Police arrested a 35-year old man Tuesday on charges of cruelty to animals after he was found to have a 14-foot python wrapped around his body while strolling along a highway. Long Island's Suffolk County police identified the suspect as Curtis Dewberry of Wading River.

The remains of a giant rat, estimated to weigh about a ton, was discovered in Uruguay proving that mammoth rodent once roamed the face of the earth some four million years ago. Archaeologists said they have unearthed the half-meter long skull of the giant prehistoric rat, which by any standard, is bigger than a bull, in a chunk of rock in Rio de La Plata on the coast of Uruguay.

Chimpanzees cannot be considered people. This was the ruling handed out by the Austrian Supreme Court Tuesday. The decision was made in response to a plea made by a local animal rights group requesting to be granted guardianship of two chimpanzees, after the shelter where they have lived in for 25 years declared bankruptcy. The two chimps, Matthew Hiasl Pan and Rosi, were at risk of being left without a home.

Golf balls swallowed by and extracted from a snake were placed for sale on eBay, with the highest bid totalling $1,401 Australian, or $1,253 US. The four balls which were taken from inside a carpet python at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary last week were posted for sale on the online auction, still unwashed. The winner will also receive X-rays and photographs of Augusta, the python, with the balls still inside, and after the balls were taken out by surgery.

To help keep its runway free from wildlife, an Italian airport spent $14,700 to employ a golden eagle to do the rather risky job. A spokesperson for the airport in the southern city of Bari, said they came up with the idea after a number of incidents had caused the runway had to be closed due to intrusions of - foxes.