Get out of my way! The bulls of Pamplona go running… over the backs of revellers

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Ouch! Revellers crouch for cover as a bull jumps over them to get into the arena


Thousands of thrill-seekers dashed ahead of six fighting bulls in the streets of the northern Spanish city of Pamplona today in the first running of the bulls in this year's San Fermin festival.

Miraculously no one was gored, but one person was hospitalized after falling in the sprint, said Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba. In all, four people needed treatment by medical staff.

The bulls, from the Torrestrella farm, accompanied by six guiding steers charged down the 849 metre course from a pen to the city's bull ring in two minutes and 30 exhilarating seconds.


That's got to hurt! A 'mozo' or runner is painfully flipped over when a young bull catches him with a horn between the legs


Runners, wearing traditional white clothing and red handkerchiefs around their necks, tripped over each other or fell in the mad rush but avoided getting caught out by the charging bulls.

There were some unexpected moments as one of the steers separated from the pack and charged back towards the starting gate, sending runners scattering after they thought their dash was over.

Another steer stopped and laid down on the pavement near the end before eventually being guided into bullring, where the six bulls will take part in the afternoon's bullfight.



Stampede: The fighting bulls charge round a corner on their way to the ring as the runners try to keep up


Hoofed: a reveller winces as he is trampled after falling on the street


'The truth is there were very few people for the first running, so it was quite comfortable,' said 20-year-old Julen Iruzun, who was taking part in his third 'encierro,' the Spanish term for the run.

'That must be one odd steer' Iruzun said about the wandering one, 'but these things happen.'

The runs take place each morning at 8 a.m. and are televised across Spain.

People come from all over the world to test their bravery and enjoy the festival's nonstop street parties which last until July 14.

The festival was immortalized by author Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises'.


Taking it easy: Runners are forced to wait while a cow that took a tumble on the cobbled street gets to its feet. Right, locals cheer from their balconies as the the bull run rushes past on the way to the town arena


Steer crazy: The angry animals rampage down the street as festival goers, dressed in traditional red and white, urge them on


A sangria-soaked runner is pressed up against a wall by a bad-tempered bull


At the end of each run, that last around two and a half minutes, the animals are led into the city's bullring


Spain bull running festival gets underway


source: dailymail

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That's the trouble with fast food: Four lions left sheepish and hungry after failing to catch antelope who legs it to safety

By EMILY ALLEN

Take that: A lioness leaps powerfully into the air in a bid to take down a kudu bull - but he is too agile for her. Safari-goers captured the drama in a game reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape


Four lions were left with their tails between their legs - and with empty stomachs - after a defenceless antelope escaped their clutches.

The agile kudu leapt to safety as the pride attempted to make it their lunch at a game reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape.

Safari-goers recorded the failed attempt - but made a quick getaway when they realised the lions were probably quite peckish.


Looking for lunch: The lions crouch ready to spring as they spot the kudu in the distance


British safari boss Steve Bailey, who was leading the group of tourists, told the Mirror: 'Some of them were pretty shaken.'

The spectacular photos show the lion and three lionesses spying their kudu dinner in the distance and crouching ready for the attack.

In a menacing assault the four ambush the antelope and it appears that its minutes are numbered.


No going back: One of the lions rounds up the antelope as the others crouch in readiness for the attack


But the kill, which should have been easy, turns to chaos when the kudu springs more than six feet into the air, butting the lion which tries to grab her out of the way, clearing the pride and escaping.

The four are left to watch their tasty snack thunder off into the distance.

The spectacle proves that life in sub Saharan Africa for even the strongest of predators can sometimes get tough.


Power struggle: The lion strikes as the lionesses close in. It looks hopeless for the kudu



Against all the odds: The kudu leaps over the pride and breaks for freedom, leaving the lions behind as it thunders into the distance


source: dailymail

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Ivor itch: How a bull with urge to scratch himself on telegraph pole plunged villages into darkness

By LUKE SALKELD

Disruptive bull: Ivor the five-year-old bull that caused the power cuts near the village on Saunton, Devon, by rubbing himself against a telegraph pole


He certainly looks like a powerful beast, even when he’s not at full charge.
This 2,000lb bull cast a shadow over 500 homes by scratching his rump on a small electricity pylon.

Three remote villages were left without power, suffering regular blackouts as the animal kept disconnecting them from the National Grid.

Residents of Saunton, Croyde and Georgeham, on the north Devon coast, were sporadically plunged into darkness for hours.


The field at Saunton where power company workers saw the bull rubbing himself against the wire stays


The source of the problem baffled power company chiefs until engineers spotted five-year-old Ivor in action after a four-day search involving a helicopter, electronic pathfinder equipment and a team of engineers on foot.

An investigation revealed a steel pole supporting the pylon near Saunton Golf Club had been left ‘shiny’ from where the animal had been rubbing against it. The contact made a pole wobble causing internal wires to hit together, breaking the circuit.


The bull rubbed himself against these wire stays. In doing so he iis thought to have triggered automatic circuit breakers that caused the power cuts


Western Power Distribution spokesman Irene Evans said: ‘It was quite a hefty animal and had caused some damage. We think he’d been busy for a while.’

Georgeham and Mortehoe parish councillor Pat Barker said the villages were not on the mains gas supply and residents relied on their electricity supply more than most.

‘One Sunday we had a power cut that lasted for eight or nine hours,’ she said. ‘We’re out on a limb and, without power, things can get pretty bad. One night I had to cook dinner on an open fire.’

Betty Wickins, 79, who lives in Croyde, said: ‘We have a lot of power cuts round here, but they got especially bad a few weeks ago – there were three in one morning.

'It’s very difficult to keep warm at this time of the year as it is.’

Once they’d discovered the problem, engineers had to shut down the power manually to make emergency repairs and put up fencing around the pylon.

The bull’s owner, Roland Dibble, 82, of Warren Farm in Saunton, said: ‘I was pretty stunned when I saw half a dozen vans on my land investigating the power cuts.
‘I assumed it had been the bad weather causing blackouts.’


Protection: The pole has now had a wooden fence built around it to protect it from further bull antics

source: dailymail

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