Awful-smelling plant that melts snow

Mild winter temperatures along a stretch of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway in Watauga County (US) have resulted in the growth of a fetid-smelling pod that, despite its odour, has the uncanny ability to create enough heat to melt snow around it, a recent report by researchers said.

“The plant — known as skunk cabbage — is fatal if eaten,” National Park Service officials say in a Facebook post. Skunk cabbage is “a warm-blooded plant that can raise the surrounding temperatures by as much as 20 degrees. By doing this, it uses as much oxygen as a comparably-sized mammal,” the report further said.

Skunk cabbage gets its name from the fact that, when the leaves are crushed or bruised, it gives off a smell of skunk or rotting meat. In small doses, or two small bites, the skunk cabbage plant can cause burning and swelling of the mouth and a choking sensation. Eating larger portions of these leaves can, in extreme cases, be fatal, the report concluded.

More than 150 snakes removed from under a deck

A Colorado couple, who kept fin­ding snakes in and around their home, called in experts who removed more than 150 of the reptiles from a large den under their back deck.

Shaynon McFadden and Royce Robins said they bought their Elizabeth home in 2018, and the following spring they started noticing snakes popping up from between the wooden slats of their back deck.

The couple said they noticed as the months went on that snakes were appearing in their yard, around the foundation and even inside their home. McFadden and Robins hired an exterminator, who found more than 150 snakes living in a large den under their back deck. The snakes were safely removed and relocated.

Fraggle Rock lighthouse available on rent

Most of you have never heard of a show called Fraggle Rock which was aired in the 80s. If so, let me tell you it was just another Sesame Street with lots and lots of puppets created by Jim Henson — most famously known for his work with The Muppets — and soon became one of most loved children’s TV shows.

Fraggle Rock followed the everyday goings on of a group of bizarre looking puppets called Fraggles, alongside Doozers and Gorgs who lived amongst the rocks beside the lighthouse. The show use to begin with a clip of an impressive lighthouse, Sally Port Cottage at St Anthony’s Lighthouse in St Mawes, Cornwall, that is available to rent from Rural Retreats at an unmissable price.

There are two bedrooms, one en-suite shower room and one bathroom, as well as a sun-trap patio area and detached observation room with fantastic views.

However, people need to embark on a steep 300m cliff path from the car park to get there.

Vet gives parrot prosthetic wings

Twelve-week old green-cheeked parakeet Wei Wei has been given a prosthetic pair of wings after hers were cut off by her owner. Vets at The Unusual Pet Vets in Brisbane, Australia, fitted Wei Wei’s new feathers and within hours she was back in the air once more. Dr Catherine Apuli said the ‘severe wing trim’ left the bird in agony and unable to fly without falling into the ground.

She made Wei Wei’s prosthetics out of feathers donated to the clinic which had been cleaned, sterilised and dried.

Wing clipping is carried out to restrict flight and protect indoor birds from injuring themselves on ceiling fans or by flying into large windows. But the practice is controversial, with experts saying there is no evidence to suggest clipped birds are any safer than those with full wings when kept inside as pets.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 14th, 2020