They loved us long before they looked domesticated. By answering an age-old question about man’s best friend, scientists have figured out how wolves became the dogs we all know and love today. It’s pretty common knowledge that dogs are related to their wild canine cousins, but the new study lays out how the transformation occurred. Namely, it asserts that wolves became good boys behavior-wise before they started looking more like domesticated dogs than wolves. To read more on this story, click here:How Dogs Went From Wolves to Man’s Best Friend, According to Scientists
If you have a pet that you’ve adopted, you know just how wonderful of an experience it was to give your little furbaby a second chance at life. There is nothing sweeter than seeing their faces light up when they realize that they’re leaving the shelter. And it makes you feel good knowing that you helped save a life and make a difference. But how much more of a good feeling would it be knowing that you’re being rewarded for choosing adoption? One state might soon be giving tax credits to those who adopt animals. To read more on this story, click here:Proposed Law Would Give $125 Tax Credit To People Who Adopt Rescue Pets
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You’re a honeybee. Despite being around 700,000 times smaller than the average human, you’ve got more of almost everything. Instead of four articulated limbs, you have six, each with six segments. (Your bee’s knees, sadly, don’t exist.) You’re exceptionally hairy. A shock of bristly setae covers your body and face to help you keep warm, collect pollen, and even detect movement. Your straw-like tongue stretches far beyond the end of your jaw, but has no taste buds on it. Instead, you “taste” with other, specialized hairs, called sensillae, that you use to sense the chemicals that brush against particular parts of your body. To read more on this story, click here:What Is It Like to Be a Bee?
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The nation's hospitals, facing dire shortages of lifesaving ventilators as the coronavirus outbreak continues, are finding help from an unlikely source: animal doctors. The country's largest veterinary schools, animal hospitals and even zoos are offering up ventilators to hospitals that are scrambling to care for a growing number of critically ill coronavirus patients. Similar efforts elsewhere could produce hundreds of machines and save countless lives. "Every single one of these ventilators makes a difference," Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe, chief executive officer of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, told ABC News. To read on this story, click here:Ventilators shipped from veterinarians to hospitals to combat COVID-19 shortage
The thought of being anywhere near a giant spider is terrifying to most of us. It’s easy to see why gigantic arachnids appear in books and films as villainous creatures — they just look like the stuff of nightmares. Luckily, big bad spiders like Shelob in Lord of the Rings and Aragog in Harry Potter only exist in the fictional world. However, there are scary spiders in this world that are very much real, like the Goliath Birdeater. To read more on this story, click here: Meet The Goliath Birdeater, The World’s Largest Tarantula That Eats Sparrows
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The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, in effect the executive committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in late February issued an edict banning the country’s “wet markets,” including those in Wuhan, the source of the current COVID-19 outbreak. The statement notes that “it is necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and severely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade, and control major public health risks from the source.” The Straits Times of Singapore has reported that eight laws have been passed in the last week. We have no details on the contents of the legislation. It’s too soon to know, though, whether we have been down this road before. To read more on this story, click here:The Chinese Wild-Animal Industry and Wet Markets Must Go
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If you’ve ever noticed angry, red circles on your dog’s stomach, then your first reaction would be to rush them to the vet’s – and rightly so. However, it turns out that they may not be as bad as you might initially think. A while back, the Morinville Veterinary Clinic based in Alberta, Canada, shared a message regarding a common affliction to their Facebook page in order to reassure worried pet owners. To read more on this story, click here:Vet Says More Owners Have Been Seeing ‘Red Circles’ On Their Dog’s Stomachs
For many of us, it's the coronavirus lockdown, and our entire daily routines are now contained within the comfort of our own homes. For our beloved pets, however, it's a day like any other. Well, with a few exceptions—pets that are freaking out over why the heck we're at home for so long. But, other than that, business as usual. For the humans, however, it's more like dealing with our pets throughout our workdays. Or having fun with them. Or both. Here is a list of how quarantined cats are spending their days with their owners during the lockdown. To see these adorable kitties, click here:People Are Sharing Photos Of Their Cats In Quarantine And Here Are 32 Of The Best Ones
The oldest fossil of a modern bird, dating from the age of dinosaurs, has been discovered, a new study reports. The tiny fossil, nicknamed the "wonderchicken," includes a nearly complete skull hidden inside nondescript pieces of rock, and dates to more than 66 million years ago. That's less than 1 million years before the asteroid impact that killed off all the large dinosaurs. "The moment I first saw what was beneath the rock was the most exciting moment of my scientific career," said study lead author Daniel Field of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. in a statement. To read more on this story, click here:Oldest Bird Fossil Discovered, Nicknamed 'Wonderchicken'
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Longtime readers of the site know my affinity for fish so this one hits home – thanks to Patricia for passing on from Penn Quarter Teaism: “Well friends… wanted to do a live video but wasn’t sure how to do it on Facebook and Instagram at the same time. If you’re stuck at home with kids who normally like to come watch the fish, you can entertain them with this. To read more on this story, click here: Save Teaism’s Koi!!
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While there's no evidence that pets can catch coronavirus, some vets believe there's a way they can spread the virus through touching pet hair. POTOMAC, Md. — Veterinarians are taking unprecedented precautions in the age of coronavirus, such as not allowing walk-in appointments and meeting pet owners outside. It's all in an effort to protect people from fomites. The Centers for Disease Control says there is no evidence that pets can catch coronavirus. But some veterinarians believe that pets can pass it on. If a person doesn't know they have coronavirus, but has a virus droplet on their hands and then pets a dog in someone’s backyard, the virus could end up on the pet’s hair. To read more on this story, click here:How To Prevent Your Pets From Spreading Coronavirus
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“Nature just hit the reset button” in the suddenly clear waters of Venice canals and off the coast of a locked-down Italy. Story at a glance
Italy is under lockdown to fight the spread of COVID–19, which has killed thousands in the country.
With the canals in Venice empty of its usual boat traffic, photos on social media show clear waters and the return of wildlife.
An Italian official says the water isn't necessarily less polluted, but the air has cleared up.
What would a world without humans look like? As countries go under lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID–19, photos on social media suggest it might be a lot cleaner, for a start. As one observer put it, “Nature just hit the reset button.” To read more on this story, click here:As Italy Quarantines Over Coronavirus, Swans Appear in Venice Canals, Dolphins Swim Up Playfully
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Tickets for tourist attractions keeping captive whales and dolphins will be banned from travel site TripAdvisor, the latest animal rights reform from the booking giant. This week, the website announced it would "no longer sell tickets to, or generate revenue from, any attraction that continues to contribute to the captivity of future generations of cetaceans," including whales, dolphins and porpoises. "As a result, any commercial facility that either breeds or imports cetaceans for public display will be banned from sale on TripAdvisor and Viator," the website said. The company made its decision following "extensive consultation" with animal marine biologists, zoologists and conservationists. It follows a similar move made several years ago where TripAdvisor decided to stop supporting businesses offering elephant rides, swimming with dolphins, or tiger encounters. "Whales and dolphins do not thrive in limited captive environments, and we hope to see a future where they live as they should -- free and in the wild," commented Dermot Halpin, President, TripAdvisor Experiences and Rentals. "We believe the current generation of whales and dolphins in captivity should be the last, and we look forward to seeing this position adopted more widely throughout the travel industry." Such products will be removed from the website by the end of 2019. Conservation groups and animal welfare experts welcomed the move as an important step forward.
The company quoted Dr. Naomi Rose, of the Animal Welfare Institute, as saying "whales and dolphins cannot thrive in captivity and enlightened tourists no longer tolerate exploiting these intelligent and socially complex marine predators for human entertainment."
The reform will not apply to "seaside sanctuaries" which care for those animals already in captivity. It is believed few Australian facilities will be caught in the changes, but 10 daily understands Sea World -- on Queensland's Gold Coast -- is seeking clarification on whether it will be amongst the businesses to be banned from TripAdvisor's website. "Sea World is proud of our global leadership in animal rescue, education, research and conservation, and our world-class facilities," a theme park spokesperson told 10 daily. "Sea World encourages any travel agency considering its position to research the science and conservation-based evidence which supports zoos and aquariums and to reach out if they have any questions." It is understood Sea World has no plans to abandon its current dolphin breeding program, which may see it fall under TripAdvisor's plan to ban facilities breeding or importing cetaceans for display. "Sea World is an accredited zoological institution under the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) and is also regulated by multiple State and Federal Government agencies. We have a long history of working with marine animals, with over 40 years of experience in animal care, research and rescue," the park spokesperson said. "The health and wellbeing of our animals is of the utmost priority at Sea World and we have a strong reputation for caring for marine animals. The animals at Sea World live in world-class exhibits, with the dolphins living in some of the largest filtered natural sand bottom lagoon systems in the world." TripAdvisor's policy change was welcomed by PETA Australia. "TripAdvisor has officially rejected tourism to marine mammal prisons like Sea World, where sensitive, complex, far-ranging aquatic animals are kept in tiny tanks," said PETA’s Emily Rice. "TripAdvisor is rightly rejecting animal-exploiting operations, and PETA is calling on tourists and all other travel companies to do the same." TripAdvisor also quoted Nick Stewart, global head of wildlife at the World Animal Protection group. "This sends a clear message to other travel companies that we must end this cruel industry once and for all," he said. "Together we can ensure this is the last generation of dolphins held captive for entertainment."
Actress Tara Reid swims with dolphins at Sea World in 2007. Image: Getty
He posted a video as a message to fans of what they should be doing during the coronavirus outbreak. Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is hunkering down and quarantining in his home during the coronavirus pandemic, joined by his donkey and miniature horse. In a video posted to Twitter, Schwarzenegger is hanging out in his kitchen with Lulu the donkey and Whiskey the miniature horse. To read more on this story, click here:Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Self-Quarantining With His Donkey And Miniature Horse
