Pet Scoop: Bob Barker Pays $1 Million to Move Elephants, Military Dog Monument Set to Open
Published on October 24, 2013
Oct. 24, 2013: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.
Elephants Move to California
Come on down! Three African elephants left the Toronto Zoo and arrived at a sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif., late Sunday, thanks to former The Price Is Right game show host Bob Barker. The 89-year-old animal activist footed the $1 million bill for moving Iringa, Thika and Toka in a four-day road trip using special trailers. Barker, who doesn’t believe elephants belong at most zoos, worked with a team to get an agreement from the city of Toronto two years ago to move the elephants. "I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat,” said Barker of the pachyderms’ arrival at the Performing Animal Welfare Society's ARK 2000 compound. “It's hard to believe they are finally here." The three will join eight other elephants at the 2,000-acre sanctuary. — Read it from AP via the Christian Science Monitor
First Crustaean Confirmed as Venomous
A tiny, cave-dwelling, blind sea creature called the S. tulumensis kills small fish by using a venom that paralyzes its prey and enzymes that quickly break down its flesh so it can be eaten. Until now, scientists didn’t think there were any venomous crustaceans. “Our molecular study revealed a surprisingly highly adapted venom with a complex composition and a highly developed delivery apparatus,” said biologist Björn von Reumont of the Natural History Museum in London. The study was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. — Read it at National Geographic
Military Dog Memorial to Be Dedicated
A monument honoring dogs who have served in the U.S. military will open on Monday at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The base has been home to the Military Work Dogs program since 1958. The $2 million project was lead by John Burnam, 66, who was a dog handler when he served in Vietnam, where many of the dogs who served were left behind. “I was determined to get the dogs, of all wars, recognized at the highest level of our nation's government and then build them a magnificent national monument to ensure they would never be forgotten again," Burnam said. The monument features a military dog handler surrounded by four dogs representing the breeds most often used in the military: a Doberman Pinscher, a German Shepherd, a Labrador Retriever and a Belgian Malinois. — Read it at Paw Nation
Puppies Predict World Series
The Puppy Predictors returned to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday to make their call for the World Series. The four fluffy Golden Retriever pups voted with their tummies — the team with the food bowl that was the first to attract two puppies was deemed the winner. The adorable puppies went for the Boston Red Sox. So far, it looks like they could be right. The Sox routed the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 in the first game of the Series last night. — Watch it at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Vultures Make Themselves at Home
Flocks of turkey vultures have taken over the home of Karen Mathews in the suburban neighborhood of Fort Washington, Md. "We don't need an alarm clock cause they wake you up every morning at 5:30, 6 o'clock in the morning," Mathews said, "and it sounds like people fighting in the attic." The protected migratory birds have torn up Mathews’ deck furniture and forced the family inside their home. "We have a cookout, and you'll see them coming in like an airplane," she said. The Mathews have tried using noise and water to scare the birds off, at the suggestion of wildlife officials, but they seem to be enjoying their residence too much to move on. — Watch it at NBC Washington
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