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

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Mysterious shark pup hatches in aquarium tank with no males

Officials at a Louisiana aquarium are investigating the mystery of a swell shark baby that hatched despite its mother having no contact with male sharks for at least three years.

The Shreveport Aquarium said members of its husbandry team were shocked when they spotted an egg in the swell shark tank about eight months ago.

Officials said the tank holds only two female sharks, and neither has had any contact with a male shark in at least three years.

The female pup hatched Jan. 3 and was dubbed Yoko by keepers.

Experts have posited two potential theories for the unusual hatching: parthenogenesis or delayed fertilization.

Parthenogenesis occurs when a female animal reproduces asexually, essentially creating an exact duplicate of itself. This is what was determined to have happened when a female zebra shark at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium hatched an egg without any male contact in 2022.

Delayed fertilization has also been documented in sharks before, and refers to when an egg becomes fertilized an unusually long time after mating.

The aquarium said DNA testing will be performed once Yoko is large enough for a blood draw and will determine whether parthenogenesis or delayed fertilization occurred.

"This situation is incredible and shows the resilience of this species," Greg Barrick, curator of live animals at Shreveport Aquarium, said in a news release. "We are very excited in the coming months to confirm whether this was indeed a case of parthenogenesis or if it was delayed fertilization. It really proves that 'life, uh... finds a way.'"

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Idaho man bounces table tennis balls with his mouth to break record

The Idaho man who holds the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles added another record to his name by using his mouth to bounce a table tennis ball off a wall 47 times in 30 seconds.

David "Record Breaker" Rush took on the bouncing challenge during a visit to Guinness World Records headquarters in London.

Rush had previously broken the record with 43 bounces, defeating the original record of 34.

He smashed his own record in his most recent attempt, managing 47 bounces in the allotted 30 seconds.

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Scotland has 'no intention' to ban cats, despite online rumors

Scotland's first minister reassured the public that the country had no plans to ban pet cats after a report sparked rumors online.

A report by the independent Scottish Animal Welfare Commission contained numerous proposals for curbing the problem of domestic cats killing about 27 million birds across Britain each year.

The proposals included vaccinations and neutering, but the most controversial online was the suggestion that cat ownership be limited in certain areas that are home to endangered species of birds.

Rumors circulated online that Scotland was planning to ban pet cats, leading Scottish First Minister John Swinney to clarify there were no such plans.

"Let me just clear this up today. The government's not going to be banning cats or restricting cats. We have no intention of doing so and we'll not be doing it," Swinney told Bauer Radio.

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Zoo will send pooping elephant video to your ex for Valentine's

The Memphis Zoo in Tennessee is celebrating Valentine's Day by giving fans the chance to send a cute red panda video to their sweethearts — or a video of an elephant pooping to their exes.

The zoo announced its "Dating or Dumping" promotion allows followers to exchange a donation of $10 for a video to pass along as a Valentine's Day gift.

The options are "an adorable video of a red panda munching on a grape" or "a stinky video of an elephant poop hitting the pile."

"Got an ex that deserves a stinkin' surprise? This Valentine's, let an elephant do the talking. Or maybe you've found the one and want to send them something adorable? Our red pandas have you covered," the zoo said on its website.

The zoo said on social media that the elephant poop videos are good for more than just exes.

"Maybe it's your annoying neighbor, overbearing mother-in-law, your ex, or that coworker who still gives you nightmares. This Valentine's, let an elephant do the talking and name a turd after a turd," the post said.

Each video comes with a digital card.

"At the end of the campaign, we'll announce the most popular names of daters and dumpers — so make your move," officials wrote.

The Valentine's video purchases are available until Feb. 12.

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Skateboarding dog breaks human tunnel world record

A talented dog rode his skateboard through a tunnel made up of 40 people standing with their legs apart to break a Guinness World Record.

Coda, a cocker spaniel belonging to Japanese dog trainer Satomi Asano, broke the record for the longest human tunnel traveled through by a dog on a skateboard on the set of Italian TV series Lo Show Dei Record.

The previous record, 33 people, was set by a Japanese dog named Dai Chun in 2017.

Asano, a professional dog trainer, said she aims to train canines through use of positive reinforcement and discourage dog owners from punishment and other forms of negative reinforcement.

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Airport uses social media to find 6-year-old owner of lost stuffy

A stuffed rabbit found at Pittsburgh International Airport's baggage claim is on its way back to its owner after a social media appeal.

The airport posted a video to Instagram showing employees taking the well-loved stuffy on a tour of the hub's facilities after being found abandoned Monday.

"We found a bunny in our baggage claim area. We showed them LOTS of love, but want them to be warm and cuddled in their own home," the video's caption reads.

A follow-up post revealed the toy's family had been found. The bunny, aptly named Bunny, belongs to a 6-year-old girl named Waylynn.

"Her great grandparents picked up the special stuffy for her earlier today," the Wednesday post said. "We're so happy to reunite lost items with their owners and it is ESPECIALLY joyful to reunite sentimental lost items like Bunny!"

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Circus performer juggles while doing headstand to set world record

An experienced circus performer from Colombia broke a Guinness World Record when he juggled five balls for 45 minutes while doing a headstand.

José Valencia, 34, said he spent years practicing the trick before making an official attempt at the Guinness World Records title for longest duration juggling five balls while performing a headstand.

"I had worked so hard so many years, and this is the time that my work paid off," Valencia told Guinness World Records.

Valencia performs with the Lumous circus, which is currently touring Europe.

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Apple juggler takes 198 bites in one minute

Serial Guinness World Record-breaker David Rush took his juggling skills — and his snacking prowess — to the extreme by taking 198 bites out of three apples while juggling the fruits for one minute.

Rush, who holds the most concurrent Guinness World Records titles, previously set the record for most bites taken out of three apples while juggling at 164 during the 2018 MIT Juggling Convention.

He took aim at his own title during a visit to Guinness World Records headquarters in London.

"The rules are strict so each bite has to be small, precise, and fast," Rush wrote online. "There's no time to swallow (even though swallowing is allowed), so I had to spit out the bites while keeping the apples in motion (but only after my mouth couldn't hold anymore to be efficient)."

Rush successfully broke the record with 198 bites — a rate of more than three bites per second.

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Minnesota man plays world's fastest round of disc golf

A Minnesota man who considers himself a "recreational" disc golf player broke a world record in the sport by completing a full 18-hole round of disc golf in 4 minutes and 58.76 seconds.

Jonathan Wolfrath, 30, said the record attempt combined two of his favorite recreational sports: disc golf and running.

"If running and disc golf had a baby it would be me," Wolfrath told Guinness World Records. "So, the universe whispered to me to do this record."

He went to a course in Fridley and broke the record for the fastest round of disc golf (individual) in 4 minutes, 58.76 seconds, besting the previous record of 7 minutes, 29.87 seconds.

Despite his apparent skills at the sport, Wolfrath said he only considers himself to be a "recreational" player.

"In the United States, it's a very social sport, where everyone just hangs out with their friends, drinking and playing disc golf," he said.

Wolfrath said he isn't finished attempting world records in the realm of disc golf.

"Look out for most disc golf holes played in 24 hours. That's mine," he said.

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Opossum eats entire Costco chocolate cake in Nebraska yard

An opossum was treated at a Nebraska animal hospital after wandering into a family's back yard and gorging itself on an entire chocolate mousse cake from Costco.

Kim Doggett said the cake had been placed on a table in her Gretna back yard because she ran out of room in the fridge.

"I always have a house full and we cook a lot and when you run out of room in the fridge you just sit it on the table outside in the winter," Doggett told Forbes.

She said her son took some fresh-made peanut butter balls outside to cool and discovered an opossum was curled up on the outdoor sectional, which was covered in chocolate paw prints.

"The cake had been knocked off the table and was sitting on the floor in front of where she was," Doggett told the Omaha World-Herald. "The cover was off, and it was almost gone."

The opossum was not moving, and appeared to be panting.

"The opossum looked a little distressed," she said. "We thought we better call the Humane Society and get this guy checked out."

Doggett said she couldn't find any information online on whether chocolate is dangerous to opossums, but she knew the treat was toxic to dogs, so she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

A Nebraska Humane Society animal control officer took the opossum to Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, which posted a photo of the animal to social media along with an intake note reading: "Opossum was brought in due to having eaten an entire Costco chocolate cake."

"Everybody was posting that this was their spirit animal," Doggett said.

Veterinarians treated the opossum with activated charcoal to neutralize any potential toxicity from the chocolate. She was also found to have a high level of lead, likely from eating local insects.

The opossum is now being treated for the lead in her system and will be released in a few weeks, rehab officials said.

"With some time in rehab (and a diet reset), this choco-holic should be stabilized enough to return to the wild but until then, she is definitely a little cranky about our strict 'zero chocolate' policy," the rehab said on social media.

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