MelSkunk's stories

A vet in Germany has created a special drop off flap at his office for people who don't want their pets anymore to get rid of them with anonymity. The flap leads to a plush box, which is then opened by the vet, who will vaccinate and adopt out the animal without ever having seen the owner.
As scummy as the sort of people USING this box might come across as, there is definatly a need, as often pets are simply left at the side of the road to avoid dealing with an animal shelter. Strangly enough, a nunnery and orphanage in Brazil has a similar drop off box... for unwanted babies.

A bunch of renovating bunnies in the UK have been cleaning house in their warren, and in the process have kicked out pieces of a 14th century manor house window. The original manor was demolished in the 15th century when the owners built a new house and found the old one blocked the view. Protecting the artifacts for the future could mean the rabbits might be out of house and home.

Being a bird brain has all but lost its sting in light of the most recient discovery in avian intellegence.
Previously, scientist had seen birds using problem solving to get food, and even tools (ravens, woodpeckers, and vultures all have done it) but now they've seen crows not merely using a ready made tool from the environment, but CREATING hooks to get food. This is not merely in the lab. In the wild, New Caledonia crows have been seen to make two different sorts of hooks to snare food, even with no previous exposure to someone bending a wire into a hook. Avians have shown again and again a propensity for calculating spacial relationships, understanding symbols and even, in the case of parrots, constructing and communicating in a verbal language that humans can understand.
Chimpanzees and other non-human primates, on the other hand, have never shown any indication of spontanious modification of an item to create a specialized tool.

The rare Dartmoor pony, famous symbol of wild Britain, is up for sale every year at local auctions. But the Freinds of the Dartmoor Hill Pony want the rare breed to go to places where they cost more than just a pint of milk. To popularize and preserve the rare horse, which numbers under 3000, they've started DartmoorHillPony.com to tell people internationally about this marvelous rare breed equine.
So if your parents never let you get a pony when you were little, here's where to look.