Inside the jaws of an alligator

Take a look inside the jaws of an American alligator – from the safety of your computer screen!
Bunny Watson of the Museum of Science in Boston introduces us to a reptile known for its bone-crushing bite.

The Mystic Aquarium has so much to offer!

I paid a visit to the Mystic Aquarium over Labor Day weekend, and what a fun place it is!
Check out some pictures from my visit. The Birds of the Outback was my favorite exhibit because you get to go inside a huge birdcage and interact with all of the birds.

Max, the Akita, is looking for a loving home

Jocelyn Layman of the Animal Welfare Society, located in West Kennebunk, Maine, is searching for a great home for Max, a nine-year-old male Akita.

Click here for more information on how to adopt Max or any of his furry friends!

These penguins check out their new pad

Some of the most popular animals at Milwaukee County Zoo are back on display after a four-month absence. Dozens of people gathered at the zoo yesterday to watch the Humboldt penguins march into their newly-renovated home.

Zoo keepers moved the 11 penguins to a different exhibit that was closed to the public while they made upgrades. They say the new space will provide a better experience for the animals and zoo visitors, alike.

The new exhibit will be open all year long.

Video provided by: WISN

Mass. group struggles to aid needy horses

Nevins Farm, already struggling to handle the animals in its care, is on course to receive a record number of horses this year. 37 have already been given to the MSPCA and the owners of eight others are scheduled to drop their horses off within the next few weeks.

Farm officials are scrambling to find foster or adoptive homes for the horses in this tough economy.

Click here to read more from The Boston Globe.

Video shows unwanted male chicks ground alive

This may be one of the most horrifying stories I have ever read about.
An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.

Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video at Hy-Line North America’s hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Hy-Line said in a statement it has started an investigation “of the entire situation,” adding that it would have helped their investigation “had we been aware of the potential violation immediately after it occurred.”

MSPCA seeks homes, donations for horses

The MSPCA at Nevins Farm is receiving a record number of surrendered equines and seeking adopters as well as donations for the homeless horses’ continued rehabilitation and medical care. The number of horses surrendered to the non-profit in 2009 will surpass last year’s total by early September, with 13 horses scheduled to be surrendered in the next few weeks. The boom in surrenders is expected to increase in the fall and winter months as the weather grows cold and purchased hay becomes a premium as grazing will no longer be a viable option.

“Since Nevins Farm is the region’s only open admissions animal care and adoption center for farm animals and horses, we are experiencing a tremendous increase in surrendered horses due to the poor economy,” said Melissa Ghareeb, Manager of the Nevins Farm Equine & Farm Animal Adoption Center. “We spend months rehabilitating horses that arrive in all states of care, from healthy and strong to walking skeletons with a history of malnutrition. The growing number of horses in our care also strains our financial resources at an average of $320 every month to care for each horse.”

SeaWorld, animals pay visit to NECN!

Animals from SeaWorld & Busch Gardens were in the NECN studio this past Thursday for an appearance on The Secret Life of Animals. The first animal was a roseate spoonbill, a large wading bird with pink plumage. Spoonbills have distinctive spatulate bill and consume a varied diet of small fish, amphibians, and some plants. Spoonbills, along with killer whales, dolphins, walruses and penguins, can be found at SeaWorld Orlando.

The second animal that took the stage was a cuscus from Busch Gardens Tampa. Cuscuses are native to New Guinea and are found especially forests and scrubland. They make their burrows under trees, near streams and gullies or near caves. The tail is prehensile, which means it can act like an extra limb and grip things to help with climbing etc. They mark their territory using a strong smelling secretion which is said by some to smell of coffee. These cuscuses are hunted throughout New Guinea, and are important figures in local folklore in some areas. Cuscuses, along with giraffes, elephants and zebras, and more can be found at Busch Gardens Tampa.

Watch out for the giant lizards!

Lumpini Park, a 200-acre escape from the frantic pace in Bangkok, enjoyed by Thais and foreign tourists alike, has an unlikely visitor — alligator-sized lizards. The well-stocked fish pond and lack of predators means the reptiles are thriving.

The “secret” world of a wallaby

A kangaroo cousin hops into our “Secret Life” studios. Learn more about Vincent the wallaby, an animal ambassador at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI.

Did you know?

Young wallabies, like kangaroos, are called joeys.
Even after a joey leaves the mother’s pouch, it often returns to to the pouch in times of danger.