TORNADO PICKS UP DOG
A dog was plucked off the ground and whipped more than 100 yards through the air by a mini-tornado, which struck Hokitika, New Zealand on Feb. 21. Britz, a Rhodesian ridgeback, a large breed, was minding his own business in his owners' yard when the twister hit suddenly, the New Zealand Herald reported. After taking refuge in the house for a harrowing 30 seconds, owner Sherry Spark went outside to find the yard wrecked, her garden shed lifted from its foundation and Britz missing. A neighbor told her the tornado had dumped something that looked like Britz in the bushes, but a search of the area did not find him. Ten hours later, however, the dog returned, "pretty shaken up," but unhurt, Spark said.
WORLD'S FATTEST CAT
Katy the cat is one big kitty -- topping the scales at 50 pounds, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. The 5-year-old Siamese, who lives in the Russian town of Asbest in the Ural Mountains, weighs slightly more than the average 6-year-old boy, the BBC and the newspaper Pravda note. Katy's owners are trying to get her into the Guinness Book of Records as the fattest living cat in the world, a distinction currently held by a Minnesota feline that weighed almost 41 pounds. Guinness officials said they are not accepting applications in this category, however, in an effort to encourage people not to over-feed their cats. Katy apparently achieved her girth partly because she was fed hormones to stop her from mating. She has entirely lost interest in sex with her now ex-mate -- the household tomcat Kiska. (Thanks to UPI's Ellen Beck)
WORLD'S SMALLEST DOG
Animal trainer Trevor Smith is hoping to propel pint-sized pooch Whitney into the spotlight after she was confirmed as the world's smallest dog, reports the Web site thisislocallondon.co.uk. Trevor, one of Britain's top animal agents who has provided animals for television and movies such as "Mission Impossible" and "Batman," has signed up the 1-year-old Yorkie from Essex. Whitney measures just six inches long and weighs in at just over 26 ounces. "The dog drinks out of an egg cup and eats her dinner out of a tiny bowl," Trevor says. "She is petrified of postmen and cats want to grab her. I think it is the only dog that is petrified of cats."
WHAT'S KILLING THE FROGS?
The global decline of amphibians -- frogs, toads, or salamanders -- has received a great deal of attention because amphibians are thought to be indicator species, or "canaries in a coal mine" that provide an early warning of environmental degradation. The topic has drawn considerable scientific attention because there is no obvious, simple cause. Researchers are pursuing a handful of explanations for worldwide losses of amphibian populations that are likely to affect all species. Understanding the complexity of the amphibian decline could provide insight into how other species, including humans, could be affected by changes in the environment. As described in the British journal Diversity and Distributions, several of the leading hypotheses for amphibian declines are addressed for the first time. Leaders in the field provide comprehensive reviews of the effects of: non-native species, increased ultraviolet radiation, chemical contaminants, global warming and emerging infectious diseases.
