Dogs, Frogs, and Other Critters

Animals have been in the news lately, and I can't resist. First, the good news:

Dog Gives Heimlich Maneuver

Toby, the golden retriever, saved his owner's life Friday.

[Debbie] Parkhurst said she was home alone with the dogs Friday afternoon when she decided to snack on an apple.

Suddenly, she said, a chunk of the fruit became wedged in her windpipe.

“It was lodged pretty tight because I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I tried to do the thing where you lean over a chair and give yourself the Heimlich, but it didn’t work.”

Parkhurst said she then began beating her chest, an action that might have attracted Toby’s attention.

“The next think I know, Toby’s up on his hind feet and he’s got his front paws on my shoulders,” she recalled. “He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest.”

Toby’s jumping apparently managed to dislodge the apple from Parkhurst’s windpipe.

“I, literally, have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest,” Parkhurst said. “I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK.”

Killer Frogs in San Francisco

This one is is from the March 12, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle.

It's like something out of an animal horror movie -- killer frogs take over peaceful pond, then after terrorizing and eating everything alive, start eating each other.

Only it's no movie. It's really happening in Golden Gate Park's Lily Pond, near the California Academy of Sciences. And after watching the frogs chew through everything in sight over the past several years, the city finally wants to do something about it.

No one knows for sure when the African clawed frogs got into the pond or who put them there. But there they are, and the Toad Warriors have pretty much taken care of the native turtles, frogs and fish.

"They've eaten everything they can get their mouths around, and now they're eating each other," said Eric Mills of the animal rights group Action for Animals.

The city has been trying unsuccessfully since 2003 to eradicate the frogs.

Killer Toads in Australia

As a public service to readers in Australia, I offer this warning from the Scotsman (UK) today.

A MONSTER cane toad the size of a small dog has been captured by an environmental group dedicated to wiping out the toxic amphibian, which has killed countless animals since being introduced to Australia in the 1930s.

The male specimen weighing 2.9lb and almost 1ft 6in is the largest to be caught anywhere in the Northern Territory, according to environmental group FrogWatch.

The creature was one of 39 toads caught in the middle of a breeding frenzy said FrogWatch co-ordinator and chief "toadbuster" Graeme Sawyer.

"The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male," he said.

"We kill them with carbon dioxide gas, stockpile them in a big freezer and then put them through a liquid fertiliser process that renders the toads nontoxic," Mr Sawyer said.

"It turns out to be sensational fertiliser," he added.

First released in Queensland, cane toads have since multiplied across Australia, poisoning millions of native animals, including crocodiles in World Heritage-listed Kakadu.

These toads were introduced to Australia in an attempt to eradicate the cane beetle. But the toads couldn't reach the beetles at the top of the sugar cane, so they were left to breed and expand their territory. Another case of unintended consequences...

Baby Polar Bear Blamed for Panda Death

Knut, the baby polar bear, who recently rocketed to fame when animal rights groups called for his death rather than leaving him in the care of human beings, is back in the news.

The Times Online (UK) reported today that some people, including the Bild newspaper, are starting to blame Knut for the sudden death Monday of Yan Yan the panda.

He may look cute and cuddly but Knut, the world’s most famous polar bear cub, stands accused of conspiracy to murder.

As thousands of wellwishers flocked to Berlin Zoo to coo and sigh over his antics, few were aware of the tragedy that unfolded only a cage or two away. Yan Yan, the zoo’s most popular resident until Knut’s arrival, died suddenly aged 22.

A gift from the Chinese leadership to Helmut Kohl, the former German Chancellor, Yan Yan spent much of her time lying on her back chomping at bamboo shoots and was, by all accounts, a happy panda. Heinrich Kloes, the zoo’s chief bear curator, said there that had been no signs of illness.

But something changed on Monday, days after Knut’s introduction to tumultuous crowds, and Yan Yan lay down and died. The cause of death has yet to be determined but already fingers are being pointed at three-month-old Knut.

As many visitors were unable to see Knut through the crowds, they moved on to pay their respects to Yan Yan. Flashbulbs popped from dawn to dusk. That, according to Bild, may have been too much for Yan Yan to bear. “She seemed restless and intimidated,” the newspaper said. The verdict: fatal stress induced by Knut, or at least by his fans.

Poor little Knut. It's a tough job being cute.