Animal Stories from Down Under

Not so good news in the animal kingdom this week. First, eight "exotic" monkeys were stolen from a zoo in Sydney. And latest news today, some drunken birds just fall off the sky somewhere near Darwin. Hmmm....natural catastrophe or man-made? Nope, no cats were involved, accused or found guilty. Both news items taken from Channel 7 News website.

Story 1: The Monkeys
Members of the public are being asked to help find eight endangered monkeys which were stolen from a wildlife park south of Sydney at the weekend.
Worried staff at the Symbio Wildlife Park at Helensburgh have set up a Facebook page appealing for the return of the breeding pair of cotton top tamarins, their two six month old babies, and four pygmy marmosets.
The staff say the animals are crucial to an international breeding program and need specialist care to survive.
It is believed there are only 300 cotton top tamarins left in the wild.
Detectives say thieves gained access to the monkey's enclosure at the park on Sunday night.
Inspector Brian Wyver of the Wollongong Local Area Command says staff discovered the monkeys missing when they arrived on Monday morning.
"They have returned and found the rear door of the enclosure had been forced," he said.
The owner of the wildlife park John Radnidge says the thieves appeared to have used bolt cutters, then took out the power and captured the monkeys with nets.
"These people were obviously aware as to what they needed to do and what they needed to bring," he said.
Mr Radnidge says the eight animals combined are so small they could fit in a shoe box.
It is the second time in a fortnight rare animals have been pinched from their enclosures.

Small and cute tamarin.

Keepers at Sydney's Taronga Zoo discovered on May 20 that two green-winged macaws had been stolen.
Police are investigating whether that crime is linked to the theft of another pair of macaws from a house in Sydney three months earlier.
Anyone with information about the thefts can contact police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Story 2: The Birds
Hundreds of seemingly drunk parrots are falling out of trees and the sky in a northern Australian town, mystifying veterinary surgeons who are struggling to care for them.
The brightly coloured lorikeets are showing classic signs of drunkenness by losing all coordination and passing out, and then cowering in cages as they recover from their "hangovers".
"They definitely seem like they're drunk," said Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, near Darwin.
"They fall out of trees... and they're not so coordinated as they would normally be. They go to jump and they miss the next perch."

The lorikeet did it.

Hansen said nobody was sure what was causing the symptoms, although it may be a plant they are eating. Other theories include an outbreak of a mystery virus.
She said the hospital, which is seeking donations, was caring for about 30 birds at a time with eight arriving each day after being scooped up from lawns and roadsides.
The birds are given sweetened porridge and fresh fruit -- the avian version of hangover food.
"It's probably the equivalent of ice-cream and cans of coke for the lorikeets," Hansen told AFP on Wednesday.
"They sit on the floor of the cage and rest their heads on the side, or they curl up in the corner and hide under the paper and block the rest of the world out."
Hansen said "drunk" lorikeets have been seen in Palmerston previously but never in such numbers, adding that the birds can die without proper care.

Angelina's note: My heart goes out to those gorgeous creatures. purrr....meow!