Natalie Portman to Make Vegan Movie
Natalie Portman is one of the few celebrity actors who embrace the animal protection world as a passionate cause (rather than as part hobby, part self-promotion).
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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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Collapse of Antarctic Ice Sheet Irreversible
One of the six major glaciers being eroded from below by warm water What does it mean when two major studies this week tell us that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is…
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2013 Game Changers
Two events share top prize as game changers for the year just ending: The Nonhuman Rights Project's lawsuits have started a whole new conversation about how we relate to other…
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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…
The Right Music for Cats
Greyhound Shock Angers Australians
Holiday Gift for Elephant Music Lovers
The Yeti Bear
Fish Mimics Octopus Mimic
Look where the arrow is pointing. That’s not part of the octopus; that’s a black marble jawfish pretending to be part of the octopus since her coloring fits so well.
Bird Flu – "Not If But When"
The H5N1 virus (aka bird flu) is rearing its head again in Asia, where huge, dirty, inhumane chicken markets are a breeding ground for dangerous bugs and viruses that can be carried around the world by humans, by birds or by other animals.
Are We Creating Earthquakes?
A series of small earthquakes in Ohio and Arkansas has more and more people worried that the quakes are being caused by companies pumping water into the ground – either as waste water or to drill for natural gas.
“Watch Out! There’s Something Here You Can’t See”
Knowing what someone else doesn’t know enables you to take advantage of them – or, on the other hand, help them. It’s one of the hallmarks of extra brain power, and it’s one of the key arguments that we use to make the case that a particular animal qualifies to be recognized as a “person” in legal and philosophical terms.
Are You a Vegansexual?
Latest word to enter the scientific vocabulary: Vegansexual. The term was coined in New Zealand after much media attention was given, four years ago, to a study that noted that an increasing number of vegans said they engaged in sexual relationships and intimate partnerships only with other vegans.
New Deep Sea Wonders
A lone octopus wends her way across the floor near a hydrothermal vent 7,800 feet below the surface of the Antarctic Ocean. She’s just one of thousands of sea creatures seen by humans for the first time when a team from Oxford University sent a remote camera down to visit them.
Can a Cage Set You Free?
Kathy Rudy hates cruelty to animals, is a professor of ethics who has written a book called Loving Animals: Toward a New Animal Advocacy, writes passionately about human rights and animals … and also tries to make a case for supporting zoos
Why Diet Pills Appeal to Republicans
If you’ve done a search online for “Rush Limbaugh” or “Rick Santorum” lately, you may have also been looking for a weight loss remedy. That’s one of the conclusions from sociologist Shankar Vedantam, who’s been running the new Google Correlate through its paces.
New Year’s Resolutions Your Dog Wishes You’d Make
In 2005, Veterinary Economics reported that 40% of U.S. dogs are overweight. And according to a report from the National Academies’ National Research Council, 25% of pets in Western societies are obese. Our advice? Keep your dog moving.
Nobody Does It Better
Nobody does it better than David Attenborough. Recently posted by the BBC. “What a wonderful world!”
Our Top Ten-Plus Videos of 2011
How can you choose just ten from all the rescues, wildlife shows, comic pieces on Youtube, and so much else? You can probably think of many more that should be on that list. Still, here are a few of our faves:
The New Face of Pet Therapy
Companion animals are playing a larger-than-ever role in psychotherapy, physical therapy and crisis response. And different kinds of animals have different roles.
James Cromwell: They’re Not Pets and I Don’t Own Them
Actor James Cromwell is about as passionate for animals as it gets. Ten years ago, he was even arrested during an animal rights protest in Fairfax, Virginia, at a Wendy’s and then ordered to stay out of all Wendy’s restaurants in Fairfax County Virginia unless he intends to eat there … which, one would imagine, he has no intention of doing.
Rick Santorum Shoots Birds to Snare Votes
Santorum had joined Iowa Congressman Steve King for a day of killing birds near Des Moines. King’s endorsement is considered important, and Gov. Rick Perry, who’s also struggling to get ahead in the upcoming Iowa caucuses, has already been out killing twice with King.
Petunia’s Christmas Mystery Marvel
Young Frankie Pruitt was sitting at home drinking hot chocolate, one morning eight years ago, when Petunia the pit bull raced out of the house and across the meadows with the family’s other dogs to visit the alpacas on the family’s Virginia farm. It was all part of the daily routine. No one took any notice.
How to Scare Your Ancestors
No, it’s not a statue; it’s a real bull, painted all over as part of a Chinese festival. The “tradition” arose among the Hani people as a way of protecting their homes from tigers. Today it’s an annual festival in which 48 times from China, Laos and Vietnam compete for the best painted bull.
Prince Philip’s Holiday Gift to Wildlife
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth of the U.K., and president of the World Wildlife Fund (yes, really!), saved the lives of a few animals today. That’s because he’s in hospital with a heart condition and wasn’t be able to join the Royal Family’s “traditional” December 26 hunting expedition.
Video of the Year
Of all the great videos of the year, this one really tops the charts. The gorillas simply walk in to a tourist camp at Bwindi National Park one morning. Note that the great silverback is in charge of the proceedings, letting the kids know what’s OK, what’s not, and how long they can visit the human.
Happy New Year, Baby Orca J-48
Keep baby J-48 in your thoughts this Holiday weekend. She’s the third calf to be born to the extended family of orcas (killer whales) known as the J pod. The calf, the third to be born this year among the three pods, was first observed last weekend by NOAA researchers.