Charna Tomlinson loves playing with Tracey

A Sheffield family has been reunited with its 11 feet long pet python.

Paul Tomlinson, 34, said he was "overjoyed" to have found Tracey the Burmese python safe and well.

Tracey, who is named after Mr Tomlinson's wife, had not eaten for two weeks when she escaped from her glass tank at the family's home on Sunday.

She was found shortly before 1500 BST on Wednesday curled up in nearby allotments.

'Bit grumpy'

Mr Tomlinson, who lives with his wife and three children in Wincobank Lane, Grimesthorp, joined forces with police to mount a search for the runaway python, warning she could pose a threat to animals and small children.

"She has still not been fed so I'm going to give her a couple of rabbits," Mr Tomlinson said.

"She is a little bit upset and a little bit grumpy, hissing and struggling, so I'm going to give her a good feed."

Tracey went missing in similar circumstances a year ago.

Following her latest bid for freedom Mr Tomlinson said he would step up the security on Tracey's tank.

"I want to make sure this never happens again," he said

Snake bursts after gobbling gator

The predators died in the clash Enlarge Image

An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

The remains of the two giant reptiles were found by astonished rangers in the Everglades National Park.

The rangers say the find suggests that non-native Burmese pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain in the swamps.

Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species Prof Frank Mazzotti

The python's remains were found with the victim's tail protruding from its burst midsection. The head of the python was missing.

"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild... And here we are," Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"They were probably evenly matched in size. If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win," Professor Mazzotti said.

He said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach, leading it to burst.

"Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species," Prof Mazzotti said.

He said that there had been four known encounters between the two species in the past. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

Burmese pythons - many of whom have been dumped by their owners - have thrived in the wet and hot climate of Florida's swamps over the past 20 years.

Scientists have discovered how metal-munching earthworms can help plants to clean up contaminated soils.

By Elizabeth Mitchell
Science reporter, BBC News

Worms munching polluted and non-polluted soils showed different colours

Researchers at Reading University found that subtle changes occurred in metals as worms ingested and excreted soil.

These changes make it easier for plants to take up potentially toxic metals from contaminated land.

Earthworms could be the future "21st Century eco-warriors", scientists suggested at the British Association Science Festival in Liverpool.

There are many sites across the UK with contaminated soil due to previous industrial activities, including mines, engineering works and lead smelters.

The dream scenario is that the plants become so efficient at extracting the metals that you can take them off to a smelting plant Mark Hodson

Earthworms are ideal "soil detectives": their presence can act as a reliable indicator to the general health of the soil.

They have evolved a mechanism that allows them to survive in soils contaminated with toxic metals including arsenic, lead, copper and zinc.

"Earthworms produce metallothinein - a protein that is specifically designed to wrap around particular metals and keep them safe," explained Mark Hodson from the University of Reading.

"In broad terms, if an earthworm can cope with one type of metal, it can often cope with a suite of metals," he added.

An extremely rare female frog has been spotted for the first time in 20 years.

The tiny tree frog, Isthmohyla rivularis, was seen in Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.

This species was thought to have become extinct two decades ago, but last year a University of Manchester researcher caught a glimpse of a male.

However, the discovery of the female and more males suggests this species is breeding and has been able to survive where many other frogs have not.

Andrew Gray, a herpetologist from Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester, said: "This has been the highlight of the whole of my career.

The only time you ever come across a female is by chance Andrew Gray

"Now that we know that both sexes exist in the wild, we should intensify efforts to understand their ecology and further their conservation."

The BBC has been following the team from the University of Manchester and Chester Zoo that is working on amphibian conservation programmes

The BBC video of the frog is the first-known footage of this species.

The 2.5cm-long female, which was released after the discovery, was brown with metallic green speckles and was packed full of eggs.

A difficult task

Finding female frogs is extremely difficult; males make a distinctive call but females are silent for most of the time.

And tracking down this particular species in a great expanse of rainforest was even more difficult - the team had few clues about where the frogs might be, and the search could only take place at night.

The team trekked deep into the forest to a spot close to where the male Isthmohyla rivularis was spotted last year.

The researchers first discovered another male from its soft insect-like call.

The conservationists then trained their torches on the undergrowth, and eventually Luis Obando, head of park maintenance at Monteverde's Tropical Science Center, found the tiny female, which was sitting on a leaf.

Mr Gray told the BBC: "It is hard to describe just how unlikely it was to have discovered a female of this particular species.

"The only time you ever come across a female is by chance - and it is only once in a blue moon that they come down to lay their eggs. You really have to be in the right place at the right time.

"You could come out here every night for a year and not see a thing.

"I really think that this time we have had luck on our side."

Abandoned Baby saved by 8 year old dog.

La China has become a celebrity in her shanty town (Photo courtesy of Clarin)

An eight-year-old dog has touched the hearts of Argentines by saving the life of an abandoned baby, placing the girl safely alongside her own new puppies.

The country's media are calling her "the miracle baby".

She was born prematurely to a 14-year-old girl in a shanty town outside the capital, Buenos Aires.

The mother is said to have panicked and abandoned the baby in a field, surrounded by wooden boxes and rubbish.

Then along came La China, the dog which somehow picked up the baby and carried her 50m to place him alongside her own puppies.

The dog's owner heard the child crying and found her covered with a rag.

The baby, weighing 4kg (8lb 13oz), had some slight injuries, but no bite marks. The owner called the police and the child is now being looked after by the authorities, while a decision is taken about her future.

The frightened mother appeared shortly after her baby was found.

The Argentine media has descended on the shanty town, talking of "the Argentine Romulus and Remus", the founders of Rome, abandoned as babies and rescued by a wolf, nearly 3,000 years ago.

La China, worried about her own puppies, is reported to be petrified by her new-found fame, and her owner says he is worried that she is not eating.

Don’t Miss It: “Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case” Premieres This Sunday!

“I want to apologize.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions.”
“Those things just didn’t have to happen.”

—Michael Vick, former football star sentenced to 23 months in federal prison on charges in connection with a dog fighting operation on his property in Virginia

Last year’s federal case against Vick dominated the media for months, generating public concern for the dogs seized from Bad Newz Kennels—and for animal victims across the country still involved in this brutal “sport.” The sentence may have been handed down, but the concern and questions still remain. What happened to the dogs seized in the case? How did Vick get involved in this underworld?

Many of these questions will be answered this Sunday night during “Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case," the premiere episode of Animal Planet’s new series on animal forensics. The one-hour show offers an in-depth look at Vick and exposes the hidden world of dog fighting—and for the first time on national television, lead investigator Bill Brinkman talks about the inner workings of the case.

The episode will also feature interviews with Dr. Melinda Merck, ASPCA Forensic Veterinarian, and Officer Annemarie Lucas, Supervisory Special Investigator, ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement. As reported in ASPCA News Alert, the ASPCA worked closely with federal authorities at every step of the case, first assisting in forensic examinations and later leading behavior evaluations of the seized dogs.

“The involvement of an extremely high-profile celebrity in the horrific sport of dog fighting prompted universal public outrage and condemnation,” says ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. “This case will forever remain a pivotal point in the history of animal welfare in this country and the world.”

The episode is scheduled to air at 10:00 P.M. EST this Sunday evening, August 24. Please visit Animal Planet online to learn more. Please note, the episode does feature footage from underground dog fighting videos—viewer discretion is advised.

Will three anti-whaling activists from the UK and US end up standing trial in Tokyo?

Japan is attempting to press charges against activists for the first time since 2000, when protesters started harassing the Japanese whaling fleet in earnest.

Earlier this week Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department obtained arrest warrants for the three men: Daniel Bebawi from Nottingham, the UK, and Americans Jon Batchelor and Ralph Koo.

Police sources in Tokyo accuse the men - members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-whaling group - of approaching a Japanese whaling ship, the Kaiko Maru, and laying a rope in its path in an effort to foul its propeller in February last year.

The men are also alleged to have thrown smoke bombs onto the ship which started a fire.

'Red notice' sought

Unconfirmed reports here say Japan's National Police Agency has now approached Interpol and asked them to place the men on their "wanted" list.

They want the international police agency to issue a "red notice" which would notify the authorities in Britain and the United States that a national arrest warrant had been issued for these men.

Only a very small proportion of Interpol's "red notices" are made public. The country making the request, in this case Japan, can ask for the matter to be kept out of the public eye.

The first Mr Bebawi might know of it might be when British police turn up to arrest him.

Interpol cannot insist that the British authorities use a "red notice" as a basis for a provisional arrest. Some countries do, some don't.

Whether or not they do depends on the links between the country seeking the arrest and the country required to carry it out. It can also depend on the seriousness of the crime.

Japan's strategies

Japan and the UK do not have an extradition treaty. But that does not necessarily preclude the prospect of extradition, according to a British Embassy spokesman in Tokyo.

"Any extradition request received from a 'non-treaty' partner would be considered on a case-by-case basis," he said. "For a case to be considered the offense... must be an offense in the UK."

The extradition treaty that exists between the US and Japan lists the offenses which are extraditable. These include offenses related to disruption of shipping vessels.

They are also for the first time suggesting that the activists may have committed a crime under a UN convention, "The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation".

This could make the activists liable for arrest in countries that are signatories to the convention.

Japan appears to be taking a tougher line against those who seek to disrupt its whale hunt than it has in the past. So what has changed?

Public pressure

First, there are those in the Japanese parliament and media who have accused the Japanese whaling fleet and its operator of being "wimps" in the face of the attacks by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Japan should not tolerate this kind of humiliation, they argue.

Japan may also feel more confident now that the group has alienated many in the anti-whaling camp with its direct action against the whalers.

Professor Jeff Kingston from Temple University in Tokyo believes that Japan has been losing in the court of public opinion over its whaling program.

"It clearly wants to persist with this program and is seeking to deter other activists from disrupting its hunts," he says.

"Sticking Interpol on the activists is unlikely to deter committed anti-whaling campaigners," he adds. "But it may lead to some shifts in tactics."

Captain Paul Watson who has led the Sea Shepherd actions against the Japanese fleet has already described these legal moves by Japan as "absurd" and made clear it will not deter his organization from stepping up its efforts against the whalers.

Others caution that increased publicity can only benefit the activists.

Japan seems set to raise the stakes - but in a game that it could also lose.