Now here's a business idea. Eco-tourism meets hunting.

Quoted: He's driven a big truck, flown in a Russian fighter jet and fished shirtless on national television.
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Now comes Vladimir Putin's latest image-boosting escapade, a visit to a Russian wildlife preserve that gave him the chance to wear camouflage, stalk through the woods and shoot a tiger -- all for a good cause.
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The televised footage showed Putin, deep in the woods, placing a collar with a tracking device around the knocked-out tiger's neck and patting its cheek like a pet. "She'll remember us," he said.

This seems intuitive. Who of us wouldn't seem more competent with language when we are just speaking conversationally rather than when answering a set of disjointed questions solely for testing purposes?

Quoted: What happens when linguistic tools used to analyze human language are applied to a conversation between a language-competent bonobo and a human? New findings indicate that bonobos may exhibit larger linguistic competency in ordinary conversation than in controlled experimental settings.

A friend sent me this article from just a year ago ... this woman (McCain's new trophy V.P.) obviously doesn't share my views on protecting wildlife.

Quoted: Today Defenders of Wildlife, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and the Alaska Chapter of the Sierra Club asked the Alaska Superior Court to shut down Governor Palin's $150-per-wolf bounty program citing the fact that Alaska's bounty laws were repealed in 1984 and the State has no current legal authority to implement the bounties.
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"Governor Palin needs to take a close look at wildlife management practice in her state and restore the use of sound science," concludes Banks. "She said would heed the will of the public, but it's increasingly clear she's only listening to that segment that is willing to sacrifice Alaska's natural heritage for the benefit of a few."

Super bien! I'm proud to be a Spaniard! Now if we can just get to work on the rights of bulls not to be stabbed in the neck with sharp sticks ...

Quoted: Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.

This is FANTASTIC news! The more that we can learn about the right conditions for sea dragons to reproduce in captivity, the less that "pregnant" individuals will need to be taken from the wild.

Quoted: It's going to be a busy Father's Day for a weedy sea dragon at the Georgia Aquarium. For only the third time ever in a U.S. aquarium, one of the endangered creatures is pregnant. But don't look for the expectant mom in the tank, the dads carry the eggs in this family.

Even better than this chatty African grey is the fact that he has a first and last name!

Quoted: When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught -- recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.
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He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
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"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

Very strange mass deaths of stingrays ... they said there were no signs that a zoo visitor affected the rays in the touchpool but that seems like the most likely thing if indeed there were no problems with filtration or temperature.

Quoted: Officials at the Calgary Zoo remained baffled on Tuesday as they tried to puzzle out just why 34 of their stingrays suddenly died.

The juvenile cownose stingrays, about the size of a dinner plate, were kept in a "petting" tank where visitors were able to touch them, a common feature in a number of North American zoos and aquariums, according to the zoo officials in the Western Canadian city.

Well, if this isn't a good reason to decrease CO2 emissions ... (as if there weren't a few dozen others!)

Quoted: Koalas are threatened by the rising level of carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere because it saps nutrients from the eucalyptus leaves they feed on, a researcher said Wednesday.

There's nothing more awesome than the words "colossal squid"! They are broadcasting the examination on a webcam if you are into giant squid dissection ...
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/CollectionsAndResearch/CollectionAreas/NaturalEnvironment/Molluscs/ColossalSquid/

Quoted: A colossal squid caught from deep Antarctic waters was defrosted on Wednesday by New Zealand scientists keen to discover more about the little-known giant predator.

The 8 meter long (26 feet) colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), which weighs about 495 kg (1,089 pounds) is the largest and best preserved adult colossal squid to be caught.