The J.M. Smucker Company announced last week that it was recalling a number of popular pet food products after it was revealed that they may contain traces of a drug that is often used to euthanize animals. The drug, pentobarbital, does “not pose a threat to pet safety” in extremely low doses, but its mere presence is obviously a huge cause for concern. The company has published a list of all the dog food products affected by the recall, including varieties of wet canned dog food sold under a number of different brand names. The brands, which include Gravy Train, Kibbles ‘N Bits, Ol’ Roy, and Skippy, are sold in a number of different can sizes and flavors. You can read the full list below. To read more on this story, click here:Dog Food Recall: Here Are All the Brands and Products Being Withdrawn
An adorable ten day old rescued baby goat who was spending some quality time with Dan McKinnon, co-founder and executive director of Barn Sanctuary in Chelsea, Michigan, let out the cutest of noises whenever his newly adopted human stopped with the petting. This hircine youngster was surrendered to the Sanctuary along with two other siblings by a farmer unable to care for them. Donations can be made to help defray the costs of care for these cuties and other rescued animals through the Barn Sanctuary site. To read more on this story, click here:A Tiny Baby Goat Makes the Cutest Noises When His Newly Adopted Human Stops Petting Him
The photo that won Jo-Anne McArthur the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award, speaks to anyone who has rescued an animal, whether it be a cat, dog or baby gorilla. The winning shot, which beat out more than 50,000 others photos submitted to the National History Museum or London, shows a rescuer moving a orphaned baby gorilla named Pikin from her old animal sanctuary to a new, larger one full of fellow ape friends. McArthur took the black-and-white photo in Cameroon while volunteering with the rescue group Ape Action Africa. According to the National History Museum of London, the photo was chosen by the public from a shortlist of 24 photos curated by the museum from over 50,000 entries submitted for the competition, now in its 53rd year. To read more on this story, click here:Wildlife Photographer of the Year Winner Captures the Magic of Animal Rescue
People often tell me how much they love animals and ask what they can do to help them. The obvious is to donate money to shelters and animal charities, but there is more you can do beyond that. Another thing you can do is donate your time by walking dogs or fostering them, but what if those just don't seem like the right fit for you? We asked Rocky Kanaka, host and creator of Save Our Shelter, what else people could possibly do to help, and as an expert in this arena, he had several suggestions. To read more on this story, click here: The 1 Thing Most People Forget to Donate to Animal Shelters
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The sea slug is also commonly referred to as a sea cucumber, mainly because of the of the sea slug's shape and the fact that it is normally found on coral or rocks usually being very still, making it look like a type of aquatic vegetable. The sea slug is a herbivorous animals and feeds on plankton and decaying matter on the ocean floor, along with grazing on the rocks and coral reefs for algae. By munching on the decomposing plant matter on the ocean floor, the sea slug is of great benefit to every marine environment where the sea inhabits. Due to their motionless nature, sea slugs are often very exposed and are therefore popular prey for a wide variety of predatory animals in the oceans. Crabs, lobsters, fish and even humans are among the animals that prey on the fleshy sea slug. Some species of sea slug are able to protect themselves from danger by wrapping their tentacles around potential predators, so that the predator is unable to harm them. This only applies however to the species of sea slug that actually have tentacles, others are completely defenseless. The sea slug is often an interesting addition to a salt-water aquarium and can be useful in keeping the algae levels at a minimum. Although the sea slug leads a relatively motionless existence, they are an important factor in any marine environment. There are known to be thousands of different sea slug species found around the world and it is estimated that there are many more species of sea slug that have not yet been discovered. Sea slugs can range in size from just a few millimetres to more than 30 centimetres in length and can be found in a variety of colours and shapes. The sea slug is a hermaphrodite, meaning that the sea slug has both male and female reproductive organs. Sea slugs release eggs into the water in ribbon-like sticky clusters which can contain thousands of eggs but usually much less. The eggs are fertilized and the sea slug larvae (the baby sea slugs) soon develop and become bigger, after hatching from their sticky eggs. Sea slugs are not only harvested for food by humans but are also used in traditional medicines particularly in the far east as the extracts from the sea cucumbers are said to have healing properties.
Pet foods from four companies were recalled by the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday after Salmonella showed up in a variety of products. Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause pets to get sick or become carriers that infect people with the pathogen, which leads to salmonellosis in humans. Fortune spoke with Bill Marler, a food safety expert who has been a foodborne illness lawyer since 1993, about what pet owners should know about how the disease is spread and what to do if you or your pet is affected. To read more on this story, click here:What Pet Owners Need to Know About the Dog Food Recalls
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Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia. Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly. The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe. To read more on this story, click here:The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms
Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia. Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly. The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Deserts of Namibia:Life and Photography on Nature's Terms
A man in Alberta, Canada went above and beyond to protect his dogs. William Gibb stopped at a coffee place to grab something to drink with his brother and a friend. He had his dogs in the car and let them out at the back of a parking lot near a wooded area for a bathroom break. That’s when Gibb heard a yelp from his dog. He ran to Sasha, one of his dogs, and found her pinned beneath a large animal. He couldn’t tell what it was, thinking it might be a coyote, but he charged forward and punched the animal in the head. It was then that he realized it was a cougar. The big cat backed off for a moment, and Gibb kept swinging. He noticed his dog lying on the ground in pain and tried to grab her, but she was still frightened and, thinking Gibb was the cougar, bit him. To read more on this story, click here:Canadian Man Punches Cougar in the Head to Save His Dogs From Attack
FONTANA, Calif. (FOX 11) - Fontana police arrested a man for allegedly trying to kill a kitten -- several times. Despite the horrendous abuse reported, the kitten named "Olive" lived. Lucio Cota Lopez, 34, was arrested Tuesday for the alleged assault of a 3 to 4-month-old stray kitten. An investigation revealed Lopez was upset with the kitten for entering the apartment. Witnesses reported Lopez allegedly placed the kitten in the freezer, and later took the kitten out and began squeezing its body as the frightened kitten cried out in pain. To read more on this story, click here:Fontana Man Arrested for Badly Abusing Kitten, Police Say
Nigel, a handsome gannet bird who lived on a desolate island off the coast of New Zealand, died suddenly this week. Wherever his soul has landed, the singles scene surely cannot be worse. The bird was lured to Mana Island five years ago by wildlife officials who, in hopes of establishing a gannet colony there, had placed concrete gannet decoys on cliffsides and broadcast the sound of the species’ calls. Nigel accepted the invitation, arriving in 2013 as the island’s first gannet in 40 years. But none of his brethren joined him. In the absence of a living love interest, Nigel became enamored with one of the 80 faux birds. He built her — it? — a nest. He groomed her “chilly, concrete feathers . . . year after year after year,” the Guardian reported. He died next to her in that unrequited love nest, the vibrant orange-yellow plumage of his head contrasting, as ever, with the weathered, lemony paint of hers. “Whether or not he was lonely, he certainly never got anything back, and that must have been [a] very strange experience,” conservation ranger Chris Bell, who also lives on the island, told the paper. “I think we all have a lot of empathy for him, because he had this fairly hopeless situation.”
A heart-tugging issue has surfaced as lawmakers prepare to dig into details of the Farm Bill, a catchall package of items relating to agriculture and food policy in the United States. Should recipients of food stamps be allowed to purchase food for their hungry pets with the finite federal support they receive through the program? Edward B. Johnston, Jr., a 59-year-old Mississippian who gets by with the help of food stamps, has initiated a petition on Care2 that has attracted more than 83,000 signatures thus far. It calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow food stamp beneficiaries to buy pet food for their animals if they deem that essential. The food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), allows recipients to only buy food meant for human consumption. To read more on this story, click here:Federal Food Stamp Program Should, in a SNAP, Allow Pet Food Purchases
Dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals and are part of the family of toothed whales that includes orcas and pilot whales. Dolphins are well known for their intellect, their gregarious nature, and their acrobatic abilities. They are found worldwide, mostly in shallow seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. Dolphin coloration varies, but they are generally gray in color with darker backs than the rest of their bodies. The body of a dolphin is designed to help them move through the water quickly and without exerting huge amounts of energy. They rely on their pectoral fins and the fluke (tail) to help them navigate through the water. Even though dolphins have 100 teeth, they don’t use them for eating. They do use them to get the fish though and then they swallow them. They can consume up to 30 pounds fish per day. They usually work as a team in their pod to get the school of fish surrounded and balled up. From there, they can plow through the middle and eat plenty as they do so. Dolphins are found all over the world; generally in shallow seawater of the continental shelves. You can witness dolphins in the cold waters as well as the warm tropical waters. Of course, there are certain species of dolphins that show preference to a particular temperature and region. Lifespan: Most dolphins live long lives. The bottlenose dolphin can live over 40 years, and the orca can live to be 70 or 80! Parts of the Dolphin
Boscawen, N.H. (CBS/AP) -- A New Hampshire man has been charged with resisting arrest and biting a police dog. Police said the man unsuccessfully tried to hide under a pile of clothes to evade arrest over the weekend and then put the police dog in a chokehold and bit it on the head. State police were asked to help deal with a shooting on Sunday in Boscawen, a town of about 4,000 residents. They said two men in a home were wanted on outstanding warrants and both resisted arrest before one exchanged bites with the dog, whose name is Veda. Police haven't released the men's names. They say the man who bit the dog faces charges including resisting arrest, interfering with a police dog and assaulting an officer. To read more on this story, click here:Dog Bites Man, Man Bites Dog, Man Gets Arrested
