Try another excuse

A mail carrier was trapped inside her car for nearly two hours at a home near Hanover after a pair of dogs attacked her tires, flattening three of them.

When the police arrived, the dogs attacked the cruiser's tire as well.

Authorities were preparing to tranquilize the dogs Judge and Justice, a Rottweiler and a pit-bull mix, before the surprised and apologetic homeowner arrived.

Stephanie Dekelbaum, the dogs' owner, called them "generally sweethearts" and blamed the attack on a tire toy the dogs had recently been given.

Source: Yahoo news

Fight to the death

This is the moment a sparrow hawk swoops on a starling before flying away with its prey gripped in its talons - captured by an amateur photographer in his back garden.


(more photos)

Source: Daily Mail

Billy the boxer adopts a kid

Billy the boxer has become the constant companion of the 12-day old kid called Lilly. He sleeps with the goat, licks her clean, and protects her from any dangers at Pennywell Farm wildlife centre at Buckfastleigh, near Totnes, Devon.

The unusual bond has developed over the last month and the pair are now inseparable.

Source: the Daily Mail

Fail Dogs

Dogs are not perfect

Leap (frog) Day

What Are You Doing for Leap Day?

Starting February 29th more than 70 members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) will be celebrating "the Year of the Frog!" and holding fun, family-friendly events and programs to educate people about amphibian conservation.

Why Year of the Frog? One-third of all amphibians on the planet are threatened with extinction. Amphibian declines are now attributed to a new cause - chytridiomycosis - a disease that wipes out frogs, toads, and salamanders. Zoos and aquariums, with strong public support, will play a major role in preventing the amphibian extinction crisis - one of the most sweeping wildlife conservation challenges of our time.

I think in honor of the Year of the Frog, today, February 29th, should be known as Leapfrog Day!

"Just a little froggie" uploaded by corsi photo

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Look, even Google is participating:

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Frog Tape Dispenser

You can be the envy of everyone in the office with this adorable frog tape dispenser. With his bright red tongue, he'll dispense the perfect amount of tape for any project.

$15.95 from Patina

*****

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Is that a frog I hear?

Advertisement calls are the loud calls that male frogs make to attract females. These are the familiar calls most people are familiar with. Some frog species have aggressive calls made by males towards other males, some have distress calls when bitten by a predator, and some have release calls.

Sample some frog sounds on this page.

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Frog solar light

Frog solar light glows when the sun goes down. Enhance your yard or patio (and make your neighbors green with envy!) with this alluring amphibian. He turns on automatically in the dark and turns off in the morning. No wiring needed.

$9.98 at Taylor Gifts

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"He's... Crushing Me" uploaded by michellecollinz

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Have fun, enjoy the extra day!

Making sugar ants

Click the photo to see how the ants were made.

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I disagree

Robert at Environmental Graffiti is way off base! He has selected five totally cute, harmless and totally lovable baby animals and has accused them of being ugly.

Ugly?

Shar-Pei Puppies?

Look at those floppy little folded ears. Look at that smooshed little nose, those stubby little paws, those squinty, sad little eyes. Look at those soft, puffy wrinkles. Who in their right mind would call this ugly? Even Robert wouldn't sink this low.

Ugly?

A baby sloth?

So what's not to love with this little guy? Smooth, blond hair - sweet little eyes, fuzzy little curled feet. A cute button nose. Totally adorable!

Ugly?

Baby Pandas?

This I don't even have to defend, do I? Everybody in the universe knows that pandas are the most irresistibly adorable creatures ever created. What a travesty to even think "panda" and "ugly" on the same day.

Ugly?

Naked Mole Rats?

Oh, naked mole rats, these poor little things. Always maligned, always made fun of, always pointed to as a perfect example of ugliness. Don't they look scrumptious? A little tomato sauce, and lunch is served.

Ugly?

Robin chicks?

Robert says baby robins are gross and disgusting. That's because Robert has never observed a robin's nest and taken a photo each day and waited eagerly for those beautiful little blue eggs to hatch. I have.

Ugly?

Baby hedgehogs?

I love the translucent teensy nails. The pink wrinkly skin looks so soft and silky but then juxtapose those dangerous looking quills. Here's the thing: baby hedgehogs are dangerously cute!

Photo 1: Lauren's Shar-pei
Photo 2: Carlen Altman
Photo 3: the Cute Project
Photo 4: verabee
Photo 5: The robin's nest
Photo 6: Dark Roasted Blend

Seeing is believing in case of orange raccoon

Nobody believed Kevin Blackford when he said an orange raccoon had been eating his cat's food.

When Blackford told Craig Reel and the guys over at Reel & Sons Feed Store in Worthington, they all shook their heads at his tall tale. But Blackford insisted he had seen an orange raccoon. He even said it had orange eyes.

"Nobody believed me," said Blackford.

Reel, who has a frequent problem with raccoons trying to get into his building to eat grain, decided to set one of his traps on Blackford's porch.

"We got him right away, with just a little dab of strawberry preserves. Raccoons love strawberry preserves," said Reel.

The next morning, the orange raccoon, in the trapping cage, was taken to Reel & Sons Feed Store where all of the disbelievers could see the unusual animal.

Source: Green County Daily World

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Crowds flock to monkey 'wedding'

Some 3,000 villagers have attended an elaborate Hindu wedding ceremony in eastern India for two monkeys. The "bride" was dressed in a five-metre long sari and decked in flowers. The "groom", a three-year-old male monkey named Manu, was taken by procession to a temple in the company of hundreds of bemused onlookers, accompanied by loud music, dancing and fireworks.

The monkeys were showered with gifts by those present. They included a gold necklace for the bride, donated by a local businessman.

"I feel as if my own daughter is getting married. I cannot bear the thought that she would not be with us anymore," Mamina, the woman who has been looking after the female monkey said.

The two monkeys, who were kept in chains before the marriage, have now been released by their owners.

They have been spotted hanging out at the temple where the "marriage" took place.

Source: BBC

Python Eats Australian Family Dog

A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday.

The boy and girl, ages 5 and 7, watched as the scrub python devoured their silky terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed Monday at their home near Kuranda in Queensland state.

Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.

Source: AP

Bear Hunt in Orland Park, IL

Truffles, a light brown fuzzy Kodiak bear that stands four feet tall has been stolen from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Orland Park, IL.

The store has video footage of two teen-aged boys taking the bear hostage.

Truffles was last was seen wearing a pink turtleneck, blue overalls and pink ribbons.

The store's owner, Jean Kuhn, is willing to pay a hefty ransom for Truffles; "A box of chocolates or something," she said.

Source: NBC5 Chicago

Video: Flocke takes a walk

She's ten weeks old and weights 16 pounds. Watch the video of cute little Flocke.

U.N. Conference Promotes Insect-Eating

Three dozen scientists from 15 countries gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this month, at a U.N.-sponsored conference on promoting bugs as a food source.

Crickets, caterpillars and grubs are high in protein and minerals and could be an important food source during droughts and other emergencies, according these scientists.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates 1,400 species of insects and worms are eaten in almost 90 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Researchers at the conference detailed how crickets and silk worms are eaten in Thailand, grubs and grasshoppers in Africa and ants in South America.

Source: Fox News

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German Police Dogs Issued With Boots

Good news for police dogs in the German city of Düsseldorf: They are getting US-made boots with thick rubber soles so that they don't cut their paws while chasing criminals around the city.

The dogs will wear the boots while policing demonstrations and patrolling the city's old town. "When they're on assignment in the Düsseldorf old town we often get problems with discarded bottles and other rubbish which could injure the animals," a police spokesman said.

The boots, which have thick rubber soles, were bought in the US and the dogs will start using them on assignment in March, once they have got used to them, police said.

Source: Spiegel

Vanilla sweetness

Found at the always excellent Biomes Blog

Check local laws on ferret ownership

According to estimates from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, about 500,000 people own some 2 million ferrets. Ferret folks claim the real numbers are much higher.

But ferrets, those slinky, mink-y cousins of weasels, badgers, skunks and polecats, are outlawed in New York , Salt Lake City and numerous other municipalities, and the states of California and Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

"It's because they believe they're wild animals and they believe they'll decimate the wildlife. These are neutered and spayed animals," said an exasperated Norine Barnes, president of the Greater Chicago Ferret Association, which has about 275 members and runs a shelter for ferrets, which are legal in Illinois.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals agrees. It opposed the 1999 ban on ferrets in New York.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Earthworms Found To Contain Chemicals

Earthworms studied in agricultural fields have been found to contain organic chemicals from household products and manure, indicating that such substances are entering the food chain.

Manure and biosolids, the solid byproduct of wastewater treatment, were applied to the fields as fertilizer. Earthworms continuously ingest soils for nourishment and can accumulate the chemicals present in the soil.

The chemicals investigated are considered indicators of human and animal waste sources and include a range of active ingredients in common household products such as detergents, antibacterial soaps, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals.

Source: Science Daily

Does your dog need to diet?

Is your dog a little on the heavy side?

There’s now a tool to help dog owners determine if their pets are overweight or obese – or heading in that direction.

Spend a few minutes taking the BARC (Body Assessment Rating for Canines) survey to determine if it’s time to speak to your veterinarian about tackling weight loss measures.

The Naked Ape

Cinder, the hairless chimpanzee, is a popular attraction at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri.

Cinder was born with a full coat of hair on August 9, 1994, to mother Mollie, and father, Smoke. When she was about five months old, Cinder began losing some hair. She continued to lose her hair and in a definite pattern, first from her lower body and gradually extending up until after close to a year, Cinder was completely bald.

Afflicted with alopecia universalis. Cinder is otherwise a normal, healthy chimpanzee and, unlike humans, is not faced with the psychological and social challenges the disease presents.

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Dine With Death - the Deadliest Delicacies

Poisonous or dangerous food is considered a special delicacy by some cultures in several parts of the world. In most cases, a nice feast may turn into a deadly game of Russian roulette.

So, would you take the risks of eating these deadly delicacies?

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Eagle Eyes

Eagle Eyes is a game where you can test your skills of observation. There are 5 pairs of photos. Each pair has 5 small differences between them. It's your goal to spot them.

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Tiger wanders out of cage at Honolulu Zoo

Honolulu Zoo officials are taking another look at procedures for keeping their 245-pound Sumatra tiger, Berani, in his cage.

The tiger was wandering around an unsecured area just before the zoo's opening on Thursday. A startled female volunteer reported the escape after the tiger brushed past her. The volunteer quickly retreated and secured a second gate that kept the tiger from going into a public area.

Zoo officials say the tiger was loose for about five minutes in an area with only a 4-foot fence that it could have jumped over to roam the zoo.

After Berani was contained in the holding area, it took about 15 to 20 minutes to coax him into one of the feeding rooms with a meatball. The brief escape was resolved before the zoo opened to the public at 9 a.m.

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

Video: Guinness Penguins

A new Guinness Draught commercial tells a tale of friendship through two penguins' tumultuous journey. The story follows the lives of two penguin friends as they battle for survival against their harsh environment including avalanches and a killer whale attack.



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Brooklyn welcomes rare red panda Mao Mi

All the other animals must be green with envy.

The one getting the most attention at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Zoo these days is Mao Mi, a rare red panda that just arrived from his former home at Michigan's Binder Park Zoo.

Red pandas are endangered, and Mao Mi is part of a Wildlife Conservation Society breeding program that's trying to ensure the survival of threatened or endangered species.

Mao Mi has black legs, a furry reddish-brown face and body and white ears.

Prospect Park zookeepers said Thursday that their cuddly cutie is very playful and loves to climb trees and explore his new home.

Source: Yahoo News

Miami Metrozoo's pet amnesty day

So that pet marmoset, anaconda, or poison dart frog you have isn't really working out.

You would like to part with the exotic critter, but it's not like you can just release the little (or huge) guy into the wild, and selling the thing may even be illegal.

For pet owners in this kind of bind, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a way out -- but only for a day.

Nonnative pet amnesty day, to be specific.

Saturday at the Miami Metrozoo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the wildlife commission will accept exotic or illegal pets of all types and place them with qualified pet adopters or licensed animal dealers, no questions asked, free of charge.

Source: Miami Herald

How a cockroach put 30 people out of work

For the viewers of Turkmenistan's popular nightly news program, Vatan, it was another routine bulletin. But as the newsreader began the 9pm broadcast, viewers across the central Asian country spotted something unusual crawling across the studio table: a large brown cockroach.

The cockroach managed to complete a whole lap of the desk, apparently undetected, before disappearing. The program, complete with cockroach, was repeated at 11pm that night.

Turkmenistan's president, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, was so upset when outraged viewers complained to the station that he fired 30 workers from the main state TV channel.

Source: Guardian

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Dog Bone Paper clips

These dog bone shaped paper clips come in a silver tin with a magnetic bottom. Approximately 50 per tin. Cute idea for dog lovers.

$4.95 at Patina

Give a Dog a Bone

In many legal cases, animals are seen as evidence, but animals are not inanimate objects that can be put in a brown paper bag and left in a locker until their case has been adjudicated.

Whether you call them "custody" animals, long term shelter guests, or by any other name, Animal Control Agencies around this country face a real challenge when trying to care for these animals. Most Shelters, especially ones in densely populated urban areas, are just not set up to house animals for long periods of time. It's an unfortunate fact that such prolonged confinement often causes severe stress, loss of appetite, poor hygiene, diminished motivation, depression, aggressiveness, and in some cases, self mutilation.

Many of these dogs have been rescued from neglectful and cruel situations, others are being held for "Vicious & Dangerous" dog hearings and some are there because their owners have been victims of eviction, in jail, or some other disaster in their lives where they can't take care of their animal(s) right now.

Give a Dog a Bone was created in 1999 by Corinne Dowling to relieve the isolation, boredom, stress, and suffering of dogs in enforced custody and medical isolation - a population hitherto not served by the dog volunteer program at San Francisco Animal Care and Control (ACC), an open admissions municipal shelter.

With her dedicated volunteers, Corinne improves the quality of life for these dogs by providing enrichment though emotional sustenance, mental and physical stimulation, socialization and kennel stimuli.

Dog Bone Earrings

Aren't these cute?

Solid dog bone earrings
In 14k yellow gold

$696 from Esquivel & Fees

Bones Salt & Pepper Shakers

Los Angeles designer Chris Stiles created these salt and pepper shakers from unglazed refined white clay.

Shake them bones

$28.00 from A+R

Traveling Cats

Is this the feline version of Spring Break? If so, they're starting a little early, but they're traveling, for sure ...

Meatloaf, who took a 3-week cross-country ride locked in a storage container, is headed home to Florida. The 2-year-old gray cat apparently crawled into the large locker in Pompano Beach, Fla.

The container spent time in a Florida warehouse and on a semitrailer before being delivered to a company's Phoenix facility.

A worker heard a cat meowing inside the container late Tuesday and found him hungry and thirsty but unharmed.

Miko ran away from his burning home in Albuquerque, N.M., in December, and turned up in February, some 240 miles away in Pueblo, Colo.

It is believed that Miko hid in a truck, which then drove up Interstate 25 from Albuquerque to Pueblo. Miko's collar was missing when she was picked up by animal shelter staff, but her microchip identification put officials in touch with her owners.

Sam, an eight-year-old cat, got scared when his owner was taking him to the vet. He squeezed out of his cage and jumped out the car window.

Because of his microchip, Sam and his owner were reunited - three years later.

Clinton is another traveling cat reunited with his owners because of a microchip. Rescued by an animal shelter in Rhode Island, housed temporarily in a foster home and pending adoption, the cat was scanned and his microchip was identified.

It turned out that Clinton was actually Gizmo, who had been missing from his Pennsylvania home since last spring. Hey, nice vacation, Gizmo!

Learn to speak dog

What is your dog trying to say? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
That’s because dogs speak using body language.

Type a word into this handy canine translator to see what your pooch is trying to tell you.

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Kids' Play

What was this playground designer thinking?



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Political Doggy Treats

Peanut butter & honey flavored political treats for your partisan canine!

The perfect gift for the politically savvy and the dogs who have everything.

Available as Democratic donkeys and Republican elephants.

$8.95 from Organic Doggy Kitchen

Organic Doggy Kitchen donates $1 from each bag sold through their online store to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria .

Art by Jeff de Boer

Jeff de Boer is a Calgary-based multi-media artist with an international reputation for producing some of the world's most original and well-crafted works of art. With an emphasis on metal, he is best known for such bodies of work as suits of armor for cats and mice, armor ties and sword-handled briefcases, rocket lamps and pop culture ray guns, and exquisite high art, abstract works called exoforms.



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The real ouroboros

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle. It is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. The serpent or dragon appears in Aztec, Middle East, and Native American mythologies, among others. (from Wikipedia)

xenmate at a near life experience has discovered the REAL ouroboros:

This is an Armadillo Lizard, which, if frightened, will grab its tail in its mouth and roll into a ball.

Photo: Cindy Shuttleworth

Look how cute and little they are:

Photo: Morelia Hunter

Time for a bigger cat door

This is Sooty, a massively overweight fat cat who has been put on a strict diet after getting stuck in his cat door.



Source: Daily Mail

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Sri Lankan Frogmouth

Nathan Yaussy at Endangered Ugly Things wrote about an intriguing bird:

Sri Lankan Frogmouth
ARKive says, "Distinctive in both its appearance and its loud laughing song, the Sri Lankan frogmouth is a tropical bird related to the nightjars. So called because of its large, gaping mouth, the Sri Lankan frogmouth's head is as wide as its body, and has a broad, flattened, hooked bill. The female is rusty red with sparse white freckling, whereas the male is grey and more heavily spotted with white. The tail feathers are long and narrow."

I think they're kind of cute.

Photo: Vijay Cavale

A fun business trip

From February 13 thru February 17, we were in San Diego, attending the Global Pet Expo. The pet industry's largest annual trade show is presented by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA.) It is not open to the public, but is open to just about everybody who has anything to do with pets: manufacturers, distributors, sales reps, pet shop owners, groomers, breeders - you name it.

We saw some very interesting individuals at the show. Some were there hawking their products.

Some show attendees were colorfully dressed.

Of course we had to visit i-pets.com's favorite supplier, Pet Factory. Pet Factory is the only manufacturer of USA rawhide pet treats. Doesn't their display look wonderful?

At this display for a bird seed manufacturer, we got to pet an American Eagle and an owl.

There were numerous dogs of all sizes at the show. This guy looked like he was ready to leave.

This magnificent Newfoundland patiently greeted visitors at the display he was representing.

The Global Pet Expo had an amazing amount of pet merchandise - just about everything you can imagine for pets of any sort. What I noticed was a trend in automated toys for pets to play with if their owners were just too lazy to play with them, doggy treadmills for dogs whose owners were too lazy to walk them, pet strollers for pets too lazy to walk. The clothing and accessories for little dogs is just overwhelming - think of any item for your children - they'll have it for your dog.

The most ridiculously silly items? Canine coffee for your dog's morning drink, an artwork kit for your dog to create paintings, a self-flushing litter box to put on your toilet and this: Contech’s new ChatterBowl is a talking pet bowl, so your dog can hear your voice any time it wants. The food bowl records your voice, and plays it back when your pet approaches. Your voice will play whenever your pet comes to eat or drink.

The show was fun, but even more fun was exploring San Diego and meeting some of the locals ... We met this pooch having lunch at the Prado restaurant in Balboa Park. (No, the hamburger was not for him.)

We've been away & need to catch up

Americans are extremely sensitive to the mistreatment of animals -- even those we intend to eat.

An undercover video showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts has led to the largest beef recall in the United States and a scramble to find out if any of the meat is still destined for school children's lunches.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation.

The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., the federal agency said. The company provided meat to various federal programs.

Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten.

"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.

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The only breed consistently among the nation's most popular dogs for nearly 100 years, a beagle had never won in the 100 times the Westminster Kennel Club had chosen a winner. That changed when judge J. Donald Jones pointed to this nearly 3-year-old package of personality.

Baying and barking to his heart's delight, Uno lived up every bit to his name, becoming the first beagle to win best in show at the nation's biggest canine competition, the 2008 Westminster Dog Show.

Uno beat out two neatly primped poodles, a top Sealyham terrier, a sleek Weimaraner, a lively Australian shepherd and a sprightly Akita.

"He's perfect, he was a 10," Jones said. "He does cuteness well."

*****

I guess CBS is looking for a "can't lose" idea for a popular TV show ... Dogs are popular, right? And reality shows are popular, so why not combine the two and make a reality show featuring dogs?

CBS was looking for the most extraordinary teams of dogs and owners across the nation to compete for the title of "America's top dog." From purebreds to mutts, show dogs to stunt dogs, Pugs to Great Danes and agility dogs to dogs who dance the Tango - they wanted all types of talented canines. The winning team will walk away with bragging rights and a significant cash prize!

Sorry, the deadline for entries was February 15.

I wonder if anyone will watch it, other than friends and families of the contestants.

Travel with Pets - the Ultimate Guide

These days, pets are often given the same privileges as their human owners when it comes to grooming, play dates, pet spa treatments, gourmet meals and exercise routines. Since pets are usually considered a part of the family, why should things be different when you take the whole crew on a vacation?

Traveling with a pet can be a bigger hassle than your typical trip to the groomer’s, but TravelHacker has compiled this ultimate guide for a pet-friendly vacation to make sure everyone has a good time.

Monkeys in the News

If you're interested in monkeys, and who isn't, catch up on monkey and primate news by reading Monkeys in the News.

Monkey Peeler

This orange monkey peeler from Boston Warehouse actually makes cleaning carrots and potatoes sort of fun. You could make monkey noises while using it, but it's not required.

$7.99 at Target

Sock it 2 Me!

Unique Sock Monkeys

Sock it 2 Me! is where you can order custom made sock monkeys.

The price for a basic sock monkey (approx 19 inches long, filled with nontoxic polyfill, with sewn eyes, eyelashes and nose) made just for you is $30.00 plus $8.00 s/h in the US (add sales tax for sales in Indiana).

Baby Sock Monkey Slippers

snuggly monkey slippers, reminiscent of the sock monkeys from the 1940's. Made from lightweight sock material, these monkey slippers are a perfect fit for your favorite baby.

$15.00 at Uncommon Goods

New Monkey Species Found in Remote Amazon

A new species of uakari monkey, was recently found in a mountainous region of the Amazon by a New Zealand primatologist. The animal, dubbed Cacajao ayresii, lives outside protected lands and is hunted by locals, prompting the expert to call the newfound creature "quite vulnerable."

Source: National Geographic

''Toygers'' vs. Tigers

''Toygers'' vs. Tigers, a photo series which compares wild tigers to hybrid toyger cats is one of National Geographic News Top Ten News Photo Galleries of 2007.

The Westminster Kennel Club 132nd Annual Dog Show

The Westminster Kennel Club 132nd Annual Dog Show opens today at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In the Dog Show World, this is like the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, the Academy Awards, Time's Man of the Year or the Boston Marathon. Out of 2,500 entries, one dog will be named Best in Show.

Four new breeds, recently recognized by the American Kennel Club, are making their debuts at Westminster in 2008. They are the Plott hound, the Tibetan Mastiff, the Beauceron, and the Swedish Vallhund.

Who will be the next First Pet?

John Woestendiek of The Baltimore Sun, in his blog, Mutts, looks at the US presidential candidates from the perspective of an animal lover.

Read which candidate is the friendliest to animals, both domesticated and wild. Speculate about who's most likely to take in a stray and who's most likely to blow away a quail, who's most likely to save a species and who's most likely to endanger one.

"How a candidate treats his dog (if he or she even has one) might be a strong indicator of how he or she will treat not just us poor lowly voters, but the non-voting animals with whom we share the world."

Continue reading "The animal vote: Who will be the next First Pet?" »

Chinese Zoo Puts On a Show, but Mistreats Animals

As the Beijing Olympics approach, critics hope new light will be shed on China's controversial zoos.

The Xiongsen Tiger and Bear Park in Guilin, China, has long been a favorite target of international animal rights groups because of the live animal sacrifices and the taunting and torture of animals that have been performed there for years, to mostly enthusiastic audiences.


At most zoos in China, the routine is similar: Tiger and bear trainers prod and poke the animals in order to provoke them. Tigers are trained to ride around the ring atop apparently petrified horses.

At some zoos, lions and tigers are fed live chickens, goats and even horses, triggering a feeding frenzy as the cats devour their hapless prey in front of visitors.

And the tourists seem to love it.

Source: ABC News

Patio Potty for Dogs

The Patio Potty helps you contain pet waste to one area. It can be placed in a yard or patio and has a canopy so your dog can even use it in the rain!

At Patio Park - $199

Bent Plywood Cat Scratcher

Hang it on the wall to create a perch, or lean it up in a corner of your room where it takes up almost no floor space at all. Carpet tiles are easily changeable for the replacement of worn tiles or to customize its look ... use colors and patterns to fit your taste, and change as often as you like.

$199.00 at Modern Critter

Pad Balm

You think your skin gets winter chapped and dry? Try walking on ice, snow and salt!

This all natural organic pad balm will keep your dog's pads smooth, soft and crack free. Great for drying winter weather and hot summer sidewalks.

$4.00 at The Modern Pet

I wish I knew Russian

I found an excellent site: suzaku_ekb's journal, which, unfortunately, is entirely in Russian. Ah, too bad. French and Spanish I can muddle through and pick out a word here and there so I get a general idea of what it's about. Russian though, is a total mystery to me.

The photos are so unusual, I wish I could read the journal entries. I bet they're really interesting.


Here's another great photo:

Video: Puppy Photo Everyday

A video collection of photos of Bodie, a Labrador puppy, everyday from age 7 weeks to 6 months.



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It's all bull

* When someone stole Bully, the 12-foot-tall landmark bull, that inspired Bill Hollingsworth’s “No Bull” campaign slogan, the would-be Hamilton County sheriff stood up and took action.

Hollingsworth spent the following afternoon with a hired pilot, flying over the fields of Hamilton County, trying to spot the stolen steer. He also alerted the local radio station and TV stations, and spread the word through the small town.

A $500 reward is offered for information leading to Bully’s return … and that’s no bull.

* A bull in Bangladesh tried to skip a dinner at which he would be the main course by escaping from a butcher shop. The bull demolished a series of vegetable and fruit shops then started attacking people. Police, butchers and spectators joined in a hot chase and captured the berserk animal as it became exhausted rushing up and down the market. The bull did not have many moments to live after its capture because it soon went under the knife to supply meat for a feast.

* A bull in Serbia will have to serve a two-year prison term along with his owner because there’s no-one to look after the animal while his owner does his time for attempted murder.

Micko the bull will be kept in the jail’s backyard while his owner serves his sentence. The city has agreed to pay the bull’s food and all other expenses until his owner is released.

Shark Car

The shark car was created by Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent. They make huge, whimsical creations and display them on their lawn and on their neighbors' lawns.

Here's one I'd love to have in my front yard:


The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about Patrick and Brigitte and their art, called There's art on our lawn.

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Shark Break

Relax. Take a shark break.

Shark School

From the San Diego Natural History Museum explore ten shark species found in the waters off of southern California and northern Baja California.

What a bore!

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Snakes invade Florida!

Where is St. Patrick when you need him?

* In East Manatte, a 13-foot-long, reticulated python, nicknamed the "Wal-Mart snake," was caught Monday in a culvert near Morgan Johnson Road off State Road 64.

"Reticulated pythons grow to be the longest snake in the world. Up to 33 feet has been reported," local wildlife rehabilitator Justin Matthews said, adding this female, 13-foot-long snake appeared to be approximately 4 years old. "The snake at this age could be potentially dangerous if someone did not know what they were doing and if it got wrapped around their neck. What it basically adds up to is 30 pounds of squeezing pressure per square inch."

* In St. Augustine, there's a new addition to an alligator farm but it's not an alligator... it's another kind of reptile, a 21-foot, 9-inch python. The snake was captured by villagers on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Farm officials say it may be the largest snake in captivity.

In Everglades National Park, a snake wrangling tale sounds like a Three Stooges routine.

A 6-foot python sought refuge by slithering up into the engine compartment of tourist Ron DeLong's Ford Explorer.

DeLong attempted to grab the python with the curved end of his walking cane but failed as the snake slithered through.

With the snake now wrapped around his engine, DeLong drove 15 miles to the park's main entrance to get help.

A park ranger, two biologists and a firefighter opened the hood and tried to yank the snake out, but the python just gripped the engine more tightly.

Tasering the snake proved to be an unsuccessful tactic as the python began to contract and excrete bodily fluids all over the four responders.

Our four heroes then disassembled the undercarriage of the vehicle until they could reach the snake. They slapped some duct tape on its mouth and uncoiled the snake from the engine, then killed it.

After putting the car back together again, they brought the snake to the lab for study.

Hot, steamy, wombat sex

Is anyone, other than scientists, interested in wombats procreating?

I don't know why anyone would be, but if you're interested: Secret sex life of wombats

Italian Farmers will raise Japanese Kobe cattle

A farm in Comazzo, Italy, is raising Japanese Wagyu cows to woo meat-loving Italians with the world's most expensive Kobe steaks. The Italians are hoping the tender, marbled beef will revive falling beef consumption and give their profits a boost.

Chocolate-colored Yoko, Waghino and Hirino, stumbling in their stall on a farm just south of Milan, are about a month old and are the first Wagyu calves to be born in Italy. They come from embryos imported from Australia.

They will be meticulously reared and coddled for 2-3 years, with massages and a diet including beer to give them the famous marble-like meat texture webbed with fat veins for the first "Made in Italy" Kobe steak to land on someone's plate.

Source: Reuters UK

Catching up on gossip

Inhaling pig brains may be cause of new Illness.

A new disease has surfaced in 12 people among the 1,300 employees at the factory run by Quality Pork Processors about 100 miles south of Minneapolis.

The ailment is characterized by sensations of burning, numbness and weakness in the arms and legs. For most, this is unpleasant but not disabling. For a few, however, the ailment has made walking difficult and work impossible. The symptoms have slowly lessened in severity, but in none of the sufferers has it disappeared completely.

The packing house slaughters 1,900 pigs a day. The 12 sufferers of the neurological illness all work at or near the "head table" where the animals' severed heads are processed.

One of the steps in that part of the operation involves removing the pigs' brains with compressed air forced into the skull through the hole where the spinal cord enters. The brains are then packed and sent to markets in Korea and China as food.

Investigators say there is no reason to suspect that either the brains or the pork cuts were contaminated. Their working hypothesis is that the harvesting technique -- known as "blowing brains" on the floor -- produces aerosols of brain matter. Once inhaled, the material prompts the immune system to produce antibodies that attack the pig brain compounds, but apparently also attack the body's own nerve tissue because it is so similar.

Source: Washington Post

Where blubber meets the road

This time each year in San Simeon, CA, , hundreds of croaking, roaring, shrieking elephant seals gather to breed and give birth on the rocky shoreline below Hearst Castle.

The boisterous annual show draws hordes of tourists to a boardwalk 15 feet above, where they can watch the enormous pinnipeds tend the shiny black pups, squabble over beach space and battle for the right to mate.

But this year, some of the seals are sneaking past barbed-wire fences designed to protect them, then flopping on blubbery bellies right across California 1.

Local officials are scratching their heads over how to keep the highway safe while protecting the thousands of seals that return to Piedras Blancas each winter.

Source: LA Times

Photo Credit: Hicker Photo

Cute Baby Armadillo

Photo: Tom Uhlman / AP

Rat treats

Kats Kritters has some great recipes for homemade rat treats. Peanut Butter Balls, Apple Cinnamon Drops, and Dried Fruit Balls all sound yummy.

Earrings for dogs?

If I had a dog, which I don't, and if I were totally goofy, which I'm not, and if I were to get my dog's ears pierced, which I wouldn't,

I would select these 1 carat total weight diamond stud earrings from Goldsmith Jewelry.

On the other hand, just by blogging about these earrings I might win them and wear them myself.

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Dogs and Art

The William Secord Gallery specializes in fine nineteenth century dog and animal paintings. The only gallery of its kind in North America, it was established by William Secord in 1990. Since then, it has become a popular destination for those interested in dog art and collectibles.

William Secord is the world authority on the nineteenth century dog painting and is the first author to explore the presentation of the dog from its origins to the remarkable paintings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and up to modern times.

The gallery is holding a special exhibition to coincide with the Westminster Dog Show. Nineteenth Century Dog Paintings opens on February 9 and runs until March 22, 2008.

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The Art of Carousel Dogs

Tim Racer has always surrounded himself with animals, and they are his favorite subject matter. Be it a small Chihuahua, a well-muscled pit bull or a statuesque great dane, Tim lovingly combines all of his artistic skills to create unique works of fine art that reflect the timeless beauty of our animal friends.







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Horror Movie

Milk-Bone celebrates 100th Anniversary

Milk-Bone is looking for photos of memorable "Milk-Bone Moments" between dogs and their pet parents to celebrate 100 years of baking tasty dog snacks.

Enter your photo online at www.milk-bone.com, where 100 finalists will be chosen and America will vote for their favorite.

Just photograph a special moment between you and your dog, and you could win big bucks. The grand prize is a $100,000 contract to serve as the first ever Milk-Bone 100th Anniversary Spokesdog, plus a digital camera.

An artist or an ape?

Can you tell the difference between great art and ape art?

You will be shown six pictures, some of which are masterpieces of abstract art, created by great artists. The rest were painted by an ape. Can you tell which is which?

After each picture indicate what it is. Hit the Submit button when done. The quiz will be graded and you will see the correct answers.



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Balloon Creatures

Found here

Video: Dog vs. Balloons

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Video: Birth of a baby orang-utan

From our endangered species series Before It's Too Late

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Video: The Juggling Otter

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Housecat's Genes Traced to the Middle East

The roots of the domesticated cat's family tree all converge in the Middle East, with many surprising ancestral twists and turns along the way, reveals a new genetic study on house kitties that included purebreds, mutts and even feral felines.

The study, one of the most extensive of its kind, used 39 genetic identity markers identified in 11,100 cats. Like branches on a person's family tree, these were used to determine the heritage of today's cats.

The DNA evidence adds to earlier archaeological findings and research that suggested the mother of all housecats was Middle Eastern.

Source: Discovery News

Surf's Up!

A cat in Peru, Nicolasa, has taken to surfing since she was introduced to it a month ago.

Source: Reuters

Video: Hummingbird Nest Documentary

How the hummingbird got his whistle

American zoologists say they can settle a long-running debate about how male hummingbirds are able to whistle at females of the species to try to entice them into mating.

The Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna), native to the US West Coast, makes the brief but loud chirp as he dives to impress females that venture into his territory.

Christopher Clark and Teresa Feo of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California at Berkeley set up high-speed video cameras and a microphone near perches used by Anna's hummingbirds at a park in Albany.

They then captured 10 males and selectively plucked one of five types of feather from their tail fan -- the feathers grow back back in about a month -- to see whether the birds could still do their whistling trick.

Hi-tech tests were then conducted in a wind tunnel to see if the plucked feathers would "sing" in response to winds of various speeds.

Their conclusion: the sound is made by the tail's outermost feathers.

Source: Yahoo News

Awesome

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The Turkey Vulture Society

The Turkey Vulture Society is a non-profit scientific corporation. Its purpose is to promote scientific study of the life habits and needs of the Turkey Vulture, to protect the vulture and its habitat, and to inform the public of the valuable and essential services this bird provides to us and to the environment.

From their website, some interesting trivia:

+ Turkey vultures do NOT eat live animals. They will not hurt your pets or children.

+ A group of vultures is called a "Venue". Vultures circling in the air are a "Kettle".

+ American Vultures can smell, but African vultures cannot. The Turkey Vulture has the best sense of smell of the American vultures

+ Vulture poop is actually a sanitizer! Their uric acid is so strong (because of the nature of their diets) that it kills bacteria.

+ Vultures have excellent eyesight, but, like all other birds, they have poor vision in the dark. American vultures find food both with their eyesight and sense of smell.

+ Vultures prefer to eat fairly fresh meat. They will turn their nose up at rotten meat if there is any alternative available. They also prefer the meat of herbivorous animals, avoiding that of dogs and other carnivores.

+ The oldest known turkey vulture, Tolouse, is 33 years old, and lives at the San Francisco Zoo.

+ Circling vultures do not necessarily indicate the presence of a carcass. Circling vultures may be gaining altitude for long flights, searching for food, or playing.

+ Turkey vultures are attracted to the smell of mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay.

+ Male and female turkey vultures are identical in appearance.

+ It is illegal to keep a vulture as a pet.