Yeah I'm bored but, I think its high time that some animals get introduced into the news online for the fandom to read about. Famous animals, pets, furry movies soon to come out or is out, and of course other things animal related that I have found in the papers that no one possibly reads about in the IL and WI areas.. So I present to you the FNW. I will do a bunch of different articles I have come across about any furry friend every week for ya'll to enjoy. From Avians, to scalies, to fish, and to of course Furs.

Here's whats happened last week:

To the Avians: In Washington - The toucan's colorful bill gives new meaning to the phrase cool dude. Indeed, that gigantic schnoz turns out to be a radiator the rain forst dweller uses to lose body heat. The bill of the toco toucan makes up about one-third of its body length, and ornitihologists have long wondered about the purpose for the appendage. Researchers led by Glenn J. Tattersall of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada found that the beaks contain lots of blood vessels. So they photographed the birds, which don't sweat, with heat sensing cameras. They found that "the toucan's bill is capable of acting as a thermal radiator of body heat," Tattershall explained. "By altering blood flow to the bill's surface, toucans can conserve body heat when it's cold, or cope with heat stress, by increasing blood flow," he explained. The toco toucan lives in central and eastern South America.

In Philadelphia - Attention bird watchers: A flamboyant featherd friend has apparently flown the coop at the Philly zoo. Zoo officials say the juvenile sun conure parrot disappearedThursday during the Festival of Fligh Bird show. Spokesman Bill Larson says the zoo is very worried about the bird. Larson says the birds are trained to fly from one perch to another for the show but can get distracted or frightened and lose their way. The AWOL avian is mostly yellow with a green tail. Anyone who catches a glimpse of the bird is asked to alert the zoo.


To the Scalies: Brookfield, IL - The Brookfield zoo, now has a dinosaur exibit entitled Dinosaur's Alive where you can actually see dino's in their habitat. Well not real dino's exactally. Some you can mess around with wit remote controls at the areas they are in. Also there is small dig sites where kids can go and uncover dino fossil's, and when they exit souviner's are given from dino eggs. The exibit is to introduce dino's from the jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Their are 16 dino's about the exibit. Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pteranodons and of course The T-Rex. There is also one other dino that joins the family. Its the widest dino ever discovered in Asia in 2007. The Ruyang Yellow River Dino as its name, sprays water into the zoo's fountain. It measure's 60 feet long 14 feet wide and 30 feet high. Its a plant eater (so Herbivore) and lived in the Cretaceous, 145 million to 65 million years ago. Admission into THIS exibit is $5 for adults, $3 for kids3-11 and seniors, and 2 and under get in for free. The zoo's admission is $12 for adults, 3-11 kids $8, kids 2 and under free and parking is $8. The zoo is located at first avenue and 31st in brookfield.

To any little critters (mice, hamsters, rabbits, coon's and whatnot) Los Angeles - I'm sure everyone knows of the awesome movie that has come out named G-Force starring guinea pigs and others critters saving the world from evil doers. Well guess what folks since the movie stars awesome little fluff balls doing cool things, animal activists are now bitching up a storm saying that this is not good for kids cause after seeing the movie they will wanna head to the ept store right away and buy them, cause their just so adorable, and will mishandle them, drop them, or kill them. I will agree that the little guys are not the best pets to have for kids, unless yer like 13 years old or something. Parents should make responsible choices for a good pet for kids. If you don't know how to handle it, it will either bite you or run away from you if you put it down. To parents I suggest you think wisely before choosing a tiny critter for a pet for yer kids.

Rabbit news: Waukesha, WI - A family that brought their prized rabbits (one mom, one dad, 1 sister, and 2 baby brothers) to the Waukesha County Fair, are in tears as one of the baby bunnies was stolen over night by an unidentified criminal. The rabbit's we're considered the S'mores as the sister was named Cracker and the two brothers we're named Marshmellow and Chocolate. The female being a 7 week old Holland Lop was the one stolen from its family. The human family, is very upset as to why anyone would do such a thing. This was the mother and father rabbites. first litter they've ever had. The family never wanted to seperate them, so they we're brought them to the fair getting alot of attention and we're told to have the cages ziptied to prevent anything. The cage was found to have the top of the cage door bent open to gain access. The female baby bunny was valued at 60 dollars, but to the family who owned them considered her value to be priceless.


Now for the furs: Scientists think they've found a "missing link" in the evolution of the AIDS virus: another virus that's killing chimps in the wild at a disturbingly high rate. The non Human Primate version of HIV is called Simian Immunodeficiency virus. Most apes and monkeys with SIV show no symptoms. So "if we could figure out why momkeys don't get sick, perhaps we could apply that to people," said Beatrice Hahn, a University of Alabama professor, lead researcher for the stufy reported in the issue of the journal Nature. Scientists from Lincoln Park Zoo, located in chicago illinois, assisted in the study which looked at the chimps in their natural habitat. And a University of Illinois Pathologist, examined tissue from the dead animals.

Panda News: Beijing - For the first time, a giant pansa cub has been born in China after being concieved using frozen sperm, officials announced friday. An innovation scientists hope will help the endangered species avoid extinction. The new cub's birth Thursday means breeders will no longer be forced to rely on semen from China's few Virile sperm from zoo's in San Diego, Mexico City, or elsewhere. Thats key to promoting a healthy panda population because too much inbreeding can lead to birth defects that would further threaten the survival of the species. The new cub, born to You You (mom panda) a panda at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan is the 10th born at the breeding Facility this year. It was You You's third successful pregnancy.

Dog News: Arizona - Animal rights groups are criticizing the decision by Arizona animal control officers to shoot and kill more than 50 dogs owned by a man who was in jail for a month in early May and couldn't take care of them. Anna-Marie Rea who heads the shelter where Navajo County usually takes the stray dogs, said the agency could have handled the dogs if someone had called. "Shooting is not a humane way to end an animal's suffering" said Rea. The dogs we're owned by Edward Harvey, who lives in a rural area in northeast Arizona. Harvey said he took in stray dogs, pets he called "my babies." He said he had been jailed on a gun violation in early May and couldn't make bail. He was released after about a month. County officials said the dogs we're aggressive and would have been difficult to round up. They said the dogs would have died on the trip in the animal-pickup vans, which aren't air-conditioned. Instead, the dogs were shot by animal control.

Famous animals: Los Angeles - Handlers say Gidget the Chihuahua, who was the star of the Taco Bell commericals had died at the age of 15. Turns out Gidget had a massive stroke late tuesday and had to be euthanized. The dog was apart of the commericals from 1997 to 2000. The ads which we're the "Yo, Quiero Taco Bell" sayings made the mascot wildly popular, although they provoked some criticism from activists who felt they used Mexican stereotypes. Gidget also had a role in the movie "Legally Blonde 2."


Well thats yer Furry news for the week. I'll have more furry friends posted every sunday to talk about whats happened during the week. I will also soon have my own news video for an even better deal. I may get tired of writing all this but I don't mind at all letting you know what's happening in the news. This is Blazger signing off.