@jeanne-mayell 

That story gave me goosebumps that are still happening! LOVE that - thank you! ❤️ ?

Here is an adorable little video I made of my dog and our kitten when they were still babies. https://vimeo.com/219540053 They made up a game of tag that is incredibly cute.  @unk-p, this is the same kitty you painted for me.

I love how my pets made up this adorable game to hone their ancestral survival skills, i.e., hunting and defending.  The puppy is making quick numerous fake bites on the kitten's soft underbelly - something wolves do to bring down their prey.  The kitten fixates her eyes always on her adversary at all times, even when she is flipped over and upside down. One on one, the puppy might be outmatched, even though she is much larger. 

https://vimeo.com/219540053

@Laura-f @lovendures @unk-p and @journeywithme2

My chiweenie plays with the cats the same way, I always tell her "Mind the balls!...Or what's left of them anyway..."

@jeanne-mayell - Oh my goodness, your cat is the spitting image of our late departed cat, Duke. 

Love in the animal world.  Did you know that 90 percent of birds are monogamous?  And also field mice and wolves, among many other species? 

https://www.quora.com/How-is-love-described-in-the-animal-world/answer/Kathy-Godin-4

@jeanne-mayell 

What an adorable photo!!!

@lovendures I know!  I finally stopped using snap traps on the mice that come into our house. There is an effective have a heart mouse trap.  You still end out separating them from their families but at least they survive. The best protection however, according to mice experts, is to find the entry they use to get into your house and seal it! We are working on that too.  

In amongst the worry of what’s happening in the world. Sounds of nature here in Australia to take your minds off it all for a little bit.

The magpie is the winner in our search for Australia's favourite animal sound

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-07-31/australia-favourite-animal-sounds/102577008

You can listen to 28 different animals sounds with the Magpie (Maggies) being considered the one Oz likes the best.

Regards to all

@matildagirl, I love all of these wondrous voices of mother nature!  My husband, who was passing by my office as I've been listening to their distinctive and sometimes melodious sounds, is now standing behind me, totally mesmerized.  The photos are also quite beautiful.  All of these sweet critters are making me smile and giving me a sense of peace.  (Even the Tasmanian Devil, lol!) 

Thank you for sharing these with us.  

A couple of other birds for your enjoyment

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-mKRij7dEHM

King Parrot, my favourite bird, I get them in my backyard. The male is so vibrant amongst the greenery.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ixT3yzFmHYs

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0vOuLXxHaR8

Dancing Brolgas 

Regards to all

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLpx3eK4/

Had to show you this cutie, she is called Matilda too. Beats what’s happening in the news at the moment.

Regards to all

Okay, this story about an orca is very sad, although beautiful, and gives hope. But WARNING: SAD STORY that can distress your sensitive imagination. But it is also an extremely beautiful showing the changing consciousness of humans, especially because it didn't appear in an animal lover publication, but in The Washington Post.

It is about a beloved orca captured back in the 1970's to be a marine circus animal and how a groundswell of empathy for her fought to return her to her home waters. It is about a remarkable orca who managed to stay strong for her fifty years in captivity to become an emissary from the animal world to teach humans that animals are soulful beings no less conscious and no less loving than humans, that it is a cardinal sin to capture them.

The Inuit of this orca's native waters believe the orkas are their sacred relatives. Science has shown them to be highly intelligent beings who live a hundred years in the wild in families, linked like tribes with other orcas, where mothers and their offspring staying together their entire lives. 

When this beloved orca finally died in captivity just before she was to be returned at great expense to her native waters, her tribe 3000 miles away came together in a ritual gathering that hinted they felt her calls all the years of her absence and knew when she had passed.  

I think this link will get you past The Washington Post paywall.

https://wapo.st/3t2fZFs

If you have a WAPO subscription, the story is entitled

The call of Tokitae:

After half a century in a tank, a beloved orca was about to be freed. Then her life ended, and a moment of reckoning began.

I found this video of my toddler pets playing the way children play - thought you'd enjoy for a smile. https://vimeo.com/891886077

Made me laugh aloud. Woman stops huge Moose dead in its tracks as it was chasing full speed her 5 pound Yorkie dog.  How did she do it? She says, she used her Mom voice. Starts 50 seconds in. 

https://www.wcvb.com/article/moose-chase-dog-scared-mom-voice/46171770?utm_source=wcvb&utm_medium=recirc&utm_campaign=top-picks-wcvb