It's not just cats and dogs getting microchips. The BBC reports that exotic animals like snakes are getting the pet-tracking chips too.
One man who keeps dozens of snakes has taken two of the valuable pets to the surgery for the chips to be implanted.
Dave Ward, Ilkeston, owns 30 snakes including two adult Dumeril boas, which have undergone the procedure.
The 6ft (1.82m) long reptiles have been injected in the neck with a microchip at Buckley House Vet Centre in Hucknall.
Graham Oliver from the Buckley House Vet Centre told the BBC that many animals get chipped. He said, "We chip all sorts of animals - eagle owls, you can do fish, birds, cats and dogs, horses, wives and children, all sorts."
Mr. Oliver also told the BBC that exotic pets are often chipped for commericial reaons - so they can found if they are stolen. Dogs and cats are generally microchipped so they can be found if they get lost.
A cat named Kit-kat has adopted some baby squirrels after they fell out of a tree. The baby squirrels and the kittens seem to be getting a long so far.
Twiggly is a squirrel that can water ski as you can see in the clip below.
Squirrel trainer Lou Ann Best says it's a lot like training a husband: "You give him a lot of love and attention and tell him the same thing over and over." She rehabilitates orphaned squirrels.
A rare pigmy hippo was born in a British zoo. The zoo is inviting visitors to select a name for the hippo from four choices: Loko; Kadina; Zimmi; and Lola. What an adorable hippo!
Knut's dedicated caretaker Thomas Doerflein has died of a heart attack. Doerflein, a zookeeper in Berlin, became famous for raising Knut the polar bear. Poor Knut - he is going to really miss his parent. CNN has an article about Doerflein's death. An AP story is below.
A Utah senior community has a baby kangaroo named Marlee staying with it. CBS says the Marlee is bringing smiles to the residents who enjoy holding and feeding the little kangaroo. USA Today has a story about how animals like Marlee bring happiness to senior centers.
"Animals are all-accepting. They don't care about whatever issues a person might have," says Noralyn Snow, administrator at the Silverado Senior Living Aspen Park Community in Salt Lake City, home to 100 memory-impaired residents, seven dogs, six cats, 40 birds and a baby kangaroo named Marlee who can coax a smile out of even the most recalcitrant senior. "And having pets around adds excitement and spontaneity."
Here's the video of Marlee hopping around the Utah senior center.
A tiny panda about size of a stick of butter was born recently at Zoo Atlanta. In the video below from the AP you can see the panda mom examining her tiny baby. The panda mom Lun Lun looks like she knows what she is doing. It's a little frightening watching because the little panda is so tiny and it's a wonder the mother doesn't accidently hurt it. Zoo Atlanta has a blog about Lun Lun and her new cub here.
This baby condor at the San Diego Zoo is fed by a puppet that resembles a condor parent. This keeps the baby from getting spooked and makes it easier for the baby to be introduced to real candors once it is older.
This Reuters video shows the German polar bear cub named Flocke at ten weeks old. She is more mobile now but still obviously uncoordinated. At five weeks Flocke was just starting to open her eyes. Now at ten weeks and 16-pounds Reuters reports that zoo keepers say Flocke is trying to shred everything she can reach with her teeth and claws.
Some articles are referring to Flocke as the new Knut. Flocke is at the Nuremberg Zoo in Germany. The name "Flocke" means snowflake. The Zoo received over 500,000 emails when the asked for helping naming the polar bear cub. Here's the video.
