Animals & Pets News

WASHINGTON - A young giant panda who became a major attraction after his birth at Washington's National Zoo will leave for China early next year for breeding. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - It was too sad for some, an example of the US pandering to others: Tai Shan, the four-year-old US-born giant panda, is being sent to China, the National Zoo in Washington announced Friday. Full Story »

BILLINGS, Mont. - Black-tailed prairie dogs were denied protection under the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday after federal officials concluded the once prevalent species shows signs of rebounding. Full Story »

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong shark fin merchants on Wednesday reacted angrily to a US study that said meat from endangered species was being sold in the city's markets to make a popular soup. Full Story »

Every year, millions of shark fins are sold at Chinese markets to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup, a dish considered a delicacy, but it has been impossible to pinpoint which sharks from which regions are most threatened by this trade. Full Story »

KATHMANDU (AFP) - An international project that prevented a glacial lake in Bhutan from bursting its banks underlined how climate change can be tackled by adaptation, the environmental group WWF said on Tuesday. Full Story »

CUMBERLAND, Ohio - Officials at a southeast Ohio conservation center say a southern white rhinoceros could be the first fourth-generation member of the threatened species born in any other North American managed herd. Full Story »

NAIROBI, Kenya - African authorities raided shops, intercepted vehicles at checkpoints and used sniffer dogs to detect and seize over 3,800 pounds (1,768 kilograms) of illegal elephant ivory in a six-nation operation, Interpol and the Kenya Wildlife Service said Monday. Full Story »

WARSAW, Poland - Visitors to Warsaw's zoo are being greeted by two "Homo sapiens" peering out from a cage — humans in animal skins trying to spark interest in man's caveman ancestors. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Two giant pandas due to begin a 10-year stay at an Australian zoo could give the local economy a bigger boost than recent visits by Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong, officials said Wednesday. Full Story »

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio zoo is ready to show off its newest additions — a trio of lion cubs. Full Story »

BEIJING - A panda research center in northwestern China has been closed to visitors as a precaution to protect the endangered species from catching swine flu, state media reported on Tuesday. Full Story »

BEIJING - China will send two giant pandas to an Australian zoo this Friday as part of a joint research program. Full Story »

A tiny chameleon species with a scaly horn atop its snout and blue dots on its limbs has been discovered in Tanzanian forests. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of animal species thrive in the ocean depths beyond the reach of sunlight, between 200 to 5,000 meters below the surface, an international team of scientists has reported after nearly 10 years of research. Full Story »

GENEVA (AFP) - Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday. Full Story »

NEW ORLEANS - The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins, and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits. Full Story »

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Thousands of Hindu devotees have flocked to a village in Nepal ahead of the planned sacrifice of more than 300,000 animals in a ceremony condemned by animal rights activists, including French actress Brigitte Bardot. Full Story »