Sugar gliders are popular exotic pets. They're small, cute, and unique little animals. But just as you would with any other exotic pet, a potential sugar glider owner should be aware of the care requirements and personality traits of a sugar glider before getting one. Sugar gliders are a long term commitment, living up to 14 years in captivity, and require a special diet, lots of attention, and space. Sugar Gliders in the Wild Baby sugar gliders start life off in their mother’s pouch and are referred to as joeys, just like kangaroos. Because of this unique start to life, sugar gliders are classified as marsupials, not rodents like the similarly looking flying squirrel. All wild sugar gliders are from Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea where they live in tree tops. They get their sweet and airborne name from the food they eat and their characteristic mode of transportation. Their namesake diet includes nectar and sap from trees and they are often seen gliding between branches using unique flaps of skin called patagium. Sugar gliders are omnivorous, so in addition to the nectar and sap, they will also eat both plant material and meat including fruit, insects, and even small birds or rodents. To read more on this story, click here:Are Sugar Gliders Good Pets?
This tiny patient at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital weighs just one gram and is their smallest visitor. She fell out of her mother's pouch and now needs careful care. Boop is a baby feathertail glider and has amassed many fans on social media. A spokesperson for the hospital said Boop will one day return for the wild - but for now she needs careful care. To read more on this story, click here:This Baby Feathertail Glider Weighs Just 1 Gram - and is Going to Get Even Cuter
Delta Airlines announced Wednesday it’s updating its service and support animal policy yet again to further enhance restrictions. The airline will now allow only one emotional support animal per customer per flight and will prohibit all “pit bull type dogs” as service or support animals. These new limitations come as a “direct result of growing safety concerns following recent incidents in which several employees were bitten,” the airline said in a press release. Delta first updated its policy in March, citing customer abuse and a rise in animal-related incidents. The regulations require those wishing to travel with a service or support animal to provide special documentation. Customers must show a current signed veterinary health form or immunization record for the animal 48 hours in advance, as well as a signed letter by a doctor or mental health professional and proof the animal can behave while in the cabin. "The safety and security of Delta people and our customers is always our top priority," Chief Operating Officer Gil West said in a statement. "We will always review and enhance our policies and procedures to ensure that Delta remains a leader in safety." According to the statement, the airline carries around 700 service and support animals daily and has seen an “84 percent increase in reported animal incidents since 2016, including urination/defecation, biting and even a widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog,” which they note is uncommon behavior for properly trained working animals.
When a celebrity passes away, fans around the world take to social media to share their condolences and their favorite songs, movies, or events that the deceased was a part of. But what happens when a famous animal passes away? On Thursday, June 21, fans around the world are sharing their loyalty and despair over the “gorilla who captivated the world,” Koko. Koko the ape was one of the most beloved animals in the world who captured the world’s attention years ago over her amazing connection with humans and other animals. The research center that has done a lot of work with the gorilla announced her death. They said, “The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko.” Koko was best known around the world for her ability to communicate through American sign language and for her love of kittens. In 1978, she was even featured on “National Geographic.” To read more on this story, click here:Heartbreaking Tributes Pour in After Famous Gorilla who 'Captivated the World' Dies at 46
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Neighbors have been caring for the cat for years, but now it’s starting to look poorly and wants nothing to do with humans. DEAR JOAN: Many years ago someone in the neighborhood moved and left their beautiful cat behind. Kitty has stayed put, living for years within a four-house range. Good friends across the street took to feeding the cat twice a day and making a sheltered, warm bed in a corner of their front porch. The cat has never allowed anyone to come close and is beginning to look very ragged, has obvious hearing problems and this morning I noticed kitty seemed disoriented. What do you recommend we do, if anything? If the cat is dying of old age, I worry about kidney failure or that the cat will be in pain. Should there be any intervention? Capturing the cat would be a traumatic experience. To read more on this story, click here:What Should Be Done for Ailing, Abandoned and Skittish Cat?
Puppies are things of pure joy. Everyone loves the big proud dogs they grow up to be, of course, but there is something infinitely soothing about cuddling up beside a newly born pup. Not only that, but they come in all sorts of precious shapes and sizes! Sometimes they’re fluffy, while other times they’re little short-haired cuties. They only ever have one thing in common: they are all adorable! These 22 puppies are no exception, and they just so happen to be some of the cuddliest and cutest you’ll ever see! By the time you’re done learning about them, you’ll want to get one for yourself! To read more on this story, click here:Mini-Puppies Are A Real Thing, And They’re About To Take Over The World
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Salisbury, Maryland. The creeping of a would-be thief outside of a home in Maryland was apparently too much for one cat. Angry over something outside the window, the cat woke its owner early Monday at about 1 a.m. The owner looked outside his Salisbury home and saw a man was stealing items from his car. Deputies arrived on scene and found 32-year-old Jamie Ruark inside another car, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. Ruark was captured after a brief foot chase and charged with four counts each of theft and tampering with a motor vehicle.
As if puffins — the super cute seabirds know for digging burrows and mating for life — weren’t already cool enough, one British ornithologist recently made a stunning discovery. Jamie Dunning found that the beaks of Atlantic puffins are fluorescent and glow a bright blue when placed under an ultraviolet light. Dunning made the discovery back in February, after shining a UV light on the body of a dead puffin he had at his lab. (“I’m the kind of guy that people send dead birds to,” he told Newsweek at the time.) To read more on this story, click here:It Turns Out Puffins Have Fluorescent Beaks That Glow Under UV Light
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It’s great that dog shelters exist, but a dog’s experience in one can still be pretty bad. They live in small spaces just waiting and hoping they’ll be adopted into a loving forever home. Due to overpopulation, many dogs end up spending large chunks of their lives in shelters. The staff does their best for the dog, but they don’t get to experience true freedom. There’s just no beating a real home. To read more on this story, click here:Man Adopts 45 Dogs And Sets Them Free On His Four Acres Of Land
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A team of divers rush to save a group of four trapped whale sharks in this visually stunning video. It begins with a scene depicting a team of divers rushing to the site where the four whale sharks have found themselves trapped in a fishermen’s nets. Whale sharks are gentle giants which are famous for being the largest extant fish species. The whale shark is one of three known filter feeders. As they swim, plankton, krill, among other nutrients, are caught in their gaping mouths. To read more on this story, click here:Divers Spot 4 Giants Trapped in Fishing Net—When They Get Right Up Close, it’s Stunning!
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Largely thanks to the critically-acclaimed documentary Blackfish, which exposed the shocking mistreatment and abuse captive cetaceans endure at marine parks like SeaWorld, the business has seen ticket sales drop. Attendance at the parks dropped another 5.5 percent in 2017, after dropping 3.3 percent the year before, indicating that the influence of Blackfish is still spreading. However, SeaWorld told investors that profits were not affected by the widespread criticism brought about by the film, fraudulent claims which have resulted in an investigation of the business by the Department of Justice. And SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby stepped down after failing to clean up their tarnished image, and other SeaWorld heads have since done the same. And if any more proof is needed that SeaWorld is sinking, SeaWorld San Diego has now reported half a million fewer visitors in 2017 than in 2016. This refreshing news is a hopeful sign that the public is becoming increasingly aware of the dangers and cruelty involved in keeping cetaceans in captivity. Captive orcas like those exploited by SeaWorld are violently ripped away from their close-knit family pods in the wild and tossed in bathtub-like enclosures to pose as spectacles for noisy crowds in exchange for food. Life in captivity for these highly-intelligent animals leads to extreme mental and emotional trauma, commonly known as zoochosis, a serious psychological disorder exhibited by compulsive and destructive behavior like incessant swaying, head bobbing, chewing, self-mutilation, and even suicide attempts. Calves born in captivity are immediately taken away from their mothers, leading to tremendous anguish and ear-piercing cries from the mothers for weeks. Life in captivity also equates to broken and missing teeth and collapsed dorsal fins, and the inadequate conditions at parks can lead to abnormal and aggressive behavior, which is dangerous for the animals and people alike. To read more on this story, click here:It's Working! SeaWorld Is Sinking as Attendance Drops by Half a Million Visitors
(CNN)It's hard to imagine a mansion serving as a house of horrors. But that's exactly what it looked like inside of Christina Fay's Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, home last June, when 75 Great Danes — yes, 75 — were found in horrible conditions. The charging documents I obtained lay out the disturbing details: sores on the legs, lesions covering the body, ear infections and conjunctivitis in their eyes. Some dogs had even gone blind. Many were forced to either lay down in or walk through feces and dangerously high ammonia levels. There was little light or ventilation, the documents say, and food and water was scarce. To read more on this story, click here:This Case Shows Why Dog Breeders Need to Be Regulated
Waco | An 85-year-old Texas woman has been arrested by local law enforcement after being caught on film kidnapping one of her neighbor’s cats with which she is accused of making fur coats. The recent disappearance of domestic animals in the neighborhood started to arise suspicion from local residents when some people started to notice the old lady’s particular fur coats, some even recognizing their cats in the coat’s furs, a fact the lady vehemently denied before being caught on videotape by a private detective hired by local residents to follow the suspicious lady. To read more on this story, click here:Little Old Lady Arrested for Making Fur Coats with Neighbor’s Cats
Giving birth is one of the most incredible moments a mom can ever experience. It’s also one of the most secretive, at least for human moms – they’re always squirreled away in a private hospital room, away from prying eyes. Usually it’s mom, dad, and random hospital staff that first greet the baby as he or she comes bursting forth into the world. But for wild elephants, it’s an entirely different story. The whole herd is there to say hello to their newest little tribe member! In this video clip, a group of lucky tourists on safari actually got to witness the intimate meet-and-greet as it unfolded. People go on safari so they can get the chance to observe mother nature up close and personal, so of course there was tons of excitement in their voices when they realize they’re getting exactly what they came to see! To read more on this story, click here: Elephant Gives Birth In Middle Of Safari, But Watch Incredible Moment Herd Suddenly Charges In
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