The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

Three rabbits sit on the back of sheep as they avoid rising flood waters on a farm near Dunedin, New Zealand. Three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard a flock of sheep and surfing to safety on their woolly backs.

Hop on! Wild rabbits surf on sheep to flee New Zealand flood

July 26, 2017, 10:00am Life

It was a woolly ride, but three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard sheep and surfing to safety on their backs. Read story

Snooty the manatee lifts her snout out of the water in 2013 at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Fla. The South Florida Museum posted on Facebook on Sunday that Snooty died in a heartbreaking accident. No other details were given about the cause of death, but the museum said they were devastated and that the circumstances are being investigated. Snooty, the longest living manatee in captivity, died one day after a huge party to celebrate his 69th birthday.

Snooty, oldest Florida manatee in captivity, dies at 69

July 23, 2017, 2:38pm Life

Snooty, the longest living manatee in captivity, died Sunday, a day after a huge party to celebrate his 69th birthday, according to the South Florida Museum. Read story

Rancher Rhonda DalBalcon moves her cattle June 7 using her horse, a dog and her voice near Colville The cattle are headed from leased, privately owned pasture to summer grazing in the Colville National Forest.

With cattle in Washington’s wolf country, ranchers worry

July 23, 2017, 2:25pm Northwest

Bellows and bedlam echo across the valley as Rhonda and Kevin DalBalcon keep up a slow, steady pressure on the cows and calves they are moving. Read story

Summer can pose dangers to our dogs, cats

July 21, 2017, 6:03am Life

Many summer activities we all enjoy can be dangerous for our furry friends, largely due to the intense heat. Read story

A leopard cub nurses from a lioness known as Nosikitok in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Lioness nurses leopard cub

July 21, 2017, 6:00am Pets & Wildlife

Luke Hunter, president and chief conservation officer of the global wild cat organization Panthera, received an email last week from one of his group’s partners in Tanzania. When he opened the attached photos, Hunter recalled, “my jaw just dropped.” Read story

In his new book, “Monarchs and Milkweed,” Anurag Agrawal explains how monarch caterpillars can eat the toxins in milkweed and become poisonous to predators without harming themselves.

Are our gardens the monarch butterfly sanctuaries we think they are?

July 21, 2017, 6:00am Pets & Wildlife

The brutish common milkweed, not a choice garden plant, is setting its strange pods now that its muddy pink blooms are waning, but other milkweeds are still flowering, and in a prettier way. Read story

‘Squishy’ lump on cat’s head a concern

July 21, 2017, 5:55am Life

Angel is a 14-plus-year-old feline sharing her life with her caretaker Stefanie. Some time ago Stefanie found a small dark and soft mass on the top of Angel’s head and about six months ago it grew quite visibly to about the size of a quarter at its base and three-quarters… Read story