Sundaymail Editor
A tortoise previously declared the world’s oldest living land animal by Guinness World Records has been awarded a second title — the oldest tortoise ever.
Jonathan, a tortoise that lives on St. Helena, a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean, is believed to be at least 190-years-old, as the animal was fully mature — at least 50-years-old — when he arrived on St. Helena in 1882.
The tortoise’s latest Guinness World Records title is officially “oldest chelonian,” a category including all turtles, terrapins and tortoises. The previous record-holder was Tu’i Malila, a radiated tortoise that died at the estimated age of 188 in 1965.
The St. Helena government said Jonathan is blind and has lost his sense of smell, but eats well when hand-fed by his veterinary team.
Veterinarian Joe Hollins said Jonathan still is active and often enjoys the company of fellow giant tortoises David, Emma and Fred.
“In spite of his age, Jonathan still has good libido and is seen frequently to mate with Emma and sometimes Fred – animals are often not particularly gender-sensitive,” Hollins told Guinness.
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Three-eyed cow worshipped
A three-eyed cow born in India has been dubbed a “divine miracle” and villagers have been queueing up to worship it after it was claimed to be a reincarnation of Hindu God, Shiva. The rare calf was born with an extra eye on its forehead and four nostrils.
Some residents of the village of Chhattisgarh in the Rajnandgaon District in India claim the three-eyed calf is a reincarnation of Viswanatha, a God known for having an eye on their forehead.
A large number of people flocked from nearby villages to worship the cow, believing it to be the re-birth of Shiva, Sputnik reported.
The calf, born on January 14, attracted large crowds of people who offered incense sticks, coconuts and money as per the custom of the local culture.
Some say the timing of the calf’s birth, which was born just as the Hindu festival of harvesting, Makar Sankranti, started, is no coincidence. Many believed the arrival of the calf to be of religious significance.
Speaking to Indian news agency ANI, villager Neelkumar Verma said: “I have never seen any three-eyed being. Only Lord Shiva had it. It is a divine miracle. An incarnation of the Lord himself.”
While the birth of the animal was linked with the Hindu God, a veterinary doctor has disagreed with the comparison.
Doctor Kamlesh Chaudhary said that such cases should not be considered miraculous as such things happen due to the abnormal development of the embryo.
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Giant two-headed snake terrorises community
Meanwhile, residents in Kikam community in the Western North region are currently running and hiding for the safety of their lives after a giant snake with two heads and tails invaded the community overnight.
From what we have gathered, the snake came out of the sea and invaded the community. Residents staying close to the sea first saw the snake and called on able men to kill it, but the weird nature of the snake scared everyone from even getting close to it, according to gathered report.
It is said that the river goddess of the sea turned into a snake to visit the community. However, residents are scared and running following the nature of the snake.
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Cockroach trapped in
man’s ear for three days
A New Zealand man who initially thought he had water trapped in his ear said the true cause of the blockage turned out to be something far more shocking – a live cockroach.
Zane Wedding (40) of Auckland said he went swimming at a local pool and later felt the sensation of blockage in his ear.
“I used some drops to clear it up and fell asleep on the couch later that night,” Wedding told CNN.
He said his ear still felt blocked the next day, so he went to see a doctor, who advised him to try using a hairdryer to dry up the water inside his ear canal.
Wedding said the feeling persisted, so he went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist.
He said the doctor expressed shock immediately upon looking inside his ear.
“She said: ‘I think you have an insect in your ear,'” Wedding told the New Zealand Herald.
Wedding said it took the doctor about five minutes to extract the cockroach.
“Every time she touched it I just imagined her squishing a cockroach into my eardrum, so I wasn’t the perfect patient,” he said.
Wedding said there was “instant relief” when the insect came out.
“I felt a pop as soon as the doctor pulled it away,” he said.
He said the encounter left him with lingering feelings of disgust. — Wires.
Online Reporter