Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks

Reuters – A dog rests on the steps of Delhi’s old quarter February 14, 2008. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) – An infant boy was married off to his neighbors’ dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.

Boy’s arm amputated to free him from oil well pump

Mon Feb 9, 11:00 am ET

OKLAHOMA CITY – A teenager who sneaked onto an oil well site to play on the equipment got tangled in a piece of machinery and a doctor had to amputate his left arm to free him, firefighters said.

The 17-year-old boy and his friend jumped an 8-foot fence Sunday to play with a pump jack, a common piece of oil field equipment that rocks up and down to lift oil out of a well.

He turned on the machine to ride it but became entangled in one of its moving parts, and his friend couldn’t shut it off, Fire Chief Cecil Clay said.

The friend flagged down a taxi driver, who turned it off. But firefighters were unable to free the boy without further endangering him, so a surgeon was flown in on a medical helicopter to perform the emergency amputation.

The boy, whose name was not released, was then airlifted to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center.

Hospital spokesman Allen Poston said the family requested that no information be released.

“I would caution anyone who’s heard stories about riding these pump jacks and getting out here and messing with them to write that off,” Clay said. “It’s not that much fun anyway. It’s dangerous.

Boy, 5, Dragged Away by Crocodile as Brother Watches

 Sunday, February 08, 2009An Australian tour guide plunged into a croc-infested swamp in a desperate bid to save his five-year-old son snatched by a 10-foot-long crocodile.

Steve Doble of Queensland, who owns Daintree Rainforest Rivertrain, flung himself into the waist-deep floodwaters Saturday only to find that his youngest boy had vanished.

He was alerted by the screams of his older son Ryan, 7, who had to be treated for shock after witnessing the attack.

Jeremy Doble, 5, is missing and feared dead after he was taken by the crocodile in the swamp behind his family home.

Locals said the “sweet, gentle-natured” child and his older brother were playing on a boogie board as their father fixed a broken boardwalk nearby, The Courier-Mail reported.

The Doble family was too upset to speak publicly about their ordeal Saturday.

“It is just devastating,” said long-time local Col Patterson, 44, whose family built and sold the tourist property to the family five years ago.

“Dad jumped in after him, but it was too late,” Patterson said. “His older brother saw it all and will, no doubt, be haunted by that image.”

Family of boy taken by crocodile in Daintree doesn’t want it killed

NEWS.com.au

February 09, 2009 02:00pm

THE parents of a five-year-old boy feared taken by a 3-metre crocodile on a north Queensland river say they don’t want any of the reptiles put down.

A search for the boy in the Daintree River, north of Cairns, resumed today, but has been hampered by the high tide.

Police say the boy, whose parents run a Daintree tourist venture, disappeared about 9.30am (AEST) yesterday after following his dog into the water from a boardwalk.

His seven-year-old brother was with him and told police he saw a crocodile soon after his brother vanished.

Rangers have set a trap to try to determine what happened to the boy.

Acting Police Inspector Jason Smith said the parents had said they did not want anything to happen to crocodiles along the river.

“I’ve been advised that the child’s family that they do not want any adverse action against crocodiles in the Daintree,” he said.

Steve Doble, who owns Daintree Rainforest Rivertrain, flung himself into the waist-deep floodwaters only to find his youngest boy had vanished.

He was alerted by the screams of his older son Ryan, 7, who had to be treated for shock after witnessing the attack.

Locals said the “sweet, gentle-natured” child and his older brother were playing on a boogie board as their father fixed a broken mangrove boardwalk nearby, The Courier-Mail reports.

The Doble family were too upset to speak publicly about their horrific ordeal yesterday.

“It is just devastating,” said long-time local Col Patterson, 44, whose family built and sold the 13ha tourist property to the family five years ago.

“Dad jumped in after him, but it was too late. His older brother saw it all and will, no doubt, be haunted by that image.

“Everyone in the community has come together for them.”

Mr Patterson said it was the end of the breeding season and up to 100 resident mature-age crocodiles in the Daintree River system were “hungry, aggressive and on the move”.

The big male and several nesting females had been seen sheltering in the mangrove away from the fast-flowing cold floodwaters in recent weeks.

Police, SES, and about 20 local tour guides on boats scoured the treacherous waters and swamps, hampered by king tides and flash flooding, probing deep holes with bamboo poles.

SES controller Bob Taylor said many crocodiles up to 5m were spotted yesterday.