Man Made Sun Brightens up London

Trafalgar square was 'brightened up' this morning, quite literally, with the presence of a giant man made Sun. The Sun was raised and started providing light from 6:51am this morning as a part of Tropicana's Brighter Mornings campaign. Designed by art collective Greyworld the Sun was a bemusing sight for London's early birds.

White Blackbirds, now pink elephants!?

A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta. Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants.
They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf.

Mike Holding, who spotted the baby while filming for a BBC wildlife programme, said: "We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river.

"This was a really exciting moment for everyone in camp. We knew it was a rare sighting - no-one could believe their eyes."
Albino elephants are not usually white, but instead they have more of a reddish-brown or pink hue. While albinism is thought to be fairly common in Asian elephants, it is much less common in the larger African species.

Ecologist Dr Mike Chase, who runs conservation charity Elephants Without Borders, said: "I have only come across three references to albino calves, which have occurred in Kruger National Park in South Africa.

"We have been studying elephants in the region for nearly 10 years now, and this is the first documented evidence of an albino calf that I have come across.""This is probably the first documented sighting of an albino elephant in northern Botswana.




Thanks to Mike Holding for the photos and BBC News for the full story.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It's a UFO.

Gary McDermott snapped the glowing red object, with bright flashing lights, after stopping his car to photograph a low-flying helicopter in Plymouth.

The disc-shaped UFO flashed across the sky - just as he was taking the picture - before it disappeared into the night at 9pm on Sunday.

Mr McDermott, who was working night shifts on the city's famous Royal Albert Bridge, said: "I just couldn't believe what I had just seen.

"It must have been a UFO - and I cannot believe I am saying that because I don't believe in them usually. I am always sceptical. But this was definitely not a normal aircraft. It was red, the shape they say UFO aircraft is, and had two bright lights coming out of it.

"It came into shot just as I took the picture - then as soon as I said to my mate 'look what I have just seen', it disappeared. Apparently there have been a few other similar sightings across Britain in recent weeks."

On January 6 two mysterious bright lights were spotted floating over Chatham in Kent. Less than a week later four similar lights were seen over Essex - but none were as clear as Gary's Devon snap.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they had not been informed of any reports of UFO sightings in the area.

Here at OTWD we are still a little unsure, however Mr McDermott has still provided a great news snippet.

World's oldest living dog dies

Uncle Chichi, a toy poodle whose unusual longevity led to fame andan appearance on “Good Morning America,” died on Tuesday after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 26. Or 24. Or maybe 25.

Frank Pavich with Uncle Chichi in 2010. Proof of Chichi's age was lost years ago, but he was adopted more than two decades ago and appeared on “Good Morning America.
The imprecision over his age led to debate over whether Chichi, or the Cheech, as he was sometimes known, had been the world’s oldest living dog.

He was remarkably old; that much was agreed upon by veterinarians, his owners and the animal shelter in Charleston, S.C., that offered him for adoption more than two decades ago.

But when his owners considered seeking a place for him in Guinness World Records in 2010, after he had had a brush with death, the proof required — like puppy photos and veterinarian records — turned out to have been lost to the ages.

Chichi began showing signs of advancing age more than a decade ago; cataracts, glaucoma and a corneal ulcer led to trips to the Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Yet he always bounced back to promenade down Morton Street in the West Village, where he lived. He even attended his owners’ wedding in Croatia in October 2010, and continued to fetch — even though he could not see or hear.

When the cancer became too advanced, Chichi was put down, his owners, Frank Pavich and Janet Puhalovic said. They notified friends of the news in an e-mail on Sunday.

“We just feel completely empty; the whole apartment’s empty,” Mr. Pavich, 38, said in an interview. “That little 10-pound guy fills up not just your apartment, but your life.”

With Chichi ailing in the later months of his life, Mr. Pavich, a television producer, took him to Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany and France. They snapped souvenir photos in Gruyères, Switzerland, the birthplace of the pungent cheese, Chichi’s favorite indulgence.

“There was so much bonus time,” Mr. Pavich said. “It’s weird because the more time we spent with him, the more and more we loved him. We didn’t know that was possible.”

While the dog seemed unfazed by fame, others benefited from his star power: after Mr. Pavich revealed on “Good Morning America” that Chichi was particular to a dog food called Spot’s Stew, the manufacturer donated 10,000 meals to the Charleston animal shelter through the charitable site Freekibble.com Chichi presided over the ceremony.

In December, Guinness’s official oldest living dog, Pusuke, a 26-year-old Japanese mutt, died. Representatives from Guinness did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the identity of Pusuke’s successor.

Mr. Pavich was not concerned. “He wasn’t your average dog,” he said of Chichi. “He kind of transcended that.”

Story from NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/nyregion/chichi-perhaps-worlds-oldest-dog-dies.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

Colour changing Blackbird

This unusual blackbird is attracting bird watchers to a Nottinghamshire country park.

The bird is leucistic, which is a genetic mutation that prevents pigments from being deposited normally in its feathers. It has been residing for the last four years in the woodland of Rufford Abbey Country Park.

Each year, observers say, it has steadily shed its black feathers for white feathers.
Park rangers took this picture of the blackbird - which is now completely white with no visible pigmented feathers - in the summer of 2011.

Leucistic birds are often very vulnerable to predators, because of their bright white plumage. So the park's managers are urging birdwatchers to keep an eye out for this unusual blackbird.

Site manager John Clegg said: "This bird has been steadily turning whiter over the years and last summer it was completely white.

"It has become quite a character at the park in recent years. It tends to appear in the warmer months and we have not seen it for a few months but hope it will return here soon."

Most leucistic birds have some spots or patches of colouration in their feathers from other pigments, so this is a particularly unusual specimen.

Story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16646922

Hit the nail on the head?

A suburban Chicago man accidentally shot a 3.25in (8.25cm) nail into his skull but is recovering after doctors successfully removed it from the centre of his brain.


Dante Autullo, 34, was in his workshop when a nail gun recoiled near his head.But he had no idea the nail had entered his brain until the next day, when he began feeling nauseous.Doctors told Mr Autullo that the nail came within millimetres of the area used for motor function.

His fiancee, Gail Glaenzer, told the Associated Press on Friday that he was in good spirits after the two-hour surgery to remove the nail at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois.Sensor triggered

"He feels good. He moved all his limbs, he's talking normal, he remembers everything," she said. "It's amazing, a miracle."

Ms Glaenzer said she had no idea the nail had entered his skull when she cleaned a cut on his forehead.

Mr Autullo thought that the nail gun had simply hit his forehead, but realised later that when the gun came in contact with his head, the sensor recognised a flat surface and fired.She convinced him to go to the hospital after he felt nauseous for much of Wednesday.

While there are pain-sensitive nerves on a person's skull, there are none within the brain itself.

Hospital spokesman Mike Maggio said the part of the skull that was removed for surgery had to be replaced with a titanium mesh amid worries that it might have been contaminated by the nail.

Story available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16663332