Silly stories, stupid stories and money stories

The storks are laughing their heads off...

• In the Landes - Sixty-eight pairs of storks nest along 11 kilometers of railway tracks... In the context With the replacement of century-old overhead lines on the Dax-Bayonne line underway, these nests will have to be destroyed. Replacement platforms will be installed in the surrounding area. (francebleu)

• Storks aren't crazy - If they settle there, it's above all for the tranquility of the place... the trains pass by without causing, or almost, the slightest flight... These overhead lines, Almost a century old, they will have to be removed... Eleven platforms have been installed near the track and wetlands, and eight are already occupied... The work will not begin until the fall of 2028, and will be carried out, according to the SNCF, only during the period when storks are absent from the Landes region.

• Cost of the operation - one million euros... including overhead lines?

• Mées      Saubusse

Let's thank the storks. Without them, the SNCF, which does good opportunistic communication, might have waited for the overhead lines to fall before replacing them...?

The Neko Case Law: Twenty Minutes Flat - If your cat hides under a TGV, the SNCF now gives it 20 minutes before the train's departure... Gérald Darmanin, Clément Beaune said he was "particularly shocked..." and had officially written to the CEO of SNCF... (francebleu)

• Neko

If our politicians had managed and managed state affairs with as much concern for the population...

In Sri Lanka, elephants and trains...

• Sri Lanka Powerless in the Face of Collisions - Sri Lankan Railways had announced the implementation of a series of measures to try to prevent this type of accident... According to figures from the Sri Lankan Wildlife Department, 138 elephants have been killed over the past seventeen years on the island in collisions with trains... From 2015 to 2024, a total of 1,195 people and 3,484 elephants were killed on the island in accidents involving humans and pachyderms, according to the same statistics published in February. (france24)

• Elephants derail a train - The express train was traveling near a wildlife reserve... it hit a herd of elephants crossing the track.

• Sri Lanka Elephant

• Sri Lanka

Repeat speeding?

• In Switzerland, an unusual speeding offense - police officers in the town of Konzig, near Bern, have discovered... a duck flashed at 52 kilometers per hour, on a road with a speed limit of 30! And the worst part is, he may be a repeat offender... seven years ago, on exactly the same date and in the same place, a duck flying at the same speed of 2 km/h was flashed by a speed camera, the municipality indicated... hoax or manipulated image. (francebleu)

Much slower...

Snails on a journey - Beauval Zoo is sending endangered snails to Madeira... A breeding program initiated by Beauval Nature and two British zoos have made it possible to reintroduce several hundred individuals endemic to the Desert Islands.

Geomitra grabhami

No comment...

The incredible rescue of donkeys, victims of the conflict between Israel and Gaza, to Brittany... Silent victims of the war in the Middle East, Having lived through extreme conditions, twenty-five donkeys rescued from the war in Gaza have been repatriated... thanks to an international rescue operation.

Only donkeys suffer in the Middle East...? Incredible!

In Béziers, change in continuity...

• A contested court decision - The DNA profiling of dogs in Béziers cancelled by the courts, Robert Ménard persists, "even though the order concerns a small area", the measure is "neither necessary, nor appropriate, nor proportionate". ruled the administrative court... And the mayor's sleight of hand: The same day, the mayor reissued the same order...

• And what about theft of manure on public roads, a new offense. Another procedure in sight?

• Béziers in Hérault

To well-born souls, the value...

• These are just a few truffles... - Near Dijon, this little dog finds giant truffles, much to the astonishment of his owners... Ernest, a dachshund, and his owners: "If things continue like this, the truffles will pay for the kibble... unless he finds a white truffle. Then it won't be the same!"

According to information from La Bignole d'antan, the Grillon du foyer is interested in acquiring Ernest's offspring to better prepare the housewife's weekly journal and recipes.

A new clinic?

• An animal care center - Prevention, care... What to expect of the future animal house under construction in Val-de-Marne? The future house, whose construction cost amounts to 5 million euros... should open its doors in the first half of 2026... the city equipped a municipal police officer in June 2024 with a chip reader to identify lost or stray animals. (actu.fr)

• Chennevières-sur-Marne

Meanwhile: hospitals, maternity wards...

Likely to cause damage...?

• Fouine, fox, crow… these animals are not no longer considered harmful. The Council of State has just ratified the removal of many animals from the ESOD classification...

• The Decision of the Council of State, 6th - 5th Chambers Combined, 05/13/2025, 480617

Among the species likely to cause harm, isn't the human species at the head of the pack, led by the masters of the field: the politicians?

Jurassic Park coming soon...?

• Giant wolves, mammoth... an American startup promises to resurrect extinct animals... "It's as if I put a few Neanderthal genes into you that would make you hairier and more muscular, and I called you 'Neanderthal.' You'd be a million miles from a Neanderthal, you'd be a hairy human." —Alan Cooper, evolutionary biologist— For some scientists, this goal is simply impossible and even dangerous. For others, it's an ambitious initiative that could help combat the collapse of biodiversity. (france24)

The controversy isn't over...

Large animals in color...

• In Vernon, Eure - Richard Orlinski's sculptures open the debate... A blue panther, a white polar bear and a red crocodile have respectively taken their places on the forecourt of the town hall... "The crazy idea" ...will have cost the municipality 30,000 euros, divided between insurance, transportation, installation, etc. Marie-Claire adds a simple "ugly"

• Richard Orlinski, who in 2014 sold a work for 15 million euros, among other things...

• Gifts, including two large Kongs and two panthers from the sculptor Orlinski to the Estrosi couple, exhibited in the city... New search at Nice City Hall... (france3)

• Vernon in Eure

Animals and Science...

• Statistical survey on the use of animals in For scientific purposes (INSEE)

• Examine pigs before patients? An investigation denounces practices at the Strasbourg University Hospital Institute... Examinations were allegedly conducted on pigs... the IHU having contractual ties with two companies... except that, due to a lack of available staff in the imaging department, the institute postponed patient examinations to fulfill these contractual obligations. Most of these patients suffered from serious illnesses, including cancer... (france3)

Quite a debate...