Monday, June 14, 2010

Lickstown, USA, Population 1 Dog, 2 Cats



Via Jezebel:
An adorable video with an even cuter backstory: The puppy, Lucky, was adopted at three weeks old from a woman using him in a scam and the owner's two cats raised him as if he were their kitten.
My favorite part is when the guy in the accompanying song is talking about how he's been "hittin' the beer" and the dog is looking lovingly at the camera.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Turns Out Sparrows Are Jerks



So here I was, just reading this delightful story in the New York Post about how a family of sparrows made a nest within a New York City crosswalk sign, and I happened upon some upsetting information:

When it comes to finding a nest, house sparrows are notoriously aggressive.

"They are fierce nest competitors," said Karen Purcell, an urban-birds specialist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "They are able to evict other birds, even native species. They are survivors."

Purcell speculated that the cozy, steel-encased and rat-proof casing may have housed a bluebird, tree swallow or titmouse before the sparrows took over.

Sparrows will sometimes build their nest on top of another bird's eggs, dooming the unborn chicks.

"They are pretty ruthless, and that's why a lot of people don't like them," Purcell said.

All this time I've been watching them bop around thinking they were so kindhearted. You played me, sparrows. You played us all.

"A Winnie the Pooh Situation"



This poor Vermont bear got its head stuck in an old milk can. Luckily some nice fellas from the Fish and Wildlife and Fire Departments helped him out after lubing him up with a whole container of liquid soap.

Here are the saddest parts of the story:

Helpers on the scene secured a rope to the milk can and then to a tree to keep the bear from moving about and injuring itself.

"It was lying quietly and breathing heavily, obviously exhausted and battered from having been stuck in the can for at least six hours and, during that time, running and bumping into trees and boulders," Hammond said.

_ _ _ _

The milk can "looked like there was some residue of grain or bird seed in it," he said. "It was kind of rotted. It looks like he came down during the night. This time of the year they're scavenging, trying to find whatever they can eat. There's not much out there at this time of the year — mostly grasses and buds. They can't find high-energy food. That's why they're attracted to bird seed and bird feeders."

Well, at least they got him out of there! I bet he was all soapy and disoriented. Poor cub.

Holla at Graeme for the tip!

Baby Animals: The Book



While in Pennsylvania visiting my boyfriend's family I picked up an amazing book at a garage sale called "Baby Animals".

It's a book full of glamour shots of baby animals, it cost me 25 cents, and it's awesome. It reminds me a lot of Kittens Inspired by Kittens.

Here are my faves:



Hilarious! I wish the rest of the text was as good. Mostly it's like, "We're baby ducks! Quack quack!" or "Penguins are wobbly!"



Love the soft-focus lens.



I LOVE that there are both "Kittens" and "Cats" and "Puppies" and "Dogs". Classic.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Happy Spring, Dudes.

Catmoms are So Nice

Dogmoms too. Most moms, really. This catmom adopted a baby bunneh.

Release the Kraken!

PIGLET VS. DOG

EPIC BATTLE!

FEEEEEEEEEEEED UUUUUUUUS!

Say these kittens. Endlessly.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lost in Translation

I so wish I had a Droid so I could get this new Google animal translation app.

They explain how the algorithms work in a cute video:



Update: April Fools, suckaz!

You're Getting Sleeeeeepy

Apparently one can put a chicken to sleep by tucking its head under its wing and moving it in a circle. Martha Stewart demonstrates this trickery (more like chick-ery, am I right?!!!!!!!) (HEY O!).

I wonder if other animals have secret weaknesses like this. Lift a piglet's leg for 3 seconds and it will blow raspberries! Scratch the left hind quarter of a rabbit and it will sneeze!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Twinkly Music WIN

Please please please watch this with your sound on.

This poor cat Nosey is having some trouble with a festive red balloon. In the spirit of honesty I feel I should tell you this is a reenactment, but this did happen naturally the first time. And it is priceless.

Bunn-dana

This is a CRAZY TINY bunny. It eats a flower and then does a SUPER CUTE thing at the end of the video.

What would be the funniest thing to see this bunny wearing? Here are some ideas I had:

- Overalls
- Mustache!
- Fez
- BANDANA (around neck)

Man, bandanas make any animal so much cuter. Yet they have the opposite effect when worn by humans. Curious indeed.

Seagull Maniac

This video is exactly what you hope you'll get from a video titled "Seagull Maniac". I recommend watching the whole way through. It turns not-funny and then funny again like ten times over the course of the video.

Chit-Chat (<--FRENCH PUN)

Some cats are so talkative that the best way to keep your sanity is to pretend you're having a conversation with them. My cat Ruby has great comic timing. This cat's not bad either.

Whippets Always Look Afraid

Even as he/she makes fun of this baby, this whippet looks like it's scared it's going to get in trouble.

Happy as a Lamb

Today's Big Thing's Cute Animals section is my new favorite treasure trove. They're doing what the Snuggle Factory does so much better that I almost feel like I should give up. But then where would people find pencil drawings of pigeons eating cake, or whatever dumb thing I draw next?

Here is an amazing video of a lamb named Bea bouncing around a house. My aunt and uncle have a farm in Washington state and whenever one of their sheep has lambs they have to take them in to nurse them. I guess mama sheep aren't so good about caring for their little ones. Anyway, my aunt was just complaining to me about having to get up in the middle of the night to feed TWIN LAMBS. TWIN TINY LAMBS! That is my dream.

I'm Back and I'm Making Up for It

WITH SO MANY POSTS!

Sorry dudes. It's been a busy few months for me at work. But I'm ready to get back in my groove.

This cat likes having its hind quarters scratched.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Punxsutawney Phil is a Punk(x)



So Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. 6 more weeks of winter.

Doesn't he look SO SOFT and smushy?

This Cat Doesn't Know How It's Done



But it's ok. He just drinks water from the faucet his own way. He's like "Whateva, whateva, I do what I want!"

Thanks to my Dad for sending me this vid!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Put on a Happy Face

This Japanese dog smiles. Like, LEGIT smiles.



So good.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

This Little Piggie Did a Nice Thing



Oh, you guys. This tale of pig friendship had me tearing up at my desk. NERD ALERT!

11-year-old pig Angie was living out her golden years on Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York. She was very social but after her pig buddies died off she withdrew, stopped eating and even stopped walking around in the pasture! Poor little gal. Oh, and she had arthritis, too. Crying yet?

The nice people at Farm Sanctuary tried introducing her to other pigs but she never took to any of them until Fiona came along. Fiona was a Babe-esque piglet full of gumption and stick-to-it-iveness, and Angie accepted her right away. And they became BFFs!

For almost a year Angie ran around with Fiona like a much younger pig, rolling around in the mud and just generally having buddy times (as evidenced below).



Angie eventually died, but in her final days Fiona stuck right by her, sleeping right up against her. (I love it when animals do that! It is their best behavior.)

Sad story! :( But also happy. Sniiiiiff.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Meet Funky



There's a new baby Nubian goat at the Central Park petting zoo! He's only a few days old, and while he hasn't been named, he bounces around a lot so the zookeepers are calling him "Funky".

Floppy-ear close-up!



I am so gonna try to visit him this weekend. CUTIE!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Domin-OMG



I present to you a Japanese game show in which people coax different animals (including an anteater, who are my FAVES!) through a walkway surrounded on both sides by precarious dominoes. SUSPENSEFUL and exciting. But not really fair to the tortoise, since he's so big. They should have given him more room to maneuver.

Best parts:
- When they lift up the wall to reveal the animal.
- The armadillo's freaky right claw/foot/toe/whatever.
- The armadillo replay.
- Lullaby music and snoozy speech bubble for the anteater.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

PuppyCam is Back!


THE SHIBA INU PUPPY CAM IS BACK!

LIVE STREAMING PUPPIES!

Thanks to Zara for the tip. Ever vigilant, ever true.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Animals in Casts



Here are photos of 25 animals in casts. Super sad and super cute.



I hate to think of what horrible things might have befallen them (hit by a car? attacked by a bear?!) so instead I imagine they broke their limbs performing adorable hi-jinks, like climbing trees or doing an obstacle course or trying to make a cheerleading pyramid.

Friday, January 15, 2010

SEAL of Approval



This is just super cute. It's from a circus in Monte-Carlo. I'm a little worried that the seal is just out and about and doesn't appear to have water nearby, but hopefully he's OK. He sure is cute, I'll tell you that much. He's trying so hard, and he's got a mustache!

Silly Kittens

Guys, you're supposed to go DOWN a slide, not up. Yeah. It's OK. It's kind of confusing.

(It's not, really. But they're kittens, so they get a pass.)


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Best Dream Ever

I had the best dream last night. I dreamt I was walking past a tangle of bushes on the sidewalk and I heard mewing. I dug into the bush and there were three kittens. TINY ONES! They were gray tabbies and looked like this.



They were all tangled up and as I pulled them out I also pulled out a little pigeon wearing a tiny wreath around its neck.



In the dream it was obvious to me that they were friends and the kittens had made the wreath for the pigeon because it was special. Maybe it was the pigeon's birthday? Anyway it was an important pigeon.

I tried to convince my boyfriend to take them all home but he said the kittens were probably diseased because they'd been hanging out with the pigeon (though the pigeon was obviously distinguished, so this argument was flawed).

The end.