Where I come from we do it with mardi Gras Beads

There are many ways to get the job done but here is certainly a new twist.

Women Sue Over Gorilla's Breast 'Fetish'


By MAY WONG
Associated Press writer

February 19, 2005, 8:31 AM EST

WOODSIDE, Calif. -- Two fired caretakers for Koko, the world-famous sign-language-speaking gorilla, have sued their former bosses, claiming they were pressured to expose their breasts as a way of bonding with the 300-pound simian.

Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller, both of San Francisco, claim they were subjected to sexual discrimination and then wrongfully terminated after reporting health and safety violations at Koko's home in Woodside, an upscale town in the south San Francisco Bay area.

The lawsuit against the Gorilla Foundation and its president, Francine "Penny" Patterson, the longtime trainer of the well-known gorilla, was filed this week in San Mateo County Superior Court. It seeks damages totaling more than $1 million.

Foundation attorney Todd Roberts said the case mischaracterizes the foundation and turns a "purported employment issue" into publicity "hurtful" for a reputable organization.

"We unequivocally deny these allegations and are confident that this case lacks merit," Roberts said.

Alperin and Keller were hired last year and were among 16 employees of the foundation, which was founded in 1976 to promote the preservation and study of gorillas. It is best known for Koko, who has mastered a vocabulary of more than 1,000 signs; the foundation says she has advanced further in language than any other non-human.

The suit claims Patterson pressured the two women on several occasions to expose their breasts to Koko, a 33-year-old female -- sometimes in situations where other employees could potentially view their bodies. The women never undressed, said their attorney, Stephen Sommers of San Francisco.

They were threatened that if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish, their employment with the Gorilla Foundation would suffer," the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit claims that on one occasion Patterson said, "'Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples.'"

In addition to the alleged harassment, the two former workers claimed the Woodside facility had unsanitary and unsafe conditions, including rodents in the food preparation area and gorilla urine stored in the refrigerator where workers kept their lunches.

Kakapo a flightless and nocturnal parrot

Saving parrots with a muesli aphrodisiac

Scientists in New Zealand have invented a Viagra-type drug to stoke the fires of passion in a rare species of parrot.

There are only 62 Kakapo parrots left because they are not feeling frisky enough.

But researchers think they may have cracked the problem to save the flightless birds with a muesli love potion.






The birds always get frisky when the rimu fruit buds, The Nelson Mail reports. So boffins are trying to replicate the key ingredients in that fruit to get the feathers flying.

The love potion will be fed to the parrots in a special muesli, combined with nuts, honey and calcium powder.

Graeme Elliot, a scientist for New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said, "Whatever it is in rimu fruit that makes them breed, we want to find out what it is and put in the muesli.

"We're not encouraging them just to have sex, we want them to breed. They've got to make babies, not just have fun."















The mixture costs about $10 (£2.70) a kilo to produce and is made like any muesli slice.

It is then shipped to Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds and Codfish Island near Stewart Island where the kakapo live. Each bird is fed a cupful of muesli every four days.

Humans are warned to stick to Viagra as the high-calorie mix will do nothing for people's sex drive.

"It'll only make them fat," Mr Elliot added