Home and Garden

Kangaroo Attacks Woman in Her Garden

BRISBANE, Australia - A kangaroo viciously attacked a woman Tuesday as she picked roses outside her home on the edge of Australia's third-largest city, a report said.


Sylvia Aldren was working in the garden of her home in the northern outskirts of Brisbane when the large kangaroo pushed her to the ground and then kicked, bit and scratched her, Nine Network television said.

Aldren said she sensed trouble when she noticed a few kangaroos nearby and one approached her.

"The look in the kangaroo's eye made me feel that I knew I was in trouble," she said. "I thought this is it, he's going to kill me."

Aldren was taken to a hospital with injuries to her chest, thighs, arms and legs, the report said.

Neighbors said they have been terrorized in recent years by a mob of around 50 kangaroos that live in a nearby area.

The government estimates there are 60 million kangaroos in Australia. Most live in the Outback and rarely attack humans.

Roy Horn Says He's Recovering from Tiger Attack

BERLIN - Animal trainer Roy Horn said he is recovering well from a near-fatal tiger attack last year and is working tirelessly with the trainer who helped Superman actor Christopher Reeve after a crippling riding accident.


"I was almost dead and buried. But now I am better again," the Web site of Germany's Bunte magazine quoted the magician from Las Vegas duo "Siegfried & Roy" as saying Wednesday.

"I have the same trainer as Christopher Reeve and I train nine hours a day with him," Horn told Bunte in his first interview since the attack on his birthday last October.

"Spread the good news. You spoke to me and I am well," said Horn, speaking to the magazine by telephone.

German-born Horn, 59, almost died when his 600-pound (273 kg) male white tiger grabbed him by the neck and dragged him off stage during a performance with partner Siegfried Fischbacher.

Fischbacher said Horn could still not stand up alone but was feeling positive. "He sits in a wheelchair and sometimes I give him a ride around our garden in the golf cart," he told Bunte from the couple's Las Vegas home.

Gardeners urged to help bumblebee

LONDON, England -- UK gardeners have been called upon to do their bit to help prevent the extinction of the bumblebee.


Numbers have fallen drastically during the past couple of decades with figures plummeting by 60 percent for some bee species, the National Trust and government wildlife advisers warn.

Now the trust and English Nature are urging gardeners to preserve the bees' last refuge -- the domestic garden -- by using brightly colored plants, and to avoid growing newer hybrids that are devoid of nectar and pollen.

The charities are using the launch of the internationally-renowned Chelsea Flower show in London next week to promote the plight of the insect.

"Every garden counts in the wildlife stakes, whether large or small, urban or rural, with over 15 million gardens across the country, gardeners collectively can make a huge difference," Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said.

They blame modern intensive farming methods, with its use of high doses of pesticides, for the fall in figures, as well as a change away from insect pollinated crops.

The National Trust and English Nature are encouraging farmers to leave wider margins at the edge of fields and grow hedgerows to support bumblebees' natural habitat.

Bee-lovers also blame a common fear and misunderstanding among the public about the bees aggressiveness, leading to large numbers of bumblebee nests being destroyed each year. The mistake is caused by confusing bumblebees with wasps and honey bees.

"Without wild bees our gardens would be sterile places but we do not always give enough thought to how we manage our gardens to encourage these beneficial insects," Reynolds said.

Gardeners should opt for brightly colored flowers such as white, blue, yellow and purple to encourage bees along with 'cottage style' plants including bluebells, rosemary, nettles foxgloves and honeysuckle, she says.

Cavs Beat Knicks in James' Garden Debut

NEW YORK - LeBron James scored 22 points in his first game at Madison Square Garden, where the fans turned on the home team Sunday as the New York Knicks fell behind by 23 points in the fourth quarter of a 92-86 loss.


Whether they were booing or chanting the name of the departed Keith Van Horn, the matinee crowd let it be known that they weren't happy seeing the Knicks play so poorly. The loss was the fourth in five games for New York, which now embarks on a four-game Western road trip.

James didn't have his flashiest or most productive game, stepping aside to let center Zydrunas Ilgauskas carry most of the offensive load.

Ilgauskas scored Cleveland's first eight points of the fourth quarter, having his way against newly acquired backup center Nazr Mohammed, as the Cavs opened the final period with an 8-1 run to go ahead 78-56. New York had a 26-7 run to pull within four, but it wasn't enough.

Ilgauskas had 31 points and 15 rebounds, Carlos Boozer added 14 points and 16 rebounds and Jeff McInnis scored 13 points.

Stephon Marbury shot just 4-for-21 in the first three quarters and finished 13-for-34 for 30 points, while Penny Hardaway shot 2-for-13 and Tim Thomas_ the main player acquired a week earlier in the trade that sent Van Horn to Milwaukee — had a quiet 10 points.

It was 81-58 with 7:06 remaining when James implored his teammates "C'mon, let's take 'em out." The Cavs wouldn't score again until 2:53 remained, but it made no difference as New York — suddenly a struggling offensive team — couldn't close the entire gap.

The game began to get away from the Knicks late in the second quarter when they failed to score on seven of their final eight possessions. Cleveland led 44-40 at the break behind 18 points and 11 rebounds from Ilgauskas.

Ilgauskas' three-point play capped an 11-4 run to open the third quarter, putting the Cavs ahead 55-44, and Cleveland maintained an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

The booing increased as the Knicks scored just one point on their first seven possessions of the quarter, and the Van Horn chant began as Othella Harrington stepped to the foul line with 9:26 remaining.

New York had a 10-0 run to pull to 81-68 before Boozer scored inside to break the drought.

McInnis' long jumper as the shot clock expired with 41.3 second remaining gave Cleveland an 85-75 lead. James missed a pair of foul shots, and Marbury pushed the ball upcourt and scored on a drive to make it 88-84 with 18 seconds left. A tip-in by Kurt Thomas made it 90-86, but James sank two foul shots — his only points of the final quarter — with 5.7 seconds left to clinch it.

James was coming off a 32-point performance in a victory over San Antonio on Friday.

"A good basketball player, this is one arena you want to play in," said James, whose likeness is plastered on a four-story billboard on Seventh Avenue just a block from the Garden. James said he hadn't seen it yet.

"I like to see myself," James said. "That might be a scary sight."