(UPI) An emperor penguin is being cared for by wildlife experts after becoming the first member of its species to make the 2,200-mile trek from Antarctica to Australia.

The Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said the male penguin, nicknamed Gus, was malnourished when he was first spotted near Denmark, about 250 ...Read more

(UPI) Mysterious black balls that washed up on Sydney, Australia, beaches were initially suspected to be tar balls but turned out to be miniature "fatbergs" containing human feces.

The black balls were first spotted on Bondi Beach on Oct. 16, and similar balls were found on other city beaches in the ensuing days.

New South Wales environmental ...Read more

(UPI) A Rhode Island man with a passion for caffeine earned a Guinness World Record for his collection of 1,019 energy drink cans.

Tiverton resident Joel Spears, aka CaffeineMan on YouTube, submitted evidence of collection to the record-keeping organization in January, and he announced this week that has finally received official confirmation ...Read more

(UPI) A large ball python found slithering in the parking lot of a Chili's restaurant in North Carolina turned out to have been an escaped pet missing for two months.

The Shallotte Police Department said on social media that officers apprehended the slithering suspect outside of the local Chili's eatery.

"We believe this may have been someone'...Read more

(UPI) A kangaroo that escaped from its Florida enclosure while fleeing from a bear has been safely returned home three weeks later.

Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the kangaroo was first spotted hopping around Pierson on Oct. 17 and was later found to have escaped from its owner's property "due to a bear entering its enclosure."

Kristen ...Read more

(UPI) Animal rescuers in Texas came to the assistance of a fox that apparently attempted to scale a wooden fence and ended up dangling by its caught leg.

The Austin Animal Center said on social media that animal protection officers responded to an address where a fox was found with its back leg stuck in a fence.

"Thankfully there was a table ...Read more

(UPI) A black bear with a sweet tooth visited the front porch of a Connecticut home to raid a bowl of Halloween candy and steal a pumpkin.

Crystal Cooke shared security camera footage showing the bear taking the bowl of Halloween candy she left out for trick-or-treaters last week and settling down to enjoy the snack in front of her porch.

...Read more

(UPI) Police in a small South Carolina town are warning residents to keep their doors and windows locked after 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility.

The Yemassee Police Department issued an alert on social media confirming that 40 primates had escaped Wednesday night from the Alpha Genesis facility in Beaufort County.

"Residents are ...Read more

(UPI) A British daredevil was intentionally dragged behind his motorcycle at a speed of 159.52 mph to break a Guinness World Record.

Jonny Davies took on the challenge at The Ultimate Supercar Show and planted his feet on the ground behind his modified Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX on the tarmac at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, England.

His ...Read more

(UPI) A zoo on England's Isle of Wight announced the saga of its escaped raccoons came to a happy ending with the final animal safely recaptured.

The Amazon World Zoo Park in Sandown said the fourth and final escaped raccoon was located and safely returned to the zoo on Tuesday.

Zoo officials said on social media that the four raccoon sisters ...Read more

(UPI) A message in a bottle tossed into an Ontario lake as part of a school project was found by a student at the same school 26 years later.

Makenzie Van Eyk was a fourth grade student at St. John the Baptist Catholic Elementary School in Belle River when she and her classmates threw messages in bottles into Lake St. Clair.

River Vandenberg, ...Read more

(UPI) A book is back at a Massachusetts library after being returned to another facility 51 years past its due date.

The Worcester Public Library said its only copy of The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley was due back May 22, 1973, but failed to show up on time.

Alex London, the genealogy and local history librarian with the Worcester Public ...Read more

(UPI) The side of a Nebraska highway was littered with hundreds of boxes of energy drinks after a semi truck overturned and wound up in a ditch.

Officer Mike Bossman, a spokesman for the Omaha Police Department, said on social media that the semi overturned on eastbound Interstate 80, near 84th Street, and ended up in a ditch next to the road. ...Read more

(UPI) A traveler at New York's LaGuardia Airport captured video when a raccoon descended from the ceiling and caused chaos at a terminal.

The video, posted to X by user Ahmad Anonimis, shows the raccoon dangling from a cord suspended from the ceiling in the Marine Air Terminal, which is used by budget carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier ...Read more

(UPI) A rare U.S. dime missing its mint mark was auctioned for $506,250, nearly 30 times the amount it sold for 46 years earlier.

GreatCollections, which handled the auction of the "1975 No S Proof Dime," said the coin was purchased by an Ohio collector and his mother for $18,200 in 1978, and it remained with the family for nearly 50 years.

...Read more