Your loyal pooch may be bringing a whole world of bacteria into your home — but don't panic. Research suggests that exposure to a wide variety of microbes may be good for us.

New hidden camera footage from the giant panda's home offers a peek into the secret lives of China's wild creatures.

By Alan Baldwin MONACO (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton made his point and Roscoe, his pampered pet bulldog, promptly proved him right at the Monaco Grand Prix on Wednesday. Positioning, the 2008 Formula One world champion told British reporters gathered round him in the Mercedes harbourside motorhome, is everything in Monaco. The Briton was referring to the special skills required to win the most glamorous and glittering race on the calendar but Roscoe demonstrated that positioning was important in other ways as well. ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Craig Haverstick approaches the beach with his dog in tow, Stanley instinctively knows he's in for a treat. His ears perk up and he starts sniffing the salty air.

By Beth Pinsker EAST HAMPTON, New York (Reuters) - Judging by early demand for everything from doggie daycare to Ferrari rentals and fine art, rich Americans are going to make this a strong summer in one of their favorite playgrounds - the beach towns on the eastern end of Long Island collectively known as the Hamptons. With stock prices surging, home prices recovering, and borrowing costs low, there is a renewed sense of confidence among the wealthy and the merely well off. ...

Newark, N.J. — With no shortage of human-on-human misdeeds, criminologists haven't typically concerned themselves with crimes against wildlife and the environment. But with poaching raging out of control in several areas of the world, that may be changing.

By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - An Idaho man who admitted to breaking into a Boise zoo last year and killing a monkey was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday, court records show. Michael Watkins, 22, of Weiser, Idaho, in March pleaded guilty to attempted grand theft, a felony, and misdemeanor animal cruelty stemming from the break-in and beating death of the monkey at Zoo Boise in November. The primate was one of the zoo's two Patas monkeys, ground-dwelling animals from Africa that stand more than 2 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. ...

Martha Stewart has some very important criteria in potential suitors, now that the lifestyle guru has jumped into the deep end of online dating.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The twins were 7, shy and scared. Talking was tough and describing what happened nearly impossible.

Dogs are more than man's best friend: They may be partners in humans' evolutionary journey, according to a new study.

By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's auction house raised $38.8 million through a charity art auction and donations, Christie's said on Tuesday, with proceeds to benefit environmental and conservation causes. The 33 works in The 11th Hour Auction organized by the star of the new film "The Great Gatsby" sold for $31.74 million on Monday evening and set 13 records for artists including Carol Bove, Joe Bradley, Mark Grotjahn, Raymond Pettibon and Mark Ryden among others. ...

NRDC  .

At least 26 elephants were killed in Central Africa after a group of armed poachers raided a protected sanctuary on Monday (May 6), according to wildlife officials.

LONDON (AP) — The London Zoo is urgently seeking a female mate for the last-known males of a critically endangered fish species.

By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of the new film "The Great Gatsby," and his foundation have teamed up with Christie's for a charity auction next week to benefit environmental causes. Thirty-three works, many created for and donated to the auction by some of the world's top artists, will go under the hammer on Monday in New York at The 11th Hour Auction, which aims to raise as much as $18 million to protect the last wild places on Earth and their endangered species. "A lot of the works of this quality have never been at auction. ...

Dye and Poison Stop Rhino Poachers

Elephant poachers in Central Africa were seen entering a protected area and shooting in the direction of elephants on Monday (May 6), wildlife officials reported.

HONOLULU (AP) — A group of Hawaii fishermen is asking the federal government to remove northern Pacific humpback whales from the endangered species list, saying the population has steadily grown since the international community banned commercial whaling nearly 50 years ago.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bodies tensed and noses twitching, the dogs sniff the hunting ground before them: a lower Manhattan alley, grimy, dim and perfect for rats. With a terse command — "Now!" — the chase is on.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A toy poodle that was rushed to the vet after swallowing a tube sock. A Great Dane that had to be operated on three times for eating his owner's shoulder pads.

In the midst of the frantic "doomsday" buzz that swept the United States right before the Mayan calendar reached the end of its 5,000-year cycle in December 2012, I was approached by a person after I had given a presentation at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. They asked:

Evidence is mounting that several animals can learn behaviors from their peers, and pass down these traditions from generation to generation — an ability once thought to be uniquely human.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lily Tomlin's admiration for elephants began when she met Ruby and Billy.

Parents may have more in common with their dogs than their kids, at least with regard to microbial life.

The lanky, charcoal-gray dog with a distinctive, wiry hairdo would stand out in most other animal shelters, but no one gave him a second look on Hawaii's island of Kauai.

The crowded animal shelter on the Hawaii island of Kauai has come up with a novel way of getting some of its dogs adopted.