If you've visited Sacramento recently only to take a deep whiff and wonder, "Damn, they've got some skunk weed up here," you would be half right. See, hordes of horny skunks have come out of rural areas and into the city to look for mate—and their mating ritual isn't pretty. When females find their mate, make love, and end up with buns in the oven, the pregnant ladies "ward off other suitors with a foul-smelling spray." Hence the stinky stench blanketing the state capital. more ›

These guys sure are lonely. They could really use a home and family (likes yours!) to call their own. Maybe you would like a little love in your life too, yes? Well, why not adopt one of these lovable, needy, remarkable creatures today. Or tomorrow. Just do it soon! You can visit them at the SF SPCA (2500 16th Street) to see if you're a match. (Hint: you are.) If you have a heart or are in need of some karma, or both, please take a look at these guys. Their eyes are brimming over with sadness because they aren't with you. However, they're just waiting to explode with love and joy all over your life. more ›

Perhaps your weekend's been a bit hectic and you need some calming visuals. Look no further than these awe-inspiring high-speed videos of animals in flight shot by a group of Dutch photographers as part of the Flight Artists project at Wageningen University. We especially like the above footage of the dove. The lighting, detail and movement of the dove's wings are truly remarkable. more ›

Terrible news from Golden Gate Park this afternoon: one of the seven new baby bison who arrived at the paddock early last month has died "after sustaining injuries from an incident with a small dog" yesterday afternoon, the Chronicle reports. Wait a second — a small dog killed a bison? more ›

The San Francisco is asking for the public's help to retrieve a reportedly stolen squirrel monkey. "This morning zoo staff discovered a 17-year-old male squirrel monkey, 'Banana-Sam,' was missing from an exhibit that had been breached by vandals," reports BCN. "Banana-Sam weighs approximately 2 pounds and is more than a foot tall." more ›

Like a top-drawer Folger's Crystals switcheroo, Benu executive chef Corey Lee, the former chef de cuisine at The French Laundry, developed a fake shark-fin soup that's fooling even the most rabid fans of the taboo brew. Cecilia Chang, the lady credited with introducing Northern Chinese cooking to America, couldn't even tell the difference. "She had no idea it was faux," Lee said. more ›

Looking to draw attention to (cruel yet succulent) foie gras production and consumption, which will (technically) be banned in California come 2012, animal rights group Animal Legal Defense Fund stirred up a bit of media attention today after offering a rather patronizing gift to TV chef Anthony Bourdain. See, they would like to arrange to have Bourdain tested for hepatic lipidosis—which is, it seems, "the same dangerous liver disease that ducks and geese develop as a result of being force fed massive amounts of food prior to being slaughtered for foie gras." more ›

As part of his personal challenge to eat only the animals he kills, noted nouveau riche person Mark Zuckerberg has been eating a lot of bison burgers, apparently. Thanks to that newly enlightened diet, the Facebook CEO has grown so attached to one bison in particular that he posthumously nicknamed it Billy and mounted the big fella's head on a conference room wall at Facebook HQ. Also: the bison is wearing a Facebook baseball cap. more ›

Out in Golden Gate Park Diane Feinstein's thinning herd of bison got some new additions this week. According to NBC, seven new buffalo calves arrived at the bison paddock in the western part of Golden Gate park on Monday where they are currently spending time getting acquainted with the park's three surviving bison. more ›

In lieu of exploiting microwave-based infanticide or urging the (vile) use of human breast milk in Chubby Hubby, PETA aims for something a little less gross today. At noon, four PETA members dressed as colorful condoms will gather at the corner of Market and Powell streets (a noted for public displays of reason and grace) holding signs that read, "Dogs Can't Use Condoms: Spay and Neuter!" and "Condoms Won't Work: Fix Your Cat!" more ›

Would you look at this little rapscallion? Come now. It's simply too much. We love it. This ring-tailed lemur enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at the San Francisco Zoo today as part of the zoo's annual "Feasts for the Beasts" luncheon. The feast consisted of green beans, a fruit salad of apples, bananas, and grapes, sweet potatoes, a turkey made out of monkey chow (!) and apple juice with grapes in champagne flutes. more ›

Macy's and SF SPCA unveiled their 25th annual holiday window display on Friday evening, featuring the traditional daily rotation of adorable and adoptable kittens and puppies. This year, they're streaming the furry frolickers live via six different cameras. Not all the cams have visible action at the same time, but this morning we've had luck with cameras #4 and #5, and sometimes #1. more ›

Behold, the city's first hyperlocal pet-centric paper-based calendar. Created by the bloggers behind the sprawling, formerly industrial neighborhood blog LiveSOMA and benefiting a local charity, the calendar features 12 months of bridges, puppies, high-rise apartment buildings and other neighborhood sights — canine and otherwise. As LiveSOMA explains the animal urges behind creating the calendar: more ›

You're free. YOU'RE FREE! Run for your lives, little birds. You shouldn't have to be packed into crates (as pictured here) in order to become a succulent meal. You see, an estimated 2,500 chickens caused a major traffic jam this morning after a truck carrying 5,000 live chickens (no!) got into an accident on Interstate 80 near Vacaville. more ›

In the latest bit of plucky pinniped news: a sea lion flopped its way across Highway 101 early Saturday morning. After finding herself far from home and lying in a ditch on the side of the Highway, the sea lion — who rescuers named Broadway Bound — recovered Sunday at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. more ›

Tonight at the stroke of midnight, Florida State Senator Nan Rich's anti-bestiality bill goes in to effect in that dangling, backwards state. It took Senator Rich three attempts to get the bill passed - apparently because her colleagues thought she was wasting their time attempting to ban something that never happens anyway. Which is sort of funny, in a tragic way, because the Florida New Times has a startlingly lengthy list of recent incidents of interspecies mating attempts. more ›

"Everyone's saying we hate beavers, but this is not about liking beavers or not liking beavers," said public works director Dave Scola, a third-generation Martinez native who ordered the beaver's removal. — From the Chronicle's report on Martinez muralist Mario Alfaro, who was forced to remove a depiction of a beaver from a city mural due to some dam controversy. more ›

"Sheriff's investigators placed [suspected sheep thief Luis Ortiz] Orea under surveillance and determined some of the sheep stolen from the Watmaugh Road ranch were taken to a large piece of property in the 4300 block of Sunland Avenue in Santa Rosa... Detectives recovered 17 sheep, including sheep stolen from the Adobe Road ranch in Petaluma, on the property." - KTVU, reporting two brothers arrested on suspicion of stealing sheep after Petaluma police staged a successful sheep rescue operation in Sonoma County. more ›

Following on the heels of yesterday's report that, as soon as the ban goes into effect, foie gras will turn into an underground treat for gastronomes—all of this fattened liver talk has made us very, very hungry for it, by the way—a noted animal rights group asked the government today to label the taboo treat with a warning to consumers. more ›

When the state's foie gras ban goes into effect in July of 2012, California restaurants will have to pull the luxurious (yet allegedly cruel) item from their menus. Although producers claim it doesn't hurt the birds -- producers who make anywhere up to $15 million a year for the savory treat -- foie gras is made by force feeding ducks and geese to fatten their liver. When the ban goes into effect, the item will most likely turn into an underground treat for the artisan set. more ›

At some point Thursday morning, pregnant 32-year-old Darla Norpa of Pacifica was mauled to death by her 2-year-old pit bull. Her husband, Greg, returned home around noon to discover his wife "laying in the front yard" with their two dogs standing over his dead wife. The incident occurred on the 500 block of Reina Del Mar Avenue. Officers arrived around 12:15, declaring the woman dead at the scene. more ›

A deceased and bloody goat's corpse was found on Capp Street today. Mission Mission picked up on the story today. SFist talked to San Francisco Animal Care and Control who revealed that, in addition to the goat, "a few other animals were picked up" as well on the same street today. However, they could not elaborate as to the type or the amount of animal corpses recovered. more ›

Over the weekend, neighborhood blog RichmondSF received word from patrons and dog owners out enjoying Sutro Heights park that someone had spread rat poison around the grass in the park putting kids, pets and wildlife in danger. more ›

A Redwood City apartment complex stands to be the first in the Bay Area to track lazy dog owners who don't pick up after their pets using a DNA database. A database of dog turd samples, that is. Apparently fed up with all of the messes left for her to step in, apartment manager Mary Michaels plans to require residents to submit their pet's stool samples to create "poop-prints". Any fresh steamers left around the grounds will then be checked against the, uh... prints and the offending owner gets dinged a $60 fee to pay for the cost of the test. more ›

The bison family in Golden Gate Park just got a little bit smaller yesterday. (Sidenote: you know there are bison in Golden Gate Park, right?) Tenny, one of five bison at the paddock, was put to sleep after her handlers determined she was no longer able to stand and graze. Tenny and the other four bison are the offspring of two bison given to Dianne Feinstein by her husband Richard Blum when she was San Francisco's mayor in 1984. SF Zoo officials, who work with the Parks Department to care for the bison in the park, hope to get a few more of the majestic creatures before the year is out. [BCN/Appeal] more ›

State game wardens are offering $1,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the person(s) who shot and injured two peregrine falcons in Oakland. Both protected under the California endangered species law, a mother bird and her three-month-old daughter "suffered pellet wounds on their wings and bodies this month in Oakland." more ›

Zola delights in water. Set to music, he's dancing up a storm. According to the Calgary Zoo's YouTube page: "Zola, nine-years old, is one of eight Western lowland gorillas currently living at the Calgary Zoo as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Gorilla Species Survival Plan. He loves to play in water and keepers regularly give him the opportunity to do so as part of the enrichment activities they plan and vary on a daily basis." more ›