Last month, a group of researchers traveled to Antarctica to make the first human contact with a massive colony of emperor penguins whose existence had previously only been identified using satellite imagery.

A team from the International Polar Foundation’s Princess Elisabeth Station had an idea of where to start looking thanks to the imagery from the British Antarctic Survey, but they still had a tough trek on snowmobiles to reach the colony.

Finally, they came upon the 9,000 penguins, most of them chicks, spread out on the sea ice. The researchers are hoping to learn more about how the penguins are coping with climate change.

 

You know how people and their pets start to look alike over time? Well, they also start to act alike.

A new study found that indoor cats are likely to develop eating, activity and sleeping patterns that are similar to those of their owners.

"Cats are intelligent animals with a long memory," said Jane Brunt, DVM, who’s the executive director of the CATalyst Council. "They watch and learn from us.”

 

Residents of Vermont are the most likely to have pets, according to a new survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Washington, D.C., a territory, had the smallest percentage of pet owners.

Although the survey didn’t collect information on why some states had higher rates of pet ownership, the findings indicate the type of dwelling — rural vs. urban — played a role, a spokesman said.

The top 10 pet-owning states are:

Vermont 70.8 percent of households owned a pet

New Mexico 67.6 percent

South Dakota 65.6 percent

Oregon 63.6 percent

Maine 62.9 percent

Washington 62.7 percent

Arkansas 62.4 percent

West Virginia 62.1 percent

Idaho 62 percent

 

Earlier this month, three Los Angeles police officers stopped to help a 2-year-old pit bulland Shar Pei mix who’d been struck by a car. Officers Jennifer Cohen, Cindy Herrera and Valerie Lancaster drove the dog to a veterinarian, and where the injured dog had emergency surgery on a broken front leg and two fractured ribs.

During the surgery, doctors found a microchip, but when the officers tracked down the dog’s owner, she made it clear she didn’t want him back.

The officers, who named the dog Philly for an LAPD sergeant, agreed to raise funds to pay for his surgery. In just a week, 740 people have donated more than $20,000 on Chipin.

 

Late last year, Cadence and Emerson Cordell, who live outside of Boston, heard about a nearby family who promised the kids a cat if their photo asking for one got more than 1,000 likes on Facebook.

The Internet quickly over-delivered so, the girls bargained with their dad: if a photo of them with their three younger brothers asking for a puppy got 1 million likes, they could get one. Their dad, Ryan Cordell, agreed, thinking it would never get anywhere close, and their mom, Evie, set up a Facebook page, Twogirlsandapuppy, for her daughters.

In just 12 hours, the photo had topped 1 million likes, and mom was on to a different website — Petfinder — where she’s started looking for a young labrador or golden retriever to adopt.

 

By Dr. Patty Khuly

Yes, that’s right. If you’re so inclined, you can say goodbye to the old days when you owned a pet and took care of his needs yourself. Instead, you can now elect to “adopt” a pet for a monthly fee and live comfortably with the knowledge that your adored family member gets all the meals, supplies and healthcare he needs — except that he’s not really your pet.

Hannah the Pet Society is a new company that’s taking the concept of pet placement and animal healthcare to what its founder believes is the next level: a full-service pet leasing business that claims to make keeping and caring for a pet easier than ever.

 

Lena Dunham has a new pride and joy in her life ... and we don't mean the two Golden Globes she took home Sunday night for her insanely successful HBO hit, Girls.

The actress and her mom (photographer Laurie Simmons) rescued a dog from the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition last week. Dunham first showed off her scruffy new pup on Instagram, writing: "And because no day is stressful enough on its own, meet Lamby Dunham. He comes from BARC (@barcanimals) and @lauriesimmons and I sprung him this afternoon."

We can't help but wonder if little Lamby has been some kind of instant good luck charm for Dunham. The second season of Girls premiered last night to more fanfare than any 26-year-old could ever hope for.

 

With a ferocious purr measured at 100 decibels, Merlin the cat is four times as loud as the average kitty.

“When I’m on the phone I often have people asking me what on earth the noise is,” said owner Tracy Westwood.

The current Guinness record holder, Smokey, was measured at 92 decibels, so Westwood is aiming to get the official designation for her 12-year-old rescue cat.

The average cat purrs at 25 decibels