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The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself
The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself
Jun 29, 2007 6:53 AM CDT

The Cat Did Not Walk by Himself

(Newser) - Unlike most animals who were domesticated by man, cats, you cat owners will not be surprised to learn, domesticated themselves.  A study published in Science concludes that some 12,000 years ago cats, attracted by mice, who were themselves attracted by grain which man had just figured out how...

House Cat Hisstory Traced to 5 Mideast Matriarchs

Felines chose domestic life 10,000 years ago

(Newser) - The origin of 600 million house cats has been traced to five matriarchal lines in the Mideast, where the first wildcats moved close to families some 10,000 years ago and earned their keep eating vermin,  the New York Times reports. House cats share striking DNA similarities with wildcats...

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List
Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List
Jun 28, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

After 40 years, national symbol returns from brink of extinction

(Newser) - The national bird is no longer threatened with extinction, an achievement the Interior Department celebrated today by letting a bald eagle frolic in the skies above the Jefferson Memorial. Thanks in large part to conservation laws, the number of nesting pairs has grown more than 20-fold since 1963; the bird...

Giant Penguin Fossils Found in Peruvian Desert

Spearfishing birds waddled the earth 36 million years ago

(Newser) - Penguins haven't always lived on ice, scientists have concluded after unearthing fossils of giant penguins in Peru's Atacama desert. The penguins, nearly human-sized at 4.5 feet tall, had extraordinarily long beaks apparently used for spearfishing, and waddled the earth some 36 million years ago, the National Geographic News reports....

Woman Dogged by Staring Charge Gets Arf

Prosecutor cites difficulty of calling police K9 to testify

(Newser) - A Vermont woman charged with cruelty to animals after she stared at a police dog "in a taunting/harassing manner" is free to make faces at any animal that crosses her path. The county prosecutor dropped the charges after finding a big hole in his case: The alleged victim was...

'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'
'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'
Jun 1, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

'Knut' No Longer Equals 'Cute'

As camera-ready polar bear grows more fearsome, the 'aww' factor diminishes

(Newser) - Anyone who's ever had a nightmare about stuffed animals coming to life can relate to what Thomas Doerflein is going through. The zookeeper who's been celebrity polar bear cub Knut 's surrogate mother since the little camera hog was an adorable ball of fluff finds himself on the business end...

Nigerian Scams Hit Purebred Puppy Market

Dog-lovers fall prey to appeals to adopt or buy fake pooches

(Newser) - Nigerian scammers have a new ploy—this time giving away "free" purebred puppies that are worth upwards of $3,000, the LA Times reports. Racketeers advertise the pups using websites, MySpace postings, and even print ads, asking pet lovers to rescue the dogs or offering to sell them at...

Shark Births Fatherless Baby
Shark Births Fatherless Baby
May 23, 2007 2:50 PM CDT

Shark Births Fatherless Baby

Female hammerheads can fertilize their own eggs, say scientists

(Newser) - Irish and American scientists, using new techniques, confirmed that a female hammerhead shark at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska gave birth to a pup in 2001— without having sex. A male tiger shark was suspected to be the father at first, but the team's genetic analysis shows no sign...

Plague Kills Monkey in Denver Zoo
Plague Kills Monkey in Denver Zoo
May 22, 2007 1:00 PM CDT

Plague Kills Monkey in Denver Zoo

Danger to humans from flea-borne disease deemed minimal

(Newser) - The bubonic plague has hit the Denver Zoo. An 8-year-old hooded capuchin monkey named Spanky was found dead last week, and postmortem tests confirmed that the cause was plague. The Denver Post reports that the monkey may have contracted the disease, which is usually spread by fleas, by eating the...

Portis Defends Vick on Dog Fighting
Portis Defends Vick on Dog Fighting
May 21, 2007 9:59 PM CDT

Portis Defends Vick on Dog Fighting

"It's his property, it's his dog," says Redskins running back

(Newser) - Even if Michael Vick held stake in a dog fighting ring in rural Virginia, said Redskins running back Clinton Portis to a local television station, it's not a big deal. The embattled Atlanta signal caller owned property on which scarred dogs and dog fighting paraphernalia were discovered during a drug...

Livestock Pigging Out on Junk Food
Livestock Pigging Out
on Junk Food
May 21, 2007 3:41 PM CDT

Livestock Pigging Out on Junk Food

Farmers are turning to leftover sweets as biofuel drives up the price of corn

(Newser) - The biofuel craze has doubled the price of corn in just a few years, forcing farmers from Pennsylvania to California find alternatives to feed their livestock. What they're coming up with is cookies, candy bars, cheese curls, breakfast cereal and french fries, reports the Wall Street Journal.

West Nile Turns Down Volume on Songbirds

Scientists hear trouble in quieter North American backyards

(Newser) - The West Nile virus is responsible for a major decline in North American bird populations, and the sudden quiet speaks volumes to environmental scientists. Beyond a lack of birdsong, a new National Zoo study reports, the decimation signals far-reaching ecological problems that have emerged since the mosquito-borne virus appeared on...

Tasmanian Devils Face Extinction
Tasmanian Devils Face Extinction
May 7, 2007 8:33 AM CDT

Tasmanian Devils Face Extinction

Iconic marsupials hit by contagious facial cancer

(Newser) - Tasmanian Devils, the largest marsupial carnivore and the island's main tourist attraction, are threatened with extinction due to a contagious and fatal form of facial cancer spreading rapidly through the population. "Once they've got a lump, it's a one way trip,"  one expert  says.

FDA: Pet Food Poison Added Intentionally

Chinese may have used melamine to boost nutrition rating

(Newser) - The chemical which contaminated over 100 brands of pet food—with disastrous results for dog and cat lovers—may have been intentionally added by Chinese manufacturers in an effort to fudge nutrition ratings on their rice protein and wheat gluten. "That's still a theory, but it certainly seems to...

Enjoy the Veal, Hold the Guilt
Enjoy the Veal, Hold the Guilt
Apr 19, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

Enjoy the Veal, Hold the Guilt

Pasture-fed calves take the bitter taste out of a tender meat

(Newser) - Veal is back, says the Times, thanks to humane ranching methods. You're still eating baby cows, of course, but the tiny crates that once confined them—provoking a 20-year-long boycott—are giving way to to open pastures where they hang with mom. Or at least pens where they walk around...

It's Not Easy Being Knut
It's Not Easy Being Knut
Apr 19, 2007 5:45 AM CDT

It's Not Easy Being Knut

Death threat to polar bear cub on heels of health scare

(Newser) - Knut watchers were on high alert yesterday after the Berlin Zoo's polar bear cub was targeted with an anonymous death threat, just a day after recovering from a health scare that turned out to be a toothache. The 4-month-old alarmed visitors Monday by refusing to frolic, lying on the ground...

Russia Will Hunt Polar Bears to Save Them

Siberian officials hope legalizing hunting will end poaching

(Newser) - Russia is lifting a fifty-year old ban on hunting polar bears, expressly to save the endangered species from extinction. Poaching has been endemic in Siberia since the injunction, but it's increased since shrinking sea ice has forced bears to search for food on shore, making them easier to kill.

Endangered Species May Get Bush Brush-Off

Internal memo reveals plan to reduce protection

(Newser) - The Bush administration is quietly rewriting the rules on enforcing the Endangered Species Act, drafting changes that some environmentalists say will fatally weaken protections for threatened wildlife. A 117-page internal proposal obtained by Salon would limit which animals could be effectively protected, cut back on the size of habitats preserved,...

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