Pet Show Blog » orangutans

Dogs are funniest … not on purpose

petblog — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:35:26 +0000

So just in case you were wondering, dogs outshine cats when it comes to wins for America’s Funniest Home Videos. I’m not sure that’s a good thing, though. Most of the time winners on America’s Funniest Home Videos have either done something ridiculously stupid or just been hit in the groin.

The show marks its 20th anniversary at 6 p.m. Sunday on ABC. (Read more about TV on the NewsOK Television Blog!)

And in honor of their anniversary, show officials calculated all the animal winners during the past 20 years. Dogs finished first with cats close behind. But there are all kinds of other animals that have won. (Who knew whales could be funny? And who knew that a praying mantis would win not once but twice?)

1 ANT
3 BEARS
22 BIRDS
1 BULL
1 CAMEL
34 CATS
1 CHIMP
1 DEER
136 DOGS
1 ELK
1 FERRET
1 FISH
1 FLY
1 FROG
4 GIRAFFES
4 GOATS
1 GORILLA
1 GUINEA PIG
3 HAMSTERS
4 HORSES
1 KANGAROO
1 LIZARD
2 LLAMAS
5 MONKEYS
2 MICE
1 ORANGUTAN
1 OSTRICH
2 PRAYING MANTIS
5 RACOONS
1 RAM
1 RAT
1 RHINO
1 SEA LION
1 SPIDER
1 SNAKES
9 SQUIRRELS
1 TARANTULA
1 TOAD
2 WHALES

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

Look at that hair!

petblog — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:00:55 +0000

Photo provided by Audubon Zoo

New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo released pictures this week of Menari, a female orangutan born at the zoo July 10.

Menari is being hand-raised, and is the first orangutan born at the zoo since 1996. She is a Sumatran orangutan, which is the rarer of the two orangutan species. The slightly lager Bornean orangutan is listed as endangered, while the Sumatran orangutan is listed as critically endangered.

Less than 8,000 Sumatran orangutans are believed to survive in the wild, and they are all found in rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Looking at little Menari, it’s hard to fathom how we could let such cute creatures disappear from our planet.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

Wonderful zoo photos

petblog — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:36:55 +0000

Boston.com, the Boston Globe’s Web site, has a wonderful photo gallery of pictures from zoos around the world. Lions, tigers,, leopards, bears, foxes, primates, frogs, hippos, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, dolphins, kangaroos, camels and plenty more are featured in the gallery. Many of the pictures are of babies. Here is my favorite, of a cute Chinese leopard cub growling at photographers.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

Best friends

petblog — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:00:06 +0000

We have only a few rules here at the Petshow Blog. One of those rules is that any time a 1-year-old orangutan becomes buddies with two five-week-old snow leopard cubs, and there are pictures, we must post them.

All three animals are residents of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Apparently the two cubs, named Solka and Chant, go to orangutan Rishi to cuddle in his long fur. The cubs were hand-raised at the institute, where they will become animal ambassadors to the public, which can get very close access to rare animals at the institute.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

Orangutan on a jet ski

petblog — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:00:35 +0000

Sometimes there are only two reasons to post a blog… an orangutan on a jet ski and a woman in a bikini. This story satisfies both.

Surya, a 4-year-old orangutan living at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Miami, Fla., has learned to ride a child’s jet ski. He wears a child’s wet suit, riding around the pool and waving at onlookers. He also wears a life jacket because he doesn’t like getting his head wet.

Picutred below is Surya with one of the lovely trainers who taught him to jet ski.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean