Sugar gliders dumped in box outside Lidl supermarket
Six possums are being cared for at a zoo in West Lothian after being found abandoned outside a Lidl supermarket.The sugar gliders - which have a thin membrane of skin creating "wings" allowing them to glide through tree tops - are native to Australia.A spokeswoman for the Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, where the animals are currently in a 30-day quarantine, said they had been found "cruelly discarded" and were "vulnerable and exposed to the elements".The zoo said they were likely to be exotic pets that someone could no longer care for.
The animals were not in a particularly poor condition when they were found last month.But a zoo spokeswoman said that as they were a tropical species "being left to fend for themselves in the harsh Scottish winter in the middle of February did not give them the best chance of survival".The zoo's head of carnivores Gary Curran said: "When we heard about this shocking case involving the abandoned sugar gliders, we really wanted to do something to help. "Given the circumstances in which these animals were found, they seem to be recovering well, but we will continue to assess their health throughout their 30-day quarantine period, where they will hopefully move into a new habitat where they will be on show for our visitors."He added: "Helping in cases like this is very much how Five Sisters Zoo was started back in 2005."While nowadays we are more likely to rescue a lion or a bear, we remain committed to our rescue efforts and are always eager to help wherever we can."
Over the years, the zoo has provided a home for rescued animals, including bears and lions saved from traveling circuses, roadside restaurants, and warzones.A number of exotic or unusual animals have been on the loose in Scotland in recent months.Earlier this year, four lynx were captured after being on the loose in the Highlands and a number of feral pigs were caught and killed after being spotted about five miles from the area where the lynx were found.And last year a Japanese macaque monkey escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore, and was found by a woman in her garden.
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Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'Worst shark attack ever' as victims forced to feed corpses to predators
In what was to become one of the most harrowing wartime accounts of all time, seamen aboard the USS Indianapolis were left stranded in shark-infested waters, helpless as their fellow crew members were picked off by circling predators In the summer of 1945, the USS Indianapolis set sail from San Francisco to the small Northern Mariana island of Tinian, carrying with it components for 'Little Boy' - a deadly nuclear weapon that, on August 6 of that year, would be used to bomb the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The blast would be unlike anything the world had seen before, and continues to strike fear into the hearts of all those who learn about it, 80 years on. There was also further horror in store for the USS Indianapolis, with the crew ending up in what is widely regarded to be the worst shark attack ever recorded. After dispatching uranium and other such materials to the Tinian Naval Base, in what had been a top-secret mission for the Portland-class heavy cruiser, the USS Indianapolis continued on its high-speed journey towards the Philippines. It was then that, at 00:15 on July 30, the Japanese submarine I-58 struck, launching two Type 95 torpedoes into the starboard side of the prized US vessel. In a matter of just 12 minutes, the USS Indianapolis - described as being "two football fields in length" - sank beneath the waves, bringing down with her some 300 crewmen. Of the nearly 1,200 men on board the doomed ship, some 900 were left stranded on the surface, with just a few life jackets and life rafts protecting them from the ocean. Unfortunately, there was nothing the helpless men could do as hungry sharks began to circle, in a bloody feeding frenzy that would forever haunt those who managed to survive. The predators, believed to be a mix of oceanic whitetip sharks and potentially tiger sharks, feasted on the bodies of the drowned men before turning their attentions to fresh prey. In an interview with BBC News in 2013, survivor Loel Dean Cox, who was just 19 years old at the time of the nightmare ordeal, spoke of how he and his fellow seamen initially hoped they could "hold out for a couple of days" for help to arrive. Sadly, due to communications errors and other issues, USS Indianapolis was not reported missing after it failed to arrive in Leyte Gulf on July 31, as planned. Nobody on land knew the crew, many of whom were just teenagers, were floating in the open water, huddling together and kicking in a desperate attempt to ward off the sharks' unstoppable jaws. At first, the men attempted to push away the dead bodies in their midst, hoping this would at least temporarily distract the sharks from those still breathing. However, the predators were far too cunning, and there was no escape from their extraordinary senses. Loel remembers some of the beasts as being "15ft long", and recalls how they would pick off around "three or four each night and day". He said, "You were constantly in fear because you'd see 'em all the time. Every few minutes, you'd see their fins - a dozen to two dozen fins in the water. "They would come up and bump you. I was bumped a few times - you never know when they are going to attack you." Another sailor, by the name of Harold Eck, who was 18 years old at the time, opened up about the first harrowing attack he witnessed, sharing: 'The first attack I saw was on a sailor who had drifted away from the group. I heard yelling and screaming and saw him thrashing... then I just saw red, foamy water.' It was noted that the sharks had been picking off those who'd drifted away from the group, and so the men did their best to stick together, According to the World War II Museum, Harlan Twible, then a new graduate of the US Naval Academy, helped organise 'shark watches' to keep larger groups together as they fended off the constant attacks, kicking and beating them away. Anyone who perished was cut away from the group and pushed out into the waters. Those who risked opening a tin of spam to sate their hunger were quickly devoured by the animals, while others were too terrified to eat. In the burning heat, some men gave in to their first, only to be left hallucinating in the shark-infested waters, making themselves even more vulnerable. In his 2014 book, Out Of The Depths, US Marine Corporal Edgar Harrell wrote: "With our minds becoming unhinged, our tongues swollen and our throats squeezing shut, it's easy to understand why some of the survivors began drinking the saltwater. "The boys who fell into this trap soon had violent fits, whooping and hollering and twisting around in the water with flailing arms. Suddenly, as if an explosion had taken place, they would fall into a coma and go limp. Sometimes this would happen in the middle of a ring of sharks." Describing his own terror as the onslaught went on and on, Harrell continued: 'On numerous occasions, I recall seeing a large fin coming straight at me. In horror, I would take what I thought would be my last breath and bend my knees up to my chest. "Sometimes I could feel a fin brush my body. Other times, I would merely feel the wake of the massive beast streaking through the water just underneath me. "These gut-wrenching encounters caused me to feel as though I was constantly tied up in a knot, and my abdominal muscles became completely exhausted, leaving my legs to dangle helplessly in the path of the mighty marauders." After four long days and five nights, the seamen were finally spotted by a passing U.S. naval aircraft, completely by chance. By this point, their numbers had dwindled to just 316. The US government made the decision to delay reporting the incident until August 15, 1945, the same day that news broke of Japan's surrender, putting an end to the dark days of World War II. Decades later, accounts of this ordeal still continue to horrify. In 2016, the story was told for a new generation through the movie USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, starring Nicolas Cage. In 2017, the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis was finally discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, nearly three-and-a-half miles below the surface, by a team headed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. At the time, the businessman stated: 'To be able to honour the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending [the war] is truly humbling.'
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Veteran who lost eye in combat now assists others with visual impairment
Steven Williams, a former soldier who lost his eye after being injured during a patrol in Kenya, is determined to use his story to inspire others to support Sight Scotland Veterans. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Steven, aged 42, who has been supported by Sight Scotland Veterans since being medically discharged from the army in 2011 and now works for the charity as an independent living worker, is taking on four Kilt Walks in 2025, in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. He is taking on this 80-mile walking challenge, alongside his partner, to highlight all the great work Sight Scotland Veterans does and to say thank you to a charity that has done so much to help him both personally and professionally. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He explains: 'Sight Scotland Veterans is a fantastic charity. It supported me in my time of need, and now I want to give back. I really want to raise awareness of the great work the charity does, as too many people with vision impairment suffer in silence and we all need some support at different times. You can find yourself lonely and isolated, which can affect your self-esteem and confidence. I have been there myself. Steven Williams, seated second from the right, sits atop an armoured vehicle adorned with Hibs and Hearts flags, with Scottish flags flying in the background. "Without the help of this charity, I genuinely don't know where I would be. Every veteran in Scotland living with sight loss, no matter their age or where they are, needs to know that a variety of help is available through Sight Scotland Veterans. 'I served ten years in the Army, starting with the Royal Scots. I did a couple of tours in Iraq and each one was completely different. The first was intense combat, modern day warfare. The second was more about training the Iraqi Army to be self-sufficient and allow the British Armed Forces to leave. There were some hairy moments along the way, we got blown up by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the back of a FV510 Warrior, an armoured vehicle, during one patrol down 'Route Irish' which is a 7.5mile stretch from the Green Zone to Bagdad's Internation Airport. "The FV510 Warrior was immobilised when an IED detonated at the front, striking the engine, if it hadn't, I wouldn't be here to tell the story. Our training automatically kicked in and we secured the site but thankfully there was no secondary fire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I returned from that seven-month tour in March 2008, and by early summer, I heard The Black Watch were seeking a 30-man platoon from other Scottish regiments for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. I loved the Army and, naively feeling invincible, volunteered for transfer to The Black Watch. Part of our training took place in Kenya, where the terrain and heat mirrored conditions in Afghanistan. Steven Williams and his partner Wilma at the finish line of the Glasgow Kiltwalk "After four weeks in the field near Nairobi, a branch snapped back during a patrol and struck me in the eye. There was no blood, and you couldn't really stop, so I kept going, but by morning I couldn't see. I was CASEVAC (casualty evacuated) from the field and taken to hospital in Nairobi where they removed part of the thorn. I flew back with a field doctor having drops put in my eye every fifteen minutes during a ten-hour flight. 'Back in the UK, and I remember being in Heathrow and I was still wearing my dusty and dirty camouflage clothing, and the field doctor went into one of those fancy designer shops and bought some 'civvy' clothes. I went to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London to stabilise my eye and I was transferred to Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre for a week before returning to my unit in Edinburgh. I still had the eye, but I had no central vision. "Over the next two years, I went through 12 operations, everything from treating cataracts to infections and high pressure. The doctors didn't really know what to do. Eventually, they gave me a choice of keep undergoing treatments and medication or to remove the eye. I made the difficult decision to have it taken out in May 2011, and the following week I was told I was no longer 'fit to serve.' I was gutted, but after two years of being unable to serve as a soldier due to my injury, I felt ready to leave the Army, but it was still daunting. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'After that, things got extremely hard. I started to feel sorry for myself and I didn't know what to do. I essentially lost my eye, my job, my purpose, and I felt completely lost. It was around this time I started to get help from Sight Scotland Veterans and my independent living worker in Midlothian was amazing. She supported not just me, but also my partner and our children. That meant the world, because when a veteran loses their sight, the whole family is affected. Until I had my eye removed, people didn't even understand that I was injured. It was invisible, and that made it even harder to deal with. 'I was fitted with a prosthetic eye, but it was so uncomfortable, and I was told I would need yet another operation on my eye lids and I couldn't face it. So, I spoke with my family, and we all agreed that if I was OK with how I looked (without the prosthetic eye), I didn't need it. But even now, I struggle. I am not classed as legally sight-impaired, but my sight loss affects me every single day. "It's still hard walking downstairs, judging distance, even noticing someone coming from the side, I'm constantly worried about bumping into things. I also struggle to shave one side of my face, and taking part in video meetings is difficult without becoming self-conscious. I cannot escape the fact that I've lost my eye. I spent ten years pretending I didn't have sight loss; I was embarrassed by it. But over time, I've tried to be a bit kinder to myself. 'The support I received from Sight Scotland Veterans was invaluable. They encouraged me to get involved with the community again. I started by volunteering to coach my son's football team. That led me to the Lothian Veterans Centre where, after seven months of volunteering, I was offered a part-time job as an employability officer. Eventually, I became the operations Manager for four years. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "It was a rewarding but demanding role, often supporting people in crisis such as facing job loss, homelessness, or struggling with their mental or physical health. I was regularly contacted out of hours, even on Christmas Day, and often neglected my own wellbeing. All this time I wasn't dealing with my own sight loss, and my mental health began to suffer. Throughout this time Sight Scotland Veterans remained a constant support. 'I took voluntary redundancy from Lothian Veterans Centre in May 2019. Like many small charities reliant on annual grants, we had to reapply for funding but were unsuccessful. Deep down, I realised I needed a break. This became a real turning point for me. I took time to re-evaluate my life and even began exploring mindfulness and yoga. Around nine months later, I successfully applied for a role with Sight Scotland Veterans as a centre worker and started at Linburn in 2020, just a week into lockdown. I loved working there over the next four years, helping veterans rebuild their lives after the pandemic. "In August last year, I started a new role as an independent living worker for Fife, and I thoroughly enjoy helping veterans live as independently as possible and reconnect with their communities. I know first-hand how vital this support is, especially for those experiencing sight loss for the first time or facing significant changes. Some conditions sadly worsen over time, so reassessment is crucial. "I always ask myself: how can we make a meaningful difference? What do they truly need? Often, it's the small, everyday tasks, like safely making a cup of tea, that matter most. We provide training and equipment to support this, helping people maintain independence at home. Our team also offers expert support with more complex issues like housing, finances, and wellbeing. Through our centres, sight support groups, and digital hub calls, we provide social connection and camaraderie - and the chance to share our lived experiences, which I believe is invaluable." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Steven has also recently joined the Sight Loss Councils in Scotland, which are led by blind and partially sighted people who use lived experience to tackle local and national issues to improve the accessibility of services. If you have been inspired by Steven and would like to take on your own challenge to help support Sight Scotland Veterans, please visit or call 0800 035 6409.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
The best Scots words that are on the decline according to Scottish people
These favourite words from the Scots language include everything from 'moger' to 'skelf'. Scottish people have shared their picks for the best Scots words that are "on the decline". Everything from 'oxters' to 'clarty' was suggested. While Scotland is known for many things, our language is arguably the most iconic. We are lucky enough to have three national languages; English, Gaelic, and Scots. While most of us don't speak Scots - and some incorrectly just see it as a dialect - there are so many Scots words and phrases that are still commonly heard around the country to this day, that we will all know at least one or two. However, one Scot recently took to social media to ask others from the country which words are not used so much anymore. Posting on the Scotland community on online forum Reddit, they asked: "What are some of your favourite Scots words that are on the decline?" They added: "As someone who is from an area where Scots is widely spoken in day-to-day life, what are some of your favourite Scots words which you hardly hear spoken nowadays? "I've been in situations where someone who is Scottish might not understand the meaning of a word due to it being used by some areas or the older generation. One of these is 'moger' which means a mess/untidy or something that's been done badly." Since being shared on Sunday, June 22, the post has received almost 400 responses. Many have shared their suggestions for the top Scots words and phrases that are falling out of style. One of the top responses came from a Reddit user who suggested 'oxters' is among the best Scots words "on the decline". The word refers to a person's armpits. Another user replied: "I always feel stupid when someone doesn't know what an oxter is. It takes me ages to remember to reply with armpit." Meanwhile, a second response to the question reads: "Skoosh. I heard someone talking about skooshie cream recently (pressurised in a can) and thought it was hilarious." Many Scots use the word 'skoosh', which means 'squirt' or 'splash'. As the Reddit user stated, the most well-known example is skooshy cream—referring to whipped cream from a can. But it can also mean when something was easy; a skoosh, like a piece of cake. Or if you found something really easy, you skooshed it. Elsewhere, one Reddit user stated that they haven't heard the word 'skelf' in "a long time". A 'skelf' is a splinter of wood, usually one that is embedded in a person's skin. Another suggestion for the best "Scots words that are on the decline" was 'clarty'. It is an adjective that means 'filthy' or 'muddy', which is very appropriate given Scotland's famously unpredictable weather. One Scot proposed 'cludgie', adding that they "love that word." A 'cludgie' usually refers to a toilet or an outhouse. Other phrases that were named include 'are ye glaikit' and 'coorie in'. The former translates to 'are you stupid', while 'coorie in' refers to snuggling up or getting cosy. The full list of responses can be found on the Reddit website. As reported by the Daily Record, 13 Scottish words have just been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Among the new additions is 'skooshy'.
