April 15, 2016: We’ve scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it’s all right here.
Sumatran orangutan Jahe is content to be reunited with her baby boy.
Mom and Baby Are Inseparable
Reunited and it feels so good. A 1-month-old critically endangered Sumatran orangutan is doing well with his mom at the Memphis Zoo after being born in a rare C-section performed by a human obstetrician. The baby boy was hand-reared by zoo staff members while his 18-year-old mom, Jahe, recovered from her surgery. She was able to visit with him while she recovered and they were reintroduced 12 days later. The first-time mom scooped him right up and held him close, and they’ve been inseparable ever since, the zoo said. The pair is now resting behind the scenes, and the zoo is asking the public for help with naming Jahe’s little boy. You can vote this week on five choices, including Jasper, Kalbu, Rowan, Bijack or Flynn, and the winning name will be announced on April 22. — Read it at the Memphis Zoo
Coast Guard Flies Rehabilitated Monk Seals Home
Seven endangered Hawaiian monk seals who’ve been nursed back to health since late last year are beginning their journey back to their remote island homes. The seal pups, who are all females, were found by NOAA either abandoned or malnourished on the northernmost Hawaiian Islands, and they were treated at the Marine Mammal Center’s monk seal hospital on the Big Island. On Thursday, they were flown by the Coast Guard to Honolulu, and they’ll stay in a NOAA facility until Sunday. From there, they’ll be transported by boats to the islands where they were each found, in voyages that could take up to a week. “At the Coast Guard, we pride ourselves on being lifesavers, and this is a unique opportunity where we can actually contribute to saving a species,” said Eric Roberts, a marine mammal response coordinator with the Coast Guard. There are only about 1,200 monk seals left in the world. — See photos from AP via Yahoo
Stuck Cat Freed From Chimney
A couple in England was reunited with their missing cat, Snitch, after firefighters freed her from their chimney on Monday. Snitch had been missing for three days when Roger and Susan Gardner noticed meows coming from the chimney and called for help. “We bored a hole into the actual chimney, and the cat’s paw shot out from the hole as if to say, ‘I’m here!’” said Chris Jelfs of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. They were able to pull the cat out through the hole. “We are delighted, it was brilliant watching them save our Snitch,” said Roger Gardner. — See photos from the U.K.’s Daily Mail
K9 Nox is credited with coming to the aid of his partner, Deputy Clemens.
Police Dog Races to Partner’s Aid
Nox, a Racine County, Wisconsin police dog, is being commended after coming to the aid of his partner during an attack on Saturday. While Deputy Clemens was monitoring traffic from inside his squad car, Nox started barking. Clemens “turned and saw a white male walking at an extremely fast pace going around the passenger side and front of the squad,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Before he could open his door the subject was within inches of the driver’s side door. The subject’s lips were separated and he was baring and clinching his teeth.” Clemens got out and escorted the subject to the front of the car, where he was about to pat him down for weapons. But the subject pushed him, and Clemens slipped on the ice. Nox jumped into action, leaping the open driver’s side door and biting the subject on the left wrist. “Awesome job, Nox!” read the post. The subject was taken into custody and charged with battery to an officer.” — Read it at People Pets
Anderson Cooper Introduces New Puppy
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has a new love in his life. Seven months after the death of his cherished Welsh Springer Spaniel Molly, he shared an Instagram photo of his new pup of the same breed, Lilly. “My dog Molly passed away a few months ago. This weekend Lilly showed up! She’s a Welsh Springer Spaniel. #TheRainbowComesAndGoes” he wrote. The Rainbow Comes and Goes is the name of the new best selling book he wrote with his mother, 92-year-old heiress Gloria Vanderbilt. Cooper is a well-known dog lover. In January, he made headlines when he donated enough money to cover the costs of ballistic vests for every police K9 in Norfolk County, Virginia, after a police dog died in a shootout there while helping to respond to a domestic violence call. — See photos at Today
