pathetically cute dog tries to stay awake...

at least the deer and the antelope don't play here...

O give me a home where the buffalo roam....  for most people, those are simply the first words in the old folk song, "Home on the Range." For RC and Sherron Bridges, however, they are a daily reality.  

RC (aka the Buffalo Whisperer) share a home in Quinlan, Texas with two buffalo, Wildthing (2,400 pounds) and Bullet (900 poounds).  The two beasts relax in the living room, walk around the house with freedom and even ride in the family car (well, on the back of the pickup). Incidentally, the animals aren't house trained. 

“They’re like my buddies. Bullet likes to be with me at all times, she’ll even give up food to be close to me.” says, RC, a former cowboy.  

Indeed they are all "buddies."  When RC and and Sherron renewed their wedding vows, Wildthing acted as the best man, carrying the rings and other things on his rather sizable horns.  For family entertainment, the buffalo have been used to pull RC's son on water-skis in the sand and pulled his daughter on a snow sled. 
 Unsafe you say?  Only if you consider that Wildfire weighs 2400lbs with 2 foot horns and can run 40mph.  Bullet is a smaller female buffalo... who was unable to be controlled by the owner of a buffalo herd.  

The Bridges love their pets and the buffalo seem to love them.  They respect the potential dangers and give them good care... but the arrangement is a bit rough on the furniture.  

http://snipr.com/mp121524a [www_thesun_co_uk]  
http://snipr.com/buffalowhispererhome   [www_buffalowhisper_zoomshare_com]

bird returns home after telling police his address

A budgerigar Budgie (not the one in the picture) shocked police officers after it started speaking.

The brainy bird escaped from its home in the Sagamihara district of Yokohama on Sunday morning after darting out an open window.

It seemed the pet budgerigar would never be seen again after it made a break for it while its 64-year-old owner was away.

The budgie had been on the run for over three days before it checked into a hotel after landing in the room and onto a guest's shoulder. It was then handed over to the police who were able to track its owner, Fumie Takahashi, after being given an unexpected lead in the case.

Under intense questioning from officers the budgie recited its full address, even including its house number and post code. An officer said: 'We had not expected his owner to be identified in this manner.'

Ms Takahashi was surprised to see her pet again and even more shocked by its sudden new found ability to talk.

from http://snipr.com/23dlmta   [www_metro_co_uk] 

(For more stories of amazing animal stuff, click the "animal" label below.)

bird signs

first two of these via

something you just don't see every day. or ever.

after 2 years and 2,000 miles, a cat finds his owner

A cat reportedly trekked 2,000 miles to find his owners after they moved house without him.

Ravila Hairova, 52, thought her grey cat Karim would find the change too upsetting so she asked neighbours to take him in.

She even left his favourite chair, cushion and food bowls behind in Gulistan, Uzbekistan, so he would feel at home.

But two years later she found her bedraggled, starving pet waiting on her doorstep at her new home in Liska, Russia.

"I knew he had disappeared from my neighbours' home a few days after we left which was very sad but we never heard another word about him," she said.

"Then I was walking along the road and I saw this cat which seemed to be waiting for me. When I go closer I saw it was Karim - thin, and in very poor condition but it was him.

"He is very happy now and so are we. I've no idea how he found us but I'm very glad he did."

Ravila's husband Lev Kondratyev, 46, said: "He looks like he used up all of his nine lives to get to us - but it's definitely him.

"There are certain marks on his body including a scar on his tail when it was caught in the door that show us he is 100 per cent our Karim - and he obviously recognised us as well."

http://snipr.com/y5lxj [web_orange_co_uk]

very cool transformer owl

Watch the video. The coolest part is nearer the end. The explanation for those of us who speak English is below...:)


How cool was that? While I'm not certain what the exact species of owl this is (while it looks kind of like a North American screech owl, I think it's a scops owls based on pictures on the Owl Pages) I know exactly what this little "Transformer owl" is doing.

You might not know that small owl species are sometimes on the menu for larger owl species. When faced with the barn owl, which is only slightly larger than itself, the Transformer owl puffs itself up to look as big as possible in an effort to scare the barn owl away. When faced with the second, much larger owl, however, it does the exact opposite. By elongating its body, flattening its feathers and squinting its eyes, this little owl mimics a dead branch in the hopes of camouflaging itself from the larger bird.
http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2010/05/transformer-owl.html

two faced kitten

fascinating: octopus changes shape and color

for a similar video and other octopus posts, click the label below

more pets in the classifieds

living weird: Macropinna with clear dome head and tubular eyes

note that the two black dots on the front that look like eyes, are its "nose"... the eyes are inside.

creepy or cute-- Riley the smiley dog

This is a picture of Riley... and it has not been doctored.

Riley is a bichon frise/poodle mix who seems to grin with both his mouth and his eyes.  According to his owner, Maureen Ravelo, of San Jose CA, Riley has such humanlike facial expressions, she frequently forgets he is a dog.  In addition to his grin, Riley also flashes a snobbish and a curious look.

Ms. Ravelo said, "The most unique part about him is he thinks he’s human like us,... He loves to sit up on chairs while we’re eating dinner and sleeps with us in bed... Sometimes, I wonder if he realizes he’s really a dog..."

http://snipr.com/v0b3f   [www_metro_co_uk]

Cute as he is, I think that having a dog look at me like that would creep me out.

discontent on the farm: cows in the news

snakes are your friends! (if you are a little crazy)

...err maybe not...

(I am going to start a new category just for this post... creepy)

clever bird makes hook

free willy... and the rest of them, while you are at it.

all ended well with each of them... :)







many via

dogs in trouble

for more dog posts, click the label below or in the label cloud

goat that sounds like a human trying to sound like a goat. :)

This is just weird. I suggest that you listen to this first without looking at it. :)

animal-less meat may be on the menu sooner than you think

The idea of buying meat at the grocery store where "no animals are harmed" sounds completely ignorant, doesn't it?

Not anymore.

According to MSNBC and LiveScience.com, scientists are working on developing real meat that will be grown in vats without ever actually being part of a living animal. Bioengineers have already figured out how to grow "tiny nuggets" of meat from living cells without any actual livestock being effected.

Some suggest that someday, we will have animal-less steak, pork, chicken and designer meats (like seal, whale, dolphin, monkey or even human) that taste and nourish just like the real thing-- without having any farms or ranches.

The "benefits" of this bio-meat could be:
--avoiding animal suffering
--lower greenhouse emissions
--save agricultural land
--cut down on food-borne ailments, like swine flu.
-- and reduce PETA ads

The capability to do this is within sight. However, biomedical engineer Mark Post said, "Of course, we still have a long way to go to make a product that is even remotely competitive with current products."

http://snipr.com/biomeat [www_msnbc_msn_com]
newspaper clipping appeared here last month

from the classifieds: looking for a pet?