Runaway Gorilla Hurts Zoo Worker

Employee came out of retirement because of staff shortages

(NEWSER) - A Johannesburg Zoo employee who came out of retirement because of staff shortages was killed by a lioness at a breeding facility outside the city. The 63-year-old, who had nearly 40 years of experience working with animals, was attacked while feeding the lions, the BBC reports. An enclosure was found unlocked, apparently because of human error. The 11-year-old lioness, Nyanga, was tranquilized and returned to her enclosure. More»

Baby in Lincoln Park Zoo had no visible wounds

(NEWSER) - The death of a 9-day-old baby gorilla at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago has left authorities scratching their heads, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Yesterday, first-time mom Bana carried her baby's lifeless body to the zoo's gorilla enclosure, but zoo officials couldn't spot any serious wounds. "There are no bite marks or cuts and no sign of aggression, but it is possible she may have been dropped or even sat on," says a zoo spokesperson. More»

SC first lady returns for governor's open house

(NEWSER) - Jenny Sanford returned to the South Carolina Governor's Mansion yesterday, just for the day. Gov. Mark Sanford's estranged wife joined him for the traditional holiday open house, at which they stood far apart and greeted visitors to the mansion, newly decorated for Christmas. Jenny Sanford, who has been living in the family's Sullivans Island home with the couple's four sons, had not appeared publicly in Columbia since her husband admitted to an affair with an Argentine woman, reports the State . More»

(NEWSER) - The wife of South Carolina's philandering governor is moving out and taking the kids, the State reports. “I have decided to move back to our home in Charleston with our sons for the upcoming school year,” Mark Sanford's wife, Jenny, said in a statement released today. The governor released a statement that reads in part: "I stand by this family decision." The Sanfords have four sons. More»

South Carolina Republican apologizes, sort of, for racist remark

(NEWSER) - Turns out that pegging a primate as a member of the first lady's family tree on a public website might not be the best career move, as an activist in the South Carolina GOP is finding out. Rusty DePass has apologized after making a comment on a friend's Facebook photo of a gorilla that had escaped from a local zoo, reports local TV station WIS—"I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors—probably harmless." More»