A California family’s missing pet pig was found but while police went to get the animal’s owners, someone slaughtered their beloved pet. Princess the pig—a 400-pound sow—had escaped her enclosure at owner Carrie Hogan’s mother’s house in Arcata, California, on March 23, according to MailOnline. The pig wandered around the neighborhood and was spotted by locals. Humboldt Paws Cause, a lost and found pets service in Humboldt County, California, posted photos of the missing pig on its Facebook page. “Found a massive pig in our yard this morning up Fickle Hill,” Humboldt Paws Cause wrote, citing an individual named Brianne. A lively discussion ensued about animals on the loose and whether the missing animal was a pot-bellied pig or someone’s 4H/FFA youth development project. “That’s not a potbelly that’s a Hampshire/ mix probably for FAA or 4H it looks pretty young. Hope it finds its home!!” wrote Anna Marie. “Buffalo on the highways and a piggy strolling around Arcata! Lol only in Humboldt!! Yee haw!!” commented Susan Wentworth. To read more on this story, click here:Escaped Pet Pig Slaughtered by ‘Helpful’ Neighbor in California
While seeing an alligator is never too much of a surprise in Florida, the number of close encounters has jumped in recent days and it’s likely due to a combination of hunger and lust. A family in Fort Myers was awakened by an eight-foot gator in their lanai in the middle of the night last week, police said on Facebook. In another part of town, a motorist captured footage of a massive gator casually strolling along a busy road. With the mating season underway, the randy reptiles tend to be more active. But one expert told local media there was more to it than that. The weather is getting warmer and the higher temps speed up the reptiles’ metabolism and make them hungrier. “They have to find some food so that’s when we’ll find them on sidewalks and people’s pools,” Brian Norris of Florida Fish and Wildlife told Fox 4 in Fort Myers. “They’re really just out there browsing around.” Some might even be looking for chicken. A motorist in North Port had to call the cops after coming out of a chicken wing restaurant and finding a gator under the car. To read more on this story, click here: Hungry And Horny Alligators Are Invading Streets, Homes And Pools In Florida
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Research shows dogs pay close attention to different human facial expressions. In Unleashing Your Dog: A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible, Jessica Pierce and I stress the importance of people who choose to live with dogs becoming "fluent in dog" or "dog literate." In addition to learning the basics of dog behavior, one area that's important for us to understand is how their various senses work and how they use their eyes to read our faces and the reasons for their sensitivity to the various visual social cues we emit.1 (See "How Dogs See the World: Some Facts About the Canine Cosmos," "Dogs: An Exciting Journey Through Their Sensory Worlds," and Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do.) Not surprisingly, research shows that dogs pay particularly close attention to human facial expressions—perhaps because we don’t have tails and our ears don’t move. Here's a review of some of what we know about what dogs are able to learn when they read our faces. To read more on this story, click here:Dogs Watch Us Carefully and Read Our Faces Very Well
There are few things more precious than getting the chance to witness nature unfold in all its glory. But for staff at the Metro Richmond Zoo, catching a glimpse of the wonders of nature is just part of their job. Despite this, nature still manages to surprise them every now and then. On Nov. 30, 2018, the zoo welcomed seven new additions to their Chesterfield County zoo’s cheetah population when a cheetah named Vaila gave birth to septuplets. According to Jim Andelin, the owner of the zoo, this kind of thing happens rarely. “This is a very special birth to us because not only is it a big boost for cheetah conservation by increasing the captive population, but also a cheetah having seven cubs at once only happens 1 percent of the time,” Andelin said in a statement. WTVR reported back in January that the cubs were healthy after getting their first set of shots. The cubs’ parents, mom Vaila is a second-time mother, and dad Kalu is a first-time father who was born and raised right at the Metro Richmond Zoo. To read more on this story, click here:Metro Richmond Zoo Welcomes Cheetah Septuplets: It’s a Rare 1 Percent Chance
We all like to give our dogs’ treats or even some leftovers from dinner. Or sometimes you want to make or share something you’re snacking on with your dogs and aren’t sure if it’s safe for them. There are many human food items that are good for your dogs and can even be a nice addition to their diet. Of course, each dog is different, so always start slowly with any new food item to see how your dog reacts. Below are just some of the many human food items that are safe and even good for your dogs: Salmon Salmon is a fatty fish which is also a good source of omega- 3 fatty acids. These fats support the immune system and can be beneficial for your dog’s skin and coat. There has also been some indication that they may benefit dogs with allergies. You can feed salmon or salmon oil. If feeding salmon, make sure it’s cooked before serving, as raw salmon can carry a parasite that can make your dog sick. Sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes are a great source of fiber. They also contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, beta carotene, and manganese. Sweet potatoes are great sliced and dehydrated as a chewy treat for your dog. They are known to help with your dog’s digestive issues (as is pumpkin- also listed). To read more on this story, click here:Human Food That is Safe (And Healthy) for Your Dogs!
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In a bizarre and instinctual survival tactic, alligators that normally lurk in a swamp in eastern North Carolina are now "frozen" beneath the murky water. Every inch of the reptiles’ bodies stay underwater — except for their snout. Officials at The Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach took to Facebook this week with a video that shows the gators icebound in the swamp with only their snouts protruding and a toothy grin sealed in place. “All our alligators in ice here,” George Howard, the manager at The Swamp Park, says in the video which had 12,000 views as of Thursday afternoon. “Eighteen American alligators are thinking ahead, as they poke their noses through the ice.” The gators use the tactic to survive when the water around them reaches freezing temperatures in the frigid winter months. To read more on this story, click here:Alligators 'Frozen' in North Carolina Swamp Exhibit Bizarre Survival Tactic
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Opportunities to see giant squid in open waters are extremely rare. Although these mammoth sea creatures live in all of the world’s oceans, they prefer to make their homes in deep waters, out of sight of divers. Akinobu Kimura lucked out in his chance encounter with a giant squid in the relatively shallow waters of Toyama Bay in Japan. Kimura says that his interest in the creature pushed aside any fear, despite the squid’s bursts of ink and its attempts to ensnare him in its enormous tentacles. Although the squid did not injure the diver, he said that the squid’s strong suckers caused him some pain. The video shows the stunning sea monster’s bright red and white coloring. While the 12-foot-long squid seems huge, it actually is a fairly small representative of its species; giant squid can grow to as long as 43 feet. Kimura helped it find its way back into the deeper ocean waters, but it remains unclear why or how the squid ended up in the bay. Kimura stated that it did not appear injured and may have been a juvenile that got lost. Sightings of live giant squid are so rare that the first photographs of them weren’t taken until 2004, and the first filming of a live giant squid swimming in the ocean didn’t occur until 2012, according to CNN. Divers spent nearly 300 hours searching for the elusive animals in the Pacific Ocean. The filming was a first step in learning more about the nature of one of the deep sea’s most mysterious creatures. He was even able to capture it on video.
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Australia has its fair share of oversized arachnids, but even down under, we’ve never seen a spider as fearsome as this. A video taken recently in the Amazon shows a tarantula likely 10 inches in diameter, making a meal out of a young opossum. The auspicious encounter was recorded by biologists working with the University of Michigan, studying rare predator-prey interactions in the lowland rainforests of the Andean foothills, Fox News reports. “This is an underappreciated source of mortality among vertebrates,” Daniel Rabosky, an evolutionary biologist at U of M who leads a team of researchers to the Amazon rainforest about once or twice a year, said in an online statement. “A surprising amount of death of small vertebrates in the Amazon is likely due to arthropods such as big spiders and centipedes.” To read more on this story, click here:Massive Tarantula Dragging Opossum To Its Doom Is Pure Nightmare Fuel
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