Jun
06by Jonathon Morgan via greendaily.com
It’s hard to imagine what could still be left to accomplish after being named the Penthouse “Pet of the Year.” Yet stardom won’t prevent Kobe Kaige, the woman who currently holds that honor, from using her new-found notoriety to do some good — for the animals.
May
09
Poor goldfish. Nobody really respects their intelligence. They get kept in tiny little aquariums, fed occasionally, and otherwise ignored. But, they’re capable of so much more. Three second memory? Think again. With the R2 Fish School, you can use simple operant conditioning and positive reinforcement to train your fish to perform tricks, including basketball, football, soccer, slalom, limbo, and other amazing feats.
Remember, the R2 Fish School isn’t just about making your life more exciting… It makes your little fishy friend’s life more exciting too. It’s $30 from Amazon.
via ohgizmo.com
May
07by Terrence O’Brien via switched.com
You may not be aware, but prosthetics aren’t just for humans anymore. Oh no, now medical artisans spend quality time designing and fitting wild creatures with replacement parts after tragic accidents.
Braces to help dogs walk are nothing new, but some adventurous body part sculptors are taking on more demanding project like a new beak for a bald eagle and a tail for a dolphin. One DIY’er even strapped a pair of model airplane wheels to his turtle after its rear legs had been crushed by a car.
The prosthetics are far from perfect. In fact, they’re barely functional. Winter got her new dolphin tail so she could swim, but will never be able to return to the wild. The same is true for Beauty, the bald eagle who lost his beak to a bullet back in 2002. His new bill will allow him to eat food with out the assistance of caretakers with forceps, but he’ll never be able to hunt or rip apart fish again. [Sources: Daily Mail, AP/AOL News, Make, National Geographic]