Sadie & Sydney

"Osama bin Laden" is still on the run in the jungles of Sierra Leone -- after escaping with some 20 other chimpanzees from a wildlife sanctuary where they killed a local taxi driver on Sunday.

The chimp, named by wardens after the wanted al Qaeda leader, was among a pack of apes which mobbed and mauled four men at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the forested hills outside the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown...Another of the escaped apes was called Charles Taylor, after the Liberian warlord currently awaiting trial in a cell in a U.N.-backed special court in Freetown, the spokesman said.

Sadie & Sydney Say: Well they sure seem to be living up to their namesakes! Both of us have looked up our names in the internet, and thank goodness, so far, there have been no notorious people named Sydney and Sadie Bruce.. Let's hope it stays that way.

Posted by Tammy at 11:45 AM | Permalink

Giving Our Best For Our Four Flippered Friend

Fender, a 20-year-old marine Loggerhead turtle is seen during a CT scan at the Israeli Veterinary in Beit Dagan, near Tel Aviv, April 25, 2006. Fender is suffering from excessive air in the lungs. The turtle was caught by fishermen in the Mediterranean sea, off the coast of Israel six months ago. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen

Posted by Tammy at 09:28 PM | Permalink

Thailand says to repatriate smuggled orangutans soon

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will soon send home 53 endangered orangutans probably smuggled from Indonesia and seized two years ago at a private Bangkok zoo.

Thai and Indonesian wildlife officials began a 2-day meeting in Bangkok on Friday to discuss the fate of the apes believed by activists to have been smuggled from Borneo or the Sumatran forests of Indonesia.

Sadie says: I'd be very home sick after being away so long.

Posted by Tammy at 11:05 PM | Permalink

Details Revealed About Huge Dinosaurs

Scientists are learning more about what appears to be one of the biggest meat-eating dinosaurs known, a two-legged beast whose bones were found several years ago in the fossil-rich Patagonia region of Argentina.

One expert called the discovery the first substantial evidence of group living by large meat-eaters other than tyrannosaurs like T. rex.

The creature, which apparently measured more than 40 feet long, is called Mapusaurus roseae.

Sydney says:There are advantages to living in the 21st century.

Posted by Tammy at 09:50 PM | Permalink

BERLIN (Reuters) - A cat saved the life of a newborn baby abandoned on the doorstep of a Cologne house in the middle of the night by meowing loudly until someone woke up, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

"The cat is a hero," Cologne police spokesman Uwe Beier said. "Its loud meowing got the attention of the homeowner and saved the baby from suffering life-threatening hypothermia. [...]

Sadie Says: Wow, what a hero and an excellent role model for all us cats. While I hope to never have to be a hero, if I'm ever in a situation where I'm needed I'll remember this great cat's example.

Posted by Tammy at 12:10 PM | Permalink

Tiny Owl May Be Taken Off Endangered List

TUCSON, Ariz. - A tiny desert owl is set to be taken off the federal government's endangered species list, drawing praise from developers but protests from environmentalists.

The cactus ferruginous pygmy owl is only about 6 inches long and weighs in at less than 3 ounces, but has been at the center of a battle between environmentalists and developers for more than a decade.

Posted by Tammy at 10:03 AM | Permalink

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rescuers used drills, miniature cameras, cat food and even a 1-pound raw fish in a desperate effort Wednesday to entice an 11-month old cat named Molly from behind the basement wall of a Greenwich Village delicatessen where she has been trapped for 12 days.

The effort was renewed early in the day when workers heard the cat meowing again after several days of silence that had given rise to fears she had died. "That was a motivator to try again," said Mike Pastore, field director of Animal Care & Control of New York City, a private agency that handles animal rescues on a city contract.

Sadie says: Read the whole thing, and send good vibes that Molly comes out. As of this writing, She's still behind the wall. I'll keep my two beautiful green eyes on this one. Only one time was I trapped--behind the stove, but Tammy got me out. I'm not sure if Molly will make it, she may have already spent a few of her lives back there. Many of us cats have died because of our curiosity, but it's part of who we are. If there's an update, I'll have it for you. Best meows to all of you.

UPDATE 4/14:

Molly's been rescued! See main blog post here.

Posted by Tammy at 11:13 AM | Permalink

GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill. - More than a dozen whooping cranes took temporary refuge at a DuPage County forest preserve, sparking hope among local officials that one of North America's most endangered birds will make the park a regular stop on an annual migratory flight between Wisconsin and Florida.

The 14 whooping cranes, which hatched last year from captive parents, stopped for two nights at the East Branch Forest Preserve near Glendale Heights, west of Chicago, park officials said.

Posted by Tammy at 06:09 PM | Permalink

A golden eagle, the first to be born in captivity in Mexico, is fed at a zoo near the city of Puebla in this handout image taken March 2, 2006 and released April 10, 2006. The golden eagle, an endangered species, is a national symbol in Mexico, as one adorns the country's flag. Picture taken March 2, 2006 REUTERS/Africam Safari

Sadie and Sydney Say: If we have to have something pouring over the border from Mexico why can't it be these beautiful Golden Eagles? We'd have no problem with that, but Mexico seems intent on keeping them home. Now if they were just as concerned about their own people as they seem to be about the eagle, everyone would be in better shape. Not that we have an opinion, but we are Bruce Girls after all.

Posted by Tammy at 11:17 AM | Permalink

The news is aggravating me today, so thought I’d send some warm greetings from Hobbes (tux) and Kiki (tabby) for Sadie and Sydney.

I get the feeling I interrupted something with this picture!

Pete!

Posted by Tammy at 02:00 PM | Permalink

England's garden birds threat 'short on science'

Bird flu has the poultry industry on alert, and provokes health fears over a human strain of the virus. But what does it mean for the UK's garden birds?

The arrival of H5N1 in the wild bird population [in England] is a threat. Not least because infection could kill them and knock some of the UK's rare and endangered species off any perch of recovery...Wild and garden birds need their human benefactors more than ever, protection groups have warned. And the virus outbreak makes that even more important.

Posted by Tammy at 12:52 PM | Permalink

Cheeky monkeys told to get off the phones

LONDON (AFP) - A troop of mischievous monkeys at London Zoo has had to be retrained after showing too much interest in visitors' mobile phones, officials said.

Visitors who held out the phones to take pictures or video of the squirrel monkeys in their no-barrier enclosure found the inquisitive primates could not resist the devices' ring tones and bright lights.

A short training programme using old mobile phones covered in a sticky substance the monkeys dislike was then developed to prevent the animals trying to grab the phones.

Posted by Tammy at 02:26 PM | Permalink