Tigers Bats Cows Gators Goats Sharks Whales and Hannah and Jenna!

Carol: Hey Hurst! How did the move go this past week?

Hurst: Well, moving is never fun but I like my new place in Nashville, Tennessee!

Carol: When do you want to break the news to our readers that you are ditching Creature Feature News for a real job?

Hurst: Um, I think you just did.

Carol: Oh, my bad. That was your news to tell, not for me to just blurt out like that. I guess I’m still a little distraught since you told me. Do you promise to send me a terrible animal pun every now and then for old time’s sake?

Hurst: Absolutely, but I won’t send you any insect puns because I know they really *bug* you.

Carol: Yeah, anyway, I’m pretty darn excited to introduce the readers to Hannah this week! As you know, Hannah has agreed to step in to carry on the Creature Feature tradition. I’m not sure if she is as funny as you are, though.

Hannah: Hey, I’m right here! And I am very good with animal puns as I mentioned when you interviewed me for the job. Well, except for pig puns. I find them so boaring.

Carol: Oh, I see promise! Did you hear about the dog who gave birth near the road? She was fined for littering.

Hurst: You’re making it easy to leave, Carol. And welcome, Hannah! Should we get to the news?

Carol: Well…I kind of have an announcement of my own. I’ve decided to turn over my role in Creature Feature News to someone else as well. I’ve wanted more time to work on growing Fanimal’s other programs and this seems like a good time to get some fresh perspectives, so I would like to introduce you both to Jenna!

Jenna: Hi everyone out there in reader-land. I promise not to annoy ewe with bad animal puns.

Hurst: You are going to fit in just fine, Jenna!

Hannah: Good one, Jenna! I’m looking forward to working with you. This week, I’m loving our double feature – animal news collected from the last two weeks. My favorite story was about pain that insects can perceive. Many people are not aware that bugs feel pain, much less that insects often feel chronic pain after an injury heals!

Jenna: I think the “meth gator” story will give me nightmares, so I’ll go with the stories about goats and pigs and how they communicate with each other and with humans. It seems that every week we are learning more and more about how animals understand the world and interact with it.

Hurst: I will be sure to be on the lookout for “meth gators” in Tennessee. Well my favorite story this week was a piece that gives multiple perspectives on emotional support animals. We have seen a lot of pieces about people trying to bring their support animals to unconventional places, so it was refreshing to hear about the good they can do.

Carol: I enjoyed learning about the newly discovered pocket shark, named that because they have a little pocket-like orifice behind their head. Oh, and by the way, what do you call a magic dog?

Hurst: A Labracadabrador of course! See you next week, Hannah, Jenna, and Carol!

Where lions once ruled, they are now quietly disappearing from National Geographic

Give endangered jaguars legal rights, Argentina campaigners ask court from The Guardian

Bats regurgitate nectar for their babies—a new discovery from National Geographic

The trouble with tigers in America from Washington Post

Why Do Cats Like Boxes? from Live Science

Pet pigs can communicate with humans—especially when food is involved from National Geographic

A Groundbreaking Study Is Good News for Cats—And People from The Atlantic

Cow Cuddling Is The New Wellness Trend Now And It Costs $300 For A 90-Minute Session from Healthy Food House

Pets have gained the upper paw over their so-called owners from The Economist

If you flush drugs down the toilet, you could be creating ‘meth gators,’ police in Tennessee say from CNN

Eat the insects, spare the lemurs from Mongabay