TORONTO — A Canadian-based ecologist said Friday that he has located the world's largest beaver dam in northwestern Canada using Google satellite technology.

Ecologist Jean Thie located the 2,788-foot (850-meter) dam using Google Earth and NASA technology while researching the rate of melting permafrost in the country's far north.

Situated in northern Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park, which straddles the Alberta-Northwest Territories border, the dam stretches more than eight football fields long, Thie said.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw it -- it's a vast, vast area. There may be longer dams out there, but this, by far, is the largest I have seen so far. And, it would not have been possible to view it without something like Google Earth," Thie said.

Thie told the Associated Press that the detailed satellite program helped him conclude the dam was the work of beavers -- which, incidentally, are the country's national symbol.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Workers at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens spent about five hours trying to get a 4,000-pound rhinoceros back in his cage. Archie was out of his overnight stall when employees showed up for work Thursday morning. He had escaped once before, years ago, and was lured back to his cage with food.

Craig Miller, the zoo's curator of mammals, said the food didn't work this time.

About 20 zoo workers corralled Archie in the elephant compound and sedated him. Then he was led down a service road back to his own area.

The 41-year-old white rhino never left zoo property, and there was a fence keeping him from public areas. It appeared the animal was able to escape because someone did not secure the gate.

RELATED ANIMALS ON THE LAM:
Whew! That's a relief: Escaped hippo returns home to Montenegro zoo
Sumatran orangutan Karta escapes her enclosure at Australia's Adelaide Zoo

-- Associated Press

Video: 10newsonline.com

We were astounded when we first saw YouTube user MASSEUR1956's video proof of the camaraderie between a clever raven and a patient dog.

We knew that members of the corvid family (which includes crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws and other similar birds) are often extremely intelligent with impressive problem-solving abilities and reasoning skills. But we did not know they enjoyed interspecies animal friendships, nor did we know they had a penchant for playing sports!

These two unlikely friends can also be seen sharing a meal or just hanging out together on MASSEUR1956's channel. One video even shows the raven -- for reasons unclear to us but, we suspect, incredibly obvious to a fellow bird -- plucking the fur from a wire slicker brush as his canine pal is groomed. Perhaps most oddly charming of all is a video that shows the dog gently licking his raven pal. (That's an "awww" and an "ewww" moment all rolled up in one.)

RELATED SMART CORVID FAMILY MEMBERS:
Rooks show there may be some truth to Aesop's fable 'The Crow and the Pitcher'
Crows and magpies show researchers their smarts

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: MASSEUR1956 via YouTube

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All About Birds" website will be celebrated alongside film critic Roger Ebert, rock band OK Go, comedian Jim Carrey and Twitter in the 14th annual Webby Awards.

The Webbys, which honor Internet achievement, were announced by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member group of Web experts. The awards ceremony is June 14 in New York City.

"All About Birds" won the Best Lifestyle Site award. The site helps people identify and learn about nearly 600 species of North American birds, and features photos, sounds and videos. It also has bird-feeding tips, gear reviews and an online magazine.

This year's competition received nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries and all 50 states.

RELATED NEWS FOR BIRDERS:
Robins, geese, crows among most common birds spotted in Great Backyard Bird Count
Orange County-based barn owl cam attracts an international audience of online bird-watchers

-- Associated Press

Video: An excerpt from one of Cornell's live webcams showing nesting birds.

OK, so it doesn't have quite the same ring as, say, National Puppy Day or Squirrel Appreciation Day. But arguably, Saturday's animal-related holiday, International Migratory Bird Day, serves a more important function than those aforementioned cute-centric holidays.

International Migratory Bird Day was conceived in the 1990s by the staff of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, with the first official event held at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1993. The Smithsonian bird honchos figured that migratory birds could use a boost in the form of a designated day during which the public could learn about migratory species, the threats facing them and ways to help in the conservation effort.

A few years later, the Smithsonian passed the torch to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which coordinated the International Migratory Bird Day effort for more than a decade. Since 2007, the organization Environment for the Americas has been in charge of organizing and spreading the word about the holiday.

Events to celebrate migratory birds will be held throughout the U.S. and Canada during the month of May. (In Mexico, Central America and most of South America and  the Caribbean, migratory bird day celebrations are held in October because May isn't an ideal time to view migrating birds there.) To find an event near you, check out the handy interactive map at BirdDay.org. Here in Southern California, bird enthusiasts can visit the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation's Migratory Bird Festival in Carlsbad on Saturday, May 15.

BILLINGS, Mont. — Hunters in Montana would be allowed to kill nearly three times as many gray wolves this fall compared with last year's inaugural hunt under a proposal announced Friday by state wildlife officials.

Wolves in neighboring Idaho also face a potentially higher quota. And hunters there could be allowed to use traps, electronic calls and, in some regions, bait to increase their odds of a successful kill. Final details are pending.

The moves to put more wolves into hunters' cross hairs come barely a year after the predators came off the endangered species list.

But a pending federal lawsuit could block the states' wolf seasons. Wolf advocates -- including the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife -- argue the hunts would be too aggressive, threatening the species' long-term survival.

Ranchers counter that mounting livestock losses to wolves must be put in check through any available means, including hunting. State wildlife officials say last year's seasons proved the animals can withstand significant hunting pressure without collapsing.

-- A posse of concerned Rock Hill, S.C., citizens and police managed to capture a 6-foot-tall emu that ran wild through city streets after an hours-long chase Tuesday morning. The emu dodged would-be captors with makeshift lassos and even a dog that tried to bite it as it ran past before finally being caught in a net wielded by 70-year-old Rock Hill resident Bobby Mangrum. It's unclear who owns the bird, which was unhurt in the incident. After its capture, it was brought to Mangrum's farm, where he keeps two emus of his own; it'll remain there until its owner can be found. When asked how he would fill out a police report about the incident, lieutenant Joe Johnson quipped, "I am not sure yet, as far as I know the emu broke no laws ... He did run from the police." (Rock Hill Herald)

-- The small town of Divide, Colo., didn't have a mayor, so locals decided to fill that void while helping animals at the same time by hosting a mayoral "election" with 25 dogs and cats as the candidates. Human campaign managers made T-shirts and posters extolling the virtues of the pet contenders, and Divide residents were encouraged to vote as many times as they pleased (at $1 a pop, with proceeds benefiting the local Teller County Regional Animal Shelter). The winner: A three-legged rescued pit bull named Spright who's a big favorite among locals who know her well because she regularly goes on rounds with her owner Lisa Berg, a mobile veterinarian. Spright was found on a roadside last year with a wounded front leg, which was later amputated. But having three legs hasn't slowed her down; Berg reports that she's a star soccer player and an avid runner. Spright was "inaugurated" shortly after the votes were counted, and, according to Berg, "She was in a constant state of full-body-wag." Our kind of elected official! (USA Today)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mysterious disease that has ravaged bat populations in the Northeastern United States is threatening to spread West, potentially triggering a mass die-off of the flying mammals, which help control populations of insects that can damage agricultural crops, a conservation group said.

The Center for Biological Diversity sent letters this week to state wildlife officials across the country, urging them to consider closing state-owned caves to the public to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome.

More than a million hibernating bats have died since the disease was first documented in upstate New York in 2006. It has spread around the Northeast and has been detected as far south as Virginia and now as far west as Missouri.

"We are in the position of potentially finding out what an important role bats play through their loss," said Mollie Matteson, an advocate with the conservation group. "Losing bats is probably going to upset the ecological balance."

From fundraising events -- emphasis on fun -- to opportunities to meet adoptable pets, the coming weeks and months are full of opportunities for Southern California residents to have fun while helping animals. We have the details on a number of upcoming animal-centric events; if you think we're missing something, let us know by leaving a comment or tweeting the details to us @LATunleashed.

Through Saturday, May 8, celebrate the animals in your life during the tail-end (no pun intended) of two weeklong celebrations that began last Sunday, Be Kind to Animals Week and National Pet Week. More information on Be Kind to Animals Week at AmericanHumane.org; more information on National Pet Week at PetWeek.org.

Saturday, May 8, spare a thought for those flying the friendly skies -- not airplanes, silly; migratory birds! It's International Migratory Bird Day, celebrated every year on the second Saturday in May. "Public awareness and concern are crucial components of migratory bird conservation," according to the organization Environment for the Americas. "Citizens who are enthusiastic about birds, informed about threats, and empowered to become involved in addressing those threats, can make a tremendous contribution to maintaining healthy bird populations." More information at BirdDay.org.

Saturday, May 8, radio station 95.5 KLOS hosts its fifth annual Mark and Brian Pet Adoption Day at spcaLA's P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village & Education Center, 7700 E. Spring St. in Long Beach, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can meet adoptable pets from spcaLA, have their questions answered by an spcaLA trainer and a VCA Veterinary Hospitals veterinarian, bid on items in a silent auction, visit pet-themed vendors and enjoy refreshments. More information at spcaLA.com.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut woman who lost her hands and much of her face when she was mauled by a chimpanzee has moved from an Ohio hospital to a Boston-area assisted-living center, where she plans to continue rehabilitation and hopes for more reconstructive surgery, her family's lawyer said Friday.

Bill Monaco, an attorney for the family of Charla Nash, told the Associated Press that Nash was discharged from the Cleveland Clinic on Thursday night and flown by private plane to the Boston area. He said the family is trying to keep her location private.

"She's going to be learning some skills necessary to become independent," said Monaco, who works out of Hauppauge, N.Y., on Long Island. "She needs a rehab facility while they assess what they can do for her in the future."

The 200-pound pet chimpanzee went berserk in February 2009 after its owner asked Nash to help lure it back into her house in Stamford, Conn. The animal ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids.

Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have done all they can do for Nash, who has had multiple surgeries, Monaco said. Nash's goal is to have more reconstructive surgery and learn to live independently.