A new relationship with animals, nature and each other.

Posts from the ‘Old News’ category

  • 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…

Polite Bear Waves Back

This friendly bear is like the classic old guy on the front porch who waves at passing cars. The bear was just hanging out at the Olympic Game Farm sanctuary in Washington state when a family drove by.

Earth’s Greatest Cats

This year’s Big Cat Week on Nat Geo WILD includes the remarkable movie The Last Lions. Beginning Sunday, December 11, it’s six six days of cougars, leopards, cheetahs, tigers and their various cousins.

The Porcupine’s Pumpkin

Good news for fans of the Web’s favorite Porcupine. The super-talkative Teddy Bear, who was made virally famous last month with his super-possessive love of corn on the cob, is back with a pumpkin-size appetite.

World’s Wealthiest Kitty

Tommassino was a stray cat when Maria Assunta took him home. When she died last month at the age of 94, Assunta left him $15 million – the entire family fortune.

How Many True Vegetarians?

How do you categorize whether someone is truly a vegetarian or not? A lot of people call themselves veggies because they “only” eat, say, fish, eggs and dairy … or they eat vegetarian three times a week.

Dog Rescues Bag of Kittens

Kerry says her Lab-mix, Reagan, often brings things home. So she wasn’t surprised to see a crumpled bag of Meow Mix outside the front door. But Reagan was visibly upset about something, so Kerry quickly went to look. Then she heard cries from inside the bag.

Was Hitler a Vegetarian?

My colleague Laura Wright and I were standing in front of an English class arguing about whether Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. We were guest speakers in a course on film and literature.

Israel Bans Declawing Cats

Israel’s parliament has made it a criminal offense to declaw cats unless the the procedure is medically necessary or if a person can prove they would have a medical problem if scratched.

World’s Largest Insect – Eats Carrots

The giant weta can weigh nearly three ounces … more than a sparrow … more than three mice. This one is the largest ever recorded. She was pregnant (which explains the extra size), and was found on New Zealand’s Little Barrier Island

The Real da Vinci Code: Animals

A graphic designer says he has uncovered a Mona Lisa mystery. He says that hidden in the painting are various animals, placed there by Leonardo because of his concern for animal protection.

Dog Shoots Duck Hunter

Bad luck or bad karma? Either way, the ducks at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge were safe from being shot last Sunday when the dog put a stop to the plans by shooting one of the hunters.

First Night Out

Hyenas are nocturnal animals and the pups are born and raised in burrows – so daytime pictures are rare. But wildlife photographer Rajesh Pardeshi captured the moment a mother hyena brought her pups above ground in Ahmednagar, India.

‘Look Where I’m Pointing’

We humans point at things with our fingers, or by motioning with our head and eyes. Other apes do much the same thing. Now we know that raven do it, too. In their case, they point with their beaks.