Pet Scoop: Beaver Inadvertently Herds 150 Cows, Ex-Inmate Adopts Pup She Trained

April 19, 2017: We’ve scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it’s all right here.

Beaver Leads Cows in Funny Video

A beaver who was likely looking for a new place to build, accidentally wound up herding 150 cattle across a farm in Canada. Rancher Adrienne Ivey caught a video of the hilarious encounter in Saskatchewan, and the footage has gone viral. The cows loyally followed their rodent leader — without getting too close. “There was about a 3-foot space around him,” Ivey said. “They didn’t want to get closer than that.” Ivey said she knew the Internet would love the video. “A beaver leading cattle around? It’s the most Canadian thing ever!” she said. — Watch it at the Huffington Post

Moose Population Rockets on Michigan Island

There are only two predator wolves left at Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park, which has resulted in a population explosion for moose. Without the wolves to keep the moose numbers in check on the island on Lake Superior, scientists said the area’s fir trees could be endangered, causing the moose to starve. “It’s a race between the slowly growing trees and the rapidly growing moose,” said scientist Rolf Peterson. The National Park Service is considering four alternatives for dealing with the wolf population at the park, but doesn’t plan to make a decision until the fall. — Read it from the AP via the Denver Post

Study: City Birds Are Better at Solving Problems

A new study finds that house finches who frequent cities and towns are better able to solve new problems than those who live out in the country, even when humans are around. “The findings suggest that city birds have habituated and/or adapted to typically benign human presence, but rural birds (with less frequent interactions with humans) may still perceive humans as threatening, which then interferes with their ability to solve a problem,” said lead author Meghan Cook of Arizona State University. The findings were published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. — Read it at Phys.org

Merecedes Castillo didn’t waste any time going to adopt Jed when she was released from prison.

Ex-Inmate Adopts Pup She Trained

When Mercedes Castillo, 19, was released from prison recently, one of the first places she went was to the Erie County SPCA to adopt the puppy she’d trained while she was behind bars. Castillo had been part of the New York prison’s Pups at the Pen program, which pairs inmates with shelter dogs who need socialization. Castillo had worked with Jed, a timid Lab mix, for seven weeks, helping to potty train and leash train him, and they formed a close bond. The program is less than a year old, and so far 11 dogs have graduated. All but one have found forever homes. — Read it at People Pets

Polar Bear Makes a Splash

No one is having as much fun as Nora the polar bear is in her pool at the Oregon Zoo. In a series of videos that the zoo has recently shared on Facebook, the 1 ½- year-old bear delightfully tosses her toys into the water before plunging in on top of them. It’s not often you find a toddler having this great of a time all by themselves. Nora was abandoned by her mom, Aurora, soon after she was born at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio in November 2015. She was hand raised and moved across the country to Oregon in September. “When Nora makes a splash, everyone wins,” the zoo said in a Facebook post with a video of her most recent antics. — Watch it at the Oregon Zoo’s Facebook