Outfoxed by smelly 'dog'

From the wires:

A Chinese man was shocked to discover the dog he had raised from a pup was actually a rare Arctic fox.

Zhang, of Tunkou, bought what he thought was an all-white Pomeranian dog for £60 a year ago on a business trip. But he found the dog hard to tame, it would often bite him and had several unusual traits, he told the Wuhan Evening Post.

"It can't bark but instead makes little 'em em' noises, and its tail has been growing longer and longer," he said. "The most annoying thing is that starting this summer, the dog became very smelly. Even when we gave it a daily shampoo bath, the smell was still strong."

Zhang took his 'dog' to a local zoo for answers, and it turned out the dog is actually an Arctic fox, a protected rare species. He has now donated the animal to the zoo.

Sound the a-llama, the alpacas are on patrol

From The Times:

Two South American alpacas have been drafted in to guard a flock of chickens from foxes. The llama-like animals were bought by Angel Thorneycroft for her suburban garden in Dorset because foxes are no longer scared off by her Alsatian. "I spotted something in a magazine about alpacas being good for protecting chickens," she said. "They hiss and spit and give a good kick if they feel threatened. I’ve not seen a fox come into my garden since I’ve had them. In the last year I’ve lost 30 chickens, but Holly and Maurice are doing a wonderful job – and they mow my back garden."