At the Wangcheng Zoo in the Chinese province of Henan, four tiger cubs represent new hope for an entire species. The cubs -- three born in late April and one in early May -- are members of the rarest tiger subspecies, the South China tiger.

South China tigers were once labeled "pests" by Mao Tse-tung, who recommended they be killed. Since the time of Mao's reign in China, their numbers have plummeted. Until 2007, when one of the tigers was seen in the wild for the first time since the 1960s, many scientists believed the species to be essentially extinct, surviving only in captivity. Even in captivity, there are reportedly fewer than 100 South China tigers in existence, almost all in a small number of zoos in China.

South China tigers are physically smaller than the more familiar Bengal and Siberian tigers, with more widely spaced stripes. More photos after the jump!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo (from top): Four tiger cubs at the Wangcheng Zoo in the Chinese province of Henan represent new hope for an entire species. Credit: Associated Press

Photo: Three of the cubs were born in late April and one was born in early May. Credit: Associated Press

Photo: South China tigers are physically smaller than the more familiar Bengal and Siberian tigers, with more widely spaced stripes. Credit: Shang Xiaoli / European Pressphoto Agency

The Humane Society of Missouri says more than 400 dogs were seized last week as part of what's being called the largest coordinated raid on dogfighting rings in American history. Rescuers say dogs from Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi were taken from owners who subjected them to unspeakable cruelty. Dogs that didn't fight well enough, they say, were shot, their bodies sometimes burned in barrels or thrown into rivers. Federal and state authorities, in addition to animal rescue groups, participated in the raid.

Many of those arrested in the raids appeared to live seemingly normal lives apart from their alleged ties to the shady world of dogfighting. One man arrested in Texas is a Little League coach; two men arrested in Missouri were a registered nurse and a teacher in a state-run school for the disabled, the Associated Press reported.

"The Humane Society of Missouri provided initial information that led to the investigation. During the course of the investigation they also cared for animals involved when possible, and they are presently designated to provide continuing care for the seized dogs," said Michael Reap, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri. 

The Humane Society of Missouri says it is housing most of the seized dogs -- mostly pit bulls -- in a temporary facility to keep them separate from other rescued animals. According to the group, animal behaviorists will evaluate each dog and make recommendations to the U.S. District Court on their chances for rehabilitation. 

"We are committed to giving dogs who have come from such horrible abuse the absolute best chance for a good life," Debbie Hill, the group's vice president of operations and the temporary shelter's director, said of the task at hand. "It is a tragedy that because of mistreatment by humans for financial gain and so-called sport, many dogs used in animal fighting may not ever be able to be placed in a home situation."

But there's good news for the animals as well. Janell Matthies with the Sacremento-based group United Animal Nations, which is helping to provide medical care for the seized dogs, told the Associated Press that rescuers are "seeing a lot of tail wags." Rescue groups in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa are also housing some of the seized dogs.

Across the U.S., animal advocates are calling the raids a victory for animals. The ASPCA has taken the opportunity to remind California animal lovers that an anti-dogfighting bill, A.B. 242, would benefit from constituent support. (The bill was scheduled for a state Senate committee hearing July 9, but that was postponed amid ongoing state budget concerns.) 

For his part, Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States says that each dogfighting raid brings the U.S. "one step closer to ending this cruel bloodsport."

RELATED:
Michael Vick to work with Humane Society on its campaign against dogfighting
Supreme Court to hear case on dogfighting and freedom of speech
Sports Illustrated features Michael Vick's pit bulls

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A dog stands chained before being removed by animal rescuers in St. Louis. Credit: Emily Rasinski / Associated Press

In the previous Heidi Chronicles, Heidi the aspiring actor had gone to an open call audition -- here, girl! -- for a TV reality show in development, intended to give rescue dogs like Heidi a shot at a Hollywood career.  Even though the project may never see the light of day, we were happy to wait in line behind small, hairless pooches wearing itty-bitty sweaters in order to be part of the process.

But yo, dogs -- just as Heidi was recovering from the excitement of being part of a showbiz cattle -- or is it canine? -- call, the shepherd got offered a real part: playing the "mean dog" in the first webisode of a new web series called "Sir Glen of Glenwood" for Performing Arts Studio West  (PASW) of Inglewood, which offers career training and management for actors with developmental disabilities. 

Heidi was already a friend of the studio.  She was the first dog -- in fact, so far, the only dog -- to participate in a studio improv class, thus putting the PAWS in PASW (sorry).  I'm told that one of the younger actors, Christy Chew, fondly refers to Heidi as the dog "with the substantial tail."

Studio founder/director John Paizis -- pictured (left) with Heidi and Chardell Brown, director of photography for "Sir Glen" -- told me that Heidi's job would be to bark at actor Glen Poehlman, who stars as the knight in shining armor, then chase him through an alley and a park.  A speaking part!  We immediately started rehearsing.

But just as Heidi's bark was beginning to sound suitably menacing, I got an e-mail saying that Heidi would also be asked to snarl and growl, curling one threatening lip. That, however, is above Heidi's skill level. I tried tucking cream cheese, her favorite, under one lip so it would appear that she was licking her lips in preparation for attack, but she just looked like a German Shepherd eating cream cheese.

I contacted Heidi's trainer, Sue DiSesso, to see if she had the snarl device we'd once tried on Heidi to give a friendly dog a fierce expression, but DiSesso could not immediately locate it; most trainers make their own devices, so I couldn't run out to buy one. DiSesso suggested we try what some trainers do -- put a rubber band around Heidi's muzzle and then loop in under her front fangs, thus lifting her lips (the dog is wearing it in the top photo).  But it was only a matter of seconds before Heidi began frantically pawing at her nose to get the rubber band off.

But, no matter -- "Sir Glen of Glenwood," it seems, is more "Spamalot" than serious business. Never mind that Heidi doesn't growl, and is really much too clean, healthy and friendly to actually be a vicious stray. This knight is a middle-aged man who believes he is a knight from the middle ages (the photo at right is Poehlman in costume). He lives in the inner city and spends his days trying to do good deeds, often to the dismay of the community.

Heidi made it through the "speaking" part just fine, but her strong suit was the chase -- all we had to do was throw her favorite rubber ball to send her flying as if in hot pursuit of the hapless knight. In one alley scene, we gave Poehlman the ball to carry, leading Heidi to not only chase Poehlman, but jump at him as she tried to recover her toy. Luckily, Sir Glen is always armed with a plastic sword.

In an upcoming chapter, we'll show you the video.

-- Diane Haithman

Photos by Steve Niel

One of our favorite blogs -- besides this one, of course -- is the always-entertaining Faildogs.com.  (We do have to take issue with a few dogs that we think aren't so much failing as prevailing, but others, like the too-enthusiastic disc dog and the not-so-impressive jumper, are unquestionably failures.)

We also deeply enjoy dogs who let enthusiasm cloud their judgement about what items make good playthings.  In short: This video, which Faildogs captions "Problem Solving Not Toby’s Strong Suit," simply delights us. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

From skunks to birds to jellyfish, the Web is full of animal news today.  A few of the stories that got our attention:

• The most pressing issue at Seal Beach's Leisure World retirement community -- at least to hear some residents tell it -- is the scourge of adorable rabbits they say are taking over. Pro- and anti-rabbit factions from the upscale gated community met at a recent City Council meeting, arguing over how, and whether, to control the little rodents' population.  Some advocate hiring an outside company to "thin out" the population using pellet guns.  The suggestion horrifies others. "I can't think of a more tranquil sight than a sweet rabbit on the front lawn," said Marsha Gerber, whose mother lives at Leisure World.  L.A. Times

• Little is known about the movements of the barrel jellyfish that live off the coast of South Wales.  To learn more, researchers have instituted a project called EcoJel to track them as they swim.  They attached electronic tags to the jellyfish using cable ties; the tags are designed to fall off and float when the creature dies. "I cannot think of any other species which is so universally recognizable yet we know so little about," said Dr. Victoria Hobson of Swansea University, a member of the study.  "We don't even know how long they live for but we hope this study will provide some answers."  Telegraph

• The blue-and-white parakeet rescued by a scuba diver half a mile out to sea in the waters off Devon, England, has been reunited with his owner. The bird, called Captain, apparently escaped his enclosure with several other birds when his owner, parakeet enthusiast Mike Peel, forgot to lock it. He'd resigned himself to never seeing the birds again when he saw Captain's picture in the newspaper. Peel breeds and shows parakeets and is the chairman of a group called the Torbay Budgerigar and Foreign Birds Society.  He keeps about 140 birds and says Captain isn't a show-quality parakeet, but he plans to use him for breeding. And adventuring, Peel says, seems to have agreed with Captain. "I've never seen a bird look so healthy, it's done him the world of good."  We don't know which is bigger news to us: The fact that the parakeet was found alive so far out to sea, or the fact that there are parakeet shows.  Plymouth Herald

• A man and woman were arrested in Florida for stealing a baby skunk from a Sarasota pet store.  The man, who has been charged with grand theft in the incident, was arrested when he tried to return the skunk to the store, sheriff's deputies said. The woman, who was arrested at another  location, has been charged with accessory to grand theft.  Associated Press

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: - Wild cottontail rabbits at Seal Beach Leisure World. Credit: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times

Today's news that a young Spanish man was gored to death by a bull during the run may draw a bit more attention than is usually given the event.  The man, identified as Daniel Jimeno Romero, was gored in the neck and lung by a 1,130-pound bull named Capuchino.  From the Associated Press:

This run, the fourth of eight held at San Fermin, was by far the most perilous of this year's festival. The previous three runs were comparatively placid affairs, with no serious injuries.

The six bulls covering the half-mile course with six accompanying steers tend to mind their own business and keep running as long as they stay in a pack. A bull that gets separated is more likely to get frightened and aggressive, and that is what happened today.

Capuchino apparently became separated from the other bulls when he fell early in the run, losing time while the others continued running.  Once he righted himself and began running again, he reportedly began charging haphazardly back and forth while human runners tried their best to put wooden barriers between themselves and the bull.  (Romero tripped and was gored while trying to scramble under such a barrier.)

Romero's death was the first in almost 15 years for the Pamplona spectacle and the 15th since event organizers began keeping count in 1924.  Three other human runners were also gored during today's run, in addition to six runners who suffered the bumps-and-bruises-type injuries that seem to come with the territory. 

Animal advocates from 23 countries were also out in force at this year's San Fermin festival, many nude and holding signs reading "Bulls die bloody deaths in Pamplona."  A statement posted on an anti-bullfighting website maintained by PETA's U.K. branch takes issue with continuing events like the San Fermin festival in the name of tradition.  "People have always tried to use tradition to justify horrible things, such as child labour and slavery," it reads.  "But tradition doesn’t make something right. Bullfighting is a cruel blood sport that should have been relegated to the history books a long time ago."

Responding to the statement, Bonnie Erbe of U.S. News & World Report writes, "I know PETA's U.S. affiliate has engaged in some controversial methods of garnering publicity (pie-throwing and the like) for animal abuse. But in this case, PETA-UK is absolutely right."  Erbe is quick to point out, though, that she doesn't expect the Spanish government to intervene, because the San Fermin festival and other bullfighting events remain profitable.

RELATED:
Animal activists cry foul over "bloodless bullfighting" event in Artesia

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Participants run ahead of fighting bulls on the fourth bull run of the San Fermin festival.

Credit: A. Arrizurieta / AFP/Getty Images

Sioux City, Iowa, City Councilman Aaron Rochester was instrumental in a successful campaign last year to ban pit bulls within city limits. Among the most damning evidence he presented in support of the ban was animal control department reports showing that pit bulls were the breed most apt to bite people.

Rochester had a bit of egg on his face, then, when his own dog -- a yellow Labrador retriever named Jake -- bit a neighbor and was deemed vicious by the Sioux City animal control department. Rochester maintained that Jake, "a great watchdog," was only trying to protect his young daughter and a friend, who were playing nearby. But the bite required five stitches, and the victim maintained he'd done nothing to provoke the attack.

A city code requires that vicious dogs be euthanized for the public's safety. But Rochester appealed to Sioux City's police captain, Pete Groetken, for clemency. 

"I think it will be very difficult for me to reverse a decision by [animal control] unless there was strong evidence that there was a need for the animal to protect the owner's property," Groetken told the Sioux City Journal before making his ruling. The ruling came last week in the form of a certified letter to Rochester: Jake is vicious.

Rochester says he will once again appeal in hopes of saving Jake, this time to a special arbiter appointed by the city manager. In an interview with the Journal, he stressed that even the victim of the attack, who has declined to be named, "doesn't want anything to happen to Jake. He does not want him put down."

Since Groetken made his decision, Sioux City pit bull owners have urged officials to repeal the ban, in part because Rochester's case has shown that pits aren't the only breed capable of biting people. (The ban allowed those who already owned pit bulls to keep their dogs, provided they complied with other regulations, such as mandatory registration, but forbids future pit bull ownership in the city.) 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A pit bull stands in a cage at the L.A. County animal shelter in Carson. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

These little guys are members of the world's most endangered species of cat -- the Iberian lynx. Fortunately for them a group of conservation biologists is working to save the species through a captive breeding program in the lynxes' native Spain.

A century ago, about 100,000 Iberian lynxes lived in the wild in Spain and Portugal.  But in the years since, they've been the victims of hunting, habitat loss due to human development and a disease outbreak that killed a huge number of wild rabbits, their main prey. By 2002, only about 150 Iberian lynxes remained in the wild.

One of the primary biologists working to save the lynxes is Astrid Vargas, an American who started a conservation breeding program in Spain in 2003.  Vargas, who holds degrees in both veterinary medicine and conservation biology, started with five adult lynxes and now says the program has reached a goal of 30 adult males and 30 adult females. The next step: Preparing captive-born lynxes to be released into the wild.

More photos after the jump; for more information on the effort to bring Iberian lynxes back from the brink, check out this insightful Agence France-Presse interview with Vargas.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photos: AFP/Getty Images

Oscar G. Mayer Jr., the man behind the eponymously named bologna, passed away earlier this week at age 95.  Mayer was chairman of the meat products company that bears his name (and the names of his father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., and grandfather, Oscar F. Mayer, who cofounded the company) and worked there for more than 40 years before retiring in the late 1970s.  And of course, even after his retirement, he continued to be associated with meat products -- and the Wienermobile.

Now, in the wake of the former chairman's death, PETA is asking the company to "bury the Wienermobile along with Mr. Mayer."  In a letter to Oscar Mayer company president Nick Meriggioli, PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman offers her condolences before saying that "laying someone to rest can be an occasion to examine a life as well as an opportunity to send a positive message.

"The Wienermobile travels around the country and entices children to try Oscar Mayer meats that can set them on the road to developing life-threatening illnesses," Reiman continues, citing a Harvard study linking children's consumption of cured meat products to increased risk of developing leukemia.

Reiman goes on to discuss, in detail, the suffering pigs experience in slaughterhouses, and concludes the letter by suggesting the Oscar Mayer company "perhaps go a step further" by launching a line of vegetarian products.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Friends and relatives carry the casket of George Molchan, who portrayed Oscar Mayer spokesman "Little Oscar" for over thirty years.  The Wienermobile led the procession to the cemetery where Molchan was buried, and mourners sang "I Wish I Were An Oscar Mayer Weiner" at the service. Credit: John Luke / Associated Press

From elephants and tigers to inspirational dogs and bad, bad cats, animals are making headlines all over the world today.  These are a few of the stories that made us take notice:

• Wildlife advocates have successfully moved 83 African elephants from the Mangochi district of Malawi to a game reserve 100 miles away. Farmers in the area had resorted to shooting or trapping the elephants, which in recent years have raided crops and gored or trampled 20 people to death. Cheering villagers lined the roads as the sedated elephants were trucked away. A helicopter, a crane and two large flatbed trucks -- as well as an estimated $170,000 -- were needed to complete the project.  Greenspace

• A 6-month-old Bengal tiger cub is so unusual that it's believed that there are fewer than 20 like her in existence. The cub, named Fareeda, is a resident of the Cango Wildlife Ranch, a breeding facility for endangered species in South Africa -- and she's stripeless."Some cubs develop stripes in their first few months, but after six months it's clear that Fareeda is truly one of the rarest of her kind," said Odette Claassen of the Cango ranch.  (Most white tigers have stripes, although sometimes the stripes are so light in color as to virtually disappear.)  Telegraph

• A Denver-area Shetland sheepdog is cheering up hospital patients and special-needs children while drawing attention to the ongoing problem of conditions in American puppy mills. The dog, named Dare, has only two legs (the front and rear right ones) and was rescued from a puppy mill.  At the mill, another dog chewed off his left rear leg before he was a week old. His left front leg was fractured and dislocated when it became stuck in a wire cage and had to be amputated."He gives you an incentive to try and do better no matter your disability," said multiple sclerosis patient Rochelle Rotruck.  Denver Post

• The investigation into a Queensland, Australia, house fire centers on whether a cat urinating on a laptop could have started the blaze. Two teenage boys were home when the fire started (neither was seriously injured) and reported that, although they'd let their pet cat outside hours before the fire started, it had somehow gotten back inside and urinated on the computer to which initial investigations traced the fire's origin. Courier Mail

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A tranquilized elephant is winched aboard a recovery vehicle as rescuers evacuate elephants persecuted in human-elephant conflict in Malawi. Credit: Associated Press

In the months since US Airways Flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River, we've all heard about "bird strikes" -- when geese, gulls or pigeons interfere with aircraft.  (The issue of bird strikes has even prompted a few airports to hire herding dogs to keep birds and other animals off their runways.) 

Birds we've heard about.  But turtles?  It sounds too strange to be true, but 78 of the shelled creatures brought New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport to a screeching halt Wednesday.  The turtles -- identified as diamondback terrapins -- had apparently emerged from nearby Jamaica Bay looking for breeding grounds, the New York Daily News reported.

"Presumably, all these turtles were feeling amorous," Port Authority spokesman John Kelly told the New York Times' City Room blog, before offering up a string of turtle-related puns.

A pilot reported seeing the turtles on one of JFK's runways at about 8:30 a.m., and Port Authority workers struggled to remove the animals quickly.  The turtles -- each about 8 to 10 inches long and weighing 2 to 3 pounds -- had been scooped up and deposited back in the bay in about 35 minutes.  But the damage had been done, and flights were delayed up to an hour and a half.

Despite the inconvenience, "[everybody] had a good attitude considering it was turtles going off to hatch more turtles," Kelly told the Daily News.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A turtle (not one of those found at JFK) climbs out of a swimming pool.  Credit: Abdelhak Senna / AFP/Getty Images

To test the cats, Osthaus and two graduate students attached treats like fish to pieces of string and hung them below a plastic screen.  (In this way, the cats could see the treats but were unable to reach them.)  Would the cats, she wondered, be able to figure out that they could pull the treats closer to themselves by pulling on the end of the string?

The answer: Sort of.  When the cats were presented with just one "baited" string, they were able to make the connection between string and snack, the Guardian reported.  But when Osthaus and her team made things trickier, the cats were unable to keep up.

To increase the difficulty of the task, the team added "decoy" strings, without treats attached. Now the cats had to choose between two strings, one with and one without a treat, either parallel to each other or crossed.  Faced with two strings, none of the cats were able to consistently choose the one connected to the treat.  (Most of them chose the correct string at least part of the time, but interestingly, one cat chose incorrectly each time he was presented with the crossed-string test.)

Osthaus has conducted similar tests on dogs, which were able to solve the parallel-string problem but were also stumped by the crossed strings.  "This finding is somehow surprising as cats regularly use their paws and claws to pull things towards them during play and hunting," she told the Guardian. 

Some cat lovers are taking the study a little too personally, Osthaus told the Edmonton Sun, contacting her to argue that her study is flawed and maybe the cats just didn't feel like giving their all to her research.  "But they were motivated," she insists.  "You can see them trying to figure it out. They just couldn't."

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Tai Shan (pronounced "tie-SHON" and meaning "peaceful mountain"), a giant panda at the National Zoo in Washington, celebrates his fourth birthday today. In honor of Tai Shan's big day, zoo staff crafted him a special icy "cake" -- it's made from water, bamboo, shredded beets and beet juice. 

Tai Shan's parents are on loan to the National Zoo from China. Under an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Assn., any offspring they produce while in the U.S. belong to China. So eventually (and probably sooner rather than later), Tai Shan will have to leave the zoo. In the meantime, he's a beloved Washington figure with, we're sure, approval ratings rivaling even Michelle Obama's.

More photos of Tai Shan with his cake after the jump (and if you just can't get enough giant panda, be sure to check out the National Zoo's live panda webcam).

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photos 1-4: Alex Wong / Getty Images. Bottom photo: Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images

Her owner, Calvin Owensby, rejected a veterinarian's suggestion that she should be euthanized because of her deformity and instead told reporters he planned to eventually have the fifth leg amputated to allow her to move around more easily.  But when word spread about Precious, Owensby was given an offer he claimed he couldn't refuse: $3,000 to sell her to a Coney Island freak show.  

When the Gaston Gazette reported his decision to sell Precious, Owensby received a number of angry calls from townspeople decrying the move.  But one caller, Allyson Siegel of Charlotte, N.C., instead offered to buy the puppy for a higher price than the freak show was paying.

"Poor thing, she was headed for a terrible life," Siegel told the Gazette. "As a kid, I'd been to a fair, and I'd been to all these sideshows, and I just didn't think it was right for her."  (For his part, Owensby said he didn't know what lay in store for Precious at the freak show and instead believed he was selling her to "an amazing animals show.")

Siegel is more of a cat person, she told the Gazette, and has never owned a dog; in fact, she may wind up putting Precious up for adoption through the Animal League of Gaston County.  But in the meantime, the puppy is safe from sideshows and will definitely have the surgery she needs to move freely without the encumbrance of her extra leg.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Screenshot from MSNBC video

Submitter mum shares this detailed closeup of a carpet python, a constrictor snake native to Australia (particularly the states of Queensland, where mum found this one, and New South Wales). 

Carpet pythons can grow to 10 feet in length and spend a large amount of their time in trees.  They're so named because, it is said, their intricate markings resemble Oriental rugs. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: mum / Your Scene

Mayo (ID# A1038639), a border collie mix up for adoption at the North Central animal shelter, has just such a story. 

Mayo found himself at the shelter when his owners lost their home.  Now, at about 10 years old, he's in the market for a new family.  He's neutered and is "calm, well-mannered, docile, sweet and would make an ideal companion for an older couple or single person," according to Jennifer Fearing of the Humane Society of the United States, who met Mayo during a recent appearance on KTLA News.

"Despite the good care he's getting, Mayo definitely is mopey," Fearing says.  (We would be, too -- but we hope he has a reason to cheer up soon.)  Meet him in person at the North Central shelter, 3201 Lacy St.,or call 888-4LAPET1 with his ID number for more information.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Jennifer Fearing

The L.A. Zoo has seen a spate of births recently, from the peninsular pronghorns and Speke's gazelles to the red river hogs (the watermelon-resembling creatures above, which are "like big puppies," according to zoo veterinarian Curtis Eng).  Our colleague Carla Hall has the details on the newborns:

Across the zoo, babies of different species are toddling, waddling, and jumping in pens and yards and stalls. A giraffe was born in April and another is expected any day. There are two Chacoan peccaries, a type of pig from South America, and a Japanese serow, a rare goat-antelope. A Mexican lance-headed rattlesnake, less than a month old, won't go on display until the zoo's new reptile house opens in 2011. But visitors can see a month-old gerenuk already standing straight up on outstretched slender legs as he browsed for leafy vegetation in a yard in the zoo's nursery.

Most hoof stock deliver in the spring, zoo staffers said. The nursery is full of babies being hand-reared because they are recovering from illnesses or their mothers can't do the job.

Also new at the zoo, Hall reports, are two greater flamingo chicks, with a third (probably) on the way.  (Flamingo eggs often fail to hatch, for a variety of reasons.)  For more on the zoo's newest additions, check out Hall's story and its accompanying photo gallery.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Young red river hogs, born at the zoo in May, are hand-fed.  Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

From China to Afghanistan to England, animals are making news all over the world today.  These are a few of the stories that caught our eye:

• As the U.S. military shifts its focus from Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan, it also needs to change its notions about transportation.  Humvees and helicopters aren't easily used in the region -- and that's where donkeys and mules come in.  A course on pack animals at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest teaches Marines how to handle the beasts of burden.  L.A. Times

• Chinese animal advocates say a recent raid on a Shanghai cat dealer saved about 300 stolen pet cats from being eaten in restaurants in China's Guangdong province.  The group says it received a tip that the cats were being kept in cages in a freight yard in preparation for shipment to Guangdong; most of the cats have since been returned to their owners. Police detained the dealer, but he was released a few hours later because, a Chinese police officer explained, "Cats are not a protected animal."  AFP

• The only known pig in all of Afghanistan was released from quarantine Saturday and allowed to return home to the Kabul Zoo.  The pig, named Khanzir (which means"pig"), had been quarantined for two months because people "felt that the swine influenza might ... be spread from the zoo because we have a pig here," zoo manager Aziz Gul Saqib said.  But Khanzir's return wasn't exactly triumphant -- some visitors scattered when he was brought back through the zoo to his enclosure.  "It is very haram [forbidden] and should not even been looked at," said one.  "I don't think it should even be in the zoo."  Reuters

• A blue-and-white parakeet is being called miraculous for surviving a bizarre near-drowning experience -- he was rescued by a scuba diver who found him, inexplicably, a half-mile out to sea in the waters off Devon, England.  The bird, nicknamed Captain, is being held at a veterinary facility until his owner comes to claim him.  (Since there are no wild parakeets in England, it's believed he's an escaped pet.)  Telegraph

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Marines coax a donkey on a mountain hike. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Shortly before President Obama's inauguration in January, an ailing loggerhead turtle was discovered in the waters off Key West, Fla.  Local residents boating in the area found the distressed turtle floating and unable to dive.  Like other sick and injured turtles in the area, the 200-pound behemoth was taken to the Turtle Hospital, a nonprofit organization based in Marathon, Fla., that has the sole purpose of caring for sea turtles.

Although the turtle was a female, her rescuers named her Obama in honor of the soon-to-be-president.  (We're not sure how the president would feel about such a tribute, but we're reasonably certain it was meant as a compliment.)  An X-ray showed that Obama was suffering from an intestinal impaction.  The treatment for such a malady, according to the Turtle Hospital's blog: "Extra squid with Mineral Oil!"  By summertime, she had recuperated and was ready to return to the ocean.

Since Obama's rescue had a patriotic element, her rescuers thought July 4 would be an appropriate day to release her.  A crowd gathered at Higgs Beach in Key West, snapping photos and cheering her on as she was set free. 

Loggerheads are the world's largest hard-shelled turtles -- they weigh about 250 pounds on average, but have been known to reach 1,000 pounds or more -- and are an endangered species.  Fun fact: A group of loggerhead turtles is called a flotilla!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Obama's release in Key West.  Credit: Rob O'Neal / Associated Press

Knut and a sibling were born to the Berlin Zoo's female polar bear, Tosca, and a male polar bear named Lars that was on loan to Berlin from the Neumünster Zoo, also in Germany.  According to Neumünster, it had made an agreement with Berlin that it would own Lars' first offspring.

Tosca rejected her cubs shortly after they were born, and Knut's sibling died.  Knut survived and became a beloved international figure -- even gracing the cover of Vanity Fair -- when his keeper, Thomas Doerflein, decided to raise him by hand.  (Doerflein died last year at age 44.)

With Knut's celebrity came increased revenue to the Berlin Zoo through ticket sales and marketing tie-ins (his likeness has been featured on calendars, postcards, coffee mugs, jigsaw puzzles and other products) -- of which the Neumünster Zoo said it was entitled to a share. 

A showdown of sorts developed between Berlin Zoo director Bernhard Blaskiewitz and Neumünster Zoo director Peter Drüwa, eventually ending up in a Berlin court in May.  Berlin expressed interest in buying Knut at the time, thereby negating Neumünster's claim to his profits, but Neumünster maintained that its offer was nowhere near Knut's actual worth. 

The judge overseeing the case proposed a settlement wherein Berlin would pay 700,000 euros (a little less than $1 million U.S.) for Knut, but Blaskiewitz said Berlin couldn't afford to pay more than 350,000 euros (a little under $500,000 U.S.).  The judge ordered both sides to continue negotiating outside the courtroom and come up with an agreement. 

The monetary agreement announced today represents a compromise, with Berlin paying the 350,000 euros it says it can afford this year and 40,000 euros per year for the next two years.  During a news  conference, Blaskiewitz called the agreement between the two zoos "amicable" and said he believed staying in Berlin was "the best solution for Knut."

RELATED:

Knut, beloved polar bear, has a run-in with a fan

Woman is mauled by polar bear after jumping into Berlin Zoo enclosure; zoo says it won't change security policy

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Knut celebrating his first birthday in December 2007.  Credit: John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images