Panda Poop To Produce Biofuels

The waste of one of the world’s most endangered animals may hold the key to producing biofuels. The potency of the discovery had scientists talking about it at a major chemistry conference in Denver on Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/3ey5crl

Human Brain Wired to Notice Animals

Surrounded by technology and urbanity though we may be, the human brain remains profoundly hard-wired to respond to animals. When people are shown pictures of animals, specific parts of the amygdala — a structure central to pleasure and pain, fear and reward — react almost instantly.

http://tinyurl.com/3rzdvhm

6 Things Animals Do Just Like Us

Being a human is a pretty sweet gig, all things considered. We've got opposable thumbs so dexterous they could start their own Cirque du Soleil troupe and brains so ripped our skulls can barely contain them. But before you grab your dog and give him a triumphant "IN YOUR (FAITHFUL, ADORABLE) FACE!" you should know that some of the traits and behaviors that make us human are also demonstrated by other animals. Animals that apparently think they're people.

http://tinyurl.com/3zycgmr

Hurricane Irene Pet Emergency Plan

As Hurricane Irene approaches the East Coast, it's critical not to forget the livelihood of your pets in making preparation plans for the storm. Some 600,000 pets were killed or left homeless from Hurricane Katrina six years ago, reports HurricaneKatrinaRelief.com. Below are some top pet preparation tips to ensure their safety.

http://tinyurl.com/3mooaa6

Dog Eats $10K Worth of Diamonds

A Georgia dog apparently has a taste for the finer things in life. The pooch dined on a meal of $10,000 worth of diamonds.

http://tinyurl.com/3fynzfo

Animals Go Wild Ahead of Quake

The animals always know first. Well before any humans ducked beneath desks or sought shelter in doorways on Tuesday, wildlife at the zoo started to react to the oncoming earthquake.

http://tinyurl.com/3txbbfu

Video: Tortoise Chases Man

Tortoises might not be the first animals that come to mind when you think of high-speed chases, but don't tell that to Cruiser the desert tortoise. He's in hot pursuit of a man named Josef in a motorized chair and he's determined to catch him -- no matter how many laps around the backyard it takes.

http://tinyurl.com/3qbjwnh

Abandoned Dog Found With Divorce Note

When Paul Wu of Kirkland, Washington backed out of his driveway, he was shocked to find a small, big-eyed dog blocking his way, King 5 News reported.

http://tinyurl.com/3q5plvk

40,000 Year Old Baby Mammoth Discovered

A man herding reindeer in Russia's Arctic found the perfectly-preserved, 40,000-year-old body of a baby woolly mammoth.

http://tinyurl.com/4yj7f96

How Elephants Use Insight to Solve Problems

Highly social and clever and cooperative with tools, elephants are often near the top of the brainiest creatures list. Now, scientists have added a new talent to elephants' mental repertoire: The ability to solve a problem using insight—that aha! moment when your internal light bulb switches on and you figure out the solution to a puzzle.

http://tinyurl.com/3vnqcbj

Bald Bears in Germany Mystify Everyone

You'd have thought a fur coat would have been the ultimate bear necessity. But not for the unfortunate Dolores who has lost all her body hair and has just been left with a few tufts around her head.

http://tinyurl.com/3jpg2cc

Giant Lobster Finds Home in Coney Island

A freakishly large lobster destined for the pot has instead found a new home in - where else? - Coney Island.

http://tinyurl.com/3zpvnru

Geese Stand Guard at Over Crowded Brazil Prison

An overcrowded prison in northeastern Brazil has added some low-tech feathered security to their facility to prevent unwanted escapes: two noisy geese.

http://tinyurl.com/3ce6t8l

World's Rarest Animals Captured on Hidden Cameras

According to DigitalTrends, group of tech-savvy biologists and animal researchers have set up more than 400 hidden cameras out in the wild, and have captured tens of thousands of images of some of nature’s most elusive — and fearsome — creatures.

http://tinyurl.com/3f6c8e3

Maltese Returns Home One Year After Fatal Crash

A Maltese dog named Caesar who disappeared more than a year ago after a car crash that killed two members of its owning family in eastern New Mexico is on his way home to Michigan.

http://tinyurl.com/3sduacd

No More Vodka For Ukrainian Bears

It's not only people that consume vodka in Ukraine -- apparently bears have become addicted to the alcohol as well. Ukraine is planning to release about 80 vodka-drinking bears that had been tamed and used in restaurants as a form of entertainment.

http://tinyurl.com/4xbk9na

Outrageously Expensive Pets

Recently, eccentric rocker Ozzy Osbourne paid $10,000 in an auction for an eight-week old Yorkshire terrier. Pricey? Not compared to the price tags of some of the pets out there. In fact, Ozzy was lucky to have paid so little. Just like with cars, purses, and jewelry, people with deep pockets will spend outrageous sums of money on animals.

http://tinyurl.com/3ofre8z

Video: Cow Runs Loose in Queens

An animal on a mission to escape from a Queens slaughterhouse on Wednesday led butchers on a chase through busy streets before being captured at a nearby college.

http://tinyurl.com/3gl36df

Video: Bat on a Plane

It sounds like the plot to a sequel of Samuel L Jackson's action film, Snakes on a Plane, but during a flight in America a bat caused panic among the passengers on-board.

http://tinyurl.com/44te4e8

Polar Dinosaur Tracks Found in Australia

Paleontologists have discovered a group of more than 20 polar dinosaur tracks on the coast of Victoria, Australia, offering a rare glimpse into animal behavior during the last period of pronounced global warming, about 105 million years ago.

http://tinyurl.com/3ogffco

Therapy Dog May be Too Cute for Court

A Golden Retriever therapy dog named Rosie, who is trained to help people when they are under stress, has been credited with helping a 15-year-old rape victim manage the courage to testify during an emotionally difficult trial in a New York courtroom.

http://tinyurl.com/44oadp5

How Vampire Bats Detect Blood

Scientists have known for years that when vampire bats tear through an animal's skin with their razor-sharp teeth, their noses guide them to the best spots -- where a precise bite will strike a vein and spill forth nourishing blood. But nobody knew exactly how bats knew where to bite.

http://tinyurl.com/4xh93so

Video: Glow in the Dark Beagle

A glowing beagle is definitely on the list of things we never expected to see.

http://tinyurl.com/3e32yyt

Wallabies on Opium Responsible for Crop Circles

For years people blamed the strange crop circles in cornfields found around the world on aliens visiting our planet. But what Australian officials now say causes the patterns found in Australia might be even more bizarre: wallabies high on opium.

http://tinyurl.com/3plz2fy

Video: Beluga Whale Enjoys Mariachi

Connecticut-area mariachi band "Mariachi Connecticut" were recently playing a wedding at the Mystic Aquarium when they walked by the facility's Beluga exhibit and decided play a little something for the whales.

http://tinyurl.com/3eush9g

Video: Diver Kisses Shark and Gets Bitten

We thought this was a pretty obvious rule of thumb, but to be clear: Never kiss a shark on the lips. Shark Week may help promote understanding and respect for one of the most feared sea creatures, but for some people, it takes a (very) close encounter with a shark to learn the true power of these animals.

http://tinyurl.com/4x5pypp

Chocoholic Fish Weaned off Kit Kat Diet

Staff at a London aquarium have managed to wean a chocoholic fish raised on Kit Kats onto a healthier diet, Sky News reported.

http://tinyurl.com/3klqkrg

Video: Chimpanzee Feeds Tiger Cub

Looking for some motivation to start your workday? Or perhaps just a little mid-day distraction? A video of two-year-old Do Do the Chimpanzee, feeding Aorn, a two-month-old tiger cub will probably do the trick.

http://tinyurl.com/3nm5wnp