And the Winner Is...

The 137th Kentucky Derby has come and gone and the winner is Animal Kingdom.  The 20-1 long shot jockeyed by John Velazquez beat out favorites such as Nehro and Dialed In to be the first Kentucky Derby win for Velazquez.  Velazquez was scheduled to ride Uncle Mo but the horse was scratched because of a lingering stomach problem.  He took the reins of Animal Kingdom when the horses regular jockey, Robby Albarado was thrown from his horse and kicked in the face resulting in a broken nose three days prior to the running of the Derby.

The 2011 Kentucky Derby

It's that time of year again!  In a little over two days, the fastest, and greatest, as they say, two minutes in sports will begin and end for another year.  The celebrities have already turned out for the pre-Derby festivities and you can be certain that when Derby day arrives, they'll be out in full force.

Last year, the weather played a major role in the Derby.  Near flood conditions plagued the track but the horses and jockey's got out and gave it their all to give sports and Derby fans a wild race.  This year, race fans are hoping for a dry day and dry track.

Detroit, Michigan's Economic Woes Extend to the Canine World

The ever-increasing economic woes in the United States have everyone worried.  People are worried about losing their jobs, finding jobs if they already have, losing their homes and how they will pay their bills.  But, there are more victims of the economic downturn than just the people.

In many large cities across the United States, family pets have fallen victim to the financial crisis in the United States.  One of those cities is Detroit, Michigan.  Detroit is suffering through extreme economic hardships and it is thought there are as many as 50,000 to 100,000 stray and homeless dogs in Detroit.  For whatever reason, the animals are now living on the streets and in abandoned houses and buildings fending for themselves.  With just 23 Animal Control officers in Detroit, the dogs far outnumber those who bear the responsibility of catching them and helping them find new homes.

One woman, a producer who has worked with Discovery Channel, Monica Martino, and some of her friends and colleagues have focused on Detroit and have started an organization, Detroit Dog Rescue to help the stray dogs find the loving homes they deserve.  Monica Martino developed a story idea for a program focusing on Detroit's stray dog issues.  She proposed the idea to the city of Detroit but they passed on it, which came as a big surprise to her.  Ms. Martino would like to work with the city of Detroit and even try to extend the rescue efforts nationally to assist other cities such as Cleveland and Los Angeles with the growing problem of dogs displaced by the hard times facing the United States.

Below is video of an interview Ms. Martino gave to NBC's Today Show about the problem facing Detroit and her wishes for Detroit Dog Rescue.  Hopefully, Ms. Martino's efforts will succeed and the canine friends in the United States will get the help they so desperately need.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

New Sweeter, Faster Ripening Tangerine Discovered...By Baboons

Farm workers in South Africa had been noticing year after year that some of the tangerine trees on the farms were stripped of fruit before others.  This confusing situation wasn't explained until one farm worker saw baboons picking the fruit from the tree that ripened three to four weeks before all the other trees at the farm.  Tests were conducted on the tree and the fruit and those tests revealed the fruit is sweeter and ripened faster.  The owner of the farm, Alwyn van der Merwe, grafted more of the quicker ripening and sweeter trees which will help Van Der Merwe get into a profitable niche in the U.S. market because his trees can produce faster.

According to the head of South Africa's Citrus Growers Association, Justin Chadwick, experts are always looking for ways to ripen fruits earlier or later than they naturally would.  Alwyn van der Merwe feels his tree naturally mutated which Chadwick confirms does happen and should be something farmers should watch for.

Van Der Merwe still hasn't named his new tangerine and might just give the baboons who discovered them a nod when the name is chosen.  Even if he doesn't, he will be leaving a crate of tangerines for the baboons when the next harvest comes around.

Source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41058945/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Injured Turtle Gets A Brand New Set of Wheels

There isn't much to this story but I thought it was a truly amazing one.

Tzvika was run over by a lawn mower and suffered severe damage to her shell and a spinal injury which affected her ability to use her back legs.  Veterinarians at the Wildlife Hospital in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel attached two tiny wheels to Tzvika's shell to prevent it from being worn down as she moved and to help her to walk.

It's awesome that the veterinarians worked so hard to save her life and make it as good as it possibly can be.  I can imagine she really gets along at a pretty good clip now that she's got her a nice set of wheels!

To see pictures of Tzvika, you can check out this article.

An Unlikey Vocabulary Champion: Chaser the Border Collie

It isn't every day that you come across a dog that knows over 1,000 words.  Of course, it isn't every day that you get to meet Chaser the Border Collie.  Six-year-old Chaser currently holds the title for canine word comprehension.  She was trained at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the United States.  She knows the names of 1,022 objects and clearly understands the meanings of each word in her massive vocabulary.

Chaser's handlers say her extraordinary vocabulary skills come close to that of a 3-year-old child.  Her skills have made her famous around the globe.

I love this story and it really is proof positive that dogs aren't just "dumb animals" as some would like to believe. 



Source:  http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com News Article

140 LB. Newfoundland Dog Saves 95 Year-Old Neighbor

It's been a while since I've done one of my regular sort of posts as I've been focusing on a lot of television lately.  I haven't forgotten about the sort of posts I usually do and will be doing my best to get more of them back on the blog, especially once the holidays are over and I've got a bit more time on my hands.

Anyway, I've got an awesome story for you today.

Murphy, a 140 pound full-blooded Newfoundland dog is a true hero tonight after helping to save his 95 year-old neighbor.  The neighbor had apparently fallen in her garage and was in need of help.  Murphy knew something was wrong even though his owners did not.  He barked and caused a ruckus so that his owner, Stephanie Goese of Roseville, Minnesota took a look to see what was the matter.  Stephanie was able to get her neighbor indoors and make sure she was OK (Stephanie is a nurse).

News stories like this just have a way of making you smile, don't they?  And isn't Murphy the most adorable big guy you've ever seen?

You can watch a video of the news story courtesy of the MSNBC.com video player here:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Monarch Butterflies Medically Treat Their Offspring

New research has shown that monarch butterflies use medicinal plants, including species of milkweed plants, to treat offspring for diseases even before they hatch.  Some of the milkweed plants the monarch caterpillars feed on produce chardenolides within the systems of the insects.  These chemicals are harmless to the monarch's themselves but toxic to predators even once the monarch's become adults.  Parasites that can invade Monarch caterpillars can stay with the insects even into adulthood and can be passed from infected females to her offspring. 

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta conducted experiments with monarch caterpillars feeding some on milkweed.  Those exposed to the milkweed had fewer parasite infections and disease.  Researchers also conducted experiments with parasite-infected and uninfected females who had access to milkweed and tropical milkweed.  The infected females laid more eggs on the tropical milkweed (the medicinal plant) while uninfected females gave no preference.

Researchers next plan to work with a wider variety of milkweed and butterflies to expand their studies.

For more information on this fascinating way nature takes care of itself, you can read the MSNBC Technology and Science Article.

ASPCA-Sponsored Petition Regarding Horse Roundups

Yesterday, I posted about horse roundups being conducted by the United States government (Bureau of Land Management, BLM).  I was hoping to have a link to an online petition at the time I wrote the post but I didn't.  Well, I've got one now.

If you'd like to sign the ASPCA sponsored petition you can do so here:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/697/713/.

Horses vs. Helicopters: Roundup in the US West

In ten of the fifty United States there is a showdown going on.  It's between some 40,000 wild horses and the cowboys who are trying to round them up.  But this isn't the kind of showdown we've all read about or seen in movies depicting the Old West.  The cowboys aren't riding horses wrangling the animals to where they want them to go.  The cowboys doing this roundup are swooping down on the horses in helicopters in this high-tech showdown.  For the past month, the cowboys have been working in the states of California and Nevada and have caught over 1,200 wild horses. 

Just how do the roundups work?  Horses are spotted from helicopters then driven toward the trap site through a funnel shaped opening into a temporary corral.  Once in there, a "judas horse" is released to lead the wild horses into the trap where they must become accustomed to their new lives.  ("Judas horses" are animals specially trained to lead other horses into these traps.)  Sometimes the horses manage to outsmart the helicopters and can escape.  Most of the time, however, they do not.

Government-Endorsed Wolf Killings in the United States

Some twenty years ago, the Endangered Species Act began protecting gray wolves in the United states.  The animals had been poisoned to near extinction and the U.S. government took swift action to protect the animals.  The wolves began making a recovery.  Currently, at least 1,700 wolves inhabitat Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.  Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a population of more than 4,000 gray wolves.  Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and the New England states are seeing a rise in wolf populations as well.  Recent court actions have set the gray wolf as an endangered species in every state in America with the exception of Alaska and Minnesota.

That should be good news, right?  One would think.  The purpose of protecting an animal under the Endangered Species Act is to protect the animals on the list from being slaughtered.  However, the gray wolf is finding themselves in the sites again and the government is looking through the sites.

Government agencies are seeking authority to conduct "conservation" and "research" hunts, gas pups in their dens and surgically sterilize adult wolves.  Officials claim that the hunts and public wolf hunting is a necessity to prevent packs of wolves from forming and causing problems.  The most shocking of all the governments proposals is to bury wolf pups in their dens and poison them with carbon monoxide gas.  They say this method would be used only when the rest of the pack has already been killed.  Idaho has proposed one method of controlling wolves by surgically sterilizing them then tagging the wolves to monitor them.

Hunts have already been held in Idaho and Montana in 2009.  A court ruling in August of this year nixed plans for a hunt for this year.  The usual method of controlling problem wolves is shooting them from the air or ground.

Democratic Senator Max Bacus from Montana wants ranchers in his state to have the freedom to shoot and kill wolves harassing their livestock.  Montana and Idaho want to re-instate wolf hunting seasons giving them more politically correct and less-barbaric sounding names such as "conservation hunting" or "researching hunting". 

The Center for Biological Diversity is none too happy about the plans to kill the wolves.  They feel that recent court rulings underscore the importance of protecting the wolves.

You can read much more about this situation here.  For more information on the Center for Biological Diversity, including any current actions they have may have underway to help protect the wolves, you can visit their website:  Center for Biological Diversity.

Ford Workers Find Surprise in Auto-Parts Crate

On July 29, 2010, workers at the Van Dye Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, North Carolina were surprised to see a small animal scuttle across the loading dock.  They called the Sterling Heights Animal Control officers to catch the animal which turned out to be a foot long blue and gray Yucatan spiny-tailed iguana. 

Not very remarkable you might think?  But it was.  Turns out, the Yucatan spiny-tailed iguana is found in one place and one place only:  the Yucatan Peninsula.

So how did the little guy make it all the way to North Carolina?  He stowed away in a shipment of auto parts made in Mexico and managed to survive the journey all the way to the Sterling Heights plant. 

The Yucatan spiny-tailed iguana is one of the smallest species of iguana.  This little guy, who now has a permanent home at the Detroit Zoo, has a five inch body and a 7 inch tail.  He was put into quarantine upon his arrival at the zoo to make sure he doesn't have any illnesses that could be transmitted to other zoo animals.  (His time in quarantine should be just about up.)

Once he is in his permanent home, he will be living with a female black iguana.  But there won't be any sparks between the two since they are of two different species and the female is two to three times larger than the male.

To see a couple of awesome photos of the rare Yucatan spiny-tailed iguana check out this article in the Asheville, North Carolina Citizen-Times.

Furry, Four-Legged Heroes to the Rescue!

Dogs can be trained to do any number of things.  Sit, roll over, lay down, speak and fetch.  They can also be trained to do more serious activities that enrich a humans daily life such as assisting the blind and even locating tumors in the human body.  Dogs can also be trained to jump from helicopters and speeding boats to rescue swimmers in distress.

In Italy, 300 specially trained Newfoundland dogs, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers (among other breeds) form the corps of canine lifeguards that help stranded swimmers each summer.

The dogs are equipped with harnesses, tow buoys for swimmers to grab or rafts for swimmers to sit on to be towed back to shore.  The Italian Coast Guard and their big furry friends rescue around 3,000 people each summer.

The Italian School of Canine Lifeguards outside of Rome in Civitavecchia trains the dogs for the Italian Coast Guard and the criteria for a rescue dog is tough.  While any breed will be trained, the school prefers Labrador Retrievers, Newfoundlands and Golden Retrievers because of their natural swimming abilities and instincts.  All dogs must weigh at least 33 kilograms (66 pounds) and works with a human lifeguard who serves in the capacity as the trainer.  The animals train for three years to reach expert rescue status.  The school has been training expert lifeguard canines for more than twenty years.  Its very first trainee was the Newfoundland dog belonging to the founder, Ferruccio Pilenga.

I loved this story and I loved the pictures even more.  The best picture I've seen in a very long time is the boat full of Newfoundland dogs.  I positively adore Newfoundlands and seeing an entire boat full of them is awesome!  The photo of the Newfoundland jumping from the helicopter amazed me.  They are truly remarkable dogs and kudos to Italy for allowing these dogs to use their natural skills the same way the monks of St. Bernard at one time allowed the gorgeous St. Bernard dogs to use their natural skills in the Swiss Alps rescuing stranded skiers. 

For more information and to see some amazing pictures (they are a must see!) of these awesome dogs, visit these articles:
MSNBC Health & Pet Health Article (article & Photos)
Times Union (photos with description only)

"Bearded" Antelope Photographed in Kenya

Paolo Torchio is a wildlife photographer who has lived and worked in Kenya for twenty years.  He's seen just about everything known to man when it comes to wildlife.  Or has he?

A few weeks ago while doing some photography on the Masai Mara National Reserve Torchio saw something unusual.  There was a fuzzy face looking up out of the tall grasses.  At first he thought he was seeing a dog.  When the animal stepped out of the grass he was astonished to see it wasn't a dog but an animal with the markings of a Thomson's gazelle. 

Torchio spent fifteen minutes watching and photographing the unusual animal before it dashed away.  After searching for five days to try and find the gazelle again he couldn't.

Experts are baffled by the photographs.  From all appearances, it is most definitely a gazelle but no animal experts know of a hairy Thomson's gazelle or antelope.  There have been suggestions that the animal could be suffering from illnesses such as hypertrichosis or Cushing's disease.

You will most certainly smile when you see the photos.  Regardless of what has caused this little gazelle to look the way she does, she's very adorable.

For more information and to see a couple of photographs of this remarkable animal, you can check out this article.

Albino Humpback Whale Caught on Film Near Australia

This one definitely needs to be filed in the "stunningly beautiful" category.

A completely white humpback whale has been professionally filmed traveling south about 2 km (approximately 1.2-1.3 miles) from Green Island off the coast of Australia.  This was the first time the whale, named Migaloo, was filmed professionally.  Migaloo was filmed in Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef.

Pilot Chris Rose and cinematographer David Farmer obtained the footage of Migaloo.  The BBC is reportedly making a documentary about Migaloo and the footage will be used for that.

For more information and to see a gorgeous photo of Migaloo (you must see this picture!!), you can read this article.

Smuggled Tortoises and Frogs Seized in Malaysia

In mid, July, two Malagasy women were arrested after attempting to smuggle almost 400 rare Madagascar tortoises and more than 40 tomato frogs in their luggage through the Kuala Lumpur airport.  This is the second time smuggled animals have been discovered by officials in just a month.  The Radiated and Ploughshare tortoises and frogs were destined for pet shops or to be used as food.

The Radiated and Ploughshare tortoises recently discovered in Kuala Lumpur are extremely rare.  The trade of exotic animals is highly illegal and highly profitable, thus, it is thriving.  Madagascar is a prime source of profitable fare as the animals and plants on the island are, for the most part, unique only to Madagascar. 

For more information you can read an article from BBC News.

Gulf Oil Spill Threatened Sea Turtle Hatchlings Getting a New Chance at Life?

Scientists released hundreds of Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings onto a beach at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas on Monday, July 26, 2010.  The tiny, days-old turtles headed into the Gulf of Mexico in an area 400 miles from the oil spill.  The little guys have got a lot of danger ahead of them that, sadly, a good many will not survive.  Not only must they contend with the threats in nature, they must also deal with the dangers presented by the oil spill.

Loggerhead turtles from Florida were moved to safer eastern Florida waters but the Kemp's ridley turtles were released into the coasts of Texas and Mexico as originally planned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.  Since June, between seven and eight thousand Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings have been released.  Biologists are hoping that by time the Kemp's make their way to the spill zone, the mess will have been cleaned up.

Releasing the baby turtles was a move made not without some controversy.  The biologists believe that keeping the turtles in captivity until the oil is cleaned up would cause them greater harm than good.  Some fear that releasing the fragile and highly endangered turtles into the tainted waters will deal them a major setback.

Kemp's ridley sea turtles are the smallest living sea turtle species.  Fully mature, they reach lengths of only 2-3 feet and weight around 100 pounds.  They have been on the endangered list since 1973.  By 1985 their numbers had dwindled to a dangerously low 7,702.  Since the oil spill, 638 sea turtles have been found dead.  A staggering 524 of those turtles were Kemp's ridleys.

For more information on the Kemp's ridley sea turtles, and other sea turtles being cared for by conservationists, you can read these articles:
Oily Future for Sea Turtle Hatchlings?
Despite Oil, Baby Turtles Being Released to Gulf

Rare Otter Sighted in Malaysia

A photograph taken in Malaysia's Sabah state in the latter part of 2008 has given scientists a glimmer of hope.  The photograph was of a hairy-nosed otter.  The animal is often thought to be the rarest otter in Asia because it has been hunted for meat and its fur and due to development of its habitat.

The otter was photographed by a remote-controlled camera being used by researchers in a forest reserve.  After studying the photograph for two years the researchers are hopeful they truly do have an image of a hairy-nosed otter.  The otter, once believed to be extinct, has been sighted in Vietnam and Cambodia. 

It has been more than 100 years since this species of otter has been seen in Malaysia.

Hopefully, the sightings and the photograph means this cute little guy truly is still alive and kicking and will be for a long time!

For more information and to see a photo of the otter, you can read this article.

A Whale of a Story

When Cape Town Sailing Academy Administrator Paolma Werner and her sailing instructor boyfriend, Ralph Mothes set out for a sail this past Sunday they thought it would be another enjoyable and relaxing excursion.  That is, until a 40-ton Southern Right Whale crashed into their 10-meter yacht, The Intrepid. 

Werner and Mothes had been watching the whale for about a half hour when it moved to about 100 to 200 meters from the boat then disappeared under water.  Next thing they knew, the whale was out of the water and crash against the mast of the boat.  While the whale received minor injuries, the mast of the steel boat was destroyed and there was some structural damage.  However, the damage wasn't severe enough to sink the boat or cause it to leak.  The couple were able to get safely back to shore.

You can find out more information and see a series of 6 photographs taken by an individual on a nearby boat by visiting this article at MSNBC.com.  To scroll through the photos, click "Next" on the left side of the page.

Some who have seen the photos and read the article believe this is just a really good fish story helped along by a bit of creative Photoshop work.  What do you think?

Possible Cause of Arthritis in Moose: Malnutrition

It's a condition we generally associate with old age and the wear and tear of life on the joints.  Researchers have found a possible new cause for arthritis thanks to studies of animal health.  Rather than observing rats and mice, researchers turned their attention to larger subjects:  wild moose. 

For the past 50 years an ongoing study has revealed that moose suffer from a form of arthritis that is nearly identical to that humans suffer from, osteoarthritis.  The results of the half-century study has shown that malnutrition early in the life of the moose played a role in the development of arthritis in the animals. 

On Isle Royale, in Lake Superior and Michigan, the study began in 1958.  Since then, the skeletal remains of over 4,000 moose killed by harsh winters or wolves have been studied by three generations of scientists.  As the moose population increased and food became scarce, cases of osteoarthritis in the moose increased as well.  When the population fell and food became more plentiful, cases of arthritis lowered.

Researchers are hoping that the studies they've done with the moose will aid in research of osteoarthritis in humans. 

For more information you can read this article.