Six roosters believed to be on their way to Mexico for cockfighting rings were confiscated from mail boxes in a post office. The Denver Animal Shelter was called to a postal station Saturday by a supervisor who had heard roosters crowing in six boxes sent from Oklahoma to Colorado via express mail, said shelter director Doug Kelly. Kelly said the animals are the type used in cock fights. Their alleged owner, Rufiavo Abrev, was arrested for possession and shipping of fighting cocks, a felony, when he went to the shelter to retrieve the animals, Kelly said.
State laws ban cockfighting in every state except Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
The big brown bear with a penchant for avocados and a flair for stardom died Monday at the zoo after suffering complications from old age. Samson's final examination began with some hope, said zoo director Forrest de Spain. But as the exam progressed, it became apparent that his kidney disease had progressed too far. Samson was sentenced to death six years ago after he was caught repeatedly coming down from the San Gabriel Mountains for dips in hot tubs at people's homes. But he won a reprieve from then-Gov.