World Animal Day 2024

 

He was waiting for her, pacing, watching, calling. At her approach,  the cat rubbed its body against the fencing, then stood, bracing his forepaws against it. And purred.

Six months since he’d seen her—scented her, Lil thought. But he hadn’t forgotten her. “Hello, Baby.”

She reached through to stroke the tawny fur, and he bumped his head affectionately to hers.

“I missed you, too.”

Black Hills

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MathKnight, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

World Animal Day: History, significance, theme, quotes and more

World Animal Day is observed every year on October 4 to highlight the importance of animals and spread awareness for their welfare to maintain ecological balance

Business Standard

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Connor slipped through the employees’ gate for the falconry school. 

As always,  he felt a little flutter—a bit like beating wings—in his heart, along his skin. 

It had always been the hawk for him. That connection, like his power, came down through the blood.

Shadow Spell

King of the jungle finds his queen

On the other side of the fence, Boris rose on his hind legs, called to her. She kept low, kept subservient, but approached the fence to sniff at him. When he lowered, she scurried back to stand at the entrance to her cage.

To what, Lil knew, she thought of as safety. He called her again, insistently, until she bellied over to the fence, quivering, trembling as he sniffed her nose, her front paws.

When he licked her, Lil smiled. “We should’ve called him Romeo. Let’s get the cage away, close her in. Boris will take it from here.”

Black Hills

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By Masterwiki1 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32631365

Lions who were both born into captivity have found happiness together 

after their rescuers decided to introduce them to one another.

DAILYMAIL

The emotional depth of animals

Lil wound her way, following the trail formed by feet trampling through the snow.

He was waiting for her, pacing, watching, calling. At her approach, the cat rubbed its body against the fencing, then stood, bracing his fore paws against it. And purred.

Six months since he’d seen her—scented her, Lil thought. But he hadn’t forgotten her. “Hello, Baby.”

She reached through to stroke the tawny fur, and he bumped his head affectionately to hers.

“I missed you, too.”

He was four now, full-grown, lithe and magnificent. He hadn’t been fully weaned when she’d found him, and his two litter mates, orphaned and half starved. She’d hand-fed them, tended them, guarded them. And when they’d been old enough, strong enough, had reintroduced them to the wild.

But he’d kept coming back.

She’d named him Ramses, for power and dignity, but he was Baby.

And her one true love.

“Have you been good? Of course, you have. You’re the best. Keeping everybody in line? I knew I could count on you.”

As she spoke and stroked, Baby purred, hummed in his throat, and looked at her with golden eyes full of love.

She heard movement behind her, glanced back. The one Tansy had called Eric stood staring. “They said he was like that with you, but . . . I didn’t believe it.”

Black Hills

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Other animals have 'human' emotions, too

Emotions are like organs: vital and universal, and not just for our species, primatologist Frans de Waal argues in a new book.

Mother Nature Network

Birds are wicked smart, despite their small brains

Seconds later, a shrill wolf whistle sounded from inside, followed by a muffled scream. 

He was grinning by the time Bird squawked out his invitation: “Hey, sugar, buy you a drink? Here's looking at you, kid.” When Bird began to sing a chorus of “There Is Nothing like a Dame,” the children collapsed into fits of laughter.

A few minutes later, Megan carried out a tray of drinks. Bird's voice followed her. “'Give me a kiss, and to that kiss a score!'“

She arched a brow as she set the tray on the deck. “Bogart, show tunes and poetry. That's quite a bird.” 

Megan's Mate

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By pionetes - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3454725

Crows and ravens are really smart. Parrots and cockatoos are very intelligent. Magpies, macaws, jays and parakeets ... all brilliant birds. But how is it that these avian animals are so clever when their brains are relatively small? After all, isn't it our big brains relative to our body size that makes us humans so amazingly smart? Turns out, not necessarily.

mother nature network

9 baby animals stand up (or walk!) for the first time

Then Chris jerked back as the foal shook and shivered and tried out her legs for the first time. 
"She stood up!" Amazed, he stared at his mother. 
"She stood right up. Cathy Jackson's little sister didn't stand up for months and months." 
It pleased him enormously to find his horse superior. 

The Last Honest Woman

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By Jon_York, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48375869

Human babies take a long time to do things. They just hang out, letting their parents carry them around for months before they even think about hoisting themselves up and taking a step or two.

Animal babies are a whole different story. 

mother nature network

Horses have a memory for emotion

Iona checked the ring, then what Boyle called his office, backtracked, circled, and found him
outside in the paddock having a stare-down with Alastar.
“He doesn’t think you like him.”
Boyle glanced back. “Then he’s an intuitive bastard.” 


Dark Witch

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By muffinn from Worcester, UK - Horse looking over a wall, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34090823

Horses Can Read and Remember People's Emotions

Scientists discovered that the animals can not only recognize humans, but remember their expressions.

Popular Mechanics

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He said nothing as Alastar wandered over, oh so casually, and ignoring him, went all but nose to
nose with Iona. 
The horse, Boyle thought, looked at the woman as if she knew every answer.
“We had a good day, didn’t we?” She stroked the smooth cheek, down the strong line of throat.
“It’s a good place here. Just takes some getting used to.”
Then, the horse, who only that morning had left a welt the size of a man’s fist on his veteran
groom’s biceps, seemed to sigh as well. And stepped in, all but laying his head on Iona’s shoulder so she could glide her hands over his long neck.


Dark Witch

Spring Awakening

She gestured to a tree where the bark had been stripped and the trunk scored with deep grooves. “Bear. Those are bear scratching.”

“Yeah?” Rather than being alarmed as she expected, he stepped closer, examining the scar with apparent fascination. “Are they still hibernating now, or could we run into one?”

“Oh, they’re up and about now. And hungry,” she added, just for the hell of it.

“Well.” He ran his fingers down one deep groove. “As long as one doesn’t come along for a midday snack and mistake me for a tree, it’d be interesting.”

  

River's End

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By Wing-Chi Poon - self-made; along Going-to-the-Sun Road 

between Jackson Glacier Overlook  and Sunrift Gorge, 

Glacier National Park, Montana, USA., CC BY-SA 2.5, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=437376

Camera catches bear waking from hibernation in Glacier National Park

Imagine trying to get alert after sleeping for over seven months.

That's what this bear in Montana is doing - very slowly.

YAHOO!

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“They’re just out of hibernation, usually go into torpor in September and don’t surface until May.”

River's End

Winter Bird Photos

A movement caught her eye, and as she turned to follow it she saw the cardinal take its perch on the snow-covered branch of a maple. It sat, a single spot of vivid red, and sang. Mac crouched, zoomed in rather than risk going closer and losing the shot. Was it the same bird who’d smacked into her kitchen window? she wondered. If so, he certainly seemed undamaged and unruffled as he sat like a single flame on the white-laced branch. She caught the moment then, taking three shots in rapid succession, slight changes in angles that coated her jeans with snow as she inched left. Then the bird took wing, swooped over the frozen sea, through the bright light, and was gone. Emmaline, beautiful Emmaline in her old navy coat, white cap and scarf trudged toward her through the snow. 

“I wondered how long I’d have to stand there until you finished or the damn bird took off. It’s cold out here.”

Vision in White 

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As temperatures dip, look no further than your backyard 

to see how full of life this blustery season truly is.

BIRDS & BLOOMS

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He opened it carefully, peeling up the tape and flapped ends. And took out the photograph matted in a simple black frame. Against the black and white of snow and winter trees, the cardinal sat like a living flame. 

“It’s wonderful.” 

“It’s nice.” She studied it with him. “One of those lucky breaks. I took it early yesterday morning. It’s no bellycrested whopado, but it’s our bird, after all.” 

Vision in White

“Being a warrior is learning how to cry.”

 "Heels down. Knees, Joey. That's the way. You're a team, remember. Looking good. Much better."
 She moved closer, tapped the heels of one of her two boys.
 He grinned and turned them down. 
Oh, yes, much better, she thought. 
A month before Willy had jerked like a puppet 
every time she'd touched him.
 It was all about trust.


Irish Rebel

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By Lori Hurley - Flickr: Cousins puppy--Tyson, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31382395

It’s this cycle of compassion  — from human to animal and earth and back again — that Cacciatore hopes will be the heartbeat here.

YAHOO!

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 "Did you notice the little guy, dark hair and eyes? He rides Teddy."
 "Aye. He has good form, and he's cheerful about it."
 "He is now. He was a scared little rabbit when Keeley took him on." Sarah swung into the stables, headed directly for the tack room.
 "Afraid of horses?"
 "Of everything. I don't know how people can do that to a child. I'll never understand it."
 "Do what?"
 She chose her tack, murmuring a thanks when Brian took the saddle from her. "Hurt them." 


Irish Rebel

Set them Free!

They lowered the cage by the lift, and as the tourist group took snapshots, positioned it at the entrance to the enclosure.
Cleo grumbled in her throat, displeased, Lil concluded, with the crowd, the scent of them, the scent of other animals. Across the compound the lion roared.
Lil lifted the cage door, locked it open, stepped back.
The cat sniffed the air as she scanned the space, the tree, the boulders, the fencing. And the other animals beyond.
Her tail switched as the lioness prowled along their shared fence line and marked her territory.


Black Hills 

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These 33 Lions Were Caged And Abused Their Whole Lives. When They're Finally Set Free? Wow ...

These lions had all been trapped in tiny cages, forced to perform, and badly mistreated. Many of them required medical attention, and most of them were underfed. Several of the lions had never even experienced grass under their feet or felt the warmth of the sun on their faces. These may seem like trivial pleasures, but as you'll see, there's just nothing quite like that first taste of freedom.

WIMP

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Crouched, the jaguar stepped out, nosing both ground and air. When she’d cleared it, Lil lowered the door on the enclosure, locked it. The crowd applauded.
“She’ll be protected here,” Lil added. “Cared for by the staff, interns, and volunteers of Chance Wildlife Refuge, and through,” lest they forget, Lil thought, “the donations of our patrons and visitors. She’ll have a good life here, and may have it for over twenty years.”
She watched the black cat belly through the grass, nosing it, nosing the air, then rising to stalk. Squatting to pee, marking her territory as the lion marked hers.
She paced and circled, and even when she stopped to drink from her trough, Lil saw her muscles quivering.
She continued to pace, to prowl, sending out that hoarse roar. When she rose on her hind legs to sharpen her front claws on her tree, Lil felt her own muscles quiver at the beauty of the cat’s lines, the power of her build.
She watched, even when the others drifted away, she watched for nearly an hour. And smiled when Cleo leaped into the tree to spread her muscular body over a thick branch.
“Welcome home, Cleo,” she said aloud.


Black Hills

the buck stops here

"Problem?" Cam leaned on the doorjamb, tongue in his cheek. It was an amusing sight after a hard day's work, he decided. His well-riled wife stalking around his all-but-bare-assed brother.

"Somebody's been in my garden and they stole my flowers."

"No kidding? Want me to call the cops?" 

"Oh, shut up." She whirled back to Ethan, who took a cautious and cowardly step in retreat. She looked fit to murder. "Well?"

"Well, I…" He'd intended to confess, throw himself on her mercy. But the woman glaring at him out of dark, furious eyes looked several quarts low on mercy. "Rabbits," he said slowly. "Probably."

"Rabbits?"

"Yeah." He shifted uncomfortably, wishing to Christ he'd at least gotten his pants on before she burst in.

"Rabbits can be a problem with gardens. They just hop up and help themselves."

"Rabbits," she said again.

"Could be deer," he added, just a little desperately. "They'd graze over and eat every damn thing down to stubs." Counting on pity, he shot a look at Cam. "Right?"

Cam weighed the situation, knew Anna was city girl enough to buy it. Oh, Ethan would owe him for this, he decided and smiled. "Oh, yeah, deer and rabbits, big problem." Which having two dogs running tame pretty much eliminated, he mused.

Rising Tides

 

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20 Ways to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard

 

 

 

Sure, they're pretty to look at, if you're quick—and quiet enough to catch a glimpse of deer galloping off into the distance. But set loose in your garden, they will ravage your tender tulips and plump pansies, leaving foliage raggedy and the fruits of your labor plumaged. Fortunately, with a little bit of insight into their habits, you can prevent your flowers, bulbs, and vegetables from becoming a free buffet.

 

THIS OLD HOUSE

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