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Last October a sickly bearded vulture was rescued by a roadside in Haute-Savoie, France, just south of Geneva. Taken to a veterinary clinic that specializes in vultures, the staff learned this specimen is 37 years old, the world’s oldest bearded vulture outside of captivity.
For the first time in more than fifty years there will be no pandas in Japan. That’s because five-year-olds Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, born at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, are being shipped off to China this week. The sibling twins were born to Ri Ri and Shin Shin, who had arrived on loan from China in 2011, and returned there in 2024.
A pet shop that opened last summer in Portland, Oregon has come up with a surefire way to pack the store with customers: snake yoga classes in the lobby. HISSS, a reptile shop that sells snakes, lizards, and arachnids, pitches serpentine yoga as a way to “uncoil your body and quiet your mind.”
Veronika is a 13-year-old Swiss brown cow living with the Wiegele family in the mountain village of Nötsch in southern Austria. When she was about two years old, her owners noticed she would sometimes grab a stick in her mouth and use it to scratch her body.
This month the National Zoo in Washington announced the birth of a painted river terrapin, the first time this critically endangered species has been successfully bred at the zoo. In fact, the little guy is already five months old. The zookeepers had found it on August 26, still sporting its egg tooth, a tiny built‑in tool it used to crack out of the shell, meaning it was only a day or two old when they found it.
ZooTampa’s manatee rehab center announced it had released 26 manatees in 2025, the highest number of rehabbed manatees returned to the wild in any single year since the facility opened in 1991.
For nearly 50 years, an eastern box turtle named Rockalina lived alone on a linoleum kitchen floor. When she was rescued last year by New Jersey turtle sanctuary Garden State Tortoise, she was wan, her eyes covered in dead skin, her claws unnaturally bent upward.
A 550-pound black bear has been living under a house in Altadena, California for over a month, much to the dismay of a terrified homeowner. Ken Johnson says he might sue the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, which he claims hasn’t done enough to remove the big beast.
A short-haired tortoiseshell cat named Flossie turned 30 years old this week, extending her Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest living cat. Born on December 29, 1995, Flossie was officially recognized as the world’s oldest feline by Guinness in 2022, just before her 27th birthday. She’s still going strong.
“Smart, courageous and determined” is how the American Kennel Club describes the Basset Fauve de Bretagne, a dog breed now recognized by the AKC, meaning the small hunting dog will be able to compete in shows.
French film legend Brigitte Bardot died this week at 91. The pouty “sex kitten” appeared in over 50 films in a 20-year career, which she abruptly abandonedin 1973. For the remaining decadesBardot devoted her life to animal welfare.
A woman in New York has filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, arguing that her golden retriever should be classified as a dependent under US tax law. It might sound preposterous, but the case has cleared some preliminary legal hurdles.
French singer-songwriter Plumes has the best gigs. Equipped with his brilliant pink acoustic guitar, he travels to farms, sanctuaries, and zoos to serenade cows, horses, parrots, and any other species willing to hear him play folk-pop. His videos capturing the curious reactions of animals on TikTok and elsewhere have gone viral worldwide.
At least 500 people attended a beloved cat’s funeral last week in Kinokawa, Japan. The 15-year-old calico named Nitama had been the “feline train stationmaster” at Kishi station on the local rail line since 2015.
Russian biotechnology firm Neiry announced it is putting brain implants in pigeons in order to remotely direct the birds’ flight paths. The new tech will be used for environmental monitoring – and probably spying.
Photographer Mark Meth Cohn was hiking in the Virunga Mountains in East Africa when he happened upon a troop of gorillas, including one young male “especially keen to show off his acrobatic flair: pirouetting, tumbling, and high kicking.” The result is “High Five,” the overall winner of this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. Cohn wins a week-long safari for two in Kenya for his winning effort.
An African elephant named Kariba has bounced around since her family was wiped out by ivory hunters 40-plus years ago. The orphan has lived in various European zoos since then but soon – in early 2026 – she will be housed in a real sanctuary in Portugal. How well she fares there could help decide the fates of an estimated 625 elephants in captivity around Europe.
A vigilant golden retriever named Polly noticed something was off with her owner, Adam Cooke of Ireland, as he slept. Cooke was breathing strangely, which got Polly to bark until Cooke’s wife, Hannah, awoke to find her husband’s labored breathing. Then he stopped breathing altogether.
It has long been thought that cats began to bond with humans around 10,000 years ago and that our love affair with felines arose in the same part of the world, the Levant. New research is upending both of those notions.
he San Diego Zoo said goodbye last week to its oldest resident, a Galápagos tortoise named Gramma who lived at least 140 years. Dubbed “Queen of the Zoo,” Gramma came to San Diego sometime between 1928-31.
