#findteddy grips Australia, and more

#findteddy grips Australia

When 12-year-old Jessica Malcolm lost her beloved teddy bear at Sydney Airport, millions of social-media users helped reunite them. Her mother, Libby, came up with the hashtag #findteddy, which 2.5 million sympathizers across Australia—including actor Russell Crowe—retweeted, turning the lost bear into a national priority. Last week, Australian customs officials found Teddy and returned the bear to Jessica. “Perfect strangers were wishing us well and helping us,” Libby Malcolm said. “It just restores your faith in humanity.”

A new home for endangered elephants

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Ivory Coast’s endangered African forest elephants are getting a second chance in a new home. The elephants, which are smaller than savanna elephants, have been devastated by human encroachment into Marahoué National Park. More than a decade of political instability has allowed logging and poaching to flourish, leaving only a few hundred imperiled elephants in the region. In a bid to save the species, the International Fund for Animal Welfare last week began tranquilizing a dozen elephants and trucking them to better-protected lands. Locals support the effort. “The elephants are the soul of Ivory Coast,” said banana farmer Oscar Sery.

10-year-old saves grandfather

Cara Jumper, 10, expected a fun day with her grandpa at the family fishing hole in South Carolina. But when Coy Jumper suffered a stroke and fell into deep water, the petite girl found herself leaping to his rescue and saving him from drowning. Cara then had to drag her 230-pound grandfather a quarter mile through the woods, get behind the wheel, and drive him three miles back home to safety. Coy was hospitalized for six days, and remembers just enough to know his granddaughter saved his life. “I think it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done,” said Cara.