PERTH, Australia- It's what happened next that was the surprise. "The damn thing went right for the latch on the inside of the cage and kept working it till the door fell open." Biologist Deirdre Danks half-jokingly said "If they ever learn to walk on land no dead bolt will keep them out of your house. These are very powerful creatures."

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa- Melissa Clement hadn't used her grill since the Fall and didn't cover it for the winter. When Spring finally arrived so did the idea for grilling out so Melissa decided to fire her barbecue up. But as she opened the gas valve she noticed some sticks sticking out of two small vent holes. After opening the grill lid a small bird flew out, leaving behind a giant nest that could accomodate 50 birds its size. "Maybe this little bird was a developer and thought my barbecue was a nice spot for an apartment complex or something. But, if I had lit that barbecue without looking in there the whole place might have burned down."

FORT MYERS, Florida- John Cirricotto has cataracts and trouble seeing clearly. And now, he also has a dog that looks just like his carpet. "I don't know what the wife was thinking, bringing this one home, but I am pretty sure she meant well," said the slightly amused senior.

ANDERSON, Indiana- If you're visiting Jane and Terry Olson's house and want to towel off after a shower make sure you are grabbing something made of cotton. Because it's possible you could be grabbing a Sharpei puppy named Cotton. "Oh, we've had lots of laughs putting Cotton on the guest towels. I almost hate to see him grow up. But then maybe we can fool people into thinking he's a bath robe."

BARBUTTI, South Africa- Petr Carson knows as much about the Africa Bush as any living person. And he has never, in all his years as a park ranger, seen a zebra and a mule team up to have a family. "I don't know if they are just in love or want to do the right thing once the dirty deed was done but dad and mom are staying together to raise that kid," said the astonished outdoorsman. "Historically these two parents would not be seen together but maybe things are changing."

BETHESDA, Maryland- Lights went out in part of Bethesda on Sunday, and it was all because of a squirrel. Squirrels are a significant cause of power outages, and the utilities make substantial efforts to keep them out of substations and off transmission wires. Repair crews "did find the remains of an electrocuted squirrel in our switch gear," spokesman Art Anderson said. It was at least the second outage attributed to wildlife in the metropolitan area in recent weeks. On Easter Sunday, the intrusion of a snake into a substation in the Upper Marlboro area cut power to about 6,800 homes and businesses. Easter Mass was halted at St. Bernards Catholic Church with some parishioners thinking the flickering lights meant something.

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri- A resident called police claiming his children spotted an alligator while playing in the woods. Officers responded and shot the reptile as it lurked menacingly in the weeds leading to a nearby pond. It wasn't until the second shot bounced off the 'gator's head that the officers realized they had mortally wounded a concrete lawn ornament. Tom Gentry, a police spokesman said, "The first clue was the thing didn't move after being shot in the head, twice. But we now know our officers can hit a non-moving object the size of an alligator two out of two times." The concrete alligator was put there to scare kids off the owner's property. Before leaving the officers suggested a No Trespassing sign be used instead.

NEDERLAND, Colorado- Marcus Lesher has tried to make his property as "green" as possible. Rain barrels collect what he hopes to use to water his plants. Except when a black bear keeps plopping itself into those rain barrels and dumping most of the water on the ground. "I am never surprised to see bears sniffing around here but why does this one have to drop his butt into all my barrels? All I am going to have left in the yard is cactus."

MT. SHASTA, California- Bubba Brown hoped to introduce his fiance, Lina, to the joys of life in the outdoors and pave the way for a future spent together camping. And then they came back from a hike to see a bear destroying Lina's car. And now their planned marriage is off. "She freaked. I offered to pay to have her car fixed but now she really just wants to move on."

BAY COUNTY, Michigan- A 12-pound Canada goose crashed through the windshield of a sport utility vehicle injuring the driver who suffered cuts on her face when the honker suddenly crashed through the vehicle's windshield. Sgt. Peter Pickelman, a 22-year veteran of the fire department, called it "a first in all my years answering emergencies calls. But it made me think, I'd hate to see what would have happened if this goose was the leader and the rest of the flock had flown in there, too."