Stan Lee, simians' superhero?

Since my column on comics wunder mensch Stan Lee appeared, I've heard from loads of his fans –- and now, I've heard just what he’s a fan of.

The Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, Ky., is the beneficiary of Lee's pen and brain and heart. He and artist Dean Haspiel drew a zinger, a four-panel comic for the online charity graphic anthology called Panels for Primates, to benefit the center. Have a look.

The killing in the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Murders in Rue Morgue," often credited as the first detective story, was committed by an orangutan; maybe it's time for someone like Stan Lee to put the Spandex suit on a simian and make a superhero out of him for a change?

MORE POSTS ABOUT ANIMAL-FRIENDLY CELEBRITIES:
• Justin Bieber's hair helps rescued farm animals -- wait, what?
• Paul McCartney asks India's prime minister to declare a national Vegetarian Day

-- Patt Morrison

Photo: Lee arrives at the premiere of "Thor" in Hollywood on May 2, 2011. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images

Jane Goodall's primatology archives to be moved to Duke University

DURHAM, N.C. -- Chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall is moving her vast collection of field data to Duke University.

Duke spokesman Karl Bates said Thursday the archives on chimpanzees that Goodall gathered during decades of work in Tanzania is being moved to the Durham campus from the University of Minnesota.

The collection will be under the direction of Anne E. Pusey, chairwoman of the university's department of evolutionary anthropology. Pusey had collaborated with Goodall in Tanzania and previously managed the archives from her post at Minnesota. She was hired by Duke about a year ago.

Goodall is to speak March 28 at Duke about the archives move.

Goodall is considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. She also is known for her work on conservation and animal-welfare issues.

MORE ABOUT GOODALL'S WORK:
• Patt Morrison Asks: Chimp change (2009 Q&A)
• Loving chimps to death (2009 opinion article)

-- Associated Press

Photo: Jane Goodall visits Australia's Taronga Zoo to observe the resident extended family of 19 chimpanzees in 2006. Credit: Greg Wood: AFP/Getty Images

What do artistic Asian elephants and late metal musician Ronnie James Dio have in common? Guitars

Metal singer Ronnie James Dio, who died last year at age 67 after a battle with stomach cancer, is helping animals posthumously through a partnership between the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout cancer fund set up in his memory and the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project.

Dio's wife and manager, Wendy Dio, arranged to have elephants decorate several guitars as a fundraiser for both organizations. The Times' music blog Pop & Hiss reports:

Plans call for three elephant-painted guitars to be auctioned this fall, according to a spokeswoman for Dio. Details on the time and manner of the auction are to be announced. SUAS also plans to auction off a total of 100 other instruments being donated and/or signed by celebrity players to raise money for its prevention, research and education efforts.

The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project sells elephants' art (you might have seen an amazing video in which one of the animals paints what appears to be a self-portrait), using the money to provide food, shelter and veterinary care for captive elephants and provide education on humane elephant treatment for their mahouts, or handlers.

You can see examples of the elephants' paintings at the charity's website. Our favorite elephant artist is a 7-year-old female named Khamtool, a resident of the Maetaman elephant camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand, whose favorite painting subject is colorful flowers.

RELATED ELEPHANT NEWS:
• Tennessee's Elephant Sanctuary looks to make a fresh start after co-founder's firing
• Indian official orders probe into wild elephant deaths near wildlife refuge

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: An elephant named Jaab painting an electric guitar. Credit: Mark Weiss

Justin Bieber's hair helps rescued farm animals -- wait, what?

Devoted friend to animals Ellen DeGeneres, a former PETA Person of the Year who was instrumental in the donation of a million servings of pet food to homeless animals through the U.S. Postal Service's "Stamps to the Rescue" campaign last year, has done yet another nice thing for animals in need.

It's a strange one, and it involves Justin Bieber's hair.

Allow us to explain. After the recent premiere of his new movie "Never Say Never 3D," the teen star cut his famous hair and gave it to DeGeneres to auction on eBay, our colleagues at The Times' celebrity news blog Ministry of Gossip report. (The winning bidder, who hasn't been identified publicly, also gets to meet Bieber the next time he appears on DeGeneres' talk show.)

Bieber's hair brought in a staggering $40,668 in the auction, proceeds from which will benefit local farm-animal rescue charity the Gentle Barn. The charity, which houses more than 100 rescued farm animals at its Santa Clarita sanctuary facility, has been featured on DeGeneres' show and is a favorite charity of the comedian and her wife, Portia De Rossi.

DeGeneres and De Rossi are both longtime supporters of animal-friendly causes; De Rossi has been a spokesperson for the feral-cat advocacy group Alley Cat Allies. Bieber is no slouch in the animal-loving department, either; he recently partnered with PETA's youth division, PETA2, on a campaign to promote companion animal adoption.

MORE CELEBRITIES HELPING ANIMALS:
• 'Cove' star Ric O'Barry meets with Sting about Taiji dolphin slaughter
• Paul McCartney asks India's prime minister to declare a national Vegetarian Day

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Bieber at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 16. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

'Cove' director gives copies of dolphin slaughter documentary to residents of Japanese village of Taiji

TOKYO — Copies of the 2010 Oscar-winning film that depicts the slaughter of dolphins in the Japanese fishing village of Taiji have been delivered free to its residents, compliments of the director.

Louie Psihoyos, director of "The Cove," said Monday that the film dubbed in Japanese was delivered via regular mail over the weekend to all households, with the help of a local group called People Concerned for the Ocean.

An official at Taiji city hall confirmed that two copies of the DVD had been received, but no one had looked at them yet.

Psihoyos said he was concerned that many Japanese have yet to see the film, but especially the 3,500 people of Taiji in the southwest of the country.

"The people in Taiji deserve to know what millions of others around the world have learned about their town," said the U.S. director.

"The Cove" received a Best Documentary Oscar a year ago for its scathing portrayal of Taiji's dolphin-hunting tradition. It showed about a dozen fishermen scaring the dolphins with metallic banging noises into a cove, then stabbing them as they bled and writhed in the water.

'Cove' star Ric O'Barry meets with Sting about Taiji dolphin slaughter

Sting wants to help save dolphins still being brutally slaughtered in Japan, but says the best way is by starting a debate, not by forcing foreign opinion.

The British music star met backstage at a Tokyo concert hall Wednesday with Ric O'Barry, the star of the "The Cove," the Academy Award-winning documentary that depicts the dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji in southwestern Japan.

The two have been friends since the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, where "The Cove" had its first major showing.

The film, directed by Louie Psihoyos, shows dolphins driven into a cove and stabbed by fishermen on small boats, turning the water red with blood, as the dolphins writhe in agony.

"I was blown away by the movie," Sting told The Associated Press before his concert. "We should not be eating dolphins."

Sting, in Asia for his Symphonicity tour, said he's sympathetic to the save-the-dolphins view in "The Cove" but that the best approach is "through dialogue," noting that many Japanese are also outraged by dolphin killing.

Paul McCartney asks India's prime minister to declare a national Vegetarian Day

NEW DELHI — Outspoken vegetarian Paul McCartney is urging India to declare a national Vegetarian Day to celebrate meat-free living and compassion toward animals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said McCartney sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying such a day could save animals while helping to protect both the environment and people's health.

McCartney's letter said "it would be a celebration of life."

The United Nations food agency in 2003 estimated that 42% of India's 1.2 billion people are vegetarian, mostly because of financial and religious concerns. Strict Hindus and Jains do not eat meat.

Singh's office could not immediately confirm receipt of McCartney's letter Tuesday.

RELATED POSTS ABOUT ANIMAL-FRIENDLY CELEBRITIES:

• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donate millions to Namibian wildlife sanctuary

• Vladimir Putin gives Leonardo DiCaprio high marks at Russian Tiger Summit

-- Associated Press

Photo: McCartney in 2001. Credit: Jan Bauer / Associated Press

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donate millions to Namibian wildlife sanctuary

The Naankuse Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia is a few million dollars richer after a visit from Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their children over the holidays.

Pitt and Jolie announced over the weekend that they were donating $2 million to the sanctuary, according to The Times' celebrity news blog, Ministry of Gossip.

The donation was made in the name of the couple's daughter, Shiloh, who was born in Namibia. Jolie said in a statement that she and Pitt "want [Shiloh] to be very involved and grow up with the understanding of her country of birth."

The Jolie-Pitts' donation will support a free clinic for a local community of San bushmen and help fund conservation programs for large animals, the Associated Press reports.

READ MORE:

• Ministry of Gossip: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt donate $2 million to African wildlife sanctuary

• All posts about celebrities helping animals on Unleashed

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Pitt and Jolie attend a premiere of "The Tourist" in Rome on Dec. 15, 2010. Credit: Elisabetta Villa / Getty Images

Vladimir Putin gives Leonardo DiCaprio high marks at Russian Tiger Summit

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Leonardo DiCaprio braved scary skies to get to a summit devoted to saving the world's tigers, donating $1 million to the cause and earning high praise from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The Hollywood star arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday after two flight dramas, Putin said, just managing to make the meeting where officials from the 13 countries where tigers still live in the wild agreed to a program to save the iconic big cats from extinction.

DiCaprio was one of more than 200 people aboard a Moscow-bound Delta Air Lines flight that had to return to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday when other pilots reported seeing a flash in one engine of the departing plane. The actor then took a private jet that had to land in Finland early Tuesday for refueling because of strong wind, Putin said.

"Not everyone would be willing to take a plane again after what Mr. DiCaprio experienced, but he did," he told the audience at a rock concert dedicated to the tiger conservation effort. "Here, in Russia, we call such a person a 'real man'."

Prominent artists paint dog bowls for charity

High-profile artists including David Hockney and Ed Ruscha are using their talents for a good cause: helping severely ill pet owners and low-income senior citizens care for their pets.

Hockney, Ruscha, Charles Arnoldi, Ross Bleckner, Robert Longo and Kenny Scharf each painted a one-of-a-kind dog bowl, and auction house Bonhams & Butterfields will sell all six at its L.A. location this month. The proceeds from the sale -- likely to be fairly hefty, with each bowl valued at $2,500 to $3,500 -- benefit the group PAWS/LA, which assists about 1,700 needy L.A. county residents and more than 2,000 of their pets.

The dog bowls are part of Bonhams' larger Made in California sale, which is scheduled for Nov. 23, with a preview Friday through Sunday.

PAWS/LA was founded in the late 1980s to help L.A.-area pet owners suffering from HIV/AIDS. Since then, it has expanded its reach to include those suffering from other serious ailments and low-income seniors.

Learn more about the Made in California sale and see photos of all the artists' dog bowls at The Times' arts blog, Culture Monster.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A bowl created by artist Kenny Scharf. Credit: Courtesy of Bonhams & Butterfields