Kitten Born With Two Faces Dies

Her face, like some unreal psychedelic vision, was split into two. There were two noses, two mouths and four eyes, all coming up from one tiny body.

The kitten, called Two Face because of her condition, was born on Tuesday of last week in a litter of six, and seemed to be defying nature simply by living. The condition she was born with, called diprosopus, is a rare congenital defect that leaves little chance of survival.But Two Face, after living a seemingly healthy life for two days, died on Thursday inexplicably. Her owners, Jeffrey and Tammy Oxley of Charleston, West Virginia, have not been able to find out what caused the death.

Groomers' World of 'Extreme Poodles'

We’ve seen dogs groomed to look like camels, buffalo, roosters and more — but what about the steps it takes to transform dogs from, well, dogs, to completely different creatures?

The Dingo Is Smarter Than Pet Dogs

Studies in the past have shown that wolves are smarter than domesticated dogs when it comes to solving spatial problems, and now new research has shown that dingoes also solve the problems well.The dingo is considered a “pure” prehistoric dog, which was brought to Australia tens of thousands of years ago by the Aborigines. While they have in the past been associated with humans, they have adapted to surviving “wild” in the Australian outback.

The dingo lies somewhere between the wolf, its ancient ancestor, and the domestic or pet dog, and has cognitive differences between the two. There has been little research done on dingoes, even though studies would aid in the understanding of the evolution of dogs, and it was unknown whether the dingo was more “wolf-like” or “dog-like”. Researchers in South Australia have now subjected the Australian dingo (Canis dingo) to the classic “detour task,” which has been used by previous researchers to assess the abilities of wolves (Canis lupus) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to solve non-social, spatial problems.

The detour task involves placing a treat behind a transparent or wire mesh fence. The dog can see the food but cannot get to it directly and has to find its way along the fence and through a door and then double back to get the food.

Snake Population On The Decline On Three Continents

Distinct populations of snake species on three continents have crashed over the last decade, raising fears that the reptiles may be in global decline, according to a study published recently.The pattern across the eight species monitored was alarmingly similar despite their geographical isolation, which points to a common cause such as climate change, the researchers said.

Other factors known to play a role include habitat loss, pollution, disease, lack of prey and over-exploitation, either for food or trade.The study showed that 11 of 17 snake populations in Britain, France, Italy, Nigeria and Australia dropped off sharply over a four-year period starting in the late 1990s.“Our data revealed an alarming trend,” the authors reported in the British Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Vienna Zoo Breeds Endangered Batagur Turtle

The Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna said on Tuesday it has successfully bred one of the most endangered species of turtle, the Batagur baska, for the first time in captivity.Two baby Batagur turtles were hatched in the zoo’s reptile house at the beginning of May, the zoo said in a statement.

The Batagur baska — which is listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature — is a river terrapin that can grow to up to 60 centimetres (24 inches).At home in the rivers of Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and Bangaldesh, its meat and eggs were long considered a delicacy.

Monkeys Like Watching Television !!

Monkeys like watching television, Japanese scientists have revealed in a new study A three-year-old male rhesus macaque thoroughly enjoyed a video of a circus elephant, giraffe and tiger performing, according to scientists from 1 University’s Primate Research Institute, who monitored the monkey’s brain during the experiment.

Scientist used a technique called near-infrared spectroscopy to examine various aspects of the blood flow to the brain of the monkey while it was watching the television images The study found that when the monkey was witnessing the acrobatic performances of circus animals on a television screen, the frontal lobe area of its brain became vigorously active.

Dredging estroying Pygmy Elephant, Monkey Habitat

Sand dredging in a Borneo wildlife sanctuary is threatening the habitats of endangered pygmy elephants and a rare species of monkey, Malaysian activists said Thursday.Sand-laden barges were once again moving up and down rivers in the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in Sabah state on Borneo island, despite having previously been stopped, they said.

Harjinder Kler from the Hutan environmental group, said the erosion caused by the dredging would affect about 200 pygmy elephants and a few hundred proboscis monkeys living in the sanctuary.”It will cause more and more of their habitat to be eroded and polluted as a result of the siltation from the dredging,” Kler told AFP.

As the Kinabatangan river feeds into the Sulu Sea, she said the silt from the dredging would also pollute the Coral Triangle — a global centre of marine biodiversity spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guniea, East Timor and the Solomon Islands.Most sand dredging works were halted following the creation of the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in 2005, a 26,000 hectare (64,000 acre) area in the north of the state.

Musical Concert For Dogs In Sydney

here’s a saying “It’s a dog’s life.” Well it was on Saturday when the Sydney Opera House came alive to the sound of high-pitched music and howling dogs.K-9 lovers walked their pets to an open-air concert for dogs.

Organizers estimated about 1,000 dogs showed up to enjoy the free music concert.Acclaimed American musician Laurie Anderson wrote a 20 minute piece for the occasion.

Dogs of all shapes and sizes were there.”I’m a music lover and I go to lots and lots of concerts and I thought he might as well too.”Anderson performed with fellow musicians at the free concert as part of the Vivid Live festival in Sydney.While dog owners could hear the music, some of the strange tones and high pitches were certainly geared for the dogs to appreciate rather than their two legged owners.

[Dr. Geoff Golovsky, Veterinarian]:”It’s fantastic, it’s great! It’s a testament to Laurie and her reputation and the organizers of the event. It’s fantastic and there’s been no problem with the dogs. Everyone’s been responsible.”

Anderson appeared to enjoy the day and was very happy with the turn out, especially as it was a special occasion – her birthday.

(source)

Red Rain Boots Make Clive One Mod Mini Pig

A miniature pig named Clive has sent shockwaves through the swine style community with his choice of bold footwear! A resident at the Pennywell Farm in Devon, England, the little pig’s keeper thought dressing him up in cherry red wellington boots would be a good training exercise for Clive, who will one day be adopted by a family.

“Miniature pigs are sold only as pets,” Chris Murray explains “and therefore we know that, as all pets are, they will be played with … its important that nothing particularly worries them or gets stressful.”

So they picked up the adorable red boots — originally made as accessories for a Paddington bear stuffed animal — from a local toy shop and Clive tried them on for size, and a photo op was born.

Endangered Crocodiles Hatched In Cambodia

Cambodia – Conservationists in Cambodia are celebrating the hatching of a clutch of eggs from one of the world’s most critically endangered animals, the Siamese crocodile.Thirteen infants crawled out of their shells over the weekend in a remote part of the Cardamom Mountains in southwestern Cambodia, following a weekslong vigil by researchers who found them in the jungle.

Experts believe as few as 250 Siamese crocodiles are left in the wild, almost all of them in Cambodia but with a few spread between Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and possibly Thailand.The operation to protect and hatch the eggs was mounted by United Kingdom-based Fauna and Flora International, for whom conservation of this once-abundant species is a key program.

“Every nest counts,” program manager Adam Starr told Associated Press Television News. “To be able to find a nest is a very big success story, to be able to hatch eggs properly is an even bigger success story.”The nest, with 22 eggs inside, was discovered in the isolated Areng Valley. Fauna and Flora International volunteers removed 15 of them to a safe site and incubated them in a compost heap to replicate the original nest. They left seven behind because they appeared to be unfertilized.