Animals of the Week: Cute, informative and distracting news part 4

The orca rescued from a crayfish pot rope off the Coromandel Coast

By Hannah Sarney

Ocean dwellers have been topping news headlines this week. The biggest of them all, literally, is the bus-sized whale shark hoisted into the air in a fishing harbour in Karachi, Pakistan.

Despite being added to the World Conservation Union's list of threatened species in 2008, a man named Qasim Khan was able to buy the whale. Now he's battling the police over the right to charge people to see his purchase.

Footage of an orca being rescued from a crayfish pot rope off the Coromandel Coast continues to be one of the most viewed articles on 3news.co.nz. Orca expert Dr Ingrid Visser believes the whale didn't struggle because she knew the diver was trying to help. Aww.

A federal judge, for the first time in US history, heard arguments in a case that had the potential to determine whether animals earn the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings. PETA named five orcas as plaintiffs in the case. A ruling in favour of the whales could have had profound implications that impacted on everything from the way the US government uses dogs to sniff out bombs and drugs to how zoos and aquariums operate. The judge has since dismissed the lawsuit.

Could a New Zealand cabinet minister be an accessory to the extinction of Maui's dolphins? The Greens believe it is going to happen unless there is a set net ban off the Taranaki coast.

Conservation efforts have taken another blow in South Africa. A rhino has died during a procedure intended to save it from being slaughtered by poachers.

In lighter... well, in more dressed-up news... arts and crafts have been used at Ueon Zoo in Tokyo to stage a rhino escape. There is genuine concern that an earthquake could damage enclosures and allow dangerous animals to run loose and cause mayhem. While I'm not convinced their "get a few people to hold up some netting" approach will be particularly helpful, it is certainly an amusing drill to watch.

A cute little otter pup has been given her first vet exam at the Seattle Aquarium. It seems it is otter mums that get all the treats at the doctors...

A well-balanced name has finally been given to the baby pygmy marmoset at Wellington Zoo. Meet little Gemini!

Scientists have been able to reconstruct the song of a cricket that chirped 165-million-years ago by studying a remarkably complete fossil. Meanwhile, a 250-year-old mummified seal has revealed the rapid effects climate change can have in environments like Antarctica.

Gareth Morgan's Our Far South expedition to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands departs from Bluff tomorrow. Marine biologist Bob Zuur has packed as much filming equipment as possible and will be documenting his travels for 3 News here over the next month.

Quick animal news top ups:

• The strength of spider webs has been explained.
• Over the weekend I saw a tiny Chihuahua stand up to four horses on Waiheke Island.
• Another kitten has been born with two faces and is seemingly thriving. The owners were cool enough to call the little guy Harvey Dent.
• A kitten greatly improved a soccer match and puppies have made football far more entertaining.

Want to see a tortoise breaking speed eating records? Sure you do.

I'll leave you to find the koala on your own and let Toronto Zoo's polar bear cub say "see you for more animals in the news next Friday!"

3 News (Photo credits: Reuters)