breeding

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Why Dog History Remains a Blur

Those darn Victorians did it

(Newser) - Our ignorance about canine history can be blamed, ironically, on our own love for dogs, LiveScience reports. Scientists recently tried tracing dogs' genetic lines—and culling out details of their early domestication—but lost track in the 19th century, when Victorians established today's standard breeds. The 15,000 years...

'Gay' Penguins to Be Split Up at Zoo

Officials want Buddy, Pedro to mate with females

(Newser) - A pair of "gay" penguins will be split up by the Toronto Zoo so that they can have chicks—with females. The so-far inseparable males “will be put in with a specific female so they have the chance to get to know one another, and if they bond,...

Rare Galapagos Pinta Tortoise, Lonesome George, Seeks Mate
 Last Tortoise of His 
 Kind Needs a Date 
lonesome george
May 10, 2011 3:20 PM CDT

Last Tortoise of His Kind Needs a Date

Scientists struggle to find mate for 'Lonesome George'

(Newser) - When you’re the only known member of your species, romance is hard to find. Such is the case for Lonesome George, the last Pinta tortoise in the Galapagos. Since George’s discovery in 1971—at a time when his species was believed to be extinct—scientists have searched far...

Rare Rhino Is Pregnant
 Rare Rhino Is Pregnant 
Feb 20, 2010 2:56 PM CST

Rare Rhino Is Pregnant

Ratu due to give birth to fourth Sumatran rhino born in captivity

(Newser) - Animal activists fighting to save the threatened Sumatran rhino have reason to celebrate: a female named Ratu is pregnant and due to give birth in Indonesia next year to only the fourth such rhino born in captivity. Sumatran rhinos are the rarest of five existing rhino species, reports CNN , and...

Dogs Aren't Human—But They're Close

Their rise raises the question: What rights does a dog have?

(Newser) - When your dog's “soulful eyes” watch you, trying to discern your needs, it’s easy to forget the animal is not your child or your “wing man,” John Homans writes. Dogs have moved off the farm and into our homes, where they eat gourmet diets, relax in...

Taiwan Panda Keepers Seek Love Doc's Advice

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, expert counsels

(Newser) - Ahead of breeding season in February, the Taipei Zoo is soliciting expert advice for getting its two giant pandas in the mood. A researcher dispatched from their native China found Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan—presented last year as a symbol of thawing relations between the countries—just a little...

Pandas Haven't Bounced Back From China Quake

Sichuan disaster presents lasting difficulties for breeders

(Newser) - China’s efforts to save the giant panda from extinction haven’t recovered from last year’s earthquake in Sichuan province, AFP reports. The temblor swallowed up whole groves of bamboo, causing a food shortage just as breeding centers, whose efforts have caused a recent panda “baby boom,”...

Cute Dog Craze Yields Dumber, Weaker Breeds

Shift from function to fashion impairs dog brains: study

(Newser) - Humans' quest for beautiful, quirky "leash candy" is making man's best friend dumber, weaker, and more introverted, reports the Times of London. Bred less and less to be hunters, guard dogs, and herders, current breeds can do little more than look pretty, a Swedish study of dog behavior has...

Aha! Zoo Bears Won't Mate Because Both Are Female

Japan park figures out why polar bears don't have much chemistry

(Newser) - A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she,...

Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

Attempt to outlast disease could be evolutionary

(Newser) - Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our...

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?
 National Zoo's Panda Preggers? 
Jun 20, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

National Zoo's Panda Preggers?

Hormone levels suggest Mei Xiang may be expecting

(Newser) - The National Zoo in DC says panda mother Mei Xiang is showing a spike in hormone levels, a sign that she might be pregnant again. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March with semen from Tian Tian, the zoo's male giant panda. Hormone test results indicate Mei Xiang will either...

You Can Lead a Horse to Mares, But You Can't Make Him Sire

Champion War Emblem isn't so studly

(Newser) - War Emblem was a champion on the track, winning the 2002 Kentucky Derby, but as a sire, the racehorse is nowhere near as surefooted. Though surrounded by mares, War Emblem hasn't produced a live foal since 2005, and in more than five years at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan has...

Berlin Zoo Accused of Selling Animals for Slaughter

Politician says director sold hippo, bear family

(Newser) - A German politician has filed a criminal complaint against the director of the Berlin Zoo, accusing him of selling animals for slaughter, Der Spiegel reports. The complaint cites examples of a hippopotamus and a family of bears allegedly sold in Belgium. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz vehemently denied the accusations, which he described...

Ol&eacute;! Breeder to Clone Prize Bull
Olé! Breeder to Clone Prize Bull
Feb 24, 2008 2:16 PM CST

Olé! Breeder to Clone Prize Bull

US company to copy Alcalde's DNA

(Newser) - Alcalde is one in a million: The hulking black bull's sons have struck fear in the hearts of Spain's bravest matadors for more than a decade. But now, in his waning years, his famed breeder has commissioned a US company to make him two in a million—with the cloned...

Big Stud Fees &ne; Great Racers
Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers
Dec 19, 2007 12:29 PM CST

Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers

Genetics less important than environment, study finds

(Newser) - In horse racing, nurture trumps nature, a study finds. Just 10% of a horse’s winnings can be chalked up to lineage, the BBC reports; offspring of high-priced stallions do perform better overall, but not because of genetics. “People who can afford to pay high stud fees can also...

Panda Couple a Model of Fertility
Panda Couple a Model of Fertility
Nov 26, 2007 10:35 AM CST

Panda Couple a Model of Fertility

Famous pair at San Diego Zoo meet just once a year

(Newser) - Suggesting that quality does best quantity, two of the most reproductively successful pandas in captivity meet—and mate—but once a year, the AP reveals. Since 2003 the San Diego Zoo's Bai Yun and Gao Gao have produced three cubs, a great feat for the endangered species. The youngest is...

Salmon Made to Bear Trout
Salmon Made
to Bear Trout
Sep 14, 2007 6:36 PM CDT

Salmon Made to Bear Trout

Success shows sterile animals could become surrogates for extinct species

(Newser) - Cue the world’s most peculiar baby announcement: Masu salmon have produced rainbow trout offspring, with an assist from scientists that could lead to the preservation of rare fish species. Trout sperm stem cells had already been injected into salmon embryos to produce salmon with trout sperm; now the same...

Dog Breeders Deploy DNA Tests
Dog Breeders Deploy DNA Tests
Jun 12, 2007 8:11 AM CDT

Dog Breeders Deploy DNA Tests

Genetic screening enables breeders to design dogs to suit their needs

(Newser) - With the first map of a dog genome recently completed, scientists are hot on the trail of  genes for individual canine traits from coat color to cocking their heads in a cutesy way—and dog breeders are right behind them. Without any of the inhibitions attached to eugenics in humans,...

Stories 21 - 38 | << Prev