I’d be afraid to close my eyes later cause these cats look like they might whittle little mini shanks and slit a throat behind these indignities. — Tanya Ballard Brown

life:

It needs no other introduction: Cats in Costumes, Looking Horrified

Wither the Wolf, Behold the Coywolf

According to werewolf legends, some humans can suddenly “shapeshift” or transform into wolves. But in real life, wolves are disappearing in large numbers and are being replaced by coywolves. These are coyote-wolf hybrids that are now common in parts of the U.S.

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I’m on research leave from my college this year in order to write a book that explores one central question: Do non-human animals grieve?

My answer is yes, they do.

It’s refreshing to answer a scholarly question without equivocation. Most often, I can’t do that. When anthropologists reconstruct how prehistoric peoples lived based on their material artifacts, or theorize about how monkeys and apes think about the world based on their behavior, disclaimers of what we can’t know often crowd out solid answers.

But from a combination of observation, evolutionary logic, reading the peer-reviewed science literature, and talking to insightful animal people, I’m convinced that animals may feel deep grief when another animal dies. Not all species, to be sure; if spiders and snails are ever found to grieve, I’d be the first to express astonishment. But I do mean more than only the usual suspects, more than the apes, elephants and cetaceans.

— Barbara J. King, from her post Do Animals Grieve?

usagov:

Image description: Nudibranch species Janolus barbarensis, as seen under the North T-Pier, Morro Bay, California.

Nudibranchs, pronounced new-duh-branks and commonly known as sea slugs, are gastropod mollusks like whelks and many other shells you find along the beach. But, nudibranchs have no shells. Their are over 3,000 species of these beautiful creatures, found on seafloors all over the world.

Photo by the National Science Foundation.

discoverynews:

Beetles Die During Sex With Beer Bottles

It’s a case of mistaken attraction, because the beer bottles happen to possess all of the features that drive male Australian jewel beetles wild. They’re big and orangey brown in color, with a slightly dimpled surface near the bottom (designed to prevent the bottle from slipping out of one’s grasp) that reflects light in much the same way as female wing covers.

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nationalpostsports:

Gratuitous soccer elephant of the day: Meet the “oracle” who predicted the results of the women’s World Cup this summer. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

This must be the day for re-blogging fun animal photos! —Wright

inothernews:

Collective nouns: “a reblog of Tumblrs.”

(Photo of a group of panda bear cubs at the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China by AFP-Getty via MSNBC.com)

I can’t help but editorialize: Awwwwwwwwww! —Sarah

latimes:

Sit, stay, surf: Sea dogs hang 10 in Huntington Beach (more photos at the link!).

Photo credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

discoverynews:

More Guinness Book Records

And the most dogs ever seen skipping on the same rope numbers 13.

The longest ears of any pooch on record belong to Harbor, a Black-and-Tan Coonhound. Harbor is 8 years old and weighs 40.51 kg (89.2 pounds).

Harbor looks ready to fly away!

nationalpost:

Photos of the day
A rabbit jumps over a hurdle at an obstacle course the 5th Open Rabbit Sport Tournament on Aug. 28, 2011 in Rommerz, Germany. Eighty rabbits competed in light-weight, middle-weight and jumping-for-points categories. Rabbit Hopping is a growing trend among pet rabbit owners in Central Europe and the first European Championships are scheduled to be held later this year in Switzerland. (Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

I was told that I had to stop showing this to people in the office and just go ahead and re-blog it. —Wright