Sheer Spite Kills Lennox
In the end, it simply boiled down to sheer spite and bloody-mindedness on the part of petty officials. The more people from around the world, pleaded,…
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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
Now Pigs Can Fly
If your “service” pet is a pig or a horse or a monkey, you can now take her on a plane with you. The Dept. of…
When Labs Are Tigers and Chows Are Pandas
It started in China, but is spreading to the West: dyeing your dog to look like another animal. From tigers to turtles, it’s pets as fashion…
Zoos Trying to Play Noah
With a bit of divine intervention, taking a few animals into Noah’s Ark might have worked to repopulate wildlife a few thousand years ago. But it certainly wouldn’t today. Captive breeding isn’t about conservation of species; it’s about conservation of zoos. And the primary work of zoos is to entertain (not educate) the public. That’s why millions of dollars are being spent on these breeding programs, rather than on protecting wildlife.
Fourth of July – Spanish Style
Here in the United States, on the Fourth of July we’re celebrating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In Spain, on the Fourth of July,…
Shark Fin Soup Out at Official Dinners in China
The Chinese government says shark fin soup will be phased out at state banquets. They say this will take three years to implement. By that time,…
Rodeo Shocker!
An animal protection group has blown the whistle on the rodeo industry with video footage of cowboys giving electric shocks to the horses as they open…
Why Baby Chimp Died at Zoo
Male chimpanzees can be violent with babies who are not their own. That’s natural, but what’s not natural is when it’s brought into the confines of captivity at a zoo, where, in this case, Gracie had nowhere to go with her baby and her friends except to another part of their enclosure.
The Not-Very-Ugliest Dog
Mugly took home top honors in this Ugliest Dog Contest in Petaluma, Calif., this year. But frankly he just wasn’t that ugly. I mean, check out…
Could Lonesome George Come Back?
Lonesome George, the centenarian Galapagos Island turtle was found dead one morning last weekend in his corral. He was the last of his kind. George was…
Out of Africa
“The elephant helped us walk out of Africa perhaps 60,000 years ago. We learned from tribal elders in east Africa that elephants, because they knew where…
Skip Tom Cruise in ‘Rock of Ages’
Tom Cruise tells Ryan Seacrest he couldn’t do real comedy in his new movie without having a baboon brought onto the set: “I wanted to play…
Bonobo Genome Revelation
Scientists have completed the mapping of the bonobo genome. This means that all five great ape species – chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and humans – have now had their genomes mapped.
When Turtles Divorce
Bibi and Poldi in more romantic times It may have been one of the longest relationships on record. But two Giant Turtles at the Austrian Zoo…
When You Feel Blue, Does Fido Too?
When you’re feeling down in the dumps, does your pooch want to comfort you? If so, does she really know what’s going on with you, or…
The Incredible Lightness of Being a Dinosaur
Just about everything we ever thought we knew about dinosaurs has turned out to be wrong. These amazing beings who survived and adapted and are still…
20,000 Species at ‘High Risk’
Part of a larger graphic by the New York Times and the International Union for Conservation of Nature Nearly 20,000 species of animals and plants around…
How Dogs Have Saved an L.A. Neighborhood
In downtown L.A., pet-friendly policies have revitalized entire neighborhoods. In The Atlantic, Marissa Gluck writes: Walking dogs drove residents out of their homes and into the…
L.A. to Ban Using Bullhooks on Elephants?
The circus is coming to town. In a few weeks, Ringling Brothers will be arriving in Los Angeles with all its elephants and other caged animals.…