Animal views

Pet masquerade, polar bears, pandas, rabbits, meerkats and more

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Oct. 26, 2011

A Chihuahua dressed as a burro gazes at spectators during the Fantasy Fest Pet Masquerade at the Casa Marina in Key West, Fla. Dozens of costumed animals and many people competed in the event, a facet of Key West's annual Fantasy Fest, an annual street party held during the last week of October.

Rob O’Neal / Associated Press

Oct. 30, 2011

A dog is decked out in a wedding dress during the 17th annual Doggie Costume Halloween Party at Riverside Park in New York.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 30, 2011

Dogs are dressed as a prison guard, right, and a prisoner during the 17th annual Doggie Costume Halloween Party at Riverside Park in New York.

Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 1, 2011

Giant panda cubs lie on a log at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

China Daily / Reuters

Oct. 31, 2011

A polar bear dives into the water from a ledge at the St.-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St.-Felicien, Canada. According to Environment Canada, Canada is home to around 15,000 of the estimated 20,000 polar bears in the world.

Mathieu Belanger / Reuters

Oct. 31, 2011

A polar bear jumps into the water at the St.-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St.-Felicien, Canada.

Mathieu Belanger / Reuters

A polar bear swims underwater in the St.-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St.-Felicien, Canada.

Mathieu Belanger / Reuters

Nov. 1, 2011

A baby hippopotamus swims with its mother on the first day it was presented to the public at the Berlin Zoo in Berlin. The baby hippo was born at the zoo Oct. 23.

Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Nov. 1, 2011

A yet-to-be-named baby hippo is seen in its enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. The youngster is the latest addition to the hippo population at the zoological garden.

Odd Andersen / AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 31, 2011

A Canadian beaver swims in a pond at the St.-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St.-Felicien, Canada. According to local media, Nicole Eaton, a Conservative senator, said that Canada should replace the beaver as its official emblem with the polar bear.

Mathieu Belanger / Reuters

Oct. 27, 2011

Curious meerkats mobbed a pumpkin placed in their exhibit by San Diego Zoo Safari Park keepers. After pushing the top off, they slid in from above, poked their paws through the eyes and even slid out through the mouth of the jack-o-lantern. Keepers provide novel items to keep animals mentally and physically stimulated throughout the year. Pumpkins arrive seasonally and provide an opportunity for the animals to explore something new or enjoy a once-yearly treat. For some critters, like the meerkats, their favorite bug treats were hidden inside, while for other animals, like elephants, simply eating and playing with pumpkins is enrichment enough.

Tammy Spratt / AFP/Getty Images

Oct. 26, 2011

Kopatch, a 15-year-old weeper capuchin monkey, carries her 1-week-old baby at their enclosure in the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo near Tel Aviv. The baby monkey is the first weeper capuchin to be born at the safari park in nine years, according to a statement from the safari.

Nir Elias / Reuters

Oct. 30, 2011

A rabbit jumps over a hurdle at an obstacle course during the first European rabbit hopping championships in Wollerau, Switzerland. Rabbit hopping is a growing trend among rabbit owners in Central Europe. Lada Sipova-Krecova, of the Czech Republic, won.

Harold Cunningham / Getty Images

Oct. 30, 2011

Lada Sipova-Krecova, of the Czech Republic, coaches her rabbit before an obstacle course during the first European rabbit hopping championships. Sipova-Krecova won the competition.

Harold Cunningham / Getty Images

Oct. 30, 2011

A shepherd carries a baby sheep as hundreds of sheep are herded through the center of Madrid. Shepherds parade the sheep through the city every year to exercise their right to use traditional routes to migrate their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing land in southern Spain.

Susan Vera / Reuters

Oct. 25, 2011

Petey, a Jack Russell terrier, sits in the grass at the Michigan Humane Society Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care in Rochester Hills, Mich. Thanks to a microchip, Petey was found in Michigan 600 miles from his Tennessee home after being lost for four months and returned to his owners.

Michigan Human Society / Via Reuters

Oct. 22, 2011

Veterinary technician Trevor Van Eeuwen uses a hand-held scanner to check for an implant, a rice-sized microchip, on Roxy, a 7-year-old maltipoo, with the help of veterinary technician Natalie Hartman, left, at the Summit Dog and Cat Hospital in Summit, N.J. Across the United States, 26 percent of dogs had implanted microchips in 2010 compared to 17 percent in 2009, according to an annual survey of pet owners by American Pet Products Association. The chips are used to help locate lost animals.

Barbara Goldberg / Reuters

Oct. 29, 2011

An ovenbird leans out of its nest on top of a street lamp post in the town of Cortines, Argentina, near Buenos Aires.

Enrique Marcarian / Reuters

Oct. 28, 2011

An emu makes its way through a wheat field on a farm near Chinchilla, about 155 miles west of Brisbane, Australia. The emu, Australia's largest native bird, is flightless and a common resident across large rural areas of the country.

Tim Wimborne / Reuters

Oct. 25, 2011

A red deer stag bellows during the rutting season at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig, Scotland.

Russell Cheyne / Reuters

Oct. 27, 2011

One of three leopards that were captured by authorities a day after their owner, Terry Thompson, released dozens of wild animals and then killed himself near Zanesville, Ohio, sits in an enclosure in the Columbus Zoo. Officials said six exotic animals will be quarantined instead of being returned to Thompson's wife. The office of Ohio Gov. John Kasich says the state Department of Agriculture has ordered the quarantine.

Grahm Jones / Associated Press

Oct. 26, 2011

Supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gather outside the Ohio Statehouse to push for a ban on exotic animal ownership in Columbus, Ohio. The gathering was spurred by the shooting by authorities of 48 animals released by farm owner Terry Thompson before he committed suicide.

Kantele Franko / AP

Oct. 28, 2011

Chatchawal Phuengwut, a 42-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, poses with a python he caught in floodwaters outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Traffic clogged roads out of Bangkok on Friday, as thousands of people fled ahead of a high tide that may worsen floods that have inundated factories and prompted foreign governments to warn citizens to stay away from one of Asia's largest cities.

Damir Sagolj / Reuters

Oct. 29, 2011

A Maine Coon looks out from its enclosure during the elite cat show in Moscow.

Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

Oct. 23, 2011

A cat is displayed at a cat exhibition in Wuhan, China. Pet owners in China spend an estimated $2 billion a year on their animals, as growth in China's pet products industry is outpacing that in the rest of the world.

/ AFP/Getty Images

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In this image released by the Miss Universe Organization, Miss Washington USA 2012, Christina Clarke; Miss West Virginia USA 2012, Andrea Rogers; and Miss Wisconsin USA 2012, Emily Guerin compete in their swimwear by Kooey Australia and fashion footwear by Chinese Laundry during the 2012 Miss USA Presentation Show on May 30, 2012 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2012 MISS USA Pageant will air LIVE on NBC June 3 at 9:00 p.m. ET from the Theatre for Performing Arts in Las Vegas. = RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT 'AFP PHOTO / Miss Universe Organization / DARREN DECKER' - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS =DARREN DECKER/AFP/GettyImages

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The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen in a camera on the end of the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm as it moves away from the station in preparation for its return to earth in this image from NASA TV May 31, 2012. REUTERS/NASA TV (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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Police investigate the scene where a man who was believed to have shot and killed several people earlier in the day shot himself Wednesday, May 30, 2012, in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle. A gunman opened fire at a Seattle cafe earlier Wednesday, killing three people and critically wounding two others and later a man believed to be the same suspect shot and killed a woman and took her car near downtown, abandoning it less than two miles from where the alleged shooter shot himself as officers closed in on him, authorities said. His condition wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

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Camels rest at a watering hole outside the town of Aleg May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MAURITANIA - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY)

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