The Mongoose pups have been suffering from a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder

THESE African mongoose were left shivering and miserable when temperatures in their adopted homeland dropped to -15C…so zoo bosses brought in lamps to make them feel at home.

The usually playful animals, at Vienna Zoo, had refused to come out of their enclosure since winter brought the cold, dark weather a few weeks ago.

But now the pups are back outside and delighting the crowds in the Austrian capital after their keepers installed sunlamps – like those used to treat humans with Seasonal Affective Disorder – to recreate their indigenous African climate.

The pups are up and about again...and enjoying winter Pics: Europics.at

Zoo spokesman Barbara Feldmann told the Austrian Times: “We can’t give the animals warm clothes like the zoo visitors wear – this is the next best thing.”

“These Banded Mongoose are used to Sahara conditions. The bright light is no problem, just as long as it’s warm.”

COMEDIAN Tim Minchin has launched a bid for the Christmas no.1 single – with an anti-religious ballad.

The 34-year-old Aussie, who was born in the UK, has penned ‘White Wine in The Sun’.

It’s a surprisingly sentimental song from the barefooted funnyman about visiting relatives on the other side of the world.

More hostile lyrics include: “I’d rather break bread with Dawkins that Desmond Tutu” and “I don’t go in for ancient wisdoms; I don’t believe just cos ideas are tenacious it means that they’re worthy.”

Minchin is deadly serious about topping the charts and has released the track on iTunes. It can also be downloaded from Tesco, Play.com and HMV.

A statement on his official website says: “We know getting it to chart is a ridiculous long shot… but just imagine if it did!”

But Minchin won’t only be up against X Factor winner Joe McElderry’s ‘The Climb’ in his bid.

An high-profile internet campaign has already been launched to stop Simon Cowell’s prodigy getting to no.1 – instead backing Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name’ for the top spot.

An idiot driver turns around as traffic approaches at 50mph Pic: europics.at

SAT NAVS are going to kill people because idiot drivers follow their instructions ‘blindly’, police chiefs have warned.  

Dozens of motorists have been caught on CCTV turning around their vehicles in high-speed tunnels  despite the threat of oncoming traffic –  ”because their sat navs told them to”

And now furious Swiss cops have spoken out about the perils of the satellite navigation systems.

They have published traffic images from the notorious Gotthard tunnel to illustrate how crazed drivers make u-turns as traffic approaches at more than 50 mph.

Damian Meier, head of traffic police in the Swiss province of Uri, said: “This is not an isolated case. More and more drivers are asked by their sat navs to take a u-turn in the Gotthard tunnel.”

He added: “The majority of drivers taking a u-turn in the tunnel are from abroad.”

Meier told the Austrian Times the sat navs often ‘revise’ the route after entering the underpass and advise drivers to turn around and take a local bypass instead.

What a 54-year-old might look like... Pic: Europics.at

MEET Cindy Jackson who, aged 54, is the most surgically enhanced woman in the world.

Cindy has spent this year altering her appearance to look like movie icon Brigitte Bardot.

On top of the 50 procedures she’s had in the past, she’s filled 2009 with botox, lower lip injections, Restylane injections to fill out her cheeks and Strawberry Laser Lipo treatment on her jawline, stomach and thighs.

In total, she has blown more than £130,000 and had 14 major operations trying to make herself look younger.

She said: “Some say that life begins at 40, but I am loving my 50s.

“On a good day I get chatted up by men in their twenties who think I’m their age and on a bad day I look like I’m in my thirties.

“It’s nice when people say you look great but there is a down side and I have had plenty of nasty comments as well, with people calling me vain and shallow.”

The American, who recently set up own website, has even pledged to keep going under the knife until she is well into her seventies.

She told the Austrian Times: “People say you should grow old gracefully and for me, that is exactly what I am doing! There is nothing graceful about falling to pieces and letting yourself go.

“I have all the benefits of wisdom that come with age but see no reason why I should let those years show in my face.”

THE average family dog pumps more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than a 4×4 vehicle that is driven 6,000 miles-a-year, a new book claims.

Time To Eat The Dog: The Real Guide To Sustainable Living compares man’s best friend to a Toyota Land Cruiser.

It also suggests a cat is equivalent to running a Volkswagen Golf.

The findings are based on the amount of land needed to grow food for pets.

Even a small pair of hamsters do the same damage as running a plasma television, the book’s authors Robert and Brenda Vale told the Daily Express.

But rabbits and chickens were eco-friendly because they provide ‘meat for their owners’.