Monday, April 14, 2008

Cute or not? Red-eyed tree frog

African Wild Dogs Debut at the LA Zoo

African wild dogs, native to the vast and beautiful sub-Saharan Africa, are making the Los Angeles Zoo their home for the first time in nearly 40 years.


The African wild dog is an endangered species. It is estimated that the total population is fewer than 5,000 dogs.

L.A. Zoo's pair of dogs, courtesy of New York’s Bronx Zoo, is two of just under 150 African wild dogs in zoos across the United States.

These dogs are part of an aggressive plan to try and preserve the species. A number of zoos, including the L.A. Zoo, are looking to help wild dog conservation efforts by participating in the Species Survival Plan Program (SSP) established in 1981 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The program tracks a species’ genetic ancestry so that appropriate mates can be found for the animal in question. For example, the L.A. Zoo has two wild dogs, but since they are brother and sister, it would be inappropriate to breed them. In the future, if the Zoo were to receive a breeding recommendation, the Zoo would work with the AZA to locate suitable mates for the dogs. A zoo that has a compatible mate would then exchange that animal with the L.A. Zoo so that the quality breeding programs could continue.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Video: cat attack

Video: Chicken police

Video: Hamster and Cat Friendship

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Rat wars in India

India's armed forces, which have been battling insurgents in the northeast for over six decades, are now engaged with another enemy - rats.

The rat population in the northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur - the two states bordering Myanmar - has witnessed a massive growth. With rats destroying crops and devouring grain, the threat of famine looms over the region. Soldiers deployed in the area to fight insurgents are being called in to help the civilian administration tackle the impending crisis.

The explosion in the rat population has been triggered by the flowering of a certain species of bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) that grows mainly in Mizoram but in other neighboring states as well. Thirty percent of Mizoram is covered by wild bamboo forests.

The flowering of this bamboo results in millions of seeds being dropped. Rats devour these seeds. The high protein content of the seeds is believed to either dramatically increase fertility rates among the rats or provide them with the nutrition to enhance survival rates of the entire litter. Litters of over a dozen rats survive and within three months are ready to reproduce themselves. This has resulted in a major rat population explosion.

Some experts say that the rat population in Mizoram is perhaps ten times that of humans in the state.

Source: Asia Times Online

Rat catching in UK

With rat infestations estimated to be up by nearly 40 per cent in the past six years, a group of rugby players who started ratting on a Sunday morning to exercise their dogs now have more invitations to farms than they can cope with.

The Malton & Norton Rugby Ratcatchers, who set off most Sunday mornings from the Spotted Cow pub in Malton, North Yorkshire, enjoy bacon sandwiches and mugs of tea before getting out their terriers, the wisest among them tucking trousers into socks to stop any rodent making a run for freedom up their legs.

David Harrison, who farms 300 acres on the Yorkshire Wolds, was constantly out poisoning rats. He says catching the rats with terriers is safer for his livestock - there are no longer any worries about the pigs picking up any of the poison - and for wildlife.

At Harrison's farm, the terriers set a new record, killing 103 rats in two hours.

Source: Telegraph

Rats!

Michele Diller, 64, of Rochester, WA, bought rats as food for her pet snakes but eventually came to think of them as ''friends'' and allowed them to breed and overrun her house.

The rats have gnawed through wiring, walls, cupboards and drawers, and have begun turning up in neighbors' yards.

When Animal Control officials entered the house, they saw that rat feces covered table tops, floors, chairs - virtually every flat surface in the house. In addition, the carpets were saturated with rat urine, and the air inside the home was heavy with odors and moisture. There was no electricity in most rooms of the house because the rats had chewed through the wiring. In addition, the sewage had backed up and there was no running water or heat in the home.

The sound of rats chewing in the walls and floors was a "constant undertone."

Souce: KOMO-TV

Friday, April 11, 2008

Fish sounds

I never knew fish made sounds. It's hard to believe that they do, but when you think about it, why not? Most other animals make noises, so why not fish?

In "Run Noisy, Run Deep," the New York Times samples of some of the sounds made by five species of fish.


My favorite is the clownfish which are prolific "singers" that produce a wide variety of sounds, described as "chirps" and "pops" in both reproductive and agonistic behavioral contexts. Clownfish sounds were recorded as early as 1930, but it was just recently that scientists discovered the unusual ligament that allows this fish to pull its jaws together quickly to produce the sounds.

The accompanying article, "What’s Making That Awful Racket? Surprisingly, It May Be Fish," tells an interesting story about Cape Coral, FL, where residents were pushing the City Council to pay an engineering firm more than $47,000 to eliminate the nightly noise reverberating through their homes.

James Locascio, a doctoral student in marine science at the University of South Florida, rescued the city from financial folly.

He explained that at 100 to 500 hertz, black drum mating calls travel at a low enough frequency and long enough wavelength to carry through sea walls, into the ground and through the construction of waterfront homes like the throbbing beat in a passing car.

How cool.

Lawsuit blames sick hamster for 3 deaths

A woman whose husband died after receiving a liver transplant claims a diseased hamster purchased at a pet store is to blame.

Nancy Magee, 51, of Whitman, Mass., is suing PetSmart for negligence.

Thomas J. Magee was one of three people who died after receiving organs donated by a woman who had contracted lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) from a hamster she bought at a PetSmart in Warwick, R.I., according to a law suit Magee has filed in federal court.

The organ donor later died of an unrelated stroke and the transplants were done by hospitals which had no knowledge of her disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control Web site, lymphocytic choriomeningitis is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease with symptoms similar to meningitis.

Thomas Magee’s liver transplant was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital in April 2005. Five days later, the suit says, he “was exhibiting high blood pressure and a fever.”

Weeks later he died and according to the suit, the virus was the cause of death. “The immediate cause of” Thomas Magee’s death was “determined to have been the dissemination of LCMV in the liver he received.”

Source: the Boston Channel

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Book review: Businesses for Pet Lovers


101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers What You Need to Know about Starting and Succeeding in a Pet Business of Your Own is a great reference for anyone who loves pets and is thinking about turning that qualification into a means for making money.

The money spent on pets has more than doubled since 1994, creating a multi-billion-dollar industry that is even more lucrative than the human toy industry. 101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers lists a wide variety of moneymaking opportunities from something as simple as dog walking, to careers which require education and training such as pet grooming and pet masseuse.

Authors Joseph Nigro and Nicholas Nigro are well qualified to write about this subject. Joseph began his entrepreneurial career with pet shops which he was eventually able to sell to the Petco Company in 1996 for $19.1 million.

101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers interested me on a personal level because I am one of those people who turned my love of animals into a business - Internet Pet Supplies - Internet Pet Supplies has been selling pet treats and pet supplies on the Internet since 1998. i-pets.com does not have a physical store, we sell only on the internet. I started very cautiously, selling only a few items, mainly USA rawhide treats, and have increased the products carried because of customer feedback.

I would recommend this book, it is well researched, well written, and offers some very imaginative ways of making money.

Mason bee house

Boost your garden's productivity by providing a happy home for peaceful, non-stinging Mason bees. Slightly smaller than honeybees, Mason bees are incredible pollinators. Each one visits as many as 1000 blooms per day — 20 times as many as a honeybee! Hang this natural bamboo house against a tree or wall where it will get morning sun and attract bees. Female bees fill the bamboo tubes with their eggs, and nectar and pollen for the young to eat.

$14.95 at Gardener's Supply

via: the Green Head

Putting Turin's sheep to work

For the second year in a row, sheep are being used to trim the lawns of Turin, Italy's parks.


The first herd of sheep arrived Thursday at the Meisino park, a vast area of land along the Po River on the city's eastern outskirts, while a second herd will be brought to the Sangone park on Monday.

The two herds will graze in the parks for two months and officials believe this will save the city some 30,000 euros in gardeners' fees.

Last year, in addition to sheep, cattle were used in the Maddalena park. This year it was decided not to use cattle because they produced significantly more manure that sheep.

Source: ANSA

via: eternally cool

The perfect pet?


Mary Holstad creates realistic dogs and cats out of mohair.

Each creation is made with thick lush premium imported faux fur that is so soft to the touch. They have hand-embroidered lacquered noses, and premium hand-painted dark brown glass eyes. The face and feet are meticulously hand-trimmed, have hand-embroidered claws and hand-apliqued felt toes and pads. They are fully 5 way jointed, have sturdy armatures for posing and are stuffed with polyfill and plastic pellets for a nice weight.

via: neatorama

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Tailgate?


Source: The Sun

via: A Welsh View

Mystery creature in Utah pond

When a pond in Brigham City, Utah, froze over, over 4,000 fish turned up dead - caused either due to the pond being poisoned or lack of oxygen due to the thick ice. The strange, fanged creature was found amid the carp and goldfish which the pond had been stocked with.

Biologists said they are not sure what the creature is and that it could be a type of trout whose tissue decomposed rapidly, making its teeth more prominent.

Aquatic biologists said if they can't figure it out, they'll let the fish decompose fully and then examine the bone structure to determine the species.

Source: Local6.com

via: A Fiend's Folio

Does your pet watch TV?

Submit a photo of your pet watching TV to All American Dish and have a chance to win a Toshiba 32" 720p LCD HD TV.


To submit an entry:

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Seahorses in London

Short-snouted seahorses have set up residence in the recovering River Thames, which had been declared biologically dead in the 1950s. Various groups have worked to rehabilitate the river for the past two decades. Seals, dolphins, salmon, and sea lampreys have also recently been seen swimming in the healthier river.

via: National Geographic

Heart disease hits zoo gorillas

Gorillas in zoos around the nation, particularly males and those in their 20s and 30s, have been falling ill - and sometimes dying suddenly - of heart disease.

The stunning deaths of otherwise healthy apes have zookeepers scrambling to understand what factors may be causing the illnesses and what might be done to save the 368 lowland gorillas that now reside in 52 zoos across North America.

Ape experts have established the Gorilla Health Project, looking to track rates of heart disease and death among gorillas in captivity.

Read the excellent article at Monkeys in the News.

Cute or not? Baby Oposum


Why Opossum Has A Bare Tail

Native American Legend: Creek/Muscogee Tribe

One day, Opossum was walking in the woods around sunset when he spied Raccoon. Now Opossum had always admired Raccoon because he had a beautiful tail with rings all around it.

So Opossum went up to Raccoon and said: "How did you get those pretty rings on your tail?"

Raccoon stroked his fluffy long tail fondly and said: "Well, I wrapped bark around the tail here and here and here," he pointed. "Then I stuck my tail into the fire. The fur between the strips of bark turned black and the places underneath the bark remained white, just as you see!"

Opossum thanked the Raccoon and hurried away to gather some bark. He wrapped the bark around his furry tail, built a big bonfire, and stuck his tail into the flames. Only the bonfire was too hot and too fierce. It instantly burned all of the hair off the Opossum's tail, leaving it entirely bare.

Opossum wailed and moaned when he saw his poor tail, but there was nothing he could do but wait for the fur to grow back. Opossum waited and waited and waited. But the tail was too badly burnt by the fire and the fur did not grow back. Opossum's tail remained bare for the rest of his life.

Opossum tails have been bare ever since.

Photo: USDA

Monday, April 7, 2008

First it was dogs; now . . . turkeys?

While rain and snow may not deter the postal service, wild turkeys are a bird of a different feather.

Between five and 10 large male turkeys, or toms -- apparently a little giddy with the onset of turkey breeding season -- have been bullying postal workers as they make their rounds, pecking at them and even trying to rough them up with the sharp spurs on their legs. One of the birds launched itself through the open door of a mail truck and scratched the driver.

Eric Lobner, regional wildlife program supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, is on the case, investigating the turkey gang.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

Couldn't find any rocks

A New Zealand man could face five years in prison if convicted after being accused of using a hedgehog as a weapon.

According to police, the man threw the hedgehog to hit a 15-year-old boy last month. Police say the hedgehog "hit the victim in the leg, causing a large red welt and several puncture marks."

It's not known if the hedgehog was dead or alive when it was thrown, but it was dead when police collected it as evidence.

Source: abc2news

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Build your own birdhouse

Andy's Free Birdhouse Plans contains instructions on how to make a bird house suitable for the different kinds of birds known to use them or likely to do so. It is designed to encourage the protection and study of birds in all sections of the United States.

Traffic light birdhouse

Control the bird traffic in your backyard with this charming wooden traffic light birdhouse. This traffic-sign yellow birdhouse includes an entrance in each "light," three shelves for nesting and openings at the back for easy cleaning. Bird-safe paint. Hanging wire included. Made in China.

$40.00 at Uncommon Goods

(via)

Flying Cat Birdhouse

Christopher Blake grew up in a traveling circus. He learned his craft from his grandfather, a carousel horse carver in Germany.

These delightful birdhouses are true American folk art ~ whimsical, fun and guaranteed show-stoppers. Christopher Blake creates these unique works by carving a mold which is then used to make each hand-finished piece. A variety of ingredients are used, from crushed walnuts and limestone to wood dust and sea shells, then finished with his own unique blend of paints. Each piece is signed by the artist.

$74.95 at Fat Finch

Book birdhouses

Since birds haven't shown much appreciation for literature, these imaginative birdhouses will do much better decorating the inside of your house than serving as theirs.

$120.00 at Uncommon Goods

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Video: Animal Super Dancers

Video: Extremely Rare Lion Baby Born

Raja, the rare Asiatic lion cub born at a Japanese zoo is one of only about 300 left in the world.

Link to video

Video: Lola the kitten who walks on her front paws

Friday, April 4, 2008

Cedric - savior of Tasmanian devils

Scientists are one step closer to a vaccine because of a Tasmanian devil by the name of Cedric who may hold the key to future of his species.

He is an extraordinary devil, guinea pig and possible savior, who is naturally resistant to the contagious facial tumors which have already killed half the devil population in Tasmania.

Scientists have discovered it is Cedric's genes that are protecting him from the cancer and hope to create a vaccine to save other devils.

Source: ABC News

Another rare monkey baby birth

Only the 12th of its species in a zoo in the United States, this crested capuchin was born last week at the Santa Ana Zoo.


Zookeepers don't know the baby's sex yet - but it sure is a little cutie!

Source: OC Register

Yes, it's news: Woman bites dog!

A Minneapolis woman bit a pit bull that was attacking her dog.

Amy Rice says she bit the pit bull on the nose while trying to separate the pit bull from her Labrador retriever, Ella.

The dog had jumped a fence to get into Rice's yard, and she feared the pit bull would kill Ella.

Source: AP

Wild Octopuses Have Complex Lives

Marine biologists studying wild octopuses have found a kinky and violent society of jealous murders and gender-bending tricks.

The new study was conducted by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who journeyed off the coast of Indonesia. They found that wild octopuses are far from the shy, unromantic loners their captive brethren appear to be.

The scientists saw picky, macho males carefully select a mate, then guard their newly domesticated digs so jealously that they would occasionally use their 8-to-10-inch tentacles to strangle a romantic rival to death.

Source: National Geographic

Thursday, April 3, 2008

The Dog Did It: Woman Gets $300K Deal

A police dog in Ogden, UT, put a pickup truck into gear, injuring a woman on her way to the mailbox in an incident that has ended with a $300,000 settlement.

Mary Frances Stone, 43, was walking to her mailbox in July 2006 when she was hit by a 1990 Ford pickup truck assigned to Officer Taylor Finder.

Ranger, a German shepherd, was in the bed of the idling truck but jumped into the front seat through a sliding door and somehow knocked the automatic transmission into gear, police said.

Stone, who had a broken pelvis, had asked for $580,000 but settled with the city's insurer for $300,000.

Source: AP

Because the women are covered

Ten thousand camels will be fluttering their long eyelashes in a unique international beauty pageant being held in the United Arab Emirates.

The contest in Abu Dhabi is one of the richest and biggest events of its kind, with more than $9m and 100 cars in prizes up for grabs.

A panel of expert camel appreciators will choose the best animals for each age group.

Entry is open to anyone who can prove ownership of a pedigree camel, and the animals must be free from contagious diseases, and without any serious defects.

Source: BBC News

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Rare monkey born at the Houston Zoo

A Schmidt's red-tailed guenon was born at the Houston Zoo. It's the first birth of the species at the zoo in 29 years.

According to the zoo, there are only 37 of the monkeys living in ten zoos in the United States.

via: Animal Attraction

A show to watch

Oprah Winfrey plans to dedicate a show investigating abuses at puppy mills to her cocker spaniel, Sophie, who died last month from kidney failure.

"Sophie gave me 13 years of unconditional love. She was a true love in my life," Winfrey says on the broadcast scheduled to air Friday, April 4.

The show features special correspondent Lisa Ling investigating puppy mills, which Ling calls "horrific" and "haunting."

Winfrey says the show is "for anybody anywhere who loves a dog, has ever loved a dog, or just cares about their basic right to humane treatment."

Facts about puppy mills

Ah, love!



(via)

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

BMW unveils dog-proof car

BMW, manufacturers of luxury cars, are proud to unveil a new model, guaranteed to have a longer lasting, cleaner, body because dogs will find it unpleasant to urinate on.

Dr Hans Zoff, the inventor of Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system, said: 'Research shows that most BMW customers love to keep their cars clean – but dog fouling is a constant irritant.'

A pet who relieves itself over the new model's wheels will get quite a buzz out of it – as an unpleasant 200 volts shoots through its body.

(By the way, Happy April 1)

Source: Metro.uk

Flying penguins caught on film

Camera crews discovered an unusual colony of Adélie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands.

When the weather took a turn for the worse, rather than getting together in a huddle to protect themselves from the cold, they did something quite unexpected, that no other penguins can do.


These penguins not only take flight from the Antarctic wastes, but fly thousands of miles to the Amazonian rain forest to find winter sun.

(By the way, Happy April 1)

Source: Telegraph

(via)

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