Man Saves Black Bear From Drowning

Animal Had Wandered Into Fla. Neighborhood; Bolted Into Gulf Of Mexico After Being Hit With Tranquilizer Dart. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist pulled off a daring rescue off the Panhandle — that of a bear.

Officials say a 375-pound male black bear was seen roaming a residential neighborhood, evidently in search of food, near Alligator Point, some 40 miles south of Tallahassee.

The bear was hit with a tranquilizer dart, but he managed to bolt into the Gulf of Mexico before the drugs took effect.

At that point, FWC biologist Adam Warwick jumped in to keep the bear, who was some 25 yards offshore, from drowning.

Unprecedented attempt to revive Indian tiger population

JAIPUR, India – In an unprecedented attempt to revive the tiger population in western India, authorities airlifted a female tiger to a national reserve Friday where it will join a male tiger delivered there last week.

The tigers were carried by Indian Air Force helicopters to Sariska Tiger Reserve in the western state of Rajasthan, whose entire tiger population has been wiped out by poachers in the last five years.

Poaching and a vanishing habitat have savaged Indian tigers, which were believed to number in the tens of thousands a century ago. The tiger population has dropped from nearly 3,600 five years ago to about 1,400, according to the latest tiger census in February.

Environmentalists hailed the airlifting of the tigers from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, one of India’s most popular places for tourists to see tigers, to Sariska.

Mail carrier catches baby under window

ALBANY, N.Y. — A postal worker is credited with saving a 1-year-old girl by catching her after she fell out of a second-story window in Albany, N.Y.

Lisa Harrell was delivering mail to a home yesterday morning when she noticed a baby in an open window above the front door. Harrell says the next thing she knew, the baby fell into her arms.

When the baby’s mother realized what happened, she ran outside and grabbed the girl. The woman thanked Harrell and then ran to her mother’s house.

Paramedics checked the baby and found no injuries.

No charges are being filed against the mother, who says she had placed her daughter on a bed that was up against the window. The mother says her back was turned when her daughter crawled out.

Associated Press
April 22, 2008

Dogs Give Up Their Lives to Save Family

Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever/collie mix who was once rescued as an abused puppy, returned the favor to her owners by alerting them to a house fire. With help from Maddie, a 6-month-old golden retriever, Bella helped get Sue Feuling and her 9-year-old daughter, Mckenzie, out of the house last week. The dogs didn’t make it.

”Those dogs were without a doubt the heroes,” said Winona Assistant Fire Chief Jim Multhaup.

Bella had jumped on Feuling’s bed early Friday morning and started barking, and Feuling then smelled smoke, grabbed her daughter and rushed out of the house.

But Feuling couldn’t coax the dogs out of the house, even when she tried to run back in to yell for them.

”Bella must have thought Mckenzie was still in the house,” Feuling said.

A firefighter who arrived at the scene tried to save the dogs, but it was too late. The Feulings were taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation monitoring, but were OK, Multhaup said.

The fire, which was caused by an overloaded electrical outlet, gutted the home, Multhaup said.

While an assistance fund was set up, Sue Feuling said she was only thinking about her dogs. ”Everything I lost is nothing compared to them,” she said.

Information from: Winona Daily News, http://www.winonadailynews.com

Malaysian Man Saves 100 From Sinkhole

A Malaysian man paying a late-night visit to the toilet has saved about 100 people from being buried in the rubble of their homes, reports say.

Renjis Empati was visiting an outside lavatory when he noticed part of his communal longhouse collapsing.

He shouted to alert his sleeping neighbours to the danger. Shortly after, the entire building gave way.

Longhouses are large communal buildings used by indigenous groups in the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.