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Botswana president clawed by cheetah

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 12:31
Botswana's President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, a government spokesman said Monday. The incident occurred last week at a Botswana Defence Force facility where soldiers enlisted in the battle against poaching learn about the animals they help to protect. "He was scratched by a cheetah last week but not really attacked per se," spokesman Jeff Ramsay told AFP. The cheetah was being fed in an enclosure near to where Khama was standing, became excited and somehow managed to swipe a claw across the president's face.

Botswana president clawed by cheetah

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 09:15
Botswana's President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, a government spokesman said Monday. The incident occurred at a Botswana Defence Force barracks last week, spokesman Jeff Ramsay told AFP. "He was scratched by a cheetah last week but not really attacked per se," Ramsay said. The cheetah was being fed in an enclosure close to where Khama was standing, became excited and somehow managed to get its claw across the president's face. Khama, 60, was not admitted to hospital, but did receive treatment.

Botswana president injured in cheetah 'attack'

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 06:45
Botswana President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, a government spokesman said Monday. The incident occurred at a Botswana Defence Force barracks last week government spokesman Jeff Ramsay told AFP. "He was scratched by a Cheetah last week but not really attacked per se," Ramsay said. The cheetah was being fed in an enclosure close to where Khama was standing and somehow managed to get its claw to the president's face.

Botswana president injured in cheetah 'attack'

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 06:15
Botswana President Ian Khama has received two stitches in his face after being clawed by a cheetah, local media reported Monday. The incident occurred at a Botswana Defence Force barracks last week, the Sunday Standard reported on its website, quoting government spokesman Jeff Ramsay. Ramsay said it was a "freak accident, but not an attack". The cheetah was reportedly being fed in an enclosure close to where Khama was standing and somehow managed to get its claw to the president's face.

Baby gorilla born at Tokyo zoo

Agence France-PresseApril 25, 2013 06:31
"Momoko", a 29-year-old Western Lowland Gorilla, gave birth Thursday as the other gorillas at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo looked on -- a rare situation that mimicked how primates are born in the wild. Usually expectant mothers at the zoo are taken into seclusion before birth. Zookeepers did not reveal the gender of Momoko's new baby, but the delivery stirred big interest among the enclosure's six other members, who looked on and touched the tiny offspring as it was breastfed by its mother. oh/pb/jms

Cheetahs in race to survive

Agence France-PresseApril 24, 2013 00:30
The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, survived mass extinction during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But it has taken just the last few decades for man to place the hunter on the endangered species list, with experts warning it could disappear from the wild by 2030. Unlike rhinos and elephants, the cheetah is not a target in Africa's poaching bloodbath. But it is the only big cat to adapt poorly in wildlife reserves as its natural habitat is increasingly wiped out.

Outbreak of bird flu hits ostrich farm in South Africa, but authorities says it is unlikely to pose threat to humans

April 11, 2013 03:03
An outbreak of bird flu has hit an ostrich farm in South Africa, but authorities said it was unlikely to pose a threat to humans, though additional tests were being carried out after another strain killed eight people in China. The outbreak has prompted restrictions on the movement of the big birds and their products in the Western Cape province, the Western Cape ministry of agriculture said in a statement today. Tests samples from an ostrich farm near Oudtshoorn, the centre of South Africa's ostrich export industry, found the presence of the H7N1 virus, the ministry said.<

New flu strain found on S.African ostriches

April 9, 2013 14:00
South African authorities have detected a new strain of bird flu in the Western Cape region, as the industry continues to struggle under a 2011 EU ban on meat exports, an official said Tuesday. "It's a single farm where there were some positive reactions last week. ... Follow-up tests have been done, and some are positive for H7N1," said Piet Kleyn, the chief executive of the South African Ostrich Business Chamber. Kleyn said the virus in birds on a farm in Oudtshoorn was picked up during a "routine test" and is currently contained to the single farm.

Bird flu found on South Africa ostrich farm, no Chinese link seen

April 9, 2013 13:00
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - An outbreak of bird flu has hit an ostrich farm in South Africa, but authorities said it was unlikely to pose a threat to humans, though additional tests were being carried out after another strain killed eight people in China. The outbreak has prompted restrictions on the movement of the big birds and their products in the Western Cape province, the Western Cape ministry of agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday.

S.African feather thieves target ostriches

April 9, 2013 11:35
South African thieves are invading ostrich farms and poaching feathers from the giant birds, in a crime that has baffled local farmers, an industry chief said Tuesday. "This started during the last six weeks," said Piet Kleyn, the chief of the South African Ostrich Business Chamber. He said thieves sneaked up on the birds at night and plucked their feathers without using proper tools. "The frightened birds are badly treated and some die because of the terrible injuries," Kleyn told AFP.
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