A new relationship with animals, nature and each other.

Posts from the ‘A-animals’ 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • Do Pets Prevent Sudden Death in Children with Epilepsy?

    A group of Brazilian researchers wondered if the presence of a pet in the home of a child with epilepsy might reduce their risk of dying from SUDEP. They found that of the 1,092…

    “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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    When Families Fight over Pets

    People often refer to their pets as members of the family. As such, the pets are subject to many of the joys and tribulations of the household. Children and pets go through their own stages of development as do their parents and guardians. They bond and grow together, but not always harmoniously. We often hear of custody battles going on for years over who is responsible for the care of the child and under what conditions.

    Saying No to Animal Circuses in Malta

    Around 200 people staged a protest on the Mediterranean island nation of Malta asking for a ban on all circuses involving animals. The Animal Circus calls itself a Christmas tradition in Malta, but local animal protection groups have long been pushing for it to be stopped.

    Bird Flu Outbreak in Hong Kong

    Just as a team of Dutch researchers are pushing to publish the details of how they created an easily-transmitted mutation of the deadly bird flu virus, H5N1 has struck yet again in Hong Kong.

    The New Bird Flu Scare

    In the wake of a team of Dutch researchers creating a deadly new strain of H5N1 bird flu virus in their lab, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, overseen by the National Institutes of Health, has asked two journals, Science and Nature, not to publish “experimental details and mutation data that would enable replication of the experiments.”

    Is Your Pooch Possessed?

    Soon after she adopted Princess the poodle, things started going wrong for psychic artist and color therapist Olga Horvat. Her husband had a car crash and came down with an auto-immune disease. Her daughter got expelled from school for bad behavior. And the apartment got bed bugs. Then poor Princess fell down the stairs and died.