Meet The Dutch Owl Who Loves To Land On People’s Heads
An owl that likes to land on people’s heads has rocketed a small Dutch town to fame. Menno Shaefer,
a 48-year-old from Zaandam, Netherlands, managed to document this friendly 6lb (2.7kg) European
Eagle Owl as it tried to roost on the heads of onlookers in Noordeinde town. There, it sat for up to a
minute before looking for another resting spot.
“Whilst photographing the owl, it did try to land one my head once,” said Shaefer to NL Times.
“However, as soon as I lifted my camera to get a shot, the owl flew onto my neighbor standing by my
side.” Residents think that the owl might have escaped from an aviary in Oosterwolde, and are excited
by the publicity. “I have seen photographers and birders from around the country, from The Hague to
Spijkenisse, they come from everywhere to see the eagle owl. Our village is finally on the map!”, said
one happy resident.
As to why the owl behaves this way, Schaefer said, “It was a very funny thing to watch, however I’m
just as confused as anyone as to why it does this.”
'Elphie' selfie snapped by elephant with GoPro
A Vancouver man is making international headlines with an extraordinary 'elphie' selfie photo
taken by an elephant in Thailand that grabbed his GoPro.
Christian LeBlanc is a 22-year-old UBC student who spent the past semester on an exchange
program in Bangkok. He says about two months ago he was travelling through southern Thailand
when he came across an elephant sanctuary on the side of the road.
"I see a sign that for 50 cents you can feed the elephant. So my girlfriend and I go and buy
a basket of bananas and we start feeding the elephant," LeBlanc told CBC News.
"The elephant loves the bananas, so it kind of gets a bit nosy — it grabs at your hands, it tries
to take all the bananas. And once we ran out, next thing I knew it was it was grabbing the GoPro."
LeBlanc says "with one swift movement" the elephant threw its trunk into the air and inadvertently
snapped the best photo he's ever gotten.
"I didn't even have time to think. It all happened so fast."
LeBlanc posted the elephant selfie — or "elphie" as it's come to be known — on his Instagram
account (christian_leblanc) on Wednesday and within hours it was being shared by media outlets
around the world.
