Danish police have appealed for public help to track down a kangaroo that escaped from its owner's home in Copenhagen.
In an apparent first for butterflies, the Florida Museum of Natural History is auctioning the naming rights for a newly discovered species online to raise money for butterfly research.
Arctic foxes create "nest eggs" each year to prepare for leaner times, according to a new study.
Like squirrels gathering nuts for the winter, the small foxes hoard bird eggs in case there's not enough of their favorite prey—the collard lemming—to go around in the spring.
The stored eggs can last for up to a year after being buried, thanks to the Arctic permafrost and natural preservatives inside the eggs.
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Fup, the resident cat at Powell's Technical Books, passed away on October 25. She was 19 years old. She continued to greet her admiring public to the end, when her health failed and there was no choice but to put her to sleep. Her lifelong veterinarian made the trip out to the store to perform the task and Fup died peacefully at home with several of her longtime co-workers present.
About 7 percent of dog owners say they have purchased a Halloween costume for their pet, up from 4 percent in 2004, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
If you're part of that trend, beware of the hazards of costumes for our furry friends.
Some tips:
• Be sure that straps aren't buckled too tightly, because they might constrict air passages and cause choking.
• Make sure the costume lets the animal move comfortably and does not restrict vision or hearing.
• Don't let your pet chew on the costume; it may contain dangerous dyes and other chemicals.
• Make sure no part of the costume is flammable.
• A reflective costume adds to safety after dark.
If you do dress up your dog on Halloween night, don't have him wear the costume for too long. And always keep dogs on a leash, as there are lots of distractions around.
One final warning: Don't let dogs or other animals get close to a candlelit jack-o-lantern.
It could be dangerous for the animal and become a fire hazard.
A clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland is thought to have been the longest-lived creature discovered.
Scientists said the mollusc, an ocean quahog clam, was aged between 405 and 410 years and could offer insights into the secrets of longevity.
Researchers from Bangor University in north Wales said they calculated its age by counting rings on its shell.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-lived animal was an Arctica clam found in 1982 aged 220.
Do you wonder how the scenes involving owls were created and shot for the Harry Potter movies?
This article has some interesting "behind the scenes" information. Animals received royal treatment during filming. In many cases, the animals received better treatment than the human actors – such as the scenes with the cats Mrs. Norris and Professor McGonagall. Many of the scenes take place in a real castle, which was actually quite drafty and cold. For the cats' comfort, they were provided heated floors to keep their paws and their bodies warm. The human actors had no such comforts.
Which salamanders have four legs, a flat head, a paddle-like tail, beady little eyes and are called names like "snot otter" and "devil dog"?
Also known as Allegheny alligator, mollyhugger, and mud cat, the hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is North America’s largest salamander, reaching lengths of nearly 30 inches.
These strange, but interesting creatures once thrived in thousands of pristine streams throughout the eastern United States. Populations have drastically declined, mainly because of declining stream quality. Not only has the hellbender population dwindled by 80 per cent in the last 30 years, but those remaining have severe deformities – missing toes, limbs and open sores. There is a 95 per cent chance of extinction of this animal over the next 75 years.
The average age of Cryptobranchus in the wild is unknown, but in captivity, they have lived as long as twenty-nine years.
Hellbenders are not venomous, though their skin secretions are somewhat toxic. They will bite, but only if they are really provoked. A common myth is that hellbenders will 'ruin' good fishing streams by eating all the fish. This couldn't be farther from the truth! In fact, if you see hellbenders in a stream, this is an excellent indication that the water quality is still good -- and this is good for both hellbenders and game fish. The hellbender's voracious appetite for crayfish also means that they are very important for keeping a stream's food chain balanced, and this is good for fish and the entire ecosystem.
Photo #1: Kurt Buhlmann
Photo #2: Jeff Humphries
A brightly colored tropical frog under threat of extinction is the focus of a new research project hoping to better understand how environment and diet influence its development and behavior.
The Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Montana rescues and shelters disabled animals. Every animal who arrives at the sanctuary gets another chance to have a safe and loving home. Residents include blind dogs, blind horses, deaf dogs, blind cats, and others with medical issues like muscular dystrophy.
The Central Vermont Community Land Trust usually has no objection to a service animal moving into its apartments.
A blue lobster, so rare that only one in two million have the color, has been trapped off the Massachusetts coast.
The lobster, nicknamed Betty Blue, was found in a trap off Minot's Light, one mile offshore of Scituate, Mass.
The lobster is so blue that "she glowed in the trap," said Eddie Figueiredo, who trapped the pound-and-a-quarter lobster.
Great for small dogs, pet birds, and free roaming lizards!
Makes a great addition as an inside garden spot for plants and seedlings.
Give your cat "the outdoor experience" within the safety of your home.
If you have a cat and a window you will enjoy The Feline Solarium. Cats naturally enjoy the outdoors and love to sleep in warm sunlight. You will make your best friend so happy!
Walton County’s fi rst-ever documented leatherback sea turtle nest has hatched, and 23 babies have made their way safely to the Gulf of Mexico.
Photo: Karen T. Borchers / Mercury News
A 38-year-old Brooklyn woman got quite a surprise when she used her bathroom Monday morning.
With a flat shell, the Argentine snake-necked turtle (Hydromedusa tectifera) often rights itself by pressing its head against the ground with its muscular neck, levering itself onto its belly. Credit: Gaabor Domokos.
Berlin's most famous resident, Knut the polar bear cub, has finally taught himself to stand on his two hind legs after practicing hard for months.
"He started standing up this month. It's a sign that he's getting increasing control of his body," said Heiner Klös,the zoo's expert on bears.
The mini pigs weigh less than a fifth of an ordinary pig when fully grown.
Photo: © Pennywell Farm
Wow! I didn't know this:
Diapering your duck, goose or chicken is the first step to enjoying the rewarding experience of living with one of these amazing creatures. It not only keeps your house clean, it gives your little feathered kid the freedom to go where you go and do what you do!
Ramses was awarded a Medal of Courage by the Governor of Texas for scaring off a wandering tiger which was heading toward 65-year-old Emma Betts, Ramses' owner.
During a coffee break from filming a commercial, an animal handler led Sasha, a trained Siberian tiger, into her makeshift holding pen. But the handler forgot to fasten the gate and Sasha sneaked out of the cage — and out of the room — undetected.
The 400-pound tiger made her way down a stairwell and dashed out the front doors of the office building as a Fed-Ex man was coming in. The unexpected noise and commotion of downtown Austin caught the cat off guard, and she quickly became spooked and defensive.
Emma Betts was walking down the sidewalk with her cat Ramses when without regard for his own safety, Ramses leaped from his owner’s arms and ran straight for the tiger.
The two felines squared off amid shocked onlookers, and for some time just stared at one another.
Then the tiger roared at the tiny cat and took a swipe with its paw, just missing the quick-moving Ramses. It was a moment when most cats in their right minds would have turned tail and ran. But not Ramses … not on this day.
The 10-pound hairless cat drew himself up and “roared” back with all he was worth, baring his teeth while hissing and growling.
Much to the dismay of everyone present, Sasha the 400-pound Siberian tiger turned and ran in the other direction — back into the building she had just escaped.
Serving Chicagoland's pet community for over five years. Windy City Dog Walkers, Inc. offers daily dog walks, cat care, and pet sitting with the highest level of customer service and personal attention in the industry. They are available 365 days a year, any time of day, and offer a variety of services to meet your pet care needs.
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In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed watchdog who guards the entrance to the lower world, Hades.
Originally, the dog was portrayed having fifty or hundred heads but was later pictured with only three heads.
Cerberus permitted new spirits to enter the realm of dead, but allowed none of them to leave. Only a few ever managed to sneak past the creature, among which Orpheus, who lulled it to sleep by playing his lyre, and Heracles, who brought it to the land of the living for a while (being the last of his Twelve Labors).
Great news for mythology aficionados: Cerberus lives!
A rare, red-capped mangabey monkey has been born at the Denver Zoo, one of only 27 living in North American zoos.
The birth of the monkey, named Kanzu, on Sept. 30, brings Denver's mangabey troop to six. Zookeepers haven't yet determined the monkey's gender.
They named it Kanzu, a Swahili word for treasure.
Afarensis defends the much maligned naked mole rats.
It's about time someone protests their continuously being labeled as ugly!
Not only are naked mole rats cute, but they are also quite amazing:
* They are not naked, they are not moles, and they are not rats - the naked mole rat is the only cold blooded mammal.
* Naked mole rats have the highest incest rate of all animals. A colony shows 80% genetic resemblance (in comparison: human siblings only show 50% resemblance).
* Unlike humans and most other mammals, nursing naked mole rats often have many more pups than mammary glands. Breeding female mole rats have an average of 12 mammae but can have as many as 28 pups at a time. Brookfield Zoo's original queen came to the zoo 1989, bore 45 litters in the course of her life, and produced more than 580 naked mole-rat pups!
* Naked mole rats are the only known mammals that operate a hive system, in the way that insects do, with one queen who does all the breeding and lots of workers who have no children of their own.
* Vicious fights-to-the-death periodically occur among mole rat females that are vying to become the colony's only breeding female, or "queen."
* Naked mole rats in the lab have reached up to 28 years of age.
* A mole rat's teeth grow from above and outside of its lips, allowing it to use its teeth for tunneling without getting its mouth full of soil. The animal can move its front teeth independently, spreading them apart and moving them together, like a pair of chopsticks.
* The teeth will grow 10 inches in one year, but by gnawing on hard things, they keep their teeth from getting too long. When naked mole rats are kept in captivity they are usually given a block of concrete to chew on.
* Naked mole rats in nature kidnap pups from other colonies and bring them back to serve as workers in their own tunnels; naked mole rats will invade neighboring colonies and fight for hostile takeover; and when naked mole rats disperse, or leave the colony to found a new one, they have often been found up to a mile away.
* Naked mole rats can run just as fast backwards as forwards.
* Naked mole rats produce at least 18 vocalizations — more than any other rodent.
Here's a video from the Oregon Zoo.
Photo #1: "Eatin Celery" uploaded by knittingskwerlgurl
Photo #2: National Geographic
On a late October day on the Canadian tundra next to a gray, cold, but unfrozen Hudson Bay near tiny Churchill, Manitoba, a pack of large Husky dogs, the pride of hunter-trapper Brian LaDoon were comfortably lounging on a fresh bed of snow, each tethered by a long chain. Norbert Rosing, a naturalist and photographer was setting up his equipment to capture the scene.
A wild polar bear is approaching the Husky who is signaling an invitation to play.
Amazing photos:
A pair of rather unusual siblings has just gone display at the Denver Zoo; they are black-and-rufous giant elephant shrews.
Humans, employing animals in their warfare ...
The earliest examples of cats being used in warfare dates back to the Ancient Egypt during a war against Persia. The Persians, fully aware of the reverence that Egyptians paid to their felines, rounded up as many cats as they could find and set them loose on the battlefield. When the Egyptians were faced with either harming the cats or surrendering, they chose the latter.
