ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Stolen 3-month-old kitten returned with apology note

MINNEAPOLIS

A man stole a 3-month-old kitten from a Minneapolis pet store, only to return it the next day with an apology note.

Ruff Start Rescue partners with PetSmart on pet adoptions. Its cat intake coordinator, Abbey Lynn, tells KSTP-TV a man went inside a Minneapolis PetSmart on Friday asking to look at the cats.

When the man was done, a manager locked up the cages and left him alone.

Another employee walked by shortly after and noticed the lock on the kitten’s cage had been cut with a bolt cutter.

Ruff Start Rescue says the kitten was returned unharmed Saturday in a box at a Roseville PetSmart with an apology note. The writer said he didn’t have money, and wanted to give the kitten as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Rare monkey eaten by otters in accident at British zoo

LONDON

A British zoo says an endangered monkey that accidentally fell into a pond was eaten by otters.

Bristol Zoo Gardens say the rare golden lion tamarin monkey, a squirrel-sized species native to Brazil, was climbing on a branch when it fell and became trapped in the otter enclosure last month.

The zoo said staff arrived too late to intervene.

The zoo made the statement after a whistleblower disclosed a series of animal deaths at the institution, including an endangered Visayan warty piglet that was eaten by its father shortly after it was born in December.

The zoo said the male pig, Elvis, also attacked and killed the piglet’s mother.

The zoo’s director of conservation Christoph Schwitzer said despite their best efforts, keepers are unable to prevent unforeseen accidents.

Insects inside stuffed toy gross out Portland mother

PORTLAND, Ore.

A Portland woman says she was grossed out when a seam on her 3-year-old daughter’s stuffed toy split open, exposing an infestation of bugs inside.

Kamren Weiler told KATU the toy is filled with wheat and lavender and is intended to be microwaved for aromatherapy.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture says the wheat apparently attracted grain weevils.

Weiler says hundreds of them spilled out when she dumped out the contents of the stuffed animal.

Weevils are a pest that can infest a variety of foods but are not a direct threat to humans.

Associated Press