A powerful seal. An aggressive goose on the golf course. And a cow stuck in a roof: the strangest animal news of the year.
Raccoon gets caught in lightning rods
A raccoon in Baden-Wuerttemberg caught a used day in April: first the animal got stuck on a lightning conductor - then the release was rather painful.
DPA
Raccoon in Rudersberg
The fire brigade arrived in Rudersberg with nine people including the ladder. "When he realized that, he obviously made an effort," said a fire brigade.
With success, but a pretty painful one. The raccoon freed itself from the predicament - and plopped from the ten-meter-high house roof. The animal survived the fall apparently without major injuries.
Duck triggers radar trap
Twice a Swiss speed camera has flashed a duck in spring. First, in the Tempo 30 zone of the municipality of Köniz in the canton of Bern, an animal was shot at 52 kilometers per hour, said the local government.
DPA / Police Köniz
Flashed duck
Only three days later another duck flew through the speed trap at a similar pace. Whether she is a repeat offender, the officials could not determine.
Goose mows golfer
In the US state of Michigan, a goose attacked a young golfer from the air in April. The incident occurred on a golf course near Blissfield. The goose rushed towards the golfer, who stumbled and went to the ground, then the goose in close combat.
Attack in three acts
Isaac Couling on the run: The 16-year-old was attacked while playing golf in Michigan.
The attack occurred during a tournament, the goose apparently wanted to defend their nest.
Couling could then continue the game - but only with third-party equipment. The goose did not want to push its sticks out and guarded them.
"And you thought golf was boring?", It said to the photos on the Twitter account of "Blissfield Athletics". According to CNN, the victim was a high school golfer. The 16-year-old was just in a tournament when the goose struck. She had suddenly appeared, probably to protect a nest.
According to the report, the adolescent was not injured. He was able to continue the game, but only with foreign equipment. "The goose guarded my thugs."
Dog gets lost in sewage treatment plant
In the US state of Colorado, a dog got into a sewage treatment plant in May. While owner Mandi Smith was looking for the animal, an employee of the treatment plant, ten kilometers from her house, heard a dog barking. The man discovered the animal in a so-called aeration pond of the sewage treatment plant, where wastewater is located.
AP / Brad Davidson / Pueblo West Fire Department
Dog in sewage treatment plant
Firefighters used a ladder to get to the animal. They pulled it out of the pool, sprayed it with a hose and handed it to the local shelter. There, the dog got two decontamination baths missed, then his owner could pick him up.
Rat eats bills from ATM
An ATM machine in northeastern India did not want to spit out any more money in the summer, as employees became active - and found the cause in the machine.
AFP
Shredded banknotes in ATM
At least one rat had shredded banknotes worth more than a million rupees (the equivalent of more than 15,000 euros), the police said. The animal had slipped in the district Tinsukia probably through an opening for cables in the machine and have many banknotes worth 200 and 500 rupees ate or eaten, reported the "Guardian".
"Problem catfish" from Offenbach fools fisherman
The local press called him the "chick killer": A greedy catfish from a pond in Offenbach slipped through the net during a large-scale search operation in July.
Search for "problem catfish" for the time being canceled
The local press calls him the "chick killer": A greedy catfish from a pond in Offenbach has slipped through the net of a fisherman during a large-scale search operation.
The so-called problem catfish had caused in the past weeks for excitement in the Hessian city.
In addition to other fish he is said to have eaten species-protected chicks of moorhens and mallards in the pond in the Dreieichpark.
Therefore, the catfish should be caught. It was planned to take him then to another body of water in Hesse, where he is kept in an appropriate manner. But the action of the city was canceled on Sunday morning, at least for the time being.
The so-called problem catfish had triggered excitement in the Hessian city. In addition to other fish he is said to have eaten species-protected chicks of moorhens and mallards in the pond in the Dreieichpark. Therefore, the catfish should be caught.
Baby badger crashes on cliff
On cliffs in southwest England, a baby badger has ventured far out in the summer. He lost his balance and apparently fell almost 30 feet deep. Luckily, a kayaker came by.
Koru Kayaking
Rescued badger on board
On a tour along the caves on the cliffs, Tom Wildblood and his companions discovered the cub on a promontory from the water. The badger may have been on a former miners road and crashed, said the kayaker of the BBC. So he went to see the animal.
"When I tried to grab the badger, he tried to pinch me," Wildblood said. Finally, he grabbed the animal by the neck and pulled it on board. "He was really bad, he was shaking." After Wildblood landed him, a veterinarian examined the badger. He was able to be released to freedom.
Cow bumbles out and gets stuck in the roof
The nocturnal excursion of a cow caused a lot of excitement in a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia in August - and a large deployment of fire brigade and police.
In a tight spot
For two hours the mission in Morsbach-Rom near Gummersbach lasted: According to police Gummersbach the cow was probably outgrown by a hole in the fence of her pasture. Then she had dug down a slope and reached the corrugated iron roof of an event hall. There, the animal broke according to the information and got stuck.
Residents alerted the police at 1:50. The officials, firefighters, rescue workers, a veterinarian and the owner of the cow rushed to the scene of the incident. Even a crane owner came to the rescue. With his crane, the cow could be released unhurt from the roof.
June 2018: A dog named Filou crawled into a pipe during a walk with his owner in Schwaikheim near Stuttgart - and got stuck in it.
The half-breed did not come out of the tube alone, because the line was narrowed by alluvial mud, police said. Because the animal could not be grasped by hand, the firefighters called for reinforcements: through a mini excavator. This succeeded in exposing the tube. So Filou was free again after about an hour.
Other animals needed much more patience: The pregnant cow Regina crashed while grazing in the Allgäu in a hole in the ground. Six meters deep. There she had to hold out for five days - without food and water. Only a tourist, who walked across the meadow, became attentive and alarmed the farmer.
The farmer came with excavators, widened the hole and went down to his cow. With a winch, the animal was released and pulled to the surface.
June 2018: A hedgehog was stuck in the fence of an airport in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Detmolder fire brigade opened the fence with a spreader to free him.
May 2018: A cow on a pasture in Upper Bavaria had tried a new way - and landed on a scaffolding. The animal had risen to the scaffold installed on a bridge, then slipped and did not get any further, it was said by the fire department.
Two dozen helpers moved to the rescue - and built the cow a wooden bridge.
May 2018: A mug thrown out of a car became a trap for a hedgehog in Bavaria. Policemen freed the animal from the predicament. The hedgehog remained unhurt.
October 2017: The head went through, but then there was no fore and no back: In Bonn, a curious hedgehog in a predicament. A neighbor called the fire department.
The hedgehog was freed with a large bolt cutter. Now the neighbor has taken the animal once in their garden. There he rests in a pile of leaves from his failed walk. The little hedgehog in Bonn, however, is not the first of its kind that his curiosity was doomed.
July 2017: Two horses in Upper Styria made their breakthrough in the town of Rottenmann: a barn floor did not stand up, the animals collapsed.
It took two and a half hours for the horses to be free again. The volunteer fire department in Rottenmann reports that the animals are well.
December 2016: A gully was also this squirrel fatal - and right in the middle of Munich: Since it was too stuck on December 2, 2016, a passerby and a staff member of the animal rescue raised the lid and pulled it out from below. The rescue took about an hour, the animal came to a rescue center.
November 2016: Two days after Donald Trump's election as US President, two white-tailed eagles in Florida landed in a roadside sewer. After 90 minutes, one eagle flew away, the other crashed into the shaft. The fire brigade finally rescued the female, veterinarians pepped it up. It will be released again in six weeks, local media report.
August 2016: In the US town of Northampton, a raccoon got lost, he got stuck in a Gullideckel. The police then moved in and pulled the helpless animal's head out of the small hole - using frying fat.
March 2016: This leopard fell into a fountain on March 12, 2016 in the Indian city of Guwahati. Only after he was stunned, the animal could help out with a rope from the bumper. Then it went from the well into the eaves: The wild animal was brought to the zoo of Guhawati.
September 2015: In September 2015, a leopard in the Indian village of Sardul Kheda wandered five hours head-first in a metal container. Then he was stunned by the Environmental Agency and released.
April 2015: A wild duck stuck in the radiator of a car in 2015. She had been hit on a street by the car. The driver did not notice and put his car in a parking lot. Passersby noticed the animal and called the fire department. The liberated the duck - and the animal remained almost unhurt.
September 2014: To deep into the beer can has looked this skunk in the US state of Ohio: After passers-by in September 2014 had become aware of the disoriented running around animal, the police moved out and released the animal. A tricky intervention: when skunks panic, they spray a foul-smelling spray that they owe their name to. However, a summoned dog catcher managed the liberation maneuver without being dazed. "Drunk as a skunk" was the pet, the police said later on her Facebook page.
August 2014: "Police officers from Offenburg wrote in their police report during a nocturnal investigation in July 2014," a policeman from Offenburg wrote in a police report. A supposedly hungry hedgehog had stuck his head too deep into the cup and got stuck in it. The lawmen were able to free the animal and release it back into nature. The hedgehog stuck his nose in things that did not concern him - but probably only because the yogurt cup was carelessly thrown away, it says in the police message. The officials also had a message to the citizens: Always dispose of waste correctly!
June 2014: Bears love honey, they say - but this bear cub from Florida was his fate for jam to doom. When trying to lick out a jam jar, it accidentally slipped the glass over his head and stuck in it. For ten whole days, the bear carried the glass around with it until police were able to catch the animal. At that time, the bear threatened to starve and die of thirst, said a police spokesman. The bear cub, who was called by his rescuers "Jarhead" (jar: in German "preserve glass") defended himself with all remaining forces against his rescue. After all, firefighters were able to free the bear cub from the glass. For observation, the rescuers held the animal for another day and then released it well into freedom.
April 2014: The desire for sweets is sometimes difficult to suppress: This had to learn this hedgehog in Saarbrücken. The little boy had put his head so deep in a pudding cup in April 2014, that he could not get it out by himself anymore and ran along a street at night with an unusual plastic headdress. A car driver alerted the police, who could free the animal. The craving for chocolate pudding is actually rather unusual for a hedgehog: the insectivores usually feed on worms, beetles or spiders.
June 2013: This English cow seems to be particularly interested in tree trunks - so in June 2013 she put her head into a narrow opening in the trunk. Not a good idea: The animal was stuck and had to wait until the fire department from Shrewsbury and Wellington approached. With a lifting harness, the animal was released. Quiet, but a little scared, the animal had been after his rescue. "She just ran away when we let her out - she did not stay to thank us," said a fire department spokesman. The hole in the tree now has the shape of a cow's head.
August 2012: A sad ending took place in August 2012, this squirrel in Isernhagen near Hannover: A few hours after his release from a Gullideckel little rodent died. Police officers had previously released the animal from its predicament, including using olive oil as a lubricant. In the garden of a resident, the squirrel should recover, but there it was found dead hours later, said a spokesman for the police. Injured was the squirrel that baptized the officials "Erwin", not been. The animal probably died from a shock.
September 2010: These two goats in the US state of Montana apparently overestimated their climbing skills in September 2010: The two quadrupeds strayed on a railway bridge - where they were not on top of the track, but remained on a 15-inch narrow concrete strip on the side of the Bridge. The rescuing rescue workers assumed that the four-legged hit the path in the night, but had then dared in daylight, not a step further. Only two days later, the animals could be rescued with special mining equipment.
April 2010: This black bear from the US state of Vermont has a real "thick skull": The animal got stuck with his head in a milk jug. As he staggered through the forest with his pot over his head, bouncing against trees, the ranger, who found and saved the animal, had been heard far and wide. Several firefighters, policemen and a biologist were on hand to rescue the 60-kilo quadruped.
And every day the marmot greets - here for a change from a gullide cover. In the US state of Massachusetts, the animal had gotten stuck in the grate with his head. A passer-by noticed the trapped rodent and alerted the police, a police spokeswoman told the Boston Globe. The forces moved out and freed the cute little creature - that kept pedaling until it was clear and disappeared into the bushes with no apparent injury. Later, police posted the picture on Twitter and announced, "This little guy had a big day today - now he's free and well."
The search for something to eat brought this bear in the US state of Wisconsin in a predicament: He got stuck with his head in a bird feeder. A man who had been watching the bear with the unusual headgear informed the police. At first, however, she was powerless, as the mother bear jealously guarded her cub. When gamekeepers finally caught both animals in a trap, the mother of the bears had already torn up the bird feeder itself. She and her baby were released.
In the Australian town of Coffin Bay, a kangaroo was looking for something to drink - and was suddenly in a tight spot. The animal's head had caught in a watering can.
What was this cow looking for on the bottom of a washing machine drum? Anyhow, her curiosity put the animal in a very awkward position in England when it got stuck with its head in the piece of metal. The Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spread the picture to warn against mindless garbage disposal: "If all people disposed of their garbage properly, many animals could be injured and killed be preserved, "said a spokesman for the organization. The curious cow in the picture was released from the drum and got away unhurt.
For nearly half an hour, Horse Phantom was stuck in a bathtub in Sacramento, California, legs up. The tub was actually the feeding trough of the animal that had fallen and wedged itself in it. The fire department managed to free Phantom. The helpers turned the tub with the horse on its side and helped Phantom get back on his feet. The horse remained unharmed during the action.
According to police in Morsbach-Rom, the cow was probably outgrown by a hole in the fence of her pasture. Then she had dug down a slope and reached the corrugated iron roof of an event hall. There the animal broke according to the information and got stuck.
Residents alerted the police during the night. The officials, firefighters, rescue workers, a veterinarian and the owner of the cow rushed to the scene of the incident. The cow was released from the roof unhurt with a crane.
Horses are stuck in the morass up to their necks - complicated rescue
In Kleve, the fire brigade moved in late summer to an unusual use: Two horses were sunk to the neck in the morass. The rescue required excavators - and a dinghy.
Complicated rescue
In the North Rhine-Westphalian Kleve, the fire department had to move out to an unusual use: A farmer had noticed that two horses were caught in a paddock in a Kuhle, from which they could not free themselves.
The summoned vet was initially only able to approach the animals by dinghy because of the soaked soil.
With the help of a local civil engineering company, which provided several excavators, the horses were finally released.
The rescue had been difficult and took almost three and a half hours, said the fire department.
18 firefighters were in action.
A farmer had noticed that the animals were caught in a paddock in a hollow from which they could not free themselves. The rescue had been difficult and took almost three and a half hours, said the fire department.
A veterinarian came because of the soaked soil initially only by inflatable boat to the animals. With the help of a local civil engineering company that provided several excavators, the horses were finally released. 18 firefighters were in action.
Seal skin kayaker with squid
Along the New Zealand coast, travel photographer Kyle Mulinder made an involuntary encounter with a squid in September on a paddling tour. He got a big squid thrown in his face in his kayak by a seal that suddenly shot out of the water.
REUTERS
"I do not know who's the most shocked: the seal, the squid or me," Mulinder told the New Zealand Herald newspaper. At least it stayed with the horror, he was not hurt. Mulinder's friend Taiyo Masuda posted a video of the scene on the Internet.