withak posted:

It's a trick to get you to stick your hand through the bars.

PurpleXVI posted:

Well it's a good trick. I don't think any amount of self control or warnings would prevent me from losing a finger and/or hand trying to pat.

Gromit posted:

Back in the 70s my uncle owned a nightclub in Germany. He had various snakes that he kept to work with his burlesqe acts, but the main attraction I guess was the cheetah. It was kept in a huge fenced-off section at the back of his yard. Young me (not sure, but well under 10) was told to never go near the chainlink fence but I loved cats and couldn't resist. When no-one else was around I stuck my hand through the fence so I could scritch Felix's cheek. He purred like a B17 bomber warming up on the runway.

yeah I eat rear end posted:

I went to a zoo in Stuttgart where there was a snow leopard and you could easily put your hand through the fence and pet him if you wanted to, their zoo regulations seem much more lax and rely more on people not being total idiots. I really did want to but I was pretty sure I'd regret it. It was very tempting though. Here is him, not zoomed in at all:

Elias_Maluco posted:

Animal friends is one of my favorite things in the world

https://twitter.com/41Strange/status/1160068182847004673

Master Twig posted:

Cheetahs are pretty chill and there are apparently no recorded instances of them killing people. They're good cats.

Snow leopards are still the best though.

ILL Machina posted:

Hahaha. I think so. It's a dryer.

Teensy sneks:
https://i.imgur.com/3Y3pb8C.gifv

Old Boot posted:

So, this is a little sad. Sorry about the effort post. There's some cute here, though, I swear.

I regularly keep up with the International Wolf Center's Youtube channel-- or did, until they went into a dry spell around March of this year. I'd been keeping track of the logs on their site, and trouble was brewing for at least one of the wolves there - an 'at the cusp of middle aged' female named Luna - though there'd been no further word as to what that might be except 'discovered a necrotic mass near her scruff,' which sounded bad enough on its own.

Then there was a flurry of activity on the Youtube channel, starting a couple weeks ago. In the latest, it's been reported that she has Spindle Cell Sarcoma, and that it looks as though she's in her last months. She's seven years old as of this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDYKYFJxd8k&t=208s
_{Here's the introduction of her and her 'littermate,' Boltz.}

This channel has been invaluable to me as a writer, as wolf behaviour has become a pretty significant focus for me. It feels silly to say that the 'parasocial bonding' thing might have happened with a small group of wolves, of all things, but it got me a little weepy to hear that she's on her way out.

Poor girl had an uneasy start. Her introduction to the center saw her take a tumble that hurt her back leg badly enough that it required medical attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICyXHDVn8Jc
_{Two awkward pups being awkward (video shot during recovery)}

The injury followed her into adulthood, which put her in a state of chronic pain/anxiety that interfaced poorly with her captive packmates. Hard to blame the center for not noticing; as a yearling, and on into being an adult, she was always an eccentric addition to the pack (which can happen anyway, with or without injuries involved), and, well. In spite of the fact that they monitored her progress closely, wolves are experts at masking discomfort/redirecting it in ways that aren't altogether apparent, even to expert handlers. Once it was made clear this was the problem, however, she was retired at the age of 5 - aka, moved to a separate enclosure, away from the wolves that receive regular viewings from visitors - and paired with a wolf that, as of this posting, is a contender for Wolf Methuselah at the age of 15 years old (i know the oldest captive wolf is like 19 now, shh).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeM_FLC1xqo&t=438s
_{Play, old man!}

She calmed down significantly, and showed overall improvement in her behaviour and disposition, and continued to be chill and generally pretty happy with the arrival of the ambassador pack's former alpha back in March.

As for now, they're doing what they can. They hope to reintroduce her to the two wolves that are currently in retirement so she's not segregated for the last few months of her life (possible it'll be longer, but they're trying to be realistic about it), which may, on its face, seem a little cruel to the survivors in its own way, but it's clear that her departure from retirement during her recovery has been stressful for one of them-- and her, all things considered. There's been a lot of whining through the fence lately.

Anyway, not the happiest post, but I really love this channel, and it's been really fun seeing the weekly updates/getting a sense of these animals, and their behaviours. Even if it comes at a rough time, I highly recommend that anyone with even a passing interest in wolves give it a look.

Just be mindful that the curator that does the filming often starts with 'welcome to this episode of Youtube,' and plan to get over it early. She says it a lot.

EDIT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPWoRdVGQnc&t=747s
Luna is also a contender for 'dorkiest howl on record.'

Pookah posted:

This is very cool and interesting - poor Luna, she doesn't seem to have had much luck

Veni Vidi Ameche! posted:

https://i.imgur.com/GEVY6Et.gifv

There is sound.

ultrafilter posted:

https://twitter.com/AwwwwCats/status/1160265005436211201

Huzzah! posted:

https://twitter.com/Yamayama800/status/1160715376038166528

Cartoon Man posted:

https://i.imgur.com/EYu8H3T.mp4

Cartoon Man posted:

https://i.imgur.com/EYu8H3T.mp4

Cartoon Man posted:

Cartoon Man posted:

https://i.imgur.com/EYu8H3T.mp4

RabbitWizard posted:

LITERALLY A BIRD posted:

If I were that mouse, I wouldn't think this very cute.

Dick Trauma posted:

Needy pooch...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr4zx2ZhB00