and rue along with eucalyptus trees to act as a natural flea repellent. Not only will it help keep your backyard free of fleas, but when your animal sleeps or lies in these herbs, the oils will discourage any fleas from staying in their fur.
Birds frequently fly into large picture windows and injure themselves. You can help prevent this by placing cut-out silhouettes of hawks in your window. The birds know instinctively to fear the hawk shape and won't fly near it. Streamers and chimes can also be used.
If you live near a dog that barks a lot, it might just be lonely. Some people acquire dogs and then do not pay proper attention to them. Speaking politely to the person in charge, ask if you can walk the dog occasionally. Then introduce yourself to the dog and walk it and play with it as often as you can. Remember to keep your commitment once you start, as you will become a center of the dog's life. Of course, real neglect is against the law and should be reported to the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
Cap your chimney so small animals do not fall in.
If you find a baby bird on the ground, do not immediately assume it has fallen out of its nest. If it has feathers it is a fledgling and this may just be a normal part of its learning to fly. If there are no cats or other predators around, one thing you can do is place nesting materials in a box, nail it securely to a tree and place the little bird in it. Watch to see if the mother bird comes for it and make certain it is not in danger. Under no circumstances should you toss it into the air to “help” it fly. Call your local Native Animal Rescue for advice if you need it. If they're not in the phone book, you can get their number from your local SPCA. Mealworms or baby food run through a blender are usually safe bets for feeding.
At the end of every circus performance at the Wirth circus in Australia, all the animals were marched around the ring for the Parade of Animals. Elephants, big cats, playful seals, and other large animals strutted around the circus floor. It was a majestic moment, most impressive to everyone—only this day something went wrong.
A little girl, drawn by the color and excitement of the procession, had wandered out of the stands and down to the ring. Her mother screamed in horror as she saw her child, who had been sitting next to her, approaching the huge animals where she would surely be trampled to death or, perhaps, eaten before her very eyes.
As the crowd held its breath, Alice, the circus' most famous elephant, stepped forward and gently picked the child up with her trunk. Gracefully, as she had held so many circus performers before, Alice delivered the child safely back to her mother's arms.
Alice was a very intelligent elephant who became legendary for her long lifetime of heroism and remarkable adventures. Born about 1850, Alice was raised in Burma where she hauled logs, until she was sold to the Wirth circus. Once, while Alice was moving circus wagons (elephants were always used to carry the really heavy equipment), she saw a team of bulls trying to pull a wagon stuck on train tracks. An express train was due in a few minutes; if the wagon were still on the tracks, a tragedy would occur. But no matter how hard the bulls pulled, their strength was not enough to dislodge the wheels from the tracks. At once, without any instructions from her handlers, Alice put down her load, ran to the wagon and pushed her body against it, easing it over the tracks. Minutes later the train roared by.
Alice lived to be over one hundred years old. As she grew older, her health failed and for awhile she was boarded at the Melbourne Zoo. But solitude did not agree with her and she worsened. She missed her human friends and the other circus elephants and started wasting away. The zoo, which her handlers had meant to be a rest home, was only a prison for her. She was dying, not just of old age, but of loneliness, too. Finally, a trailer truck was sent to the zoo to bring her back. Alice sensed she would soon see her friends, but even before the other elephants could see her, they picked up her scent and excitedly trumpeted their welcome. Alice trumpeted back, nearly wild with anticipation of seeing her friends again.
Back in the herd at last, Alice immediately responded by fondly caressing the others with her trunk. Her listlessness fell away as if by magic; a sprightliness returned to her step. However, Alice never worked or performed again; her health would not permit it. For three years, until April of 1956 when she died, Alice traveled as “guest of honor” with the circus.
Racehorses often form bonds with animals of other species, such as a goat or a cat with whom they share a stable, and will not run well if they are deprived of their friends' company.
Washoe, a female chimpanzee, was the first of her species to be taught sign language. One day, a new chimpanzee was introduced to Washoe's compound. The newcomer panicked, jumped over an electric fence, and landed in the moat surrounding the compound. To the keeper's surprise, Washoe followed, also braving the electric fence, and landed on a strip of land alongside the moat. Reaching into the moat, she pulled the frightened newcomer to safety.
The kind chimpanzee would have made a good mother, but unfortunately, it was not to be, for Washoe's attempts at motherhood ended in tragedy. She had a baby that died four hours after birth because of a defective heart. Three years later, she had another baby that died of pneumonia after two months. Washoe became depressed.
The researchers working with the unhappy Washoe decided to try to find a baby chimp for her to adopt. They located a ten-month-old chimpanzee and had it shipped to them for Washoe to mother. When the researcher signed, “I have a baby for you,” Washoe displayed great excitement. She stood, puffing up her fur, hooting, and displaying the sign for “baby” repeatedly.
When she finally met the youngster, she was miserable. It was obvious she had been hoping that the humans had somehow revived her own baby. Her fur flattened back down and she refused to pick the baby up. She showed no interest in the newcomer and would only lethargically sign “baby.” After an hour, her heart began to open up to the little one and she tried to get him to play with her. By nightfall, she was coaxing him to sleep in her arms. At first he refused, but by the next morning they were seen cuddled up together.
Eventually she and the other chimpanzees in their group taught him fifty hand positions of sign language without any help from humans.
Washoe's own made-up word for watermelon was “drink-fruit.”
Chimpanzees have been observed to sit and watch particularly beautiful sunsets together. In one case, they were even seen to be holding hands.
A thief thought he was very clever to break into the circus office and steal the circus' money. But as he left the office with his bag of loot in hand, he was shocked as an elephant's trunk snaked out of nowhere, tightened around his torso, and hoisted him into the air. The thief was held in the air by the vigilant elephant until the police arrived and the money was handed over. The next day newspapers carried pictures of the sheriff pretending to pin his own badge on the crime-stopping elephant.
“In my humble opinion the intelligence of the elephant…is superior to all land mammals, except, perhaps the human animal, and sometimes I have my doubts about humans.”
—George Lewis
Bibs the canary lived with an elderly lady who had a niece who lived next door and checked on her each night to make sure she was all right. A warm and sweet friendship had blossomed between the old woman and the tiny bird. At breakfast each morning, they shared toast and Bibs liked to sip whatever beverage the woman was having.
One rainy night, seeing that her aunt's lights were on and assuming everything was fine, the niece retired with her husband for the night rather than going over to the aunt's house. As the couple relaxed cozily by a fire, they were startled by an odd tapping at the
