The Boise Zoo in Idaho is about to get a new addition to their animal family. A two-year-old lioness will be arriving from the Santa Barbara Zoo to join the male lion, Revan. The female African lion has not yet been named, but she was born in 2020 to parents Felicia and Ralph.

The decision to pair the two lions together was made with the intention of providing companionship for Revan, who has been living solo for the past year. While the two lions will not be bred, they will have the opportunity to socialize and form a bond with each other.

African lions are the only cats that live in groups called prides. These social structures consist of a few males, a dozen or so females, and their young. Lions are apex predators and are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They are known for their distinctive manes, with males sporting large, thick manes around their necks.

The Boise Zoo is located in Julia Davis Park and covers 11 acres of land. It is home to over 200 animals from around the world. In addition to lions, the zoo also houses primates, birds, reptiles, and many other animals. The zoo’s mission is to provide a high-quality environment for its animals while also educating visitors about conservation and animal welfare.

Revan, the male lion, has been at the Boise Zoo since 2018. He was born in captivity at the Oakland Zoo in California and arrived in Boise at the age of 5. He is currently 10 years old and weighs over 400 pounds. He is known for his playful personality and enjoys interacting with his zookeepers.

The arrival of the new lioness is a significant event for the zoo, as it provides an opportunity for the animals to form a bond and engage in natural behaviors. Visitors to the zoo will also have the opportunity to see the two lions together and learn more about these magnificent animals.

In a heartwarming tale of companionship, a Sarus crane has chosen to stay with the man who nursed it back to health. Mohammad Arif, a resident of India’s Uttar Pradesh state, found the injured bird in his field about a year ago. Despite the odds being against it, Mohammad took the crane under his wing and helped nurse it back to health.

The crane, which was found with a broken leg and was bleeding heavily, was treated with home remedies by Mohammad and his family. After six weeks of care, the crane was back on its feet and ready to be released back into the wild. However, instead of heading back to its natural habitat, the crane chose to stay with Mohammad and his family.

The Sarus crane, which is the world’s tallest flying bird and is considered a symbol of marital devotion in India, has become an integral part of Mohammad’s family. The bird rarely leaves his side and some days it will even fly away, but it always returns by sunset.

The crane has formed an unbreakable bond with Mohammad, and the two share a unique and heartwarming relationship. The bird will eat from the same plate as Mohammad and even flies alongside him when he rides on his motorcycle.

Mohammad is thrilled to have the crane as part of his family, and he feels incredibly lucky to have formed such a close bond with the bird. The Sarus crane and Mohammad’s relationship is a beautiful example of the deep connections that can form between humans and animals. It’s a reminder that with a little kindness and compassion, we can help make a positive difference in the world and create meaningful relationships that last a lifetime.

As the Sarus crane continues to stay by Mohammad’s side, it serves as a reminder that love and companionship can come from the most unexpected places, and that sometimes the greatest friendships can form between the unlikeliest of pairs.

A lost dog named Bailey from El Paso, Texas recently made a miraculous return to her rescue after being missing. She was recently adopted into her forever home, 10 miles from the shelter when she escaped.

Her new owners searched the neighborhood and posted on social media. There were a few sightings of Bailey, but no one was able to catch her.
Miraculously, Bailey made it back to the rescue and rang the doorbell to alert them of her presence. The owners were shocked and overjoyed to see their pet and quickly took her inside to provide her with food and water. The rescue said:
“Bailey is now safe. To all those who searched, spotted, called, hoped – we thank you. As we know, dogs are incredible. Bailey made her own way back to ARL and rang our ring doorbell at 1:15 am, saying she wanted in. Staff rushed to the shelter and put Bailey in her run,” the rescue posted with a photo of Bailey taken by the facility’s doorbell camera.

Bailey’s return was a mystery to her owners and the local community. How she found her way back to her home from several miles away remains unknown. Some experts believe that dogs have a remarkable sense of smell and can use it to navigate their way back to familiar places.
Bailey’s story has spread quickly and has inspired many people. It is a testament to the remarkable resilience and intelligence of dogs and the strong bond they can form with their caretakers.

Nuns, priests and monks generally have one thing in common; they tend to take vows of chastity to focus their entire attention on their religious dedication. Many describe it as being “married” to God and the Church versus being married to another person. However, for one nun and monk who connected in Lancashire, the two decided to break the traditional rules for something better.

Sister Mary Elizabeth was a dedicated nun at the time she met friar Robert. The context was simply being charitable; her prioress wanted to make sure the friar, visiting from Oxford, had enough to eat and be comfortable on his visit to the area. Normally, the young nun would have been paired with her older superior at all times. However, her prioress had to deal with a phone call, and that left Sister Mary alone with friar Robert. That’s how sparks happen.

The incident was simple enough. Sister Mary kept friar Robert company as he ate. Her supervising nun didn’t come back right away, so Sister Mary ended up walking Robert out as the friar exited after the meal. During that brief moment of closer contact, as Sister Mary remembers, there was an electric charge. The two had a moment of chemistry heightened by their choice of life and its austerity; Sister Mary let friar Robert out but the whole time afterwards she wondered if the friar had reacted to that moment the way she apparently was going through. Her suspicions were confirmed a week later when Sister Mary received a note. It was friar Robert and he had written the most peculiar question: would she leave her convent to marry him?

Sister Mary Elizabeth wasn’t just a recent convert to the church. She was a nun in the Carmelite Roman Catholic order, which was very strict and hardly an exposing way of life. In fact, the nuns typically wear veils in addition to their very obscuring habits and cloaks. It would be practically impossible to see a nun’s hair, much less what much of her face looks like unless directly facing the person. Yet beyond all that, Sister Mary was perplexed; friar Robert didn’t know a darn thing about her.

Sister Mary was always religious, going back to her early years after an experience with an aunt and a pilgrimage. As she grew older and then became a young teenager, she was convinced service in the church was her vocation, and a weekend at a monastery was the final push.

Robert was also a Carmelite monk, originally from Poland and then based in Oxford. When he met Sister Mary, his world changed. He felt compelled to reach out to the nun. However, she didn’t respond immediately. That said, she started paying attention to the friar’s sermons on visits to Oxford, and her interest in Robert grew.

Fast forward years later, Sister Mary is now Lisa again, her previous name before the convent, and Robert is no longer a friar either. However, in practice, they live like they are still in a monastery, with prayer study and solitude. And it works. The former nun and monk are true to each other in marriage, but they have found a balance that still keeps them close to their faith. It broke all the rules, but the jump into the unknown also brought Lisa and Robert together. Maybe that was God’s will all along.

For the New Zealand Kiwi, getting stuck in bad situations tends to be a common occurrence. At least that’s what happened to Ruata. The bird is one of a species known as the North Island Brown Kiwi, and it is unique to the location it is named after. In Ruata’s case, his leg had been stuck in a trap, causing a dislocation as the bird had tried to free himself. With care from a vet, Ruata was healed, but he still had to recuperate before being released again.

The typical approach for a human recovering from serious surgery or medical procedure tends to be rehabilitation. The same actually applies to birds, like Ruata. The Wildbase Center at Massey University is the key facility for avian patients, specifically the wildlife variety. In many cases, staff there have to construct specific environments for the patients, similar to the natural conditions, that trigger exercise and recuperation on the natural with normal activities the birds are used to. Ruata was placed in a similar containment that originally helped another Kiwi recover back in 2010.

The effort is important; some 25,000 Northern Island Brown Kiwis are left, with the number decreasing over the last few years. So, helping strong adults recover from injuries helps keep numbers stabilized instead of losing more that can breed and add replacements in the wild with new young. Traps, however, are not a big risk for these Kiwi birds. Unlike Ruata, the biggest risk for the birds today tends to be other animals, particularly domesticated cats and dogs.

Prior to people arriving, Kiwis in general have lived on New Zealand for probably 70 million or more years. When humans arrived and settled the area, they eventually began to introduce domestic pets like cats and dogs and even rats and ferrets, especially with the arrival of Europeans to the area. All of these creatures are practically a death sentence for the Kiwi, which lives on the ground primarily. Kiwis simply aren’t fast enough to get away, and their nests are easy to find and smash for a quick snack by a hungry dog or ferret.

Of the Kiwi chicks born every year, more than 9 out of 10 are killed before adulthood, mainly due to domestic animals killing half of them. Leg-traps are common to keep prowling animals out of areas with Kiwis, but in Ruata’s case, the bird might have ended up becoming an unintended victim. Fortunately, the Wildbase Center is available to help, with an 80 percent success rate in cases it takes on. At the same time, the Center also gets a chance to add to Kiwi research, being able to observe their behavior as they recuperate. So, the benefit is two-fold.