Today we bring you news about animals that were introduced in August in New Zealand, a major dairy farming country and a country blessed with abundant nature.
Sam Neill's Ducks Go to Heaven
New Zealander and Hollywood actor Sam Neill announced the sad news on Instagram.
My precious little friend Charlie died while I was away. I'm so sad. Charlie was a loving and friendly little guy and I loved this little duck very much. When I saw him last, I thought maybe he wouldn't survive the next winter. Charlie is probably 9 or 10 years old, which is a very long life for a duck. It's too sad to post a picture of Charlie now, but I'd like to show you a little bit of Charlie when he was lively.
Sam Neill was born in Northern Ireland, but moved to New Zealand with his parents at a young age. He gained attention after playing the lead role in the final film of The Omen: The Final Battle. He is best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. He is also set to appear in the latest Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World: Dominion, scheduled for release in 2021.
Sam Neill currently lives in Queenstown, New Zealand. He owns a farm and vineyards in Central Otago. Charlie the duck has passed away, but there are still many animals on the farm waiting for Sam to return. These are a pig and a ram. They are friends who are always together.
Good Morning World is a video project by 100% Pure New Zealand that sends "good morning" to the world from New Zealand. In it, Sam Neill introduces his farm with Charlie.
Cow dives into the pool!
A cow on a Waikato farm got separated from the herd and ended up in the family's swimming pool.
— Sam Owen (@samueltowen) August 5, 2020
Farmer Sam Owen posted a photo of a cow swimming leisurely in a pool on Twitter. According to Owen, while he was moving his herd of cows, one of them left the herd and went into his backyard. It climbed over the fence and jumped into the pool in his backyard. The cow seemed to be having a lot of fun in the water, but the problem was how to pull it out of the pool. Of course, the cow can't climb out of the pool on its own.
After much deliberation and head-scratching, I decided that we needed some sort of step or ramp to pull the cow out of the pool.
So Owen came up with the idea of using an old sofa he had in his garage. He threw the sofa into the pool and the cow was able to use it to get out of the pool! This was typical New Zealand farm news.
→ Farmer's inventive solution to get cow out of swimming pool (A dairy farmer's unique idea to get cows out of swimming pool) *Currently a broken link
The article also featured some cow-related jokes that Owen had posted on Twitter, so here's one to share.
A farmer tried to make the world's biggest cup of tea, but ended up putting the whole cow's milk in it.
Artificial insemination creates new breed of Highland Cattle
A Highland Cattle cow, native to Scotland, named Devine (meaning sacred or given by God), gave birth to a calf through artificial insemination, which was named Faith. Devine once fell down a bank and injured her leg. Injuries to large animals are very expensive to treat, and rehabilitation is difficult, so most are usually euthanized. However, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Grennell, decided not to euthanize Devine.
Devine was completely immobile, but for weeks he was moved every few hours until he was able to walk, and even after he was able to walk he underwent rehabilitation for more than six months. Thanks to the care of Mr. and Mrs. Glenell, Devine made a full recovery. Mr. Glenell had always been concerned that the bloodlines of the Highland Cattle were too close, so he planned to use artificial insemination to have a calf between Devine and a Highland Cattle of a different bloodline in order to raise a stronger Highland Cattle.
So they imported sperm from Alasdair the 4th, a champion Scottish pedigree, and Devine successfully delivered a calf, named Faith, through artificial insemination.
Most Highland Cattle are now red-haired, but originally they were black. Faith was born as a black-haired calf, just as Grenell had hoped. Faith was born at great expense, but according to Grenell,
Highland Cattle are not suitable for meat as they grow slowly, but they make wonderful pets and are very gentle.
Glenell's farm also houses pigs that have been rescued from harsh conditions, and Faith is raised with lots of love.
→ From divine intervention to total faith, highland calf birth adds new blood to line
【bonus】
These are two yellow-eyed penguins, which live in New Zealand, on a date.
