Malaysian Post

Was rather taken aback when I first saw this banana stalk. It kept on growing long after the fruits has been consumed by the birds.

Came across this interesting item in The NST today:

GOOD LUCK FISH: Saibi Ramli is looking forward to good times this year because he has caught what he calls his lucky fish — a haruan with a 2½cm horn on its head. Saibi says he has never seen anything like it in his life. He caught the fish last Friday with hook and bait in the fish pond behind his home in Siburan, Kuching. He won’t part with it because he believes it will bring him luck. “I have received many offers from wealthy people but I told them it’s not for sale.”

From The NST today:

PUTRAJAYA: Mohd Hafiz Alias, 16, is no stranger to visitors at the Perlis Snake Park.

The Form Four student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Abi, Padang Melangit, Kangar, has been handling snakes since he was 6.

Yesterday was no different.

He showed deftness in handling the snakes, including a king cobra, before 200 visitors at the Karnival Gegar Jelajah Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2007.

The performance was one of the highlights of the carnival jointly organised by the Tourism Ministry, RTM and Putrajaya Corporation.

The carnival ends today,

Under the supervision of Abdul Kahar Abdul Malek and assisted by four snake trainers, including Mohd Hafiz’s father, Alias Mohd Isa, Hafiz displayed great patience in handling the slithery creatures.

He proved his mettle by kissing the king cobra twice.

His secret?

“Contrary to the popular belief that snake charmers have to recite Quranic verses before kissing the snakes, I just have to hold my breath for several minutes before doing so. This is what I was taught by my trainers.”

From The NST

By : Chong Chee Seong

MUAR: It’s not just reptiles, fish and human beings that are trying to save themselves.

The high waters that have soaked mangrove swamps along the riverine villages of this district have also driven out wild boar in search of dry ground.

However, two of them, weighing about 80kg each, ended up in different cooking pots in Parit Jawa.

The first beast swam into the Parit Jawa stream, came out and ran into a nearby food court on Monday at 9.40pm.

Pandemonium broke out as the dinner crowd of about 30 ran helter-skelter while some of them jumped onto the tables.

Two of Asiah Ahmad’s grandchildren ran into her arms, while another two stood trembling on their chairs as the boar darted under the table.

Tan Yong How, 68, and three fishermen who were sipping Chinese tea nearby came to the rescue and chased the animal. The frightened animal dashed into Tan’s outhouse which was a stone’s throw away, where the men cornered it and bashed it to death with iron rods. Tan and his friends distributed the meat among themselves and their friends.

In the other incident on Sunday at 4.30pm, Kho Ah Ning, 55, and two assistants hauled up a boar in their fishing nets while they were about four nautical miles off the coast of Parit Jawa village. It is believed to have drowned while attempting to swim to shore, said Kho who distributed the still-fresh meat to other fishermen.

Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen’s Association chairman Ser Boon Huat said he had received many reports on the sightings of dead animals at sea since floods hit Johor last Saturday.

He said as their habitats in the coastal belt were flooded, these creatures would attempt to swim to safety while reptiles like snakes would climb to the top of trees.

However, most of the floating carcasses were not picked up.

Another bizarre but touching story from the Net. Don’t know how far it is true though.

If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle on Thu, 15 Dec 2005 you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by 100s of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had 100s of yards of line (rope) wrapped around her body - her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition; One slap of the tail could kill a few rescuers. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them… some say it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.