Fun to Run!

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the horse -- a year for loyalty, strength and courage, which these beautiful little ponies are displaying so well. They don't know they're small. They feel vigorous and powerful, and so should we all this year. Here's to the fun of having a body!

Lesbian Penguins

http://jezebel.com/lesbian-penguins-discovered-happily-living-undetected-a-1486890862

There's a reason why the words "lesbian" and "penguin" rhyme -- the words clearly go together, as these lovely ladies from an Israeli zoo are proving. Suki and Chupchikoni are in love and have chosen each other as a mate, despite a plethora of male options. They remind us here at ANW of the gay penguins in Manhattan, about which we've reported lovingly before:

http://animalnewsoftheworld.blogspot.ca/search?q=gay+penguins

Do you see the other penguins getting all upset over this coupling? Are they marching around with hateful signs and threatening these little lovers with violence? No! Because they know it's none of their durn business!

Interspecies Fun!

I don't know much about the source of this video. From the "yeah" I hear the woman on the phone say, I think it was made in Australia. And, indeed, in searching "Australian Magpie," I discovered that they do look like the magpie in this video. I would also venture to guess that this particular bird is a pet, not a wild magpie. But what will ever remain a mystery to me is just how empathetic animals can be. Surely it takes an act of imagination for the bird not to feel threatened when the much-larger dog play-bites him? And doesn't that suggest intelligence? And if we agree to the two foregoing propositions -- that empathy denotes imagination, and imagination requires intelligence -- don't we also have to wonder how dumb humans are when we are unable to empathize with each other? I mean, if two such different species as a bird and a dog can do it, what is stopping us humans?
http://vitaminl.tv/video/1060

Onward, brave knight!

I just had to include this photo in my blog. I don't really know what to say about it besides, "Whaaaa?" And that it is yet more proof that animals rock. For more intelligent commentary, please see the original posting in _The Guardian_ (citing _The Observer_): http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/gallery/2013/dec/07/observer-20-photographs-usa-palestine-nigella-mandela#/?picture=424252582&index=0

Eagle-Selfie, Viral Video!

This is kind of a dream-come-true for me: an eagle stole a camera that had been set up by rangers in Australia and recorded his long journey, only to take a great shot of himself (above) before the video ran out. I've always wanted to strap a camera to various animals to see what it's like to look at the world from their point of view. This guy has made it happen!
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/02/eagle-steals-video-camera-in-australia-takes-selfie-during-110-km-journey/?google_editors_picks=true

Tortoise Fashion Show

Why did the chicken cross the road . . . on a tortoise? This is no joke! Katie Bradley, from Vancouver, Canada, encourages us to ask this very question and others while contemplating the many delightful suits she knits for her pet tortoise. You must check the wide selection of high-fashion clothes out -- and don't forget to note the blasé model, who is clearly an old-hand at the cat-walk!
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/nov/22/woolly-suits-for-tortoises-in-pictures

Panda Party Poopers

You can imagine my delight and eagerness when I read the headline "Baby panda party" and the description that the video would show me how they "celebrate turning 100 days old." Well, this has to be the most boring party of all time. Can't they ferment some bamboo juice or something? Call in someone to play a rousing song on the erhu! Let's get this party started!
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2415858475/