Stand up and paddle for farm animals next month in Lake Tahoe

What does stand-up paddling have to do with farm animals? You'll find out if you load up your board and head up to Lake Tahoe on Sept. 10 to join Kings Beach resident John Merryfield when he paddles around the lake to raise money for Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization.

Merryfield expects to take two days to paddle the 72-mile perimeter of the lake. He did it last year in three days (photo above, Merryfield in center) and raised $3,050 for the organization. He was joined by eight people paddling the first day for 26 miles, with Merryfield and one other person finishing the entire trip.

Farm Sanctuary is active in raising awareness about farm animal cruelty and factory farming, conducts animal rescues and adoptions, and maintains shelters in Orland, Calif., and upstate New York. In a press release about Merryfield's upcoming paddle, Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur said, "Whether you are an amateur vegan chef or a businessperson, a fashion designer or an outdoors enthusiast, there are many ways you can raise awareness and help create change."

Merryfield will begin the paddle at 8 a.m. Sept. 10 in Kings Beach, across from Tahoe Paddle and Oar. Paddlers are welcome to join him; donations can be made through his website.

RELATED NEWS ABOUT FARM SANCTUARY:
July in animal news: Five questions with Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur
Rescue success story: Angelo, lamb born en route to slaughter, thrives at New York's Farm Sanctuary

-- Julie Sheer

Photo by Michael Fish

German aquarium rejects Spanish bid for celebrity soccer-predicting octopus Paul

BERLIN — Octopus oracle Paul's prescience wasn't needed to predict how this one would turn out: His aquarium in Germany on Friday gave a resounding nein to a bid to move the celebrity mollusk to Spain.

Paul rose from obscurity in Oberhausen's Sea Life aquarium during the World Cup to international celebrity as he correctly called the outcome of Germany's seven matches in the monthlong tournament, time and again picking a mussel from a tank marked with the flag of the would-be winner.

He also correctly predicted that Spain would beat Germany in the semifinals, prompting many in his home country to speculate how he would taste grilled in garlic butter.

Spain went wild for him after he correctly tipped Spain over the Netherlands in the finals, and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero offered to send a security team to protect the 2 1/2-year-old floppy octopus from the hungry Germans.

Paul is now so popular in Spain that a northwestern Spanish town tried to borrow him. Officials in O Carballino, population 14,000, declared that the octopus is their "honorary friend" and wanted Paul's presence to promote a seafood festival, the Faro de Vigo newspaper said.

Octopus oracle Paul inspires a theme song

Color us excited: Our favorite novelty-animal-song writer, Parry Gripp, has penned an ode to Paul the octopus (or, if you prefer, "el pulpo Paul"), the so-called oracle who recently went 8 for 8 in predicting the outcomes of World Cup matches.

"He picks the winner / when he eats his dinner," the lyrics note, referencing the fact that Paul's predictions were made by selecting a mussel from one of two clear boxes marked with flags. "Your tentacles are magical / They pick the winning team / You were born in England / Now you live in Germany," the song continues. Elvis Costello-style wordplay it is not, but has Elvis ever written a song about a soccer-predicting octopus? To the best of our knowledge, no.

Paul has officially retired from the prognosticating game, although public relations expert Max Clifford told CNN that he could still make a mint by appearing in commercials and print advertising campaigns. The German aquarium where he lives has said that it is vetting offers "to see if there are opportunities to spread Paul's fame even further, without involving the canny cephalod directly." Meanwhile, PETA Germany is asking Paul's fans to sign a petition to free him.

We're not sure if Gripp's "Paul the Octopus" rivals his earlier masterpieces -- among them "That Skunk Is Mad," "Shopping Penguin," "Spaghetti Cat (I Weep for You)" and our personal favorite, "Cat Flushing a Toilet" -- but it's still, in our opinion, the best psychic-mollusk song out there. 

RELATED STORIES ABOUT PAUL:
Paul the octopus oracle picks Spain to win World Cup amid media frenzy, death threats
Soccer prognosticating octopus Paul picks Spain over his own Germany in World Cup game

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Parry Gripp via YouTube

Paul the soccer-predicting octopus oracle picks Spain to win World Cup amid media frenzy, death threats

BERLIN — There's been plenty of ink for Paul the octopus lately, and why not?

The octopus, also known as the "Oracle of Oberhausen," has successfully predicted the winner of six World Cup matches.

Now, Paul has forecast the winner of Sunday's championship match. And rather than go out on a limb -- or maybe eight of them -- the critter is sticking with the favorite, picking Spain over the Netherlands.

Handlers of the 2 1/2-year-old floppy octopus -- a resident of the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium -- usually have him make predictions only for games in which Germany plays. But because of Paul's recent worldwide fame and demand for his pick for the final, they made an exception.

Here's how the seer sucker makes his prognostications: Officials put a mussel inside each of two clear plastic boxes bearing the national flags of the teams in his tank. Paul then makes his choice by opening the lid with his tentacles and devouring one of the treats.

World Cup fever hits the animal kingdom: Athletic roosters, lions, elephants and even lobsters play soccer

With World Cup excitement at a fever pitch, even the animals are getting into the spirit of things.

Zoo animals, household pets and even the occasional prognosticating mollusk are excited about soccer nowadays -- like the roosters above, for example. These two feisty birds aren't new to the sport; owner Zhang Lijun of Shenyang, China, began teaching them to play soccer in 2007, and they've been at it ever since.

In the past, we've noticed a wide variety of adorable animals taking up their soccer balls with varying degrees of skill, from a clumsy-but-charming giant panda to a talented Shetland lamb to a rabbit we took the liberty of dubbing the David Beckham of the pocket-pet set.

But prior to the 2010 World Cup, we'd never seen creatures like lobsters, fish and even elephants get into the act. Now we think we've seen everything!

We've assembled our favorite shots of soccer-playing animals over the past few weeks; we hope you enjoy their silliness as much as we do.

Soccer prognosticating octopus Paul picks Spain over his own Germany in World Cup game

BERLIN — The eight-legged oracle has spoken: Paul the octopus says Spain will sink three-time champion Germany in their World Cup semifinal.

The floppy football (soccer) fan from Oberhausen's Sea Life Aquarium on Tuesday chose a mussel from a glass tank marked with a Spanish flag and ignored a tank emblazoned with Germany's colors, spokesman Daniel Fey said.

But there could still be hope for the Germans.

The only time the usually-prescient Paul has erred in the past was ahead of the Germany-Spain final at the 2008 European Championship. Paul picked Germany; Spain prevailed 1-0.

"Paul has decided that Spain will win," Fey said in a phone interview. "But -- and that's a big but -- Paul got it wrong only one time and that was also a game between Germany and Spain, therefore we think he just simply can't get it right when it comes to this combination."

Amid intense anticipation of Wednesday's game, the eight-legged expert's pick was even carried live by two national all-news television stations.

Russian diver attempts to teach his dachshund to scuba dive

We love hanging out with our dogs -- don't get us wrong. But we draw the line, whenever possible at least, at bringing them along on excursions we suspect would make them uncomfortable or anxious.

One pastime we can never imagine making our own mutts participate in: scuba diving. They aren't the biggest fans of water to begin with, but even the most water-friendly Labrador would take issue with having a mask placed over his face and submerged, we suspect.

Dog owner Sergei Gorbunov of Vladivostok, Russia, doesn't seem to share our qualms, however. The professional diver has equipped his dachshund, Boniface, with a wetsuit and helmet designed to allow him to breathe underwater, and he's trying to convince the little guy that diving is really a great idea.

Gorbunov doesn't seem to be hurting Boniface at all -- but the whines the dog can be heard emitting underwater are enough to convince us that he'd really rather be on dry land. Gorbunov seems to think otherwise, however. "Underwater, I don't think he experiences any stress," he told the Associated Press.

Couldn't little Boniface just try surfing, instead?

RELATED ATHLETIC ANIMALS:
Your morning adorable: Young giant panda is terrible at soccer (in a cute way)
Cat obstacle courses and agility competitions gaining popularity

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: itnnews via YouTube

Your morning adorable: Young giant panda is terrible at soccer (in a cute way)

We will readily admit that we don't know much about soccer.

One thing we do know, though, is that this giant panda is pretty bad at it. Just look at that form, or lack thereof! This panda doesn't know what it's doing at all!

We don't mean that in a judgmental way; after all, it would be pretty odd if a giant panda was a fabulous soccer player. Not like lambs or rabbits, which, as we all know, are pretty talented athletes.

A panda is better suited, we feel, to fumbling about with a soccer ball and causing nearby humans to exclaim with delight. Are we right, or are we right?

RELATED CUTE PANDAS:
Your morning adorable: Yun Zi, San Diego Zoo's giant panda cub, makes a move (and climbs a tree)
Your morning adorable: Thailand's celebrity panda cub waves to her fans

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: pipsatch via YouTube

Figure skater Johnny Weir extols the virtues of his fur-filled closet in Bluefly.com video

We're always flummoxed when we hear a fur-wearer unapologetically sing the praises of wearing animal pelts as fashion statements.

We couldn't exactly say we were surprised, though, when figure skater Johnny Weir, who has infuriated animal lovers in the past with his furry skating costumes, did just that in a new "Closet Confessions" video for the clothing site Bluefly.com.

In the video, Weir describes his fur- and python-filled closet as "a constant swirl of happiness and movement" and doesn't bat an eye as he describes with glee his "fur tree" filled with lynx, fox and other animal pelts. (We have to admit, though, that the man knows how to pick a nice-looking bag.)

Weir said during an earlier controversy about his fur-wearing that "I totally get the dirtiness of the fur industry and how terrible it is to animals. But it's not something that's the No. 1 priority in my life ... There are humans dying every day. There are thousands if not millions of homeless people in New York City. Look at what just happened in Haiti. I tend to focus my energy, if there is a cause, on humans. While that may be callous and bad of me, it's my choice."

Celebrity soccer prognosticator Paul the octopus picks Germany over Argentina in World Cup game

BERLIN — Octopus oracle Paul on Tuesday hesitated but ultimately picked Germany to win -- again -- this time over Argentina in their quarterfinal matchup at the football World Cup.

Paul, who rose to global fame after correctly predicting all four of Germany's games in this year's tournament, indicated that Saturday's game will be a tough battle and that it may even end in a penalty shootout.

While English-born Paul made a snappy decision to pick Germany over his native country, this time it took the octopus about an hour to approach a water glass containing a mussel marked with a German flag, said Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for Sea Life Aquarium in the western city of Oberhausen.

Paul ignored a similar glass with Argentina's flag, but he also did not reach inside the German glass with his tentacles to grab the seafood goodie.

"Paul kept staring at the German glass and only when we wanted to take out both glasses, he finally jumped inside the German one and gulped down the mussel," Munzig said. "All of his behavior indicates that Saturday's game will be very tough and it may even go into extra time and penalty shootout -- but in the end Germany will win."