WebClawer: Monkey kills owner with coconut, rats fix mouse problem in India, octopus fails at crabbing

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From octopus to salmon, from rats to frogs, animals are making news all over the globe:

-- An ‘enrichment activity’ planned for a 7-foot-long, 30-pound octopus named Truman didn’t go quite as planned last week. Staffers at the New England Aquarium locked delicious, delicious crabs in a small box placed inside a larger locked box, about the size of a milk crate. In his haste to get at his meal, Truman bypassed the larger box’s locks and instead squeezed himself into it through a 2-inch hole. He spent about half an hour inside the box before slithering back out again, and (FAIL!), never managed to get the small box of crabs open. Associated Press

-- A monkey whose owner forced it to climb trees to retrieve coconuts apparently took revenge by throwing a coconut at the man and hitting him. The man died instantly. A Thailand newspaper reported that the owner, 48-year-old Leilit Janchoom, sold the coconuts for money and beat the monkey if it showed hesitance at climbing a tree. ‘It seemed lovable. We called him Brother Kwan,’ said Janchoom’s wife, who said the couple had bought the monkey for about the equivalent of $180. Daily Mail

-- More than 75 fishing organizations, including groups in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Alaska, have signed a letter urging President Obama to create a new position in his administration. That position? Salmon director. The letter urges Obama to act quickly to ‘protect and restore dwindling populations of Pacific salmon and steelhead and the tens of thousands of jobs in our states that depend upon them.’ As of yet, there’s been no response from the Oval Office. Greenspace

-- Police in the Indian state of Haryana are taking a novel approach to a pest problem: They’re using domesticated rats to scare away the mice who have destroyed countless official documents and pieces of evidence. ‘These rats or mice are voracious eaters and have chewed up vital papers; clothing; and even the jute [rough fiber] sacks we normally use to store narcotics, illicit alcohol and weapons confiscated from criminals and crime scenes,’ said Arshinder Singh Chawla, the senior superintendent of the district of Karnal. Chawla explained that the rats are released on nightly patrols and, since the experiment began, the mice have disappeared entirely. He added, ‘the best part is that our guards don’t touch the documents or the poppy husk, we keep them well fed on a diet of fresh milk and roti.’ BBC

-- Staff at a U.K. veterinary hospital were able to fashion casts for the front legs of a tiny frog who was crushed in a door. An endotracheal tube was used to fashion splints for the frog, who measures just 3 inches. The Sun

-- Lindsay Barnett