ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Fla. monkey dodges captors, defies darts

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

A monkey that has eluded capture in the Tampa Bay area for more than a year has again escaped from Florida wildlife officials.

Authorities were called to a neighborhood in St. Petersburg on Wednesday when the rhesus macaque monkey was spotted. It was twice hit with tranquilizer darts but still got away by ducking behind a drugstore and a church.

Wildlife rehabilitator Vernon Yates says the tranquilizers don’t appear to affect the animal, though officials have increased the dosage each time they’ve used the drug on the monkey.

Yates says the monkey is smart, even stopping to check traffic before crossing a busy street.

Officials didn’t say how the monkey got loose. They say it isn’t considered a threat to humans.

Mad emu attacks deputies along freeway

EL PASO, Texas

A mad emu gave deputies a Texas-sized hard time.

El Paso authorities say the big bird was running loose Tuesday, snarling rush-hour traffic near Interstate 10 and attacking deputies trying to restrain it.

Deputies with the El Paso County sheriff’s office tried to prevent the tall, flightless bird from running into traffic. But when deputies neared the emu, it became aggressive and slashed one deputy’s pant leg.

The deputy was not seriously injured.

The emu died as it was being transported to an animal-control shelter. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Mice infest UK’s Westminster Palace

LONDON

The House of Lords has a momentous decision to make: Should it get cats to chase the mice that have infested one of Britain’s most famous buildings?

London’s House of Parliament, also known as Westminster Palace, has rodents, and the peers aren’t exactly sure what to do about it.

Ivan Anthony Moore- Brabazon, the House’s administration chief, turned down suggestions Wednesday to acquire cats. He says the felines could ingest mice poison or wander around the chamber and disrupt business.

He favors the current tactic of using poison and mousetraps.

Parliament staff have reported daily sightings of the rodents in the palace’s restaurants and bars.

The performers’ union Equity says nearby theaters in London’s West End are facing similar problems, with three-quarters of actors and stage managers reporting infestations of mice, rats and fleas, according to The Guardian newspaper.