Reports of a stranded seal on a New Jersey beach caught the attention of the local media this weekend but were quickly tossed back. Mostly because it is totally normal for seals to swim ashore. Doesn't mean it didn't make for a cute photo op, though! more ›

Yesterday we were sent this photo of a flyer displaying a lost kitten named Carlo, a 5-month-old tabby that the firefighters on East 85th Street had taken in. It's believed the kitten ran off when the firefighters got an emergency call on Saturday night, after which time they put up flyers around the neighborhood (with the assistance of Anjellicle Cats) asking for their new feline friend to be returned. And their plan worked: Carlo is back in the firehouse! more ›

Police are investigating more than 30 dogs and cats—and a large South American lizard—found dead in garbage bags along the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester. “It was disturbing,” Westchester County SPCA Chief Ernie Lungaro said. “Some were eaten by mice and bug-infested. It was obviously a very strong odor.” Maybe the person responsible was the same one who swung by Teddy's in Cobble Hill last week? more ›

Despite the rules ("no person may bring any animal on or into any conveyance or facility unless enclosed in a container and carried in a manner which would not annoy other passengers") lots of animals show up on the New York City subway au natural. We've seen rats, feral and trained, cats pigeons, opossums and now we've seen snakes! more ›

Raccoons have been slowly taking over the city for years now—they're in our libraries, they're in our brownstones, they're shopping at John Varvatos, and perhaps the most unsettling and transparent in their mission to take over humankind: they've invaded City Hall. And now some new footage from Joey Boots shows that they're no longer scared of humans, either—check out what happened last night in the Bronx: more ›

Today we offer you up a couple of Brooklyn's oddest animal pairings of the past. First up, in the early 1950s, two porcupines from the Amazon Jungle moved in with Marion and Paul McMichael (a New York Zoological Society member) of Brooklyn. The vegetarian creatures were named Gerald and Geraldine, and were reportedly "affectionate and playful... clean and do not destroy furniture." However, if they wanted to play, they would "nip at [one's] ears," which is incredibly terrifying considering they are described as having "rodent teeth." On the upside, they would not shoot their quills at their hosts, and removing the quills from the rug was "the only tough job." And probably all worth it to see the prickly pair dining on cornmeal at a candlelit dinner table. more ›

We're getting inundated with sad animals news today. First, the above photo was sent to us by Kendra Srebro, who tells us this iguana was "spotted on Vandervoort Place between Flushing and Thames. Its eyes were closed and it wasn't moving. I was running to get the train to work so I didn't have time to inspect further... I'm worried it is still alive and its consequential low body temperature has just lulled it into sedation." more ›

A man was recently spotted on a crowded 4 train selling month old puppies out of a bag. The Chihuahuas were being hawked for $250 to $300, depending on if they were male or female, and the salesman notes that this is a cheap price because they usually go for 600 bucks. The straphangers ooh'd and ahh'd over the puppies, of which he had five (there were six, but one got "smothered"). more ›

We know that John Lennon loved to make music and bake bread... but did you know he was also a crazy cat lady at heart? According to Mental Floss, Lennon owned a number of cats throughout his lifetime, starting with his first childhood pet, named Elvis. There is also an adorable story involving a stray he saved, and trips he would make to the local fishmonger to buy treats for it! When he became famous with The Beatles, he would still call in to check on the cat (which he had named Tim). more ›

Do puppies have souls? There is probably a Buzzfeed photolist showing 50 puppies with souls somewhere, but now a more definitive answer will be handed down from the courts, thanks to a new lawsuit just filed right here in New York City. more ›

The cat-on-a-leash phenomenon continues unabated today with a new firsthand account in the Times on the trials and tribulations of training your cat (sorry, make that "pedicat") to walk on a leash. We've seen it before, but not until now have we known, in such vivid detail, how to do it ourselves. more ›

It's the most wonderful time of the year... when we get to see animals opening up colorful Christmas presents at the city's zoo. Last year we saw a polar bear in Central Park open up a gift box containing fishsicles and fruit (what, no bloodsicle?), and this year the Wildlife Conservation Society offers up the below videos. They show Prospect Park's dwarf mongooses unwrapping gifts of mealworm treats, and bears in the Queens Zoo digging into their specially wrapped peanut butter! more ›

Let's cut to the chase here: if this cat isn't adopted by December 26th, the current owners are going to euthanize her, making it the saddest Boxing Day ever. So let's save her! more ›

Every once in a while, an animal rides the subway, and it's usually pretty cute. But this poor guy, a tiny box turtle trapped on the Atlantic-Pacific platform in Brooklyn, just looks really, really freaked out. Could it be because he's actually Lionel, the escaped box turtle from the Inwood Hill Nature Center, blown so very far from home? more ›

A cute eastern box turtle has been missing from the Inwood Hill Nature Center for several days now, and befuddled park rangers don't seem too worried about the little guy's fate. And unlike some other escaped animals who became instant Internet celebrities, the turtle has not exactly captured the public's attention. more ›