Interesting & funny news from around the world, Интересные и забавные новости со всего мира

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Man fishes 4-foot alligator out of the Washington Channel in D.C.

A Washington, D.C., man used a net on a pole to make an unusual catch in the Washington Channel — a 4-foot alligator.

The dockmaster at The Wharf Marina in southwest Washington issued an alert Thursday morning that what appeared to be a juvenile alligator had been spotted in the water.

The alert sparked the curiosity of Phoenix Norwood, 23, who was determined to find the non-native reptile.

Norwood located the alligator after about an hour of searching.

"I saw him right there suntanning, and they tried to get it, and he splooshed right back into the water," Norwood told NBC4 Washington.

He retrieved a net and pole from his family's houseboat and took it upon himself to ensnare the gator.

"If I had just let it be on its own, it would have probably swam away again, and authorities were about like 10, 15 minutes away at the time," Norwood told WTOP-TV. "I had to get it at that point in time. I probably should have had shoes on, though."

Norwood kept the alligator contained in the net until animal control personnel arrived.

Officials said the gator was likely a pet that was abandoned by its owner after becoming too large to care for. The animals are not legal to keep as pets in the District, and similar prohibitions are in place in the neighboring states Virginia and Maryland.

"Catching an alligator, that's a rite of passage in Florida, but in the District? Not so much," Norwood said. "You got your lawyers, your politicians, but alligator wranglers? Not exactly."

Animal control said it will work with a rescue group to find an appropriate new home for the alligator.

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Monday marks final day to see 'Chicagohenge' phenomenon

The arrival of fall coincides with an unusual twice-yearly milestone in Chicago, the so-called "Chicagohenge" phenomenon where the sunset and sunrise line up with the city's grid.

The Adler Planetarium said Chicagohenge arrives twice a year, at the start of spring and the beginning of autumn.

The planetarium said the fall Chicagohenge began Friday, and Monday offers the final glimpses of the phenomenon until next spring.

East-facing onlookers saw the sun framed by Chicago's buildings in the morning, and a similar sight could be seen from the west at sundown — but some viewers this year reported cloudy weather spoiling the views.

Monday night's sunset — about 6:47 p.m. local time — will close out this year's Chicagohenge.

"Finding a place to spot Chicagohenge is a no-brainer! Simply find one of Chicago's east-west facing streets, pick a spot 5-10 minutes before sunrise or sunset, and enjoy the view," the planetarium said.

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Big bruins go head to head for Katmai National Park's Fat Bear Week

Katmai National Park in Alaska released the bracket for this year's Fat Bear Week, an annual competition to find the public's favorite big-bellied bruin.

The park released the bracket Monday evening and voting on the first match-ups begins on Tuesday.

"The astonishing salmon runs in Katmai are essential to the survival of the park's ecosystem and brown bears," Katmai Park Superintendent Mark Sturm said in a news release. "Fat Bear Week enables people from around the world to actively engage in learning about bears while cheering for their favorite competitor."

This year's bracket includes 128 Grazer, a female bear who claimed her first Fat Bear Week title in 2023 and became the first pregnant bear to win the competition in 2024.

Other bears in the bracket include fan-favorite 32 Chunk, who recovered from a broken jaw during the summer; Bear 609, who was the 2022 Fat Bear Junior champion; and 128 Junior, Grazer's cub, who was crowned this year's Fat Bear Junior champion.

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Japanese man breaks speed record for running on all fours

A Japanese man channeled his inner quadruped and broke a Guinness World Record by running 328 feet in 14.55 seconds — on all fours.

Ryusei Yonee, 22, broke the record for fastest 100 meters running on all fours, beating American Collin McClure's 2022 time of 15.66 seconds.

Yonee said he has been running on all fours since middle school.

"The teacher said that animals on all-fours can run faster. That made me think: I could be the fastest human on all fours," he told Guinness World Records.

Yonee said he prepared for the record by observing how four-legged animals like dogs, cats and monkeys run.

He said it took some time to adapt his technique to running on a track.

"I was mostly training in the sand," he told Guinness World Records. "The track has a lot more rebound, which changed my running form."

The athlete said more world records are likely in his future.

"I will train harder than ever before. I want to do whatever I can to grow the all-four sports, wherever that may be," he said.

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'Very mean squirrel' terrorizing California neighborhood

Residents of a California neighborhood are warning other locals to beware of "a very mean squirrel" that has sent at least two people to the emergency room.

Joan Heblack, a resident of the Lucas Valley neighborhood in San Rafael, said she was taking her morning walk recently when the squirrel attacked her leg.

"It clamped onto my leg. The tail was flying up here. I was like, 'Get it off me, get off me!' I didn't want to touch it," Heblack told KGO-TV.

Another resident, Isabel Campoy, said she and her daughter were attacked by the rambunctious rodent while walking. Campoy ended up going to the ER with a wound to her arm.

Marie Ayoob said her husband, Joe, also had a confrontation with the squirrel when he tried to get the animal to stop biting his wooden fence.

"It took a big chunk of the wood and we thought, 'Oh my gosh, she's hungry or something.' Joe, my husband, took off his cap and hit it so it can go away, and [the squirrel] turned around and jumped on his head," she told KRON-TV.

Flyers were put up in the neighborhood warning residents to keep an eye out for the "attack squirrel."

"This is not a joke," the flyers read. "More than five people have been attacked by a very mean squirrel over the past few days on Diablo Circle and Mount Lassen."

A representative of the local WildCare wildlife hospital said squirrels do not carry rabies. The animals do sometimes turn aggressive when fed by humans, however.

"WildCare has received numerous calls about a squirrel attacking residents in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael," the representative said. "Unfortunately, the squirrel is most likely approaching people and biting them because he was raised by people, or has been hand-fed by a humans, but is now on his own, uncertain about how to forage, and desperate for food. Squirrels are naturally shy animals."

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Police hunt for pig on the loose in Virginia city

Police in Virginia are asking members of the public to keep an eye out for a fugitive pig that "remains at large" in Charlottesville despite multiple sightings.

The Albemarle County Police Department said reports starting coming in Thursday afternoon about a black pig wandering loose in the area of Owensville and Old Ballard Roads.

"The ACPD Animal Protection Unit is working to locate and confine the animal, but it remains at large,' the department said on social media.

The post urged residents to use caution while driving in the area, as the pig has been seen wandering into roadways.

Police are asking anyone who spots the pig, or has information on the animal's owner, to contact the department.

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Oklahoma family find 2.79-carat gem at Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas

An Oklahoma family celebrating a birthday at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park discovered a brown diamond weighing in at 2.79 carats.

Raynae Madison said she and her family traveled to the park from Cookson, Okla., for her nephew's birthday and brought along a beach digging kit and sand sifting tools they bought from a dollar store.

The family went sifting near Prospector Trailhead, on the north side of the park, and after going through a few buckets worth of sand, spotted a shiny, oblong object.

"At first I thought it looked really neat, but I wasn't sure what it was," Madison said in an Arkansas State Parks news release. "I honestly thought it was too big to be a diamond."

They took the stone to the park's Diamond Discovery Center, where experts confirmed it was a 2.79-carat brown diamond.

"Brown diamonds from the Crater occur due to a process called plastic deformation, which creates structural defects during a diamond's formation or movement in magma," Emma O'Neal, an interpreter at the park, said in the news release. "These defects reflect red and green light, combining to make the diamond appear brown."

Madison dubbed her gem the William Diamond, in honor of her birthday-celebrating nephew.

The park said the William Diamond is the third-largest gem found at the park so far this year.

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Ball python captured in New York park, two more still loose

Animal rescuers in New York said they captured a 4-foot ball python in a Queens park — but two more of the snakes are still on the loose in the area.

Rescue group Puppy Kitty NYC said a group member walking home in Queens witnessed people wrangling three snakes out of the roadway next to Forest Park.

Bystanders helped the rescuer capture one of the snakes, a 4-foot ball python, but the other two managed to escape into the park.

The snake, dubbed Kevin in honor of one of the locals who helped rescue it, was taken to Animal Care Centers of NYC to be placed into an incubator to warm up from the cold weather. Kevin has now been placed with a rescue.

Puppy Kitty NYC said rescuers are now trying to find the other two snakes before the cold weather threatens their lives.

The rescue said police have been made aware of the pythons' presence in the park.

Ball pythons are considered exotic animals in New York and are not allowed as pets in the city.

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Vietnamese man earns record with more than 19 feet of fingernails

Vietnamese man who hasn't cut his fingernails in three decades earned a Guinness World Record when they were measured at a total 19 feet and 6 inches long.

Lưu Công Huyền earned the record for longest fingernails on a pair of hands (male) when his nails were measured at longer than the height of an average adult giraffe.

"These fingernails originally started because my father was a shaman," Huyền told Guinness World Records. "I wanted to become a teacher, so I grew them to look more majestic."

Huyền said he gave up his dreams of teaching at the urging of his father, but kept growing his nails.

"So, I just kept growing them from then on and they just kept getting longer. In short, if I were to trim them off I'd feel really uncomfortable and exhausted, both mentally and physically," he said.

He said maintaining his long nails is a lot of work.

"If it rains, I have to keep them dry. If they get wet, they will soften and fall right off," he said. "In a crowded place, if someone bumps into them, they'll be broken for sure, so I have to protect them. Furthermore, when working I have to be extremely careful. Climbing up and down the scaffolding, every move has to be deliberate. And I mean really careful."

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Wallaby spotted wandering loose in Berlin

Police in Berlin confirmed a wallaby was spotted on the loose in the southwest area of the German capital.

Investigators said the wallaby, an Australian marsupial resembling a small kangaroo, escaped from a private enclosure Sunday in the city's Kladow district.

A witness captured video of the animal wandering loose in the city.

Police said they chased the wallaby for two hours on Sunday before the animal managed to escape into a wooded area.

A police representative confirmed the wallaby remained unaccounted for Monday.

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