At GP we love animals.  Especially when those PETA girls undo their things for better or for worse to help them out. Seriously, we do love the critters we share the planet with. Today…we love these cats who are fighting back.

In Japan, this one is called the Neko Punch. Neko is Japanese for cat. This little fellow made his rounds via Japanese cell phones. I don’t know what he is angry about or fighting for but I do know I am not messing with him. Perhaps he is standing up for a friend who was dressed in head gear and a dress to take part in a fashion show to raise money for an animal shelter.

The cat, Hale Bopp celebrated a birthday and is a resident of one of NYC’s most famous hotels - the Algonquin.

Okay, so the cat is having this thing done to her in the name of helping other animals. Does that sit alright with you? How much can humans do to animals and say “we are doing it for them?” Hale gets about 30 emails a month. None of them from me.

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 Qi Zhen When She Was Born

Anything born between 8/8/8 and the end of the Olympics in China will be dubbed “Olympic-whatever.” In fact, not a few parents scheduled to have their children on 8/8/8 come hell or high water.  Apparently Qi Zhen (Magic Treasure) couldn’t be fitted in on China’s most auspicious of days and had to wait till Sunday - 8/10. Still, her twin cubs are considered Olympic Pandas.  Huan Huan weighed in 98 grams and Bei Bei is still being protected by her mother.

Qi Zhen’s twin sister, Qi Yuan (Magic Luck) had twins earlier in the year. Giant Pandas are notoriously sexually inactive. That coupled with a shrinking habitat and the animals are among the world’s most endangered. There are only about 1,500 pandas living in the wild. There are 75 at the center in Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center including these two newcomers.

I wonder…what if we just left them alone. What do you think would happen?

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The International Gorilla Conservation Program says that almost half of the world’s monkeys and apes are feeling the worsening threat of extinction. The causes are deforestation and hunting for meat. I don’t get this report. Now, I love the animals as much as the next person. My wife even thinks I am an ape at times, but that’s not relevant. How can half of a species face extinction? Shouldn’t be the whole species is or isn’t? Does the report mean to say that monkeys and apes are losing their homes? That the overall world population of the bunch is decreasing because of problems in certain areas?

Let’s protect our friends, not relatives mind you, our friends, but let’s also be accurate in our reports and not alarmists or exaggerating.

In any event, it’s humans who are at fault here…taking these critters trees and worse, serving them up for dinner. What do you think should be done?

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Thought to be the last of his kind, George, a giant tortoise from the Galapagos Islands may soon become a father. “It takes two to dance” and Lonesome George - in his 70s - worked really hard on his “girlfriend” for the last 36 years. Just a few days ago the Galapagos National Park announced that the female has laid three intact eggs that are being cared for in an artificial incubator.

“Even if these three eggs are fertile and the born tortoises survive it will take several (genetic) generations to think of having a Pinta purebred … even centuries,” the park said in a statement.

In four months we’ll see if George is going to be paps or not.

Considered by many scientists, the rarest creature on Earth and a symbol of conservation, the Pinta island tortoise, showed little interest in reproducing during 36 years in captivity. He did it afterall. Great job George! You can do it (again?)!

Bill, any tips to George?

Some elementary school students in Japan observed some 19 sea turtles from the time they hatched until they were about 10 months old. After that, they attached tags to their rear flippers and set them free. Swim Tommy, swim! And, so the turtles swam and otherwise enjoyed life for about two years.

At that time, some evil fishermen who apparently didn’t mind catching turtles also cast their nets into the sea. And, don’t you know?, Tommy caught got in the nets. Glory be to Neptune there was at least one fisherman who had a heart and could read, too. He found the identification tag attached to the flipper. He learned that turtle had been set free from an island 1000 km (621 miles) away.

The turtle was returned to an aquarium to recover his strength after which he will be released again. Swim, Tommy, swim! The story is indeed curious except for the part that it was people who got involved in the first place that made this creature’s life miserable, no?

How much should people be involved in understanding our neighbors?

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Looks like fun, smells like fun, may be fun, but not if you are the beluga who must dance, lift, and stick its nose in places where other people put them only if they want to climb a corporate ladder somewhere.

At the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise performers are photographed sitting atop a couple of belugas. Indeed it does look like a good show, and I don’t doubt that the animals are well cared for. But, what about this animals having to work for food?

Yeah, humans do that, too. Celebrities do it. Musicians do it. The girls atop the creatures are working and performing for their food as well. I am not for abusing animals, but here’s a case where it seems like it could be fun for them, the animals that is. I mean, who doesn’t like some adulation?

Do you think it’s okay to use animals in shows as long as they are cared for?

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Isabella, is a golden retriever at the Safari Zoological Park that recently got famous. Famous for nursing three white tiger cubs born one week ago who were abandoned by their mother.

© AP Photo/The Daily Reporter, Rob Morgan/Scanpix

Though it’s unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, Isabella who just recently weaned her own puppies, had nothing against it. Actually, she doesn’t really care if these are hers or not. She licks them, cleans them and feeds them. Tom Harvey, the owner of Safari Zoological Park said that “it’s a miracle”.

Though they are adorable right now, these tigers will grow 300 pounds big. Will Isabella care for them when they are adults? Shouldn’t take long. Here’s a video!

Later edit: I wonder if Isabella can feed white lion cubs, too. Hmmm …

Gosh, golly, shucks, gee whiz. German nudists say they don’t like being treated like animals. I wrote about just this thing yesterday. Beijing has 8 giant pandas that they brought in pre-Olympics for the purpose of attracting crowds to the capital. And, they came…1 million so far since June 5th.

The nude bathers say that Poles come in fully clothed from their side of the border to watch them, stare at them, use the binoculars to get a very close look. One bather said,  “You feel like an ape in the zoo. The Poles come with their binoculars, stare and swear.” Don’t like it, eh? Get it, do you? What makes you think that animals like being stared out any more than you do?

To be sure, we have no reservations about treating our furry friends differently than we like to be treated. Is there a problem with that?

Here’s the funny part. The name of the town is Swinemunde. Rearrange those letters and add a ‘T’ and an “H” and you can make Swim in the Nude.

I say we give the animals a break, take off our clothes and go to the beach. How about you?

If you build it they will come. If you stage them, they will come. If you put the pandas on display, they will come.  Beijing has brought 8 Giant Pandas to the city and put them on display for Olympic visitors and elsewise. Since June 5th, more than 1 million people have come to see the ambassadors for sport, the Middle Kingdom and everything else China wants them to represent.

So, what about using animals for material gain or otherwise? Sure, the animals are cared for, but I don’t think for a minute that they are getting their share of the money spent by those one million visitors. What’s that 20,000 visitors a day, 800 an hour 13 each minute. Five second look at a panda…NEXT!!

I’ve never been too much into zoos and putting animals on display for the benefit of the keepers and all those around. How about you? Is this another human, um, panda-rights violation example? Where’ s those topless PETA protesters when you  need them?

I am serious now. I have got to come up with a plan that girls everywhere will protest against. Girls will go bare to protest bear skins. I could bear that. And others went topless to protest KFC. At least 15 celebrities posed nude for the planet(not really a protest.)

Well, here are some more girls, going topless and having blood (fake) smattered on their backs to protest bullfights.

Dang it! Why can’t I come up with something that girls will show up topless to protest against? Any ideas. I don’t cut my grass enough. I cut it too much. It’s not green enough. I use to much water trying to keep it green.

Help me out here. What cause can you think of to get girls to show up with no clothes on to fight against?

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