Today In History
1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
1930, construction began on Boulder Dam
1952, the Republican National Convention opened in Chicago. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated for president.
Celeb B-Days
Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 85.
Rock star Ringo Starr is 72.
Pop singer David Hodo of The Village People is 65.
Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 46. Hot Pocket!!!
Crew
Jon Patch - Host
Vince Centonze DVM - Dir. HCC Vet Tech Program / Co Host
Lisa Centonze DVM - Hillsborough County Animal Services / Co Host
Amanda Page - Producer / Reporter
Zach Budin - Network Producer
Bob Page - Executive Producer
Special Guest Hour 1 – Zack Lemann - Animal and Visitor Programs Manager for the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans
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Monkey seen? Officials search for missing macaque...
Searchers trying to find an 8-pound monkey that escaped more than a week ago are now playing sounds of a baby monkey to try to recapture the wayward animal.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center spokesman said that someone reported seeing the monkey in southwestern Forsyth County. But crews didn't see the animal when they arrived. This particular type of monkey, called a macaque , escaped from the Wake Forest University Primate Center.
Campbell says searchers have set up humane traps and are playing baby monkey calls to lure the animal. Officials hope the monkey will respond to the calls because she is a breeding animal used in research.
The 16-year-old macaque is originally from Indonesia and has been in captivity since 2008.
You have to wonder if she is better off loose or in captivity used for research... lets hope she finds peace!!
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When biologists say the pacu fish eats nuts, they may be correct in more ways than one....
The pacu, a toothy fish that can weigh up to 55 pounds, has been spotted in Lake Lou Yaeger in Illinois.
Responding to a report that a fisherman had reeled in a piranha lake superintendent Jim Caldwell brought the fish to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, where it was identified as a pacu. Some reports say another pacu was seen a couple of weeks later.
Caldwell said he is still swimming in the lake nearly every day. Pacus primarily eat nuts, aquatic vegetation and snails and pose no real threat to humans.
Residents of Papua New Guinea may beg to differ. There the pacu is known as the "ball cutter." In 2011, locals said that two fisherman had died from blood loss after something in the water had bitten off their testicles.
It was determined that the perpetrator was the pacu, which is known for having human-like teeth. The angler did note that such attacks are uncommon.
Though pacus are native to the Amazon Basin, they were released into Papua New Guinea waters in the 1990s as part of an initiative to boost fisheries.
Biologists say any pacus in the Illinois lake are most likely former aquarium pets. Anyone caught dumping the fish in the lake could face criminal charges.
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Dogs May Mourn as Deeply as Humans Do
Grief is one of the basic emotions dogs experience, just like people, said Dr. Sophia Yin, a San Francisco-based veterinarian and applied animal behaviorist. Dogs also feel fear, happiness, sadness, anger, as well as possessiveness.
Dogs who mourn may show similar signs to when they're separated for long periods of time from the individual they're bonded to. Of those signs, depression is the most common, in which dogs usually sleep more than normal, move slower, eat less and don't play as much.
The beginnings of such a strong inter-species bond between humans and dogs dates back some 15,000 years, when early man and the ancestor of today's dog roamed the Earth together.
Today, after thousands of years of friendship, there's a great deal of attunement between humans and dogs, not only in terms of comprehension of each other's gestures and body language but also emotionally.
If a pet mopes around the house after the death of a canine or human companion, Yin suggests the best thing owners can do is to get their dog's mind off the loss by engaging their pet in fun activities such as a game of fetch, brisk walks and play dates with other pets.
Don't expect a quick fix. It may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, pet experts believe, before a dog's spirits begin to lift.
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Police in Canada are looking for several million stolen bees. So far, their beeline toward sting operations and swat teams have given only greater buzz and a waxing public interest...
A honey producer suspects another beekeeper may be responsible for the theft of millions of his bees.
"You would have to have pretty good knowledge of beekeeping," Bill Termeer said. "You'd have to have the right kind of equipment to go in there and open up these hives."
Termeer estimates the theft will cost him $60,000. The loss is not covered by insurance. The province's chief beekeeper Medhat Nasr says bee thefts are rare, with only five in Alberta over the past decade. However, that number is expected to rise as new diseases and parasites kill bees.
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Dog Rescued On GW Bridge Was Running Home To Escape NJ Fireworks...
A 10-year-old Belgian shepherd was spotted running in morning traffic on the George Washington Bridge Thursday morning, presumably in a desperate attempt to get back to his Upper East Side home. The dog, named Charlie, was spooked by the fireworks on the Fourth of July (we WARNED you!) and bolted from his owners' second home in Leonia, New Jersey. He then ran through the night, dashing across busy roads and making it all the way to the GW Bridge, where construction workers spotted him on the span and called for help.
Charlie was rescued by Port Authority officer Kameel Juman, who just so happens to keep a leash handy for just such emergencies. Port Authority press officer Al Della Fave tell us that Juman found the frightened dog on the catwalk high above the Hudson river. After winning Charlie's trust, he was able to slip the leash on his collar, and the lucky dog was taken to a local vet in New Jersey.
Aside from a bite on his hind leg and olfactory evidence that he was sprayed by skunk, Charlie is in good health. The dog was reunited with his relieved owner through his ID tag!
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You're an orangutan at the zoo and you want to let the zookeeper know what you want to eat? There's an ape app for that...
iPads remain one of the most popular pieces of gadgetry on the tech market - but it isn't just humans that love them. At Jungle Island Zoo in Miami fl. the resident orangutans are using the highly-prized tablets to communicate.
And officials believe that as the apes become more familiar with the processes that they may even be able to make it clear what they want to eat. Again, that’s through a basic recognition and point system rather than ordering pizza online.
Zookeeper Linda Jacobs said: “They have all the intelligence they need to communicate with us. But what they don’t have is developed vocal chords and voiceboxes. “This gives them a voice.”
She added: “Some of them like carrots more than they like beets. And don’t we all want to have that choice? I don’t want to eat the same thing every day that someone else picks for me.
“I want them to have a choice over their lunches.”
As well as empowering the orangutans, it is hoped that the tech-friendly apes will even be able to social network with visitors to the zoo.
The zoo plans to let people communicate with the animals by setting up interactive screens that sync with the orangutan iPads.
But will the apes get addicted to Facebook, twitter or games like Angry Birds or Draw Something?
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