Strange-Meerkats with a human foot fetish now looking up women's skirts

The creatures seem to be enjoying their new enclosure in Jungle Kingdom – an enclosure into which visitors can enter and walk among the meerkats – but their foot fascination has forced staff to put up warning signs about their keen interest in feet. Keepers have been kept on their toes and have been on alert over the past week, watching out for the 19 adventurous 'leerkats'. Keeper Catriona Carr said: 'We've had to keep an eye on anybody wearing sandals or flip-flops, especially if they have painted toenails.

'They seem to be more attracted to reds and blues for some reason. We're not entirely sure what it is about the feet. It might be the bright colours of the footwear and toenails, the movement of the toes or even the smell. 'As keepers it certainly keeps us on our toes to make sure the cheeky critters don't nibble any visitor feet!'

Nice-'March of the Blondes' cheers weary Latvia in economic slump

With the country in the grip of a deep recession, the annual parade has given people a rare reason to smile. Now in its third year, the March of the Blondes has grown to include Marilyn Monroe look-a-like contests and pink fashion shows.Latvia has been struggling to recover from an 18 per cent decline in its economy in 2009 - the first year the parade was held.

Latvian Association of Blondes boss MarikaGederte explained that people are coming from all over the world to take part.

Dumb-Burglar steals beers, sleeps on couch

A 63-year-old Long Neck, Del. woman woke up Tuesday morning to find a burglar sleeping on her couch, police say. The woman woke up at 7 a.m. to find her front door open and a man — who had drunk multiple cans of her beer — snoozing, police say.

The burglar woke up and ran out of the house with a beer still in his hand after the woman told him she was calling the police.

Wow-Bar busted for running mouse races

DES MOINES, Iowa - The owner of a tavern in a small town in the state of Iowa who said he ran mouse races on Sundays for fun, was cited by local police for allowing patrons to bet on the rodent running. “It’s a blast,” said Scott Beach, 49, who ran the mouse races at the Bucktail Lodge in Danville, a town of about 900 people, before being cited by the Des Moines County sheriff’s office. “The state’s taking the fun out of it,” he said, adding that he would be pleading not guilty. The sheriff’s office confirmed Friday that Scott Beach and his wife Jan Beach were cited for knowingly permitting criminal activity on licensed premises. Bar patrons pick a mouse for a dollar, and whoever picks the winning mouse gets the payout, Scott Beach explained. He said the tavern made no money out of the betting. Beach said he was told ignorance of the law was no excuse.

The mice run on an eight-foot-long (2.4 meter) flat track, with each mouse racing in its own lane. Asked if he needed to put cheese at the end of the run to tempt the mice forward, Beach said, “No, they’re in their cages all day. They’re ready to run.”

Nature-Bee swarm shuts down portion of Ottawa

OTTAWA — A portion of downtown Ottawa had to be cordoned off for a short time during the lunch hour Monday due to a bee swarm. The bees landed on several bikes owned by customers at the Black Thorn restaurant sometime just before 1 p.m.

Ottawa police arrived on scene first and taped off the sidewalk around the bees, who appear to be re-hiving, according to restaurant bartender James Gallant. City of Ottawa workers arrived and cordoned off a 40-metre stretch in the Byward where the bees are gathered underneath the bike wheels.

Miracle-Driver survives spectacular crash

LAVAL, QC - A young driver survived a spectacular crash in which he was thrown from his vehicle in suburban Montreal.The driver was not wearing a seat-belt when he lost control of his car on Sunday morning.The vehicle flipped several times and was totalled.

The man, who was in his 20s, was taken to hospital as a precaution and he quickly discharged. "It is a miracle that he escaped without a scratch," said Laval police spokesman Michael Gagnon.