There’s so much bad news around I thought the end of a frightening work week might lend itself to some levity. So I’m wondering, is the animal world so fed up with the over-population of humankind and the resulting changes to the food chain that they start acting almost as irrationally as humans do? Take these bizarre stories involving the animal kingdom:

* Drudge has this story about a squirrel gone stark-raving made in Central Florida. What the squirrel could be torked off about is anyone’s guess – I suppose only he/she knows for sure – but the fact that Local 6 News thought it news-worthy enough to present a map graphic and a video makes me think they know their audience pretty well, right?

* Drudge also has this bizarre story about some poor University of Central Florida marine biology student missing and presumed drowned after being pulled underwater by a giant sea turtle while on a research project on the big blue. Again, this story is covered by Local 6 News in (with video, no less!) providing up-to-the-minute coverage of this riveting story.

* And, how about this story about a 14 ft. marlin not willing to go quietly into the night. Instead, he stabs the guy trying to catch him and drags him into the sea. The guy survived, the marlin got away, and gamefish everywhere applaud.

* How can you resist a headline like this? “Bear Takes In Dinner And Show In Nev.”. I’m thinking something like the buffet at the Imperial Palace, but no – well, you’ll have to read it for a chuckle.

BTW, keeping with today’s animal theme, Drudge yesterday had a story about how “mini-cows” are becoming all the rage as household pets. When I first saw the article, I was thinking you could keep one or two in, say, the bathroom, but take a good look at the picture – these cows are not THAT mini!

I’m reminded of the scene in All The President’s Men with all the publishers sitting around the table and going over the leading stories of the day. Between “hard” news stories like the Vietnam War peace negotiations in Paris, and George McGovern seeking a new VP candidate, one “human interest” story involving a weeping Virgin Mary in the Phillippines is also batted around, to various jokes and barbs from the assembled. The guy who mentions the story quiets the group down saying something like, “laugh all you want gentlemen, this is the only story people will read”.

Some things never change.