Israel has a national bird

It may not be kosher, but the Hoopoe was chosen Thursday as Israel's national bird.

The Hoopoe, or "Duchifat" in Hebrew, is listed in the Old Testament as unclean and forbidden food for Jews.

President Shimon Peres declared the pink, black and white-crested bird the winner of a competition timed to coincide with Israel's 60th anniversary. It beat out rivals such as the Yellow-vented Bulbul and the Palestine Sunbird.

Photo: ilarius

Source: Reuters

Do not try this at home!

Video: Britains Got Talent Semi Final Kate & Gin

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(via The Poodle (and Dog) Blog)

Special and unusual felines

We hear about famous and heroic dogs all the time; cats, not so often. I think it's because cats are not braggarts like dogs. Sure, there are many, many exemplary cats out there - they just shun publicity.

Here are the stories of some very unusual kitties:

Oscar a.k.a. "Unsinkable Sam"
The black and white patched cat had been owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship Bismarck. He was on board the ship on 18 May 1941 when it set sail on Operation Rheinübung, Bismarck's first and only mission.

Bismarck was sunk after a fierce sea-battle on 27 May, from which only 115 from its crew of over 2,200 survived. Hours later, the cat was found floating on a board and picked from the water, the only survivor to be rescued by the homeward-bound British destroyer HMS Cossack. Unaware of what his name had been on Bismarck, the crew of Cossack named their new mascot "Oscar".

About five months later, Cossack was hit and destroyed by a German submarine, and Oscar was again among the survivors.

The cat was then brought aboard the famous aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, but only three weeks later, this ship, too, was torpedoed by a submarine.

This luckily ended the cat's naval career. He was transferred first to the offices of the Governor in Gibraltar, and then sent back to the UK, where he saw out the remainder of the war living in a seamen's home in Belfast.

Sam died in 1955.

Simon
Simon served on the Royal Navy sloop HMS Amethyst 1948 through November 1949.

Simon received the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross for gallantry after he protected food stores on the HMS Amethyst from an infestation of rats, despite being badly injured in shelling by Chinese Communist forces during the country’s civil war.

He was later posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery, instituted in 1943 by Maria Dickin CBE, the founder of veterinary charity the PDSA, and was given the rank of "Able Seaman". Simon is the only cat among 62 animals to be awarded the Dickin Medal.

Ms. Ruby LeGato
Ruby patrolled the Alamo in Texas from 1981 through 1985. Ruby was awarded a certificate of completion of the Basic Security Officer Training course from San Antonio College.

In 1988 Ruby was immortalized in Rita Kerr's book, "The Alamo Cat". A bronze plaque marks her final resting place on the grounds of the Alamo.

Fred
He came from the streets of Brooklyn, a cool customer on four legs, the perfect bait for a sting on a fake veterinarian. In February 2006, Fred was enlisted by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office as an undercover secret agent, posing as a would-be patient to help the NYPD apprehend Steven Vassall, a Brooklyn man suspected of acting as a veterinarian without proper license or training.

On 18 May 2006, Fred was presented with a Law Enforcement Appreciation Award by Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes. Fred was later honored on July 8, 2006, at "Broadway Barks 8!", the New York City Theater District’s dog and cat adopt-a-thon benefit hosted by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters. He was presented with the Mayor’s Alliance Award, which is given to remarkable animals.

Fred died on 10 August 2006 when he escaped from his home in Queens, New York and was struck and killed by a car. Fred was 15 months old.

Tama
Because of budget cuts, the only stationmaster the Kishigawa Train Line in Japan can afford is Tama, a nine-year-old cat.

The railway company formally appointed her as "stationmaster" in January 2007. Happy with her successful job as stationmaster, the company promoted Tama to "super-stationmaster" in January this year, making her "the only female in a managerial position" in the company's 36-strong workforce. The company feeds her in lieu of salary.

Wizzo
Fighting the war on rodent infestation, the 95th Mission Support Group is using a "military working cat" to help reduce the amount of damage to equipment caused by rodents living in the supply warehouse.

The cat, named Wizzo, calls the 95th Mission Support Group's supply warehouse his home. The feline lives and works around the clock as a mobility rodent deterrent.

So far, Wizzo has caught a bird, a rat and three mice, which officially makes him an ace. The supply team keeps his kill count posted on a board for him.

Felix , or was it Félicette?
France launched a black and white stray tomcat of the Paris streets on October 18, 1963, on Veronique AGI sounding rocket No. 47 from the Hammaguir test range in Algeria. Was it a male named Felix. Or a female named Félicette?

Whichever, it was the first cat in space as the capsule in the rocket's nose cone separated at 120 miles altitude and descended by parachute. Electrodes in the cat's brain transmitted neurological impulses to a ground station. The cat was recovered.
Photo: Cats in simulated spacesuits [NASA archive]

Thanks to LA Unleashed for tips to the Ruby and Tama stories.

Fishing

(via Miss Cellania)

Lunch to go

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

I wish I had one in my yard

Jo in England, sent Chris a picture of one of the 13 fox cubs in her garden. There's one more photo.

Bear spotted taking a dip at the Hard Rock pool in Orlando

Orlando police are at Universal Studios, looking for a bear seen taking a dip in the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel.

abcNews reports that officers believe the young black bear is hiding out or sleeping in a wooded area on the Hard Rock Hotel property. Florida Fish and Wildlife is asking anyone who sees the bear to stay away and they're begging people not to go out looking for him.

Photo: HotelChatter

How to save money on pet stuff

Janet Huey e-mailed me to let me know about the pet related business she runs.

"I think I'm the only business of its kind in the US. I buy and sell new and used pet supplies and been doing so since 1997. All items are disinfected and cat furniture is isolated for 90 days since carpet can't be totally cleaned. I don't ship because Houston Texas is plenty big enough for me.
I've combined 22 years of rescue with a business I love and saving people money as well as keeping things out of landfills."

Janet's business is Pet Stuff Resale.
Pet Stuff Resale is in the Houston area - what an excellent way to save money on pet items!

Playing with food

More at omg owned.

(via Cynical-C blog)

Book Review: Dog Park Wisdom

The title is misleading. Dog Park Wisdom, by Lisa Wogan covers a lot more than just the dog park.

This book is a handy guide for every aspect of dog ownership from picking the right puppy and choosing the right name, all the way to traveling with your dog.

From breaking bad habits to understanding canine emotions, Wogan covers everything from potty training tips to grooming, proper playtime and off-leash etiquette.

There are great anecdotal stories from the author, her friends, family, and sometimes from complete strangers. My favorite among these is why you should wear a belt when visiting the dog park.

Photos by Bev Sparks make Dog Park Wisdom visually a pleasure as well as a fun read.

Lisa Wogan continues to gather tips for dog care and share new tidbits at her blog, www.dogparkwisdom.com.

Bev Sparks photography is used by ad agencies and greeting card companies, appears in magazines and books. See her portfolio at dogphotography.com.

Video: Borneo Apes - Malaysia

By some estimates, Borneo's vast forests are being cleared faster than the Amazon. Unless something is done now, Orangutans could be extinct in 20 years.

The practice of bulldozing everything to make way for palm oil plantations has left Orang-utans without their customary habitat.

Lone Droescher-Nieslen from the Orangutan Survival Foundation hopes she can rehabilitate the Orangutans back into the wild. But if the rate of deforestation continues, there may soon be no forests to release them into...

Watch the video

Cute or not? Baby crocodile

Can't decide? Here's another one . . .

Photo: Steve Winter (National Geographic)

Video: Making of Bunny Ads

Premise:
Film a new commercial for Kiinteistömaailma, a Finnish real estate broker company, featuring a bunch of bunnies.


Watch the video

You can also watch the final, finished version.

(via plime)

Video: kitty vs puppy

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(via Arbroath)

Video: Baby red panda

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(via cute overload)

Video: Kitties playing

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The loveable walrus

Dolphins are adored, whales revered, and seal pups make old Bond girls swoon. But walruses remain perversely, lumpishly obscure, known mostly for their sing-song linkage with a carpenter, an eggman and goo goo goo joob.

Odobenus rosmarus is a magnificent creature, behaviorally, anatomically, acoustically and taxonomically in a category all its own. The walrus belongs to the pinniped suborder, the group of blubbery, fin-footed carnivores that includes seals and sea lions.

Scientists are gathering evidence that the walrus is the most cognitively and socially sophisticated of all pinnipeds. Evidence suggests that the bonds between walruses are exceptionally strong: the animals share food, come to one another’s aid when under attack and nurse one another’s young. Walruses like to sing. Males woo females with lengthy compositions that have been compared in the complexity of their structure and phrasing to the songs of nightingales and humpback whales.

Source: The New York Times
(via Look at this)

Isn't this all getting out of control?

The small town of Osceola, NE is considering a breed ban that would ban American Pit Bull Terriers. The town has exactly one APBT, who has never caused any problems whatsoever and has no complaints registered against her.

Maggie, the only pit bull in town, lives across the street from Renee and Kent Johansen and their three children. The Johansens are leading the move for the ban. The Johansens, say they are concerned about the safety of their young children living in such close proximity to the pit bull.

“I know that specific dog has not done anything yet,” Renee Johansen said in a phone interview.

Maggie's owners, however, have purchased a $100,000 liability insurance policy, a stake that could not be pulled out of the ground, shortened her chain, got her a muzzle and the signs that were needed. They're trying to find a picture sign that warns about dogs for kids who can’t read.

The Osceola council says it wants to do the right thing and not make a law that squarely impacts one person, so they are banning 7 breeds of dogs: Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Am. Staffordshire Terrier, Chows, Dobermans, Rottweiler, American Bandage Mastiff, Neopolitan Mastiff, and any dog with the appearance of any of the above. American Bandage Mastiff? Just in case there is one, somewhere in the world.

(via For Your Entertainment)
Photo: nestmaker

Coming soon: beetle mania?

Cooing softly in baby talk, German Viasus gently uses a toothbrush to bathe the little animal he has raised since infancy and then pampers it with a fresh meal of mango, bananas and melon. The object of his affection? A beetle the size of a hamster with a hard, shiny shell and 2-inch-long horns.

Pictured is Viasus of Tunja, Colombia, showing off some of his Hercules beetles, which he exports to Asia for pets. Male Hercules beetles can grow to 7 inches and weigh as much as a hamster. Viasus ships giant, exotic types of the insects by the hundreds each month to Japan and elsewhere.

Source: Los Angeles Times
(via LA Unleashed)

White-handed Gibbons Now Presumed Extinct

China's fauna exhibits a unique diversity of apes. Unfortunately, the apes are more seriously endangered by extinction in China than in any other country. A research team assembled by anthropologists of Zurich University now conclude that another ape species has just become extinct in China's Yunnan province.

Science Daily reports that the 14-member scientific team recently carried out a survey in all Chinese forests. They could not locate a single Yunnan white-handed gibbon. The last time this ape was observed in China was in 1988 at the Nangunhe Nature Reserve in south-western Yunnan province. Their loud, melodious calls were last heard in 1992. This subspecies (Hylobates lar yunnanensis) is not known from any other place.

Luckily, these apes are not lost to us forever. Several zoos have included them in their programs. One is the Honolulu Zoo. On their web page, you can hear the call of the white-handed gibbon:

listen

You can also see pictures of Emma, an adorable baby white-handed gibbon, born in 2000. Here's a picture of Emma, 7 hours after birth.

Cocks not welcome in Swaziland

Authorities in Swaziland have declared war on roosters in the capital city because the birds are disrupting people's sleep. Authorities are set to enforce a 40-year-old law that permits residents to raise up to 12 chickens with permission but no roosters.

(Here's the quote of the week - ready?)

"After many instances we have found cocks to be troublesome and they end up making lives miserable for residents," said a Mbabane Municipal spokesman.

Source: AFP
Photo: Bill Shatto

Pretty (smart) birds

Police in Japan rescued an African grey parrot two weeks ago from a roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for his owners.

After a few days with the vet, the parrot became chatty.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian.

The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

Believable story!

Our own family's African grey parrot, Frankie, is also a well-versed conversationalist. He speaks both English and Italian and actually says things he has learned when the time is right. For example, when the phone rings, he says "Hello," and carries on a pretend (mumbled) conversation until he feels the call has been long enough, then says, "Thanks for calling. Bye-bye, now!"

When the doorbell rings, Frankie somehow knows who's outside even though he can't see them. He'll say, "Who's there, Julie?" when it's me.


Frankie is an adventurous eater - he likes just about everything we eat. Favorites are chicken leg bones and biscotti, which he dunks in his water dish.

Often, he gets messy with his food. He'll pick up clawfulls of seeds and throw them. Then he says, "Stop that! I'm going to spank your butt!"

Photo: corsi photo (Of Frankie tasting shrimp for the first time.)

A rare vintage

These are barn owl chicks, being fed by George Hedges. Hedges, of Devons Eagles, finds this the easiest method to give the fragile babies their daily morsels of food - mouse and cockerel chicks.

Source: MailonLine

No kidding!

Police thought they had a goat surrounded after it was spotted going the wrong way on the Cross Island Parkway. An ambulance and fire engine blocked traffic Monday while sheriff's deputies tried to corral the animal on the Charles E. Fraser Bridge, but she jumped.

Fire Battalion Chief Cliff Steedley told The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island the frightened goat plunged as much as 50 feet into Broad Creek.

Rescuers borrowed a boat to get the 70-pound nanny out of the waist-deep pluff mud as it worked its way through the marsh. One firefighter got stuck in the mud and had to be rescued.

Veterinarian Frank Murphy said the goat was fine after the smelly mud was washed off and there has been at least one offer to adopt it.

Whose bed is it?

There's a rather well known joke among pet owners, The Dog Rules, which states:

The dog never sleeps on the bed. Period.

• Ok, the dog can sleep at the foot of the bed only.
• Ok, the dog can sleep along side you, but he is not allowed under the covers.
• Ok, the dog can sleep under the covers, but not with his head on your pillow.
• Ok, the dog can sleep along side you, under the covers with his head on your pillow, but if he snores, he's got to leave the room.
• Ok, the dog can sleep and snore and fart and have nightmares in your bed, but he's not to come in and sleep on the couch in the TV room, where you're now sleeping. That's just not fair.

Does this happen in your bed?


Scientists who study dogs say the animals have lived inside people’s homes since at least the 1400s. But no one is really sure when or why dogs began sleeping in people’s beds. In most places on Earth, the practice is considered filthy to this day.

Yet it is a common, if unreported, phenomenon for many dog owners in the United States.

In "Dogs in Bed," Last Exit magazine explores the complex issue of whether you should sleep with your dog, and the effect that choosing to do so may have on your social and sex life. It's humorously written by Michael Dinan, with gorgeous photos by Keelin Daly.

photo: Keelin Daly

Thanks, Keach

Taking the kids for a walk

AP Photo/Gail Burton

Book Review: Yorkie Doodle Dandy

21-year-old American Air Force Private First Class William A. Wynne, stationed in New Guinea during World War II, met and fell in love with with Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier pup.

The story told in Yorkie Doodle Dandy is the history of their experiences together in war, being smuggled through customs, military discharge, their return to America, Will's wedding, two inter-coastal automobile trips, performing in show business and much more.

Smoky is actually a renowned WWII hero who strung telephone lines through an eight-inch drainage pipe under an airstrip in a combat area - a three day job which was accomplished in two minutes by the seven inch tall, four pound, Smoky.

Stories about Smoky appear in over 50 books and magazine articles Including Volumes I and II of the History of the Fifth Air Force. Smoky was YANK magazine's "Champion Mascot of the SWPA" in 1944.

Yorkie Doodle Dandy is a great cream puff of a book - an excellent way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Compassion for feral cats

Feral cats — nearly invisible and often reviled — have prowled into the spotlight.

The free-roamers with an aversion to humans have grabbed headlines this spring because of a bounty on their heads in Iowa, a threatened roundup and disposal in Fairfax County, Va., and other elimination plans across the country.

But the cats also are receiving attention of a different sort.

Grass-roots groups and animal-welfare organizations are directing money and energy toward helping the tens of millions of feral cats that skulk about college campuses, cluster around back-alley trash bins, swarm among the rocks at beach communities and colonize the nether-reaches of suburban parks, military installations and abandoned barns and fields.

According to Neighborhood Cats, a "feral" cat is one who has reverted in some degree to a wild state. They originate from former domestic cats who were lost or abandoned and then learned to live outdoors or in environments involving little human contact.

TNR (trap/neuter/return) respects a feral cat's wild state. The neutering of the ferals prevents tremendous suffering and shields the cats from the hostility their behavior might otherwise draw from human neighbors. But the return of them to their own territory and the providing of adequate food and shelter gives them the opportunity to live among their own, to be free and to answer to their own unique natures.

This method thwarts future litters and reduces the yowling, spraying and fighting that annoy humans. In the process, the cats usually are vaccinated, treated for minor problems and given a notch in the ear to identify they are sterile. Over time, the colony will grow smaller through attrition.

For a list of organizations with programs to benefit feral cats, see the USA Today article, Compassion often eludes feral cats; groups out to save them, by Sharon L. Peters.

Photo: Joan Fairman Kanes for USA TODAY

Molly, an amazing horse

Molly is a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA.

She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died.

Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.


Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. The other important factor is having a truly committed owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.

(via reddit)

Sturgeon having a ball in Columbia River

When sonar surveys spotted a vast pile of rubble in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam late last winter, officials suddenly worried part of the dam structure was eroding into the river.

What they found below the spillways in February was not a giant pile of rock at all, but a humongous pile of thousands upon thousands of sturgeon - some of them 14 feet long or longer - lounging together in frigid water at the bottom of the river.

The mountain of white sturgeon contained around 60,000 fish, according to a crude estimate by Michael Parsley, a research fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Columbia River Research Laboratory in Cook, Wash. He described that estimate as "probably conservative."

It was an aquatic phenomenon nobody had ever seen at such a monstrous scale, offering a startling glimpse into the life of the Columbia's largest and most ancient fish.

Source: Oregon Live
Photo: Columbia River Trophy Sturgeon Fishing

Cute or not? Baby gorilla

Pet's Eye View Camera

Did you ever wonder what your pet does all day while you're not home?

Now, with the Pet's Eye View Camera, you can take a photo at intervals of 1, 5 or 15 minutes just by attaching the gadget to your pet's collar.

$47.95 from Discover This

Doorbells for Dogs - Pet Chime

Tired of your pet scratching the door to come in? Want to teach your dog or cat to tell you when it needs to go out? Then you're ready for the Pet Age Magazine product of the year: Pet Chime™.

The Pet Chime is a wireless doorbell that allows your pet to tell you when it wants to go out or come in to the house. Two piece device: a paw-shaped remote control transmitter and a receiver chime. Both components are FCC approved.

Doorbell works with both dogs and cats.

To activate a chime, pets simply step on or push the paw with its nose. Select from two chime sounds: a dog bark or traditional ding-dong.

$24.99 at Comfort House
via Trendhunter

Baby albino wallaby rejected by mom

There's a new addition to the preemie ward at Cypress Gardens, and keepers are giving it around-the-clock care. An albino wallaby named Bela gave birth to an albino baby about four months ago.

In and of itself, the birth is pretty amazing -- albino wallabies are rare. Fewer than 10 have been born in the United States.

The new baby girl was supposed to stay in her mom's pouch until next winter, where she could nurse, grow fur, and get stronger. But fate stepped in.

About a week and a half ago, a park employee found the new baby outside the pouch. Gardens officials are not sure what happened. They suspect that Bela may have been spooked, and threw the baby out. That's what wallaby moms do in the wild to save their own skins when they're threatened.

Since the baby is not even old enough to stand, it couldn't climb back in. Keepers tried to put it back in, but Bela would have no part of it.

"The mother growled at us. She didn't want anything to do with her," said Jessica Bond, an animal manager. "So it was in the baby's best interest to pull her and hand-raise her."

That's easier said than done. The baby, who hasn't been named yet, eats a few tablespoons of a special formula every three hours. Keepers, who take turns bringing the little one home, are up in the middle of the night feeding her.

Every other feeding they have to grease the baby with Vaseline, which simulates the mom licking her.

Gradually, the feedings will taper off. But she won't be fully weaned for another year.

Source: MyFox, Tampa Bay

Octopus jewelry

Like this beautiful bracelet, all of the octopus jewelry at the OctopusME! Store! has been made from REAL Sushi Grade Octopus and is SOLID Sterling silver with no Octopus remains in the jewelry.

wow
via Truemors

Video: Crazy Dog

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Muddy Buddy Contest

Do you have a muddy buddy?

Your pet could be the next Lee's Carpet spokespet!

If you think your pet has what it takes to represent the Lees brand, known for its exceptional durability, incredible stain repellency and 25-year wear warranty, submit a picture of your pet at his or her messiest. Entries will be accepted from May 1, 2008 until June 15, 2008. Starting on June 18, 2008 we will have five finalists online for voting. Be sure to check back and make sure your favorite Muddiest Buddy wins!

Click Here to Enter Your Pet Now!

The winning pet-owner will receive $5,000 worth of new Lees carpet and a year’s supply of Purina® brand pet food. Four runners-up will receive $250 Gift Certificates to Carpet One Floor & Home.

For every qualified entry, one dollar will be donated to Delta Society.

Photo: Girlinprogress

Video: Schmitty, Political Pooch

Schmitty, the Real New Yorkie has a lot to "bark" about with the BARK THE VOTE campaign. Doesn't matter if your candidate du jour is Obama, Hillary, or McCain. We just want everyone to "Be A Party Animal" and get all the humans in the USA to register and vote in this upcoming presidential election. Join the canine caucus. Make a difference. BARK THE VOTE.

Watch the video.

Thanks, Chad.

What a dog!

Sergeant Stubby, a Bull Terrier mix, is the single most decorated dog in U.S. history.

He was picked up as a stray in 1917, by Private J. Robert Conroy when the homeless dog appeared at the training camp of the 102nd Infantry at Yale University. Conroy and buddies kept Stubby with them through all their drills and training and, in July 1917, when it came time to ship out for France, they smuggled Stubby aboard ship.

Within weeks of their arrival in the European theatre, the 102nd was under fire on the front lines in France. The boom of artillery fire didn't faze Stubby in the least, and the men learned of incoming bombs by watching him. Stubby could hear the whine of shells long before the men.

For 18 months Stubby carried messages under fire, stood sentry duty, and helped paramedics find the wounded in “no man’s land”. He gave early warning of deadly gas attacks and was credited many times with saving his entire regiment. When Stubby found and helped capture a German spy who was mapping a layout of the Allied trenches, he was awarded the honorary rank of Sergeant - the first dog to be given rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. When seriously wounded by shrapnel, he was sent to the Red Cross hospital for surgery just like any other soldier. Once recovered, Stubby returned to his regiment and continued to serve until November 11, 1918, the day the war ended.

Named a life member of the Red Cross and the American Legion, Stubby was awarded many medals including one by General John J. Pershing. Called to the White House several times to meet Presidents Harding and Coolidge, he led more regimental parades than any other dog in history.

Stubby spent his final years with John Conroy, the soldier who had rescued him so many years ago. He died of old age in 1926. Stubby's remains were preserved with technical assistance from the Smithsonian Institution. Stubby, his medals and personal effects were donated to the Smithsonian by Conroy and can still be seen there.

Great advertising

"Blocked nose?"

Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi in Milan has created a great series of ads for Otrivin nose spray.

--- I love the humor.
More photos at I believe in advertising.

Little piggies saved from the market

The world’s smallest and rarest pig, which was once feared extinct, is ready to re-enter the wild again.

Pygmy hogs were thought to have been wiped out in the 1960s until two small populations were found in northern Assam in India in 1971. After a 13-year captive breeding program led by Durrell Wildlife, the Jersey-based conservation centre founded by the author Gerald Durrell, the descendants of those surviving hogs are being reintroduced to their natural habitat at the foot of the Himalayas.

The 16 hogs due to return to the wild - taken from a captive population of only 79 - have been kept in large pre-release enclosures that replicate their natural habitat for the past five months and have become progressively shyer, their keepers say. “Up to release date, the hogs have shown naturalistic behavior and an aversion to human contact, which is a positive sign that they will fair well when released.”

Source: Times Online
(via Boing Boing)

Houston-area invaded by crazy rasberry ants

The crazy Rasberry ants are marching! Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them are coming in a near-unstoppable zig-zagging insect army intent on making Houston homes, yards and lives a living hill.

First spotted in 2002 in Pasadena by Tom Rasberry, the exterminator for whom the rice-grain-sized insects are named, the ants now have spread through much of the greater Houston area. May through September is their peak period — a time when billions of the critters with a reluctance to sting and a habit of chewing up electrical wiring may infest a single acre. Homeowners daily sweep up dust bins of their dead and maimed.

While they are not prone to stinging humans, the ants do pose potentially serious problems. Ants indirectly can damage plants by establishing a symbiotic relationship with sap-sucking aphids. Ants feed on a sugary aphid excretion called honeydew and, therefore, protect the aphids from predators.

More significantly, crazy Rasberry ants have demonstrated a tendency to nest in and damage electric equipment.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Photo: Tom Rasberry, an exterminator, lets "crazy rasberry ants," named after him, crawl on his arm in Deer Park.
David J. Phillip: AP

Let's eat!

Chicago's City Council has repealed the foie gras ban. It legal once again for city restaurants to serve up the delicacy made from duck and goose liver.

Mayor Richard Daley, who had once dismissed the ban as "the silliest law the City Council has ever passed," squelched debate on the measure and commanded the council to vote. The 37-6 vote repealed the 2-year-long ban.

Photo: Chuck T

Oh no, painted dogs!

At Dog Reflections, 15 Photos Of Dogs With Dye Jobs.

I don't know why someone would want to dye their dog. The dogs certainly don't seem very happy. They look embarrassed,

like this poor thing!

Photo by “jenny horror”

On the other hand - this poodle looks like he's getting into it. Poodles are like that though. They like to show off. They have to be different. They're called "French" poodles for a good reason, you know.

Photo by Zoom Zoom

via The J-Walk Blog

Jenny's birthday

This is Jenny. Jenny is recognized as the world's oldest gorilla in captivity

Gorillas in the wild normally would live to age 30 or 35, but health care and protection from predators has extended their lifespan in zoos. Of the roughly 360 gorillas in North American zoos, only four are over the age of 50. All of them are female. Jenny is the oldest of them all at 55.

Caretakers at the Dallas Zoo, where Jenny lives, celebrated her birthday with a four-layer frozen fruit cake and banana leaf wrapped treats.

Source: Live Science

They're on the list

The Interior Department on Wednesday designated the polar bear as threatened with extinction - it has been added to the endangered species list.

Polar bears are the first species to be designated as threatened with extinction because of global warming.

The designation under the Endangered Species Act requires the agency to identify critical habitat to be protected and to form a strategy to assist the bear population's recovery.

Source: LA Times

Are anteaters cool?

Life must be interesting with two anteaters as pets.

It certainly looks interesting on Tamandua Girl' blog, It's all about the animals. The anteaters like to dress up, explore the house, go for walks, and take baths.

Dark Roasted Blend has posted some of the best photos of Pua and Stewie, the anteaters.

Zoo officials concerned about tiger cub

A tiger cub born on Mother's Day at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is not getting much TLC from its mother.

Tiger-keepers are working around the clock to find out why the cub's mother, Toma, isn't being receptive to her newborn.

Zoo officials think Toma might be sick or possibly carrying another cub.

The two-pound cub is being kept at an animal hospital. If the cub does not receive attention from its mother, it can be raised successfully by tiger-keepers at the zoo.

Source: KDKA

Rare white albino tadpoles

Rare albino tadpoles have been found in a garden pond in Wales.

The tadpoles have the distinctive pink eyes and off-white skin coloration associated with albinism. Although isolated single examples of albino frogs, toads and newts have been seen before this is the first time a whole group has been found.

The pond's owner, who first noticed the white-tinged tadpoles, said he did not see any albino frogs using the pond during the breeding season.

Source: Telegraph

A lot of bull

Chilli is a black and white Friesian bullock who weighs well over a ton and at the same height as a small elephant, casts a shadow over his cattle companions who are about 5 ft.

Chilli is 6 feet tall, so his owners have contacted the Guinness Book of Records who are currently assessing his credentials and comparing them to other big bovines.

The heifer, who is almost as high as he is long, lives at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard, Somerset, after he was left on their doorstep aged just six-days-old.

Source: Daily Mail
via Neatorama

But can he read now?

Dixie, a seven-year-old Mountain Cur from Runnells, Iowa, can now see to chase squirrels to her heart's content, thanks to the new plastic cornea she received in a novel surgery.

Dixie received the first veterinary corneal implant procedure in North America, and one of only a few ever performed. During the surgery, Sinisa Grozdanic, an assistant professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, removed the dog's damaged cloudy cornea and replaced it with a permanent synthetic one.

Source: msnbc

Great tits cope well with warming

At least one of Britain's birds appears to be coping well as climate change alters the availability of a key food. BBC News reports that researchers found great tits laying eggs earlier in the spring than they used to, keeping step with the earlier emergence of caterpillars.

The great tits are laying eggs now about two weeks earlier in the year than they were 47 years ago.

The timing is crucial, because for the two-week period after they hatch, the chicks have to gobble down huge quantities of winter moth caterpillars which only emerge for a short period.

via Presurfer

Is that a squirrel in your pocket ... ?

The City Birder has a cute post about encountering a cute, little, cold, young, squirrel who wanted to make friends.



And here's another tale about a rescued baby squirrel, complete with YouTube video:

Dog Gives Birth To Green Puppy

A newborn puppy is really standing out among his siblings... all because of his color.

The puppy was born last week, and so far, he is perfectly healthy... he's just green.

Veterinarians say this sometimes happens when the mother's amniotic fluid mixes with the placenta during birth and dyes the coat of the puppy.

The puppy won't be green forever. I a few weeks, the green will fade away and the pup will be a light brown or white color.

Source: WCSH6

Why you should always wash your fruit before eating it

Kevin Hudson of Suffolk, got a rude surprise as he was washing grapes to give to his four-year-old son. He spotted a tarantula lurking in the bunch of grapes.

"I was a little bit shocked," he said.

"Spiders don't bother me too much, although it would have been a different story if my wife had been washing them."

Source: BBC News

Care for Apes

What happens to performing primates once they're past their prime? The lucky ones end up in facilities like the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, FL.

Brenda Scott Royce, in the Huffington Post, writes,

" Apes in showbiz have a short shelf life.

The average performing chimp begins his career around age 2. By 7 or 8, when he's no longer the tractable trainee he once was, he's put out to pasture.

Owners tend to not want to keep apes that have outlived their earning potential, and since apes can live into their 50s, that means they'll require decades of care after their careers end. And that care is expensive -- roughly $10,000 a year for a single ape. And while typically everyone involved with a film -- from cast and crew to producers, studios, distributors, investors and exhibitors -- makes money, nothing is put aside for the animals' future. "

The primary purpose of the Center for Great Apes is to provide a permanent sanctuary in a safe and enriching environment for orangutans and chimpanzees in need of long-term life care … specifically those who have been used in entertainment, kept as pets by private owners, or served as research subjects.

Currently, the Center houses forty-three apes, fourteen orangutans and twenty-nine chimpanzees, ranging in age from one to forty-six years. These great apes live in enriching environments and habitats, provided with proper nutrition and companionship and with their own species. They live in large 34-foot tall outdoor habitats with lots of climbing apparatus, swings, and enrichment toys. They sleep in attached heated nighthouses strong enough to withstand Florida hurricanes. The sanctuary is located in South Central Florida on 100 wooded acres surrounded by orange groves.

Pebbles is one of the Center for Great Apes current residents. She arrived at the Center in December 2004 from a California trainer compound where she was worked as an infant in the entertainment business. She still had a few years of working ability ahead of her, but her owner decided to stop working great apes in shows and commercials.

Pebbles loves to swing on vines in her enclosure, play in tubs of water, and wrestle with her orangutan roommates. One of her favorite enrichment activities is painting. Not only will she paint on paper or canvas given to her, Pebbles also enjoys covering herself with nontoxic paint!

via L.A. Unleashed

A pine-y bear

Artist Richard Carpenter made this bear from "hundreds of thousands of pine needles. The pine needles were gathered off the ground, sorted, washed, trimmed and hand woven, over 8 months, in making the life size bear."


From Cellar Image of the Day
via Scribal Terror

Book Review: Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health

A book that should be in the library of every pet owner and pet lover: The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is an outstanding resource. Written by veterinarians and animal health specialists, the book is still aimed at the public at large. It's easy to understand and also easy to find information quickly.

The book covers health issues in common and exotic pets, but there are also some unusual and interesting special subjects. I found the chapter on diseases spread from animals to people (zoonoses) fascinating because I like this sort of off the wall stuff.

Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is a book I will keep handy and will refer to often for the well being of my pets.

Video: Howling for Hillary

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Cute or not? Baby bunnies

"Bunnies - 1 week old" uploaded by Oh Joy!

Learn about wolves

Little Odin was born in the spring of 1994. He is the grandson of the original "Odin", who was the largest known captive wolf in North America.

Little Odin is a British Columbian wolf. British Columbian wolves are primarily black, however Little Odin has grayed out tremendously since he is getting up in age.

Weighing approximately 130 pounds, Little Odin is and has always been the true star of Big Run's presentations!

Beginning as a one-month old pup, Little Odin has helped educate thousands of people and has no less than 650,000 miles under his paws, going to schools, libraries, etc. He is extremely well-behaved, even among crowds. Being semi-retired now, when he stands at the gate and wags his tail, he’s saying that he would like to go to the program that day.

Little Odin lives at Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport, IL. Big Run Wolf Ranch is a federally licensed non-profit educational facility specializing in North American wildlife. They have been licensed for approximately 20 years and doing educational lectures for approximately 14 years.

Many of the animals at Big Run have been rescued wherein the only other alternative was euthanasia. Although they have rescued many animals, Big Run's primary objective is education. Currently, they are unable to comfortably house any additional wildlife. They are in the preliminary stages of planning a larger facility to provide homes for orphaned wildlife. Plans include an on-site rehab medical facility as well as an 1800 sq. ft. on-site education center.

A Mother's Love

Happy Mother's Day!

(AP Photo/Kai-Uwe Knoth)

(manu)

(AP Photo/Jessie Cohen)

(Daniel Hernanz)

(Staffan Windstand)

(cute otters)

(gsdbabe)

(illo_mark)

(Rita Summers)

(markeveleigh)

(Tambako the Jaguar)

(cute with chris)

(gsdbabe)

(Michael Kooren)

Is your house a zoo?

Is your life literally going to the dogs...and cats...and bunnies...and lizards?

Do you have ducks in the bathtub and spiders in the chandelier?

Do you mix up your kids' names with your pets?

Are your kids actually goats?

Animal Planet is developing a new series about families where the pets outnumber the humans, where the daily business of raising a family includes dealing with the whole animal kingdom.

If your house is one where any animal would feel at home, they'd like to know more.

Please send a short introductory email about your family to MyHouseIsaZoo.too@gmail.com.

Include a link to your website if you can. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

One of those days?

I went into the gas station today and
asked for five dollars worth of gas.

The clerk farted and gave me a receipt.

Face it, Hillary - it's all over now

Yup, now that the cats are involved, it's all over for Hillary.

A Curious Audience

From the Darlington Family online collection, at the University of Pittsburg Digital Library, which contains 155 photographs taken by Edith Dennison Darlington Ammon and her brother, O'Hara Darlington, from 1885 through 1888. Photographs contained within the five albums document family, friends, leisure activities, and the artistic approach to photography that both Edith and O'Hara shared.

A Legendary Hunter

Between 1907 and 1938, Jim Corbett killed a dozen large cats who were collectively blamed for more than 1,500 human deaths. While being hailed as India's most celebrated hunter of man-eaters, Corbett developed a vast respect for tigers and leopards. Years spent stalking intelligent and powerful predators through the forests convinced him that these were graceful creatures that deserved respect. Even these man-eaters held his respect, for he understood that they were merely adapting to their desperate circumstances. "The stress of circumstances is, in nine cases out of ten, wounds, and in the tenth case old age," Corbett once wrote, "Human beings are not the natural prey of tigers, and it is only when tigers have been incapacitated through wounds or old age that, in order to survive, they are compelled to take to a diet of human flesh." Indeed, Corbett admired the wild tiger as "a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage", and he urged India's people to rally for the conservation of "the finest of her fauna."

Read the rest of this fascinating biography at Damn Interesting.

Got a Buck?

Can you afford one dollar per month?
Just $12 per year can help 12 shelters in desperate need of financial help.

Each month the Animals Help Campaign will feature a different animal shelter in dire need of financial assistance.

Send one dollar to that shelter during that month. Your one dollar combined with other dollars will help to raise thousands of dollars for one needy shelter.

And this month's shelter is:
Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary

Critter Camp cares for the forgotten pets that many shelters do not accept. The animals there were about to be euthanized or had been abused, neglected or abandoned. Critter Camp is a licensed, registered 501c3 non-profit charitable organization, 100% no-kill, operated by volunteers and supported by donations. They care for over 200 exotic and unusual homeless pets of 30 different species!

Critter Camp has hands-on educational fun tours for small groups to learn about and experience animals such as a hedgehog, fennec fox, sugar glider, bearded dragon, chinchilla, and much more.They offer pet owner education and tips on what to consider before you get a pet.

They are planning to build a "green" sanctuary building that will use passive and active solar and wind power and other ecologically sound practices in the near future. They are offering to name the facility after a large initial donor too.

All of the information about the sanctuary, tours, our background and plans are on our site www.crittercamp.biz .

Send Critter Camp $1.00

(more is OK, too)

Art by Deborah Sengl

In her new exhibition “Of Sheep and Wolves” Austrian artist Deborah Sengl continues her exploration of the topics of stealth and deception, mask and simulacrum. Sengl's art is on exhibition at the art gallery Deschler in Berlin, Germany, through May 24, 2008.

Wolf-Sheep-Priest

Puma-Dentist

Saving the planet

Animal Planet has created a great website, The Animals Save the Planet. It has animated shorts, fun downloads, and suggestions on saving the Earth.

My favorite is the farting cow, Stanley, who teaches that livestock is responsible for 18% of total greenhouse gas emissions.


Stanley suggests saving the planet by eating less meat. Well, of course he would say that, duh!

If you like Stanley too, you can download a Farting Cow widget.

Book Review: The World is Your Litter Box

The World Is Your Litter Box: A How-to Manual for Cats is a very unusual book in that it was written by Quasi, who happens to be a cat. This book is actually an instruction manual for cats who were unfortunate enough to be born without the innate feline abilities possessed by Quasi.

The cats who live in my house, Grace and Bandit, were very interested in the book. Grace, of course, wouldn't read it while I was looking, but she did read it after I was asleep for the night. Grace, the world's most prolific upchucker, learned of a few new places to throw up thanks to Quasi. Bandit thought the book was very flavorful - all four corners now are artfully decorated with fang marks.

Grace and Bandit have a few suggestions in case Quasi is thinking of a sequel. They'd like to teach him the "brush your tail against a candle during a party" trick to liven up social gatherings. Also, to encourage household remodeling and redecorating, there's the "get up into the ceiling and cause the drywall to collapse" trick.

On the whole though, we'd like to congratulate Quasi, and his human co-author, Steve Fisher, on a cute, humorous, and charming book.

Dogs and Travel

Since all dogs are descendants of wolves, isn't it amazing the variety to be found?

I have a strange hobby of photographing dogs and food whenever I travel. Here are some of the dogs I've met on my trips:

Chicago, IL:


San Diego, CA:




Boston, MA:


Martha's Vineyard, MA:


Lake Geneva, WI


Nürnberg, Germany:




Ansbach, Germany:


Dinkelsbühl, Germany:


Ulm, Germany:


Schwangau, Germany:


Budapest, Hungary:




Szentendre, Hungary:




Sion, Switzerland:


Cheverney, France:


Flagey-Echezeaux, France:


Paris, France:


I have MORE!

Front line canines

There are 20-25 dogs based throughout Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan where British troops are based.

Most are German Shepherds, Labradors or Spaniels. They may look cute and friendly, but these animals have a deadly job - sniffing out roadside bombs, and chasing and catching Taleban fighters, alive.

One sniffer or protection dog along with their handler can do the job of "four-six men" on the ground, meaning that those men can be deployed on other tasks.

Source: BBC

Cute or not? Penguin chick

Bedbug sniffer dogs employed by NY hotels

In a prominent New York hotel last month, a uniformed man strode purposefully through the corridors, a beagle mongrel trotting at his side.

“We look like cops,” says Carl Massicott with a laugh.

Massicott is in fact an exterminator; his highly trained dog sniffs out bedbugs – the pestilence whose virulent return has been plaguing hotels across the US in recent years.

Massicott runs Advanced K9 Detectives, a specialist extermination company that uses dogs to sniff out pests. News of an infestation can ruin a business predicated on giving punters a good night’s sleep; it helps that Massicott dogs appear innocuous. Massicott says he's heard of dogs being used to sniff out termites in the past, and thought to apply the skills of his first black-lab mix, Jada, to sniff out bedbugs when there was an epidemic in 2002.

He’s since trained a small army of mutts, all adopted from dogs' homes. There’s only one requirement: “They’ve got to like to hunt,” he says.

Each young dog is trained for an average of 18 months. Initially they are introduced to the pest’s scent and rewarded with a treat each time they smell the bugs; the process culminates in the dog seeking out that scent on its own.

Each dog is capable of covering 150 hotel bedrooms per day.

Source: Times Online

Video: Weezer - Island In The Sun

Cute video of bay animals playing & having fun - Weezer performing Island In The Sun: Spike Jonze.

Watch the video

Video: Pandas Make You Smile

Watch video

(via Cute Overload)

Video: Bobble head kitties

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Online Roadkill Registry

One day, little Billy Wilson had an idea: "Why don't we honor the fallen roadside animals by putting them in a record book?"

So the Wilson family initiated roadkill hikes, looking for and cataloging the many fallen animals along the roadsides in their own record book.

What began as a family pass time for the Wilsons is now a national book of registry paying tribute to the deer, bears, raccoons, fox, crows, coyotes, pheasants and other animals that have met their maker on the nation’s highways.

You, too, can register your roadkill discoveries at the Road Kill Record Book Club. Download a form for $10.00, and start watching those road sides!

(via newshound)

Some people go looking for trouble ...

A Florida man was in the hospital Thursday after wildlife officials said he was bitten by a poisonous cobra.

Jack Hildreth, 50, of Bushnell, Fla., was taken to Orlando Regional Medical after he told 911 operators Wednesday that the snake had bitten him on the thumb.

According to the the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Hildreth has a license to keep the snakes. However, this isn't the first bite incident involving his collection. An alleged burglar took five snakes from Hildreth's home last summer and was found in a Wal-Mart restroom with a bite injury. He survived and was sent to prison.

Run for your life!

With the number of deadly dangerous little creatures slithering, hopping, and swimming on this Earth, it's amazing that mankind has managed to survive.

Here are 20 creatures guaranteed to make you very, very sick at the least, or to kill you, should you happen to meet them.

Let's be careful out there!

Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox

The Western Diamondback, which can exceed seven feet in length, is the king of twenty odd species and sub-species of Southwestern desert rattlers, not only in terms of size, but also in terms of its fearsome reputation.

This viper comes equipped with a spade-shaped head, a fiendish fang and venom system, elliptical pupils and heat-sensing facial pits. It has reserve fangs to replace any which break off in a victim. The venom causes extensive tissue damage, bleeding and swelling in humans.

The diamondback will coil, rattle fearsomely, and stand its ground when threatened. It bites hundreds of people a year, more than any other venomous snake in the United States. It is likely responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico and in the USA.

As many as 50% of bites by rattlesnakes are 'dry bites' where no venom is injected. Many folk remedies for snakebite came about because no venom was injected to begin with.

Symptoms include, but are not limited to pain, severe swelling, bruising, blistering, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, collapse or convulsions, Yellow vision; paraesthesia/numbness of digits, metallic taste in mouth, fasciculations, and/or death. (Photos for those with strong stomachs.)

Black Mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis

Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. They have been blamed for numerous human deaths and are widely considered the world’s deadliest snake. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour.

When cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss. If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike.

Before the advent of black mamba antivenin, a bite from this fearsome serpent was 100 percent fatal, usually within about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, antivenin is still not widely available in the rural parts of the mamba’s range, and mamba-related deaths remain frequent.

Coral Snake

The order of the bands distinguishes between the non-venomous mimics and the venomous coral snakes: "Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, venom lack."

Coral snakes are highly venomous, they are a relative of the cobra. Their venom is a powerful neurotoxin which paralyzes the nerves.

No deaths related to coral snake bites have been reported in the United States since coral snake antivenin became available. Before that time, the estimated case fatality rate was 10%.

According to a recently published report, no more antivenin is being produced. Wyeth Laboratories, the only manufacturer, phased out production several years ago.

Golden Poison Frog
Phyllobates terribilis

The golden poison frog is so toxic that even touching it can be dangerous. A single frog contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or 10 people. It is probably the most poisonous animal on earth.

Indians from Colombia use the poison secreted from the skin of poison dart frogs to treat their blowgun darts. The darts are heated and wiped over the backs of the frogs. Once a dart is poisoned, it remains lethal for up to two years. These darts can be used by the Indians as an easy way to catch small prey.

Cone snail
Conus textile

Cone snails are one of the most venomous creatures on earth.

The geographic cone is the most venomous of the 500 known cone snail species, and several human deaths have been attributed to them. Their venom, a complex concoction of hundreds of different toxins, is delivered via a harpoonlike tooth propelled from an extendable proboscis. There is no antivenin for a cone snail sting.

The geographic cone is nicknamed the "cigarette snail," a humorous exaggeration meaning a person stung by one would have enough time to smoke a cigarette before dying.

Box jellyfish
Chironex fleckeri

These invertebrates are among most poisonous creatures in the sea. Stings from these species are excruciatingly painful, either initially or as an after-effect, and are often fatal - 5,567 deaths have been recorded since 1954.

The most dangerous jellyfish can carry more than half a million venom triggers per square inch. The venom contains toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. It is so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact.

Blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena

This brilliant creature is exceptionally dangerous. Just one bite and you won’t be able to move a muscle. In fact you won’t be able to breathe, or scream! A lot of people who get bitten by these creatures don’t even know it, until the deathly symptoms start to come on. Time till death – less than ten minutes.

This little octopus is about the size of a golf ball and weighs only 10 ounces, but one blue-ringed octopus this size has enough venom to kill 10 men. The venom contains maculotoxin which is more violent than that of any animal found on land. This poison is 10,000 times more potent that cyanide.

Yellow fat-tailed scorpion
Androctonus australis

These creatures are responsible for the highest number of scorpion-caused human deaths. The sting is hugely painful. After being stung, severe sickness follows, movement becomes hard and breathing becomes very difficult. Chances of survival after this scorpion's bite are slim. Their sting can kill in 2 hours, and faster, if you're allergic to it.

No antivenin is available, but with immediate hospital care, some people have recovered.

Stonefish
Synanceia verrucosa

The Reef Stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. It has thirteen stout spines in the dorsal fin which can inject a highly toxic venom. Each spine on a stonefish is said to carry enough venom to kill 1,000 mice. The sting causes excruciating pain and a great deal of swelling rapidly develops causing the affected tissue to die. The symptoms of the venom are muscle weakness, temporary paralysis and shock - which may result in death if left untreated. The pain is excruciating and can last for months with tremendous swelling and death of tissues. Amputation might be required. If not treated, stonefish stings can often be deadly.

Capable of surviving for up to 12 hours on land, the stonefish has even killed people out walking on the beach yards away from the sea. Time until death – 6 hours or less.

South American silk moth caterpillars
Lonomia obliqua

Lonomia caterpillars have bristles associated with venom glands, called urticating hairs. They produce a chemical anticoagulant of such potency that it can kill a human, causing them to hemorrhage to death. By simply touching this caterpillar's hairs, a person will begin to bleed uncontrollably for 12 to 24 hours and eventually die if not treated.

In southern Brazil the death rate from caterpillar contact is three to six times higher than that observed for snake bites.

Carpet viper
Echis carinatus

The saw-scaled or carpet viper is generally considered to be the most dangerous snake in the world. Ranging from West Africa through the Middle East to India and Sri Lanka, it probably kills more people in the world than any other species. In Asia alone, it is reported to kill 800 people annually. Its venom is more toxic than any other viper, it is small and easy to overlook and, above all, it becomes extremely aggressive when frightened or disturbed.

The venom of the carpet viper prevents blood from clotting. The poison takes hold and the flesh swells up dramatically. After a few hours any cut on the body will not close. Blood begins to ooze uncontrollably from the bite, then from the nose, from the gums, from the eyes and finally from the very pores in the skin. If treatment comes too late, the swollen flesh can start to die and the patient’s leg or arm literally starts to rot. This putrefying necrosis can cause death by infection.

Cottonmouth, Water Moccasin
Agkistrodon piscivorus

There is only one North American poisonous water snake - the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin. They are territorial animals which defend and guard a specific area, thus appearing to be more aggressive than most snakes. Unlike most snakes, when startled the cottonmouth often will stand its ground and open its mouth ("gape" or "smile") to warn predators to stay away.

The venom of the cottonmouth is hemotoxic, causing swelling and necrosis near the site of the wound, and potentially death of the victim if treatment is not received promptly. Like many vipers, the cottonmouth is capable of inflicting what is referred to as a "dry bite", where no venom is injected. However, the bite is extremely painful, prone to gangrene, and loss of digits is possible.

Inland Taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus

The Carpet Viper may cause the most deaths, but the Inland Taipan is the most venomous land snake in the world. A single bite from the Inland Taipan contains enough venom to kill as many as 100 human adults. Its venom is 50 times more toxic than that of the Indian Cobra and 650 - 850 times more toxic than that of a Western- or Eastern Diamondback.

Although highly venomous it is a relatively timid snake provided that it is left alone. All known bites have been treated using antivenin.

Brazilian Wandering Spider
Phoneutria nigriventer

Brazilian wandering spiders are one of the world's most dangerous arachnids. At best, their venom can seriously sting; at worst, it can kill. They are not only extremely venomous but also very fast and aggressive, and won't hesitate to bite. The Guinness Book of World Records considers the Brazilian wandering spider to be the world’s deadliest spider.

In addition to causing intense pain, the venom of the spider can also cause priapism - uncomfortable erections that can last for many hours and that can lead to impotence. (BBC)

Funnel web spider
Atrax robustus

Bites are dangerous and can cause serious illness or death, one bite from this creature could kill you in just fifteen minutes. The male Sydney Funnel-web Spider is more dangerous than the female. This is because the toxic venom component that attacks the human and primate nervous system so severely is only present in male spiders. Initial symptoms after a bite include local pain, mouth numbness, vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating and salivation.

Antivenin is available and no deaths have occurred since its introduction.

Brown Recluse spider
Loxosceles reclusa

As indicated by its name, this spider is not aggressive and usually bites only when pressed against the skin, such as when tangled up within clothes, towels, or in bedding. But brown recluse venom is extremely poisonous, even more potent than that of a rattlesnake, and its bites can cause serious skin lesions. Yet recluse venom causes less disease than a rattlesnake bite because of the small quantities injected into its victims. The venom of the brown recluse is toxic to cells and tissues.

This spider's venom is a collection of enzymes. One of the specific enzymes, once released into the victim's skin, causes destruction of local cell membranes, which disrupts the integrity of tissues leading to local breakdown of skin, fat, and blood vessels. This process leads to eventual tissue death called necrosis in areas immediately surrounding the bite site.

Black widow spider
Latrodectus mactans

This spider's bite is much feared because its venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's.

In humans, bites produce muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage—let alone death. But bites can be fatal—usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm.

Africanized Honey Bees
hybrids of the African honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata

Killer bees are descendants of southern African bees imported in 1956 by Brazilian scientists attempting to breed a honey bee better adapted to the South American tropics.

When some of these bees escaped quarantine in 1957, they began breeding with local Brazilian honey bees, quickly multiplying and extended their range. They acquired the name killer bees because they will viciously attack people and animals who unwittingly stray into their territory, often resulting in serious injury or death. An animal or person will be stung dozens to hundreds of times. The angry hive of bees may pursue people and animals for greater distances than regular bees. Even non-allergic people who receive multiple stings can develop life-threatening complications.

(On July 15, 1993, 82-year-old Lino Lopez became the first person to die in the U.S. from Africanized honey bee stings. He was stung more than 40 times while trying to remove a colony from a wall in an abandoned building on his ranch near Harlingen, Texas.)

Kissing bug
triatomines rubida

Kissing bugs received their name because they usually bite people near their mouth during the night while they sleep. They are blood-suckers, attracted to the light in our houses, the odors that we exhale, skin odors, and to the warmth of our bodies.

People have moderate to severe allergic reactions to the kissing bug bite. Severe reactions include swelling of the tongue and throat; swollen lymph nodes; small blood-filled blisters; anaphylactic reactions that cause breathing problems, a drop in blood pressure, and shock that can be lethal.

An associated health problem is Chagas Disease. This is caused by a potentially deadly parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that lives in the digestive system of the kissing bug and is excreted during defecation or urination of the kissing bug after feeding. If this parasite enters your blood stream through the bite site or an open wound, you might become infected. This is a major health issue in Central and South America where over 18 million people have become infected resulting in 14,000 deaths every year.

Bombadier beetle
Stenaptinus insignis

The bombardier beetle is notable due to the two small glands located near the end of its abdomen. One gland produces hydrogen peroxide, one gland produces hydroquinone. The two chemicals are mixed and two enzymes, catalase and peroxidase, are added to them. These enzymes speed up the reaction to a level where the beetle can make an audible "pop" as it ejects the now-boiling chemical stream at whatever unlucky predator happened to disturb it. Added to this, the beetle can rotate the end of its abdomen 270 degrees in any direction, which allows for an impressive "firing range." The beetle can discharge upward of 20 times before depleting its glands.

The damage caused can be fatal to attacking insects and small creatures and is painful to human skin.

Photos:
blue-ringed octopus, yellow fat-tailed scorpion, funnel web spider, reef stonefish, box jellyfish, diamondback rattlesnake, cone snail, black widow spider, carpet viper, inland taipan, brown recluse spider, Brazilian wandering spider, golden poison frog, lonomia caterpillar, coral snake, Africanized bees, kissing bug, Bombadier beetle, black mamba, cottonmouth

NOT a dust mop!

I love these dogs!

It's a Hungarian Puli.

Great article at Dog Reflections, "10 of the Strangest Looking Dogs!" which features a couple of my favorites: the Puli and the Komondor.

Photo credit: Frank Augstein, Associated Press