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All in Animal Welfare
he Mexican government was all set to eradicate the spiny-tailed iguana on Clarion Island. But now researchers have discovered that the reptile is in fact a native of the remote island and not an invasive species.
At least three weirdly colored dogs have been spotted in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the abandoned area around the 1986 nuclear reactor disaster site. This month, researchers from Dogs of Chernobyl recorded canines with blue fur, and they’re not sure how it happened.
Earlier this year the West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, Oregon was shut down following a years-long investigation into the deplorable conditions at the roadside petting zoo. Hundreds of animals – lions, tigers, chimpanzees, camels, goats, capybaras – were victims of neglect; now some are finding a new life in sanctuaries. The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota shared photos of its adopted jaguar, a sleek cat the shuttered petting zoo had called Lucifer, now known as Louie. The sanctuary also took in Bently the leopard, Nasha the lioness, and Lyla the lynx. The rescues enjoy spacious habitats and tender care in Minnesota, a far cry from their former lives.
With Diane Keaton’s passing last week we remember her film career – Annie Hall, the Godfather movies, Reds – but let’s tip our caps to her other passion, “a lifetime of dedication to the cause of animal welfare,” as the Helen Woodward Animal Center writes in a tribute.
The rights of seven chimpanzees, currently behind bars at the DeYoung Family Zoo in Wallace, Michigan, is being heard this week by the Michigan Court of Appeals. At issue is whether the chimps should be granted habeas corpus, a protection against unlawful imprisonment.
A marine park in Canada hoped to sell its last 30 beluga whales to an aquarium in China, but the deal was kiboshed by the fisheries minister. So Marineland, a near-bankrupt tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, is threatening to euthanize the whales if the government doesn’t cover some of the cost of their care.
When Hurricane Milton whipped through Florida last year, a dog abandoned and tied to a fence was spotted and rescued by Highway Patrol. The bull terrier was taken in by the Leon County Animal Shelter;a video of the dog left alone on Interstate 75 with water rising to his chest went viral.
A monkey born in the Oklahoma City Zoo is getting lots of attention because of his brilliant orange fur, but it’s perfectly natural for a François langur, an endangered species that starts life with color, then darkens up as it ages.
In August a cow escaped from an Arizona meat processing plant and enjoyed a few brief hours of freedom before being tracked down and returned for execution.
Plans to kill most of the foxes living on Dauphin Island, Alabama have been put on hold this week, when a Mobile County circuit judge issued a temporary restraining order on the project.
September 11 coincides with the fall bird migration, as birds summering in Canada and New England begin flying south for the winter. Unfortunately they can be disoriented on their journey by the powerful lights emanating from the 9/11 Tribute in Light, causing collisions and avian death.
It took three and a half months of intense medical care and rehab, but a young fox rescued in northeast London in May has been set free at last. The fox had fallen into a container of bitumen – called “asphalt” on this side of the pond – in an ordeal the South Essex Wildlife Hospital said was “one of the most horrific cases we've seen in 35+ years of wildlife rescue.”
Orcas are attacking sailboats off the Iberian Peninsula again, destroying rudders and stranding crews. In August, killer whales tore the rudder off a German boat in the Vigo estuary in Galicia, Spanish newspaper Faro de Vigo reported.
New York lawyer James Sexton wants to protect the interests of the most vulnerable parties involved in divorce court: the pets. To that end he’s offering legally binding prenuptial agreements to safeguard the interests of furry and feathered household members on his platform TrustedPetnup.
This week the Missouri Department of Conservation hosted a birthday party for its beloved turtle Peanut. The old girl’s defining characteristic is her unusual figure-eight shaped shell, the result of getting stuck in a plastic six-pack ring when she was very young.
A man discovers purpose when he helps rescue a baby pangolin in South Africa. Their story, told in the Netflix documentary Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey, is both soothing and difficult as the volunteer conservationist grows a deep emotional attachment to his vulnerable friend.
The Philadelphia Zoo welcomed nine more Galápagos tortoises this week, the latest output of Mommy and Abrazzo, the zoo’s oldest residents. The parents are estimated to be about 100 years old; Mommy has lived at the zoo almost as long, since 1932.
Gorillas are social animals that live in troops, typically headed by a dominant male, along with several adult females and their offspring. Often a female will leave the troop and relocate – a behavior primatologists call “dispersal.” New research shows that the females tend to seek out other females they already know when they join a new troop, upending a long held view that the males are running the show.
A man in Karnataka, India thought it might be fun to take a selfie with a wild elephant off the roadway in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. It was not. He didn’t get the selfie, but he did get run down by the startled creature and was nearly stomped to death. Plus he lost his pants, briefly.
