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Judge: FWS plan excluded possible lynx habitat (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Thu, 07/29/2010 - 21:43

AP - A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arbitrarily excluded "critical habitat" that could be occupied by the elusive Canada lynx.

Ancient DNA identifies donkey ancestors, people who domesticated them

Science Daily Animal News - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 20:00

In a finding that says much about the people who lived in northern Africa 5,000 years ago, scientists believe domestication of the donkey was achieved by nomadic people responding to the growing borders of the Sahara. Scientists also determined the endangered African wild ass is the living ancestor of the modern donkey and found hints that one strain of African wild ass thought to be extinct may still be alive.

NYC looks to stop spreading bedbug infestations (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 18:53

FILE - In this undated photo released by the University of Florida, a common bedbug is engorged with blood after feeding on a human. One of every 15 New Yorkers battled bedbugs last year, officials said Wednesday, July 28, 2010, as they announced a plan to fight the spreading infestation, including a public-awareness campaign and a top entomologist to head the effort. (AP Photo/University of Florida, File) NO SALESAP - One of every 15 New Yorkers battled bedbugs last year, officials said Wednesday as they announced a plan to fight the spreading infestation, including a public-awareness campaign and a top entomologist to head the effort.


A farewell to bullfights in northeastern Spain (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 14:42

Pro-bullfighting supporters shout at anti-bullfighting supporters in front of the Catalan Parliament in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, July 28, 2010. The parliament voted to outlaw bullfighting, making Catalonia Spain's first major region to do so after an impassioned debate that pitted the rights of animals against preserving a pillar of traditional culture. Cheers broke out in the local 135-seat legislature after the speaker announced the ban had passed 68-to-55 with nine abstentions. The ban in the northeastern coastal region whose capital is Barcelona will take effect in 2012.(AP Photo/David Ramos)AP - Lawmakers in the region of Catalonia thrust a sword deep into Spain's centuries-old tradition of bullfighting, banning the blood-soaked pageant that has fascinated artists and writers from Goya to Hemingway.


WWF apologizes for incident against Saudi Arabia (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 10:35

AP - The environmental group WWF has apologized for an incident at a recent climate conference involving an employee who vandalized Saudi Arabia's nameplate.

Prehistoric Toothless Fish May Get Protection (LiveScience.com)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 04:51

LiveScience.com - Shovelnose sturgeon are not endangered in their native Mississippi and Missouri rivers, but catching them in many of these waters may become illegal under a proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that aims to protect their relatives, the endangered pallid sturgeon.

Can you ask a pig if his glass is half full?

Science Daily Animal News - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 02:00

Experts in the UK have shown for the first time that a pig's mood mirrors how content he is, highlighting that pigs are capable of complex emotions which are directly influenced by their living conditions.

China to send 2 pandas to Japan in diplomatic move (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Wed, 07/28/2010 - 01:32

AP - China has announced plans to send two of its prized giant pandas to Japan, the latest installment of panda diplomacy aimed at warming the two countries' often-strained relations.

Most panda habitat is outside nature reserves, according to joint US-China research

Science Daily Animal News - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 21:00

Though much effort and many resources have been expended to protect the endangered giant panda, research by an international team of scientists shows that much suitable panda habitat is outside the nature reserves and areas where the panda is reported to live.

Man detained in China over zoo panda death (AFP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 20:21

A man has been detained over the poisoning death of an endangered panda in a Chinese zoo, state media reported Wednesday, in the latest case spotlighting risks to captive animals in China.(AFP/File)AFP - A man has been detained over the poisoning death of an endangered panda in a Chinese zoo, state media reported Wednesday, in the latest case spotlighting risks to captive animals in China.


Battle to save Gulf sea turtles from oily death (AFP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 14:19

A dead sea turtle is seen laying on a beach in May 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. While BP struggles to finally seal the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, an equally desperate battle has been enjoined on the surface to save endangered sea turtles from meeting an oily grave.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Joe Raedle)AFP - While BP struggles to finally seal the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, an equally desperate battle has been enjoined on the surface to save endangered sea turtles from meeting an oily grave.


Tiger escapes from trip to the vet (Reuters)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 10:57

Reuters - A 17-month-old tiger escaped from the back of a pick-up truck while it was being driven to a veterinary clinic in South Africa, triggering a helicopter search by police and wildlife experts.

Heat brings out the cool in zoos across the nation (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 10:29

This undated photo provided by Annemarie Ferrie for the Turtle Back Zoo shows an otter snacking on a 'fishsicle' (fish in the middle) at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J. Zoos across the country use shade, water and every conceivable form of cooling machine to help hundreds of thousands of animals, visitors and workers beat the heat every summer. (AP Photo/Turtle Back Zoo, Annemarie Ferrie) NO SALESAP - Otters sweltering in the summer sun suck on "fishsicles." For carnivores like the Amur leopard, it's "bloodsicles."


Giant panda pair headed for Tokyo zoo (AFP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 09:03

This picture, taken recently and received from the Toyko metropolitan government, shows a 124-kg female giant panda at an undisclosed location China. A pair of giant pandas are headed for Tokyo's Ueno Zoo soon, where the fluffy bamboo eaters are set to delight the crowds from early next year.(AFP/Tokyo Metropolitan Govt.)AFP - A pair of Chinese giant pandas are soon headed for Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, where the fluffy bamboo eaters are set to delight the crowds from early next year.


Segmentation is the secret behind the extraordinary diversification of animals

Science Daily Animal News - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 05:00

Segmentation, the repetition of identical anatomical units, seems to be the secret behind the diversity and longevity of the largest and most common animal groups on Earth. Researchers have shown that this characteristic was inherited from a common segmented ancestor thought to have lived 600 million years ago and whose presence "changed the face of the world."

Bird flu: Preening spreads viruses in nature

Science Daily Animal News - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 05:00

Scientists discovered that the preen oil gland secretions, by which all aquatic birds make their feathers waterproof, support a natural mechanism that concentrates AIVs from water onto birds' bodies. Since waterbirds use to spread preen oil over their own (self-preening) or other birds' (allo-preening) plumage, it is easily understandable how these preening activities could facilitate the diffusion of the viruses in nature.

Archaeologists discover biggest rat that ever lived: Weight of about 6 kilograms (over 13 lb)

Science Daily Animal News - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 14:00

Archaeological research in East Timor has unearthed the bones of the biggest rat that ever lived, with a body weight around six kilograms. Today's biggest rats weigh around two kilograms and live in rainforests in the Philippines and New Guinea.

Biologists release endangered turtles into Gulf (AP)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 13:32

A volunteer holds a Kemp's ridley turtle hatchling before releasing it into the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, July 26, 2010 at Padre Island National Seashore, Texas. Hundreds of endangered baby sea turtles embarked on a new life in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday with federal biologists hoping that by the time the tiny critters get as far east as the BP spill, the toxic oil will largely be gone. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)AP - Hundreds of tiny baby turtles with their dime-sized paddle-like feet dragged through the sand on Monday heading for a new home in the Gulf of Mexico despite the threat of oil some 400 miles away.


Spain's Catalonia expected to ban bullfights (Reuters)

Yahoo Animals and Pets - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 10:35

A woman holds a banner as she protests against bullfighting outside Barcelona's bullring before a festival in Barcelona July 25, 2010. REUTERS/Sergio PerezReuters - Catalonia could become the first mainland Spanish region to ban bullfighting in a local parliamentary vote this Wednesday that has pitted animal rights activists against fans of the centuries-old national symbol.


Giant pandas: Landscape has big effect on movement of genes within population

Science Daily Animal News - Mon, 07/26/2010 - 02:00

Genetic analysis of giant pandas has shown that features of their landscape have a profound effect on the movement of genes within their population. Researchers found that physical barriers, such as areas lacking bamboo plants and other forest foliage, can separate giant pandas into isolated genetic groups.

 

 

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