14 new species found in Brazil

The good news? Conservationists have discovered 14 species of animals probably new to science. The bad news? They live in an area of Brazil that "is being converted to farms at twice the rate of the neighboring Amazon forest," according to an MSNBC report.

An expedition led by U.S.-based Conservation International and a number of Brazilian universities spotlighted eight fish, three reptiles, one amphibian, one mammal and a bird.

Of course, further tests will be made to confirm that these creatures are actually new. For photos, go to Conservation International.

-- Alice Short

New study slams factory farming

Factory farming takes a hit in a report, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, released yesterday. Rick Weiss of the Washington Post reports:

Factory farming takes a big, hidden toll on human health and the environment, is undermining rural America's economic stability and fails to provide the humane treatment of livestock increasingly demanded by American consumers, concludes an independent, 2 1/2 -year analysis that calls for major changes in the way corporate agriculture produces meat, milk and eggs.

The report finds that the "economies of scale" used to justify factory farming practices are "largely an illusion, perpetuated by a failure to account for associated costs."

Among those costs are human illnesses caused by drug-resistant bacteria associated with the rampant use of antibiotics on feedlots and the degradation of land, water and air quality caused by animal waste too intensely concentrated to be neutralized by natural processes.

The report was also critical of confinement systems such as battery cages for chickens and gestation crates for pigs.

-- Alice Short

Photo: John Bazemore / Associated Press

Dog video continues to vex Marines

The Marine Corps continues to be dogged by the mysterious case of the video purporting to show a Marine in Iraq throwing a puppy off a cliff. The video caused a furor when it was posted on the Internet in early March.

The Marines involved were immediately identified as part of a unit based in Hawaii. An investigation was launched. This week, Marine Corps Base Hawaii issued a followup statement saying that the investigation continues. A spokesman said it is still unclear if the video is authentic or a hoax.

According to the statement, "There have been numerous stories of Marines adopting pets and sending them home from Iraq or helping to arrange life-saving medical care for Iraqi children. Those are the stories that exemplify what we stand for and how most Marines conduct their actions."

The Marines invited anyone wanting to sound off about the dog case to visit their website and click on the e-mail link. The furor has embarrassed the Marine Corps.

After all, the corps has a dog -- a bulldog -- as its official mascot.

-- Tony Perry

Study challenges 'cat person, dog person' conventional wisdom

There may be no such thing as a "cat person" or a "dog person" after all.

A new study by Ball State University has found that matching yourself with a pet suited to your personality may be more important than whether that pet is a cat or dog.

The study of 266 pet owners found that a majority of cat owners see themselves as having cat-like personality traits, such as being independent and being at the center of attention, while most dog owners believe they have the characteristics of canines, such as being friendly and social.

"Many people perceive themselves as being either 'cat people' or 'dog people.' These people often think they relate to their pets because they share similar personalities," Lucinda Woodward, a professor of psychological sciences and personality researcher, said in a news release. "Yet, not all dogs and cats have traditionally perceived personalities. There are friendly cats that want to be around their guardians all the time and dogs that don't crave constant attention."

Woodward offers advice for those looking for a cat or dog:

"... 'cat people' should seek independent pets that are also low on submissiveness while 'dog people' should seek pets high on friendliness and low on dominance," she said.

Or if you already own a dog, check out Woodward's dog personality survey.

--Tony Barboza

Photo: By MKW, submitted on Your Scene

Leave the gray wolves alone, Times editorial says

A Times editorial published today asks the Fish and Wildlife Service to re-list the gray wolves of the northern Rockies onto the Endangered Species Act after 35 of the animals have been killed.

"The federal government will not intervene again on the wolves' behalf until their numbers fall as low as 300. Taxpayers will then bear the burden of re-listing the wolves. That's partly why environmentalists have gone to court over the delisting," the editorial states.

"The Fish and Wildlife Service should re-list the wolves until it receives more reasonable management plans from the states involved, and should demand that the population fall no lower than 1,000. The wolves weren't reintroduced to provide target practice for hunters," the editorial says.

Also in today's Opinion section, author Gary Ferguson echoes The Times editorial board's sentiment in a longer piece, calling the decision to remove the wolves from the list "heartless persecution."

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Jeff Robbins/Associated Press

San Francisco resident dies after shark attack in Mexico

A U.S. surfer was killed in a shark attack off Mexico's southern Pacific coast, officials said Tuesday in an Associated Press story.

The San Francisco man bled to death on Monday after a gray shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 15-inch wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement.

The man died a few minutes after reaching the hospital, according to the government statement.

Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal. A triathlete was killed by a shark off the coast of San Diego County last week.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Japan's oldest giant panda dies

Japan's oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo's largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died today of heart failure, zookeepers told the Associated Press.

Fukuji Sugimoto, chief panda-keeper at the zoo, described what he found when he entered Ling Ling's cage early today:

"He always turned around when I called 'Ling Ling.' This morning he didn't. I rushed to him and touched his head, and he was already cold. That broke my heart," Sugimoto said. "He was such a darling."

Ling Ling was 22 years and 7 months old, equivalent to about 70 human years, the Ueno Zoo said in a statement. Ling Ling, pictured here, was the fifth-oldest known male panda in the world.

Keepers and visitors mourned the panda, which was the zoo's most popular attraction for more than 15 years. Public broadcaster NHK showed many visitors writing condolences, with some brushing away tears. Ling Ling's portrait was displayed inside his cage, along with bouquets and offerings of his favorite bamboo shoots.

To see a photo gallery on Ling Ling, click here.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images

An unusual way to fight allergies: Get a dog

The Times (of London) has some news for all the parents of kids with allergies ... or those parents who fear their children will develop allergies:

Children run less risk of being sensitive to allergens if there is a dog in the house in the early years of their lives, scientists have found.

The conclusion, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, adds weight to the theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies such as asthma, eczema and hay fever.

And that's not all:

The “hygiene theory” of allergy holds that modern life has simply become too clean, meaning that babies’ immune systems are not exposed to enough germs to develop normally.

So for all of you out there who are fastidious housekeepers and thinking of purchasing a goldendoodle (known for little or no shedding),  perhaps a trip to the pound is in order instead? 

-- Alice Short

A meeting of feline and reptilian minds

Photo submitted by Marek at Your Scene, where readers can share photos and videos of their animals.

Environmental groups sue to protect gray wolves

A dozen environmental groups are suing the federal government over a decision to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list, the Times' Tami Abdollah reports. The groups filed suit Monday.

Gray wolves, once plentiful from central Mexico to the Arctic, virtually disappeared from the American West by the 1930s. In 1974, they were listed as endangered. They were reintroduced to the northern Rockies starting in 1995, and since then their population has soared to about 1,500.

Since the delisting went into effect March 28, at least 35 wolves have been killed in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and environmental groups are asking for an injunction to stop the kills.

Federal protection is a hot topic lately, with the listing of the sage grouse as endangered being reconsidered, and a federal judge ordering the Interior Department to decide quickly whether to classify polar bears as endangered species because of ice melting caused by global warming.

-- Tony Barboza

Photo: J. & K. Hollingsworth / Associated Press

PETA and euthanasia

Newsweek has posted an article online that says People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals "has practiced euthanasia for years."

Nearly a decade later, Daphna Nachminovitch still remembers the rerelease of the Disney classic "101 Dalmatians" and the tragedy that followed. First there was a spike in sales of the famous spotted breed. Then, in the months that followed, shelters took in hundreds of Dalmatians from disillusioned pet owners around the country. "As soon as the puppies outlived their cuteness and the kids didn't want to scoop the poop anymore, the dogs were dumped in shelters," says Nachminovitch, vice president of cruelty investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). "Many of them had to be euthanized, because there was simply no place for them to go."

But what many animal lovers don't realize is that PETA itself may have put down some of those unwanted Dalmatians. The organization has practiced euthanasia for years. Since 1998 PETA has killed more than 17,000 animals, nearly 85 percent of all those it has rescued.

PETA, the Newsweek piece says, "has insisted that euthanasia is a necessary evil in a world full of unwanted pets." And it says that the Humane Society of the United States is an ally on this issue.      

"No one hates it more than we do," says Nachminovitch. "But we would rather offer these animals a painless death than have them tortured, starved or sold for research."

--Alice Short

A case against Pets of Bel Air is going to trial

Remember when the Humane Society accused a Westside pet store catering to celebrities of selling puppies obtained from puppy mills?

Now the Associated Press says that shop is headed to court.

A fraud and false advertising lawsuit against Pets of Bel Air claims animals the store said were from private breeders actually came from puppy mills and were less than healthy and hardy.

A judge had ruled the store defaulted on the lawsuit, but in a closed-door meeting with attorneys Monday, the ruling was set aside after the store's attorney David A. Shapiro filed a response to the complaint. The case will now go to trial.

Read the full article in the San Jose Mercury News.

Below, read the original Times article about the Humane Society and Pets of Bel Air.

-- Alice Short

Chronicling the caribou-vs.-oil controversy

A wildlife biologist spent part of 2003 observing a migrating of a herd of caribou in the Alaskan wilderness. The biologist, Karsten Heuer, has now turned her experiences into a  book, "Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot With an Arctic Herd."

In "Being Caribou" (Milkweed Editions: 240 pp., $15 paper), Heuer makes a case against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with a gripping, cinematic tale of following the refuge's herd of 120,000 bulls, cows and just-born calves on a 900-mile migration across the tundra.

Kristina Lindgren, an assistant editor in Book Review, writes of "Being Caribou" in Sunday's Times:

     "You can smell the scat, feel the icy slush in minus-35-degree weather and hear the thundering hoofs, the bleats of newborn calves sucked into frigid whirlpools and washed downstream to waiting grizzlies, wolves, hawks and other predators."

The full review here.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times

Federal protection considered for sage grouse

The fate of basic industries across the West -- grazing, mining, energy -- soon could be at least partially tied to that of a bird about the size of a chicken, according to the Associated Press.

     The federal government is under a judge's order to reconsider a decision against listing the sage grouse as endangered, and wildlife biologists are scouring the species' customary mating grounds to see how many are left.

     The species was seen as recently as 2004 over an area as large as California and Texas combined, but its habitat used to be close to twice that, and research has shown that many types of human activity continue to harm it.

Some have compared the debate over the sage grouse, above, to the heated controversy over the fate of the northern spotted owl in the 1990s. Read on to see more of the AP report.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta    

Photo: Kim Toulouse/Nevada Department of Wildlife

Judge orders decision on polar bear protection

A federal judge has ordered the federal government to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming, Kenneth R. Weiss reports.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken rejected an Interior Department request for more time to study the issue and ordered it to act by May 15. Weiss has the details.

-- Steve Padilla

Photo: Steve Amstrup/AP

But did dinosaurs taste like chicken?

With all of last week's news, we somehow forget to mention our obsession with chickens and dinosaurs. But the Washington Post didn't forget.

Last week, the Post's Rick Weiss reported the following:

Protein retrieved from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex bone closely resembles the main protein in chicken and ostrich bones and is only distantly related to lizards', strengthening the popular idea that birds, and not reptiles, are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs.

Scientists may be forced to redraw the evolutionary tree. Somehow we knew it was bound to happen all along.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Chris Gardner/Associated Press

Photo: Leigh Taylor/Associated Press

More than 300 pets adopted at North Hollywood festival

Sean Lenahan, 27, left, and Alexsandra Lukyanets, 22, introduce their Papillion, Sophie, to a kitten they hoped to adopt Sunday at the annual Best Friends Animal Society's Spring Super Adoption Festival at North Hollywood Park. More than 300 animals were matched up with new owners, according to a spokeswoman for Best Friends. Thousands of people showed up to check out the homeless dogs, cats, puppies, kittens and rabbits from more than 60 rescue groups and shelters.

Photo: Annie Wells /Los Angeles Times

23 dogs, other animals rescued in San Diego County

Animal control officers in eastern San Diego County discovered 23 dogs -- mostly chow chows -- a tortoise, a skunk, a cat and a macaw during a raid on a foul-smelling house filled with debris and feces in Santee, officials said Monday. Most of the dogs were hungry, thirsty and restrained on short leashes, officials said.

The animals, including the dog at left, were taken into custody and were receiving veterinary care. Animal control identified a suspect linked to a statewide “rescue” group. “Most of the animal-rescue groups are well-intentioned, well-run organizations,” said John Carlson, deputy director of the San Diego County Department of Animal Services. “Unfortunately, you find a bad one sometimes.”

-- Tony Perry

Photo: San Diego County Department of Animal Services

Don't mess with the nest, feds say

A utility in Juneau, Alaska, has agreed to pay $125,125 in fines for destroying a bald eagle's nest, the Associated Press reports.

Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. reached the agreement with the U.S. attorney's office, which accused the private utility of showing a "wanton disregard" in destroying the nest.

The utility is accused of damaging the nest and then destroying it months later while blasting during construction of the Lake Dorothy hydroelectric project in 2006 and 2007, the AP reports. The lake is about 25 miles southeast of Juneau.

A federal judge must approve the agreement.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Scott M. Lieberman/AP

Caring for pets during wildfire evacuations

For the 1,000 people evacuated because of the fire raging in the hills near Sierra Madre, caring for pets can add a lot of extra stress.

As is often the case, local animal groups are offering helpful services. The Pasadena Humane Society, for one, is offering shelter for pets whose owners were evacuated because of the wildfire.

Here are some other tips for finding and caring for your animals during a wildfire:

If your pet was left behind or lost, visit or contact the local command center or disaster relief center to find out what agency is rescuing animals from your neighborhood. Normally, the county or city animal control agency will be responsible for retrieving stranded animals. Call (888) 738-7911 or visit Pets 911 to find the phone numbers and locations of animal shelters or agencies nearby.

If you cannot find your pet with the help of a local animal rescue agency, check the Petfinder.com Foundation website at http://petfinder.com/disaster. The site updates statistics and contact information for animal shelters and rescued pets....

Dolphin dies during Sea World show in Florida

A dolphin at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., has died after colliding with another dolphin while performing aerial tricks, the amusement park said Monday, Orlando Sentinel reports.

The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Discovery Cove area of the park during a stunt-filled show, according to a statement by SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides.

The animals were in the center of the lagoon and about 50 feet away from spectators, she said.

Sharky, a 30-year-old female dolphin, was performing a jump when she collided with the other mammal and died.

"While it is not unusual to have two animals performing aerial behaviors at the same time, we are reviewing the situation to ensure even such a random incident does not occur again," Bides said in a statement.

The dolphins pictured here performed at SeaWorld in San Diego.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Denis Poroy/AP

Fifi, stay. Owner, gimme 15 lunges

Exercise experts always recommend a workout partner who will help keep you motivated, and for one local trainer, that ideal partner is your dog.

Rosie Mestel writes in today's Health section about a recent workout session in Runyon Canyon where personal trainer Bruce Gilbert of Balanced Fitness instructs owners in exercise, while their dogs run leash-free in the area and get some discipline-tinged exercise of their own.

"I really love dogs," Gilbert said. "It struck me that there's a lot of people out there who need to exercise more and a lot of dogs that need to exercise more.... I thought: ' Why don't I have people come to the park and put together a program that's just a little more structured than having them come and hike?' "

Mestel herself learns a valuable lesson at the end, thanks to the behavior of her own dogs.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Whales on a comeback in Chile

 

It's a whale of a tale on today's front of The Times.

About 22 years after an international whale-hunting moratorium went into effect, some whales appear to be making a comeback off Chile's coast, where a proliferation of islands, fiords, peninsulas and straits creates tens of thousands of miles of shoreline, Patrick McDonnell reports.

In recent years, researchers combing remote crannies of this elongated coast have confirmed the presence of two seasonally resident populations of whales, including 100 to 150 humpbacks in the glacier-rimmed Strait of Magellan, McDonnell said.

"The likelihood is that they were not completely hunted out, and these are remnant populations," says Bruce Mate, who heads the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University and who worked to tag Chilean blue whales and track them via satellite. "It just wasn't commercially viable to hunt till the very last whale."

Liliana Nieto del Rio also captures the story in a lovely photo gallery.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Liliana Nieto del Rio/For the Los Angeles Times

Solana Beach area to reopen today after shark attack

Beaches in San Diego County that were closed after a deadly shark attack will reopen today, the Times staff reports.

At least eight miles of sea front were closed to swimmers over the weekend after Friday's attack. Retired veterinarian David Martin died after he was bitten in the legs by a shark thought to have been a great white.

There has been no sign of the shark since the attack on the 66-year-old triathlete.

Martin's oldest son, Jeff, told reporters Sunday that his father loved night diving and other sea activities. The son said no one in the family ever would have imagined a shark attack in Solana Beach.

It was the first such attack in San Diego County since 1994.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times

A bad month for cougars

It's been a bad month for cougars (a.k.a. mountain lions). A couple of weeks ago, a cougar wandered into the north side of Chicago and was shot and killed by a policeman.

On Saturday, a cougar was shot and killed in Atascadero after making its way into a populated area, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

"Police warned people in nearby businesses and homes before calling the state Department of Fish and Game. Both agencies decided that to protect the public they would need to shoot the animal."

Stay tuned for reaction.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Irfan Khan /Los Angeles Times

Pandas are walkin' in a winter wonderland

With temperatures soaring Sunday, the giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo got a cool-down treat: 15-tons of snow in their outdoor exhibit. The baby, 8-month-old Zhen Zhen, did some sliding around, as did her mother Bai Yun and 2-year-old sibling Su Lin. Gao Gao, the male of the bunch, didn't partake; he's kept separate from the others for safety reasons. By the afternoon, the snow was turning to slush. But on May 10, the polar bear exhibit will be blanketed as part of Bear Awareness Days. To watch pandas live, check out the panda cam under the list of zoo cams on the right side of this page.

--Tony Perry

Photo: Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo

Penguins: Which way is south?

Penguins take a dip near Cape Town, South Africa. Submitted by Miriam Mannak at Your Scene.

Pit bulls: Enough already

We keep thinking we should step in and stop this pit bull debate, but it's hard to resist the passion on both sides. Some readers of L.A. Unleashed feel this way:

BRAVO Pet Smart!
Our Yorkie was viciously killed by an off-leash Pit Bull at Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey on 02/25/08.  It one thing to lose a pet due to natural causes; it is heartbreaking to say the least.  But when a pet is killed, one experiences the additional emotions of being infuriated and helpless, knowing that the perpetrator goes free to repeat the offense.  Los Angeles has no laws or enforcement to take action against the perpetrator or to protect the innocent victims.  It is amazing how many Pit Bull killings there are in the greater Los Angeles area and nothing is being done about it.  It is time to change the laws and make it safer for our children and pets.  We admire Pet Smart for taking a stand to make it safer for defenseless helpless animals, which cannot protect themselves against pit bulls.

Edson Stroll & Anita Winters

But a majority of you seem to feel this way:

My pit bull is not aggressive to humans or dogs. She is also QUITE typical of a loved and cared for pit bull. She will chase squirrels. She is an angel. We read articles on bad dogs precisely because it is NEWS, and its NEWS because the majority of pit bulls and other dogs are GOOD. There are currently over a million in the US hanging out with their people, dogs, and cats right now. And it's always people who have NEVER OWNED ONE who hate them. Ask yourselves why people with pit bulls almost always replace them with another pit bull after the first passes on? And the sicko who wants to "destroy" them should be considered a danger to himself and others... ANYONE who has no regard for the life of a human or an animal is not intouch with himself, with God, or with anyone else on this planet.

Stephanie

Stay tuned for more updates.

--Alice Short

Shark attack on their minds

At the beach beside the site of Friday's shark attack, the tragedy was the only thing on people's minds. Times staff writer Sue Horton reports:

Surfer Joseph Tutrow, who runs the local surf shop, Strickly Boarding, was preparing his surfboard to go into the water.

He said he was not concerned about his safety. "That shark is long gone," he said. "He's off heading north. It's nothing to worry about. It all depends on where you're surfing. The swimmers were a little bit farther out."

But Eric McHenry, a professional "aerial" surfer, said his mind was on the shark attack, but because he needed to prepare for a big contest next week, "I have to keep surfing."

Some left balloons and plants as a makeshift memorial for the victim of the attack.

--Alice Short

Finding the tricolored blackbirds in California

More than 95% of the world’s tricolored blackbird population can be found in California, according to Audubon California, a bird conservation group.

However, continued loss of habitat has threatened the species' survival, birders say.

State and federal wildlife agencies, conservation groups such as Audubon California, and farmers have joined together to form the Tricolored Blackbird Working Group, which aims to improve the future for the birds.

A statewide survey of tricolored blackbirds began Friday and continues through Sunday. The survey, sponsored by Audubon California and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will assess the efforts to protect the species.

More information on the bird survey is available at http://ca.audubon.org/birds/tcb.php

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times

For triathletes, appeal of ocean drowns out fear of sharks

The fatal shark attack on triathlete Dave Martin prompts another triathlete, William Lobdell, to reflect on the fear of swimming in the ocean:

     I immediately think, "Shark!" when a piece of kelp unexpectedly brushes up against my arm, when I spy through my swim goggles a shadowy figure of a large fish below, or when I see a dolphin's dorsal fin pop up near me. There are times when I've unexpectedly bumped into something -- such as a buoy -- and screamed and jumped halfway out of the water.

A great white shark struck Martin as he trained off the coast of San Diego. For coverage of the attack and the essay by Lobdell, a former lifeguard, click here.

-- Steve Padilla

More than 1,000 animals up for adoption Sunday

The annual Best Friends Animal Society's Spring Super Adoption Festival runs Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at North Hollywood Recreation Center, 11430 Chandler Boulevard. There is no admission cost.

More than 1,000 homeless dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, rabbits and birds, in all sizes, breeds and personalities, will be available for adoption from more than 60 rescue groups, as well as from Los Angeles city and county shelters.

Typically, more than 400 animals find new homes in a single day at the event, organizers say.

Best Friends Los Angeles Programs, the organizer of the festival, will also be presenting a $5,000 check to L.A. Animal Services from the proceeds of the Best Friends 2007 Fireman/Shelter Dog Calendar sales.

And, Oprah's personal dog trainer, Tamar Geller, will be there to offer pet advice.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Samuel Peebles/AP

That doggy in the window has a return policy

In a recent story, Times staff writer David Colker raised the question: Does that doggy in the window come with a money-back guarantee? He was on KTLA this morning explaining puppy lemon laws, which allow buyers to return a dog for a refund if they discover an undisclosed illness or condition.

See our post from last week for how readers tackled the question: Should pets come with a return policy? That's Colker with his dog Earl, who is definitely no lemon.

-- Tony Barboza

The 411 on the great white shark

The 66-year-old triathlete who was killed by a shark Friday off the San Diego County coast was probably attacked by a great white, according to experts.

Great white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, are named for their appearance -- a white underside on a body that can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh 5,000 pounds, with teeth as sharp as knives.

Major worldwide concentrations of these sharks are located off the California and New England coasts in the U.S. as well as South Africa and Australia and in the Mediterranean. Some observers estimate that great whites live 30 to 100 years, according to researchers with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory conservation science program in Northern California.

Studies have shown that great white attacks most often occur in the morning, within two hours after sunrise, because it's difficult to see a shark close to the ocean bottom at that time.

The predatory success rate following such attacks is 55% in the first two hours but falls to 40% in late morning; after that, the sharks stop hunting altogether, marine biologists R. Aidan Martin and Anne Martin wrote in Natural History magazine in 2006.

But Dennis Long, who teaches in the department of biology at St. Mary's College and has studied sharks for years, said the media sensationalized great white attacks and gave the animals a bad rap.

"Although the species is responsible for an average of two to three nonfatal attacks on swimmers, surfers and divers each year, its role as a menace is exaggerated; more people are killed in the U.S. each year by dogs than have been killed by white sharks in the last 100 years," Long writes on his website.

For more on these complex creatures, check out this recent Times report.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

A debate over pit bulls

Hundreds of readers let L.A. Unleashed know how they felt about PetSmart excluding pit bulls from doggie day care: Here are some examples:

Wow. So many false statements (pit bulls that snap? please ... the only fatalities from pit bulls in the last two years have been from intact, breeding cycle dogs and/or chained dogs and some Darwin-award winning children ... anyone who knows dogs would have seen any of those attacks coming) Some people just aren't worth arguing with though. I will say that I'm the guardian of three gorgeous, rescued pit bulls. They hold Canine Good Citizen certificates from the AKC and are loved by all of our neighbors and friends. We (the humans) hold advanced degrees from top universities, have great careers, own a home, and are politically active. One of the best things about having pit bulls is that they serve as a great filter; people who are scared of them or don't like them are people we don't want around us anyway. So, you losers who hate our dogs, stay on the other side of the park with your scaredy-cat face on. Pit bulls are the most popular breed in the United States. There's more of us than there are of you! And yes, for a long time most pit bull owners were lowlifes who didn't have a lot of clout, but that is quickly changing. Proposed pit bull bans are getting shut down all over the place. Even Rachel Ray has pit bulls ... don't you Fox news, fear-mongering people love her?

--Tufflove

It isn't about individual dogs. Some dogs have a predisposition to kill or approach people and other animals in a threatening manner. It is, to a degree, an inbred genetic attitude. Do the people who feel they have to own dogs who could rip your face off while you sleep think the general public owes them special doggie days or something? Get a collie or a lab and get over yourselves. Keep your killer poochies at home and quit bellyaching. No one forced you to buy a toxic pet.

--JDP

Photo: Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times

A reprieve for the sea lions

Sea lions vs. salmon, redux: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled some of the sea lions that gather at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River can be trapped but not killed. Joseph Frazier of the Associated Press has more:

NORTH BONNEVILLE, Wash. One by one, curious California sea lions checked out the open cage left invitingly on a platform in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam and flopped inside to chill out on the nice flat surface.

Big mistake.

Around noon the door clanged shut and state agents concluded their first day of trapping the salmon-hungry sea mammals. The sea lions weren't having much fun behind bars Thursday, but it beat the bullet between the eyes some came within a whisker of getting under a federal removal authorization.

A day earlier the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that some of the animals could be trapped but not killed in reply to a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States.

The sea lions are protected by a 1972 federal law. An amendment, however, leaves open the possibility that some can be captured or killed if the states request it. Oregon and Washington did in 2006 with the support of Indian tribes and sport and commercial fishing groups.

The National Marine Fisheries Service authorized removal of about 85 animals a year for five years but recommended limiting the annual take to about 30 and suggested capture take precedence over killing, to which the states agreed.

Thursday's haul was eight. Two were endangered Steller sea lions that had to be freed. Two had brands identifying them as among 61 that federal authorities had marked for immediate removal and the status of one is uncertain.

The others were unbranded or branded and not targeted for removal. Those will be hauled to the mouth of the Columbia River and freed.

A look back at shark attacks

Shark attacks have rarely been fatal in California in recent years, but at least 28 have been reported since 2003, according to a list compiled by the Canoga Park-based Shark Research Committee.

What follows is a  list of the fatal attacks in California since 2003:

2008
April 25 - Swimmer near Solana Beach near San Diego.

2004
Aug. 15 – Diver at Ten Mile River Beach, Fort Bragg.

2003
Aug. 19 - Swimmer attacked in Avila Beach.

In 2005, Deborah Sullivan Brennan reported that experts think the rate in recent years is double the average of the previous 50 years, during which sharks struck 107 surfers, divers, kayakers or swimmers. Only one attack was reported in the half century before that, in 1926.

For how one person attacked by a shark dealt with her recovery, read "Shark-Attack Survivor Inspires Other Surfers With Her Courage" by the Times' David Reyes in 2004.

-Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Larry Armstrong/Los Angeles Times

Balding penguin shakes off the shivers with custom wetsuit

Here's a good one from the Associated Press:

What's black and white and warm all over? A penguin in a wetsuit, naturally.

Sounds like a joke, but it's quite serious for biologists at the California Academy of Sciences, who had a wetsuit created for an African penguin to help him get back in the swim of things.

Pierre, a venerable 25 years old, was going bald, which left him with an embarrassingly exposed, pale pink behind.

Unlike marine mammals, which have a layer of blubber to keep them warm, penguins rely on their waterproof feathers. Without them, Pierre was unwilling to plunge into the academy's penguin tank and ended up shivering on the sidelines while his 19 peers played in the water.

“He was cold; he would shake,” said Pam Schaller, a senior aquatic biologist at the academy...

Fatal shark attack off San Diego coast

Updated at 11:49

A 66-year-old man swimming in the ocean off Solana Beach was killed this morning by a shark. The attack took place about 150 yards offshore as the man was swimming with a group training for an event, reports Molly Hennessy-Fiske.

"They were swimming and the victim apparently yelled ‘Shark,’ or words to that effect, and the witnesses that were in the water apparently saw him actually being lifted out of the water and drug under,” said San Diego County sheriff's spokesman Phil Brust. “They went to his aid and dragged him onto the beach, where he succumbed to his injuries.”

It's not clear what kind of shark killed the man. Officials have closed off beaches in Solana Beach and Encinitas as a precaution, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. The Associated Press is reporting that the last fatal shark attack in California took place in 2004, when a great white killed a skin diver off the Mendocino County coast.

-- Jesus Sanchez

Man killed in shark attack near Solana Beach

A man swimming in the ocean near Solana Beach was killed this morning by a shark, the Times' Molly-Hennessy-Fiske reports.

A man 55 to 60 years old was swimming with others at Tide Beach about 7 a.m. when he was attacked, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city website.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken to the Fletcher Cove Park lifeguard station for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.

Swimmers were ordered out of the water along a 17-mile stretch around the attack site, and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department sent up helicopters to scan the waters for the shark.

"The shark is still in the area. We're sure of that," Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian told the Associated Press.

Times staffers are on the story, so more details are to come.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Mountain lion warnings issued in Hayward

Hayward police are warning the city’s residents about a mountain lion that’s been seen roaming near homes, the Associated Press reports.

The mountain lion was first spotted Sunday evening by a resident living near a large open space in the East Bay hills, police said.

After the resident videotaped what appeared to be a "a big cat," police say state wildlife officials confirmed that it was a mountain lion.

Then, on Wednesday night, another resident in the same neighborhood told police that he saw a mountain lion kill a goat and drag it away.

Police in Hayward, between Oakland and Fremont, are advising people who see the mountain lion to get indoors and call police.

The state Department of Fish and Game's website has extensive information on mountain lions.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times

An attack by a rabid bobcat

The Associated Press reports that a couple hiking in the mountains outside Tucson were clawed and bitten by a rabid bobcat that did not relent until the man killed it with his geologist’s hammer.

Rich Thompson, a geologist at the University of Arizona, and his wife, a marine biologist at the school, were receiving rabies shots after Saturday’s attack.

Thompson said he knew the cat was rabid the moment he saw it staring at him and his wife, Katrina Mangin in the Santa Rita Mountains. He said they tried to get away but the bobcat pursued them, lunging at Mangin, climbing up her legs and wrapping its body around her, clawing and biting.

The couple, in photo, fought off the bobcat, but it continued attacking and jumped on Thompson’s back.... Finally, Thompson took out his hammer and killed the animal. “It’s very sad,” Thompson said. “This poor kitty cat was deranged by its disease-riddled brain. I love the native cats. It was terrible to have to kill it.”

Photo: Francisco Medina, Tucson Citizen

An accusation, and a denial, of animal abuse

Representatives of In Defense of Animals, an animal rights group, have held a protest on the main campus of Oregon Health & Science University to highlight alleged animal abuse at the university’s Oregon National Primate Research Center in Hillsboro. Willamette Week reports:

The protest was held as part of World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week (April 20-26) and is the first of others to take place each day this week at other area OHSU facilities. The complaints by IDA concern what activists claim is underreporting by researchers of primates’ levels of pain and distress on tests conducted without the use of analgesics, or pain relievers, at ONPRC....

According to OHSU spokesman Jim Newman, the center is required to report to the USDA any procedure that causes untreated pain; he says the center conducts no such research.... "If any procedure causes pain, the primate will be treated," Newman says.

Newman says In Defense of Animals is getting its facts wrong.

Barking dogs have their day

If you think barking dogs are annoying ... if you think all that yapping is simply to make noise ... think again. Discovery News reports that dogs know the difference.

The study presents the first concrete evidence that dogs can perceive the difference between barks arising from different situations.

While dog barking is hardly on par with human language in its complexity, experts now think it's clear that dogs are conveying their feelings to humans and other dogs.

So perhaps Lassie really was trying to tell us that Timmy was trapped in a mine shaft, after all.

--Alice Short

Photo: Stephen Osman/Los Angeles Times

That mop can jump

That's no mop. It's a Hungarian puli sheepdog named Fee with her owner, Eva Meyer, during a preview for a pedigree dog show today in Dortmund, Germany.

Photo: Frank Augstein/AP

PetSmart takes heat for excluding pit bulls from doggie day care

Newsday's pet columnist and blogger Denise Flaim writes in a recent post that the pet supplies retailer PetSmart has been the target of online complaints about “breedist” requirements at its doggie day-care facilities.

Its PetsHotel and Dog Day Camp programs do not welcome any dogs with a “bully breed” classification, which it defines as “American Pit Bull Terriers, Miniature Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Bull Dogs, Bull Terriers or mixed breeds that have the appearance or characteristics of one of these breeds.” It also