Boy saves cat dumped off bridge

An 11-year old boy out for a walk with his mother saved a cat from death this week when it was tossed over a bridge by a man in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The cat was trapped in a taped cardboard box that was stuffed into a plastic bag.

The boy, Jonathan Aquino, told police that he saw a man toss the cat over the edge of the bridge before running off. The cat landed near the water’s edge and the boy could hear it meowing. He grabbed the bag and flagged down a nearby police officer.

Animal control officers in Bridgeport say the male cat, who Aquino has named Ginger, is doing well. Ginger, who is around 4 years old, will be up for adoption in seven days and likely will have no problem finding a forever home as the story of the boy’s rescue went viral after being reported by the Connecticut Post.

It’s not the first time Aquino has saved cats. Aquino and his mother have brought in other cats to animal control that have been in peril, including a litter of newborn kittens, animal control officers said.

Bridgeport Police Sgt. Stacey Lyons said, the animal control department often has to deal with terrible stories of neglect and animal abuse. This one made them cheer. Also, Ginger is the “sweetest.”

Wild loons lose their baby and adopt orphaned duckling

When researchers with The Loon Project headed out to Long Lake, Wisconsin last month they expected it to be just another day of researching and observing the birds out on the water. But as a mother loon swam by with her baby on her back, the researchers couldn’t believe their eyes: This baby wasn’t a loon. It was a duckling.

After doing some investigating the researchers pieced together the story. The loon couple had had their own baby not long before adopting the duckling, but unfortunately, the little loon didn’t make it. The couple’s parental instincts were still strong, and they desperately wanted someone to care for and so when they saw a tiny duckling all alone without his family, they decided to raise him as their own. Ducklings imprint on the first moving, parental figure they encounter, so when the loons took him in, the duckling didn’t object and instead happily settled in with his new family.

New Illinois law bans sale of cosmetics tested on animals

A new law makes Illinois the third state to ban the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. The law, signed last week by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, prohibits manufacturers from selling cosmetic products developed using an animal test, with fines starting at $5,000.

Illinois’ new law incentivizes companies to invest in non-animal testing alternatives, which are less expensive and more applicable to humans.

Last year, California became the first state to enact “humane cosmetics” legislation, followed by Nevada earlier this year. Despite laws in more than 30 countries banning cosmetics testing on animals, the U.S. has not banned the practice.

Rare wolf pack welcomes three pups

The only known wild gray wolf pack in California has grown by at least three adorable new members. The pups were born to a mother in the Lassen Pack ― which lives in an area spanning Lassen and Plumas counties ― in April, according to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife report cited by multiple news outlets earlier this week. With just a handful of wolves still in California, experts say the pups represent a positive step forward toward statewide wolf recovery.

Ranchers and farmers eradicated wolves in California in the 1920s. However, there’s been some known wolf presence in the state since 2011, when a radio-collared wolf from Oregon crossed state lines, according media reports. Members of the Lassen Pack are believed to have descended from that wolf, who is known as OR-7.