oddly enough

oddly enough

Lions apparently not enough to keep intruders out

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.

With 120 lions, tigers and other big cats on the grounds, the owner of a Colorado refuge didn’t think he needed a security system.

Nick Sculac says he changed his mind after two January break-ins at Serenity Springs Wildlife Center, 20 miles east of Colorado Springs.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports someone scaled a 10-foot fence lined with barbed wire and cut a hole in a cage, letting three tigers out. Workers found the tigers roaming the compound the next morning.

Days later, employees arriving for work found two people inside the compound trying to pet a cougar through its cage. Sculac says they scaled the outer fence and drove away.

Sculac says nobody was hurt. He hired a guard and is shopping for a security system.

No to love: Uzbekistan nixes Valentine’s Day shows

ALMATY, Kazakhstan

Authorities in Uzbekistan are, apparently, unwilling to give love a chance.

The Russian news agency RIA-Novosti cited several local news sources in the Central Asian nation reporting last week that Uzbekistan has canceled concerts and other events for Valentine’s Day. Instead, residents in the capital of Tashkent can enjoy readings of poems by Mughal emperor Babur, who died in the 16th century.

The unofficial ban on romance-related festivities echoes long-standing antagonism in Uzbekistan toward the holiday. Last year, the Turkiston newspaper described Valentine’s Day as the work of “forces with evil goals bent on putting an end to national values.”

Although most people across former Soviet Central Asia are Muslim, many enjoy celebrating what is nominally a Christian feast.

Associated Press