Who’s More Altruistic: Monkeys or Researchers?
Here’s a weird one: A group of researchers sets out to study empathy in monkeys. They want to understand altruism better. So they cook up a…
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Ringling Caves!
The elephants are packing their trunks. By any standard, today’s decision by the Ringling Circus to phase out its elephant acts represents a seismic shift in the use of…
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Mother Carries Shot Pit Bull to Safety
It started out as the same hike that Andi Davis does every day to the top of one of the mountains near where she lives in Phoenix, Arizona. But this time, close to the top,…
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Liberators or Terrorists?
When 100 people, mostly women from various rescue groups, rescued 178 beagles from a research lab in Brazil last week, nobody called them terrorists. The five security officers…
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Do Pets Prevent Sudden Death in Children with Epilepsy?
A group of Brazilian researchers wondered if the presence of a pet in the home of a child with epilepsy might reduce their risk of dying from SUDEP. They found that of the 1,092…
The Right Music for Cats
Greyhound Shock Angers Australians
Holiday Gift for Elephant Music Lovers
The Yeti Bear
Blind Dog and His ‘Pwditat’
Pwditat knows how to guide his canine friend Terfel around the house and into the backyard of their home in Wales. He uses his paws to show Terfel the way.
The pair have been inseparable since Pwditat (the Welsh “w” is pronounced as in “pussycat”) arrived at the front door one evening.
"I Hate Santa"
And, honestly, wouldn’t you? [readon]
Factory Farm Cruelty Is ‘Standard Industry Practice’
Dr. Ian Duncan, professor emeritus of animal welfare at the University of Guelph in Canada, calls it “the worst cruelty inflicted on an animal that I…
Prime Minister’s ‘Favorite’ Fox Hunt Fined
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s former fox hunting buddies have been convicted of breaking the law by riding out on a fox hunt.
Cameron used to ride out on the infamous Heythrop Hunt, but says he has desisted since a ban on fox hunting went into effect in 2005.
The ban is routinely ignored, however, by those whom Oscar Wilde called “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable.”
University "Can’t Stop" Experiments on Animals
Kudos to the University of British Columbia for at least being open with their animal experimentation figures. (They’re the only university in Canada that does this.)…
Costa Rica Bans Sport Hunting
Costa Rica has become the first Latin American country to ban sport hunting. The nation’s Congress voted unanimously on the ban.
Who ‘Owns’ This Baby Elephant?
It was all smiles last week when the Oregon Zoo announced the birth of Lily, a 300-pound, super-cute, gangly baby elephant. But the smiles started turning sour as soon as the shady business dealings that underlie Lily’s future life came to light.
Inside the Beef Industry
* At age 84, Margaret Lamkin (photo right) went to dinner at Applebees and ordered a steak. Today she wears a colostomy bag. The E.coli bacteria…
Dogs Pass Driving Test
Following their test drive last week, Monty, Porter and Ginny headed out to the auto racing track in Auckland, New Zealand, where Monty joined other great…
Farewell to a Rock Star
She was the best-known wolf in the world – one of Yellowstone’s top tourist attractions. Wildlife watchers called her as a “rock star.” She was the…
Your Favorite Big Cat
Miss PoPsicle and I watched a preview of Nat Geo Wild’s Big Cat Week, and are now trying to decide whether our top favorite big kitty…
Driving Miss Dogsy
Monty settles into the driver’s seat, starts the car, puts it in gear, and heads off down the road, carefully steering as he goes. You’ve probably…
Elephants and Slavery
The mindset that has permitted atrocities to be inflicted on humans is the same mindset that allows the abuse of animals to occur. Just as my…
Just Visiting
The face at the window this morning – and with all his family in tow.
Inside the World of Zoo Elephants
Zoos love baby elephants. When baby Packy was born at the Portland Zoo in 1962, people lined up for half a mile to see him. Life magazine devoted an 11-page spread to the event.
But real life for zoo elephants is a whole other story, and it’s told in this remarkable series of stories, videos and photos from the Seattle Times.
Attack of the Clones
They say that you get what you paid for. Four years ago, Upper West Side New Yorker Gary Rintel paid $140,000 to have his collie/Great Pyrenees…
Pope Greets Circus Animals
Here’s Pope Benedict welcoming the circus to town and petting the lion cubs. Does he really not know how terribly wrong it is for circuses to…
Moses in the Bulrushes – a Cow and Her Calf
A very touching story by veterinarian Holly Cheever about a mother cow and one of her calves. Beyond being touching, though, it raises important questions about…