USA: A woman talked her way past a security guard and entered the cockpit of a private plane at an Illinois airport before she was caught and taken to a hospital for psychiatric observation, authorities said.

GERMANY: Tens of thousands of euro in cash was found in the possessions of an 83-year-old woman who lived at a homeless shelter and died last week.

Time will come to a standstill today to mark 100 years since the death of the last passenger pigeon and the extinction of what was once the world’s most abundant bird.

England: A pair of sloths have speeded up their usual slow dating game to produce London Zoo’s first baby sloth.

The selfie craze has seen everyone from Barack Obama to Miley Cyrus posing for pictures. Now a ring-tailed lemur has decided to get in on the action.

We posted a video earlier this month of the first tiger cub to be born in London Zoo in 17 years - but we are now saddened by the news that the cub has died.

THE Royal Irish Academy’s journal Biology and Environment doesn’t carry detective stories but there’s a fascinating one in its current edition.

Founded by Allen Lane in 1935, Penguin sparked a paperback revolution that gave contemporary fiction to the masses.

Rumours abound on Twitter and the internet. The consequences of trolling can be traumatic, says Rachel Borrill.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games opened tonight in a dramatic and moving ceremony that had starring roles for the Queen and Professor Stephen Hawking.

SATURDAY

IT’S a sentiment which another Harry, the regal male gorilla at Dublin Zoo, would no doubt endorse.

A baby gorilla dubbed Tiny has taken his first steps at his home in London Zoo.

Alex Reid almost had his "head caved in" by a giraffe.

A TALL, dark, hairy Irish male is being shipped to Britain in order to console three bereaved females at London Zoo.

HE’S not exactly tall, dark and handsome, but zookeepers are hoping a new gorilla being introduced at London Zoo will be a hit with the ladies.

Boyzone star Stephen Gately today posed with the tigers of London Zoo to raise awareness of a scheme to save the animals from extinction.

NEXT Friday’s Mooney Show on RTÉ Radio 1 will celebrate the work of the legendary wildlife broadcaster David Attenborough. The great man himself will be in studio.

EXHIBITIONISTS strutted their stuff yesterday as they warmed up for the first “human zoo”.

AN art exhibition featuring live cattle spray-painted with graffiti was targeted by animal rights protesters yesterday.

Dutch-born dancer Jimmy Gulzar, the former husband of Spice Girl Mel B, did smack a child during a visit to a zoo, a court was told today.

Mel B's ex-husband has denied attacking a three-year-old autistic boy claiming he was only intervening to protect another child.

The ex-husband of Spice Girl Mel B “roared” with anger as he lashed out and hit a three-year-old autistic boy, a court heard today.

The ex-husband of Spice Girl Mel B was going on trial today, accused of assaulting a three-year-old disabled child.

Aussie wildlife hunter Steve Irwin got to grips with a crocodile at London Zoo today - but had to settle for a stuffed toy rather than the real thing.

David and Victoria Beckham have p-p-p-picked up one of their strangest accolades - having two baby penguins named in their honour.