manager Angus Philip said he wanted to keep the cat in his new office but some of his employees were grossed out by the find. "It does look quite scary, but I'm fascinated by this kind of thing," he said. "I would take it home, but my wife wouldn't be too happy." Therefore, Philip said he is donating his ancient -- and rather dead -- pet to the National Museum of Scotland. The museum has two other mummified cats in its collection. Its curator told The Scotsman it was common in the 1830s to keep dead animals in buildings to "ward off evil spirits and bring good luck." Advertisement Idaho does not like moose molesters SANDPOINT, Idaho, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- There could be a whole slew of convicted wildlife molesters in Sandpoint, Idaho, if residents don't stop trying to photograph five roving moose on the loose. Just the other day, a crowd of people were following a moose walking down a city street -- among them a woman pushing a baby stroller, the Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee reported Tuesday. "I'm afraid we going to have an individual hurt if people don't get it in their heads that there's nothing we can do about it and to leave the moose alone," Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood told the newspaper. If the humans don't back off, police may start issuing citations for "molesting wildlife," he warned. "We are constantly being contacted by the public who report overzealous individuals attempting to photograph wildlife in the city limits," the chief told the Daily Bee. Out of their habitat, the moose are already stressed and Lockwood said all he wants to do is ward off a possible catastrophe. "Sooner or later Bullwinkle is going to stomp somebody," he warned. Experts debate whether foot is human FREDRICKSBURG, Va., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Experts are roiled in debate about whether a mystery limb found at a Spotsylvania County, Va., landfill is a human foot. Advertisement The Virginia medical examiner's office says its X-ray indicates the 8-inch foot came from some kind of primate, the Fredricksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star reports. That determination led Spotsylvania County Sheriff Howard Smith to call off fire, rescue and sheriff crews that had been sifting through 127 tons of garbage looking for human remains, the newspaper said. The search started Sunday when landfill workers found the limb, which appeared to have been sawed off from a body, the sheriff said. And despite the medical examiner's determination, many experts doubt the limb came from a primate -- at least ones we have seen. A primate rescue center representative said the foot "certainly doesn't resemble the foot of any chimp I've met." Another expert speculated it was the hind foot of a bear and at least one person has speculated there could be a one-footed Bigfoot or Yeti running in the Virginia wild. Donkey whisperer hunts equine fugitive PITTSFIELD, Maine, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Pittsfield, Maine, owners of a runaway donkey have employed the services of a horse psychology expert to recapture the elusive equine. Karina Lewis and her partner, Kirk Stanley, were called to Mary Gaeta and Joe Varricchio's farm Sunday to help catch Jenny, a donkey that has avoided capture since fleeing the farm Jan. 18, the Portland (Maine) Press-Herald reported Tuesday. Advertisement "Some people call me a horse whisperer. Some people call me an equine psychologist," Lewis said. "I like to call myself a problem-solver of people and horses." The donkey has been sighted numerous times and returns daily for food but has always remained just out of reach of her would-be captors. Lewis said that although she was unable to coax the donkey into returning home Sunday, she sees the job as a long-term project. "I'm going to come back several times," Lewis told the newspaper. "I'm not going to give up on this situation."
