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Pets/Animals (General/Chat)

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  • Freakishly Huge Lizard Shows Up at Family's Front Door, Tries to Turn the Knob

    06/21/2016 1:06:47 PM PDT · by Lorianne · 7 replies
    Yahoo ^ | 17 June 2016 | Johanna Li
    Knock knock! It seems this freakishly enormous lizard in Thailand has our doorbell-ringing alligator neighbor beat. Read: 9-Foot Alligator Knocks On Woman's Door in The Middle of The Night A family in Nonthaburi, Thailand, came home one afternoon to find what appears to be a giant monitor lizard, standing on its hindlegs and appearing to reach for the knob on their front door.
  • Cochise women clinch 8th overall at national finals

    06/21/2016 8:02:15 AM PDT · by SandRat · 3 replies
    Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Steve Stockmar
    In what was their strongest event heading into the national finals, the Cochise College women’s rodeo team placed two cowgirls among the nation’s Top 10 Saturday night, helping the team to a Top 10 finish overall. At the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo., Apaches sophomore Georgia Diez placed third overall in goat tying, followed by her teammate, Makayla Boots, in seventh in the same event. Cochise had too much firepower in goat tying to not make a strong statement, Apaches head coach Rick Smith said Monday.
  • Why are there so many black bears sightings in Upstate NY lately?

    06/19/2016 10:05:57 PM PDT · by george76 · 56 replies
    Syracuse ^ | June 14, 2016 | David Figura
    Black bears here, black bears there – black bears everywhere. It does seem that way recently as reports of bears roaming Upstate New York appear to be on the rise. ... this time last year, the DEC's Cortland office received about 10 bear-related calls. This year, there has been 32. We've reached a point where all of (Upstate New York) is bear habitat.
  • Human flesh found inside bear after fatal attacks in Japan

    06/19/2016 9:26:15 PM PDT · by george76 · 15 replies
    ITV Report ^ | 14 June 2016
    Human flesh and hair have been found inside the stomach of a bear thought to have killed at least one person in Japan. Locals have been warned to stay away from the mountainous Akita region after the body of a badly mauled woman was found last week. Last month three men in their sixties and seventies also died in apparent attacks while harvesting bamboo in a mountain forest. Bear attacks on humans in the region are not unusual - but fatal ones are. Local vet Takeshi Komatsu said it was possible the bear may have "got a taste for human...
  • Dog swallows Gorilla Glue; vet extracts perfect mold of stomach

    06/19/2016 2:37:56 AM PDT · by Daffynition · 49 replies
    KFOR/CNN via WTNH ^ | June 15, 2016, | staff reporter
    (CNN)–Lake, a 6-month-old Weimaraner, found herself in a sticky situation. She’d plucked a half-empty bottle of Gorilla Glue from the trash and gave it a little taste. The events that followed were a bit unexpected. “I didn’t think anything of it,” said Oklahoma City resident, and Lake’s person, Krystal Wilson. “Until that night when she started vomiting.”
  • Mother saves son from mauling by mountain lion in Colorado

    06/18/2016 7:28:12 AM PDT · by DUMBGRUNT · 56 replies
    yahoo ^ | 18 June 2016 | Brendan O'Brien
    The woman "was able to physically remove her son from the mountain lion" and the boy's father called 911 as he drove his son to hospital, the sheriff added. A hospital spokeswoman said the child sustained injuries to his face, head and neck and was in fair condition. His mother was treated for injuries to her hands and legs and released.
  • Intense Standoff Between Officers, Pony Comes to a Peaceful End Along I-40

    06/17/2016 2:46:17 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 8 replies
    KFOR ^ | JUNE 17, 2016 | K. QUERRY
    Crews were in an intense standoff with a suspect in Yukon on Friday afternoon. Shortly before 4 p.m. on Friday, police officers and some ranchers were attempting to wrangle a pony. It was a dangerous situation since the pony was trapped in the green space along I-40 and Czech Hall Rd., near Yukon. Troopers shut down the outside lane of I-40 as crews shot the pony with a tranquilizer dart. Fortunately, they were able to corral the little guy and get him in a trailer. Drivers in the area are encouraged to use extreme caution.
  • 10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Cat Owner

    06/17/2016 6:55:03 AM PDT · by C19fan · 35 replies
    Mental Floss ^ | June 15, 2016 | Kathy Benjamin and Austin Thompson
    Studies have shown that just watching cat videos on the internet can boost a person's energy and create positive emotions—so it's no surprise that actual cat ownership has a number of benefits. Here are a few.
  • I Was Attacked by an Alligator at Disney World

    06/16/2016 12:43:50 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 96 replies
    Lane Graves was not the first youngster to be attacked by an alligator at Disney World. In 1986, 8-year-old Paul Santamaria was bit on the leg by a 7-foot-4 inch long female, which had been lurking in the shallows of a pond that was also located at one of the park’s famous resorts — and his parents later sued, charging the “Happiest Place on Earth” with negligence. In the suit, they claimed that Disney had failed to warn visitors about the gator,
  • Cats Would Like You to Know They Are Open to Training

    06/16/2016 11:16:31 AM PDT · by Slings and Arrows · 31 replies
    Scientific American ^ | 6/15/16 | Julie Hecht
    In anticipation, I’d already positioned a tall, sturdy scratching post in a prominent location next to where the couch would go, and Josh had already used it. Now, I walked over to the scratching post and tapped and lightly scratched the top of it. Josh responded by prancing over, tail up and giving the post a full-extension, deep, hard, scratch, really getting his nails in there. When he was done, I plopped down a big wad of his favorite wet food. Oh look! Scratching the post (not the couch) not only feels good, but it also results in what you...
  • Florida has a gator problem as I’ve seen with my own kids’ near misses

    06/16/2016 10:18:58 AM PDT · by C19fan · 114 replies
    Washington Post ^ | June 16, 2016 | Darlena Cunha
    Florida has a gator problem. The animals live and walk among us, close to us. They live in our lakes and reservoirs and swamps, and we set up our businesses and parks around them, as if nothing will ever happen.
  • Thai man almost loses home to monster monitor lizard

    06/16/2016 3:38:49 AM PDT · by C19fan · 17 replies
    Yahoo ^ | June 16, 2016 | Alicia Tan
    What do you do when you witness your house being broken into by a freakishly huge monitor lizard? Record the whole incident down of course. Attanai Thaiyuanwong was in for a rude surprise on Sunday when he arrived back at his home in Nonthaburi, Thailand, to find an unwelcome visitor trying to get into his house. The intruder was a giant monitor lizard, that looked as tall as an adult human, was standing upright on its hind legs with its mouth around the door knob.
  • CAT CAFÉS ARE OUT, CAT BARS ARE IN

    06/16/2016 12:03:23 AM PDT · by nickcarraway · 19 replies
    Food and Wine ^ | JUN 13 2016 | MIKE POMRANZ
    Over the past few years, the emergence of the cat café trend has proven that kitties and caffeine can mix. But what about crossing felines with fine wines? A planned bar in Denver is hoping to find out. Sana Hamelin recently launched a Kickstarter for the Denver Cat Bar, which she’s billing as “America’s first cat bar!” (exclamation hers). Hamelin isn’t new to crossing cats and beverages: 18 months ago she opened the Denver Cat Company, Denver’s first cat café. With her latest project, she’s hoping to “next level” the cat café concept by creating another location with an atmosphere...
  • Police K-9 Dies After Being Left in Hot Patrol Car

    06/15/2016 9:04:56 AM PDT · by nickcarraway · 32 replies
    KFOR ^ | JUNE 15, 2016
    A police K-9 died after its handler left the dog in the back of a patrol car for nearly three hours. The Cherokee County Marshal’s Office and the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office were called out to the home of Cherokee County School Police Lt. Daniel Peabody on Friday after getting a call that the police dog had died, WSB-TV reports. Peabody arrived home around 4:15 p.m. and left the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Inka in the back of the car, with the engine turned off, while he dealt with another dog inside his home. “He gets out, turns the car off,...
  • Cats seem to grasp the laws of physics

    06/14/2016 2:05:53 PM PDT · by BenLurkin · 56 replies
    phys.org ^ | 06/14/2016
    Previous work conducted by the Japanese team established that cats predict the presence of invisible objects based on what they hear. In the present study, the researchers wanted to find out if cats use a causal rule to infer if a container holds an object, based on whether it is shaken along with a sound or not. The team also wanted to establish if cats expect an object to fall out or not, once the container is turned over. Thirty domestic cats were videotaped while an experimenter shook a container. In some cases this action went along with a rattling...
  • VIDEO: Police Officer Praised After Two Vicious Dogs Charged — and He Did This

    06/13/2016 10:06:56 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 27 replies
    A police officer is being praised for keeping his gun holstered after two vicious dogs roaming an Idaho neighborhood charged him. Body camera footage shows Meridian police officer David Gomez standing his ground as the canines, one foaming at the mouth, run directly at him. Gomez can be heard warning bystanders as he readies his nonlethal tools — a baton and pepper spray. Not only does he prevent an attack, but he manages to usher the snarling animals into a patrol car without incident. The owner was later cited for having vicious dogs at large. Bloody cellphone videos of officers...
  • Oklahoma Dog Undergoes Emergency Surgery After Swallowing Gorilla Glue

    06/13/2016 9:46:56 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 13 replies
    KFOR ^ | JUNE 13, 2016 | ASHLEY KRINGEN
    One Oklahoma dog underwent emergency surgery after she swallowed Gorilla Glue. Krystal Wilson is thankful her 6-month-old Weimaraner, Lake, is safe after a very close call. Wilson said a family member brought over some Gorilla Glue for a house project last Thursday and left it out, in the dog's reach. Gorilla glue Gorilla glue The curious puppy found the glue and ate some of it. Wilson said she noticed something was obviously wrong with her dog. "Just a small amount had just swollen up to the size of a turkey leg. It was huge, pretty much took the size of...
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg moniker graces new praying mantis species

    06/01/2016 6:03:47 PM PDT · by ameribbean expat · 22 replies
    CNN ^ | 06.01.2016
    Washington (CNN)Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at age 83, has a new life accomplishment: namesake of a praying mantis species.
  • So Young and Already a Mama? (15 Year Old German Girls Conditioned to Breed with Muslim Horde)

    06/13/2016 7:40:31 AM PDT · by ghosthost · 31 replies
    Kre ^ | 6-3-2016 | Frank Jaursch
    Eight Syker Real pupils yesterday experienced how it is to be a mother of an infant. Through Monday, they had to take care of the baby simulators - changing diapers and feeding included. Suspiciously an elderly man looks at the girl who just wants to board the bus. She carries a small bundle in her arms. So young and already a mama?” He asked me how I could be [a mother] because of my age.” Zoé describes their encounter the previous day. The 15-year-old let the stranger know immediately. “This is not a baby in her arms, but just a...
  • Teacher abused by students wins $125k settlement ("White B---!" Pelted With Rocks)

    06/13/2016 7:16:14 AM PDT · by ghosthost · 26 replies
    New York Post ^ | 6-12-2016 | Susan Edelman
    “These kids knew they could beat on me all they wanted, and the administration would tacitly encourage it by not doing anything about it,” Perez said. “In no other workplace would I be expected to take this as part of my day.” MS 72 struggles with discipline problems and low student achievement. In school surveys, kids have complained of bullying. Perez says several kids taunted and threatened her as they spewed X-rated profanity. They called her “white bitch,” pelted her with pencils, and tossed rocks as she walked to her car, warning that she would “get shot” and “get my...