Here's a site you'll want to bookmark for those days when all the news is bad news and nothing seems to go right. Animals Hugging is exactly what it says, with a few animals kissing and cuddling thrown in. Sometimes the critters are the same species, while others show interspecies affection.
You'll see cows, bats, horses, rabbits, goats, kangaroos, squirrels, deer, chickens, and parrots showing affection, but more cats and dogs than anything. -via Metafilter
A cat in Quebec gave birth to a litter of kittens upstairs. Not long afterward, she decided that they needed her cat bed, which was downstairs. Whether it was because the bed is soft, or because it has sides to keep the kittens corralled, she knew what she wanted, and went to work to make it happen. YouTube commenters are wondering why the humans didn't help her, but she seems to have the situation pretty well under control. Smart cat. -via Tastefully Offensive
Develop a close bond with your pet and you'll swear they understand the words coming out of your mouth, as if they learn human languages simply by living amongst us.
And as they develop a deeper understanding of our speech patterns they start to take notice of certain bits they like and bits they don't like.
Food related words make them come running, praise makes them purr, and direct orders are seen as a threat to their freedom, which causes them to switch into rebel mode as demonstrated by Luigi the cat.
-Via AWM
A blog post from Mimi Matthews is an overview of cases from the Victorian era of pets defending a woman from spousal abuse. It opens with the trial of George Amey, who assaulted his estranged wife, Isabella. George no longer lived with Isabella, but visited her in the home he had left, where she lived with her cat Topsy. An altercation began, and George threw Isabella down and started to strangle her.
George might have killed Isabella if not for Topsy’s sudden—and rather unexpected—intervention. Upon seeing her mistress being ill-used, the faithful cat sprang into action. As the Illustrated Police News relates:
“The wife told the warrant-officer Roskelly that while on the ground and screaming, a favourite cat, named Topsy, suddenly sprang on her husband and fastened her claws in his eyes and her teeth in his face. Her husband could not tear the cat away, and he was obliged to implore her to take the cat from him to save his life.”
George was arrested, charged, and ultimately sentenced to prison for one month.
This is just the first of three cases that explain why women alone tend to become cat ladies or dog ladies. Although, in one case, it was the man's own dog that prevented him from killing his wife. -via Strange Company
The National Aquarium of Zealand knows that penguins may be cute, but they can also be rather bratty. That's why they've instituted a "naughty penguin of the month" board for their resident troublemakers in order to let the public know a little more about the birds they are admiring.
To be fair, they also chronicle the good behaviors of well-behaved penguins as well. For example, the board might point out that Timmy was naughty because he stole fish and pushed another penguin over, but Betty was good for swimming well and waiting paitently for fish. Deep down though, all penguins, even pesky little Timmy are good penguins.
Tom, the cat, and Mystery, the cow, both live at a dairy farm. You can almost imagine the conversation between them.
Mystery: Ooh, look! What an adorable cat! Aren't you just the cutest thing. Look, Bossy, have you ever seen a more beautiful cat? Look, he's licking my face! Isn't that sweet. He's so cuddly, now, aren't you, sweetheart? Come over here, y'all and see this cat! I think he likes me!
Tom: Milk! Milk!
-via Tastefully Offensive
People are constantly posting and sharing pictures of cute animals online, and there's a whole subreddit dedicated to sharing adorable animal pictures for people to "awwww!" at appropriately titled /r/aww.
But can any of us really claim to know exactly where each and every one of those animal pics on /r/aww came from?
According to John Savoia, founder of the Facebook group Dogspotting, many pics are being "stolen" from his Facebook group and shared on /r/aww without proper credit, which is "an affront to the true spirit of Dogspotting":
"Reddit is built upon content aggregation and not on content creation," John Savoia, who's widely credited with creating the tongue-in-cheek sport of Dogspotting, told me via email. To Savoia, that some /r/aww users feel comfortable passing off other people's images as their own ranks as the lowest of the low. "Dogspotting is built on the concept that honor and satisfaction come from doing the work of spotting," he said. "These poor souls probably haven't seen a real dog in years."
"Dogspotting is nothing without the vibrant and amazing community of people who everyday put themselves out there to spot dogs," he added. "Across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram we want to show off the best of Dogspotting, not just the photos, but the people who bring that content to Dogspotting. Dogspotting is a lifestyle but it's also a community."
Read Reddit's /r/aww Is Full Of Stolen Dog Pics at Motherboard
This cat rarely lets a bottle cap get by! He was only seven months old when this video was recorded, but he's skilled at stopping them high or low. This kitty is laser-focused on his goal tending duties when the bottle caps start flying in a game a "Nyan hockey." You can see more of his games here. -via Laughing Squid
Dog dancing totally makes sense to me, and cat dancing makes a strange sort of sense when you consider how cats cling to our neck and shoulders when they're scared, their claws in turn making us dance with pain.
I've also seen riders train their horses to dance, rearing up on their hind legs to chachacha, but dancing with horses is new to me and I'm loving every minute of it.
This video features one of the world's premiere trainers and horse dancers, Frédéric Pignon, showing off his beautiful and talented Frisian stallions.
-Via World of Animals
Denise Wade is the volunteer flying fox coordinator at Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD. She takes in injured or orphaned flying foxes that need care until they can be released. Wade posts videos under the YouTube name Batzilla the Bat. Here she feeds a banana to Miss Alicia, a young rescue bat named for the woman who found her on the road.
She loves that banana! Since Miss Alicia was not injured by her traffic experience, she was examined, fed, and given a chance to rest before being released. Oh yeah, and recorded on video for our continued entertainment. -via Metafilter
(Image credit: AverageSexGod)
The animals you live with are just waiting for an opportunity to take your stuff, jump on the bed, climb the curtains, or eat the couch …just anything that they aren't allowed to do, and they know it, whether they care or not.
As a general rule, the dogs seem to regret their actions, or at least they regret being caught, while cats act as if you are in the wrong for confronting them. They only regret that you've stopped their fun. See over 200 images, many of them gifs, of dogs, cats, and a few other animals who were caught in the act at Bored Panda.
Simon Tofield has entertained us by illustrating the antics of his cats for years. In this video, he shows us what we already know -cats are a lot alike. YouTube is full of real cats getting into funny situations just like Simon's Cat.
Yeah,we already knew that, but isn't it nice to see funny cat videos and Simon's Cat animations at the same time?
Kitties tend to knead with their paws when they get petted, but this little fluffball has discovered a much more practical use for his kneading -baking! With this great food video, he was inspired to take his natural instincts to a whole new level. I'm just glad no one shot down his dreams by warning him that most people aren't going to want to eat bread filled with cat fur.
A joey named Jellybean recently left his mother's pouch for the first time at the Australian Reptile Park near Sydney. He apparently built up a lot of kinetic energy sitting in there and has to let it out!
Kangaroos are marsupials, meaning they are born prematurely compared to mammals, and stay in their mother's pouch for about nine months before venturing out. Jellybean will be in and out of the pouch for another nine months or so before he is completely weaned. Meanwhile he can explore and play, then go back in for a meal and some rest when he pleases. Life is a bowl of jellybeans for Jellybean! -via Mashable
Giraffe populations have dropped drastically over the last 20 years. In fact, their numbers in Northern Kenya have dropped 70% over the last two decades. Researchers in the area have set up a number of camera traps to help them better understand the life of wild giraffes, but since every movement sets off the camera trap, there are a ton of images to go through -that's where you come in. You can watch the traps and help count wildlife in the footage on any computer, just go to Wildwatch Kenya and start helping giraffes and other wild animals.
Via San Diego Zoo
