Owl Flies Down Chimney, Tops Christmas Tree [Weird News & Oddities] – Patch.com

January 5, 2025 ndowd

An Arlington, Virginia, family had an unexpected visitor — a huge barred owl that flew down the chimney and perched perfectly atop their holiday tree like a feathered Father Christmas finial.

Family members were understandably unnerved at the sight of one of the largest of the owl species staring down from the top of their Christmas tree with its piercing eyes.
But they did the right thing and didn’t panic, according to a spokeswoman for the Community Action Response Team. The first responders are accustomed to calls about trespassing squirrels and raccoons, but the owl call was a first. Sgt. Spencer Murray let it fly around the house until it wore itself out, then scooped it up in a net and released it outside for an, ahem, “owlsome” conclusion to a unforgettable Christmas story.
Researchers in Orange County, New York, unearthed an amazing fossil that will tell them more about the prehistoric mastodons that roamed Earth 3.5 million years. The full, well-preserved mastodon jaw and additional bone fragments were discovered in the back yard of a Scotchtown home by researchers from the New York State Museum and SUNY Orange. It is the first mastodon fossil find in 11 years, scientists said.
The homeowner, whose name wasn’t released, realized the discovery was “something extraordinary,” according to a news release.
“When I found the teeth and examined them in my hands, I knew they were something special and decided to call in the experts,” the person said. “I’m thrilled that our property has yielded such an important find for the scientific community.”
The artifact will be featured in 2025 programming at the museum. About one-third of the more than 150 mastodon fossils discovered statewide have been in Orange County, a hotspot for the ancient relatives of modern elephants in New York, the researchers said.
“This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region,” Dr. Robert Feranec, director of Research & Collections and curator of Ice Age Animals at the New York State Museum, said in a news release. “Fossils are resources that provide remarkable snapshots of the past, allowing us to not only reconstruct ancient ecosystems but also provide us with better context and understanding of the current world around us. Each discovery like this one brings us one step closer to piecing together the full story of New York.”
California ground squirrels are showing carnivorous behavior for the first time and are among the first rodents known to hunt and kill other rodents.
The findings recently published in the Journal of Ethology are the latest in a long-running behavioral ecology study of California ground squirrels at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County. Researchers look at how ground squirrels, which are native to California’s grasslands, adapt to environmental changes, including a surge in the local vole population.
The short answer: They hunt, kill and eat them.
A Virginia man on a group hunting excursion died after a bear shot by another member of the party fell from a tree on top of him.
State wildlife officials said other members of the hunting group provided first aid at the scene until paramedics arrived, but the man had been severely injured. The victim, 58-year-old Lester C. Harvey, died a few days later.
Two Florida women spent Christmas Day waiting to be rescued after falling 50 feet off a cliff into a canyon on the 17th hole of a golf course at the Black Diamond Ranch in Citrus County.
The women weren’t discovered until the following day.
First responders described a “challenging” low-angle rescue at The Quarry Course, where holes 13 through 17 “play across and around the rims of two canyons up to 80 feet deep,” according to the Black Diamond website.
The women, whose names and ages weren’t released, were taken to a trauma hospital for treatment.
Santa Claus may come out of Christmas 2024 with a record, landing squarely on his own “naughty” list. But Florida authorities have to find him, first.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a Santa-clad motorcyclist driving in a “reckless manner” led troopers on a high-speed chase that reached speeds of up to 120 mph. Troopers caught up with the motorcyclist, who refused to stop, and ultimately lost sight of him, according to a news release.
“The sleigh must have been in the shop, but last night Mr. Claus didn’t pause for any cause,” police said in a statement that asked for the public’s help in identifying the motorcyclist.
Half a century after he checked it out from his boyhood library in suburban Detroit, Chuck Hildebrandt, 63, of Chicago, tried to return “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars” when he was in town for Thanksgiving.
Hildebrandt discovered the book five or six years ago, but decided to hold onto it until 50 years had passed. He thought returning then would give the Warren library a publicity boost because the fine by then would have been $4,564.
Just keep the book, library director Oksana Urban said, forgiving the fine.
“Some people never come back to face the music,” Urban said of patrons with overdue books. “But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system.”
Hildebrandt returned the book his 13-year-old self checked out as a young “baseball nut” to his shelf, guilt free. And he’s trying to raise the amount the fine would have been to support the Reading Is Fundamental program. He seeded the effort with $457.