A frisky French gorilla on the prowl has been turning on the Gallic charm full blast, London Zoo said yesterday.
Three female gorillas - Zaire, 35, Effie, 16 and Jookie, 11 - were left bereft after their silverback mate Bobby died in December 2008. But they have fallen head over heels for new exotic paramour Yeboah since the 127-kilogram beast stomped in from La Boissiere Du Dore zoo in France shortly before Christmas last year.
"Yeboah... is having to quickly turn from a boy into man now he's met our more experienced female gorillas," said zookeeper Daniel Simmonds.
In the next few months, 12-year-old stud Yeboah will change from a blackback into a silverback gorilla as he learns to dominate his new group. Blackbacks are sexually mature adults up to 11 years old, but then turn into silverbacks when a patch of silver hair appears on their backs at the age of 12 and they become a dominant group leader. (AFP)
Art attack!
A Polish court yesterday ordered an unemployed construction worker who stole a painting by famed 19th century French impressionist Claude Monet to be put under psychiatric observation.
"Psychiatric experts will have four weeks to observe Robert Z. and prepare their opinion," a spokesman for the Poznan regional court said.
The 41-year-old suspect reportedly visited the Poznan museum to admire Monet's Plage de Pourville - the only Monet held in Poland. The man admitted to cutting the 1882 canvass measuring 60 by 73 centimetres out of the frame and replacing it with a fake in 2000. He stashed the million-dollar painting in a wardrobe at his parents' house, without them ever knowing. It was recovered this January thanks to his finger print traces. (AFP)
'Confession' phone line criticised
A pay telephone line for French Roman Catholics to confess their sins drew criticism from bishops yesterday.
"For advice on confessing, press one. To confess, press two. To listen to some confessions, press three," says a soothing male voice, welcoming the caller to Le Fil du Seigneur, or The Line of the Lord service.
"In case of serious or mortal sins - that is, sins that have cut you off from Christ our Lord, it is indispensable to confide in a priest," warns the €0.34 a minute service.
The Conference of French Bishops, which groups the country's Catholic leaders, warned in a statement that the line had "no approval from the Catholic Church in France."
The bishops said, "For the Catholic faithful, confession has a sacramental meaning and requires the real presence of a priest." (AFP)
Bullet-proof implant
A Beverly Hills woman says her life was saved by a silicone breast implant which stopped a bullet during a shooting.
Lydia Carranza was waiting in a dentist's office when the estranged husband of one of the patients burst in and opened fire on his ex-wife.
A stray bullet hit her size-D implant, which took the force and prevented it entering her heart. (PA)
Girl's best friend
A toddler who wandered from home in the middle of the night was saved by her dog which followed and kept her warm until she was found.
Three-year-old Victoria Bensch slipped away in Cordes Lake, Arizona, when her mother's back was turned.
Blue, the family mongrel followed and was by her side the next day when she was found. (PA)
Chicks for free
Belgian families accused of posing a health hazard with bins overflowing with food waste are being offered chickens to clean up their mess, a town official has said.
Fifty families in the western town of Mouscron will receive two egg-laying hens each to help reduce the environmental threat from leftover food tossed away, offering "dual benefit", health official Christophe Deneve said.
Mr Deneve said that families in the town of 52,000 people, near the French border city of Lille, will have to give written assurances that they will "not eat the chickens within two years" and authorise inspection visits. (AFP)