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Chimpanzees Don't Have The Same Rights As Humans, New York Court Rules

 | By By GEORGE M. WALSH
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CHIMP
John Foxx via Getty Images

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A chimpanzee is not entitled to the rights of a human and does not have to be freed by its owner, a New York appeals court ruled Thursday.

The three-judge Appellate Division panel was unanimous in denying "legal personhood" to Tommy, who lives alone in a cage in upstate Fulton County.

A trial level court had previously denied the Nonhuman Rights Project's effort to have Tommy released. The group's lawyer, Steven Wise, told the appeals court in October that the chimp's living conditions are akin to a person in unlawful solitary confinement.

Wise argued that animals with human qualities, such as chimps, deserve basic rights, including freedom from imprisonment. He has also sought the release of three other chimps in New York and said he plans similar cases in other states.

But the mid-level appeals court said there is neither precedent nor legal basis for treating animals as persons.

"So far as legal theory is concerned, a person is any being whom the law regards as capable of rights and duties," the judges wrote. "Needless to say, unlike human beings, chimpanzees cannot bear any legal duties, submit to societal responsibilities or be held legally accountable for their actions."

That, they ruled, makes it "inappropriate" to grant the rights of a human to the animal.

The Nonhuman Rights Project said it will appeal to the state's top court, citing other New York appeals court rulings it says are at odds with Thursday's decision.

"It is time for the common law to recognize that these facts are sufficient to establish personhood for the purpose of a writ of habeas corpus," the organization said, referring to characteristics of chimps it says are "similar to those possessed by human beings."

Tommy's owner, Patrick Lavery, said Thursday he was pleased and expected the ruling.

"I just couldn't picture any court granting habeas corpus for an animal," he said. "If it works for one animal, it works for all animals. It would open a can of worms."

Tommy, believed to be about 40 years old, is a former entertainment chimp who was placed with Lavery about 10 years ago. Lavery said Tommy is cared for under strict state and federal license rules and inspections.

The court noted there have been no claims that Tommy has been mistreated or that any of those rules have been violated.

Lavery said Tommy lives in a seven-room enclosure in Gloversville with lots of toys and other "enrichment."

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    Nathan Anderson-Dixon, his wife Charlotte, their 18-month-old son Reuben, Joe the camel and a reindeer.

  • Man Finds Pythons In N.J. Backyard

    James Geist found two pythons in his West Milford, N.J., backyard within a few days.

  • Chimp Art

    In art, there's primitivism and there's primate-vism. Meet Jimmy, a 26-year-old chimpanzee who can paint. Pictured while creating a painting on cardboard on Sept. 20 at a zoo in Niteroi, Brazil, the monkey's art works have caught the attention of zoological experts who plan a special exhibit for the chimp.

  • Skateboarding With Tillman

    Tillman the skateboarding dog is always learning new tricks. The famed canine skater -- who is also an acclaimed surfer and snowboarder -- made an appearance at Madame Tussauds on the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 16.

  • Elvis Bug

    Is it Elvis... or Bert from "Sesame Street"? This stink bug photographed in Singapore seems to be a fan of one of them -- but it's not clear which one.

  • 3-Eyed Nuclear Fish -- Oct. 2011

    Fishermen landed a three-eyed fish in Argentina near a nuclear reactor in October 2011.

  • Drunk Moose

    A moose is seen stuck in an apple tree in Gothenburg, Sweden, September 6, 2011. The police believe the moose was trying to eat apples from the tree and became intoxicated by fermented apples. The moose was freed by police officers and after a dose on the lawn, he sobered up and returned to the woods.

  • Mystery Fish

    Lynda Taylor (left) and Cindy Wilkinson with 'Lucky.' Their friend found it in Wilkinson's backyard. (Kevin Hill, North Shore News)

  • 19-inch Earthworm

    Li Zhiwei, a forestry worker in China, discovered this 19-inch earthworm in a gutter near his house. He plans to raise it as a pet.

  • This is the moment two angry squirrels went head-to-head in a spectacular fight over food. The two red squirrels showed the lengths they will go to in order to protect their precious dinner as they can be seen charging at one another and scrapping in the sand as they viciously fought over a watermelon. One of the squirrels was enjoying his fruity snack in peace when he was approached by a brazen squirrel hoping to steal a bite of his meal.

  • Baby Elephant at San Diego Zoo -- Sept. 2011

    A newborn African elephant lifted his trunk in search of his mother at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. In this rare moment, the calf stood alone after he had wandered off a few steps, but shortly thereafter, his mother, 5-year-old sister Khosi (koh-see), and 2-year-old brother Ingadze (in-Gahd-zee) rushed over to tend to the unnamed calf. The Safari Park is now home to 18 elephants (eight adults and 10 youngsters).

  • Mutant Pig Dog

    Locals in Xinxiang city scratched their heads over this four-legged creature, believing it to be a mutant escaped from a scientific lab. Cops confirmed that it is, in fact, a Chinese Crested Hairless.

  • World's Longest Cat

    Robin Henderson stretches her cat, Stewie, outside of her home in Reno, Nev. Stewie, a 5-year-old Maine Coon, has been accepted by Guinness World Records as the world's longest cat at 48.5 inches long. Unfortunately, Stewie passed away in February, 2013. He was 8.

  • Otis, skydiver.

    "Otis'' the pug gets his harness put on him before making his 64th skydive at the Parachute Center in Acampo with his master, veteran skydiver Will DaSilva of Galt. Otis knows that harness means he's going skydiving and sits patiently while it is put on him.

  • World's Biggest Bitch

    Nova, a 35.5 inch tall Great Dane, was named the world's tallest female dog by Guinness World Records in June 2011

  • Yoga Bear

    There's Yogi Bear, and there's yoga bear. Meet Santra, a female brown bear at the Ahtari Zoo in Finland, famous for her morning yoga stretches. After the bear woke up from a nap, amateur photographer Meta Penca took amazing shots of her fitness routine, which reportedly lasted about 15 minutes and included a number of poses.

  • Mass For Animals -- Oct. 2011

    Gil Florini, of Saint-Pierre-d'Arene's church, blesses donkeys with holy water after a mass dedicated to animals on Oct. 9, 2011, in the southeastern French city of Nice.

  • Guru, the Hairless Chimp

    Looking almost like a bronze statue of a person, Guru the hairless chimpanzee eats in his enclosure at India's Mysore Zoo. Guru lost all his hair to alopecia, a condition that can also affect humans.

  • Smallest Frog

    Some frogs eat flies. This tiny amphibian is not much bigger than one. The Microhyla nepenthicola, a newly discovered species of frog, lives in the jungle on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. It is barely larger than a pea.

  • Camel in the Family

    t's not every day you can say that a camel has shared your breakfast - unless you're Nathan and Charlotte Anderson-Dixon. Each morning they and their 18-month-son Reuben are joined by pet camel Joe, who pokes his head through their conservatory window to help himself to something to eat. The three-year-old happily munches eats bread, fruit and cereal plucked from the table at the family's detached country farmhouse. Joe, who measures 17.5 hands, loves bananas on toast but hates toast with cheese or Marmite. He lives with four other camels but is the only one to share breakfast with his owners. The others have to eat hay, barley, straw and corn mix in their stable in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Nathan, 32, has owned Joe for two years and uses him for camel racing.

  • Ride Cow Like a Horse

    When Regina Mayer's parents refused to buy her a horse, the 15-year-old German girl trained Luna the cow to be a top-class riding companion. Not only do the two regularly go on long rides together through the picturesque southern German countryside, they even do jumps.

  • Sweden Moose on Loose

    The slightly injured moose on its way out in to freedom after his visit to a geriatric care home in Alingsas east of Goteborg, Sweden, Thursday June 9, 2011. The moose jumped through a canteen window into the building in Alingsas in western Sweden Thursday. The residents were evacuated and the moose locked into a small room next to the entrance. Since the moose's injuries were concluded to be minor it was released into freedom. (Adam Ihse, Scanpix/AP)

  • Taxidermied Squirrel -- Dec. 2011

    Rick Nadeau has saved up quite a nut by creating taxidermied squirrels that he puts in unusual outfits. He sells his works starting at $65 all the way up to $200.

  • Sheep Dog

    This is a lamb in China that looks just like a dog. Farmers in Fugu County, in western China's Shaanxi Province, were left open-mouthed when they saw the young animal running around their field. The lamb has a mouth, nose, paws and tail which look very similar to a dog's features - but still has a white woolly coat.

  • Gorilla With Toothache

    Two Bay Area dentists made a house call at the San Francisco Zoo on Monday, July 11, to help out a gorilla with a toothache. Dentist Dan Mairani (left) and endodontist Steve Holifield, who usually perform procedures on human patients, worked for three hours on Oscar Jonesy (O.J.), a 30-year-old male western lowland gorilla that developed an abscessed canine tooth. Thanks to this dental team, the abscess was successfully treated and the tooth was saved!

  • Lucy: World's Smallest Working Dog -- Nov. 2011

    Lucy, a mini Yorkshire terrier from Absecon, New Jersey, is now in the Guinness Book of World Records. Weighing just 2 1/2 pounds, Lucy was named the world's smallest working dog last week, bumping out a 6.6-pound police dog in Japan.

  • Skywalker the Rodeo Bull Gets Stuck -- Nov. 2011

    Skywalker, a rodeo bull in Hawaii, could not eat or drink while a 50-pound tire was stuck around his head. A ranch hand was able to pry it off after Skywalker exhausted himself, allowing the worker to get near the cranky animal.

  • Goose and Deer Become Unlikely Friend

    Wildlife experts in Buffalo, N.Y., have been amazed by an unusual springtime friendship between a deer and a nesting goose. It's a relationship that has blossomed inside a cemetery.

  • This May 7, 2013 photo provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shows a Texas state record 800-pound alligator caught during a public hunt on the James E. Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area. Wildlife officials say the 14-foot-3-inch gator could be 30 to 50 years old. (AP Photo/Texas Parks and Wildlife Department)

  • Camel Fight

    Afghan festival-goers watch as a "camel fight" starts during the second day of Persian new year, or "Nowruz," celebrations in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan.

  • Sperm-sniffing Police Dog

    Police Dog Handler B-G Carlson with the sperm-sniffing dog Rapport's Opus, which collected evidence against a 23-year-old man who was charged with a rape. Credit: Aftonbladet

  • Insect with Singing Penis

    A small water boatman of the species Micronecta scholtzi is seen in this photo from the University of Strathclyde Glasgow. The insect has been found to use its penis to perform a very loud mating call. Scientists say the "singing penis" -- relative to its body size -- is the loudest animal on Earth.

  • Bear Steals Car

    This photo shows a bear inside Ben Story's car on July 23, in Larkspur, Colo. Story said the bear got into his empty car, honked the horn and sent it rolling into a thicket with the bear inside. Sheriff's deputies released the bear using a rope to open the door.

  • Surf Dog

    A dog competes during the during the 6th annual Loews Coronado Bay resort surf dog competition in Imperial Beach, near San Diego on June 4, 2011.

  • Deer With Wings

    A Montana resident says an energy company has identified the cause of a brief power outage as "deer with wings." Lee Bridges says she was outside with her dogs around the time the power went out when a NorthWestern Energy truck pulled up, giving her a chance to ask the driver what caused the problem.

  • Moose In A Pool -- Oct. 2011

    This New Hampshire moose was swimming a little too deep, forcing nine rescue workers to help remove it from the pool.

  • Dogs Wearing Pantyhose

    Yep. Read about it and see more photos here.

  • Allegedly Stolen Tortoise

    FILE - In this undated file photo provided by Katlyn R. Gerken, a staff member of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa holds Cashew, an 18-pound African leopard tortoise. The museum said Friday, April 5, 2013, that an employee found the tortoise behind paneling in her enclosure and hid her in an elevator in a misguided attempt to prevent further embarrassment after officials announced Tuesday that they believed Cashew had been stolen.  (AP Photo/Katlyn R. Gerken, File)

  • 21-lb Lobster

    This photo released by the New England Aquarium, in Boston Tuesday, July 24, 2012, shows a 21-pound lobster caught July 14 off Cape Cod, and donated to the aquarium where it will be displayed after a 30-quarantine period.

  • Antarctic penguin swims to New Zealand

    An emperor penguin that arrived on June 21, 2011 at New Zealand's Peka Peka Beach, more than 2,000 miles from its native Antarctica, will not be transported home.

  • Polydactyl Kittens -- Jan. 2012

    Undated Cats Protection handout photo of 4-month-old polydactyl kittens named Fred (left) and Ned (right), currently in the care of Cats Protection, Gosport Town Branch in the United Kingdom. They will shortly be going to their new home once they've been neutered. Ned has an extra eight digits, while his brother Fred has 10 more than the usual 18, making a total of 54 digits between them.

  • Clothing a Battered Chicken

    Amy Leader with Sunny, a rescued chicken, in his newly-knitted sweater. Kind-hearted animal lovers have come to the rescue of a group of featherless chickens by knitting them their very own woolly sweaters. Sunny and his not-so-feathered friends were rehomed after being rescued from a poultry farm. Many of them are missing their plumage because the conditions they used to live in.

  • Gorilla check-up -- Oct. 2011

    Yakini the gorilla received a medical check-up from vets at Melbourne Zoo before being moved to a new multimillion-dollar exhibit at Werribee Open Range Zoo, on Oct. 28, 2011, in Melbourne, Australia.

  • Space Alien?

    On July 10, 2013, a South African park ranger, Llewellyn Dixon, took several photos of a dead creature near the resort town of Nature's Valley. Some speculated the animal was an alien. But after a local veterinarian performed an autopsy on the carcass, it was confirmed as a baby baboon. Next slide shows a close-up of its head.

  • Giant Rat

    An English man named Brian Watson killed a large rat his granddaughter's boyfriend found while cutting grass on April 21, Sky News reports. The water rat was so large, Watson broke a boat paddle trying to kill the critter.

  • Water Skiing Elephant Dies

    In this undated 1958 photo provided courtesy of Liz Dane, Dane is shown performing her act with Queenie the water skiing elephant. The Valdosta Daily Times reports that 59-year-old Queenie was euthanized Monday, June 2, 2011, after her health deteriorated.

  • Ranger Shoots Deers Whose Antlers Are Stuck

    It was a shot in the dark, but an Illinois police officer manage to separate two whitetail deer whose antlers were tangled together -- by shooting them apart.

  • Lip-Syncing Monkey

    A female monkey lip-syncs during a show by the monkey drama troupe Prakit Sitpragaan in Bangkok in September. Prakit Sitpragaan has been performing traditional stories adapted from Asian classical novels and folklore in Thailand for more than 30 years.

  • Piggyback Monkey

    Miwa, a baby monkey, rides a young boar named Uribo in the Fukuchiyama City Zoo, in Kyoto, Japan, on Oct. 19. Both have been sheltered by the zoo since June after losing their mothers

  • Super Egg

    Cookie Smith shows off a normal egg and a "super egg" Wednesday, May 30, 2012, in Abilene, Texas. Cookie Smith went to collect eggs from her three laying hens on Monday afternoon, and discovered one normal egg and one "super egg" in her coop.

  • This image provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shows an alligator Thursday June 6, 2013 in Lancaster, Calif. Part of the "Zoo to You" program in Paso Robles that introduces kids to animals, the alligator was being held by two females near a van after the animal urinated inside the van and the females had stopped to clean the the van. (AP Photo/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)

  • Illegal snake colleciton

    Thomas Cobb with his son Caiden show off several of his exotic reptiles that he keeps in a special basement room of his home Friday, April 26, 2013 in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Cobb has been ordered by police to get rid of all but one of his 29 exotic boa constrictor snakes because he doesn

  • Space Alien Is A Baboon

    This is a close-up of the previous slide, which turned out to be a baby baboon found in South Africa on July 10, 2013.

  • In this Aug. 18, 2012 photo provided by Jody Bright, Molly Palmer stands with her husband Shawn Palmer near her catch_ a 12-foot marlin that took more than four hours to get on her team

  • Crazed Cat Goes 'Over The Edge'

    Lux, a 22-pound Himalayan cat, made national news when he freaked out and trapped his owners in a bedroom.

  • Mobile Home Filled With 154 Reptiles

    Inside Walter Kidd's North Carolina trailer home were 154 reptiles, including cobras, vipers and Gila monsters. About 100 of the animals were dead and frozen, according to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.

  • Dog With World's Largest Eyes

    Bruschi, a four-year-old black and white Boston Terrier, who lives with his owner, Victoria Reed, in Grapevine, Texas, holds the Guinness World Record for "dog with the largest eyes" -- a whopping 1.1 inch in diameter.

  • Calico Lobster

    This May 9, 2012 photo provided by the New England Aquarium in Boston shows a rare calico lobster that could be a 1-in-30 million, according to experts. The lobster, discovered by Jasper White's Summer Shack and caught off Winter Harbor, Maine, is being held at the New England Aquarium for the Biomes Marine Biology Center in Rhode Island. The lobster is dark with bright orange and yellow spots. (AP Photo/New England Aquarium, Tony LaCasse)

  • Camel in the Family

    Charlotte Anderson-Dixon pushes her 18-month-old son Reuben on the swing as Joe the camel watches.

  • Kayaker Snags Shark -- Sept. 2011

    This is the jaw-dropping moment a canoeist landed a 6-foot shark after it dragged him through the water for 10 minutes. Brave Rupert Kirkwood, 51, had paddled a mile off the United Kingdom's Devon coast when he suddenly felt a snag on his line. The 70-pound beast nearly pulled him overboard, before pulling his 16-foot canoe through the water as he desperately clung on. After 10 minutes of wrestling with the beast, he eventually hauled the massive fish on board.

  • Penguin With Isabellnism -- Jan. 2012

    A rare, mostly white-colored penguin was discovered in Antarctica in early January 2012. The picture was snapped by naturalist David Stephens. Correction: An earlier version of this slide labeled the penguin as albino. It appears to have isabellinism, a genetic mutation that dilutes pigment in penguins' feathers, according to National Geographic.

  • An alligator crosses the 14th fairway during the first round of the PGA Tour Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., on Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

  • Missing Rare Indian Star Tortoise

    Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Tutti is a rare Indian star tortoise. Butti, the zoo's missing tortoise, looks similar to Tutti. The two are brothers and live at the zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo.

  • In this March 5, 2013 photo, Nederland resident Mark Merchant, a biochemistry professor at McNeese State University holds many baby alligators in Lake Charles, La. You could say Mark Merchant has alligators in his blood. Before he was a biochemistry professor at McNeese State University studying the antibiotic properties of alligator blood, Merchant was just another Southeast Texas kid fishing with his grandpa on the bayous. (AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Dave Ryan)

  • Rhino Cow

    A bizarre three-horned cow has proven itself to be a cash cow for a farmer in Baoding, in China's Hebei province. Farmer Jia Kebing said the 2-year-old cow was born with a small bump on its head that has grown to be nearly 8 inches long and now resembles a rhino's horn. "My farm has fame in this region for this cow, and people came in just paying a visit to this cow," said Jia.

  • Animals In The News

    Tha Sophat, a 20-month-old Cambodian boy, suckles from a cow in Koak Roka village, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2011. Tha Sophat started suckling the cow in July after he saw a calf do the same since his parents moved to Thailand in search of work, said his grandfather UmOeung.

  • Kitler

    Kitler, a kitten small enough to fit in a cup with a remarkable resemblance to Hitler is looking for a home after being found abandoned at the side of a busy road. An animal charity is struggling to find a loving home for an abandoned kitten - because it looks like HITLER. The six-week-old moggie was found abandoned on her own by the side of a busy main road by a member of the public. She was handed in to Wood Green animal shelter in Godmanchester, Cambs., where staff nicknamed her 'Kitler' because of her distinctive black moustache. Nobody came forward to say they were Kitler's owner so the centre put her up for rehoming, but she is yet to find a loving family because of her unusual markings.

  • Baby Raccoon Stuck In Sewer

    A baby raccoon that got stuck head-first in a sewer grate is free thanks to the quick and slippery work of some city workers in suburban Detroit. A release from Dearborn Heights says the crew took the raccoon to the Public Works yard for a "much-needed shower" before letting it go in the woods.

  • Gibbon Betina

    Withe-handed gibbon mother Betina, 32, holds her 2-week-old baby at the Safari zoo in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv on March 17. The birth of the gibbon surprised the zoo staff, as it had been 11 years since Betina last gave birth.

  • Dog Swallows Shot Glass

    This dog wanted a drink. Meet Billy the German pointer and the shot glass he swallowed. The pooch underwent emergency surgery after doing a shot of Jagermeister -- and the glass it was served in. The 18-month-old, who lives in Darwin, Australia, downed the glass during a party thrown by house sitters while his owners were away. It wasn't until three days later when Billy began vomiting blood that the house sitters realized something was wrong.

  • Is This A Woolly Mammoth In Siberia? -- Feb. 2012

    This newly released video taken during the summer of 2011 allegedly shows a living woolly mammoth crossing a river in Siberia. There is much speculation and debate as to whether this is, indeed, a living specimen of prehistoric elephant-related animals that were thought to be extinct.

  • Tori, the Smoking Orangutan

    Tori, a 15-year-old orangutan, holds a cigarette stub between her fingers inside her cage at Satwa Taru Jurug zoo in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 6, 2012. Zookeepers said they plan to move Tori, who learned to smoke about a decade ago by imitating people, away from visitors who regularly throw lit cigarettes into her cage so they can watch and photograph her puffing away and exhaling smoke. (AP Photo)

  • Animals in the News

    "Shrek," New Zealand's most famous sheep, died in June at the age of 16. This merino wether (a castrated male sheep) came to the world's attention in 2004 when he was found in a cave near the city of Otago after being on the lam for six years. He had managed to avoid capture all that time and when he was finally found, he was carrying nearly 60 lbs of untrimmed fleece, nearly six times more than the average merino fleece.

  • Zookeeper Lives With Lions

    Alexander Pylyshenko, 40, will live in a cage with two lions for five weeks to raise awareness about living conditions for animals in captivity.

  • Smokey the LOUD Cat

    Pet cat Smokey is believed to have the loudest purr in the world -- with piercing purrs as loud as a lawnmower. Most cats purr at around 25 decibels but Smokey's powerful purrs average an amazing 80 decibels. Owners Ruth and Mark Adams, of Northampton, Britain, say Smokey's deafening purrs make it impossible for them to hear the television or radio when she is in the room and they struggle to have telephone conversations.

  • Booie, The Smoking Chimpanzee, Dies At 44 -- Dec. 2011

    Booie, a chimpanzee that kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy, died at the age of 44 at a California animal refuge in mid-December.

  • Kangaroo's Human Lifestyle

    Beemer the kangaroo has Vegemite on toast with a side salad of fresh-picked wild grasses, accompanied by adoptive "mother" Julianne "Julz" Bradley.

  • Spider With Human Face

    A rare spider with a human face, known as a lichen crab spider, has been spotted at a nature reserve in Wareham, Dorset, England.

  • Giant Crocodile Captured In Philippines -- Sept. 2011

    In this Sept. 4, 2011, photo, Mayor Cox Elorde of Bunawan township, Agusan del Sur Province, pretends to measure a huge crocodile, known as Lolong, which was captured by residents and crocodile farm staff along a creek in Bunawan. Lolong died in February, 2012.

  • Two-headed Bearded Dragon

    A two-headed bearded dragon is set to be the latest attraction at the Venice Beach Freakshow. Pancho and Lefty sit in new owner Todd Ray's hand.

  • Westies Wakeboarding

    These hilarious pictures of Westie dogs doing water sports should cheer anyone up, whatever the weather. They are a newly-launched theme for handy iPhone app Weather Puppy, a weather app that comes free but lets you buy themes such as these side-splitting images of West Highland White Terrier. British publishers Maverick Arts are behind the wacky pictures and have used amazing image-manipulation skills to make it seem as if the dogs are indulging in adrenalin sports. Maverick MD Steve Bicknell explains: "We are obsessed with the weather here in the UK and I think our pictures of the Westies should cheer people up weather they are at a sunny beach or hiding from the rain."

  • Kangaroo On The Loose In Washington State

    Late June 2012, this kangaroo disrupted traffic several times along a highway in Washington state.

  • State Trooper Find Baby Deer In Car

    A Washington State Patrol trooper who responded to a report of a deer killed by a truck on Interstate 5 ended up with a 2-month-old fawn in his car. The patrol says when Trooper Scott Brown arrived at the Bellingham scene on Tuesday evening, other deer in the area stayed back but the fawn -- possibly orphaned by the collision -- ran up to him. Trooper Mark Francis says the baby deer nuzzled against Brown and started "mewing."

  • Big Brutus

    Brutus, a giant crocodile, was photographed leaping out of the water in Australia by picture-taker Katrina Bridgeford. The 18-foot long croc is a fan favorite among tourists who take cruises along the Adelaide River as he is known for making a big splash while jumping for buffalo meat.

  • Pink Kitty

    This kitty isn't naturally pink. The cat's owner, Natasha Gregory of Britain told The Sun that she wanted her pet "to match my hair." The 22-year-old also has a shocking dye job.

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