A clever cat with a penchant for politics has launched a campaign to run as mayor in the Canadian town of Halifax.

The opinionated feline, known as Tuxedo Stan, is campaigning to 'improve the welfare of felines in the Halifax Municipal Region because neglect isn't working'.

As the nominated candidate of the Tuxedo Party, Stan hopes to raise awareness about the large number of stray cats in the region.

The furry feline hopes his motto of 'A chicken in every pot & a litter box in every house' can help win the support of locals.

His campaign has even caught the attention of Halifax councillor candidate Waye Mason, who wrote on Twitter: 'I'm just glad I'm not running against Tuxedo Stan. He is everywhere these days.'

Thousands of Tuxedo Stan fans have registered their support for the black and white kitty, currently featured on a poster campaign across Halifax, on his official Facebook page.

'I feel very fortunate to live in Catopia,' he is quoted as saying on the social networking site. 'I've never known hunger, cold or abuse. I sleep in a warm, cosy bed every night.

'I get to play in a safe fenced yard every day. Unfortunately, there are cats all over the world who aren't so lucky.

'You can help by donating money or time to a local rescue group.'

Although municipal law bans animals from holding office, it hasn't stopped Stan in his mission to improve animal welfare and become the unofficial mascot of Halifax.

He follows in the paw steps of Stubbs the cat who celebrated his 15th year as the honorary mayor of Alaska town Talkeetna earlier this year.

The feline is one of the longest-serving mayors in America, with his huge popularity worldwide helping boost tourism in the area.

For the original article, go here.

A mother was left hopping mad after her daughter found a live frog in a bag of salad she bought from her local Waitrose in Hampshire.

Mum-of-three Christina Carrington was left feeling 'repulsed' having already tucked into the mixed leaf selection for lunch before putting the bag back in the fridge.

Her youngest daughter, Daniela Toale, was preparing dinner when she spotted the croaky critter staring back at her hours later through the salad's plastic wrapping.

'I'm absolutely mortified to think I ate the leaves at lunch time when clearly the frog had been in the same bag,' said Mrs Carrington.

The palm-sized amphibian had amazingly survived despite being trapped in the plastic bag for more than 24 hours.

Waitrose apologised for the 'isolated' incident after sending a member of staff to pick up the frog.

'We are very sorry for the distress caused,' a Waitrose spokesman said.

'All our bagged salad is thoroughly washed and we have steps in place to check each product before packaging.

'Although this is an isolated incident, we're investigating with our suppliers as to how this happened.

'We are also taking steps to minimise the chances of this happening again.'

Waitrose added that the frog was 'fine' following its ordeal and the supermarket chain is currently seeking advice from the RSPCA on finding it a suitable home.

For the original article, go here.

A stowaway cat that beat the odds by surviving a three-week ocean voyage from China to California has found a new home.

The resilient kitty, which has been named Ni Hao, or Hello, endured a gruelling 6,500-mile journey without any food or water after becoming trapped in a storage container on a shipping boat.

He was found on 'death's door' by Los Angeles county animal control officials before being rushed to a local pet refuge.

Ni Hao has since made an astonishing recovery and will start a new life next week with a family in the LA suburb of Redondo Beach.

'He was curled up in a ball with his eyes shut… and he actually appeared deceased,' explained animal control official Aaron Reyes.

He added: 'He's gone from this shrivelled up little kitten with shallow breathing and knocking on death's door to this curious, playful, bouncy, affectionate, patient, little furry kitty.'

County shelter workers speculate that Ni Hao was able to survive by eating or drinking something just before wandering into the container or because 'he is so young his resilience is off the charts'.

Despite suffering considerable muscle atrophy on the journey, Ni Hao's only lingering sign of trauma is a limp, which Reyes describes as 'his own strut.'

For the original article, go here.

A police officer in America is under investigation over allegations that last year he snuck into a zoo after hours to feed gorillas Pop-Tarts.

The police officer, who hasn't been identified, was reportedly one of a larger group of people let into Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minneapolis, by two security guards at around 2 a.m. one day last January.

Surveillance cameras caught the officer apparently then trying to feed the snacks to the gorillas, who are named Schroeder, Gordy and Togo. The zoo says that Pop-Tarts are not part of a gorilla's diet.

The zoo says they don't know if the gorillas actually ate the Pop-Tarts, but that the animals do not appear to have suffered any ill-effects from the experience.

For the original article, go here.

Australian police arrested a man dressed as a monkey, provoking the ire of a crowd of onlookers.

The man in the monkey suit, Brenton Green, was carted off to jail after spending Sunday afternoon dancing around Perth, hugging people and posing for photos. He spent that night in cutody.

The incident began when police interrupted Green's show in front of a small crowd, and demanded his name. At first, the monkey responded just by shaking his head and making odd sounds; when asked for his name again, he simply said 'Monkey'.

At that point, the officers pushed him against a shop window and handcuffed him, as onlookers laughed and booed. 'Why are they arresting this monkey?' cried one onlooker.

Police said Green had been spotted by officers bumping into people, and allegedly had knocked a hamburger out of a man's hands. They said that he then refused to give them his name, instead 'continually shaking his head and making squeaking noises'.

He was taken to jail, where is he was bailed on the condition that he not return to the city. But as he walked to the train station, the same officer then re-arrested him, on the grounds that he'd breached the bail conditions. He was then held overnight.

'I thought it was some sort of a joke. And then he put the cuffs on me and I just couldn't believe it,' Green told PerthNow.

He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday, charged with 'failing to comply with a request given'. He was given a three-month community release order and ordered to pay $60 in court costs.

For the original article, go here.

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Editorial Comment: I think this guy was a chimposter!

This koala had a lucky escape after it somehow survived being struck by a car travelling at 50mph and getting caught in the car's grill.

The bear got wedged in the Ford Falcon’s grill and had to be carefully driven 15km (nine miles) to a vet in Portland, Australia, to be extracted.

Local vet Lisia Sturm was astounded to find the koala had survived without a scratch, after it was cut from the grill with bolt cutters.

The animal was kept under observation for the rest of the day before being released back into its natural habitat later that afternoon.

For this original article, go here.

A man was arrested for exposing himself and waving a shotgun around – while dressed as a banana. His plan to split before he was nabbed didn’t bear fruit.

Police in Port Angeles, Washington state, were first alerted to the unappeeling antics when reports came in from diners at a restaurant that a man in a costume was exposing himself.

He was also seen exposing himself and waving a gun around while careering through the city with friends in a car.

Clallam County officers arrested the 21-year-old for indecent exposure and reckless endangerment.

However, the suspect failed to explain why he was dressed as a potassium-rich yellow fruit (see picture).

His costume was confiscated and bagged as evidence.

There are unconfirmed reports that a Port Angeles police psychiatrist thinks the suspect may have committed the alleged crimes because he'd 'gone bananas'.

For this original article, go here.