4 Elephants addicted to heroin used to smuggle drugs

Conservationists in China have had to rehabilitate four elephants that were addicted to heroin. They were fed the drug by drug smugglers belonging to the Chinese triad.

 

Heroin used to control elephants

Campaigners alerted the proper authorities to a gang of drug dealers who were using elephants to smuggle drugs over the China-Myanmar boarder. This cruel tactic – feeding the elephants with bananas that were laced with heroin – was used by the Chinese triads to make the elephants easier to control.

 

Rehabilitation for the 4 elephants

The conservationists who have been helping to wean the elephants off the drug say that during the process of rehabilitation, the elephants were very difficult to control. “…it is every bit as hard for the elephants to go through the cold turkey regime as it is for humans,” Chen Jiming from the local elephant breeding center said.

 

 Elephant hunting banned in China

According to Jiming, elephant population in China has increased since the banning of elephant hunting. “But we haven’t increased the penalties for people who turn them into drug addicts by feeding them heroin laced bananas. This is also an important issue that needs to be tackled.”

 

Elephants are now clean

The conservationists used methadone to slowly wean the elephants off the heroin they were addicted to. “It has been a long battle but we can safely say that they are now reintegrated into elephant society and in some cases even have families of their own,” Jiming said.

The elephants are now doing well and have been declared ‘clean’ by the experts who assisted them during this tough time. They have now been released into the protected area of the Yunnan forest, where approximately 250 other Asian elephants currently reside.

– Copley Sutton: Freelance copywriter in Johannesburg, South Africa

Film producer auditions for a boyfriend—without them knowing

A filmmaker who describes herself as “really single”, recorded her attempts to find a boyfriend by pretending to cast for an acting role.

 

Is this for acting?

The audition started unlike conventional acting auditions from the very start. Jessie Kahnweiler asked applicants strange questions such as, “What’s your relationship with your mother like?” and “Do you have a history of male pattern baldness in your family?”  The unsuspecting men answered the questions and Kahnweiler recorded everything.

 

Lines from a romantic movie

According to Kahnweiler, the most romantic movie of all time is The Notebook. In the interviews she conducted, scenes from The Notebook were re-enacted to gauge romanticism.

Some of the guys shown in the video were dull and boring, while others really took on the part with the intensity Kahnweiler was hoping for. One applicant had such an effect on her that she jumped into his arms after his lines were read!

 

What women want to hear

But perhaps the strangest part of the audition was when Kahnweiler says lines she wants to hear from the guy in her life. The applicants had to repeat the lines so that she could gauge whether she liked to hear her subjects say them or not. Some of the lines included, “Want to go hold hands outside in the rain in front of your ex boyfriend’s house,” and “Please tell me all about your feelings and how you feel about your feelings.”

 

The choice is made

Finally, at the end, Kahnweiler had the unfavourable task of telling failed applicants that they didn’t “get the part”. But one applicant so impressed Kahnweiler, that she did give him the part. He, still thinking that it was for an acting job, was then asked by her if he wants to get married; to which he replied, “I’m getting married in August.”

So for Jessie Kahnweiler, the search continues.

– Copley Sutton

Milkshake: the cow who thinks she’s a dog

A cow with a very cute identity crisis

You may have heard about dog and cat rescues; but what about a cow? Milkshake seems to be a cow with an identity crisis: she thinks she’s a dog. This friendly little animal isn’t content to live as a normal farm creature who spends all her time eating grass. Milkshake would rather take a ride in the car, spend time in the house, or run around with her canine brothers and sisters—as one of them.

 

Milkshake’s abusive past

The story of Milkshake the cow starts with her being mistreated by her initial owner. Fortunately for the cow, the Grace foundation—run by Beth DeCaprio—was able to rescue Milkshake from the abusive individual and give her a new home at their ranch in California. Milkshake now spends all of her time with her new owners and all their dogs as just another addition to the family.

 

The cow that eats with the dogs

Although there isn’t much detail about the abuse Milkshake suffered, it is safe to assume that part of it was starvation. This cow has no natural grazing instinct and doesn’t seem familiar with grass at all. She was the only cow present at her first residence so she has no experience with other cows; hence the identity crisis.

Milkshake’s new owners have to feed her food in a bowl just like all of her canine companions. She seems to have no problem adapting to this feeding method as is evidenced by the ease with which she took to the routine. Her new owner, Beth, says that, “She is still not convinced she is a cow and has never been a fan of grazing.”

 

Just one of the pack

Milkshake thinks she is a dog and perpetually acts like a dog. She pines for Beth when she leaves the property and comes running to the gate with the other dogs when the owners return. In fact, according to Beth, Milkshake is often the one that prompts the other dogs to follow. Her identity crisis has neighbours and the media teasing Milkshake, but Beth and her pack of dogs are more than happy to have her around as a permanent member of the family.

– Copley Sutton