Real Life ‘Angry Birds’ Cause School Closure In Zimbabwe
It was a case of Angry Birds in real life recently when a primary school in Zimbabwe had to be closed for a week due to a flock of Southern ground hornbills terrorizing the building.
The birds apparently went crazy, breaking so many windows at the Zhombili Primary School that the school pupils were scared to be in class. Their parents pleaded with the staff at the primary school, located in Insiza District, Matabeleland South Province, to close the school until the situation could be resolved.
Angry Birds Destroy School – ZimEye – Zimbabwe News #angrybirds http://t.co/OpODPdCROb
— ANGRY BIRDS AGENT (@angrybirds_agen) February 16, 2015
According to IOL this particular species of large-beaked ground hornbill is native to southern Africa and apparently the male of the species doesn’t like seeing his own reflection. Because of this, the macho birds attack their own reflections, breaking the glass in the windows. In this case they broke not only the classroom windows but also the windows of teachers cottages surrounding the school.
Teachers also complained about the situation, saying the birds had made the school unmanageable with Douglas Sibanda, the school development committee chairman saying the biggest problem was the windows and flying glass. He said teachers were vowing to take matters into their own hands to deal with the birds.
“The big problem we face is that these birds are destroying windows… Parents have mooted an idea of having parents on guard during weekends as that is when these birds come down to the school.”
The Sunday News reported that the school cannot afford to have a caretaker looking after the premises, but fortunately the situation was resolved and students could head back to school for lessons last week.
Any ideas parents might have had of taking a shot at one of the birds was out of the question. Reportedly the Southern ground hornbills are classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning they are in danger of becoming extinct.
The bird was named the ground hornbill as it tends to walk around on the ground as it feeds and is not so often seen actually in flight. In the case of the Zimbabwe school the birds were apparently seen far too often on the ground, but the children at least might have been happy to have a break from school.
In rather more heartwarming animal related news, the Inquisitr reports on the moving story of a dying mama pig who found a reason to continue living due to her 13 piglets.
[Image: Southern ground hornbill Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Art G]
