Strange Security: The Animal Edition
April’s strange security-adjacent news yielded a theme: animals (or animatronics) presenting issues in public safety and security. And if you like these, it’s possible—if you’re very good security professional boys and girls— that if you check back in on the Security Management website in a couple of weeks, you’ll find a whole collection of articles and resources on zoo security. (P.S.: If you’re not a fan of the critters, or the critter-like, we threw in some good, old-fashioned strange thieving stories in the “more strange security news” section below.)
As usual, our disclaimer: We know security is serious work, and we understand even in the stories that we present here with a lighter touch that there may be victims. We do not mean to minimize any suffering on the part of those in these stories.
Zebras Run Wild on Highway in Washington State: Thanks to the help of a rodeo clown, who happened to be on the highway when the zebras escaped, authorities were able to corral three of the four striped equines. What happened to the fourth? The news story didn’t say, so we’ll leave that to you and your Google machine.
Nonstriped Equines also Stampede into the News: Several military parade horses were spooked by a sound at a construction site and sprinted around London, running past Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. The horses caused some minor damage and some minor injuries as people jumped out of their way. Those horses should not be confused with this one in Australia, caught on surveillance footage waiting patiently for a commuter train, standing behind the warning line and everything.
Elephants also Like to Roam Highways in America: Or at least one in Butte, Montana, does. Several phone videos were taken of the large animal weaving through traffic after escaping from a travelling circus. The elephant escaped when her handlers were washing her outside the convention center and a car backfire spooked her.
Not All Animals Making the News are Large—Here Come the Cicadas: It’s been in the news all spring: two cicada broods with different cycles are set to emerge, creating a superbrood in some parts of the United States. The superbrood is not in South Carolina, but that doesn’t mean the things aren't darned noisy. So noisy, in fact, that more than one resident called the Newberry County Sheriff’s office to report they were hearing loud, strange noises.
Is That a Flame-Throwing Robot Dog? Yes, yes it is, and as this story in Wired points out, if you have a spare $10,000 and live anywhere in the United States other than Maryland and California, you, too, can purchase this fiery metal pup. Fueled by gasoline or, gulp, napalm, the unit has a one-hour battery, is controlled by a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, and can shoot flames up to 30 feet. It's great for “agricultural management,” the company marketing the device says.
And the other stories that caught our attention this month are all about thieving:
U.S. Charges 8 in Beer Heists That Targeted Trains and Warehouses
'Hands off Biden's pillowcases,' journalists stealing from Air Force One told
A package thief used a trash bag disguise. They were caught on camera.
North Koreans Secretly Animated Amazon and Max Shows, Researchers Say
Minnesota state senator arrested on suspicion of burglary
