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Shark survives police gunfire to maul N.Z. swimmer to death as hundreds watch in horror
A shark possibly four metres long killed a swimmer near a popular New Zealand beach on Wednesday, then disappeared after police attempting to save the man fired gunshots at the enormous predator.
Muriwai Beach near Auckland was closed after the fatal attack, one of only about a dozen in New Zealand in the past 180 years.
Pio Mose, who was fishing at the beach, told The New Zealand Herald he saw the swimmer struggle against the “huge” shark. He told the man to swim to the rocks, but it was too late. (Ross Land / The Associated Press)
‘That ball of fluff you own is a natural born killer’: New Zealand economist wants a nation free of cats
New Zealand economist Gareth Morgan wants you to imagine his country teeming with native wildlife, with penguins on the beach and birdsongs wafting through its cities.
And if that vision sounds enticing, Morgan wants you to consider his path to getting there: Gradually ridding the country of all its cats.
Morgan has launched a campaign against New Zealand’s felines through the website Cats To Go, claiming cats are a danger to local bird populations. (Getty Images/ThinkStock)
Proof of life: World’s rarest whale seen for first time ever
The spade-toothed beaked whale is so rare that nobody has seen one alive, but scientists have proof the species still exists. Two skeletons were identified as belonging to the species after a 17-foot whale and her calf beached themselves in New Zealand in 2010. Scientists hope the discovery will provide insights into the species and into ocean ecosystems. (AP Photo/ New Zealand Department of Conservation)
ANZAC Day commemorated around the world
Australians and New Zealanders commemorated ANZAC Day, honouring members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought in the 1915 campaign at Gallipoli, Turkey, during the First World War. In that campaign, 28,000 Australians and 7,500 New Zealanders were killed or wounded in battle. In the decades since the end of the First World War, ANZAC Day commemorates all who served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. (Reuters;AFP/Getty Images)
Giant fossil penguin found in New Zealand
Fossilized remains of one of the largest penguins ever, an “elegant” giant standing 1.3 metres tall, have been found in New Zealand, scientists said Tuesday.
The penguin lived 27-24 million years ago, when New Zealand was mostly underwater and consisted of isolated, rocky outcrops that offered protection from predators and plentiful food supplies, researchers said. (Photos: Chris Gaskin, Jo Galer/Geology Museum/ University of Otago/AFP Photo)
Photos of the Day
Visitors are reflected in mirrors at the installation “Environment 3” by artist Luc Peire at the Auckland Art Gallery, October 17, 2011. (Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)
Canadians sporting the latest fashion at the Rugby World Cup. Canada lost to New Zealand on Saturday night. Jacky Naegelen/Reuters
Schooboys perform the Haka before the start of the re-enactment of the first match rugby ever played in New Zealand in Nelson on Tuesday. The celebration re-enacts the original rugby match played between Nelson College and Nelson Rugby Club in Nelson on May 14, 1870. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
Rugby World Cup
A combination picture shows fans of 15 out of 20 World Cup teams with patriotic face paint. STF/AFP/Getty Images
Ruminant photo op of the day
Sheep, painted in the colours of Rugby World Cup teams (L-R) Argentina, Italy, Romania and New Zealand graze in Dunedin, New Zealand, Sept. 11, 2011. (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Photos of the day
An Emperor penguin, a juvenile male, on a beach on the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand, some 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) from his Antarctic home. Department of Conservation officers are monitoring the penguin and expected it would eventually depart for the long swim home. (Richard Gill/AFP/Getty Images)
N.Z. students immortalize school in Google Earth with giant penis
New Zealand students have put their school on the map by etching giant phallic symbols onto its playing fields with weedkiller, in a prank immortalized on Google Earth.
While the stunt took place more than two years ago, its effects coincided with satellites taking photographs of Hamilton for Google Earth, meaning web users cop an eyeful whenever they view Fairfield College.
Local resident David McQuoid told the Waikato Times he was online searching for a property when he came across the crude etchings, some of which measure almost 15 metres long.
“At first I thought it was a large piece of art work,” he told the newspaper.
Canada among most peaceful nations in the world: report
Canada is once again among the Top 10 most peaceful countries in the world, according to a global survey.
The Institute for Economics and Peace, an international research body, says in its 2011 Global Peace Index that Canada is the eighth most peaceful country in the world in which to live, out of 153 countries measured.
Warmer foreign relations and a decrease to the lowest possible level on what the institute calls the “political terror scale”— a measure of a nation’s respect for human rights — all contributed to Canada’s position in the survey.
Would you shoot the Easter Bunny?
Our affection for the Easter Bunny, in its chocolate form, apparently is not universal. In New Zealand’s Otago region, a stretch of farm after farm on the country’s South Island, the Easter Bunny is public enemy No. 1 and the target of the annual “Great Easter Bunny Hunt.”
This, let us say, is not an event featuring little kids with baskets in hand and ribbons in their hair out tromping about in green pastures looking for treats. It is men with guns, 47 teams of them from all over New Zealand, blasting away at Peter Rabbit over a 24-hour span.
The body count for this year’s competition was 22,904, which is down 100 from last year’s massacre. (Photo: Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
Survey says: Canada is second happiest country in the world
Are you happy? According to a new global wellbeing survey from Gallup, 69% of Canadians rated their lives as “thriving” in 2010 — putting the country in a tie with Sweden for second place in the rankings. The top spot belongs to Denmark, where 72% of residents are feeling pretty great about life. Who could be sad in the country where meatballs are plentiful?
Respondents had three options to choose from: “thriving” — where they classified their lives as ” a 7 or higher and their lives in five years an 8 or higher,” “struggling,” or “suffering.
Here are the top 10 countries:
1. Denmark: 72%
2. Canada: 69%
2. Sweden: 69%
4. Australia: 66%
5. Finland: 64%
5. Venezuela: 64%
7. Israel: 63%
7. New Zealand: 63%
9. Netherlands: 62%
9. Ireland: 62%
Here are the bottom 10 countries:
1. Chad: 1%
2. Central African Republic: 2%
3. Haiti: 2%
4. Burkina Faso: 3%
5. Cambodia: 3%
6. Niger: 3%
7. Tajikistan: 3%
8. Tanzania: 4%
9. Mali: 4%
10. Comoros: 4%
Update: Now with a snazzy map!
