Monthly Archives: February 2014

(COWS/FARM ANIMAL VIDEO) When Sweety, an eight-year-old Canadian cow with a hoof infection, was rescued from a slaughterhouse, word quickly spread that she needed a home. Tricia, a 12-year-old lonely bovine who recently lost her companion to cancer, was waiting hundreds of miles away in New York at Farm Sanctuary where she was the only cow without a partner. Rescuers worked for almost a month across international borders to bring the two bovines together. And once Sweety finally arrived at the sanctuary, the two cows became fast friends. Susie Coston, national shelter director for Farm Sanctuary, said, “It was exciting to think that by giving Sweety a new life, we might also give Tricia another chance to enjoy her own.” It's clearly a win-win for both. — Global Animal

(ANIMAL SCIENCE/PENGUINS) Polar explorer Alain Hubert has been taking trips to the South and North Poles since 1983. He is a trained civil engineer, a certified mountain guide (UIAGM), a carpenter, an entrepreneur, and a public speaker—but one of his favorite hobbies? Counting penguins. Hubert recently returned to Antarctica to count a newly discovered emperor penguin colony, despite estimates already calculated by a computer. The new colony, named after the coast on which they were found, Ragnhild, is one of 44 colonies of emperor penguins found on the continent, where an estimated 595,000 emperor penguins reside in total. Read about Hubert's incredible Antarctic journey, and the science behind it all, in the article below. — Global Animal

(CATS AND DOGS/CUTE ANIMAL VIDEO) Can you say lazy Sunday? This is one cute, sleepy family! — Global Animal

(SLOTHS/CUTE ANIMAL VIDEO) Warning: cuteness is closer than it appears. These baby sloths slowly gaining their footing is almost too cute to bear. — Global Animal

(CELEBRITY NEWS/OCEANS) Leonardo DiCaprio proves once again he's king of the world—especially the oceans. Last month, the Oscar-nominated star hilariously spoofed himself on Saturday Night Live with his The Wolf of Wall Street co-star Johah Hill. Now, through his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, he granted $3 million dollars to Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working on behalf of oceans. — Global Animal

(ANIMAL ABUSE/FACTORY FARMING) Mercy for Animals (MFA) released additional footage shot at Dry Creek Dairy southwest of Murtaugh, Idaho on Tuesday. The sickening video shows a deranged dairy worker sexually abusing a cow in an attempt to get the public riled up before Idaho passes an ag-gag bill that would outlaw photographing or filming on farms without the owner's consent. "If enacted, this legislation could harm consumers nationwide. As leaders of the third-largest dairy state in the nation, Idaho’s lawmakers should be fostering greater transparency in food production, not pushing for legislation that would punish whistleblowers who dare to expose animal cruelty, food safety hazards, environmental pollution, and worker safety violations," according to MFA Executive Director Nathan Runkle. Sign the petition to speak out against Idaho's dangerous ag-gag bill and read the LA Times article below for more information about the history of MFA's fight against Idaho legislation. — Global Animal

(CUTE ANIMAL VIDEO) This adorable little dormouse it taking what looks like the best nap ever! — Global Animal

(WILDLIFE CONSERVATION/ANIMAL WELFARE) The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust (HSWLT) is an organization that helps landowners protect the wildlife roaming their land. The trust helps by setting up a sanctuary so the land cannot be sold to individuals or companies that would destroy the property and the habitat of local wildlife. — Global Animal

(ACTIVISM/WILDLIFE CONSERVATION) Finally, there's a new website that lets you anonymously report illegal wildlife and forest crimes like poaching. A group of Nongovernmental Organizations, along with wildlife activists and funding from the Elephant Action League, are launching the website WildLeaks. They are hoping by developing this online portal, it will give whistleblowers a safe place to report both wildlife and forest crimes. Wildlife and forest crimes represent an illegal $17 billion trade. By being able to anonymously report these heinous acts, there will hopefully be a significant decrease in illegal wildlife crimes. Continue reading to find out more about WildLeaks. — Global Animal

(ACTIVISM/CELEBRITIES) What could be a bigger challenge than taking on Bruce Lee? Try taking on traditional Chinese medicine. Jackie Chan has made a name for himself as a Hollywood action hero, but he has also gained a reputation as an animal hero. The movie star is fighting to save endangered animals by imploring his fans to stop buying ivory, rhino horn, and other products used for traditional Chinese medicine. See the video clip below and continue reading to learn more about Chan's efforts to help save wildlife. — Global Animal

(CELEBRITIES/DOG RESCUE) American silver-medal winner Gus Kenworthy isn't the only Team USA athlete going home with a new furry friend from the 2014 Olympic...

(OCEANS/ANIMAL VIDEO) Apparently this Giant Pacific Octopus at Bluefish Cove in Carmel, California is not a fan of being photographed. Two divers, David Malvestuto and Warren Murray, explained that the creature may have caught sight of his own reflection and thought it was another octopus. At one minute in, the video switches perspectives, showing the whole thing from the camera’s point of view. The entire encounter is absolutely surreal. — Global Animal

(CELEBRITIES/VEGETARIAN RECIPES) Gracie Gold is Sochi's "It Girl" of the 2014 Winter Olympics. She's being touted as America's best hope for a medal in the women’s “short form” competition and last week helped Team USA win the bronze in women's free skate. Now the pressure's on for the 18-year-old to do it again—preferably in gold or silver.  As far as I'm concerned, she's already a winner, and so is the veggie burger she inspired me to make. — Global Animal

(MOVIE REVIEW/FARM) A powerful new film, Turlock: The Documentary covers the large-scale rescue of chickens at a factory farm in Turlock, California. When the factory farm shut down, 50,000 chickens were left without food or water. After being starved and neglected for over two weeks, the chickens were rescued by Animal Place, a nearby farm sanctuary. The film details the efforts of the workers and volunteers of Animal Place in their attempt to save as many lives as they could from the farm. Thanks to their hard work, they were able to save 4,500 birds. — Global Animal