Depressed wombat pines for human contact, and more

Depressed wombat pines for human contact

A wombat at an Australian zoo has been diagnosed with depression, but it’s not because he’s caged. Keepers were concerned when Tonka, 2, the star attraction at Queensland’s Billabong Sanctuary, lost 20 percent of his weight after a recent cyclone devastated the region and shut the zoo for eight weeks. Veterinarians ran a battery of expensive physiological tests before concluding that Tonka was suffering from a withdrawal of human contact. Zoo spokesman Brett Flemming said Tonka missed “the patting, the photos, the cuddles, and the endless posing for the paparazzi.”

A baby for Zsa Zsa Gabor?

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Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband says that he and the bedridden 94-year-old actress are trying for a baby. Prince Frederic von Anhalt, 67, says his wife is keen for the Gabor family name to be passed on, and is determined to have a child with him. Her contribution would be minimal, since the plan is to use an egg donor, artificial insemination, and a surrogate mother. Gabor’s only child, Francesca Hilton, said she was shocked at the news. “That’s just weird,” she said.

Bank robber hypnotizes his victims

Police in Russia are searching for a portly hypnotist who approaches elderly customers in banks and hypnotizes them into withdrawing cash for him. The suspect has been captured by surveillance cameras in the city of Stavropol, and is believed to have targeted at least eight seniors. “I remember this man coming up to me and saying he desperately needed money and I would help him,” said one victim, Mayra Sovic. “The next day my bank manager told me I had withdrawn my life savings.”