Animals & Pets 01 (May 08 - Jun 14)

[winston]

by LenaHuat » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:28 pm

Tigers are brainier than lions.
Lions are social animals whilst tigers are solitary ones:o
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/6126 ... lions.html

[kennynah]

some months ago.... i posted a picture of a neighbourhood young cat...can't locate that post... so, here's the picture of it


and some later...this very same cat is now a mother of a kitten


life is so wonderfully beautiful.... one generation after another, the earlier nurturing and caring for the next....

[millionairemind]

Cherry sent this to me - The birth of an elephant... pretty interesting, esp. the part where the mother is trying to get the new born to breath.

http://www.kalam.tv/fa/video/9835/index.html

[boonchuan]

Deleted

[winston]

ProHeart 6 for Dogs:-

If you're a dog-lover like me, and if give your dog a heartworm preventive, which most of us do, please think twice before using ProHeart 6.

Here are some of the despicable lowlights in the history of this product, manufactured by Wyeth (now part of Pfizer):

- 2003: FDA veterinarian Dr. Victoria Hampshire notes that ProHeart 6 adverse reaction reports are increasing. In addition to an unusually high number of deaths, serious side effects include seizures, convulsions, bleeding disorders, lethargy, and jaundice.

- 2004: FDA removes ProHeart 6 from the market.

- 2004: According to ongoing Pharmalot reports, Wyeth executives launch a secret investigation of Dr. Hampshire. They later raise conflict-of interest questions, implicitly threatening FDA officials with further action. Dr. Hampshire was transferred to a different job at the FDA.

- 2008: FDA officials allow a reformulated version of ProHeart 6 to return to market.

- 2008: U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley leads an investigation of the ProHeart 6 affair. In a letter to the FDA commissioner he wrote: "The FDA accepted Wyeth's allegations at face value and took actions against Dr. Hampshire that may have adversely affected the drug approval and recall processes."

- 2008: In Pharmalot interview, when asked about her managers at the FDA, Dr. Hampshire replies: "I though my managers were cowardly."

And she added: "There was no advocate for the public in this story--the people who owned dogs and used ProHeart 6 – but everyone was advocating for the pharmaceutical company. Those dogs (who suffered due to ProHeart 6) were owned by people who, in some cases, undertook financial constraints to care for their pets. But no one in this process advocated for them."

Next month, the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will meet to review 18 months of ProHeart 6 data to determine if the drug--currently on the market--is safe to use.

So right now, I'm advocating for your dog… guilty until proven innocent is the best way to proceed in a case like this. Don't give Ginger or Max ProHeart 6 until it's proven safe.

Source: HSI

[winston]

Alaska eagle survives plunge after mating dance

1 eagle dies, another recovering after aerial courting ritual goes awry in Alaska

RACHEL D'ORO
AP News

Apr 09, 2010 23:27 EDT

An acrobatic display of passion proved too much for a pair of eagles engaged in a mating dance over Alaska's Prince William Sound.

The female bird is recovering from an injured wing and other injuries sustained when the couple slammed beak-first into a hard snowbank in what her rescuers believe was an aerial courting ritual gone awry. The male eagle died in the impact, which left the birds buried upside down at least two feet in the snow in the town of Valdez.

It's mating season for eagles, who perform an elaborate ritual where they clasp talons and spiral toward the ground. This pair probably got caught up in the throes of the moment, said Bob Benda, a bird rescuer and biology professor at Prince William Sound Community College who was among those responding to the Easter Sunday crash.

"They just lose track of what they're doing and don't know how close they are to the ground," he said. "It's raging hormones or something."

But most eagles fling themselves back to reality instead of diving through a crunchy layer of snow. In this case, the male landed next to the female. If the talons had been locked, they were now separated, possibly thrust apart by the velocity of the landing.

Benda said he thought both eagles had died but then noticed the female was breathing. He helped arrange the eagle's transfer to the Anchorage-based Bird Treatment and Learning Center, where she is slowly emerging from shock.

"She is less dazed and confused every day," said Cindy Palmatier, the center's rehabilitation director. "She had this inward stare the first couple days."

Judging by the bird's initial condition, Benda is amazed it's still among the living. The eagle had no broken bones, but she was severely traumatized, almost in a zombie state.

The day being Easter, Benda took the bird home and figured he would keep her warm and comfortable in a crate in his heated garage until the end came. The next morning, she was still breathing and moving a wing, and by that night, she was being flown to Anchorage.

"I didn't see how she could survive, but now I'm so happy she did," Benda said.

At the rehabilitation center Friday, the eagle's head swiveled back and forth as she checked out some visitors. A few days earlier, she would have paid no attention to them, said Palmatier, who believes her patient suffered head trauma.

The bird also showed no interest in food, but now is eating salmon and caribou meat. And she's been taken off pain medications.

But her left wing visibly droops and Palmatier said if there is significant ligament damage, there's a chance the eagle might not be able to fly again. But it's too early to tell and there's at least a month at the center still to come.

Ultimately, Palmatier hopes the eagle can be released back to the wild in Valdez. She's not too worried about any psychological effects from the loss of the bird's partner.

"I like to say they may mate for life, but they mourn for a moment," Palmatier said. "They get over it pretty quick."

___

On the Net:

http://www.birdtlc.net/

(This version CORRECTS SUBS 5th graf to correct male landed next to female, not on top)

Source: AP News

[winston]

[winston]

[mojo_]

Amazing video!!!

THE BEAR

[kennynah]

Kung Fu Grizzly