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FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA — Staff members at the Folsom City Zoo report that a feral cat in search of food has struck up a friendship with an adult bear.

Every morning, zookeepers scatter dry dog food around the bear cages. The cat was first seen a few months ago eating dog food inside the enclosure of Sequoia, a 550-pound black bear.

Senior zookeeper Jill Faust said Sequoia shows no aggression toward the cat, and the cat, dubbed “Little Bear,” shows no fear of Sequoia.

Faust said the cat enters Sequoia’s cage every day, and the staff now puts out extra food for it.

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — A Canadian college student was caught at a border checkpoint with 51 live turtles in his pants. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to smuggling the turtles into Canada.

When Kai Xu, 27, was stopped by Border Services agents, they found 41 live turtles taped to his legs and 10 hidden between his legs.

Xu, of Windsor, Ontario, admitted to smuggling more than 1,600 turtles of different species out of the United States. Each of the six counts carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Conservation biologists at the University of New South Wales are conducting a study in Botswana to determine if painting eyes on the rumps of cattle can protect them from lions.

In nature, predators often abandon a hunt if they are spotted by the prey. The biologists hope the eyes will trick the lions into thinking they have been seen.

According to authorities, no non-lethal way exists to prevent lions from stalking cattle. African farmers often retaliate by shooting or poisoning the lions. If the eyes-on-rumps plan works, it will protect both the livestock and the lion population.

A long-term study is underway that documents the lion encounters of two herds of cattle, one painted and one non-painted.