Vaquita porpoises & a clouded jaguar seen alive, but Colombian environment minister wants to see feral hippos dead SAN FELIPE, Mexico; TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras; BOGOTA, Colombia––Recently reported good news about vaquita porpoises and jaguars, among the most endangered species in Latin America, was offset by the April 1, 2026 announcement by Colombian environment minister Irene Vélez […]
He arose! Jonathan the 194-year-old tortoise did not die on April 1!
Reports of his death, as Mark Twain said, were “Greatly exaggerated.” HELENA––“Heartbroken to share that our beloved Jonathan,” a Seychelles tortoise with an estimated age of 194 years, “the world’s oldest living land animal, has passed away today peacefully,” a scammer purporting to be St. Helena veterinarian Joe Hollins posted to social media on April […]
War is hell for cats in Lebanon, but brings reprieve for cattle & sheep at Eid
Threat of rockets deters livestock shippers but not Beirut cat rescuers STRAIT OF HORMUZ, BEIRUT––Crisis situations involving animals and war were just behind the headlines in New York City’s two most prestigious newspapers on the morning of Friday the 13th of March 2026, without animals ever being mentioned. Bombing in Lebanon brought disaster to both […]
Madness in Chicago after rehoming of rabid Georgia “rescue” puppy
Mistakes are pardonable. Concealing information & distributing questionable advice are another matter CHICAGO, Illinois––Why has PAWS Chicago not identified who sent a rabid puppy north for adoption, more than three weeks after the case made headlines? Distinguishing canine rabies from bat rabies, raccoon rabies, fox rabies, and skunk rabies, all of which are transmissible to […]
Elephant menace brings prayers in India, trophy hunting in Botswana
22 people killed by one rampaging elephant in Jharkand RANCHI, Jharkhand, India; GABORONE, Botswana––“Rogue elephant kills two more in Jharkhand, toll reaches 22 in nine days,” bannered Mukesh Ranjan for the New Indian Express on January 9, 2025. This came just 48 hours after Shashi Singh of The Statesman, an Indian national newspaper published since […]
South African & Canadian dog attack deaths illustrate growing global crisis
Under-reporting also evident in South Africa STELLALANDER-VRYBURG, South Africa; WELSHTOWN, Nova Scotia––The January 2, 2026 pit bull attack death of an as yet unnamed 39-year-old Pakistani citizen in Vryburg, South Africa, and the January 3, 2026 death of 13-year-old Drew Nickerson in Welshtown, Nova Scotia, Canada, fatally mauled by two Cane Corsos and a […]
Five little noted but accomplished animal advocates who died in 2025
Marshall R. Thompson, Jamie Massey, Sarah Fisher, Neil C. Wolff, DVM, and Vincent van der Merwe Among the many accomplished animal advocates whose passage in the last months of 2025 mostly escaped notice from all but family and friends were Marshall R. Thompson, Jamie Massey, Sarah Fisher, Neil C. Wolff, DVM, and Vincent van der […]
Brigitte Bardot, 91, movie star for 20 years, animal advocate for 52 years
Brigitte Bardot: provocative on film, but even more provocative for animals, for more than twice as long PARIS, France––Brigitte Bardot, 91, a fashion model for four years, a film actress for 20 years, and a full-time animal advocate for the last 52 years of her life, died on December 28, 2025 of undisclosed causes at […]
Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, 83, felled by bees
Studied everything about elephants from their psyches to the tips of their tails & fought for elephant survival from the northern Kenyan desert to lecture halls in Beijing, China NAIROBI, Kenya––Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, 83, died on December 8, 2025 at his home in Nairobi, Kenya. Excellence in all things was expected of […]
Big wins for elephants, rhinos, giraffes, sharks & falcons in Uzbekistan desert
The big loser at CITES Conference of the Parties 20 was the saiga antelope, native to host nation Uzbekistan SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan––Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, white-tipped sharks, peregrine falcons, and the Vantara captive wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat state, India, were among the big winners at the twentieth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the […]