Arnold Schwarzenegger took to Instagram to show off his new pet pig.
Its name is Schnelly. The name derives from the German word “Chnell,” meaning fast.
Schnelly joins several other pets in the actor and former California governor’s household, People reports. Schwarzenegger has a dog, a miniature horse and a donkey.
He reports that Schnelly is getting along well with the other animals.
Schwarzenegger was inspired by fellow actor George Clooney, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
“I always liked that he was into pigs; he has this little pig that he takes everywhere. So I bought a pig right after that,” he said.
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Greece announced that it will allow pets at more than 120 archaeological sites.
Up until now, only guide dogs have been allowed at the sites, The Associated Press reports.
Lina Mendoni, Greece’s culture minister, said the move is a step toward “harmonizing the framework of accessibility to monuments and archaeological sites with the standards of other European countries, where entry rules for pets already apply.”
The new rules require pets brought to the sites to be on a leash or carried in a case or pouch, according to AP. Several other rules apply, including a requirement to show a health certificate for the animal.
The nation’s Central Archaeological Council did not say when the new rules would go into effect. And they don’t apply to several top sites, including the Acropolis of Athens, which will continue to prohibit entry of pets.
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Freya became a social media sensation last year, with tourists and locals thronging to see her.
The young female had been spending time at the Oslo Fjord, an inlet on the country’s southeastern coast, and was seemingly unafraid of humans, unlike most walruses. Videos showed the walrus clambering onto small boats to sunbathe.
She became a danger to visitors who ignored the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries orders to keep a clear distance from her, instead getting up close to take photos of the mammal and even throwing objects at her. This prompted the directorate to make the decision to put her down, leaving many across the country enraged.
The statue’s artist, Astri Tonoian, told CNN how she was happy to work on the project “almost for free” as it was an issue that was close to her heart. She hopes it will serve as a “three-dimensional history lesson.”
“In my head, my goal was to make an immortal symbol of people’s ability to mistreat not just wildlife but also humans,” she said.
She believes that Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries should have dealt with the situation in a more ethical manner. “The authorities could have acted more quickly and tried to move her instead of shooting her. They waited too long and it became dangerous for the people. They decided to do the ‘quick fix’.”
She added that the intention with the statue is not to make people hate the authorities as one entity, but instead “question the system” as a whole.
Previously, the directorate told CNN that it was considering multiple solutions, including relocating Freya out of the fjord. But “the extensive complexity of such an operation made us conclude that this was not a viable option,” Director General Frank Bakke-Jensen said. He added: “We have great regard for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence.”
Female walruses typically weigh between 600 and 900 kilograms, or around 1,300 to 2,000 pounds. Usually, the marine mammals are wary of humans and stay on the outer edges of Norway’s coast.
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The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the health of all dogs, marks Pet Cancer Awareness Month each May to highlight the impact of its funded canine cancer research. Already in 2023, CHF has awarded three new grants to study canine lymphoma, anal sac carcinoma, and bone cancer.
Cancer remains a major concern for dog owners and veterinary professionals. Therefore, approximately one quarter of CHF’s active research portfolio is usually dedicated to studies exploring more accurate diagnostic tests and new treatments for canine cancer. Since 1995, CHF and its donors have invested more than $17.7 million to study cancer at the molecular level, conduct clinical trials for new treatments, and understand how the immune system interacts with cancer cells.
The newly awarded research grants are:
- Grant 03144: Lomustine, Asparaginase, Procarbazine and Prednisone (LAPP) for Canine Multicentric Lymphoma: A Practical Multiagent Chemotherapy Protocol that Avoids Injectable Cytotoxics
Principal Investigator: Douglas H Thamm, VMD; Colorado State University
A clinical trial of a new chemotherapy protocol using drugs that do not require special handling and therefore may be more widely available than currently used chemotherapy protocols.
- Grant 03103: Identification of Genetic Mutations in Anal Sac Carcinoma Development in English Cocker Spaniels, Part II – Validation
Principal Investigator: Shaying Zhao, PhD; University of Georgia
Investigators will explore the genetic mutations that predispose English Cocker Spaniels to this cancer of the anal sacs.
- Grant 03095-A: Cell-Specific Expression of MicroRNAs in Primary and Metastatic Canine Osteosarcoma
Principal Investigator: Geoffrey Wood, DVM, PhD; University of Guelph
Investigators will determine which cells produce a promising canine bone cancer biomarker that could help predict tumor behavior and dog survival time.
“CHF invests heavily in research to better understand canine cancer, which is so often a devastating and heartbreaking disease,” says Dr. J. Charles Garvin, Chairman of the CHF Board of Directors. “In addition to helping our dogs live longer, healthier lives, this research often provides insight into similar human cancers. We know that both ends of the leash benefit when we work together to fight cancer, giving us more time with our beloved dogs.”
These studies are part of CHF’s $4.8 million research portfolio of active canine cancer grants. To learn more about the Foundation’s commitment to canine cancer research, including educational resources and ways to participate in canine cancer research, please visit akcchf.org/caninecancer.
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Certain flu virus strains in dogs are developing mutations that could make them more likely to spread to humans, new research suggests.
Scientists in China and at the University of China studied H3N2 avian influenza viruses that were transmitted to dogs around 2006. They found that since then, H3N2 canine influenza viruses have:
- Become able to recognize the human-like SAα2,6-Gal receptor.
- Showed gradually increased hemagglutination (HA) acid stability and replication ability in human airway epithelial cells.
- Acquired a 100% transmission rate via respiratory droplets in a ferret model.
“We also found that human populations lack immunity to H3N2 CIVs, and even preexisting immunity derived from the present human seasonal influenza viruses cannot provide protection against H3N2 CIVs.” the researchers wrote. “Our results showed that canines may serve as intermediates for the adaptation of avian influenza viruses to humans.”
The study involved dogs in nine provinces or municipalities of China from 2012 to 2019. The findings were published in the journal Epidemiology and Global Health, Microbiology and Infectious Disease.
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The American Kennel Club (AKC®), a not-for-profit organization, the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs, is excited to announce that the AKC National Agility Championship will air on ESPN2. The competition will premiere on Monday, May 8th at 8pm ET. The National Agility Championship brings the top Agility athletes in the nation together for an exciting competition that is sure to thrill spectators.
This year’s AKC National Agility Championship was held March 16-19 at the Built Ford Tough Livestock Complex at Expo Square in Tulsa, OK. Nearly 1,300 dogs and their handlers competed to become the National Champion in their respective jump height. Dogs entered competed in 8”, 12”, 16”, 20”, 24”, or 24C” jump heights.
“Agility is a high-energy competition, and we can’t wait for ESPN viewers to get a front row seat to the action,” said Carrie DeYoung, Director of Agility. “The best of the best competed, so it will be thrilling to watch.”
The broadcast will be hosted by ESPN’s Phil Murphy, including play-by-play by sportscaster Carolyn Manno and analysis by Terry Simons.
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Maria Menounos has revealed she survived a fight with stage 2 pancreatic cancer.
Friend of Talkin’ Pets and the former E! News host, who in 2017 opened up about having surgery to remove a brain tumor, tells People that she was diagnosed in January and had surgery the next month to remove a pancreatic tumor.
After suffering from painful leg cramps, she went to the hospital, where she learned she had type 1 diabetes, which runs in her family. As she dealt with that “new diagnosis” through insulin and a strict diet, she started experiencing “excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhea.” At one point she felt “like someone was tearing my insides out.”
Though a CT scan and extensive testing showed nothing, she tells People, she had a full-body MRI, which showed a 3.9 cm mass that was later revealed to be a stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.
“I’m like ‘How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?’ ” she says, adding that she was thinking about how she and husband Keven Undergaro were expecting a baby girl, which is due this summer via surrogate.
In February, she had surgery to remove the tumor as well as part of her pancreas, her spleen, a large fibroid and 17 lymph nodes.
“It was super painful,” she says of the experience and recovery. “I couldn’t move or lift myself up.”
Menounos’ doctors tell People that she appears to be doing well and won’t need chemotherapy or additional treatment beyond scans for the next five years.
“I’m so grateful and so lucky,” she says. “God granted me a miracle. “I’m going to appreciate having [my daughter] in my life so much more than I would have before this journey.”
In 2017, Menounos left E! News, where she’d been an anchor since 2015, as she revealed she had surgery to remove a golf-ball-size brain tumor amid her mother’s battle with stage 4 brain cancer. Her mother died in 2021.
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A cannibalistic fish with large fangs has been found washed up on a beach in California.
The fish was discovered by a beach walker in West Marin, a rural region of Marin County.
"The fish was still alive when the beach walker found it," Anthony told Newsweek. "He put it back into the shorebreak to try and resuscitate it."
He said the fish, which was around four feet long, then disappeared and that it probably did not survive.
Anthony shared images of the fish to Facebook and Twitter asking for help to identify the species. After just ten minutes, Christopher Martin, the curator of ichthyology at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley, had gotten in touch, identifying the species as a lancetfish.
Long-snouted lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox) are large predatory fish that can grow up to 7 feet in length and live in oceans across the globe, except the polar seas. They are found at depths of between around 350 and 6,500 feet and hunt in the twilight zone.
They are prehistoric in appearance, with gaping fanged jaws, giant eyes, long slim bodies and a large frilled fin along the top of its back. The species' scientific name means scaleless lizard, as its skin is covered in pores, rather than scales.
Lancetfish are often caught as bycatch by fishermen, commonly in the waters off the coast of Hawaii. While they have no value to fishermen, to scientists studying the mid-ocean they are hugely important.
The species is remarkable because of its unusual digestive system that leaves its prey largely intact. This means scientists can look to see exactly what this marine predator that sits in the middle of the food chain has been eating. From this, researchers can better understand the middle of the food web in the mid-ocean, which will help them get an idea of how the marine food web is changing.
From studying the stomach contents of lancetfish, scientists discovered the species is cannibalistic, often consuming members of its own species, earning it the alternative name of cannibal fish.
"Their enormous teeth are likely used for biting their prey, rather than suction-feeding like most piscivores," Martin told SFGATE. "Then they have the difficult task of removing their impaled prey and getting it down their throat somehow—imagine trying to eat a shish kebab underwater."
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Churchill Downs racetrack will work with regulators to conduct an investigation after four horses died in the lead-up to today’s Kentucky Derby, the venue said on Wednesday.
Wild On Ice was entered to run in the first race of the prestigious Triple Crown series but had to be euthanized last week after suffering a leg injury during a workout at the Louisville, Kentucky, track. Three other horses who were not expected to run in the Kentucky Derby also died: Parents Pride and Chasing Artie died suddenly on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively, while Take Charge Briana was euthanized after sustaining musculoskeletal injuries during a Tuesday turf race.
“While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable,” Churchill Downs said.
“We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed.”
The multiple incidents “should be distressing to anyone interested in the well-being of horses and the reputation of the horse-racing industry”, “It should be a top priority for Churchill Downs and all other tracks to make horse welfare their top priority,” said the president of advocacy group Animal Wellness Action.
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The daily Sea Surface Temperature hit 21.1°C on April 1 and remained there through April 6, as recorded by the Climate Reanalyzer, a tool from the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute. “The current trajectory looks like it’s headed off the charts, smashing previous records,” Matthew England, a climate scientist at the University of New South Wales, told The Guardian.
While the previous few years, under La Niña conditions, saw slightly cooler sea surface temperatures, experts are now seeing heat rising up to the ocean surface. Global warming can further contribute to rising ocean temperatures, and globally, we are seeing an average of 0.32° F (0.18° C) warming per decade. The record ocean surface temperatures could foreshadow El Niño conditions later in 2023. With these patterns, we could see more flooding around the Gulf Coast in the U.S. and in the southeastern part of the country. Warming ocean surface temperatures can also alter food webs and marine ecosystems.
In 2016, when the previous highest sea surface temperature was recorded, El Niño was occurring. This phenomenon typically happens when global temperatures are higher, and as The Washington Post reported, last month had a global average temperature about 0.92°F higher than the normal temperature recorded for 1991 to 2020.
Our ocean covers 70% of the world’s surface and accounts for 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. We can't have a healthy future without a healthy ocean - but it's more vulnerable than ever because of climate change and pollution. Tackling the grave threats to our ocean means working with leaders across sectors, from business to government to academia. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, convenes the Friends of Ocean Action, a coalition of leaders working together to protect the seas. From a programme with the Indonesian government to cut plastic waste entering the sea to a global plan to track illegal fishing, the Friends are pushing for new solutions.
Climate change is an inextricable part of the threat to our oceans, with rising temperatures and acidification disrupting fragile ecosystems. The Forum runs a number of initiatives to support the shift to a low-carbon economy, including hosting the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, who have cut emissions in their companies by 9%.
With La Niña, the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming are often subdued, making surface temperatures cooler. “The recent ‘triple dip’ La Niña has come to an end. This prolonged period of cold was tamping down global mean surface temperatures despite the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said Mike McPhaden, a senior research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as reported by The Guardian. “Now that it’s over, we are likely seeing the climate change signal coming through loud and clear.”
Warmer ocean surface temperatures may also mean more marine heatwaves, and the conditions leading to ocean warming may also lead to increasing temperatures on land. Researchers are already recording an unusually high amount of extreme marine heatwaves occurring at once. Rising temperatures and increasing heatwaves can lead to several negative consequences, from melting ice and increasing sea level rise to more severe storms and risks to marine life, including coral bleaching events.
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A Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. and Nunn Milling Co. ("Defendants") that alleged Defendants marketed and sold pet food products contaminated with dangerous levels of aflatoxin, which can cause serious injury and death, and other pet food products contaminated with Salmonella, which can make pets sick. The Defendants deny the allegations in the lawsuit, and the Court has not decided who is right.
Am I a Settlement Class Member? You are a Settlement Class Member if you purchased one or more of the Midwestern Pet Food Products in the United States. For a full list of the Pet Foods Products covered by this Settlement, visit www.mwpfsettlement.com.
What does the Settlement Provide? Defendants have agreed to create a $6,375,000 Settlement Fund to be used to pay cash benefits to Settlement Class Members, class notice and settlement administration costs, attorneys' fees and expense reimbursements, and service awards to the Class Representatives. If you are a Settlement Class Member and submit a valid claim, you will receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. Settlement Class Members can recover money by submitting valid Pet Injury Claims (e.g., payments for pet illness or death and related losses; breeder losses) and/or Consumer Food Purchase Claims (e.g., refunds for pet food purchase price). Generally, claims supported by documentation will be paid at higher amounts. Payment amounts may also be reduced depending on the number of valid claims submitted. For more information about the cash benefits available and to file Claims online, go to www.mwpfsettlement.com.
Your Options. Settlement Class Members seeking monetary benefits must complete and submit a Claim Form to the Claims Administrator by August 3, 2023. Claim Forms can be submitted online at www.mwpfsettlement.com or by mail. If by mail, the Claim Form must be postmarked by August 3, 2023. You can also exclude yourself from, or object to the Settlement on or before August 3, 2023. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will remain in the Class and will give up the right to sue the Defendants about the legal issues in this litigation. A summary of your rights under the Settlement and instructions regarding how to submit a claim, exclude yourself, or object are available at www.mwpfsettlement.com.
The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on August 21, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. (CST). At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and consider Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees (not to exceed 33.33% of the Settlement Fund), expense reimbursement up to $125,000, and a $3,500 service award for each Class Representative. The Court will also listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. You may attend the Hearing at your own expense, or you may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.
This notice is a summary. The Settlement Agreement and more information about the lawsuit and Settlement are available at www.mwpfsettlement.com or by calling toll-free 1-888-501-9437.
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One of the three major highways into Yosemite National Park could possibly be closed into the summer.
Park officials say Big Oak Flat Road, the continuation of Highway 120 into Yosemite, is closed between the park boundary and Merced Grove due to a crack in the road.
The crack is about 200 feet long and up to four feet deep. The road's surface has also moved two to three inches vertically and horizontally and is continuing to move.
Officials say the embankment below the road has also moved about 15 feet downslope and water is flowing through it.
They say the road is not even safe enough to open it to limited traffic and doing so would lead to additional road failure.
The park will be working with the Federal Highway Administration to start repairs but the road is expected to be closed until at least mid-June and possibly into July.
Visitors entering Yosemite through Highway 120 from the west can reach Hodgdon Meadow and Hetch Hetchy, but not other areas of the park, including Yosemite Valley.
From Yosemite Valley, visitors can drive up the Big Oak Flat Rd to reach the Tuolumne & Merced Groves of Giant Sequoias.
Visitors can still access Yosemite using El Portal Road, the continuation of Highway 140 from Merced or Wawona Road, the continuation of Highway 41 from Fresno.
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