About Pets: 2009

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Bird Foot Jewelry

Jewelry cast from birds' feet. Chickens and partridges: belts and pend

Lightweight Gingham "Country Boy" flexible PuppyPurse Pet Carrier

Swing your partner, do-si-dog! This lovely, lightweight gingham PuppyPurse puts the "country" back in the puppy. An added layer of ruffles will keep heads turning till the cows come home! So, git along, little doggies!

Unlike other carriers, PuppyPurse has flexibility all figured out. With its easily adjustable swivel straps PuppyPurse is designed to let you find the most comfortable way to carry your pup. This unique carrier allows you to interact with your pet in his or her carrier the way other carriers can't. Not only that, it is particularly suited to small breed dogs who crave the attention and work so well with this flexible design.

Easter Eggs Dog Sweater

Your Poochy will be the Best in Show this Easter wearing this confection. Hand-knitted yellow sweater with green fluffy fringe. Pastel Easter Eggs are separately hand-crocheted, then beaded with small pearl beads. An amazing work of art, sure to please!

Moths Mimic Spiders

Brenthia hexaselena, a species of metalmark moth, flares its hind wings (HW) and spreads its forewings (FW) to mimic a jumping spider.

For most moths, the sight of a jumping spider makes them panic as they try to escape its lethal pounce. But not so for metalmark moths in the genus Brenthia. These moths stand their ground with hind wings flared and forewings held above the body at a slight angle.

These moths are relying on mimicry to save their lives.

In that pose, the moth looks like a jumping spider
Photo Credit ----> http://www.flickr.com/photos/grrlscientist

The killer frogs of Lily Pond

It's like something out of an animal horror movie -- killer frogs take over peaceful pond, then after terrorizing and eating everything alive, start eating each other.

Only it's no movie. It's really happening in Golden Gate Park's Lily Pond, near the California Academy of Sciences. And after watching the frogs chew through everything in sight over the past several years, the city finally wants to do something about it.

No one knows for sure when the African clawed frogs got into the pond or who put them there. But there they are, and the Toad Warriors have pretty much taken care of the native turtles, frogs and fish.

"They've eaten everything they can get their mouths around, and now they're eating each other," said Eric Mills of the animal rights group Action for Animals.

Mills worries that the fiendish amphibians -- which grow to 5 inches in length and have claws on the toes of their oversize hind feet -- may jump the pond and spread their reign of terror across other Bay Area waterways, although so far, none has popped up elsewhere.

"The fear is they will get out,'' said Richard Schulke, president of the city's Animal Control and Welfare Commission.

Xylitol sweetener is toxic for dogs

A sugar substitute found in a variety of sugar-free and dietetic cookies, mints and chewing gum is proving highly toxic, even fatal, to snack-snatching dogs.

Xylitol, popular in Europe for decades but a relative newcomer to the U.S. alternative-sweeteners market, can be "very, very serious" to dogs when ingested, says Dana Farbman, spokeswoman for the Animal Poison Control Center of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"It doesn't take a whole lot (of xylitol), and the effects are so rapid that the window of opportunity to treat the dog is extremely small," Farbman says.

The ASPCA sent an advisory to veterinarians last August warning them about the potential for serious harm or death. Veterinarians have used a variety of means to get the word out, including posting signs in their offices and making copies of the bulletin for clients to augment the caution the ASPCA has posted on its website.

Iditarod musher disqualified for whipping his dogs

A three member panel disqualified Ramy Brooks from the 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for abusing his dogs along the race trail.

Witnesses in Golovin provided information to race officials detailing abusive actions by Brooks to his dog team. Brooks acknowledged "spanking" the dogs in his team with trail marking lathe. The judges voted unanimously to disqualify Brooks from the 2007 Iditarod.

Symptoms To Look Out For In Pets Following Food Recall

There is still plenty of concern for pet owners following the dog and cat food recall by Menu Foods.

The company says a number of cats and dogs have suffered kidney failure after eating its products. And about ten of them have died. So, how do you know if your pet is sick? Pitt County veterinarian Dennis Johnson says dogs or cats that have eaten the tainted food will show symptoms like tiredness, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea.

For more information on product codes, descriptions and production dates,GO here. --> http://www.menufoods.com/recall

Ancient lizard glided on stretched skin

An ancient arboreal lizard coasted through the air using a winglike membrane stretched across elongated ribs, a new fossil reveals.

Dubbed Xianglong zhaoi, the gliding lizard lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 150 million years ago. The specimen, detailed Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is about 6 inches (15.5 centimeters) long, and its immature features suggest it died at a young age.

The fossil, described by Xing Xu of Shenyang Normal University in China and his colleagues, was discovered in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, a site that has yielded a treasure trove of feathered dinosaurs and early bird remains in recent years.

What's in a Can of Dog Food?

A pet-food manufacturer recalled 60 million units over the weekend after at least nine cats and a dog died of kidney failure. No one has identified the source of the contamination, but the company said the recalled products included a suspect batch of wheat gluten.

What else goes into pet food?

Thanks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—which oversees the pet-food industry with the advice of the Association of American Feed Control Officials—the list of ingredients on a tin of dog chow gives you a general sense of what's inside. But pet-food companies manipulate the order of the list such that meat (and meat byproducts) appear first, even when other ingredients are used in larger quantities.

Nuthatches Seem to Understand Chickadee

Nuthatches appear to have learned to understand a foreign language _ chickadee.

It's not unusual for one animal to react to the alarm call of another, but nuthatches seem to go beyond that _ interpreting the type of alarm and what sort of predator poses a threat. When a chickadee sees a predator, it issues warning call _ a soft "seet" for a flying hawk, owl or falcon, or a loud "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" for a perched predator.

The "chick-a-dee" call can have 10 to 15 "dees" at the end and varies in sound to encode information on the type of predator. It also calls in other small birds to mob the predator, Christopher Templeton of the University of Washington said in a telephone interview.

"In this case the nuthatch is able to discriminate the information in this call," said Templeton, a doctoral candidate.

The findings by Templeton and Erick Green, an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Montana, are reported in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Why Ants Rule the World

Scientists estimate modern-day ants first evolved about 120 million years ago. But the fossil record suggests that ants at this time weren't the prevalent insect that they are today. Not until 60 million years later, when some ants adapted to the new world of flowering plants and diversified their diets, did the critters achieve ecological dominance.

Since then they've had a successful run of the planet.

Scientists estimate that about 20,000 ant species crawl the Earth. Taxonomists have classified more than 11,000 species, which account for at least one-third of all insect biomass. The combined heft of ants in the Brazilian Amazon is about four times greater than the combined mass of all of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, according to one survey.

Art by YaYa Chou

"Gummibear Rug"
"Simon," 2006, 7"X32"X30", gummi bears, faux nailtops on wire armature and canvas

American croc no longer listed as endangered

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declassified the American crocodile as an endangered species, saying the animal has rebounded from the edge of extinction. The species has rebounded in the United States from just 300 in 1976 to an estimated 2,000 today.

The reptile remains protected under the federal Endangered Species Act even though it was downgraded to a "threatened" species, making it illegal to harass, poach or kill the reptiles.

"It's just one step closer to recovery, but it still has many, many threats," Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Tom MacKenzie said in announcing the move Tuesday. "It's still protected with the full force of federal law."

Hundreds Line Up For Mountain Oysters

They're called oysters, but these fried delicacies don't come from the sea.

Hundreds of people stood on line for up to an hour for a chance to taste mountain oysters over the weekend.

About 130 of the sheep testicles were served at the 16th annual Mountain Oyster Fry in the old mining town of Virginia City.

They weren't just fried, either. The mountain oysters were barbecued, stuffed and even served in tacos.

White lion kits

Two 45-day-old white lion cubs play inside a zoo in China's
Heilongjiang Province March 8, 2007.

The cubs will be released back into the wild.

Twenty Of World's 162 Grouper Species Threatened With Extinction

The first comprehensive assessment of the world’s 162 species of grouper, a culinary favorite and important commercial fish, found that 20 are threatened with extinction unless proper management or conservation measures are introduced. Eight species previously were listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as under extinction threat, and the new assessment proposes adding 12 more.

A panel of 20 experts from 10 nations determined the extinction threat facing groupers, which are the basis of the multimillion-dollar live reef food fish trade based in Hong Kong and comprise one of the most valuable groups of commercial fishes in chilled fish markets of the tropics and sub-tropics. Around the world, consumers pay up to $50 per kilogram for grouper.

“This shows that over-fishing could decimate another major food and economic resource for humans, similar to the loss of the cod stocks off New England and Canada that has put thousands of people out of work,” said Roger McManus, a senior director of Conservation International’s Marine Program.

Savannah Cats & Safari Cats

Savannah Cats

A cross resulting from the breeding of an African Serval and a domestic cat has recently resulted in the replication of the striking coat pattern and body structure of the Serval.

Savannahs are smaller (up to 32 pounds) and more manageable than Servals, but are the largest hybrid feline available today. Savannahs are the newest breed of cat available.

Prices for pets are as follows:

F1 (75% Serval) $6,000 - $7,000
F1 (50% Serval) $6,000 - $7,000
F2 (25% Serval) $2,500 - $4,000
F3 (12.5% Serval) $1,500 - $3,000
F4 & F5 $2,000 - $5,000

Safari Cats

The Safari cat is a hybrid of the South American Geoffroys cat. The Safari is an unusual animal that provides the look of the wild with the affection rarely found in the sweetest domestic.

Some of the first Safaris were bred in the early 1970’s. A limited number were produced for pets and a few were produced for use in Leukemia research by Washington State University.

Average prices for Safaris are as follows:

F1 (50%) $6,000 - $8,500

Males are sold as pets only due to sterility

"Toygers" Breed Conservation Awareness, Animal-Rescue Concerns

Jenifer Santee always dreamed of owning a tiger.

But knowing that wild creatures should not be kept as house pets, she did the next best thing: She joined a small group of cat breeders working to create a fully domesticated look-a-like of the largest member of the feline family.

"It's a designer cat that was bred specifically to preserve the beauty of an exotic animal," said Santee, of the SanteePride Cattery in Manteno, Illinois.

Dubbed toygers, for toy tigers, these playful, black-striped felines have been registered as a breed with the International Cat Association (TICA) since 1993. (see photos of toygers vs. tigers --> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/photogalleries/cats-toygers/index.html)

Santee is among 25 breeders worldwide working on perfecting the pedigreed cat. So far, 360 toygers—each valued at upward of $3,000 (U.S.)—have been registered with TICA.

And starting this May toygers will join more familiar breeds—including Abyssinians, Persians, and Russian blues—that can be judged as championship cats at TICA-sponsored cat shows.

Public demand for the tiny tiger replica is "overwhelming," Santee said, and has likely been fueled by recent national media attention on the breed's progress.