In 2008, American pet owners spent $43 billion on their animals. Walk into any pet store and it is easy to see how — $60 brushes, $200 designer cat scratchers, $450 midcentury dog beds. But the market for pet gadgets has been dismal, in large part because of the abundance of novelty goods that are more expensive than practical. I mean, who needs a gizmo that can translate your dog’s barks?

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/technology/personaltech/21basics.html?_r=1&hp

I would LOVE a gizmo that translated by dog’s barks, as long as it really worked. Read the full article, linked above, for some other really great pet-related gadgets.  The doggy treadmill, Jog a Dog, seems like the most useful one.  You should walk your dog daily, but sometimes you may not have the time to do it — in which case, the Jog a Dog would be very handy to have around. Exercising your dog indoors might make the difference between a fat, miserable pup and slim, healthy one.

[poll id="61"]

photo credit: peyri

photo credit: ~crystalina~

An Australian kangaroo shot through the head with an arrow is expected to make a full recovery, wildlife officers say.

The injured kangaroo was found on Thursday in parklands near Melbourne’s outer suburb, where it is believed to have survived for up to a week.

Melbourne Zoo vet Michael Lynch says he will monitor the kangaroo for the next three weeks but remains optimistic…

Read the full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8043880.stm

[poll id="60"]

photo credit: Axel Rouvin

How do ant colonies manage the nutrients in their food? Audrey Dussutour from the Centre de recherche sur la cognition animale (CNRS/Université Paul Sabatier) and Steve Simpson from Sydney University have shown that an ant colony functions like a “collective mouth and gut”. The members of a colony are capable of dealing with the nutritional needs of their social structure by sharing tasks (foraging, digestion and excretion)…

Read the full article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507192511.htm

[poll id="59"]

Birds or Plane?

I love seeing depictions of animals in art and pop culture. I think bringing wildlife and pets into our life, even if it is just in photographs or pictures, helps us remember that we’re not automatons who always require a connection to Twitter and XBox Live and the Internet to survive – we’re living, breathing, feeling organisms, who share a unique, vivacious planet with billions of other fascinating life-forms.

So when I discovered Uneetee.com’s unique animal-inspired t-shirts, I knew I had to let you know about them. I love the depth and artistry that goes into these simple shirts. Some of the designs are just fabulous. This one, called “Birds or Plane,” makes me feel like I’m lying in a grassy field, watching a flock of blackbirds somersault and twirl overhead and wondering to myself, “Is it just my imagination, or did that bird formation look like an airplane just now?” For the next 12 hours the shirt is on sale for just $10 instead of the usual $19.99.

Birds or Plane? UneeTee shirt

photo credit: law_keven

[...] On Thursday, the heifer — who evidently escaped from a Queens slaughterhouse on Wednesday before being corralled by police officers — was loaded on a trailer at a Brooklyn animal shelter and transported to her new home: a 60-acre organic farm in Calverton, in Suffolk County, where she can romp with a steer named Wexler and munch on organic hay… Read the full article here: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/farm-living-is-the-life-for-molly-the-calf/?hp

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photo credit: Amnemona

The planet’s largest animal may be returning to pre-whaling feeding grounds. Scientists have documented the first known migration of blue whales from the coast of California to areas off British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska since the end of commercial whaling in 1965.

[...] Blue whales were severely depleted during commercial whaling activities during the early 1900’s in the north Pacific and along the West Coast as far south as Baja California…

Read the full article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090511140953.htm

[poll id="57"]

photo credit: aussiegall

A head-banging parrot who became a YouTube sensation has demonstrated that an ability to appreciate music and keep a rhythm is not unique to humans, scientists say.

Snowball the cockatoo, who appears to bop his head, tap his claws and squawk enthusiastically to the Back Street Boys’ “Everybody” is one of several birds apparently capable of dancing to a beat, according to two studies published in the latest edition of the journal Current Biology.

Read the full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/01/dancing.parrots/?iref=hpmostpop

Watch the video of Snowball the dancing cockatoo below!

photo credit: twoblueday

On a remote U.S. Forest Service road in Arizona a few years ago, the driver of a white minivan slowly rolls to a stop, sticks a rifle out the window, and starts firing at what look to be wild turkeys.

State officers hiding in nearby bushes emerge, running toward the vehicle and shouting: “Game and Fish Department! Cease fire! Put down your weapon!”

The driver speeds off, but is caught a short distance down the dirt road by another officer. The hunter is cited for discharging a weapon from a vehicle—a U.S. $500 fine.

Read the full article here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090501-robot-poaching.html

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photo credit: Paul Keleher

The deaths of 21 polo horses in Florida last month have highlighted the risks associated with compounding pharmacies, a type of pharmacy that produces custom-made drugs widely used by veterinarians to treat not just horses but all types of animals.

Long before the polo deaths, federal regulators and veterinary groups were warning that the drugs made by such pharmacies could be unreliable and unsafe…

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/sports/othersports/01polo.html?ref=othersports

[poll id="54"]

photo credit: Sweet Evie

Now I know why my cat never stubs her toe on the way to the kitchen at night, like I do.

I’ll go ahead and admit that I only vaguely understand this:  “[...] the DNA within the photoreceptor rod cells responsible for low light vision is packaged in a very unconventional way [...] That special DNA architecture turns the rod cell nuclei themselves into tiny light-collecting lenses, with millions of them in every nocturnal eye.”

I heard NPR’s “Science Friday” discussing this discovery a few days ago (you can listen to it here – http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200904172). I understood the researcher to say that discovering that the packaging of the DNA affects its expression was remarkable in itself.  It would appear that DNA shows up differently in different physical forms, kind of like the way a song on a CD sounds different from the same song on a cassette.

Read the full report of the discovery here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090416125159.htm

photo credit: audreyjm529

Sadly, there’s a market for everything.  There’s even a market for videos of dogfights, in which animals brutally and painfully rip each other apart. A man convicted of selling these videos will appeal his case before the Supreme Court, and will argue that selling the videos is an expression of his freedom of speech.

Patt Morrison expresses my attitude toward the video seller’s argument perfectly: “So to say these videos can be sold and distributed even though the acts they show are against the law – you might as well do the same for human ”snuff” films depicting murders, because that’s all that these are. Snuff films of animals.”

Read the full article here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/04/animal-cruelty-dvds-as-free-speech-will-the-supreme-court-buy-that.html

[poll id="53"]

photo credit: digitalART2

The AP reports that cougars — also known as mountain lions or pumas — are expanding from their usual territories in Texas and South Florida to areas in the midwest and central US. The article doesn’t try to explain why the cougars are moving around so much, but it does recommend that residents of the affected states exercise more caution outdoors. I also advise that you take extra care to monitor your outdoor pets if you feel that wild animals may threaten them.

Read the report here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iA1oI9_pn7nB3Zo3o1dSl7eHNRugD97NGO6G0

[poll id="52"]

photo credit: West Zest

Yesterday I found a dog wandering University Blvd, a busy street that runs through the University of Alabama’s campus.  I asked several passers-by if the dog was theirs, but they all said no.  I knew the dog was likely to be picked up by animal control or run over by a car if she continued wandering aimlessly through town.  So, I grabbed the dog by the collar, lead her down the street towards a grocery store, and asked a nice stranger named Matt to watch her while I went in to buy a leash and dog food.  Until I found her original owners or her new home, she will be mine.

I spent the rest of the day killing time on campus with the dog until I found a friend who agreed to take care of her while I decided what to do with her.  I can’t have a dog in my apartment, but my friend Ryan has a nice big yard and some other friendly dogs, and he kindly agreed to watch her for a few days.

The dog has no identification on her, and though I’ve called veterinary offices and animal shelters in the area and have checked out missing pet forums, I’ve not found her owners.  I doubt I will find them.  My primary focus is on finding her a new home, or figuring out a way to keep her myself.  If I take her to our local overflowing animal shelter, she’ll surely be put to sleep.  I want to avoid that option at all cost.

This experience has led to write a list of ways pet owners can minimize the chances of their pet becoming lost or stolen and ways to expedite the process of retrieving them.  None of this is new information, but apparently a lot of owners either don’t know it or ignore it.  It pains me to see animals suffer or die because of this.  I’d like to warn you that it’s hard for me to write about without anger creeping into my tone, and I don’t mince many words.  Anyway, here’s the list:

1.  Always, always, ALWAYS put proper identification on your pet.

If your dog or cat is lost, an ID tag with your phone number and address will dramatically increase the possibility of it being returned to you.  Keep the tags updated with the best way to find you. I’ve found cats with phone numbers that no longer work, or just an apartment number – without the name of the apartment.  These incomplete IDs are useless if you want people to return your pet to you.

You should put an ID tag on your pet even if you think it is impossible for her to jump the fence or run out the front door.  Mistakes happen and pets do weird things.  Don’t assume that your dog can smell its way home or that your cat can take care of itself.  If you really love your pet, you’ll put proper identification on her, just in case.
So you say your dog is notorious for slipping her collar and your cat won’t even let you put his collar on him?  My first answer for this is, toughen up and find a collar and tag that will work.  Isn’t your beloved pet, who counts on you for love and sustenance, worth the trouble?  My second answer is…

2.  Microchip your pet.

Ask your veterinarian to embed a tiny microchip containing identification under your pet’s skin.  Animal shelters and veterinarians can easily scan your pet to find you if for some reason her ID tag is missing.

Since neither microchipping nor ID tagging is completely foolproof, do both.  Find the answers to common questions about microchipping here: http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/common_questions_about_microchips.html

3.  Don’t leave your pet tethered in your yard.

If you need to contain a pet, use a fence or keep it in your home.  Many dog owners make the mistake of tying their dog to a stake or a dog run, even though some cities have banned this practice.  Here is a list of reasons why you shouldn’t tether your pet:

1. Your dog can’t escape from danger if someone tries to steal it or abuse it.
2. Your dog can’t escape from danger if another dog or animal tries to attack it.
3. Your dog will be bored out of its mind.
4. Your dog risks suffering from exposure, tugging on its leash, and other environmental factors.
5. Your dog might pull loose from his collar and accompanying ID, making it harder for someone to return him to you if they find him.

While searching for the owner of the dog I found, I discovered several listings in lost pet forums in which an owner left his or her precious purebred tethered in the front yard, only to find it unhooked and stolen later in the evening.  I hate to be brutally honest, but those dogs are now probably being sold on the black market or used as bait in dog fighting.

I’ve also read several cases in which vicious stray dogs or hungry wild animals prey on tethered pets.  Do you want your dog to be torn to shreds by a pack of stray dogs or a wildcat? Tethering your dog makes it much more vulnerable to attacks.

In another listing on the lost pet forum, a dog escaped from its chain by pulling off its collar.  The dog then wandered off without its ID, minimizing the possibility of someone returning him to his owner.

4.  Call all your local veterinary offices, groomers, and animal shelters promptly to report a lost pet.

Most animal care facilities will keep track of lost pet notices.  If someone brings in or calls to report a stray, they can look over their records to see if they find a match.  However, they won’t know your dog is missing unless you call and tell them yourself.

Be aware that many animal shelters have extremely short waiting periods before they euthanize lost pets.  Call them quickly so you can pick up a live, happy pet instead of a dead body.

5.  Spay and neuter your pet.

Guys, I know you cringe at the thought of cold, surgical hands amputating your beloved dog’s or cat’s testicles.  I implore you to, “get over it,” because your pet certainly will.  Your dog will be happier without hormones surging through his body, creating overwhelming sexual tensions and angry emotions. Your cat will not fight with every other cat it sees and spray odiferous musk on every surface it passes. Dogs and cats do not have the psychological, emotional attachment to their “manhood” that humans do.  Don’t hurt your pets by anthropomorphizing them.

Maybe you’re ok with neutering your dog, but you REALLY want a litter of puppies or kittens because OMG THEY’RE SO CUTE!!! Here’s an idea: after your pet has a litter of adorable, miraculous bundles of baby life, why don’t you wrap them in a sack, toss in a brick, and dump them in the murkiest, deepest river you can find?  No?  That suggestion doesn’t appeal to you?  Well, it most certainly shouldn’t – but you should know that every time you encourage a dog or cat to give birth to a litter of puppies, you are contributing to the overpopulation of pets requiring that millions upon millions of them are euthanized – killed – every year.  Old pets, baby pets, cute pets, ugly pets, smart pets, dumb pets – they’re all killed because there are too many of them and not enough people who want to care for them.  Before you let your cat or dog have puppies, go check out your local animal shelter and look into the eyes of all those doomed, furry faces, just waiting to die.

I told you that I didn’t mince words.

So what does spaying and neutering have to do with keeping your pet from becoming lost?  Spayed and neutered pets lose the urge to escape their homes and roam the neighborhood in search of one or more one-night-stands.  As far as I know, the dog I found escaped from her owners because she was in heat.

Allow me to close with one more comment that may anger some of my readers: if you don’t have the interest, money, or capacity to properly care for a pet, you should not own one.  Give it to someone who will treat it with the respect and decency that a domesticated, dependent, living creature deserves.  Now that I’ve let that out, let’s drink a toast to conscientious pet owners everywhere. *slurp*

Questions? Suggestions? Leave it in the comments, please.  I look forward to speaking with you.

[poll id="51"]

photo credit: Piez

The cultured pearl collars are certainly elegant, and the Swarovski crystal and silver mesh puppy necklaces seem a steal at just $225. But for the larger dog who wants to make a statement, it’s hard to go past the Masai collars, handcrafted by tribesmen in Kenya.

“The Masai are very industrious people,” Lisa Wolfenden, owner of Double Bay store Dogs And The City, says. “The women do all the beading and sewing, and the men pour the brass for the buckles.”

Visit http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/how-the-wellheeled-pamper-their-pets/1484969.aspx for the full article.

[poll id="50"]

photo credit: emdot

The idea isn’t coming out of Detroit, but maybe America’s automakers will again copy the Japanese and learn how to make a profit by making a pet-friendly car.

Honda Motor Co. recently unveiled the pet friendly version of its Element utility vehicle at the New York Auto Show, according to a Reuters story. It will have a cushioned dog bed in the trunk, a built-in water bowl and fan, and a ramp to help less agile dogs climb in.

Visit http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/04/13/what-america-needs-a-dog-friendly-car/ for the full article.

[poll id="49"]

photo credit: tore_urnes

It is the moment that America – especially the White House press pack – has been waiting months for, for many the biggest news to hit Washington since Barack Obama‘s inauguration, and encouraging evidence that, as president, he follows through on his election promises. The identity of the First Pet has been revealed.

Five months since Obama used his election night victory speech to tell his daughters, Sasha and Malia, that they had “earned the puppy that is coming with us to the White House”, the first pictures emerged of Bo, a six-month-old black and white Portuguese water dog that will officially take up residence tomorrow.

Visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/13/barack-obama-pet-dog for the full article.

[poll id="49"]

photo credit: Emery_Way

Indianapolis has long struggled to control its unwanted pet population. Yet for years, the city has ignored the recommendations of its own experts and resisted using an effective tool to manage domestic animals — one used by every other major city in the U.S.:

Pet licensing.

Indianapolis has the dubious distinction of being the only city among the nation’s 30 largest that does not require dog owners to license their pets.

Visit http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090413/LOCAL/904130348 for the full article.

[poll id="48"]

photo credit: Alexander Yates

Sometimes, it’s not enough to just let nature take its course.

Getting certain endangered animals to breed in captivity at the Queens Zoo takes a lot of planning, study and – sorry to ruin the mood – science.

“It’s not as easy as saying, ‘We have a male and a female, let’s let them mate,’” said Craig Gibbs, assistant curator of animals at the Queens Zoo.

Visit http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/04/13/2009-04-13_theres_a_certain_science_to_mating_rare_animals_at_the_queens_zoo.html for the full article.

[poll id="47"]

photo credit: _Gene_

As soon as he heard his car alarm blare and saw the orange glow through his bedroom window, UCLA neuroscientist J. David Jentsch knew that his fears had come true.

His 2006 Volvo, parked next to his Westside house, had been set ablaze and destroyed in an early morning attack March 7. Jentsch had become the latest victim in a series of violent incidents targeting University of California scientists who use animals in biomedical research.

Visit http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-research13-2009apr13,0,5129041.story for the full article.

[poll id="46"]

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) announced it is sending an emergency relief team to aid animals affected by record floods in North Dakota. The full team and IFAW’s 36-foot transport trailer are expected to be in Fargo on March 28.

The Red River in Fargo broke a 112-year-old record by climbing past 40.33 feet, the highest the river has ever been measured. The latest reports expect the river to crest at 43.5 feet for 5 days. The city’s main dike has been fortified to 43 feet, though the cold weather has frozen sandbags and made it difficult.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="45"]

photo credit: zenera

Focusing on Atlantic herring, the scientists were, for the first time, able to observe the fish gather off Georges Bank near Cape Cod, Mass., where they spawn under cover of dark, according to a report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="23"]

photo credit: jon hanson

Special thanks to Saeid Halvaeian of http://www.burnthiscitystudios.com for submitting this video to Kitty Mowmow’s Animal Expo! Submit your animal stuff here.

[poll id="42"]

photo credit: sub_lime79

A bobcat attacked three people in a community in central Arizona, including two men who were bitten when the animal wandered inside a bar.

Officers called to the Chapparal Bar in Cottonwood arrived to find the bobcat in the parking lot, where they shot and killed it, KVRD-FM radio reported.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="41"]

photo credit: jurvetson

photo credit: matrianklw

I received this announcement from Richard Zimmerman of Orangutan Outreach.  To learn more about the plight of the endangered orangutans and to find ways you help save them, visit: http://redapes.org/campaigns/medical-appeal/

Malaria has hit the Nyaru Menteng Clinic with devastating results for the Orangutans. Malaria is always a cause for concern at the Nyaru Menteng project and the team must be ever vigilant.

In a project that was originally designed to care for only 100 orangutans, there are now more than 650 of them.

Malaria is a common occurrence and causes regular outbreaks amongst the youngsters. In such close quarters this means that, unlike conditions in the wild where orangutans can roam far and wide, disease can spread very quickly and sometimes without mercy.

When Orangutans get malaria they suffer in the same way as we do. They get headaches and severe ‘flu’-like symptoms. With quick treatment and TLC (lots of cuddles and paracetamol) they will usually get back to forest school within 3 weeks. Sometimes though, the malaria-carrying mosquitoes breed rapidly and out of control and this can lead to severe epidemics.

In January 2009, such an epidemic hit the sanctuary. More than 100 orangutans were infected. This was a difficult situation to deal with and the medical team worked day and night to contain the spread and treat each and every patient. Sadly, 10 young lives were lost to a complication called Cerebral Malaria, a condition that can turn a serious illness into a killer in less than 12 hours.

We know you appreciate that every orangutan life is precious. And when a life is lost, the need to protect and save every remaining life becomes even greater. It hurts to imagine a world without these intelligent, beautiful creatures, but that is what might happen if we do not do everything in our power to protect each and every individual that falls under our care.

With less than 40,000 of these apes left in the wild, the future of the orangutan in our world could be considered less than promising. But the teams of medics and carers at Nyaru Menteng are working tirelessly to make sure such a scenario NEVER becomes real.

Malaria will always be a major cause of illness and a serious drain on resources– which is why we need your help!

A donation to our appeal for medical supplies for the treatment of malaria will help the medical team manage the disease and protect precious orangutan lives.

Please donate now and help us protect young orangutan lives. Your donation can help fund the following badly needed medical supplies:

A case of malaria drugs: $20

Malaria test kit: $40

Simple malaria case diagnosis and treatment: $90

Drugs for complicated case: $180

Complicated diagnosis and treatment malaria: $220

Infusion pump: $1000

Thank you so much,

Dr David Irons
Orangutan Medic, Nyaru Menteng

Lone Droscher Nielsen
Manager, Nyaru Menteng

Richard Zimmerman
Director, Orangutan Outreach

[poll id="40"]

photo credit: ori2uru

The family of Charla Nash — who suffered devastating injuries in last month’s Chimpanzee attack in Stamford — is seeking $50 million in damages against the chimp’s owner.

Nash’s twin brother, Michael, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Stamford late Monday against Sandra Herold — a friend of Charla Nash’s.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="39"]

photo credit: law_keven

It doesn’t matter what panel I find myself in, or what situation I stumble across, animals are making their way into the South by Southwest festival conversation.

The first day I got here, I picked up my “big bag.” Every year, I like to take a picture of the tens of thousands of bags that sit in large rows waiting to be snatched up by tech, film and music professionals who pilgrimage here once a year for the weeklong festival. This year, the bags were covered by cardboard. Why?

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="38"]

photo credit: kekremsi

A herd of young birdlike dinosaurs met their death on the muddy margins of a lake some 90 million years ago, according to a team of Chinese and American paleontologists that excavated the site in the Gobi Desert in western Inner Mongolia.

The Sudden sudden death of the herd in a mud trap provides a rare snapshot of social behavior. Composed entirely of juveniles of a single species of ornithomimid dinosaur (Sinornithomimus dongi), the herd suggests that immature individuals were left to fend for themselves when adults were preoccupied with nesting or brooding.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="36"]

photo credit: Piez

But this case is rather complicated. Deciding what to do may be even more complex than making a decision about whether to put yourself in peril by trying to coax a strange dog out of a dark, dilapidated building slated for demolition, for instance, or trying to rescue a kitten from a toxic-looking pool.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="37"]

photo credit: dyanna

Massive predators like Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex may have been at the top of the food chain, but they were not the only meat-eating dinosaurs to roam North America, according to Canadian researchers who have discovered the smallest dinosaur species on the continent to date. Their work is also helping re-draw the picture of North America’s ecosystem at the height of the dinosaur age 75 million years ago.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="36"]

photo credit: peupleloup

How do the many carnivorous animals of the Americas avoid competing for the same lunch, or becoming each other’s meal?

A possible answer comes from a new study by a pair of researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their large-scale analysis shows that it’s not just chance that’s at play, but avoidance strategies themselves that have been a driving force in the evolution of many carnivores, influencing such factors as whether species are active daytime or nighttime, whether they inhabit forests or grasslands, or live in trees or on the ground.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="34"]

photo credit: Vincent Boiteau

A researcher has studied hours of prawn “sex tapes” to find out why prawns bred in captivity did not go on to breed well.

Life sciences researcher Gay Marsden, from Queensland University of Technology, spent two months filming what prawns got up to when the sun went down.

“The Australian prawn aquaculture industry depends on black tiger prawns, Penaeus monodon,” Ms Marsden said.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="33"]

photo credit: Piez

When couples break up, judges can decide who gets custody of pets based on their unique sentimental value, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Tuesday, setting a precedent in the state.

The published opinion in Houseman v. Dare (pdf), A-2415-07, reverses a trial court’s finding that pets differ from personal property like heirlooms, family treasures and works of art and therefore that the equitable remedy of specific performance is not available.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="32"]

photo credit: pinhole (Mark)

Anthropogenic, or human generated, sounds have the potential to significantly affect the lives of aquatic animals – from the individual animal’s well-being, right through to its reproduction, migration and even survival of the species.

According to a new study marine animals could suffer detrimental effects ranging from a loss of hearing to increased stressed levels as a result of environmental noise – in ways not dissimilar to humans and land animals. The study also describes some recent well-controlled experimental studies while highlighting areas for future study.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="31"]

photo credit: Randy Son Of Robert

A California lawmaker has proposed making it illegal to flee the scene of an accident in which a dog, cat or farm animal has been injured.

The measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Eng, would require that drivers attempt to provide aid to an injured farm animal or pet, and notify the owner or animal-control authorities. Violators would face fines and possible jail time.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="30"]

photo credit: law_keven

New software developed with help from the Wildlife Conservation Society will allow tiger researchers to rapidly identify individual animals by creating a three-dimensional model using photos taken by remote cameras. The software, described in an issue of the journal Biology Letters, may also help identify the origin of tigers from confiscated skins.

New software developed with help from the Wildlife Conservation Society will allow tiger researchers to rapidly identify individual animals by creating a three-dimensional model using photos taken by remote cameras. The software, described in an issue of the journal Biology Letters, may also help identify the origin of tigers from confiscated skins.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="29"]

photo credit: nestor galina

For the first time, a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale was given a shot of sedatives Friday in the open sea that allowed rescuers to remove thick fishing line cutting in to the whale’s upper jaw and left lip.

The whale’s prognosis is uncertain but scientists say the exercise could prove invaluable in helping other whales that face severe injury or death when they become entangled in fishing rope.

Scientists have long been frustrated in trying to help entangled whales. The animals tend to avoid boats and if researchers do get close enough, they had to be careful the sometimes 40-ton leviathans don’t do anything unpredictable that would upset the boat and toss them into the sea.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="28"]

photo credit: Opo Terser

Olives basking in sunny California groves might find that their new best friend is a small brown wasp. Known to scientists as Psyttalia cf. concolor, the little wasp can help foil the olive fruit fly, a powerful natural enemy of olives.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Victoria Y. Yokoyama and colleagues have imported and studied the beneficial wasp, and have turned it loose—by the thousands—in olive-fruit-fly-infested groves in California, the nation’s No. 1 producer of this popular fruit.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="27"]

photo credit: law_keven

This week President Obama brought science back into the Endangered Species Act, effectively overturning a wild diversion of the law by the Bush administration last summer. Bush decided that federal officials didn’t have to bother to consult with scientists when they decided whether logging or mining would impact a species on the brink of extinction. And at the time Bush didn’t even want to consult with the public, ramming it though in 30 days, accepting public comment only by snailmail. Rolling Stone called it Bush’s last-minute regulatory spree a “final F.U.” to the country and the gutting of the ESA “the most jaw-dropping” part. Hundreds of thousands of people wrote in despite the obstacles — and Bush pretty much ignored them.

Click here for the full article.

[poll id="26"]

It has long been considered a rather cute addition to a classroom or preschool: a pet bird, rabbit or hatching chickens, there to show young children about “nature”.

But, far from being an educational tool, classroom pets are often sending a very wrong message to children about responsibility and empathy.

Children would be much better off with this type of lesson off the curriculum.

I remember touring one potential occasional care centre when my daughter was younger and found a really sad sight in the corner of the very loud, busy room.

A solo bird in a cage, which sat there while screaming toddlers rampaged around, occasionally approaching the cage to circle and poke.

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[poll id="24"]

When Mark Arabia, owner of the Pets Plus store, went out to the delivery man’s vehicle to collect the $1,000 fish supply he discovered a coffin.

“At first when I looked at it, I said, ‘Fish never come this way’,” he said.

He said he eventually learned that the body inside was that of a 65-year-old man from San Diego, California, who died of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

The body was supposed to go to a laboratory in Allentown, Pennsylvania, but there was an “unfortunate mix-up” at Philadelphia airport, said US Airways.

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[poll id="23"]

Luika is our fourth German Shepherd Dog, but unlike are previous three, he comes from show stock. Maybe this is where the problem lay!

When Luika first explored the delights of our garden, we noticed a marked weakness in his back legs. He was due for his second lot of injections within a couple of weeks, so mentioned our concerns to the vet.

As Luika grew, his problem seemed more pronounced and our concerns were justified following our second trip to the vets.

Despite my research there was very little information relating to this problem. Even the vets seemed somewhat perplexed as to the cause of my pups deformity.

With regular hydrotherapy however, his legs have strengthened, and following a consultation with a Specialist, we now have a better understanding of our cow hocked dogs.

It also seems that cow hocks are fairly prevalent in show dogs, and although considered a ‘fault’ is not cause for disqualification!

Our pup will never enjoy the freedom of movement of our previous working GSD’s and is largely restricted to exercise on grass or soft surfaces.

So little information is available on this subject and we spent many months trying to ascertain the cause of our pups deformity. Even the breeder shrugged off our concerns, stating that we could not possibly see a problem with such a young dog!

Cow hocks is a growing problem in certain breeds and more information is desperately required. The only real treatment that we could find, was hydrotherapy and this was only ascertained through our research.
Hydrotherapy has undoubtedly helped and Luika is now able to enjoy limited exercise and his weekly training sessions.

This article was submitted by Nina Cole of http://www.ninasnanniesforpets.co.uk.

[poll id="22"]

University of Montana researcher Scott Mills and his students have noticed an exceptional number of white snowshoe hares on brown earth. He contends that climate change and the color mismatch are causing much more hare mortality.

On an unseasonably warm May afternoon, University of Montana wildlife biology Professor Scott Mills treks into the shadowy forests above the Seeley-Swan Valley in pursuit of his quarry. He skirts the rivulets of water melting from snow patches. In one hand he holds an antenna and in the other a receiver that’s picking up signals from a radio-collared snowshoe hare. The beeps increase in volume as he draws nearer. Mills picks his way over downed branches, steps out from behind a western larch and spots the white hare crouched on the bare brown earth.

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[poll id="21"]

An international team of archaeologists has uncovered the earliest known evidence of horses being domesticated by humans. The discovery suggests that horses were both ridden and milked. The findings could point to the very beginnings of horse domestication and the origins of the horse breeds we know today. Led by the Universities of Exeter and Bristol (UK), the research is published on Friday 6 March 2009 in journal Science.

The researchers have traced the origins of horse domestication back to the Botai Culture of Kazakhstan circa 5,500 years ago. This is about 1,000 years earlier than thought and about 2,000 years earlier than domestic horses are known to have been in Europe. Their findings strongly suggest that horses were originally domesticated, not just for riding, but also to provide food, including milk.

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[poll id="18"]

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has affirmed on March 6 the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove gray wolves from the list of threatened and endangered species in the western Great Lakes and the northern Rocky Mountain states of Idaho and Montana and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Wolves will remain a protected species in Wyoming.

“The recovery of the gray wolf throughout significant portions of its historic range is one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act,” Salazar said. “When it was listed as endangered in 1974, the wolf had almost disappeared from the continental United States. Today, we have more than 5,500 wolves, including more than 1,600 in the Rockies.”

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[poll id="17"]

Santino evidently knows he’s going to get upset, so he plans ahead.

The 30-year old chimpanzee, which has lived in a Swedish zoo most of his life, often gets agitated when zoo visitors begin to gather on the other side of the moat that surrounds his enclosure, where he is the dominant — and only — male in a group that includes a half-dozen females.

He often shows his displeasure by flinging stones or bits of concrete at the human intruders, but finding a suitable weapon on the spur of the moment perhaps isn’t so easy. To be ready, Santino often begins his day by roaming the enclosure, finding stones and stacking them in handy piles.

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[poll id="16"]

The animal looks like a newborn hamster – still naked and blind. But it is not a hamster; it is a naked mole-rat and already ten years old. These strange creatures live in the semi-deserts of Africa and have a life-span of up to 25 years.

This way of life is very unusual for mammals: Their subterranean colonies are organised like an insect community around a single breeding queen. The rest of the animals are workers and soldiers. Since September 2008 there is such a colony with 19 animals at the Berlin Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW).

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[poll id="15"]

These sponsors help KittyMowmow.com keep you updated on the latest and most fascinating animal news, issues, and culture. Thanks, guys!

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Butter Bee Happy – Research has shown that jotting down 5 thoughts of gratitude each day can make you a happier person, so journal your happy thoughts each day at ButterBeeHappy.com and see what’s making your friends and family happy.

The JB Special - The personal blog of random thoughts by JB Pounders, CEO of gooseGrade.

A man who stuffed his girlfriend’s cat into a makeshift bong and smoked marijuana through it said Tuesday that he had done it on other occasions and that it calmed the cat down.

Acea Schomaker of Lincoln said he never intended to hurt the 6-month-old cat, Shadow.

Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies responding to a domestic disturbance at the residence ticketed the 20-year-old Schomaker on suspicion of misdemeanor animal cruelty Sunday after catching him smoking marijuana from a boxlike contraption that had the cat stuffed inside its 12-inch by 6-inch base.

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This is so stupid. FYI: marijuana is BAD for cats and dogs.  So is smoke in general.  I don’t care how much you think your pet enjoys getting high with you – it’s bad for pets and can KILL them.

Read more about it here: Marijuana Toxicity in Pets

And here:Marijuana Poisoning in Dogs and Cats

[poll id="14"]

Whale rescuers today successfully returned the last live whale stranded on Naracoopa Beach on King Island back to the water.

Parks and Wildlife Service Reserves manager Chris Arthur said the adult female pilot whale was slung between two jet skis and taken off-shore before being released.

“The whale was seen to swim toward a group of whales in the area, several of which had been tagged by rescuers two days earlier.

“This rescue effort has seen 54 pilot whales and five bottlenose dolphins successfully returned to the sea.”

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[poll id="12"]

After nearly a century in the Natural History Museum collections, a new butterfly species has been discovered because of its mustache.

A new butterfly species from the dry Magdalena valleys of Colombia has been discovered among the three million butterfly specimens at the Natural History Museum in London by a butterfly curator. It lay undiscovered in the collection for 90 years, but only when the curator Blanca Huertas compared it with a recently found wild specimen was it identified as Splendeuptychia ackeryi, or Magdalena valley ringlet, whose distinguishing feature is unusually hairy mouthparts.

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[poll id="12"]