It was found starving in the wild because it had virtually gone blind, but now is in good health and could be released this spring.

Named Minerva by medical personnel, the great horned owl underwent two hours of eye surgery earlier this year to implant new lenses in its eyes.  Sue Theys, who caught the owl, said she suspected the owl had cataracts, and after a local veterinarian confirmed the diagnosis, the couple brought the owl to Dr. Chris Murphy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

How did she know something was wrong with the owl?  The poor, emaciated bird had been sitting on her fence for some three days.

"To the best of my knowledge, this has not been done anywhere," Murphy said, speaking of the amazing surgery.  With Murphy supervising, Dr. Renee Carter and fellow resident Katie Diehl implanted the new lenses.

Now, Minerva is ready to go.

"She's extremely feisty," Sue Theys said. "She can't understand why we're messing with her.  She can see and she wants to take off and fly."

In April, the owl will be moved to a much larger flight cage, where live rats will be released into the straw-filled enclosure to see if she can successfully hunt.  If so, she'll be released back into the wild.

First Michigan Wolverine Seen In 200 Years
by Jonathan Drake
S: MSNBC.com (2-25-04)

For those who think it's no big deal, think again.  It's "up there with having a caribou or a polar bear turn up," according to the Department of Natural Resources spokesman Brad Wurfel.  "It's unprecedented."

A wolverine was seen and clearly photographed by wildlife biologist Arnie Karr in Michigan last month as the weasel-like animal ran out of the woods and across a field.  Wolverines can grow to about 25 pounds, are ferocious enough to fight off bears and wolves, and once roamed across the northern and western United States.  They are now confined mostly to northern Canada, Idaho and Alaska, with a few sightings in some other states.

The last confirmed sightings of wolverines in Michigan were by fur traders in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  Questions now abound as to how and when they came back, or whether they left at all.

"What it means, who knows?" says Raymond Rustem, supervisor of the natural heritage unit in the department's wildlife division.  "When you take a look at the wolverine, there's always been this debate about whether wolverines ever were a part of Michigan's recent past.  Some evidence shows that, some says no."

Whatever the case, Michigan wolverines are no longer just the athletes seen at the University of Michigan.

Man Drives With Shark On Leg
by Jonathan Robison
S: CNN.com (2-11-04)

It's almost comical, hadn't it been so painful.

Luke Tresoglavic of Australia swam 1,00 feet (300 meters) to shore, walked to his car and drove to the local surf club with a 23 inch (60 centimeter) shark attached to his leg, refusing to let go.

"I just realized I had to swim in like that, hanging on to it," Tresoglavic told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio last month.  "Once I got on to shore, a couple of people tried to help me, but I could not remove it.  It was stuck there, so I got up into my car and then drove to the clubhouse, and luckily the guys down there had a clue what to do."

Tresoglavic, who is 22 years of age, was snorkeling on a reef off Caves Beach when the wobbegong, or carpet shark, attacked his leg.

When Michael Jones, the senior lifeguard at the local clubhouse, saw Tresoglavic walk in, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"He's lucky he didn't get into difficulties in the water trying to swim with that thing thrashing around," Jones said.

To get the shark off, the lifeguards flushed its gills with fresh water, forcing it to loosen its grip on Tresoglavic's leg.  Unsurprisingly, blood oozed from 70 needle-like punctures.

The shark died later.

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