Post-Traumatic Stress in Pets

Unfortunately, reuniting pets with their owners (or finding new homes for them) is only the first step to getting things back to normal after a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Like human victims, they'll be going through emotional trauma that requires extra care.

• Kim Campbell Thornton, MSNBC. 2005 SEP 15. Pets vulnerable to post-traumatic stress, too. MSNBC.com.

On a related note, Audubon Nature Institute's website reports that most of their animals survived Hurricane Katrina, but that they need donations to "feed, house and provide veterinary care for New Orleans’ rare and endangered wildlife." The Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species are the researchers that have been cloning wildcats in order to ensure the survival of the species.

Cloned wildcats may keep endangered species going

This story is interesting because cloning may end up being the way many endangered species are eventually saved. But, if you check out the location of the people cloning these wildcats, you'll notice they are based in New Orleans. I really hope that the people and animals at the Audubon Nature Institute's Research Center are OK in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Yesterday, when I looked at their website it came up fine. Today I get an error message.

• 2005 Aug 22. In breakthrough, cloned wildcats prove ability to reproduce. AFP.
• Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species: Cloning Main Page.