Posts tagged "baby"

A couple of weeks ago we featured a video depicting a dog howling next to a crying baby. A lot of people gave the dog credit for "singing the baby to sleep." We posited that it seemed more like the dog was begging the infant to please just shut the heck up.

What we have here is what genuinely seems like the world's most patient cat. Sure the cat wants this baby to pipe down, but it's remarkably gentle as it touches its furry paw to the distressed child's head, eventually lulling it to sleep. Cats may not be as friendly as dogs, but they're cool under pressure.

Run! Hide! Lock your doors and your windows, because there's a vicious, bloodthirsty Yorkshire terrier puppy on the loose! Don't be fooled by his cuddly appearance; he'll turn his love nibbles on you no matter who you are. Men, woman, children, even infants: it makes no difference to this beast. He will attack you just the same. BEWARE OF DOG!

" Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Hi!
Hi, I'm the dog!
I'm your dog!
I'm the family dog!
Hey, it's really nice to meet you! Do you wanna play?
Hey, do you wanna play with me?
Let's play!
Here's my ball! Hey, here's my ball! Here, take my ball!
Throw the ball!
Hey, throw the ball!
Hey, throw my ball!
Hey!
Hey!
OK, I'll wait a while until your brain starts making memories and your physical coordination kicks in and then you and me are gonna be best friends!
Hey, you and me are gonna be best friends forever!
I love you!"

Here's a baby who gets what dogs really want. "Animals just don't like me," some people whine. That's probably because those people can't figure out what this baby already understands: If you want to make friends with an animal, feed it. That's it. Just feed it. Give a dog a snack and you'll have a pal for life.

The flip side of this is that whenever you want to eat your own snack, your peckish pooch is going to want a taste. That's why when this baby grows up into a young lady, she's going to wonder why she can't ever enjoy some potato chips or baby carrots without the dog bothering her to drop one under the table. This memory will be long gone by then, and she won't understand that it's her own darn fault.

We don't tend to laugh at pugs or French bulldogs who snore, because we understand that the countless years of selective breeding that ingrained those breathing problems in the breeds are a lot sadder than they are funny. However, an infant doesn't understand those concepts, so it's free to laugh at a snoring French bulldog as long as it wants. Because, OK, snoring is pretty funny.

Remember when Harper wouldn't stop singing at that zoo lion, so it ambled over and made one "shut up, kid" jump up at the class enclosure, and the kid got so frightened he immediately started crying? Baby Trent here is not so easily startled. In fact, Trent is so completely unfazed by the lioness that is desperately trying to eat him, he's either the most strong-willed baby who's ever lived, or the most oblivious. I know he's young, but there must be some primal part of him screaming "Danger! Danger!" to his central nervous system, right? For the first moments of this video, we tried to convince ourselves that maybe, maybe the lion was just playing with Trent, like that Sea World otter. But then at about the 0:55 mark, it becomes abundantly clear that the lion is definitely trying to bite off the baby's head! And then what happens? This baby, this 1-year-old child, he stares into the black, hungry maw of death... and he giggles.

What's better than a baby monkey? Try three types of adorable baby monkeys for the price of one!

Zookeepers at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland recently welcomed the arrival of 15 new monkey babies from three species. And they're all adorable.

There's been a squirrel monkey baby boom, with a whopping 12 births since last fall. Squirrel monkeys are recognizable by the tufts of white fur around their faces and throats. In the wild, they live in Central and South America, where they swing through the canopies of rain forests.

If anyone deserves good news, it's the giant panda. Recently at the Wolong Panda Reserve in Sichuan province, China, a panda named Yo Yo gave birth to twin female cubs. The arrival of the cubs brings the total number of pandas born in China this year to 19, according to Good News Now (GNN).

For pandas, that's quite a baby boom. In fact, it breaks the previous record of 18 cubs born in 2006.

Giant pandas are critically endangered due to the fragmentation and destruction of their habitat in the forests of China, according to the World Wildlife Fund. A survey in 2004 counted just 1,600 pandas left in the wild, the WWF reports. Poaching and a low reproduction rate also hamper the bear's well being, the AP reports. In the wild, females only give birth once every two or three years. Among captive pandas, the arrival of new babies is even rarer.

But things are looking up for the fuzzy black-and-white bears. Today, more than 300 pandas live in captivity, providing an important buffer against extinction. Experts at the Wolong Panda Reserve told the AP that better research on panda nutrition, genetics and reproduction helped bring on the baby boom. They've also created a more natural habitat for the bears that live at the reserve.

Christina Applegate, star of the upcoming "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore," has a lot to be thankful for. In the past couple of years, she's beaten cancer, found love, and is expecting her first child with fiancé Martyn Lenoble. But there's one thing weighing heavily on her mind.

"I am worried about my dog. I think she is going to have problems," Applegate told OK! magazine. "She is attached to me and at the house, there is a never a moment that she isn't next to me, so I will have to be careful when the baby comes."

Applegate's concerns aren't unusual. Many parents-to-be worry about how their new bundle of joy will fit in with their four-legged, furry companions. Fortunately, Paw Nation columnist Mary Burch offers great tips for preparing a pet (even one as clingy as Applegate's) for a new baby.

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the Web each week!

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  Cease Snake Smuggling

  "Okay, so the feds are really breathing down our necks. That's why you're going to have to swallow this nineteen-foot python." [via New York Times]

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  Rhinos Are Cute?

  It's 2010 already, and finally they have invented baby rhinos. These things are gonna catch on.[via People Pets]

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  I Can Haz Worship?

  Recent hieroglyphic translation: "lol!! omg kittehs r so cute!! rofl!! livn n ancnt egypt ftw!!" [via Discovery.com]

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  OCD D-O-G

  Before you read this article about OCD dogs, make sure to wash your hands seven times. [via New York Times]

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  Cat Convo Vids

  Our sister site has compiled some a-meow-sing videos of talking cats. [via Urlesque]

Talk about being in a tight spot.

A baby elephant became wedged in a manhole in Eastern Thailand after falling into a drainage ditch. News.com.au reports the poor pachyderm was awkwardly trapped with his head and two front feet pointing skyward. Try as he might, he couldn't wrestle himself out of the narrow opening.

Rescuers tried for three hours to free the baby elephant, eventually bringing in a bulldozer to widen the hole in order to pull the frightened animal to safety. He escaped from the ditch unharmed.

The elephant reportedly landed in the hole while out working with his trainer in Rayong province. Elephants are a common sight on Thai streets, where they haul heavy loads and are made to perform tricks for passers-by. Cruelty concerns have reportedly led to such elephant displays being outlawed in some areas of Thailand. Let's hope, for this little guy's sake, that more such laws will be passed throughout the country.

In the meantime, we expect this little tusker will take care to watch his step from now on. After all, an elephant never forgets.

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When 37-year-old white-handed gibbon Jane started acting sluggish last winter, zookeepers at Sweden's Parken Zoo feared the worst. After all, captive gibbons typically don't live much longer than 30. Luckily for all, the ape had a surprise in store. Rather than preparing to visit that pearly white zoo in the sky, Jane was pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy baby gibbon late last month reports Sweden's The Local.

Jane's advanced age puts her on par with a 75- or 80-year old human. The head of the Parken Zoo, Helena Olsson, said she's never heard of such an elderly gibbon giving birth. Jane is not a first-time mom, but her last baby was born 15 years ago.

Jane's not the only creaky old gibbon readjusting to parenthood. The baby's father, Tarzan, is also pushing 40. Despite being well into their golden years, the pair seems to enjoy having a new tot around. Jane is producing milk normally and caring well for the newborn. Lucky father Tarzan is swinging in the vines, hollering, and doing more tricks than usual, Olsson reports.

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