Ham, the first chimpanzee astronaut

Ham, the first chimpanzee ever to ride into space is shown off by his animal trainer on January 31, 1961, at Cape Canaveral, Florida.Ham was brought from the French Camaroons, West Africa, where he was born July 1957, to Holloman Air Force Base in New...

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A Brief History of Animals in Space

Before humans actually went into space, one of the prevailing theories of the perils of space flight was that humans might not be able to survive long periods of weightlessness.American and Russian scientists utilized animals - mainly monkeys, chimps...

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Update: "Bird Poop Video"

In a previous post, we linked to the "Bird Poops in Mouth Video" which has to be one of the most hilarious things around.Emil Steiner, at Off/Beat, now cautions that the video might be [oh horrors!] a hoax!Who cares. It's still funny. Rig...

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Have you had lunch yet?

Witchetty grubsSilkworm pupaeScorpionsStink bugsDragonfliesMealwormsGrasshoppersTarantulasTermitesMopane caterpillarsPalm grubsCricketsHungry? Bugs you can eat(v...

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Holy cow! There's cows all over the place today

In Cincinnati, Ohio, searchers on the ground and in a sheriff's department helicopter Monday were looking for an Angus steer that postponed its date with a slaughterhouse by bolting out a gate that had been inadvertently left open.In Australia, police...

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Thanks, I'll keep the job I have

New Scientist magazine reports that working with manure can drastically reduce chances of developing lung cancer. Dairy farmers are five times less likely than the general populace to develop the disease.The study found farmers typically breathed in...

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Moles are so cute!

This is a Namib Desert Golden Mole, Eremitalpa granti namibensis.There are more cute mole photos here.Photo: G. Rathb...

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Flame Retardants Link to Tasmanian Devils Cancer

A study conducted by the Australian government's National Measurement Institute took samples of fat from 16 living and dead Tasmanian devils, some of which suffered from the fatal devil facial-tumor disease (DFTD).DFTD forms disfiguring tumors on the...

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Baby Panda in Vienna

The first baby panda to be born in Europe in a quarter of a century has made his first public appearance.Vienna Zoo's panda baby, Fu Long, has until now spent all his time with his over protective mother Yang Yang.The zoo hopes that Fu Long will make...

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Albert the Bull

Albert, the World's Largest Bull, has been guarding the peaceful streets of Audubon since 1964. He is 30 feet tall and 33 feet long, and has a 15-foot span between horns. He also has baby blue eyes and giant concrete gonads.He weighs 45 tons, and most...

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The Daily Mammal

Jennifer Rae Atkins, in her blog, the Daily Mammal, is attempting to draw [close to] every mammal on earth. Therefore: a mammal a day. Since there are about 5,000 named mammal species, give or take, it should take her about 14 years to meet this goal....

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Cats in Space

Why is it that the first we hear of the cat is when it appears in Egypt around 2,000 B.C. as the living embodiment of the goddess Bast? The dog was domesticated...comfortably ensconced as man's adoring servant, catching frisbees and letting his tongue...

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Art by Kent Rogowski - Bears

Kent Rogowki's Bears is a series of portraits of the most unusual sort: ordinary teddy bears that have been turned inside out and restuffed.These bears, which have lived and loved and lost as much as their owners, have suffered and endured through it...

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When Pigs Fly

I didn't know that flying pigs were so frequently seen.Paulus Tjiang Flying Pig7" x 7" Pink glass complete with wings, bug eyes and kissy lips.$275.00 at CBL Fine ArtIron Piggy Paper WeightCombination paperweight and non-verbal response of "Yeah, right!"$19.00...

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Video: River Dance Monkeys

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Video: Siamese Cat Talking. Siamese.

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Video: Bird Infestation, Oh, Yuck!

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Video: Squirrels in a Popcorn Popper?

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Video: Singing Parrot

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You can help Georgia dogs

Saving Georgia Dogs, Inc. is participating in a challenge being offered Six Degrees, partnered with the Case Foundation and Parade for America's Giving Challenge.The four charity badges that have the most unique donors will receive $50,000 for their...

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Where to put the cat

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Police Puppy Training Diary

Police in Scotland have set up a Web site to allow the public to meet their newest, and cutest, recruit as he learns how to sniff out criminals.He's a six-week-old German Shepherd puppy and he is so new to the Force he doesn't even have a name yet!One...

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It's a boy!

Three-week-old Jed was examined for the first time since he was born and staff at the Werribee Open Range Zoo were pleased to discover he is a boy. Jed is a vervet monkey.Source: Herald Sun(v...

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Photography by Anna Kuperberg

Anna Kuperberg photographs dogs. She made this blog, SlobberSpace, to entertain you and to help you procrastinate your boring office work. There is no useful information on this blog, no training advice, and no breed analysis. Just happy, goofy do...

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Pet Turtles Linked to Rise in Salmonella Infections

The sale of small turtles has been banned in the United States since 1975, but the number of these reptiles being purchased for children has been increasing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Small pet turtles were to blame...

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You think your favorite restaurant is too far to drive?

A leatherback sea turtle recently completed the longest recorded migration of any sea vertebrate: 12,774 miles across the Pacific Ocean.The giant reptile began the trek in Indonesia's warm tropical waters in the summer of 2003 and traveled 647 days just...

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Brandy, world's smallest dog

Source: Daily M...

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What kind of fuzzy worm is this?

Never mind, it's just a llama, laying down.(v...

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The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World

There are about 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 insects on earth at any given moment. Seriously, that's a real number. For every one of us, there are 1.5 billion bugs.But some of them are so horrifying, just one is too many. Cracked showcases five insects...

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Teach your kids

A good lesson for those of us trying to teach our children and grandchildren not to be afraid of dogs and to treat animals with respect, Terrierman points out that it is NOT always OK to pet a strange dog, or to leave small helpless children alone with...

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I think I'll stick to Godiva, thank you

Pink Tentacle has discovered a unique chocolate made to look like a beetle larva. They say this confection has captured the fancy of candy aficionados in Japan. Produced by the Komatsuya confectionery and bakery based in Akita prefecture, the bite-sized...

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Elephants are evolving smaller tusks

The average tusk size of African elephants has halved since the mid-19th century. A similar effect has been spotted in the Asian elephant population in India.Researchers say it is an example of Darwinism in action, caused by the mass slaughter of dominant...

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Oregon Rancher Crosses US on Horseback

An Oregon rancher who set off on a cross-country horseback ride seven months ago in search of what's good in America finished his trip feeling encouraged by the spirit and stories of the people he met.Bill Inman began his journey June 2 because he felt...

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Recent Doggie News

* Since 2001, Southwest Florida International has used a 9-year-old border collie named Radar to patrol the runways and chase away birds. Birds being sucked into aircraft engines is one of the most persistent safety problems at airports. Border collies...

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Deaths of Rare Crocodile in India Stir Alarm

Three decades after it was brought back from the brink of extinction, the rare Indian crocodile known as the gharial is turning up dead by the dozens on the banks of a river called the Chambal. Forest officials are at a loss to explain why.Since mid-December,...

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Video: Baby Polar Bear

This is so cute your teeth will hurt from watching it . ....

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The Art of Dead Mice

Jeanie M. (a.k.a. Mouse Girl) purchases dead "feeder" mice, skins them, stuffs them with cotton balls and adorns them in meticulous costumes. Her imagination and taxidermist skill transforms the macabre medium -- rodent carcasses -- into whimsical, beautiful...

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Carnivores released into wild 'fail and die'

Most carnivores bred in captivity and released back into the wild fail to cope and die, according to a study published online in the journal Biological Conservation.Researchers are calling for a complete rethink of such reintroductions before others...

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Big Horses

At 6ft 6ins and still growing, Digger the Clydesdale has become Britain's biggest horse, according to the Daily Mail.Best estimates put the strapping Clydesdale at 19 hands and two inches (6ft 6in) - on a par with Britain's biggest living horse.And at...

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Skimming the news

* A Montana man says he was lucky to find a mechanic without a snake phobia when his pet Burmese python hid under the dashboard of his car.* In Britain, six abandoned kittens have found an unexpected new mother figure - a pet rabb...

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Too important not to mention

This is NOT a pet or animal related post, but it's about a subject that is increasingly scaring and frustrating to me ...Autism - it's the fastest-growing developmental disability, with 1 in 150 births, now affecting 1 to 1.5 million Americans, and with...

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Italian mozzarella is threatened

The production of one of Italy's best known exports, mozzarella, is under threat from an infection spreading through herds of water buffalo.Mozzarella di bufala is not only an essential part of the Italian diet, but one of Italy's most important exports.The...

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Cat Tattoo

Why would someone do this?I can't figure it out.Is this an extreme cat lover? Or just an extremely offensive person?Photo found at Sling's Doma...

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Play a game - feed rescued pets

Provide food to abandoned (and often abused) dogs and cats just by playing the trivia game here.For every question you answer correctly, Experience Project donates the equivalent of 1 kibble of food to Rocket Dog Rescue & the Urban Cat Project, helping...

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Weirdest and most endangered creatures

Amphibians as a rule are not cute and cuddly which puts them way down the pecking order of species that need to be saved.But they are a key indicator species and if they start to decline it is a clear warning that the environment is in trouble. The Zoological...

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The Whale Hunt - A Story in 3214 Photos

From May 1 to May 7, Jonathan Harris took a photo every 5 minutes of an Inupiat Whale Hunt near Barrow Alaska.(v...

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Is your dog a little stinker?

Veterinarian formulated and recommended dietary supplement helps balance your pet's digestive system to reduce excessive gas. And, the great flavor means your dog will eat Doggie-Bites like a treat.$6.50 at Healthy Pet Company(v...

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Beef for Dinner, Bones for Surgery

Prather Ranch's dry-aged, organic New York steaks will set you back $20 per pound at its upscale stall in San Francisco's Ferry Building farmers market. But even at that price, foodies aren't the company's best market.The most valuable parts of its cows...

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Cat wine decanter

Sitting Cat wine caddy.Also available: dog, pig, reindeer and moose.$69.95 at Colorado Wine(v...

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Dallas to Dallas Ride for Wet Noses

Inspired by Randy Boudouris's ride to benefit Cystic Fibrosis, Bill Craig will set off in April of 2008 to bike from Dallas, Texas to Dallas, Georgia to raise awareness for the need to Spay, Neuter, and Adopt. This ride will also raise funds for various...

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Animals with Spectacles

At The On-Line Museum and Encyclopedia of Vision Aids.(v...

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Robo-pet pins

The industrial quality of this canine only adds to its charm. And haven't you always wanted a cat that doesn't shed?Slightly robotic and mechanical, but completely alluring, artist Thomas Mann has created atypical accessories that allow dog and cat lovers...

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Robots by Ann Smith

Ann Smith is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Illustration. She creates robot-like animal sculptures out of broken electronics and machines which are sold in stores and galleries throughout the United Stat...

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The art of war

In 1998, the Cambodian government destroyed 125,000 weapons across the country.The Peace Art Project Cambodia (PAPC) was created in November 2003 to get rid of the weapons in an artistic way.See pictures of weapons sculpture and furniture at funnyto...

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How Baboons Think

Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth, a husband-and-wife team of biologists at the University of Pennsylvania, have spent 14 years observing the Moremi baboons. Through ingenious playback experiments performed by themselves and colleagues, the researchers...

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