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

Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Don't you get up, you poor thing. I brought you some of my chicken soup."

"Oh, Penny, that's so thoughtful!" Patty sprang up to take the flowers. "I never thought of food, 

or flowers. I never thought-"

"Of course you didn't. How could you, with so much on your mind? 

Cilla, I'm going to heat you up a bowl right now. 

My chicken soup's good for anything. Colds, flu, bumps, bruises, 

lovers' spats and rainy days."

Tribute

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When you're sick, there are few things more nourishing than a warm, savory bowl of chicken soup. Though soup recipes vary, chicken broth is a remedy for cold and flu symptoms utilized around the world; its magic is recognized almost ubiquitously.

Mother Nature Network

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He lifted a thick white mug. 

“Cup-a-Soup. Can’t taste a damn thing, but my ma always

 says you  down chicken soup for a cold. I’m downing.”

Black Hills

Reasons Shopping Makes You Happy

“It’s a great dress.” Sighing, Lil let her head tip back. “I haven’t done

a shopping marathon like that in years. Literally years.”

“I know it wasn’t easy for you to take a full day away like this.

And now you’re planning a spa day. You’re a good friend.”

“She’d do the same for me. Plus, great dress, fabulous shoes,

and assorted other items I really had no need for.”

“It’s more fun when you don’t need them.”

“Too true.” Lil toyed with the new earrings she’d bought, and

—like her mother and the shoes—

had worn out of the store. “Why is that?”

“Buying what you need’s the result of hard work.

Buying what you don’t need’s the reward for hard work.

You work hard, honey. I’m glad you took the time away.”

Black Hills 

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By Cocktailmania - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53853624

We all know the good feeling that goes along with walking out of a store with a new shade of lipstick or after ordering a killer pair of boots online. They call it retail therapy for a reason and more than one scientific study has backed up its effectiveness.

Career Girl Daily

Quoting Nora

Red Sox blast 'New York, New York'

In his easy way, Joe picked up the basket of biscuits, offered it to the boy. “Oh, yeah, Mr. New York. Yankees or Mets?”

“Yankees.”

“Not a prayer.” As if in sympathy, Joe shook his head. “Not this year, kid.”

“We’ve got a strong infield, good bats. Sir,” he added as if he’d just remembered to.

“Baltimore’s already killing you.”

“It’s a fluke. They died last year, and they’ll fade this year.”

“When they do, the Red Sox will pounce.”

“Crawl maybe.”

“Oh, a smart-ass.”

Black Hills

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By Waz8 [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Boston Red Sox can "Name That Tune" in one note, or so it seems, as they had the last word in musical taunting after knocking the New York Yankees out of the postseason in front of the home crowd at Yankee Stadium.

As the champagne bottles were popping in the Red Sox locker room after their 4-3 American League Division Series Game 4 clincher Tuesday night, the background music was Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York," the song that echoes around Yankee Stadium after every game.

ESPN

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The batter dropped a short single into left field, and she grabbed Thorpe's arm. "Oh, look, he hit one!"
"That's the wrong team, Liv," Thorpe pointed out wryly. "We're rooting for the other guys."
She accepted the hot dog and peeled off a corner on the packet of mustard. "Why?"
"Why?" he repeated, watching as she squeezed the mustard on generously. "The Orioles are from Baltimore. The Red Sox are from Boston."
"I like Boston." Liv took a healthy bite of the hot dog as Palmer whipped a mean curve by the next batter. "Shouldn't he have swung at that one?"
"Don't like Boston too loudly in this section," Thorpe advised.


Endings and Begginings

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