Author: LATimes

JOHANNESBURG — Baboons, it seems, prefer Pinot Noir. They also like a nice Chardonnay.

Largely undeterred by electric fences, hundreds of wild baboons in South Africa’s prized wine country are finding the vineyards of succulent ripe grapes to be an "absolute bonanza," said Justin O’Riain of the University of Cape Town.

Winemakers have resorted to using noisemakers and rubber snakes to try to drive the baboons off during harvest season.

"The poor baboons are driven to distraction," said O’Riain, who works in the university’s Baboon Research Unit.

"As far as baboons are concerned, the combination of starch and sugar is very attractive, and that’s your basic grape," he said.

Growers say the picky primates are partial to sweet Pinot Noir grapes, adding to the winemakers’ woe: Pinot Noir sells for more than the average Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.

"They choose the nicest bunches, and you will see the ones they leave on the ground. If you taste them, they are sour," said Francois van Vuuren, farm manager at La Terra de Luc vineyards, 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Cape Town. "They eat the sweetest ones and leave the rest."

Baboons have raided South Africa’s vineyards in the past, but farmers say this year is worse than previous ones because the primates have lost their usual foraging areas because of wildfires and ongoing expansion of grape-growing areas.

Out of a 12-ton harvest, 1,100 to 1,300 pounds (500 to 600 kilograms) go to waste at La Terra de Luc because of the baboons.

In the Constantia wine-producing area alone, up to $34,800 worth of the crop has been lost annually in previous years, according to the Baboon Research Unit.

One farm, La Petite Ferme, was hit particularly hard after fires in the Franschhoek wine-producing region devastated large swaths of land, burning the baboons’ normal foraging areas. The primates then descended on its Chardonnay crop, eating or destroying up to three tons of grapes.

La Petite Ferme usually produces 12 to 15 barrels of Chardonnay a year but this season managed to produce only three, said farm manager Mark Dendy-Young.

"It was bad timing," Dendy-Young said.

Sometimes the baboons even get an alcohol kick by feasting on discarded grape skins that have fermented in the sun. After gobbling up the skins, the animals stumble around before sleeping it off in a shady spot.

During harvest season from January to March, winemakers put up serious front-line defenses. Some try to scare off the baboons by blowing into horns called vuvuzelas that are often used by South Africa’s soccer fans.

Electric fencing often doesn’t work because baboons can dig under it or swing above it from trees to get to the vineyards, O’Riain said. They also test the fence for weak spots. If they’re shocked, they’ll scream, but they’ll probably return the next day, he said.

Like other farm managers, Van Vuuren has noticed that the baboons follow a pattern, usually arriving about 10 a.m.

"Every day, they come at the same time…. The guys chase the baboons, blowing vuvuzelas, and they chase them back up the mountain. But sometimes they only move a few meters and then they sit there, looking at you."

Sakkie Lourens, manager of Cabriere farm, uses rubber snakes to scare the baboons away.

"I put them all over where the vines are, and since then, I haven’t seen a single baboon," he said.

Ryno Reyneke of the Cape Chamonix farm said the attacks peak at harvest time. He hires baboon monitors to scare the animals away with noise. Some farmers also plant grapes outside their fence line, a sacrificial offering that reduces the number of primate trespassers.

The Baboon Research Unit is pioneering a high-tech approach in which a collar with a sensor is placed on a member of a baboon troop. When the collar passes a particular point, an "incoming baboon" text message is sent to a cellphone, and someone races to the fence to defend the vineyard.

O’Riain doesn’t think the problem will go away because vineyards are expanding into the lower slopes of the mountains, the baboons’ traditional foraging grounds.

"Where there’s a mountain, there’s a baboon," O’Riain said. "As we take up more and more of their land, the conflict increases."

— Associated Press

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First photo: A baboon eats grapes at the Constantia Uitsig wine estate in the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Second photo: Baboons look for grapes at Constantia Uitsig. Third photo: Baboons run past a vineyard. Fourth photo: A baboon looks for grapes. Fifth photo: A baboon runs past a vineyard. All photos by Schalk van Zuydam / Associated Press

BEIJING — China’s latest must-have luxury for the ultra-rich, to go with mansions and sports cars, is a large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair best known for herding sheep in Tibet.

Once banned by the Communist Party as bourgeois, pet ownership is booming in China, and the Tibetan mastiff is the dog of the moment for those who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

"I used to invest in German shepherds, but Tibetan mastiffs are what’s hot right now," said Sui Huizheng, a business owner who has about 20 of the dogs and attended the sixth annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo this past weekend.

Hundreds of the hairy dogs were on hand, and owners and handlers marched the most expensive ones down catwalks as though they were fashion models. Some carried the names of wealthy Americans like Warren Buffett, while others were called God and Prince. Among the owners was a controversial running coach who trained world track champions in the 1980s.

Their hoped-for prize: breeders willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a mate for a mastiff. Sui spent $43,000 for a large platform and a poster-plastered booth to show off his dogs. One breeding session with Sui’s top mastiff King goes for $40,000.

The craze seems to defy sales patterns and common sense elsewhere, especially for a dog that is common, has hair as thick as a lion’s mane, grows to 180 pounds (80 kilograms) and is known for being fierce.

"I can understand racehorses and diamonds, but I don’t understand why someone would want to pay half a million dollars for a dog," said Martha Feltenstein, president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Assn. "They have a relatively short life expectancy and are not especially rare, so it’s quite puzzling why they are fetching such a high price in China."

In the U.S., Tibetan mastiff pups can be bought for as little as several hundred dollars, Feltenstein said.

Breeders in China say adult Tibetan mastiffs sell for tens of thousands of dollars and can even go for more than $100,000.

One of them sold for more than half a million dollars last year to a woman in northern China who then sent 30 black Mercedes-Benzes and other luxury cars to fetch the dog from the airport, according to a report in the state-run China Daily.

After splurging on real estate in Australia, American thoroughbreds and European designer fashions, China’s rich see the Tibetan mastiffs as a new status symbol. China is now home to an estimated 825,000 millionaires, its most in modern history, and its luxury goods market is one of the fastest growing in the world. Among the must-haves for rich men in northeast China, the official Xinhua News Agency recently said, was a young beautiful wife, a Lamborghini and a Tibetan mastiff, "the bigger and more ferocious the better."

"You could call it a local luxury brand," said Rupert Hoogewerf, a Shanghai-based tax specialist who who compiles a popular annual list of China’s richest people. "Luxury brands are growing at phenomenal rates in China, and owning a Tibetan mastiff is another channel for increasing your credibility and showing off your rich status."

The mastiffs look like money, resembling the lion that is a traditional symbol of good fortune.

"We want a breed of dog that is homegrown, and this guardian dog is perfect because it is also a symbol of good luck for Chinese people throughout history," said Wu Yunliang, the owner of Warren Buffett and nearly 20 other mastiffs. He keeps them in the northern city of Taiyuan, where he owns a nursing home.

Potential profits from mastiff breeding are what drew Sui, the businessman-breeder, who said he isn’t a dog lover. "I don’t touch or play with them much," Sui said. He leaves the brushing and fluffing of his dogs to nearly a dozen handlers.

Passers-by were told to admire the dogs from afar and not get near them because they’re hostile to strangers, all the better for protecting flocks and herders on the isolated Tibetan plateau, where they originated.

Retired track coach Ma Junren became fascinated with the mastiffs when he was training female distance runners on the Tibetan plateau in the late 1980s. Ma claimed the high-altitude training and concoctions of turtle blood and caterpillar fungus he fed the runners helped them set world records. But some of his athletes were later caught using banned performance-boosting substances. Ma retired, denying wrongdoing.

At the expo, he exhorted breeders to raise their standards so that China can gain entry to the World Canine Organization (Federation Cynologique Internationale), an international federation of kennel clubs. The organization has so far kept China out over lax controls on vaccinations, several breeders said.

"I hope all our Tibetan mastiff lovers are honest. We don’t want to see thieves, criminals or cheaters around us," Ma said.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Tibetan mastiff puppies for sale outside a convention center in Changping, a suburb of Beijing. Credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press

Moths of the Hawaiian genus Hyposmocoma are an oddball crowd: One of
the species’ caterpillars attacks and eats tree snails. Now researchers
have described at least a dozen different species that live underwater
for several weeks at a time.

"I couldn’t believe it," said study
coauthor Daniel Rubinoff, an evolutionary biologist at the University
of Hawaii at Honolulu, of the first time he spotted a submerged
caterpillar. "I assumed initially they were terrestrial caterpillars .
. . how were they holding their breath?"

Each of the 12 species
lives in and along streams running down the mountains on several
different islands of Hawaii, said Rubinoff, who has studied
Hyposmocoma, a group of more than 350 moth species, for more than seven
years.

They usually eat algae or lichen, and build silk cases
— which one species even adorns with bird feathers — for shelter and
camouflage. They spin silk drag lines to withstand the high pressure of
fast floodwaters.

Unlike other amphibious creatures that can
survive underwater on stored oxygen but must come back up for air,
these caterpillars can spend several weeks without ever breaking the
surface, according to the paper, which was published online on Monday
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It isn’t yet
clear how the insects do it. Rubinoff and co-worker Patrick Schmitz of
the University of Hawaii did not find any water-blocking stopper over
the caterpillars’ tracheae or evidence of gills. The animals drowned
quickly when kept in standing water, so they seem to need the higher
levels of oxygen present in running water, and probably absorb it
directly through pores in their body, the scientists said.

The
trait appears to have evolved more than once, Rubinoff said. After
analyzing the DNA of the 12 amphibious species, the scientists found
that three separate lineages of moth had developed the ability to
breathe underwater at different points in the past.

Why they
evolved this trick isn’t clear, but animals and plants are known to
often evolve in surprising directions after arriving at new, sparsely
populated habitats such as islands, said Felix A.H. Sperling, an
entomologist with the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

In a
new environment, released of the pressure of having to fight for food
sources or evade predators, they are freer to expand into new niches.

"When
the pressures on an environment are released, what crazy things are
animals capable of doing?" said John W. Brown, a research entomologist
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"You just wonder . . . do all animals have that potential?"

— Amina Khan

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Photo: Scientists have discovered 12 species of caterpillars that can survive
for weeks underwater without ever breaking the surface. They don’t have
gills and they don’t hold their breath. Credit: University of Hawaii

Have a non-emergency question about your pet’s health? Dr. Heather Oxford of L.A. veterinary hospital California Animal Rehabilitation (CARE) is here to help! In this installment of Ask a Vet, Dr. Oxford offers some advice to reader Jay van Dam about treating a cat’s upper respiratory infection:

Jay’s question: I have a 1-year-old male cat with a chronic upper respiratory infection. Got him as a kitten and [have] been treating him ever since. Usually he is asymptomatic but will get a runny nose or eyes maybe once or twice a month. His lungs [are] always clear. Told by vet to give him gentamicin sulfate eye drops in his nose and terrimycin ointment for his eyes when he is symptomatic; otherwise, leave alone to spare his liver and kidneys. Also I keep Amoxi-drops in case he seems ill. These seem to work well. Also, [I’ve been] told not to get him fixed or his shots. He is a totally inside cat, active and sweet. … Is there any other treatment that you could suggest? Or am I doing all that’s necessary? He also gets L-Lysene in his daily diet.

Heather Oxford, DVM: Your kitty likely has feline herpes virus, otherwise known as rhinotracheitis virus, but don’t worry — you can’t get it from him. The real concern is how contagious he is to other cats during his flare-ups, and how unlikely it is that a non-neutered male cat will be content staying indoors forever. Almost every indoor cat escapes at some point throughout their lives, no matter how hard we try to keep them in, and this is the main reason why I still recommend vaccinating with the FVRCP and rabies vaccines and neutering indoor cats.

Outdoor cat populations and shelter populations have an incidence of herpes virus shedding that varies from 20% to 95%. This is because infected cats shed or become contagious when they are under stressful conditions. This is probably why your veterinarian has recommended not putting him through the stress of neutering or vaccinating.

I would encourage you to reconsider vaccinating because the vaccine helps decrease the severity of disease even in infected cats, as well as decrease the severity of disease from calicivirus and panleukopenia.

I agree completely with the medicinal choices, and have had excellent success managing cats like yours this way. Make sure you are giving at least 250mg of lysine twice daily when he is asymptomatic, and 500mg of lysine twice daily when he is having a flare-up. Two forms of lysine that I have found convenient are the 500mg capsules that can be split open on the food, and a paste formula available at your veterinarian’s office.

If you would like to know exactly what your cat has, there is a test that detects all five of the most common causative viruses and bacteria. If bacteria is detected that is not sensitive to Amoxi-drops, an appropriate antibiotic can be selected. Otherwise, lysine is an antiviral amino acid that is useful in preventing flare-ups, and there are prescription antivirals that are effective against severe eye infections. There is no right or wrong way to manage long-term feline upper respiratory infections, and a discussion with your veterinarian regarding these considerations will help you decide the best course of action to take.

To submit your question for Dr. Oxford, just leave a comment on this post or send us a tweet @LATunleashed and look for her answer in an upcoming installment of Ask a Vet!

About our vet: Dr. Oxford received her bachelor of
science degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  She also
received a master’s of public health in epidemiology from Emory
University and went on to work at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta. She then went to the University of Tennessee
College of Veterinary Medicine, where she received her doctor of
veterinary medicine degree.  She practices at California Animal
Rehabilitation and is also certified in veterinary rehabilitation and
acupuncture. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Wade, and
German shepherd, Tess.

Photo: A veterinarian examines a cat. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

The overall number of animals in the Arctic has increased over the last 40 years ago, according to a new international study. But critters who live closest to the North Pole are disappearing.

The report by the United Nations and other groups released Wednesday at a conference in Miami concludes that birds, mammals and fish have increased by about 16% since 1970. That’s mostly because of decades-old hunting restrictions. The number of geese has about doubled. Marine mammals, such as certain whales, are also rebounding.

The biggest improvement was in the lower regions of the Arctic, where the number of animals, especially those that live in the water, is up about 46%.

However, scientists aren’t celebrating the increase. Species in what is called the High Arctic dropped by a quarter between 1970 and 2004. North American caribou are down about one third.

"What we’re seeing is that there’s winners and losers with rapid changes in the Arctic," said Mike Gill, a Canadian government researcher and study co-author. He’s chairman of the international Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program, which organized the study.

Study author Louise McRae, a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London, said the drop in the High Arctic was most worrisome. That’s because that region is the area where global warming occurs fastest and is projected to worsen, so the pressure on species will only increase, she said.

There’s not enough evidence yet to blame global warming for the loss of species, but what is happening is "largely in line with what would be predicted with climate change," Gill said.

The area with the biggest losses also has sea ice shrinking faster than predicted, and species such as polar bears and whales called narwhals are dependent on sea ice, the report said.

The study compared how species were doing in the Arctic parts of three oceans. Species living in the Arctic portion of the Pacific Ocean were doing far better than they used to, while those in the northern parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean had not changed much over time, the report said.

Animals doing better include bowhead whales, white-tailed eagles and the Atlantic puffin. Those doing worse include the Atlantic cod, lemmings, the brown bear and the polar bear in the western Hudson Bay. The data on polar bears elsewhere aren’t good enough to make any conclusions.

— Associated Press

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Photo: A herd of caribou races across the tundra of the Seward Peninsula, a few miles south of the Arctic Circle, in 2008. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

DOHA, Qatar — Conservationists scored a rare victory at a U.N. wildlife meeting Monday when governments voted to reject contentious proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to weaken the 21-year-old ban on ivory sales over concerns it would further contribute to poaching.

The heated debate over the proposed sale of the two countries’ ivory stocks divided Africa, as it has in years past, at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Nearly two dozen central and east African countries came out against the proposals on the grounds that they would hurt already declining African elephant populations. Southern African countries, in contrast, argued the two nations should be rewarded for the conservation efforts undertaken and should have to right to manage their herds as they see fit.

"People born in 100 years, they should be able to see an elephant," said Kenya’s Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife Noah Wekesa, whose country opposed the sales and had called at one point for a 20-year moratorium on such auctions.

"We should not lose this heritage that we have," he said. "We have a duty to make sure we increase the numbers of elephants."

The ivory stocks the two nations wanted to sell come from natural deaths or controlled culling of problem animals.

Key to the defeat of the two proposals were concerns among many delegates and environmentalist that the sales would further exacerbate a poaching problem that some say is at its highest levels since the 1989 ivory ban.

Environmentalists welcomed the decision, which came on the same day that countries agreed on a conservation plan for African and Asian rhinos. Delegates agreed to step up enforcement against rhino poaching, which is at a 15-year high, and work to slow the demand in Asia mostly from traditional medicine markets.

Until the rhino and elephant votes, environmentalists had achieved little at CITES. A proposal to ban the export of Atlantic blue-fin tuna was defeated along with a plan to regulate the coral trade and conserve sharks.

"After the way the week went for marine species, today’s decisions were much more positive, particularly the decision on rhinos, which was really a boost for conservation and morale," said Carlos Drews, head of the delegation from WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund.

On the elephant proposals, Tanzania was asking to sell almost 200,000 pounds (90,000 kilograms) of ivory that would have generated as much as $20 million. It noted in its proposal that its elephant population has risen from about 55,000 in 1989 to almost 137,000, according to a 2007 study.

Zambia wanted to sell 48,000 pounds (21,700 kilograms) of ivory worth between $4 million and $8 million. It withdrew a request for the ivory sale and offered a compromise to allow a regulated trade in elephant parts excluding ivory, a first step toward future tusk sales.

The two countries argued that their elephant populations had reached the point where they were trampling crops and killing too many people. They also said preventing them from selling the stocks would increase anger toward the beasts, which are seen increasingly as pests by affected communities.

"Tanzania is committed to conservation of its wildlife, including elephants," said Shamsa Selengia Mwangunga, the country’s minister of natural resources and tourism. "But should this meeting fail to consider this proposal, we run the risk of enhancing hostility against elephants by our local community especially where human-elephant conflicts are prevalent. More elephants would be killed."

Zambia’s Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Catherine Namugala accused activists and other delegates of misrepresenting the poaching situation in her country and spreading rumors that it would spend the money raised from sales on election campaigns.

She also complained that her country was struggling to protect elephants even as it fails to provide its citizens with basic needs and should be able to sell its ivory just as its neighbors "were selling their gold and oil."

"We can’t justify failure to take a child to school because we are using resources to conserve elephants," Namugala said. "I appeal to allow Zambia to utilize the natural resources given to us by God."

Opponents of the proposals said there was evidence to back claims that such sales worsen poaching.

For example, the poaching of elephants has risen sevenfold in Kenya since a one-time ivory sale was approved in 2007 by CITES for four African countries, Kenyan wildlife officials have said. Last year 271 Kenyan elephants were killed by poachers, compared with 37 in 2007.

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring group, tracks ivory seizures and found that poaching and smuggling to markets mostly in Asia has risen steadily since 2004. It blames weak law enforcement in Africa and growing demand for ivory products like chopsticks and ivory jewelry mostly in China, Thailand and other Asian countries.

The price of ivory on the black market has risen from about $200 per kilogram in 2004 to as much as $1,500 now.

African elephants have seen their numbers drop in the last 40 years by more than half to 600,000, mostly because of poaching. The global ban briefly halted their slide. But conservationists said that poaching, especially in central Africa, now leads to the loss of as many as 60,000 elephants each year. Without intervention, the elephants could be nearly extinct by 2020.

Samuel K. Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, said there was a clear link between one-off sales and the rise in poaching. He said the sales revive dormant markets by sending consumers the message that it is OK in general to once again buy ivory and make it difficult to differentiate between legal and illegal products.

— Associated Press

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Photo: An elephant uses its trunk to reach the upper branches of a tree as it searches for food at the Tsavo West National park in Kenya. Credit: Roberto Schmidt / AFP/Getty Images

The Genesis Awards was an Oscar-style gala with tuxedos and glittery dresses and celebrity presenters, but at the end of the night, as befits an event honoring TV shows, films, documentaries, and news programs that highlighted animal welfare issues last year, the guest that attracted the most attention was a dog.

Hewing to the dress code, he did wear a taupe bow-tie around his furry neck. "Nubs," the vaguely German shepherd-looking mix (named for his mutilated ears), was swarmed by human guests after the show, which was presented by the Humane Society of the United States on Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

During the "Tribute to Dogs," Marine Maj. Brian Dennis recalled how Nubs adopted him as he patrolled the Syrian border in Iraq in fall 2007. "It was kind of a tough time for both of us," Dennis said onstage.

Later, Dennis had to relocate to an outpost in Iraq 70 miles away. "One of the hardest things in my life was to leave him behind that time," Dennis said.

But just days later, the dog showed up.

If Nubs’ biggest accomplishment was tracking Dennis, perhaps his second was getting a seat — well, a spot on the floor — at the elegant dinner. After the show, animal welfare advocate Cheri Shankar and her husband, Naren, an executive producer of "CSI," chatted with Dennis and stroked Nubs’ fur.

Dennis, who co-wrote a children’s book about his devoted dog, "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle," smuggled him out of Iraq through Jordan. "That was like its own adventure," said Dennis, who deploys for Afghanistan this fall.

Dennis wasn’t the only dog lover recognized Saturday night. Joe St. Georges, the L.A. firefighter paramedic who dangled from a cable out of a helicopter to rescue a dog from the L.A. River during a January rainstorm, got a standing ovation. St. Georges, whose dramatic rescue was broadcast live on the news, smiled and stood at his seat.

From the next table, actress Tippi Hedren — who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with wild cats — and her daughter, actress Melanie Griffith, came over to shake his hand.

The frightened dog so deeply chomped into his right thumb that St. Georges was sidelined from active duty. Saturday night, his bandages were off; he’s back on duty. He held up a swollen thumb with a regrowing nail. "Not bad, huh?" he said.

Among the award winners were the feature films "Hotel for Dogs" and "Up," a news report on the cruelty of shark-finning, and an HBO documentary, "Death on a Factory Farm," about animal abuse at an Ohio hog farm. The documentary film award went to "The Cove."

"We witnessed a crime, not just a crime against nature but a crime against humanity," said "The Cove" director Louie Psihoyos — who two weeks ago won an Oscar for his film about Japan’s dolphin slaughter.

Psihoyos gave a nod to animal activists he works with who went undercover recently to expose the illegal serving of whale meat at the Santa Monica restaurant the Hump. Facing federal charges for serving endangered whale meat, the restaurant announced a few days ago that it would close. "I’m very proud that the ops team — that could fit in a mini Cooper — helped bust a sushi restaurant here," the director said.

This crowd wouldn’t dream of dining on surf or turf. Instead, asparagus and beet salad and Gardein filled with sundried tomatoes were on the menu. The nearly 800 guests were a mix of Humane Society benefactors, animal welfare advocates who devote their lives to humane issues — and those involved in animal issues who are better known for their day jobs in entertainment (actresses Emily Deschanel and Persia White) or even politics (Matthew Scully, the former George W. Bush speechwriter, whose animal-welfare cred comes from writing "Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy.")

Rory Freedman, co-author of "Skinny Bitch," her tart-tongued guide to getting thin, looked skinny-bitchy in a sleek pink and black dress.

"I’ve always been thin," said vegan Freedman, "but giving up meat and dairy was what made me lean, lean, lean."

She convinced me to "pinky swear" that I would try, at least, to go vegetarian for a month starting April 1. But it was late in the evening and she was distracted by high heels that had made her feet sore, so maybe she’ll forget. (If not, I have laid in a supply of tofu.)

The Genesis Awards will be air on Animal Planet on April 24 and 25.

— Carla Hall

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Photos, from top: Maj. Brian Dennis with Nubs; firefighter Joe St. Georges; Tippi Hedren with daughter Melanie Griffith and son-in-law Antonio Banderas; "The Cove’s" Ric O’Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Lincoln O’Barry and Kate Tomlinson. All photos by Long Photography via the Humane Society’s flickr stream.

These two sandhill crane chicks are only a few days old, so they haven’t come anywhere close to reaching their adult stature — but they sure are cute when they’re so tiny. As adults, they’ll be pretty large as birds go, with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet.

Sandhill cranes are fascinating birds that can be found throughout much of North America. Although they occupy a large range, more than 75% of all sandhill cranes descend on one small part of the Platte River in Nebraska on their way to warmer climates during their annual migration. (Not all sandhill cranes migrate, however; a few subspecies native to parts of the southern U.S. and Cuba stay put in the winter.)

Beyond their graceful, svelte looks and interesting migration paths, there’s a lot to be fascinated with about the sandhill crane. Sandhills are known for their tendency to make elaborate vocalizations, including the so-called unison call that’s only performed by mated pairs.

Perhaps most interesting, sandhills are known for their balletic dance skills, which can include impressive leaps, bows, wing-flapping and even tossing sticks and grass. "Dancing is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for cranes and thwarts aggression, relieves tension and strengthens the pair bond," according to the International Crane Foundation, an advocacy group.

Above, the chicks are fed by their mother. Below, a group of sandhills can be seen "dancing" in a field in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

— Lindsay Barnett

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Photos: Sandhill crane chicks follow their mother in Florida’s East Manatee County. Credit: Grant Jefferies / McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Video: CB750K8 via YouTube

Pulling away from a pair of fellow Kenyan countrymen in the 25th mile, Wesley Korir defended his Los Angeles Marathon title Sunday morning by winning in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 20 seconds.

It was the third-fastest time in race history and about a minute behind the 2:08:24 Korir ran last year in setting the race record.

Read more at Fabulous Forum.

— Ben Bolch

Photo: Wesley Korir crosses the L.A. Marathon finish line. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

It’s National Poultry Day, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by listening to a talented — okay, maybe not that talented — chicken play the piano. (Since we’re all about celebrating animals here at Unleashed, we won’t celebrate the way many people around the U.S. will today — by eating chicken. Heavens, no! In fact, we once had the pleasure of teaching a nice rooster named Jimmy Cracked Corn to flap his wings on command using positive-reinforcement training, so it’s safe to say we’re fans of the humble birds.)

Beanie might be somewhat less virtuosic than other notable animal pianists like Nora the Piano Cat and Beamin the beagle, but we still give him an A for effort. (Yup, Beanie is a male chicken.) After all, his brain is about the size of a human fingernail, so have to give him credit for the attempt!

RELATED:

Your morning adorable: Celebrating chicken athletes the world over

Only in New York: Officials investigate chicken-kissing incident on subway

— Lindsay Barnett

Video: jrw92046 via YouTube

RENO — Activists in Nevada are questioning the rising death toll from a government roundup of wild horses from the range north of Reno.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman JoLynn Worley says 77 mustangs involved in the Calico Mountains Complex gather have died so far — 70 at a Fallon facility where they were taken and the rest at the roundup site.

That’s nearly double the 39 horses that had died when the roundup of 1,922 horses concluded on Feb. 5.

Horse advocates are pressing the government for measures to deal with the situation.

Worley attributes the deaths mostly to the poor condition of mares that were sent to Fallon, where the animals are being prepared for adoption or transfer to pastures in the Midwest.

— Associated Press

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Photo: Wild horses graze in Nevada in 2009. Credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times

The escaped circus zebra that led his trainers and Atlanta police on a 40-minute chase and impeded traffic before finally being recaptured last month has been euthanized as a result of injuries he sustained during the incident.

Lima, a 12-year-old male who traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, suffered cuts on his hooves during his dash through Atlanta, Ringling spokesperson Crystal Drake said shortly after he was caught. But his injuries weren’t initially thought to be severe, according to statements Drake made to reporters. She described Lima as being "in good shape," even speculating that he would probably appear again in the circus with no interruption to his performing schedule.

Although reports from Atlanta didn’t immediately classify Lima’s injuries as life-threatening, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals quickly registered its outrage, calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove zebras from Ringling’s traveling shows in light of Lima’s incident as well as previous incidents in which multiple zebras escaped from the circus. PETA also noted a February incident in which one of Ringling’s elephants, apparently startled backstage at a circus show in South Carolina, crashed through a prop door and into the performance area.

But despite early reports suggesting Lima’s injuries were minor, he was quickly sent for treatment to a veterinary hospital at the University of Georgia. Even after he was taken to the university veterinary center, Drake told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the zebra was "fine."

For several weeks, Ringling veterinarians, working in conjunction with the university’s veterinary staff, "performed extensive examinations and tried numerous medical treatments to repair damage to the zebra’s hooves," according to a statement from the circus.

The treatments, however, proved unsuccessful, and the decision was made to euthanize the zebra.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Drake said the circus had decided to put Lima to sleep based on its doubts that he would be able to live a comfortable life after his injury. Concerns over his future as a performing animal had nothing to do with the decision to euthanize him, she said.

Following Ringling’s announcement about Lima’s death, PETA blogger Logan Scherer wrote that the group is "hoping that the tragedy of Lima’s death moves officials to end the exploitation of all zebras in circuses.

"While we mourn Lima’s traumatic and painful ordeal," Scherer’s blog post continues, "we are thankful that he will no longer be forced to endure a life of constant confinement, in fear of being beaten to perform unnatural tricks." 

PETA has long been a vocal opponent of Ringling, arguing that the company abuses the animals in its care. Just last month, it filed a complaint with the USDA over reports that the circus’ baby elephant, Barack, had contracted a disease called elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus. The disease has been known to kill elephants, although Barack — so named because he was born around the time of President Obama’s inauguration — is expected to survive. PETA’s complaint suggests that Barack’s immune system was compromised due to stress brought about by his treatment at the circus, making him vulnerable to disease.

PETA also maintains a website, RinglingBeatsAnimals.com, through which it airs its grievances against the circus.

A lawsuit brought against Ringling by a former employee and a coalition of animal protection groups went to trial in 2009. At trial, the plaintiffs argued that the circus’ treatment of elephants amounted to a violation of the Endangered Species Act’s ban on "harming," "harassing" or "wounding" an endangered animal.

Ringling maintained that its treatment of its performing elephants is exemplary and that trainers’ use of bullhooks, an especially contentious issue among animal rights activists, is necessary to keep the animals under control and spectators safe.

In December, a federal judge ruled in favor of the circus.

According to Ringling’s statement about Lima’s death, the company immediately reviewed the circumstances surrounding the zebra’s escape in Atlanta and has worked with the USDA to review its policies.

"Corrections to procedures were promptly implemented by Ringling Bros.," the statement continues, and "management has evaluated and will continue to review Company policies and procedures to ensure that its animals remain safe and secure."

— Lindsay Barnett

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Photos: Workers try to contain the zebra. Credit: Ben Gray / Associated Press

From award shows to adoption events, the coming weeks and months are full of opportunities for Southern California residents to have fun while helping animals. We’ve got the details on a number of upcoming animal-centric events; if you think we’re missing something, let us know by leaving a comment or tweeting the details to us @LATunleashed.

This Weekend:

Saturday, March 20, spcaLA hosts a low-cost vaccination and microchip clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. behind West Hollywood City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Blvd. The clinic will offer rabies vaccinations for cats and dogs ($5); DHPP vaccinations for dogs ($15); bordetella vaccinations for dogs ($10); FVRCP and leukemia vaccinations for cats ($15 each); and microchipping for cats and dogs ($25). In honor of Spay Day U.S.A., goodie bags will be available during the clinic while supplies last. More information at spcaLA.com.

Saturday, March 20, the L.A. Department of Animal Services hosts mobile pet-adoption events at downtown pet store Pussy & Pooch, 564 S. Main St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and at Northridge’s Petco location, 8800 Tampa Ave., from noon to 4 p.m. See photos of adoptable pets at LAAnimalServices.com.

Saturday, March 20, the Humane Society of the United States holds its 24th annual Genesis Awards, a celebration of animals in news and entertainment media, at the Beverly Hilton. Nominees include "Up" and "Hotel for Dogs" in the feature film category; "The End of the Line," "Food, Inc." and Oscar winner "The Cove" in the documentary film category; and TV news shows "Nightline" and "60 Minutes" for their investigative reporting into animal issues. Actress and animal advocate Tippi Hedren will receive a lifetime achievement award. Tickets may be purchased at HumaneSociety.org and cost $350 per person or $3,500 for a table of 10.

Sunday, March 21, the California Wildlife Center, which rescues and rehabilitates orphaned and injured wild animals in the L.A. area, invites the public to an open house event at its Calabasas facility, 26026 Piuma Road. Guests can meet CWC staff and ask questions about wildlife, take a guided tour of the facility and see some of the animals being cared for there. Event is free; refreshments will be served and children are welcome. Arts and crafts projects and face-painting will be available for youngsters. More information at CaliforniaWildlifeCenter.org; to RSVP, e-mail [email protected] or call (818) 222-2658.

Sunday, March 21, the L.A. Department of Animal Services holds a mobile pet-adoption event at Moorpark Park, 12061 Moorpark Ave. in Studio City, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Upcoming:

Friday-Sunday, March 26-28, the Pasadena Humane Society hosts "The Well-Adjusted Cat and Dog Workshops" at its shelter facility, 361 S. Raymond Ave. The workshops’ featured speaker is Dr. Nicolas Dodman, author and director of Tufts University’s Animal Behavior Clinic. Dodman will cover issues including phobias in dogs and cats, feline medical problems that may be mistaken for behavioral issues, strategies for dealing with litter-box and furniture-scratching issues in cats and dominance issues in dogs. The workshops’ three days will be divided into one daylong cat-behavior workshop and a two-day dog-behavior workshop. More information and registration at ThePetDocs.com.

Saturday-Sunday, March 27-28, head to Orange County for the second annual Spring Pet Days at the Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. During the two-day event, which will be held in conjunction with the Fair and Event Center’s regularly scheduled swap meet, animal lovers can shop for pet-related merchandise, learn training and pet-safety tips from presenters and meet adoptable animals from a number of local rescue groups and adoption agencies. Adoptable dogs, cats, rabbits and reptiles will be on hand, including needy purebred dogs from breed-specific rescue groups for golden retrievers, German shepherds, basset hounds and dachshunds. Event runs from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days; swap meet admission, which includes admission to the Pet Days event, is $2 for adults and teenagers 13 and above. Children 12 and under enter free; pets, with the exception of working leader and therapy dogs, should stay home. Free parking is available. Directions at OCMarketplace.com.

Saturday-Sunday, March 27-28, country aficionados can remember music legend Buck Owens and help homeless pets at the same time at the fourth annual Buckfest. The event, held at the Cowboy Palace Saloon, 21635 Devonshire St., Chatsworth, begins at 6 p.m. and continues until closing time Saturday and Sunday. Numerous local country bands will perform; all proceeds go to the needy animals at Owens’ favorite charity, the Bakersfield SPCA. Admission is free; event also features raffle prizes and giveaways (and a barbecue for carnivores so inclined). Directions at CowboyPalace.com.

Saturday, March 27, spcaLA hosts PAWS to Read at the Redondo Beach Public Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Through the PAWS to Read program, children practice their reading skills by reading to a decidedly nonjudgmental audience: certified therapy dogs. Participation is free; sign-up begins at 9 a.m. at the Children’s Information Desk. More information at spcaLA.com.

Saturday, March 27, the L.A. Department of Animal Services holds mobile pet-adoption events at the Torrance PetSmart location, 3855-59 Sepulveda Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and at K9 Loft, 2170 West Sunset Blvd., Echo Park, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 28, rescued farm-animal sanctuary Animal Acres invites visitors to an open house at its Acton facility, 5200 Escondido Canyon Road, in celebration of the Great American Meat-Out. The  event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is free; no reservations are required to participate. More information at AnimalAcres.org. To learn more about the Great American Meat-Out or to find an event near you, visit MeatOut.org.

Tuesday, March 30, art gallery Trigg Ison Fine Art hosts a wine-tasting event to benefit animal advocacy group In Defense of Animals at its West Hollywood facility, 511 N. Robertson Blvd., from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The event features hors d’oeuvres, wine tasting, a silent auction and raffle prizes, with event proceeds and a portion of the evening’s art sales to be used for In Defense of Animals’ chimpanzee sanctuary and other animal-friendly projects. Tickets are $30 and their purchase may be used as an income tax deduction. More information at IDAUSA.org.

SpcaLA is taking reservations for its two weeklong "Friends for Life" spring day camps for children ages 9 to 12. Campers will learn about pet care and develop animal training skills by participating in obedience and agility classes with spcaLA’s adoptable dogs. Guest speakers, training demonstrations and animal-related games and crafts are also on the schedule. First session runs March 29 through April 2 at the organization’s South Bay Pet Adoption Center, 12910 Yukon Ave., Hawthorne; second session runs  April 5 through April 9 at the South Bay Pet Adoption Center. Camp hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cost is $250 per child; for more information or to register, visit spcaLA.com.

Mark Your Calendar:

Saturday, April 3, the American Humane Assn. asks pet owners to remember the importance of tagging and microchipping companion animals. The organization is hosting "Every Day Is Tag Day" to increase awareness about this issue. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter U.S. animal shelters and humane societies without an identification tag or microchip are reunited with their owners, according to American Humane. Not only is that statistic scary, it’s also completely preventable. Learn more about pet identification and what to do if your pet gets lost at AmericanHumane.org.

Thursday, April 8, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals invite California animal advocates to the California Humane Lobby Day in Sacramento. Through Humane Lobby Day, California voters can converse directly with their elected representatives about animal welfare issues in California and learn from legislators in the state’s newly formed Animal Protection Caucus about ways to be a citizen advocate for animals. Event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the State Capitol, located at the corner of 11th Street and L Street in Room 4202 (4th floor) in Sacramento. Advance registration is required; for more information or to register online, visit HumaneSociety.org.

Friday-Sunday, April 16-18, America’s Family Pet Expo returns to the Orange County Fair and Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. The event features informational displays on dog breeds, adoptable animals, pet-themed vendors, a petting zoo, pony rides and demonstrations of activities such as dog grooming, K-9 police dog work and dock-diving dogs. Tickets are $12, $10 for people over age 60, $6 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. More information at PetExpoOC.com.

Sunday, April 18, local rescue group New Leash on Life presents its fifth annual Nuts for Mutts 5K walk-a-thon in conjunction with the Calabasas Rotary Club and the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center. The walk-a-thon is a fundraiser for New Leash on Life’s work on behalf of needy pets in the L.A. area and includes pet-themed exhibits, children’s activities, a canine fashion show, a dog training clinic and more animal-related activities. The walk begins at 8 a.m. at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road, and continues through the hills of Calabasas. Well-behaved and leashed dogs are welcome to participate. For more information or to register, visit NewLeash.org.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will open its newly restored 1913 Building with a brand-new "Age of Mammals" exhibition beginning July 11. The exhibition traces the history of evolution "from the extinction of the dinosaurs to the rise of humans — within the context of epochal changes in the Earth’s geology and climate," John Harris, the Natural History Museum’s head of vertebrate studies and chief curator of the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, told our sister blog Culture Monster. Visitors will get to see specimens like the Simi Valley mastodon, a saber-toothed cat and a brontothere (a species with possibly the most rock ‘n’ roll-sounding scientific name: "thunder beast"). 

Ongoing:

Through Earth Day, April 22, 2010, secondhand-clothing store chain Buffalo Exchange and the Humane Society of the United States jointly host Coats for Cubs. Animal lovers are encouraged to clean out their closets (or parents’ and grandparents’ closets) and donate any real-fur items found there (including fur trim, accessories and shearling) back to the animals. Of course, it’s too late to give the fur back to its original owner, but it can still be used as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife — and it doesn’t do your conscience any harm, either. Fur in any condition is accepted and can be taken to any Buffalo Exchange location. (If you’d like to claim your fur donation as a tax deduction, you’ll need to mail it directly to the Humane Society rather than dropping it off at Buffalo Exchange; mailing information is available at HSUS.org.) More information at BuffaloExchange.com.

— Lindsay Barnett

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Photo: Actress and big-cat advocate Tippi Hedren and actor Bill Brochtrup present an award during the Humane Society of the United States’ 19th annual Genesis Awards in 2005. Hedren will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 24th annual Genesis Awards event Saturday. Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times

TOKYO —  Japanese fish dealers on Friday welcomed the rejection of a proposed trade ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna — a prized ingredient of sushi — while urging that existing quotas be more strictly enforced to protect the species from overfishing.

Thursday’s vote at a U.N. meeting in Doha, Qatar, rejecting the ban was front-page news in all major Japanese newspapers Friday morning.

Japan consumes about 80% of the world’s Atlantic bluefin tuna, and the possibility of a ban had consumers and fish wholesalers worried that prices for the pink and red meat of the fish — called hon-maguro here — would soar or that it might even vanish from some menus.

Stocks of the fish have fallen by 60% from 1997 to 2007, and environmentalists argue that a trading ban imposed by the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, would protect the fish.

But the Japanese government and fishing industry say an outright trading ban is too drastic a step, and that catch quotas set by another body, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, should be more strictly enforced to protect the species. In November, ICCAT cut the annual global quota by 40%, to 13,500 tons.

"Rather than ban exports, we should make sure to limit the number caught," said Kazuhiro Takayama, a fish wholesaler at Tokyo’s sprawling Tsukiji fish market. "A lot of people depend on this fish for their livelihoods."

Economic concerns appeared to trump environmental ones, as fishing nations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean complained that any ban would damage their fishing communities and that fears of the stock’s collapse were overstated.

The proposed trading ban garnered little support at the CITES meeting, with 68 countries voting against it, 20 for and 30 abstentions. The European Union asked that implementation be delayed until May 2011 to give authorities time to respond to concerns about overfishing, but that proposal also fell flat. The measure needed a two-thirds majority to pass.

After the vote, Masanori Miyahara, chief counselor of Japan’s Fisheries Agency, said pressure would be on his country and others that depend on the Atlantic bluefin to abide by ICCAT quotas.

But environmentalists say ICCAT has repeatedly failed to enforce catch limits — and that the quotas themselves are insufficient.

"ICCAT is not able to manage sustainable fishing," said Wakao Hanaoka, ocean campaigner with Greenpeace in Tokyo.

"For Japanese consumers, this is the wrong direction," he added. "Consumers here love to eat sushi and want to pass this along to the next generation, but what the Japanese government is doing is totally opposite to this."

Junichi Hakuta, a 52-year-old fish wholesaler at Tsukiji market who relies on tuna for half his business, acknowledged that he was worried about declining bluefin stocks, but said the media attention to the issue would contribute to conservation efforts.

"There is a problem with overfishing, and ICCAT needs to enforce its catch limits more strictly," Hakuta said as motorized carts whizzed by carrying containers filled with squid, fish and clams in ice water.

Coming amid criticism of Japan’s whaling program — as well as an Academy Award for the film "The Cove," which depicts the dolphin-hunting village of Taiji in southwestern Japan — the tuna issue has caused some fishermen to feel that aspects of their culture are being attacked.

"It’s wrong — people telling us what we can and can’t eat," said Yukio Unagizawa, a wholesaler at Tsukiji market. "Foreigners eat cows. … Catching dolphins is part of that village’s tradition."

The tuna vote was a hot topic in hundreds of fishing villages that dot Japan’s coasts. Though fisherman that ply local waters generally opposed the ban, some said they could benefit from it because of a likely spike in prices of domestically caught tuna.

But Ichiro Murayama, an official in the fishing cooperative in the small town of Katsuura, near Taiji, said that was a short-term view. A move to prohibit trade in certain areas could make it easier to ban others, he said.

"This wave of putting restrictions on the fishing industry is getting stronger," Murayama said. "This is a trend that could lead to banning tuna fishing even in coastal waters."

— Associated Press

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Photo: A menu at Yum Yum Fish in San Francisco shows a photo of bluefin tuna ("maguro"). Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

YouTube user TanjaGI says her horse and cat are "best friends forever" — and they certainly seem to be. We love the way Rolex the horse uses his muzzle to "pat" his cat buddy.

We’ll readily admit that we’re suckers for unlikely animal friendships; our hearts soar when, say, a cat and a rat hang out together, a gentle pit bull lovingly nuzzles a duckling or a giraffe and an ostrich become the best of friends.

If your own animal friends have a similarly harmonious relationship, we’d love to see it. Share your photos or videos in the Four-Legged Friends album at Your Scene, The Times’ photo-sharing site.

RELATED:

Unlikely friends: Manni the wild boar piglet and Candy the terrier

Your morning adorable: A cat masseur in action

— Lindsay Barnett

Video: TanjaGI via YouTube

DOHA, Qatar — Fishing nations won a victory over environmentalists Thursday when a U.S.-backed proposal to ban export of the Atlantic bluefin tuna was overwhelmingly rejected at a U.N. wildlife meeting.

Japan won over scores of poorer nations with a campaign that played on fears that a ban would devastate their economies. Tokyo also raised doubts that such a radical move was scientifically sound.

In another blow to conservationists, a proposal at the meeting to ban the international sale of polar bear skins failed to pass.

With stocks of Atlantic bluefin tuna down 75% due to the rapacious appetites of Japanese sushi lovers, the defeat of the proposal was a stunning setback for the Americans, Europeans and their conservationist allies who had hoped the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, would protect the fish.

"Let’s take science and throw it out the door," Susan Lieberman, director of international policy with the Pew Environment Group in Washington, said sarcastically.

"It’s pretty irresponsible of the governments to hear the science and ignore the science," she said. "Clearly, there was pressure from the fishing interests. The fish is too valuable for its own good."

Japan, which imports 80% of the tuna, had lobbied delegates hard to kill the proposal. They even held a reception Wednesday night for uncertain delegates that included plenty of bluefin sushi.

When Monaco introduced its proposal Thursday, the gallery was filled with critics who ignored a plea to save the once-abundant species that roams across vast stretches of the Atlantic Ocean and grows as big as 1,500 pounds.

There is an increasing demand for raw tuna for traditional dishes such as sushi and sashimi. The bluefin variety — called "hon-maguro" in Japan — is particularly prized, with a 440-pound Pacific bluefin tuna fetching a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) last year.

"This exploitation is no longer exploitation by traditional fishing people to meet regional needs," Monaco’s Patrick Van Klaveren told delegates. "Industrial fishing of species is having a severe effect on numbers of this species and its capacity to recover. We are facing a real ecosystem collapse."

But it became clear that the proposal had little support. Only the United States, Norway and Kenya supported the proposal outright. The European Union asked that its implementation be delayed until May 2011 to give authorities time to respond to concerns about overfishing.

Fishing nations from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean complained that any ban would damage their fishing communities and that fears of the stock’s collapse were overstated. Libya, in a rambling defense of its position, went so far as to accuse Monaco of lying and trying to mislead delegates before calling for the vote.

Under CITES rules, a country can attempt to bring a proposal back to a vote, but Monaco said it wouldn’t.

Japan acknowledged the stocks were in trouble but echoed a growing consensus at the meeting that CITES should have no role in regulating tuna and other marine species. It expressed a willingness to accept lower quotas for bluefin tuna but wanted those to come from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT, which currently regulates the trade.

"Japan is very much concerned about the status of Atlantic bluefin tuna and Japan has been working so hard for many years to ensure recovery," Masanori Miyahara, chief counselor of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, told delegates. "But our position is very simple. Let us do this job in ICCAT, not in CITES. This position is shared by the majority of Asian nations."

Afterward, Miyahara welcomed the decision but admitted the pressure would be on his country and others who depend on the Atlantic bluefin to abide by ICCAT. The organization ruled in November to reduce its quota from 22,000 tons to 13,500 tons for 2010. The body has also promised to rebuild the stock by 2022, which could include closing some fisheries if necessary.

"I feel more responsibly to work for the recovery of the species," Miyahara said. "So it’s kind of a heavy decision for Japan too. The commitment is much heavier than before."

But many environmentalists have heard similar vows before, only to see them ignored and the tuna numbers plummet. A tuna ban was withdrawn at CITES in 1992 under the condition that fishing nations would improve their practices — something they failed to do.

"The regional fisheries management organization in charge of this fishery has repeatedly failed to sustainably manage this fishery," said Sergi Tudela, head of fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. "ICCAT has so far failed miserably in this duty, so every pressure at the highest level must come to bear to ensure it does what it should."

Some environmentalists fear other marine proposals at the meeting could fail — a worrisome trend given that the meeting had been billed as a chance to use international trade regulations to conserve ocean plants and animals.

A shark conservation proposal was defeated earlier this week and several other proposals to regulate the trade in endangered shark species are in trouble. The problem, many said, is that countries prefer to stick with regional organizations that often are controlled by powerful fishing interests and typically do all they can to protect fleets.

"We were expecting to have a real debate but it was not possible," said Gael de Rotalier of the European Union. "There was a strong feeling in the room against any involvement of CITES in marine issues. They were making it a matter of principle and not looking at the merits of the case."

The tuna defeat came hours after delegates rejected a U.S. proposal to ban the international sale of polar bear skins and parts, suggesting that economic interests at the meeting were trumping conservation.

The Americans argued that the sale of polar bears skins is compounding the loss of the animals’ sea ice habitat due to climate change. There are projections that the bear’s numbers, which are estimated at 20,000 to 25,000, could decline by two-thirds by 2050 due to habitat loss in the Arctic.

But Canada, Greenland and several indigenous communities argued the trade had little impact on the white bears’ population and would adversely affect their economies.

— Associated Press

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Photo: People wait outside a row of popular seafood restaurants at lunchtime at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo on Thursday. Credit: Koji Sasahara / Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar — A U.S.-backed proposal to ban the international trade of polar bear skins, teeth and claws was defeated Thursday at a U.N. wildlife meeting over concerns it would hurt indigenous economies and arguments the practice didn’t pose a significant threat to the animals.

The Americans argued at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, that the sale of polar bears skins was compounding the loss of the animals’ sea ice habitat due to climate change. There are projections that the bear’s numbers, which are estimated at 20,000 to 25,000, could decline by two-thirds by 2050 due to habitat loss in the Arctic.

"We’re disappointed," said Jane Lyder, the Department of Interior’s deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks. "But we understand that CITES is still trying to understand how to incorporate climate change into its decision making."

Canada, along with Norway and Greenland, led the opposition to the U.S. proposal. They said the threat from trade was minimal and the hunting done by Aboriginal communities was critical to their economies. Only 2% of Canadian polar bears are internationally traded and the country strictly manages the commerce, Canada said.

"There is no doubt that action must continue to ensure the conservation of polar bears. Canada’s goal is long-term survival of polar bears," Canadian representative Basile Van Havre said. "But Canada does not think the proposal is supported by facts."

Frank Pokiak, an indigenous leader from Canada, said communities in the Arctic have hunted bears for generations, mostly for meat for food and pelts for clothing and shelter. He said they hunt them in a sustainable way and would continue doing so with or without an international ban.

"We have always cared for land and the wildlife because we have a lot to lose," Pokiak told delegates. "If it wasn’t for polar bears and other wildlife that we harvest, we wouldn’t exist today."

The big white bear, the world’s largest land meat-eater, "nanuq" to the Inuit, may be uniquely susceptible to climate change as rising temperatures quickly shrink its habitat, the Arctic sea ice.

Many bears spend their whole lives on the ice, mating, giving birth and hunting for their main prey, the ringed seal. But Arctic summers may be almost free of sea ice within 30 years, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted last April.

Data available on polar bear trade shows that since the early 1990s the market for polar bear carcasses and parts has increased. From 1992 to 2006, approximately 31,294 live polar bears, carcasses or parts were exported to 73 different countries, according to data collected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Skins are the most popular export item, and Canada is the largest commercial exporter.

— Associated Press

Animal news on the go: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: A polar bear walks in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2003. Credit: Subhankar Banerjee / Associated Press

BEIRUT — A 2-year-old lion, emaciated and barely breathing, is found in a tiny cage off a Beirut highway. Monkeys are hauled through the dark tunnels of Gaza, bound for private zoos. Rare prize falcons are kept in desert encampments by wealthy Arab sheiks.

The trade in endangered animals is flourishing in the Middle East, fueled by corruption, ineffective legislation and lax law enforcement.

"It’s a problem in the Arab world that we can no longer ignore," said Marguerite Shaarawi, co-founder of the animal rights group Animals Lebanon.

The group is pushing for Lebanon to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, whose signatories are meeting this month in Qatar. It is the first time the 175-nation convention is meeting in an Arab country.

Lebanon and Bahrain are the only Arab countries yet to sign the convention.

Delegates at the U.N. conference are considering nearly four dozen proposals on a range of endangered species from rhinos to polar bears.

John Sellar, chief enforcement officer for CITES, said it is difficult to estimate the extent of the illegal trade in the Arab world, but Animals Lebanon estimates that it is the third largest illegal trade in the region, after weapons and drugs.

"Much of the illegal trade that takes place here is of a specialized nature," Sellar said, citing the example of prize falcons, kept by many Arab sheiks in desert encampments, particularly in the United Arab Emirates.

"We’ve also seen some smuggling of very exotic species … like very rare parrots, young chimpanzees, gorillas and leopards that seem to be for the private collections of some of the rich individuals in the Gulf area," he said.

Several recent incidents have underscored the plight of animals in Lebanon — a country where the only law that refers to animal rights stipulates that anyone who purposely harms an animal has to pay a fine of up to $15.

Willem Wijnstekers, the secretary-general of CITES, said countries must have strong laws in place to discourage animal smuggling. Otherwise, he said, smugglers will simply see the penalties as part of the cost of doing business, and not a deterrent.

In December 2009, Animals Lebanon began a campaign against Egypt’s Monte Carlo Circus after it received a tip that the circus animals — six lions and three tigers — did not have proper certificates and had not received water or food during the six-day trip from Egypt to Lebanon.

The group sent several activists and a veterinarian to the circus grounds to investigate, and they reported the animals were malnourished and that one cub had been declawed.

The circus was declared illegal in January after Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan sent the ministry’s own experts to investigate, but the circus has appealed. While the case continues, the circus is still giving daily performances attended by small crowds.

"The case of the circus, and the trade of the lions and tigers, highlighted the urgent need to have Lebanon join CITES and protect these endangered species," Hajj Hassan said.

A circus employee at a recent performance denied the animals were treated badly.

"They say we are not feeding them. Look at them, do they look hungry to you?" the employee asked the audience as lions and tigers dutifully performed acrobatics around a caged tent near a highway just north of Beirut.

There was no official comment from the circus.

The animals looked healthy at the performance, weeks after the allegations were made.

In February 2009, Animals Lebanon managed to close down a zoo and rescue its 42 neglected and dying animals that had become a health hazard to its neighbors.

The starving animals languishing in dirty, rusty cages included bears, jackals, a chimpanzee, monkeys and a vulture that had apparently spent years tied by a chain that prevented it from flying or moving out of its cage, which measured just 20 square feet (2 square meters).

"The lion and chimpanzee died, but we flew the monkeys to a sanctuary in Wales and two bears to a sanctuary in Turkey," Shaarawi said. "I cannot describe the happiness I feel when we are able to rescue abused animals and find new homes for them."

In September, a 2-year-old lion cub was rescued by members of another local animal welfare organization after he was apparently abandoned off the main road in Beirut by the owner of the pet shop that imported him.

The severely dehydrated "King of the Jungle" was emaciated and malnourished with open sores on his body, according Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Beta), the organization that rescued him. Beta tried to save the animal — which the group named Adam — but it died shortly after it was found.

There are similar problems across the region.

In Egypt, a gateway from Africa to the Middle East, there is a flourishing chimpanzee trade and exotic animals are frequently smuggled in and out. The owners are believed to bribe airport officials to look away.

Last year, panic broke out on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Egypt when a foot-long baby crocodile wriggled out of a passenger’s hand luggage.

In blockaded Gaza, residents smuggle animals through tunnels that link the territory to Egypt to supply their private zoos. Smugglers proudly speak of hauling lions, monkeys and exotic birds through the underground passageways, making deals with animal smugglers in Egypt.

Most animals are drugged first, but in a particularly cruel practice, zoo owners usually rip out the teeth of lions to ensure they don’t bite visitors.

Activists say many of the pet shops in Lebanon are unlicensed and keep the animals in appalling conditions without proper healthcare.

One pet shop owner who identified himself only by his first name, Elie, to avoid "trouble" from activists, scoffed at the allegations.

"Everything in here is legal," he says of the dogs, cats, parrots and rabbits he sells. Asked whether it was fair to keep a puppy locked up in a cage the size of a bird cage, he shrugged: "They are fine. It is only until I sell them."

— Associated Press

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Top photo: A fox looks out from his cage at a zoo in Beirut on March 14. Credit: Grace Kassab / Associated Press

Bottom photo: Puppies sit in cages at a pet store north of Beirut on March 4. Credit: Grace Kassab / Associated Press

Color us impressed by Cleo the pot-bellied pig, whose doglike play interaction with Ginger the dog we find to be as hypnotic as watching guinea pigs fight over a cucumber. We could watch all day!

Beyond rolling and playing like a dog, Cleo’s talents include sitting on command (owner shewulfe notes that she learned the trick in just 15 minutes) and playing soccer (albeit probably not in accordance with soccer governance organization FIFA’s official rules).

"I had heard [pigs] are very smart," shewulfe writes on her YouTube page, "but I didn’t have any idea how smart they really are." (Smart is right — a recent study showed that domestic pigs were able to learn how mirrors work and use the reflected images they saw in them to investigate their surroundings and find food.)

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— Lindsay Barnett

Video: shewulfe via YouTube

Pet products, as a general rule, are manufactured with function, rather than an aesthetically pleasing form, in mind. (As evidence, may we present the most absurdly large cat climbing tree we’ve ever seen? No? How about the environmentally friendly underground doghouse that’s cooled with geothermal energy, then? We’re all for green living, of course, but even we must note that this product is strange-looking.)

Then there are those occasions when they miss the mark completely, violating all rules of form and function. (We’re looking at you, unknown person who filed the patent for the wearable dog house. And you, makers of the dog bed that looks like a giant Croc shoe. And especially you, company behind the garish 22.5-karat gold-plated crate that retails for $11,000.)

Fortunately for dogs and cats with a sense of style — and owners who don’t feel inclined to spend thousands of dollars on things like crystal-encrusted Hello Kitty-themed dog beds — there are stylish and reasonably-priced pet products out there as well. Our colleagues at The Times’ home and garden blog, L.A. at Home, recently spotlighted a few such items.

The first, the Canadian Cabin for cats (above), is constructed from cardboard and requires no tools for assembly. Its creators, Montreal-based industrial designers Marie-Pier Guilman and Maud Beauchamp, based their kitty cabin creation on a Canadian hunting chalet. It comes complete with a dangling toy and a cardboard carpet for scratching — and its back wall even has paw-sized holes! The Canadian Cabin retails for $30.

The second, a line of stylish placemats for pets made from basket-weave vinyl flooring, comes from designer Sandy Chilewich. The mats come in chestnut, lemon, mango, lime and platinum — each with a cute dog-shaped cutout in the center — and retail for $35. The best part: Since they’re made of vinyl, they’re easy to wipe down if your Newfoundland slobbers kibble-laced saliva all over them!

See more of the Canadian Cabin and Chilewich placemats at L.A. at Home. (But perusing this blog can be pretty addictive, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

— Lindsay Barnett

Photo: The Canadian Cabin. Credit: Loyal Luxe