Moooove over, Ben Roethlisberger. There’s a new No. 7 in western Pennsylvania. The folks at Vale Wood Farms in Loretto have named a calf Baby Ben after the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback because the cow has a marking that looks like a No. 7 on its head.
The farm has posted the calf’s picture on its Facebook page, and WJAC-TV visited the farm about 95 kilometres east of Pittsburgh to see what all the fuss is about.
Carissa Itle-Westrick, the director of business development for the family-owned food-and-grocery farm, is hoping Roethlisberger won’t mind. She says, “Baby Ben is awfully cute, so hopefully Big Ben won’t mind sharing his namesake.”
The farm plans to display the calf when it opens its pumpkin patch for business next month. (AP)
Stowaway with a difference
Two women who opened the boot of their rental car to retrieve their luggage were greeted by a stowaway with a difference – a snake.
The women drove the rental car from Boston to Kennebunk in Maine, where they discovered the ball python.
The snake, which can grow up to 1.5 metre long, was turned over to the Maine Warden Service and was being transported to the Centre for Wildlife in York. (PA)
Turtles strapped to man’s body
A Canadian man has been charged after border agents at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel found more than 50 turtles strapped to his body and hidden between his legs.
The Detroit News reports that Windsor, Ontario, resident Kai Xu was charged with smuggling, illegal trading and exporting.
A US Fish and Wildlife Service agent received a tip about a large box sent to a Detroit postal centre. Court documents say it was addressed to Xu and mailed from Alabama. Agents were watching the postal centre on August 5 when Xu arrived.
The turtles were found after Xu’s SUV re-crossed the border and was stopped in Windsor. (AP)
Turtle is called Frank and Stein
A woman in Maine has come across a two-headed baby snapping turtle that was trying to cross the road.
Kathleen Talbot of Hudson told WLBZ-TV she found the tiny creature this week while she was watching turtle hatchlings to make sure they arrived safely at the other side of the street.
She noticed one of the turtles had been left behind. It was so dirty she thought at first that it had two feet in front.
It wasn’t until she got home and washed off the turtle that she realized it had two heads. The turtle fits easily into the palm of her hand.
Black bear visits Idaho school
A young black bear that visited a northern Idaho middle school whose mascot is a grizzly bear has been captured and will be returned to the wild.
The Coeur d’Alene Press reports that Idaho Fish and Game officials tranquilised the bear after it climbed down from a large tree at about 11.30am on Wednesday.
Wayne Wakkinen of Fish and Game says it’s a young bear likely on its own for the first time. He says it was looking for a place to live when it came across Woodland Middle School – home of the Grizzlies – in Coeur d’Alene.
He says the bear is being released in a remote area.
School Resource Officer Tom Sparks says school continued as usual but lunch was held inside. (PA)