Lion jumps into safari bus full of students

A group of students on a school trip to a wildlife reserve in South Africa had a frightening encounter when an adult white lion jumped into their bus.

A video filmed at a wildlife reserve in Bela Bela, Limpopo Province, shows the students on the safari bus being urged by their guides to ‘relax’ and keep calm while the male lion sniffs around on the open safari vehicle.

The tour guides said the lion and his siblings, who can be seen standing nearby in the video, sometimes confuse cars for toys.

The lion explores the tour bus while the guides calmly escort the nervous students off the vehicle.

The filmer said the tour guides were familiar with the lion, named Zeus, and were able to coax him off the bus, as he is the ‘friendliest’ of the group.

The floating hotel

Over in Harads in northern Lapland, Sweden, a very Scandi hotel is set to open this year. Known as the Arctic Bath Hotel, is a wellness retreat that floats on the Lule River.

Well, when it’s summer, it floats. In winter, the hotel will sit suspended in ice. The exterior looks like a pile of sticks lit from within, painted all-white to blend in with the surrounding ice and snow.

Inside, there’s a the arctic plunge pool, open-air hub, heated to just four degrees Celsius. There are four saunas, lots of spa treatments: massages, facials, wraps. And there are six rooms floating separately from the main hub for a sense of total peace and isolation. Each room has massive windows.

Although all seven buildings will be securely anchored in place, they are freely floating in water or frozen into ice.

Smoke-exhaling elephant

Researchers visiting a wildlife area in India captured video of a bizarre scene: A ‘smoke-breathing’ elephant.

The Wildlife Conservation Society said scientists and colleagues were visiting Nagaharole National Park to check camera-trap locations for a long-term tiger study when they came across the unusual elephant.

Vinay Kumar, assistant director of WCS India, captured video appearing to show the elephant exhaling thick clouds of smoke. WCS researchers said they have no concrete answers for the strange scene, but experts suggested some possibilities.

“I believe the elephant may have been trying to ingest wood charcoal,” said Varun Goswami, WCS India scientist and elephant biologist. “She appeared to be picking up pieces from the forest floor, blowing away the ash that came along with it and consuming the rest.”

Experts said charcoal may have medicinal value for elephants, as it has toxin-binding properties and works as a laxative for the animals.

Woman plays flute while undergoing brain surgery

Recently a woman named, Anna Henry underwent a procedure known as ‘deep brain stimulation’ at the Texas Medical Centre in the hopes of treating a condition known as essential tremor, which caused Henry’s hands to shake and prevented her from doing activities including eating soup with a spoon and playing her beloved instrument — flute.

Doctors said the procedure involves implanting tiny electrodes in the brain that deliver a constant electric current. They said the science behind how the procedure works is still being studied, but it has been found to be effective for treating symptoms of conditions including essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. The surgeons had Henry bring her flute and shared a video of her playing the instrument during the procedure to test if the electric current was helping.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 21st, 2018