Rescuing Baby Animals in the Wild Will Probably Kill Them

A South Dakota wildlife official is trying to combat a scene she sees several times every summer: A mom and her children show up carrying a box with holes poked in the top and a baby wild animal inside.  The family thinks they've rescued it from apparent abandonment, but that's far from the truth, Thea Miller Ryan says, because the rescue can be harmful, even deadly. So, with the backdrop of the bison calf in Yellowstone that had to be euthanized this month after tourists put it in their car, Ryan is taking to social media to teach people to let nature take its course.

http://tinyurl.com/jsmbflf

Lucky The Elephant's Paintings Raise Money For Her Treatment

Lucky the elephant is an artist unlike any other, using her talents to not only raise awareness for an important cause, but to also raise money to help herself fight a rare disease.  Fifteen-year-old Lucky was raised at the Cambodian rescue center after she was abandoned at only 6 months old. Her mother, rescuers said, was likely killed by poachers.Nick Marx, wildlife rescue director at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in Cambodia, said that she has become a symbol of the conservation movement at the center.  
http://tinyurl.com/mwyn7px

Video: Heart-Stopping Rescue of Two Sea Turtles

The sight of two suffocating turtles, on their backs with fins tied up, horrified tourists on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Thanks to their quick thinking, the animals were returned safely to sea.  A video posted on YouTube Monday shows tourists rescuing two loggerhead turtles, each weighing about 250 pounds. Chris Skone-Roberts, a professional rescue diver and former paramedic, first spotted the reptiles. When he tried to douse them with water, a woman angrily pulled him off—claiming they were hers. It’s presumed that once the turtles suffocated to death, she would have sold their meat on the black market.

http://tinyurl.com/lj8p7qx

Video: Fisherman Saves Baby Whale

It's not often you see a fisherman cutting a fish free, but that's exactly what one New Zealand man did after a baby humpback whale became trapped in cray pot lines off the coast of Australia.  Fisherman Joe Brogan, 42, grabbed his knife and jumped right into the water. At first the whale tried to swim away and escape, but Brogan swam even closer, taking direction from his friends on board.  "Cut it closer," the man holding the camera directed. "Don't try and get it off, mate; just cut the line."

http://tinyurl.com/n2hdcvx

Ultimate Fighter Rescues a Baby Dolphin

While you were sleeping in on Sunday morning, Ultimate Fighter 19 competitor Cathal Pendred was out for a walk on the beach with his girlfriend when he spotted a group of people looking into the ocean at a distressing situation.  As it turns out the crowd was gathered because a baby dolphin had washed up on shore, injured and frightened, unable to get back into the ocean without the currents pushing him onto the beach.  Pendred decided to offer a hand along with another onlooker to help the baby dolphin get back into the water safely.  "I was at a wedding down the countryside on the west coast of Ireland on Saturday. The next day, myself and my girlfriend went for a walk on the beach which was tight beside the hotel we were staying in," Pendred told FOX Sports.

http://tinyurl.com/ksw6l6h

-Igor Purlantov

Video: Fireman Rescue An Unconscious Kitten

Click play, grab your tissues, and feel your heart grow three sizes today.

http://tinyurl.com/kwahnwz

Baby Orangutan And Mother Saved From Starvation During Sumatra Rescue Mission

During a recent trip to Sumatra, wildlife photographer Craig Jones witnessed an incredible sight when his team came across a mother and baby orangutan on the brink of starvation. The pair had been pushed into an isolated patch of the forest by growing palm oil plantations, which threaten the natural habit of Sumatran orangutans.

http://tinyurl.com/9xenar2

Video: Adorable Rescue Cat Cuddles Dog

Just because someone is bigger than you doesn't mean you can't be friends. And this heartwarming YouTube video is further proof of that. The clip features a rescue cat named Thomas O'Malley Flufferpants cuddling next to a dog named Murkin.

http://tinyurl.com/bnv4g8h

The Other Seabiscuit: Spooked Horse Swims Two Miles Offshore

An Arabian show horse named William was rescued this past week after he got spooked and ran into the open ocean, swimming two miles out to sea. The 7-year-old horse bolted from a beach photo shoot near Santa Barbara, California and plunged into the ocean, launching a rescue effort that included helicopter searchers.

http://tinyurl.com/7npbx5f

Video: Dog Lost 8 Years Ago Found 3,000 Miles Away

A Virginia family may have their long-lost dog back in time for the holidays after a terrier found nearly 3,000 miles away in rural Yuba County was traced back to them.

http://tinyurl.com/6ohq8gf

Cat With 26 Toes Helps Animal Rescue Center

When Amy Rowell went to the Milwaukee Animal Control Commission to pick up one furry friend, another found her. A cat reached out his big paw and tapped her on the head -- with all 26 of his toes. The curious cat, who she later named Daniel, was supposed to be euthanized that day due to lack of space and resources at the animal control center.

http://tinyurl.com/czgohj6

Puppy Mill Rescue Produces Tiny Miracle

Last Monday, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) rescue teams assisted in an operation that rescued 175 dogs from a puppy mill in Arkansas. Most dogs were small breeds like Chihuahuas, Boston terriers, and dachshunds.

http://tinyurl.com/c7mz85o

Video: Adopted Dog Saves New Family

Here's a story about a dog named Hercules who saved his family the very day he became apart of it. "We had named him Hercules when we had first gotten him," said owner Lee Littler. "The reason for that was his overall size and what he had already been through. "Hercules was rescued from the county pound by Lee and Elizabeth Littler, dog lovers who feared he would be put down if he wasn't adopted soon.

http://tinyurl.com/brdjfml

Lion Cub And Toddler Play Together

Forget guard dogs, lion cubs are the new way to protect your children in their crib. Well, maybe not, but some parents seem to feel it's safe.

http://tinyurl.com/7thgbnp

Roselle Named Hero Dog of the Year

Roselle, a dog who guided her blind owner down 78 flights of stairs at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, was named American Hero Dog of 2011 at the inaugural American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards.

http://tinyurl.com/6jma4wz

Cat Leads Rescuer To Her Kittens

After being thrown from a car in the city of March, England, Jolie, a young black cat, was fed and nursed back to health by a good samaritan, who then called the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Ely Weekly News reported.

http://tinyurl.com/3h9y35h

Video: Doggies Donate Blood to Help Fellow Canines

Sure, blood transfusions are critical for humans. But they can also help dogs heal -- and not just in the command sort of way. Advances in veterinary medicine are making it possible for man's best friend to become canine blood donors and save the lives of their other four-legged friends, KFSN reports.

http://tinyurl.com/4xjhjqz

Video: Surfers Rescue Great White Shark

A group of Venice Beach surfers came to the rescue of a baby great white shark that had washed ashore near the Venice Pier on Saturday morning. A fisherman had realized that a shark had hooked onto his line. He and several other fishermen ran down to the beach to pull the shark from the water.

http://tinyurl.com/3wzj4o3

Homeless After Harry Potter: Canine Movie Star Padfoot Needs a Home

My real name is Berry, Shadowberry, and I am now 10 human years old. Many dog years ago I played the part of Padfoot in a big film that was watched by many people all around the world (or so my Dad told me). I haven’t seen it personally but apparently I looked pretty mean in it sometimes.

http://tinyurl.com/3zhjymn

Toronto Bans Sale of Cats and Dogs in Stores

In a victory for dogs and cats everywhere, pet stores in Toronto will no longer be able to sell dogs and cats, as the Toronto city council voted to crack down "puppy mills" that have been supplying the dogs and cats to these stores. The city council in Toronto voted this week to close a loophole that made it possible for the unlawful puppy mill breeders to sell the animals they raise through local pet stores. Good for Toronto! Now if we can only get cities in the United States to follow suit!

http://tinyurl.com/3rmwl5p