Notices by Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 07-Jun-2025 07:15:54 JST 
Tapir
BARC, Houston’s city shelter (I for the life of me can’t find what the acronym means), responded o an eviction call back in May.
What they found was utterly heartbreaking.
The residence housed more than 100 animals - 42 guinea pigs, 12 rabbits, a tank full of small fish, 26 exotic birds and 35 chickens - all in various states of neglect.
The birds seemed to suffer the worst neglect, with overgrown nails and beaks, some birds missing toes, malnourished, and one African Grey had a wing wound that needed immediate medical attention.
You can see in pic 3 how overgrown that beak is - at that point it is hard for the bird to even eat.
They are recovering well now though, and will be available for adoption soon. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 24-May-2025 07:18:39 JST
Tapir
Over 40 Belgian Malanois were rescued from a 7th story NYC apartment earlier this month.
The dogs, housed in a Queens apartment, had reportedly never stepped foot outside before being rescued by NYC’s Animal Care and Control with the help of the ASPCA. They have all found placement by shelters and rescues, but will likely require a lot of rehabilitation before they are eligible for adoption.
The dogs did not seem excessively emaciated, although 3 of the 48 dogs had to be euthanized due to poor health.
Neighbors complained about the smell (literally IMAGINE THE SMELL :vomit: ) which eventually led to a full on investigation. At the time of removing the dogs, the owner was not home. Police are still searching for the owner of the dogs. According to neighbors, the owner doesn’t live in the apartment but in an RV nearby. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Monday, 05-May-2025 07:47:47 JST
Tapir
I feel bad since I have been posting a lot of gore shit lately, but it's kinda what has been interesting to me as of late.
Anyway, I am incredibly surprised they went through this much effort for a rat snake. No shade on rat snakes, but wildlife rehab usually has very limited funds and space, and rat snakes are a very common species. So I was expecting this to end in euthanasia. I think this is the worst foreign body object I've seen in a snake. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 01-May-2025 08:22:52 JST
Tapir
I give 'em 2 years before they start breeding for this specifically -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Wednesday, 23-Apr-2025 07:30:20 JST
Tapir
Various pain charts of small mammals. Usually developed by labs, to determine what is/isn't humane, but often stolen by exotic general vet practices to find out just how much pain a patient is in and the best way to relieve it.
Sorry for the aids quality. I'm having a hard time finding images that aren't blurry. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 05-Apr-2025 07:10:25 JST
Tapir
190 pits were seized from ex-NFL player LeShon Johnson after the DOJ found he was running a dog fighting ring called Mal Kant Kennels in Oklahoma.
LeShon seemed to be mainly breeding dogs that were 'Champions' or 'Grand Champions', meaning they had won 3+ or 5+ fights, respectively.
This isn't even his first offense; in 2004 he plead guilty for running a dog fighting ring out of Krazyside Kennels with family members. A total of 225 dogs were seized during this; Johnson claimed to be selling the puppies nationwide at the time for 1.5k a pop, along with stud fees and semen. However, the judge dropped nearly all charges, and news sites seemed to have largely tried to scrub this info.
Speaking of scrubbed, headlines are now calling the ex-NFL player 'Oklahoma Man' instead. I'm also noticing there are NO reports on the inside of the house, condition of the animals, or the gritty details of the fighting ring. Just 'dog fighting'.
Just to give y'all a comparison, Michael Vick's case had 66 dogs seized, and I think maybe 8 or 10 dogs found dead. This case is nearly 3x that of Vick's case which went viral. It is considered to be the largest amount of fighting dogs under a single person to be rescued.
If found guilty, the ex NFL player could face a maximum of 5 years of prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Mainly for selling and transporting fighting dogs across the country. His previous conviction was a deferred sentence (probation) for 5 years.
Can I just say though. For someone who seems to be mainly breeding, holy fuck does his stock look like aids. Check out the dog in the first pic with the bowed legs and rickets-like carpus. Like you have to try to get a dog in that bad of condition.
Also, he ran this shit out of his HOME. Pic related - I don't think it's his house, but it's his neighborhood. Imagine having nearly 200 fucking dogs in this house?? And also, isn't this fucker rich? When I heard Oklahoma I was thinking like a ranch in the middle of nowhere with lots of land, but this motherfucker was doing this in a single family suburban home lol Like bro you were an NFL player :angrylaugh: you should be rich as fuck, why are you in a shitty suburban house and resorting to dog fighting for money -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 05-Apr-2025 05:31:43 JST
Tapir
HAPPY BIRTHDAY @graf @graf @graf -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Friday, 04-Apr-2025 07:00:43 JST
Tapir
The Maned Wolf is a funny critter - not a wolf, or a fox, or coyote or jackal; this creature is a distinct candid. It's closest relative is actually a bush dog, which kinda looks like a fat mink. It is found in the plains of Central South America, and is the largest canine of that continent, and the tallest wild canine in the world.
The average adult weighs around 50lbs and they stand about 3.5ft tall at the shoulders - the height allows them to see over tall grasses. Their ears alone are about 7in, larger than most people's dicks.
The maned wolf has a territorial piss marking that smells remarkably of cannabis, dubbing the dog 'Skunk Dog'. Zoos have had issues where visitors would call the cops, thinking someone was smoking weed due to the smell of their urine, and some zoos even have warnings about the weed smell near their maned wolf exhibits.
They have a very unique 'Roar-Bark' that is seldom heard. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBSGEl-yB7A)
They are actually omnivorous, with anywhere from 40-90% of their diet being fruit, and are actually very important in dispersing seeds. Their most sought after fruit, the 'Wolf Apple', was named such because it was found to make up on average around 50% of the Maned Wolf's diet. At first, zoological facilities assumed the maned wolf to be mainly carnivorous and fed a diet as such - this led to the maned wolves developing a lot of bladder stones. Since then their diets have been changed to more accurately portray what they would eat in the wild.
The conservation status is a little fucky on these guys; IUCN considers then near-threatened, yet recognizes that they are critically endangered in almost every country they reside in. Apparently, because their range is normally quite large and there are still some populations in those countries, they are considered not yet endangered. Many countries' endangered species list consider the species to be critically endangered. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Monday, 10-Mar-2025 06:49:32 JST
Tapir
Dumb Friends League changed their name to Humane Colorado :blobreachsob:
Dumb Friends League has been around since 1910, making it not only one of the oldest animal welfare organizations out there, but also one of the largest, helping animals and other shelters nationwide. Their aim is to help animals that are homeless or suffering.
'Dumb' was a common synonym for 'mute' back in the day, referring to the non-speaking pets that the organization helped. However, with America's lowering IQ, the public began to consider this offensive and calling the animals stupid. With dwindling support from the public, this 100+ year old organization decided to change it's name to Humane Colorado.
Dumb Friends League has been an iconic name in animal welfare, right up there with ASPCA and HSUS. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 06-Mar-2025 08:37:54 JST
Tapir
An artist in Denmark, Marco Evaristti, has an art installation that includes three piglets, named Lucia, Simon, and Benjaminm, who will be denied food and water and will starve to death. Visitors are given a captive bolt gun with the option to end their suffering.
It's supposed to raise awareness for the treatment of pigs in Denmark; Sows in Denmark are bred to have an average of 20 piglets, but only have 14 teats, meaning many piglets starve.
Marco pledged to feed (and I assume water) the piglets if and only if an associated Instagram page gets 22k followers - said Instagram group pledges to not contribute to factory farming pigs.
The exhibition, called "And Now You Care", opened in Copenhagen, Denmark on 2/28/25 in the evening. The young pigs are expected to die of dehydration in a few days.
BUT this story has a happy ending; Marco's friend, Caspar Steffensen, worked with animal rights groups on Saturday to steal the piglets from the exhibit.
Steffensen said he could not allow the three animals to face a painful death after his 10-year-old daughter had begged him to “make sure the piggies won't die.”
I see food and water in this exhibit but I am assuming these photos were taken prior to the opening of the exhibit, as it sounds like these pigs were not there long before they were stolen. Probably wanted to make sure they could last as long as possible to give people time to kill them. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Sunday, 23-Feb-2025 02:28:39 JST
Tapir
Persistent Pupillary Membrane (PPM) is actually the leftover remnants of fetal tissue crossing the ocular membrane. It very rarely causes any visual issues. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Feb-2025 22:45:50 JST
Tapir
I totally skipped out on puppy bowl. I just feel like they are skirted so far away from their original purpose.
Puppy Bowl was started to promote adopting shelter dogs.
This year (and probably previous years as well) the puppies in the puppy bowl were decided several weeks before puppy bowl. Most of the dogs already been adopted, with very few actually put ON HOLD and unavailable to adopt for multiple weeks until after the event.
On top of that, all the dogs shown this year were either apparent highly sought after purebreds or designer dogs. Pekinese, Pugs, English Bulldogs, Frenchies, Min Pin x Doodle, Chi x doodle, Cocker Spaniels, Great dane, carin terrier, Schipperke, even a fucking rough collie which is exceptionally rare let alone as a puppy in a shelter.
I just feel like puppy bowl went from promoting adoption to just finding the cutest and rarest puppies to get better ratings. And it just makes me sick.
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 08-Feb-2025 09:35:44 JST
Tapir
Shelter Animals Count released their 2024 data - I haven't read it yet because I need to fulfill my contractual continuing education first. But I have some highlights here.
Dog adoptions are continuing on a downward trend.
A lot of people are blaming this on the quality of ‘product’, but I'm not buying that excuse. There is a clear correlation between the lack of affordable homes/apartments, and the decrease in dog ownership with the decrease of dog adoptions. Simply put, landlords and insurance agencies are going to make sure we aren’t allowed to have dogs in a very roundabout manner.
Some good news is cat adoptions were higher - not as big of an increase in previous years but still a positive trend. I think the cost of pet ownership and lack of economic confidence has slowed pet adoption. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 06-Feb-2025 01:29:25 JST
Tapir
The Western Monarch Butterfly had stumped entomologists for ages.
First researched in 1850's, it wasn't until the 1930's that it was confirmed these butterflies did in fact migrate across the states from southern Canada to the south. However it wasn't until 1975, after 40 years of pursuing monarch migration, that it was discovered by Dr. Fred Urquhart roughly where the butterflies migrate to - Mainly California and Mexico, but some populations retire to Texas and Florida.
Another long sought after mystery was just how they migrated. For a while it was believed that the monarch lifespan was a deal longer than it actually is to compensate for the migration; up to a year or more. However now we understand that it takes around 4 generations for these butterflies to reach Canada and the northern US, and somehow manages to live up to 9 months for the migration back down south - a process that is still a head scratcher for today's entomologists.
That brings up an even bigger question though; If they aren't taught, how do they know where to go?
Only in the 2010's did we discover that they use the sun and polarized light to instinctively tell them their migration route.
However the Monarch's story doesn't end there; they may have an internal compass as well that we are discovering, and multiple possible navigational genes yet to be studied.
They are considered an excellent model organism for the study of the molecular and neural basis of long-distance migration.
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Friday, 31-Jan-2025 09:07:26 JST
Tapir
This is Wally - Wally was found stuffed in a trash bag last month. Weighing at just 23#, he had to go on a special feeding regime to ensure he didn't eat too much - overeating has the potential to seriously harm an emaciated animal. Last pic is Wally, just 1 month post actually receiving food -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 30-Jan-2025 00:23:08 JST
Tapir
Zoo baby wednesday is BACK baby!
Except... its winter so there's like no fucking babies happening, but I'll do my best.
St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, MO announced the birth of a male Asian Elephant that was born 11/23/2024. The 250+lb baby was named Jet and is the first Asian elephant born from artificial insemination at the St. Louis Zoo. Proud parent 17y/o F Jade is part of a four-generation elephant family, with grandparents Onyx (M) and Pearl (F), and parents Rani (M?) and Raja (F?).
Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT opens it's doors to a Linnie's Two-Toed Sloth named Jeffery. Jeffery came from another zoo, I guess they just didn't have room or need for him or something. Just like sloths, the story is pretty boring.
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden in (you guessed it) Oklahoma City, OK brings in a F 7m/o Bobcat named Pando. Orphaned in California, the bobcat was temporarily cared for by rescue organizations before being transferred to the zoo. Unfortunately, Pando has become too acclimated to humans to be released into the wild, and readily approached people. Pando will be in the zoo's newly renovated Cat Forest, but might be out of public view while she gets acclimated. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 01:58:27 JST
Tapir
@graf @j You're really aging me here.
Idk what snakes are in your area, but generally venom is fairly fast acting because snakes ain't tracking down their prey too far. So you'd start seeing other signs if the bite was venomous.
It might need to see a vet, but I don't believe it will need an emergency vet. ER vets are more for severe traumatic injuries and cases where the animal may die if not treated. I'd make an appointment but skip the ER unless something drastic happens.
If the cat is putting weight on it it isn't likely a break, but I've seen cats do some crazy shit before. Definitely keep the cat indoors until this resolves. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Thursday, 05-Dec-2024 14:55:11 JST
Tapir
@IAMAL_PHARIUS >jewish symbol is rubbing hands
oh my -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 09-Nov-2024 10:36:37 JST
Tapir
@IAMAL_PHARIUS Yooo!
Sad news almost all the dogs are dead. From natural enough causes though. They were old. -
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Tapir (tepid_tapir@poa.st)'s status on Saturday, 09-Nov-2024 01:20:49 JST
Tapir
this rat has benign fatty deposits. The fat grows upon itself, regardless of the animal's diet. So even if it were starved, the fatty tumor will remain. Rats are really well known to love to get tumors like this. I just thought this was a massive unit.
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