The Buffalo Whisperer–Texas Couple Lives with Two Enormous Buffalo

Quinlan, TX – Snakes, spiders, chimpanzees and even lions… some people just love to keep dangerous animals as pets. But RC Bridges and his wife Sherron have gone a big step further – the Texas couple shares their home with two buffaloes! What makes them love these huge, dangerous animals so much that they give them the run of the house? Incredible Features finds out.

RC has worked with buffaloes for most of his life, but after suffering with health issues in 2004 he had to sell his herd – except for one young buffalo named Wild Thing. RC and his wife decided to keep him as a pet. RC knew what he was getting into, however, even he was surprised to find out buffaloes make great companions: “I knew they were crazy animals. It actually turned out way better than I thought it would be,” laughs RC.

RC is a professional when it comes to handling dangerous animals. In the 1960’s and 70’s he worked as a rodeo clown, and a horse jockey. He is also a two-time world champion at cutting, a sport where a horse and rider separate a cow from its herd and keep it away for a short period of time.

Recently the couple have added a female buffalo to their family – Bullet. Bullet’s previous owner gave her to the couple as a gift when she found she was too hard to control. “She told me if I could catch her, I could have her. She kept getting out of the pen and the Sheriff’s department was mad about it. Well, I just caught her, put her in a trailer and brought her home,” RC explains.

Surprisingly, although already very intimidating, Wild Thing and Bullet aren’t fully grown yet, and could potentially reach up to 11 feet-tall and weigh up to 2,500 pounds. Their curved, sharp horns are two feet long – and lethal – and they are able to run as fast as 40 mph. Considering this, RC’s rapport with the beasts is incredible! That’s why he’s been called the Buffalo Whisperer.

EXCLUSIVE: First Annual Arizona Sugar Glider Event

Tempe, AZ – In late April, Tamra Rothenburger held the First Annual Arizona Sugar Glider Gathering at a park in Tempe, AZ, where a large group of people from all over Arizona were brought together by their shared passion: to educate people about sugar gliders and how to care for these unique, exotic animals. Tamra runs a sugar glider rescue, where she often sees gliders that have been treated badly, simply because their owners didn’t know how to care for them.

Sugar gliders are marsupials, native to Australia. They have a gliding membrane between their arms and legs, similar to those of flying squirrels, which lets them glide from tree to tree. They are intelligent, highly developed animals with problem-solving abilities much like monkeys.

According to Tamra, getting sugar gliders is a commitment: “When you’re thinking of bringing a glider into your life, you’re bringing in a child. Their intelligence level is equivalent to that of a two-year-old. They need constant stimulation”.

“People get them at carnivals and fairs and malls. That’s not the place to get these animals. They are sold by breeders who are mass-producing them and not giving them the devotion and attention they need.” The gliders are often taken away from their mothers too soon and the prospective buyers don’t receive enough education on how to handle these exotic animals.

When people realize how much time and effort it takes to own a sugar glider, they often decide not to keep them any longer. Tamra and her husband Dan founded the AZ Sugar Glider Rescue for the purpose of making the lives of sugar gliders happy and healthy. They do not only care for gliders, but also offer training and information on the care and handling of gliders to both, current glider owner and potential owners. The rescue takes in injured or malnourished sugar gliders and cares for them until they are ready to be matched with a new loving family.

Currently, the AZ Sugar Glider Rescue has seven rescued gliders and four sanctuaries. Sanctuaries are animals that have serious issues and cannot be adopted. One of Tamra’s sanctuaries is Foamy. His owner kept him alone and did not give him enough attention. When he arrived at the rescue, he had ripped most of his fur out, to a point where he was almost bald. Now, a year later, he is doing much better and most of his fur has grown back. Tamra matched him with a female cage mate, Isabella.

EXCLUSIVE: A Kangaroo for Kayla

Jeni and Nick Dreis of Spring, Texas have been finding out all kinds of fun facts about the Australian marsupials since they took on Mike. Six months out of the pouch he’s a 12-pound playmate for their sixteen year-old daughter Kayla who has Down syndrome. He’s also an important first step in the creation of the Dreis family’s dream – a wildlife park and organic farm providing support to those with intellectual disabilities, the Texas Downs Facility.

Jeni swears Mike is a far easier to care for than their Schnauzer, Porter. During the day he hops around the house and yard, taking breaks to rest in a handbag hanging from the stair banister or a door handle. The bag mimics his mother’s pouch and Mike sleeps in it upside down with his long back legs hanging out the sides. He eats kangaroo kibble and drinks specialized formula from a bottle. For a treat he’ll have a cracker, Cheerios or his favorite split pea soup.

Kayla and Mike bonded on sight. “She was wearing a floral-print dress,” describes Jeni, “He wanted to eat those flowers! He hopped around after her, nibbling at her dress. She hopped backwards and led him around the house. Then she fed him his bottle and they’ve been inseparable since.”

When Jeni found Mike and bought him from an exotic pet breeder and veterinarian not far from Spring she didn’t plan for him to act as a therapy pet for Kayla. However, she believes the unusual animal has had a greatly positive effect on her daughter. “Mike has been wonderful for our family,” she says, “Kayla’s changed her attitude remarkably. She wants to feed him, care for him and play with him. She loves him. Before she watched a lot of TV or played on her own. She has a strong personality so she was a little aggressive and bossy. She’s always found it hard to find real friends and now she has a companion. I take him up to her bedroom in the morning before school and he licks her face. She jumps out of bed, happy to start her day. She can hold him like a baby on her hip – he won’t let anyone else do that.”

Drunken Brits Steal A Penguin In Australia!

What sounds like a hilarious scene from the movie Hangover actually really happened last month in Australia:
Rhys Owen Jones, 21, and Keri Mules, 20, appeared before magistrates in Brisbane, Australia last week and pleaded guilty to trespassing, stealing and keeping a penguin.
The two young men from Wales were arrested after breaking into Sea World on Queensland’s Gold Coast during an alcohol-fueled escapade on April 14.

After drinking vodka at a beach party, they sneaked into the animal park and snatched the penguin, called Dirk, from an aquarium before waking up with the bird in their apartment the following day.

When they sobered up, Jones and Mules took photo and video footage of the animal before releasing it into a canal, but were arrested after a friend saw updates they had posted about their antics on Facebook and reported them to police.

Caviar Chips and Green Tea Oreos?

What sounds quite gross to most Americans is actually very popular in other countries. Russians like their Lay’s potato chips dusted in caviar and crab flavors. The Chinese like Oreos stuffed with mango or green tea cream. And in Spain, Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal is served in hot coffee instead of cold milk.

American snack foods are being sold around the world, but food scientists have to adapt them to the regional tastes. For example the Oreo, which Kraft Food Inc. introduced in China in 1996. Sales of the vanilla cream-filled chocolate cookie sandwich were respectable there, but the Chinese didn’t completely take to it. So Kraft decided to tweak the Oreo. The Chinese like their cookies smaller and not as sweet as Americans do. So the company changed the recipe to create a cookie that was a tad smaller and a touch less sweet.

But the company wasn’t finished. After noticing sales of Oreos were lagging in China during the summer, Kraft added a green tea ice cream flavor. The cookie combined a popular local flavor with the cooling imagery of ice cream. The green tea version sold well, and a year later, Kraft rolled out Oreos in flavors that are popular in Asians desserts — raspberry-and-blueberry and mango-and-orange.

High School Prom: For Girls Only!

Hamtramck High School’s prom had everything: the do-it-yourself Greek columns, pink and white tulle bows, banners, and beautiful girls in beautiful prom dresses… Sounds like a normal prom, right? Sure, except for one little detail: there were no boys!

Hamtramck, a dense, scrappy working-class city of 22,500 encircled by Detroit, once predominantly German and Polish, has become one of the most diverse small cities in America. Many students attending Hamtramck High School are Yemeni-American, Palestinian-American, Bosnian-American and African-American and the prom conformed to Muslim beliefs forbidding dating and dancing with boys.

Although there were no boys, the girls had tons of fun: normally concealed in a chrysalis of hijab and abaya, the traditional Muslim cloak, they literally let their hair down in public for the first time. Eman Ashabi, a Yemeni-American who helped organize the event, arrived in a ruffled pink gown, her black hair falling in perfect waves, thanks to a curling iron. Like many here, she stunned her friends.

In addition to Muslim girls, many non-Muslim students wanted to go, too. “I want to support all my girls,” said Sylwia Stanko, who was born in Poland and whose friends are mostly Bengali-American or Arab-American. “I know how important it is to them.”

Real-Life Mermaids!

Have you or your kids always wanted to see a real mermaid? Now you can! At Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, one of the oldest theme parks of the state.
People from al over the country come to Weeki Wachee to see its most unique attraction: beautiful women dressed like mermaids, performing in an underwater show.
Being a Weeki Wachee mermaid is not an easy job – even the most experienced swimmers find this very difficult. The women have to spend almost an entire day under water, at a temperature ranging in the lower 70’s. The ideal water temperature for adults is in the higher 80’s. To add to this, the ladies have to wear tight, 15-pound mermaid tails that bind their legs together. It sure does look beautiful, but it’s pretty hard to swim around as though you have only one leg. While under water, the mermaids perform a synchronized choreography routine while trying to breathe through a hidden rubber hose.
But nevertheless, the mermaids manage to swim gracefully, with pretty hand movements and smiling faces.

The Great Morgani: Stock Broker Trades Wall Street for Street Performing

Santa Cruz, CA–Frank Lima, better known to many as The Great Morgani, gave up a lucrative career as a stockbroker in order to pursue something just a little different–street performing. Today, Lima, 69, can often be seen standing on the sidewalks of Santa Cruz covered from head to toe in elaborate costumes composed of shiny fabric, colored foil, cotton balls, plastic discs, and virtually any type of material, object, or decoration one could imagine.

Masterfully playing the accordion atop a portable foot-tall wooden box, The Great Morgani makes a lasting impression on all who have the chance to witness his grand performances.

Quidditch–The Harry Potter Sport is Flying on Broomsticks to College Campuses Around the World

Adapted from the fictional game played by witches and wizards alike in the Harry Potter series, ‘Muggle’ Quidditch has quickly become a bonafide competitive sport across the United States. Colleges on the East Coast first tweaked the magical sport to be played by non-magical athletes, and since then, more than 200 teams have appeared across the country.

Now, UCLA has its very own Quidditch team!

While the Harry Potter version of the game is played mid-air, with players magically suspended upon their brooms, Quidditch for Muggles takes place on a field. Players are required to hold their brooms between their legs at all times.

Overall, the game is considered to be an enchanting mixture of dodge ball, rugby, and tag.

Jeffrey Lin, a student at UCLA, says he became involved with Quidditch during his freshman year, when he signed up for the UCLA team with floor mates. A natural athlete who has run cross-country, done track and field, and played ultimate Frisbee among other recreational sports in the past, Lin is not one to shy away from challenging himself.

As one of Lin’s teammate sums up in a reflection on the Quidditch team, ‘For most people, as soon as they’re here, they’re hooked. It’s part of the magic of Quidditch.’

Game Face & Lip Stick: Ladies Arm Wrestling Tournament

San Francisco, CA–Bring your game face, fanciful costume, and don’t forget the lipstick! It’s time for the inaugural West Coast ladies arm wrestling tournament.

On a Friday night in February a line stretched around the block from the entrance of the art space Chez Poulet in San Francisco’s Mission District. They weren’t waiting for the hottest new band or a trendy artist’s opening – but for the first event on the West Coast to showcase an unusual sport that is rapidly gaining a following – ladies arm wrestling.

Twisted Sister, The Iron Fist, Tilda Wrench, The Annihilator, Betty Tight, Busty Barbell – taking inspiration from the performance element of WWE the competitors at the event each chose a creative moniker and costume to express their wild and raucous side. Sixteen women battled it out for the winning trophy, competing in three bouts using first their right arm, then left, then right again.

Proceeds raised from the bets put down by spectators on their favorite wrestler went to the OJFA – a home for girls in need of support in the aftermath of the earthquake in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

The arm wrestling ladies of San Francisco are already looking forward to their next event – set for June. They say it’s bound to be “Over The Top.”

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