VICTORIA, British Columbia- A Canadian man is recovering after a black bear swam across a river, climbed onto a dock and then jumped on a boat and attacked him. Conservation officer Gord Hitchcock said Wednesday the 52-year-old man was fishing at a marina in a tiny coastal community off Canada's Pacific coast when the bear mauled him. Hitchcock says people tried to help the man using poles, knives and a hammer to pull the bear off of him. Fire Chief Dan Tennant said he's never heard of such an incident in an area where the bears are normally docile. "One friend even tried to help out with a pinch nose pliers but didn't get very far," said Tennant.

CANBERRA, Australia- Crocodiles can surf ocean currents to journey across open seas according to the "Journal of Animal Ecology" which explains how the world's largest living reptile came to occupy so many South Pacific islands despite having little stamina for swimming. Like a surfer catching a wave, crocodiles ride currents to cross hundreds of miles of open sea, study author Hamish Campbell said. Campbell used sonar transmitters to track a 13-foot male that surfed ocean currents 367 miles to meet with other crocs before returning home. "Why he went there, we have absolutely no idea. But it appears he had some meetings with these other crocs and surfed back home," Campbell said.

LOS ANGELES, California- A Southern California freeway was shut down while state wildlife officials tried to remove a bear that wandered into lanes. Lt. Kerry Carter says the adult black bear walked onto the freeway, which had to be closed for much of the morning commute. Fish and Game Department workers eventually cornered the bear in a flood control channel, and tranquilized it with a dart gun. "I had a big position I was going to pull the trigger on but missed the trading dead line because of this flippin' bear," said angry bond trader Stormy Kroemer, who got stuck in traffic and a cell phone dead spot on the way to downtown Los Angeles, 20 miles away.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota- A squirrel delayed a game with the Yankees, which later was suspended by rain. The best way to get squirrels off the field? Some say have hawks or eagles roost in the right and left field light standards so they can swoop down and snatch squirrels when they appear. "What great TV that would make," said Rob Rode, an official with FOX Sports North. "It's either that or give the ground crew tasers. I hate squirrels. I was golfing once and a squirrel stole my five wood club head cover and then tried to bite me. If we could get a falconer to come in and hunt these squirrels we'd be on Sports Center every night," said a the frustrated executive, who noted if the squirrel hadn't caused a delay the Twins would have won a shortened game instead of the contest being suspended. The Twins lost the game the next day when it was resumed.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota- Danni Scopazzi was named "Dad of the Year" by workers at the day care center his son Roy attends. But after holding Roy over a guard rail to get a closer look at the Como Zoo's cougar exhibit, the Kinder Care facility has revoked the award. While ignoring signs which said "Warning- Stay Back," Scopazzi held his two year old over a railing and up to a wire fence to get a better view of a cougar, who proceeded to claw the boy through the mesh. Superficial skin wounds and pride are not the only injuries the Scopazzis endured. "I was really proud of that award," said the embarrassed father. "But I guess I made the day care center look bad, so they want their certificate back."

PADUCAH, Kentucky- Daniel "Shafter" Wasco was born into a family with a proud hunting tradition. Now, his family wants to honor that tradition by having a taxidermist mount his body along side the wild boar that killed him. A funeral and burial had originally been planned but patriarch D. Boone Wasco had a last minute change of heart and opted for the more unique approach of taxidermy. "Been told it ain't legal so we might end up doin'the urn thing, cuz' we already sold the casket. But Shafter got it from the boar on a hunt and the boar got it from Shafter and to put'em together forever would just say everything." State statutes do not make it clear a human mounting is illegal so officials said they will come up with additional language to make sure it is.

TAMPA, Florida- At a time of year when kids are thinking about getting out of school, one alligator is thinking about getting in. The 7 foot 'gator found its way into a middle school just as students were arriving for class. Gary Morse, a spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife said a custodian let the alligator inside early Monday morning. "The janitor thought it would be easier to apprehend the 'gator if it were in the school, but it just made it worse, in that the kids were coming in and there was an alligator running through the halls. He meant well, though." Morse would not elaborate on how the professional alligator wranglers handled the situation but said "There are certain techniques used that I won't go into for public safety reasons; I don't want people to try this at home," but joked that they involve a very quick human dressed as a chicken.

MONTGOMERY, Ohio- An accident involving a deer has forced police to shut down the right lanes of northbound I-71 in Montgomery. Police say a deer jumped off the overpass onto a car that was traveling on I-71 around 11:30 a.m. A woman inside the car was injured and transported to an area hospital. The right two lanes of the interstate were blocked causing traffic to backup for several miles for much of the day. The stalled vehicles included trucks carrying produce that was ruined by sitting in the heat. A Happy Farms company spokesman said, "One of our VPs hit a deer this morning on the way to work. Now this. Makes you wonder."

Tyrone, Georgia- A fox attacked a man outside an auto repair shop east of Atlanta, and it was caught on camera. Walter Wilson can be seen in the video kicking the fox away. "He just leaps, and it's amazing how they can leap, its like a cat," Wilson remembers. Wilson was bit in the arm, but the fox didn't stop trying to attack. The fox ran into the auto shop, then attacked a worker next door. A police officer on the scene shot the fox when it tried to charge him. See the action packed event at http://www.digtriad.com/news/thebuzz/story.aspx?storyid=142484&catid=259

LINCOLN, Nebraska- Lincoln police said two men they saw shooting weapons at squirrels told officers they were trying to get revenge on the rodents for damaging their vehicles. The men, ages 45 and 55, were cited for discharging weapons in the city. Witnesses said they saw the two shooting the squirrels Friday with a blow gun and a bow and arrow in a neighborhood with children outside playing. Police said the men admitted trying to get back at the squirrels for chewing through their vehicles' brake lines.