wild animals

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Leopards, Monkeys, Bear Found in Airport Bags

Anti-trafficking officials tracked Dubai-bound carrier to Thai hub

(Newser) - Thai officials today nabbed a Dubai-bound man who was hauling “a virtual zoo” of endangered creatures around the Bangkok airport. When they opened his bags, they found a yawning bunch of sedated newborns: two leopards, two panthers, two macaque monkeys, and an Asiatic black bear, the AP reports. Anti-trafficking...

Boars Invade Berlin
 Boars Invade Berlin 

Boars Invade Berlin

City hires a hunter to try to control population

(Newser) - Wild boars are increasingly intruding into Berlin, rummaging through garbage bins and destroying lawns and property, reports the BBC . Shooting boars is dangerous in cities, and the smart animals quickly learn to avoid traps. But now Berlin has hired a wild boar hunter to try to control the pests. "...

Utah Law Would OK Shooting Homeless Animals

Animal rights organizations outraged

(Newser) - Irritated by the proliferation of stray cats and dogs? Just move to Utah, where soon you’ll be able to take care of the problem … by shooting them. The Stir points to a new law being proposed by Rep. Curt Oda, a Republican who wants to legalize the killing...

Man Finds Snake Sitting on Toilet Seat
 Man Finds Snake 
 Sitting on Toilet Seat 
OH, CRAP!

Man Finds Snake Sitting on Toilet Seat

Terrifying but harmless visitor came up through the plumbing

(Newser) - A Bronx man couldn't use his toilet last night because the seat was already occupied—by a monster snake. The frightened man called the cops, saying, "There's a giant snake on my toilet." Animal handlers reported find that the reptile was a nonvenomous corn snake, albeit one of...

Drunk Baboons Ravage Suburbia

Marauders plague South Africa vineyards

(Newser) - The vineyards and houses of one of South Africa's poshest suburbs are under siege—by groups of marauding Cape Baboons, who feast on sauvignon blanc grapes fermenting in the sun and terrorize locals. One troop of baboons recently broke into a family home in the Cape Town suburb and traumatized...

Burglar Bear Suspected in 50 Break-Ins

'Bubba' so big, bullets bounce off his head

(Newser) - There’s a 700-pound unstoppable burglar on the loose in Nevada, and he is out for honey. Or maybe pie. The Nevada Department of Wildlife is on the hunt for “Bubba,” a gigantic, nearly legendary black bear who has broken into at least 50 homes and caused $70,...

Alligators Caught on Tape in Rare Feeding Frenzy

So Georgia man drove his boat through them

(Newser) - A Georgia man set out this month expecting a normal day of fishing. Instead, he encountered hundreds of writhing alligators in a canal in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in what biologists believe may be a strange feeding ritual. Ray Cason witnessed the gator gathering, which wildlife officials term a...

Calvin Klein's 'Obsession' Entrances Big Cats

Men's scent becomes secret weapon for zookeepers

(Newser) - Obsession for Men, Calvin Klein's musky scent for guys, may or may not work to lure the ladies, but it's a huge hit with tigers, leopards, and jaguars of both sexes. It's become the secret weapon of zoologists trying to entice big cats to linger, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Protecting Wildlife Will Be 'Mind-Boggling' Job
Oil Spill: Protecting Wildlife Will Be 'Mind-Boggling' Job
slick hits shore

Oil Spill: Protecting Wildlife Will Be 'Mind-Boggling' Job

As oil reaches land, scientists worry about marshes

(Newser) - Migrating birds, nesting pelicans, and river otter and mink living along Louisiana's fragile coastline are in the path of the oil oozing ashore after the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast. Louisiana's coastal islands and barrier marshes are home to hundreds of species. Protecting the ecosystem will be a...

Dogs, Whales Display Special Connection

Video, anecdotes support notion of interspecies bond

(Newser) - Do dogs and whales share a mysterious special bond? Yes, according to Discovery News writer Jennifer Viegas. For proof, she offers the YouTube clip above and some anecdotal evidence from Carrie Newell, who runs Whale Research EcoExcursions. Newell often brings her dog on her whale watching expeditions, and she reports...

Toads Can Predict Earthquakes
 Toads Can Predict Earthquakes 

Toads Can Predict Earthquakes

Pick up on pre-seismic cues days ahead of quake

(Newser) - Three days before a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck L'Aquila, Italy, last year, nearby toads left their breeding colony, not to return until several days after the quake. That's unusual enough behavior that the scientist studying the toads think the amphibians must have detected seismic activity—the first-ever evidence of animals...

Trainer Death Sparks New Call to Free Killer Whales

Captivity is cruel, and accidents are unavoidable, activists say

(Newser) - The death of a SeaWorld trainer is being met with the inevitable calls to free Willy, and end orca captivity once and for all. “These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations,” one tells the Christian Science Monitor . “We humans tend to think, ‘Well,...

Aussie 'Kangatarians' Jump at New Diet

Converted vegetarians love the taste of free-roaming kangaroos

(Newser) - Some Australian vegetarians have embraced the “ethical and environmental” acceptability of kangaroo meat and are now “kangatarians.” The name was “a bit of a joke initially,” an advocate tells the Telegraph , but the phenomenon is real. Kangaroos run wild, eat naturally, are killed humanely, and...

Scientists: Dolphins Are 'Non-Human Persons'

New research shows them to be smarter than chimps

(Newser) - Dolphins are not only the world's smartest animal after humans, they're so intelligent they deserve to be classed as "non-human persons." So say scientists who argue their research on dolphins' brains shows it is unethical to keep such animals captive in amusement parks or to kill them for...

Donkeys Run Wild in Cyprus
 Donkeys Run Wild in Cyprus 

Donkeys Run Wild in Cyprus

Dilemma raises long-lived political tensions

(Newser) - Wild donkeys are overrunning northern Cyprus, upsetting locals and pitting conservationists against politicians, the Independent reports. Decades after farming technology rendered them obsolete, the donkeys—now numbering about 1,000—are destroying crops and causing traffic accidents. "The donkeys are a real problem," said Mehmet Demirci, a...

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