Toucan seen flying around Sin City has been rescued
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A toucan seen flying around the Las Vegas desert has been captured by a bird rescue group. The group has been trying to catch the bird for months since he escaped from his owner in November. The toucan named Sam flew into a garage, where the homeowners trapped it until the rescue group could come. Sam was taken to the veterinarian and shows signs of wear and tear, but the group thinks he'll be OK.
A Boston Celtics game-inspired friction test finally pinned down the sneaker squeak
NEW YORK (AP) — A new study uses physics to uncover why sneakers squeak on the basketball court. Scientists slid a shoe against a smooth glass plate over and over, filming it and recording the squeaking sounds with a microphone. As the shoe works hard to keep its grip, the sole changes shape thousands of times per second as it momentarily loses and then regains contact with the floor at a frequency that matches the pitch of the loud squeak we hear. These insights can help scientists understand essential questions about friction, which has important practical applications. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
She sang her national anthem during karaoke. Now she's under arrest
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) — Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested a woman who sang the national anthem in a high-tempo style during karaoke. A police report on Tuesday accused 64-year-old Amarilis Brito Rodríguez of disrespecting the anthem. A video from earlier this month shows her singing and moving to the beat as diners join in. Police say they found her at her home and arrested her on Monday. Brito told reporters she wrote her version 22 years ago. She said she meant no harm and did not know it was illegal. Social media users are split over the arrest.
A settlement is reached in a case tied to eBay's bizarre deliveries and harassment campaign
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts couple who were targeted in a harassment campaign by former eBay employees have reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the company. David and Ina Steiner run an online newsletter covering the e-commerce industry and said the company tried to silence them to stifle their reporting on eBay. They said employees sent them threatening messages and disturbing anonymous deliveries, including live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig mask. Seven former employees were criminally charged, and most pleaded guilty to conspiracy and cyberstalking. In 2024, eBay agreed to pay a $3 million penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement. Settlement terms in the civil case were not disclosed.
A bumper berry harvest has New Zealand's weird flightless parrot in a rare mood for romance
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand conservationists have been fighting for years to keep the kakapo, the world’s only flightless parrot, from disappearing, with intensive conservation efforts. Now they're hoping for a record number of chicks in February after a bumper crop of rimu berries sparked rare mating activity. Over three decades, the number of kakapo has risen from about 50 to more than 200. Kakapo live on three remote, predator-free islands. Each bird gets a name, a tracker and managed matches to protect genetic diversity. One female has gone viral as New Zealanders follow a livestream of her underground nest, where a chick hatched on Tuesday.
Otters enjoy a snow day in Maryland during winter storm
BALTIMORE (AP) — A pair of otters got an early start to enjoying a snow day in Maryland. Security cameras captured the fun at 7 a.m. at Baltimore’s National Aquarium, which described the otters as “rolling, sliding and romping through the snow on the aquarium’s education deck.” One otter took a running start before launching into a slide along the deck. The aquarium wrote in a Facebook post that while Marylanders may have been fretting about the snow, the otters visiting the Harbor Wetland exhibit were not. Otters are common in Maryland’s rivers, marshes and tidal areas.
Reggae the seal uses rubber ducks for daily enrichment training at Boston aquarium
BOSTON (AP) — A video of Reggae, a 33-year-old Atlantic harbor seal at the New England Aquarium, hugging and fetching a rubber duck has drawn attention on social media. But trainers say the playful routine is part of a structured enrichment program designed to keep seals mentally and physically engaged. Reggae practices memory and problem-solving through exercises like matching objects placed around his rocky-shore habitat. Aquarium officials say the sessions also help build trust between animals and trainers. The Boston aquarium’s harbor seals, many born there, often live longer than their wild counterparts, a longevity the institution attributes to veterinary care, training and daily enrichment activities.
Galápagos park releases 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises on Floreana to restore the ecosystem
FLOREANA ISLAND, Ecuador (AP) — Giant tortoises have returned to Floreana Island in Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago as conservationists release 158 juvenile hybrids to restore the ecosystem. On Friday, the 8- to 13-year-old tortoises started roaming their new habitat as the first winter rains arrive. Fredy Villalba of the Galápagos National Park says the juveniles are big enough to fend off rats and cats. Officials plan a gradual release of 700 tortoises. Christian Sevilla, director of ecosystems of the Galapagos National Park, says the animals carry 40% to 80% of the genes of the Floreana giant tortoise. Scientists trace their lineage to Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.
Thai police go undercover as lion dancers to nab a serial burglar
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police say they've caught an elusive serial burglar by going undercover as lion dancers at a temple fair. Police say the 33-year-old broke into a senior police commander’s home three times this month, stealing valuables worth about 2 million baht, but evaded three attempts to arrest him. Bangkok police released a video that shows officers in a red-and-gold lion costume moving closer to the suspect as he walked through an annual fair in Nonthaburi near Bangkok on Wednesday. An officer then drops the lion's papier-mache head before lunging at the suspect and pinning him to the ground. Police traced the suspect through stolen amulets he sold. They say he confessed.
