This week in weird news: Elephant seals invaded a beach during shutdown, and now they won't leave

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A colony of elephant seals took over a beach in Northern California during the government shutdown when there was no staff to discourage the animals from congregating in the popular tourist area, an official said.

Now they're not going anywhere.

About 60 adult seals that gave birth to 35 pups took over a beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, knocking down a fence and moving into the parking lot, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

The park north of San Francisco is home to a colony of about 1,500 elephant seals that tend to frequent another beach with 100-foot-tall (30 meter) cliffs that keep the animals protected and mostly hidden from the public, said park spokesman John Dell'Osso.

Dell'Osso said it's likely recent storms and high tides inundated the animal's normal habitat with water and so they sought a wider swath of dry land around the corner.

"Sometimes you go out with tarps and you shake the tarps and it annoys them and they move the other direction," he said.

But since nobody was at work to address the seal migration, the animals took over. One seal even ventured under a picnic table near a cafe, the newspaper reported.

The elephant seals were lounging in the sand after the park reopened Sunday, leading staff to temporarily close the road to the beach.

Officials have no plans to move the animals while some of them nurse their pups.

Staff is considering offering guided tours of the elephant colony, Dell'Osso said.

BERLIN (AP) — A paternity test on a baby orangutan has come back with a surprising result.

Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland said Thursday the test showed 5-month-old Padma wasn't fathered by the male in her enclosure.

Keepers routinely take DNA samples from newborn orangutans because the endangered great apes are part of a breeding program.

Researchers at Basel University's forensic laboratory compared Padma's DNA to that of Budi, a 14-year-old male living in the same enclosure as the baby's mother, Maja.

They found it didn't match Budi's DNA. Instead, it matched 18-year-old orangutan Vendel, who lives in the next enclosure.

It appears that for Maja and Vendel, the dominant male at Basel Zoo, the dividing fence was no obstacle to some monkey business.

SWANSEA, S.C. (AP) — Police say a man launched into Mr. Miyagi's famous crane kick pose before stealing a purse at a gas station in South Carolina.

Swansea police posted photos from surveillance video on Facebook showing the man striking the pose from the 1984 film "The Karate Kid." Police say the man took the purse from a vehicle at a gas station on Saturday.

The photos show him holding the one-legged stance that Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel LaRusso in the movie.

Police say the pose appears to be the man's "unique" ritual. Surveillance photos show him in the stance that Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel LaRusso in the movie.

Police say in a Tuesday post that the man has been identified and warrants are forthcoming. News outlets report the man's name and charges weren't available Wednesday morning.

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — Police have arrested a New Jersey man who they say faked a slip and fall at a business to get insurance money.

Prosecutors say the 57-year-old Randolph man was subcontracted to work at a company in Woodbridge when he faked the fall in 2018.

Authorities say surveillance video captured the man grabbing ice and throwing it on the floor before lying down. They say the man waited until he was discovered, and then he filed an insurance claim for hospital treatment.

The man was arrested Jan. 15 and charged with insurance fraud and theft by deception.

He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 7.

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (AP) — The FBI and local police are investigating a Miami-area mystery: Who dug a narrow tunnel that burrowed beneath a road and pointed toward a quiet suburban bank branch office?

FBI spokesman Mike Leverock said Wednesday that officials were notified after a motorist reported what looked like a sinkhole in a street near a Chase Bank branch in Pembroke Pines.

Investigators found an entrance hole in a nearby wooded area that contained a small electric generator and some electrical cords. The tunnel led under the road toward the bank, a distance of about 50 yards (45 meters) and it was only about 2 feet (60 centimeters) wide.

"The only thing I've ever seen like this is in the movies. This is truly a unique case here," Leverock said. "It's very small, very claustrophobic."

Investigators said the tunnel appeared to be dug by hand using tools such as a pickaxe, with a small wagon used to transport dirt and rock outside, Leverock said. A small ladder and a pair of muddy boots were also found inside.

A cadaver dog determined there were no bodies inside the tunnel. It wasn't immediately clear how long the underground structure had been there.

"They could have been here a week ago, last night. We don't know at this time," Leverock said.

Heavy equipment, including a backhoe, was brought in to dig up the tunnel.

"It's going to be a while," Leverock said of the investigation. "We're going to dig up the whole thing."

There was no robbery at the bank, no arrests have been made and no suspects were immediately identified. The bank remained open Wednesday, although some drive-up windows near the tunnel were closed.

Pembroke Pines is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Fort Lauderdale.

The FBI asked anyone with information about the tunnel or anyone who may have noticed people in the area during the night to contact the bureau's South Florida field office at 754-703-2000.

— By CURT ANDERSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man says he discovered he had won $22,000 in the Kansas Lottery when he was bickering with his wife about how much he spends on lottery tickets.

Shawnee resident and avid lottery player Louis Kronawitter tells the Topeka Capital-Journal that he and his wife were surprised when he found the winning 2by2 Quick Pick ticket last week. The Kansas Lottery confirmed the jackpot Tuesday.

Lottery officials say 2by2 is a daily game that offers players eight ways to win. It has a top prize of $22,000.

Kronawitter says he's always known he would win a jackpot and that he believes he'll win again someday.

Kronawitter says he plans to give a portion of his winnings to his church and use the rest to help his family.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis police are searching for a would-be robber whose crime was thwarted when his gun got stuck in his pants.

Police told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a gunman walked into a Family Dollar store Thursday afternoon and ordered an employee to give him the cash register. The worker said he couldn't, so the suspect reached for a firearm from the waistband of his jeans.

Problem is, the gun was stuck. Unable to pull out the weapon, the man ran away without getting any money.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A zoo in Ohio says one of its volunteer's thumbs became detached when an orangutan reached through a barrier and bit her arm.

The Toledo zoo says the volunteer's injuries were not life-threatening and that she was treated at a hospital.

Zoo officials tell The Blade that what happened isn't the orangutan's fault. It is not clear how the volunteer's finger became detached.

The incident took place Saturday in an area not accessible to visitors while the orangutans were being fed.

Zoo officials say all its great apes attempt to sneak their fingers through to grab things and that it's a known behavior staff must watch for while they're near the enclosure.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Police say a man drove through a Florida airport fence and onto an active runway.

In a Pensacola News-Journal report , police said 20-year-old Zane Alexander Carlson was arrested Wednesday at Pensacola International Airport on suspicion of trespassing and criminal mischief.

Police spokesman Mike Wood said Carlson drove through a fence, onto an active runway and then into a grassy area, where he did doughnuts in his car.

Police said Carlson then drove into an open hangar where he continued to drive in circles until officers arrived.

According to police, airport operations continued as normal.

Wood said police did not know what motivated Carlson to drive through the airport fence.

Carlson was being held Thursday on $15,000 bail. Escambia County jail records did not show whether he had an attorney.