Earlier this week, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the Humane Society of the United States announced plans for a novel new approach to combating animal cruelty in L.A. County: A 24-hour tip line, manned by both English and Spanish speakers, for citizens to report incidents of dogfighting.  

The tip line was officially unveiled at a press conference Tuesday at the office of L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley.  Those with information about a dogfighting ring, an upcoming dogfight or an individual who is involved in dogfighting are urged to call 1-877-NO2FITE; those reporting information that leads to an arrest or conviction will be rewarded with up to $5,000.  (Cooley noted that anyone reporting a dogfight in progress should call 911 rather than the tip line.)

"Our goal is to encourage citizens to help law enforcement root out a brutal crime that often goes unreported and occurs in the shadows," Cooley said during Tuesday's press conference.  Also present Tuesday was the Humane Society's senior state director for California, Jennifer Fearing, who called Cooley "a true champion for animals." 

Cooley and Fearing were joined at the press conference by two rescued pit bulls, Clancy and Honey. Clancy, a 13-year-old survivor of the horrors of dogfighting, was found wandering downtown L.A., severely emaciated and with an ear infection so severe that he couldn't lift his head.  (Clancy now serves as an ambassador of sorts for Downtown Dog Rescue.)  

Rescuers believe Honey, a 2 1/2-year-old female, may have been used as a bait dog in a dogfighting operation. Honey was found lying in a pool of her own blood, having apparently been slashed by a razor blade. She has since made a full recovery and is flourishing in a new adoptive home. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Junior, one of hundreds of pit bulls that were seized July 8 in a dozen states during the largest dogfighting raid in U.S. history, gets a little friendly petting from volunteer Tiffany McBee at the Humane Society of Missouri headquarters Oct. 14.  Credit: Jeff Roberson / Associated Press

Katmandu, Nepal -- A Hindu festival in which thousands of animals are expected to be sacrificed will go ahead as scheduled in southern Nepal despite protests, organizers said Friday.

The Gadhimai festival, celebrated every five years, is attended by many Hindus from India as well as from Nepal. More than 200,000 buffaloes, pigs, goats, chickens and pigeons are expected to be slaughtered this year on Nov. 24 and 25.

Organizers said they will not bow to "interference" from animal rights and religious groups that have held protests in Katmandu and in the festival area in Bara district, about 100 miles south of the capital.

"We will not stop this centuries-old tradition now. This is our religion, belief and tradition and we will continue with it no matter what," said Motilal Kushwa of the organizing committee.

Kushwa said thousands of people have already arrived at the site with animals meant for sacrifice next week.

Participants believe that animal sacrifices for the Hindu goddess Gadhimai will end evil and bring prosperity. Many join the festival from the state of Bihar in India, where animal sacrifices have been banned in some areas.

Critics say the killings are barbaric and conducted in a cruel manner.

Government administrator Taranath Gauram said hundreds of extra police officers have been sent to the area to maintain security and officials do not expect trouble during the festival.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, a Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha, has joined the campaign against the animal slaughter and plans to visit the festival area to appeal directly to participants to stop the sacrifices.

Bamjan's followers believe he has been meditating without food and water in the jungles of southern Nepal since 2005. Believers say he spends months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Supporters of Ram Bahadur Bamjan offer prayers as they protest the slaughter of animals during next week's Gadhimai festival in Nepal. Credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

Submitter Alan shares his vivid photo of the most colorful bird we'd ever seen (and that's including peafowl), taken in Botswana.  The bird is a lilac-breasted roller, a species commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Middle East. 

Lilac-breasted rollers are known to perch high in trees or atop telephone poles and other similarly high places in order to scope out their favored foods, which can include everything from small insects to reptiles to other birds. 

Think your animal photo should be our reader photo of the day?  Show us by submitting it to the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site.  Just select the appropriate album (for instance, Alan submitted his photo to the Birds of a Feather album), click the "submit" link at the top of the page, choose your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a little about your subject matter. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Alan / Your Scene

The new breeds will bring the total number of breeds recognized by the AKC to 164. 

The bluetick coonhound (left) is believed to be descended from the French staghound and English foxhound, and blueticks were originally classified as members of the English foxhound breed. 

Blueticks and English foxhounds went their separate ways in 1945 because, according to the AKC, bluetick breeders "didn't want to follow the trend toward producing a hot-nosed, faster hunter. Proud of their larger, cold-nosed and resolute, if slower hounds, they named their breed and maintained their own hunting style." 

As a result of these breeding practices, blueticks are known for their endurance in addition to their signature coloring, for which they're named.  A bluetick named Smokey is the mascot for the University of Tennessee.

The Boykin spaniel (right) -- named for the breed's originator, L. Whitaker Boykin -- hails from South Carolina and is that state's official dog.  (This fun fact got us wondering whether California has an official state dog; it doesn't.  But a number of other U.S. states do; for instance, the American foxhound is the state dog of Virginia and the Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog is the state dog of Louisiana.  For reasons unclear to us, the Great Dane is the official dog of Pennsylvania.)   

According to legend, the Boykin breed got its start in the humblest of manners: the breed's forerunner, a sturdy little stray who was given the name Dumpy (no joke), was found wandering near a church in Spartanburg, S.C., in the early 1900s.  One of the parishioners, Alexander White, took Dumpy home.  After spending some time with Dumpy, White thought his personality lended itself to hunting; it just so happened that White's hunting partner was Boykin, a skilled dog trainer.  Boykin took over Dumpy's training and soon discovered the dog was a natural at hunting wild turkeys; soon, a breed was born.  Although the original Boykin spaniels were wild-turkey hunters, the majority of those used in the field today hunt ducks and other water birds.

Young-adult literature fans may remember the redbone coonhound (left) from Wilson Rawls' novel "Where the Red Fern Grows," which made us weep in our youth and, even now, causes us to well up a bit thinking about it.  Redbones are descended from red foxhounds brought to the U.S. from Scotland and Ireland in the 1700s and 1800s, and they're known for their speed, agility and prowess at treeing game.

Both the bluetick coonhound and redbone coonhound will join the Hound group, naturally; the Boykin spaniel will become the newest member of the Sporting group.  The new breeds are the first to receive official recognition from the AKC since the Irish red-and-white setter, the Pyrenean shepherd and the Norwegian buhund were admitted to the exclusive purebreds-only club in January.

RELATED:
The Dogue de Bordeaux comes to Westminster
PETA protests Westminster dog show (Klan hoods and all)
AKC releases its list of the 10 most popular dog breeds

-- Lindsay Barnett

Top photo: A bluetick coonhound.  Credit: Diane Lewis / American Kennel Club

Middle photo: A Boykin spaniel. Credit: Bill Simmons

Bottom photo: A redbone coonhound.  Credit: Christine Smith

"We've been described as the most dog unfriendly city in the South Bay," Councilman Bill Brand said.

Although there are other cities that have dog bans, such as Gardena, Hawthorne and Culver City, where they are permitted in only one park, the policy is uncommon enough that Linda Barth, assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, said she had never heard of a city with regulations as strict as Redondo Beach's.

"There's not enough park patrol or animal control officers to proactively monitor parks, and taking your animal to the park under the appropriate conditions ... many people would argue, is almost a protected right," she said.

There are many people in Redondo Beach who would agree, many of them owners of the 3,600 dogs licensed in the city.

Three petitions with several hundred signatures each have been submitted to the City Council in the last several months asking the city to loosen its leash on the dog policy.

This week, the council asked the Recreation and Parks Commission to study whether the 1979 law should be modified to allow leashed dogs in Czuleger Park, a 2.1-acre space near King Harbor.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: Redondo Beach resident Kathy Burke carries Kai, her 8-month-old puppy, on her way out of the Redondo Beach dog park. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Germany's Nuremberg Zoo welcomed Rangar, Khan and Domur, Siberian tiger cubs, back in August. Since Siberian tigers (also called Amur tigers) are endangered -- it's believed that only about 400 to 500 animals remain in the wild in eastern Russia and parts of China and North Korea -- these three healthy cubs have given the zoo great cause for celebration.

Siberian tigers are the largest of the tiger subspecies still in existence today. There were once eight subspecies, but three (the Caspian tiger, Javan tiger and Bali tiger) became extinct during the 20th century.  The five remaining subspecies are all considered endangered.

More photos of Rangar, Khan and Domur after the jump!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photos: Timm Schamberger / AFP/Getty Images

A tortoise's zookeepers in Cleveland are the ones feeling slow because after more than 50 years, they've discovered "Mary" is actually a male. Officials at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo say it can be tough to establish the sex of a giant Aldabra tortoise because the reproductive organs normally aren't visible. But Mary's maleness was unexpectedly revealed earlier this month during a routine exam.

Spokesman Tom O'Konowitz said Wednesday that the zoo has decided to rename the tortoise Terry.

When the 400-pound reptile arrived at the zoo in 1955, it was assumed he was a she because of a flatter shell, shorter tail and all-around smaller size than most males.

The tortoise is estimated to be between 75 and 100 years old.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Mary, now Terry, at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  Credit: Associated Press

Submitter Nancy Janes shares this wonderful shot of Anna Marie, a rescued dog with an amazing story we couldn't keep to ourselves. 

Janes found and rescued Anna Marie in Galati, Romania, when she was just a puppy; Anna Marie had suffered a broken back as a result of being hit by a car. "Now, she is the 'wild child' of our family," Janes says of Anna Marie, who lives alongside six other rescued dogs from Romania.

Janes, a California resident, founded the group Romania Animal Rescue after visiting Romania on a hiking tour in 2001. In the capital city of Bucharest, she took time out to feed some stray dogs -- an abundance of strays is one legacy of Nicolae Ceauşescu's rule -- and encountered a young Romanian woman who was also feeding the animals. 

"I told her I would go back to America and help Romania's dogs," Janes explained of the encounter. "She said, 'Everyone says they will help the Romanian dogs. Then they go home and forget.' Well, having heard this, I had to keep my word!"

We're so thankful she did -- as, we're sure, are the 300-plus dogs Romania Animal Rescue has successfully placed in adoptive homes in the years since! The group also funds free spay/neuter services for Romanian dogs and raises funds for veterinarians from the U.S. to travel to Romania to help Romanian vets master modern surgical techniques. Anna Marie is just one of the countless animals to have benefited from the group's good works.

Want to share your photo with us? Just head to the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site. Select the appropriate album, click the "submit" link at the top of the page, choose your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a little about your subject matter.  We'd love to see it!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Nancy / Your Scene

Is it animal-inspired art that interests you?  Helping homeless pets that floats your boat?  We've got you covered with options like these (and many more) in the coming days and weeks.  (Are we forgetting something?  Let us know by leaving a comment!)

This Weekend:

Saturday, Nov. 21, multimedia artist Rachel Schmeidler hosts the art exhibition "Hollywood Least Wanted 3D" at downtown art gallery Rivera + Rivera, 1100 S. Hope Street, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Schmeidler aims to raise awareness about homeless pets facing euthanasia at animal shelters with the exhibition, which showacases her anaglyphic 3D photos of shelter dogs.  Adoptable pets from L.A. Dept. of Animal Services shelters will be present, as will special guests Zachary Quinto ("Heroes"; "Star Trek") and his dog Noah.  Schmeidler's earlier series, "Hollywood Most Wanted," will also be on display for the first time in 3D.  Attendees are encouraged to RSVP online and make a $20 donation in advance of the event (you'll receive a raffle ticket and 3D glasses).  All donations and 50% of art sales will benefit the Animal Welfare Trust Fund, which provides support, supplies and veterinary equipment to L.A.'s municipal city shelters.  More information at HollywoodLeastWanted.com.

Upcoming:

Saturday, Dec. 5, spcaLA invites potential "foster parents" to learn about its fostering program from 10 a.m. to noon at its South Bay Pet Adoption Center, 12910 Yukon Ave., Hawthorne. "Foster parents" are needed to care for puppies and kittens that are too young to be adopted, as well as older dogs and cats with special needs. More information at spcaLA.com. (The L.A. Department of Animal Services offers a similar program for underage puppies and kittens; more information on that program is available at the department's website.)

Saturday, Dec. 5, Laguna Beach's Neighborhood Congregational Church hosts its 15th annual Festival and Blessing of the Animals from 1 to 4 p.m.  This free event, at 340 St. Ann's Drive in Laguna Beach, includes a blessing of the animals ceremony led by Rev. B. J. Beu, pet-themed vendors and information on Orange County animal-related charities.  The event is free; attendees are encouraged to bring donations of pet food to be distributed to pet-owning homeless families in Orange County. 

Saturday, Dec. 5, Kitten Rescue holds its second annual "Fur Ball at the Skirball" fundraising event from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd.  The event, hosted by "The Office" star Jenna Fischer, features hors d'oevres, cocktails and dinner, live entertainment, a silent auction, a raffle and more.  Tickets will set you back $125 each; an "Angel Table" with seating for 10 is $1,250.  All proceeds benefit Kitten Rescue's work on behalf of needy cats and kittens in Southern California.  More information at KittenRescue.org.

Sunday, Dec. 6, the Irvine Animal Care Center hosts its "Home for the Holidays" adoption event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its 5-acre shelter facility at 6443 Oak Canyon in Irvine.  Over 500 adoptable pets -- each of which has already been spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and had his or her health evaluated by a veterinarian -- will be on hand to meet potential new owners.  The event also features pet-themed vendors, a raffle, a silent auction, a bake sale, "Ask a Vet" and "Ask a Trainer" booths and an appearance by Santa Claus (who will be available for photo ops).  Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.  More information at IrvineShelter.org.

Sunday, Dec. 6, L.A.-based jewelry company Art of War Designs hosts its combination holiday-party-and-fundraiser, with a percentage of all jewelry sales from the evening benefiting Villalobos Rescue Center, a pit bull rescue and training organization in Southern California.  From 6 to 10 p.m., join Art of War for music, cocktails and jewelry-shopping (designs are made from recycled bullet casings; get it?) at the Alibi Room, 12236 Washington Blvd. in Culver City.  More information at Art of War's website.

Ongoing:

Through Nov. 28, UC Riverside presents "Intelligent Design: Interspecies Art" at its Sweeney Art Gallery, which features works from 20 artists (most from California) that explore the lives and aesthetics of animals in unique ways.  One featured artist, Sam Easterson, shows video gathered when he attached minicams to creatures including armadillos, falcons, scorpions and sheep.  Another, Nina Katchadourian, explores our ideas of what constitutes a good-looking animal in "Continuum of Cute," for which she chose 100 images of animals which she ranked from uncute to very, very cute.  (Not for the faint of heart: Another artist, Carlee Fernandez, reworked taxidermied animals into shall-we-say-unorthodox pieces of luggage.)  "In the past, art dealing with animals usually addressed issues of representation," gallery director Tyler Stallings told The Times of the exhibition. "I wanted to expand beyond that."  More information at the Sweeney Art Gallery's website.

Through Earth Day (April 22, 2010), secondhand-clothing store chain Buffalo Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States jointly host "Coats for Cubs."  Animal lovers are encouraged to clean out their closets (or parents' and grandparents' closets) and donate any tacky real-fur items found there (including fur trim, accessories and shearling) back to the animals.  Of course, it's too late to give the fur back to its original owner, but it can still be used as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife -- and it doesn't do your conscience any harm, either.  Fur in any condition is accepted and can be brought to any Buffalo Exchange location.  (If you'd like to claim your fur donation as a tax deduction, you'll need to mail it directly to the Humane Society rather than dropping it at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.)  More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

Every first and third Sunday, meet adoptable pets from the Los Angeles Dept. of Animal Services shelters -- without having to set foot in a shelter -- at the department's mobile pet adoption event at Moorpark Park, 12061 Moorpark Ave. in Studio City.  The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Every second Saturday and third Sunday, the L.A. Dept. of Animal Services hosts a mobile pet adoption event at West Hollywood's Petco, 508 N. Doheny Drive, from 1 to 5 p.m.  Every third Sunday, the L.A. Dept. of Animal Services hosts a mobile pet adoption event at downtown pet store Pussy & Pooch, 564 S. Main St., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Artist Rachel Schmeidler's 3D portrait of Mittens (ID# A1072297), a year-old adoptable female pit bull.  (Meet Mittens in person at the West L.A. shelter, 1361 W. Pico Blvd., or call 888-452-7381 with her ID number for more information.)  Credit: Rachel Schmeidler via her Facebook fan page.

The 56-pound dog, nicknamed "Loran's Best," was known as a laid-back mascot who seemed oblivious to crowd noise during boisterous games and would sit patiently as excited fans snapped photos of him. He often roamed the sidelines in a shirt with a "G" stitched on it, sometimes resting on a bag of ice to cool off in his customized doghouse.

The school said that there would be no mascot at Saturday's game in Athens against Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky, but that a wreath would be laid on Uga VII's doghouse on the field's sidelines. Sonny Seiler, the dog's owner, said he probably wouldn't name a replacement until next year.

"We are all in a state of shock," Seiler said in a news release issued by the university. "We had no warning whatsoever."

The 4-year-old dog made his debut as the mascot in August 2008 after his father, Uga VI, died of congestive heart failure. He had big paws to fill -- Uga VI was the school's winningest mascot, racking up a 87-27 record, seven wins in nine bowl appearances and a pair of Southeastern Conference championships.

But Seiler said the dog distinguished himself in his own way.

"He was 10-3 last year, which is not bad for a freshman," Seiler said. "Uga VII was not as active or mischievous as his father but more distinguished. He realized his role when he put his shirt on. He was well-behaved and always appreciated the significance of his role."

The dog was the latest in a line of mascots that have been featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and in several movies. He also was a compelling symbol for football fans across the nation, said Damon Evans, the school's athletic director.

"Just as his ancestors, he had captured the hearts of college football fans everywhere as the country's No. 1 mascot," Evans said. "He had been truly embraced by all those who follow the Georgia Bulldogs across the country. We will miss him dearly."

-- Associated Press

Top photo: Uga VII during a football game Oct. 17.  Credit: Charles Small / US Presswire

Bottom photo: Uga VII sits on the sidelines during a football game Aug. 30, 2008.  Credit: John Bazemore / Associated Press

We couldn't believe our eyes when we first saw this video; once we convinced ourselves that what we were seeing was real, all we could think was that we've been entirely too lax in dismissing reptiles as potential home-invasion threats.  (We're only marginally comforted by the fact that, should one of these creatures manage to break in and steal something from us, we could probably catch up with it.)

We're deeply impressed by this crafty tortoise and its deft maneuvering of its front legs! 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Pettubedotcom via YouTube

An independent bookseller in Sarah Palin's home state is donating the proceeds he makes off her book to a group that is among the biggest critics of the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

Don Muller owns Old Harbor Books in Sitka. He's selling Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue," for $28.99, and says he will donate profits to Defenders of Wildlife.

The wildlife conservation group often butted heads with Palin over her support of the state's predator control program, in which bears and wolves are shot from aircraft.

Muller says he's not a fan of Palin. He tells the Daily Sitka Sentinel that donating proceeds to Defenders of Wildlife is a way to "carry the book and do something positive."

-- Associated Press

Photo: Palin listens as John McCain addresses supporters during his election-night rally Nov. 4, 2008.  Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

Submitter Rog shares a photo he took earlier this year in Essaouira, Morocco. On a visit, Rog explains, he stumbled upon an elderly woman who regularly feeds parts of fish we'd rather not think about to a group of stray cats.  (And who, we ask, loves parts of fish we'd rather not think about more than cats?) 

"You could watch for hours," Rog says. "The cats all have a pecking order, and there never seems to be any fights. [Their caretaker] is very sweet and very grateful for any contributions." 

To submit your photos, head to the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site. Select the appropriate album, click the "submit" link at the top of the page, choose your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a bit about the animal you've photographed. 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Rog / Your Scene

The suspense is over: In a ceremony Tuesday, San Diego Zoo officials announced the recently selected name of the giant panda cub born there in August. (In accordance with Chinese tradition, the cub couldn't be officially named until he was 100 days old.)

The zoo held a contest to allow members of the public to submit name suggestions for the cub, a healthy male born to mother Bai Yun and father Gao Gao.  Once the submission period closed Oct. 19, zoo staff members selected their five favorite names from more than 6,000 offered by panda fans, which then had to be approved by the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Assn. 

That done, the zoo turned once again to the public to decide on the cub's name, allowing visitors to its website and Facebook fan page to cast their votes for one of the five  finalists: Xiao Long ("Little Dragon"), Xiong Wei ("Extraordinary Bear"), Fu Sheng ("Blissful San Diego"), Yong Xiang ("Eternally Blessed") and Yun Zi ("Son of Cloud"). 

According to the zoo, nearly 18,000 votes were received during the voting period, and the winning name received 28% of the vote.  That name is...

The winning name, Yun Zi, is significant because it honors mother panda Bai Yun (her name translates to "White Cloud").  According to Yadira Galindo, a senior public relations representative for the zoo, the voting nearly went another way, with 26% of voters selecting Xiao Long ("Little Dragon") instead.  Xiong Wei ("Extraordinary Bear") received 20% of the vote. 

Zoo staff describe Bai Yun as an excellent mother; she's given birth to four older cubs (Hua Mei, Mei Sheng, Su Lin and Zhen Zhen) since arriving at the zoo as part of a scientific exchange with China in 1996.  The oldest of Bai Yun's cubs, Hua Mei, was the first giant panda born in North America to survive to adulthood.  Since 2004, she's resided at her mother's birthplace, the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center, where she's given birth to six cubs — three sets of twins, a rarity for pandas.

Zoo officials and a Chinese diplomat announced late last year that China's loan of Bai Yun and Gao Gao to the San Diego Zoo would be extended for an additional five years.

RELATED:
Your morning adorable: Thailand's celebrity panda cub gets a name
Can't get enough of the San Diego Zoo's giant panda cub? Meet your new friend, Panda Cam
San Diego Zoo announces giant panda Bai Yun is pregnant (and may give birth to twins)

-- Lindsay Barnett

Bottom photo: Yun Zi's name is unveiled during a ceremony at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday.  Credit: Ken Bohn / Associated Press

A wild turkey that's taken up residence at a New Jersey tollbooth and spends its days scooting around 18-wheelers won't have to dodge Thanksgiving traffic. State Fish and Wildlife officials netted the bird Wednesday after failed attempts during the weekend.

The turkey had been trotting around the busy toll booth since the spring, weaving around traffic at the 14B interchange in Jersey City.

"Apparently, this turkey decided to make Jersey City her home, alongside of one of the top five busiest toll roads in America," said turnpike spokesman Joe Orlando. "She didn't want to leave, she was a regular, and to be honest with you, she probably had better attendance than a lot of the employees."

Wildlife officials believe the 11-pound female turkey may have taken a wrong turn out of Staten Island and become disoriented. She spent her days causing stunned truck drivers to slam on their brakes and prompting some spectators to run across several lanes of traffic to pose for pictures with her.

Toll collector Robin Bonner and her colleagues have nicknamed the scraggly bird "Tammy the Turnpike Turkey."

"I'm going to miss her when she's gone," said Bonner, who has been feeding the turkey Cracker Jacks and sunflower seeds. "Tammy has become the hit of the turnpike; she's a good bird."

Turnpike officials finally decided to have Tammy removed after complaints from drivers intensified.

The turkey kept wildlife officials at bay for nearly an hour Wednesday, as they crept around behind her with a net gun to try to capture her. After a few more trips back and forth across several lanes, she was scooped up, placed in a cardboard box, and driven to the Popcorn Zoo in Lacey Township.

-- Associated Press

Top photo: Tammy the Turnpike Turkey walks in front of toll booths at exit 14B of the New Jersey Turnpike in Jersey City, N.J.  Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press

Bottom photo: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist Tony McBride holds Tammy after capturing her near exit 14B Wednesday.  Credit: Mel Evans / Associated Press

Over the summer, animal lovers were outraged over a shocking incident of animal cruelty: A man threw his 1-year-old female pit bull, Oreo, from the roof of the six-story Brooklyn, N.Y., building where he lived.

Fabian Henderson, 19, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal trespassing and "overdriving, torturing and injuring animals," charges that could result in a sentence of up to two years in prison, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office; he pleaded guilty to a felony animal-cruelty charge in October and will be sentenced Dec. 1. 

Officials of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the New York Daily News that they'd first received a complaint that an animal was being beaten on the third floor of the building, where Henderson shares an apartment with family members, and shortly thereafter heard from witnesses who reported seeing Oreo thrown from the roof. (For her part, Henderson's mother told the Daily News that she believed her son was not guilty and that he was "basically a quiet person, good with animals.")

Oreo became something of a celebrity and recovered from the physical injuries that resulted from the fall, which included "multiple fractures in her two front legs, severe ligament damage, bruised lungs, a fractured rib, liver injury and internal bleeding," according to the indictment against Henderson. 

But her physical injuries proved to be the least of her problems, as the ASPCA staff entrusted with her care soon learned. Once she began to recover from her injuries, Oreo exhibited severe aggression toward both humans and other dogs. Late last week, the ASPCA made a controversial announcement that outraged many animal lovers: Oreo would be euthanized. Friday, that task was carried out, despite impassioned pleas from many in the animal-rescue community to allow her to live out her life at a sanctuary. A protest was even staged outside the ASPCA's New York headquarters. 

Pets Alive, a sanctuary located in New York state, had offered to take Oreo from the ASPCA. After the dog's death, Pets Alive executive co-director Kerry Clair had harsh words for the ASPCA, calling it "a welfare organization that chooses murder over rehabilitation" and urging its supporters to withhold donations in protest. "Animal organizations should not be adversaries, but when an organization that is chartered with protecting animals chooses to murder them when there are other options, they should lose the right to be called their protectors," Clair said.

In a statement, ASPCA President Ed Sayres called the decision to euthanize Oreo "difficult and heartbreaking," but he insisted it had been the best decision both for the general public and for the dog. "Despite extensive behavior rehabilitation efforts undertaken by ASPCA staff, Oreo continued to lunge, growl, snap and attempt to bite," Sayres said. "She would lunge at a behaviorist, only to spontaneously and unpredictably redirect her aggression toward her handler. She could not be socialized with other dogs for fear of an attack -- her aggression toward other dogs was clearly evident during her evaluations." 

Oreo's aggression clearly meant she couldn't be adopted by a private citizen, but why not send her to a sanctuary like Pets Alive? According to Sayres, even that seemed like an inappropriate way to deal with the dog, because her behavior problems would essentially require her to be kept in isolation, likely for the remainder of her life. "Her contact with the outside world would have been minimal at best," Sayres' statement continued. "Her quality of life would have been reduced to virtually nothing." Speaking to USA Today, ASPCA behaviorist Stephen Zawistowski echoed Sayres' sentiments about Oreo's prospects at a sanctuary, saying the dog exhibited extreme reactions to such a large number of stimuli that she was almost constantly stressed. "We tried to desensitize her, and that tended to make her more reactive," Zawistowski said. "The kind of love, attention and handling that has worked with so many other dogs made her more hostile."

That didn't make the bitter pill any easier to swallow for no-kill advocates such as Nathan Winograd, who told the New York Times that he viewed evaluating Oreo's behavior so quickly after her traumatic event as "setting the dog up for failure." (Winograd argued that Oreo, rather than being euthanized, needed "a rehabilitative process where the dog learns to trust people again, and then re-evaluate the dog.")  No fan of Sayres, Winograd later wrote on Examiner.com that "the ASPCA, under Sayres, proves once again that the large national organizations have no vision, no desire to truly raise the status of animals in society, and despite claiming they are setting the bar on how society should relate to animals, that they are in reality staffed by those who would rather perpetuate the violence and betrayal Oreo already experienced by killing her -- even as true animals lovers offered them a simple, life-affirming alternative, and the second chance at life Oreo so richly deserved."

Sayres' and Zawistowski's statements about Oreo's potential quality of life at a sanctuary also didn't quell the feelings of Pets Alive supporters, who created an online petition demanding Sayres' ouster as ASPCA president. The petition, which to date has received more than 1,500 signatures, says in part that Sayres "has demonstrated that he no longer has the capacity to act in the best interest of the animals in their care."

In an interview with USA Today's Sharon L. Peters, Zawistowski said the ASPCA, while unable to rehabilitate Oreo in life, had at least been able to do right by the animal in death. "Oreo didn't die when she was thrown from that building -- traumatically, fear-filled, when the last hand to touch her was a cruel hand," he said. "She left this world without stress or panic, in a quiet room, after she'd been sedated, with people who'd cared for her. The last hand she felt was a gentle hand."

Whether that outcome is good enough is one that will be debated for some time to come: New York state Assemblyman Micah Kellner has announced his plans to introduce "Oreo's Law." The legislation, if approved, would "allow animal welfare organizations the right to request animals be given to their care when a shelter is planning to euthanize them," Kellner wrote on his website. Had Oreo's Law, which Kellner said is modeled after California law, been in effect last week, it would have potentially allowed Pets Alive to take over Oreo's care when the ASPCA announced its plans to euthanize the dog.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photos: Oreo is held by a handler on Nov. 12, the day before the dog was euthanized.  Credit: Stephen Chernin / Associated Press

As a boy, Terry Reach used to traipse the land around his Pinedale, Wyo., home, searching for antlers shed by deer and elk.

It was a solitary pastime; he never saw anyone else, and he always found plenty of antlers, which he'd drag home and pile in the yard.

But now, each winter, western Wyoming is thick with people intent on snatching up as many antlers as they can find. They follow the bucks, waiting for them to shed their impressive headgear. Sometimes people chase the animals in all-terrain vehicles or on snowmobiles, believing the exertion will force them to drop their antlers.

"They run the wildlife off," said Reach, 53.

Such tactics, say Wyoming officials, can be destructive for deer and elk struggling to survive the lean winter months. Already starving, they can use up their reserves pushing through deep snow to avoid humans.

Now Wyoming is considering a ban on the popular activity from January through April, the months when the herds are most vulnerable.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: A chandelier made from antlers in Cheyenne, Wyo.  Credit: Mead Gruver / Associated Press

How do you prepare giant pandas for mating season?  Well, if you're the staff of the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center in China's Shaanxi province, you start by strength-training.

So how do you strength-train a panda?

Apparently, you teach him to walk on his hind legs, a mode of locomotion he probably wouldn't try on his own. The method may seem strange, but we're not inclined to scoff -- after all, giant pandas are so endangered that it's believed there are fewer than 2,000 of them left in the wild, so any effort to help the species survive seems worthwhile (even if it does look a little odd).

After the jump, check out more photos of this fellow, an 18-month-old male, getting the hang of walking upright!

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photos: Associated Press

BRUSSELS – Environmentalists on Monday said an international deal to reduce catches of Atlantic bluefin tuna didn't go far enough to protect the species from extinction.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas decided at a meeting Sunday in Brazil to limit 2010 catch quotas to 13,500 tons to prevent overfishing of the much sought-after tuna, the European Union said.

The commission sets annual fishing limits in an effort to save the fish stock from extinction.

Signatory countries had previously agreed to cut catches from 28,500 tons to 22,000 this year, but scientists and environmental groups argued a total ban was needed to salvage a viable tuna stock.

"Only a zero catch limit could have maximized the chances that Atlantic bluefin tuna could recover to the point where the fishery could exist in the future," said Susan Lieberman, from the Pew Environment Group.

Raul Romeva, who sits on the European Parliament's fisheries committee, said European delegates to the Brazil meeting "deserve to be condemned" for agreeing to continue fishing the sushi favorite.

The European Union's fisheries commissioner, Joe Borg, said the cuts would "mark decisive progress in managing and conserving" the bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

"Our goal is to ensure the return to a healthy bluefin tuna stock and a viable and sustainable fishery for our fleet," he said in a statement.

EU nations have been divided on how to protect dwindling tuna stocks off their coasts.

Mediterranean members Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, France and Spain blocked an attempt by the European Commission in September to impose a temporary ban on catching tuna.

Stocks of the bluefin species have been in steady decline for years with Japan taking some 80% of bluefin exports to satisfy demands for the finest raw fish ingredient.

The tuna's uncertain status has driven up prices and prompted fishermen to sidestep stringent quotas to fish illegally for big profits.

— Associated Press

Photo: Captive bluefin tuna inside a transport cage.  Credit: Gavin Newman / European Pressphoto Agency

Submitter Victor shares this swell shot of Ozzy, his 3-month-old golden retriever puppy, apparently transfixed by the sight of a sprinkler.  (We're sure that if we were a 3-month-old puppy, we'd find the concept of a sprinkler puzzling too.)

Think your animal-related photo should be our reader photo of the day?  Show us by submitting it to the appropriate album in the Pets & Animals category of Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site.  (For instance, Victor submitted his photo to the Man's Best Friend album.)  Then click the "submit" link at the top of the page, select your photo (.jpg format) and include a caption that tells us a bit about the animal you've photographed.  We can't wait to see it!

— Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Victor / Your Scene