Anne McCaffrey passed away Monday night in her home from what is reported as a 'massive stroke'. She was 85 years of age.

The creative force behind the Dragonriders of Pern fantasy series and The Ship Who Sang, McCaffrey was the first woman to be awarded a Hugo Award, and to receive the Nebula.

McCaffrey was also the first author to reach the New York Times Bestseller's List with a Sci-Fi title (The White Dragon). She published nearly 100 books, mainly fiction, beginning in 1967.

A remarkable author, McCaffrey prided herself on interaction with her fans. Up until a few weeks ago, she was still answering readers' mail on her website. She was also a frequent face at many sci-fi and fantasy conventions, often invited as the guest of honor.

R.I.P. Anne McCaffrey, 1926 – 2011

UK fur Snack Raccoon (aka. Dark Raccoon), reported to have died earlier this week, was experimenting with erotic asphyxiation at the time, former mate Ollie Pup has revealed:

IT WAS NOT SUICIDE! it was a sexual fantasy and a breathplay experiment that he did while we were out and went horribly wrong and resulted in what happened.

PLEASE if you are into breath control fantasies or have any kind of snuff fantasies or fetishes or whatever, remember what happened to him and think twice about what you do and for the love of Dark please just never try anything like that on your own.

Snack and Ollie co-hosted Furpile Radio, an online radio show which they founded in 2006. Snack also used to hold Super Smash Bros. tournaments at Eurofurence.

Terry Thompson, released from prison a few weeks ago on gun possession charges and still under house arrest, released his 56 exotic pets into the wilds of Ohio before killing himself. The irresponsible action of the owner resulted in the death of 49 animals; a monkey remains on the lam, while the other six were captured and are to be placed into local zoos.

The final count of animal life taken was six black bears, two grizzly bears, nine male lions, eight lionesses, one baboon, three mountain lions, 18 tigers and two wolves.

Brian Dyer, known in furry fandom as Athus Nadorian, was reportedly killed in a car accident.

Athus, 29, was an artist, and co-owner and lead designer for Bad Dragon, a company which specializes in toys of a sexual nature. He was mated to Narse.

Athus died on October 11. The vehicle he was a passenger in was believed to have failed to yield to oncoming traffic when making a turn, resulting in a collision with another car. In response to his death, Athus's friends and family have set up a memorial website.

Chris Sturtivant, better known among furs as Findra, reportedly died this week at the age of 44. Close friends reported his passing as "sudden and unexpected".

Update (21 Oct): A gathering is to be held in Memorial Park (luge n1 w1) on SpinDizzy MUCK from 12-3PM PDT on Sunday 23 October. A memorial meeting will also take place on the afternoon of November 5, at Las Palmas Park.

Unfortunate news from Metro Detroit this week: On Thursday, a pair of rabid skunks were destroyed in the suburb of Royal Oak, causing the police to issue a warning to local residents. [WXYZ-TV - Channel 7 Detroit and WDIV-TV - ClickonDetroit.com]

The Royal Oak Police say the skunks were found on the 1700 Block of Maxwell Avenue and the 200 block of Dewey Street, near Oakview Cemetery. Numerous calls were received from concerned homeowners in the highly-built-up residential area. The police said those coming into contact with an animal who they suspect may have rabies should leave the area and call them.

Read more: Information on rabies from the Oakland County Health Department and Wikipedia.

Knut the polar bear, who gained international fame as debate raged over whether he should be hand-reared or euthanised, has died at age four.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have come up with a new theory to explain the death of the famous dog, Hachikō (also known as chūken ['faithful dog'] Hachikō).

Hachikō was an Akita Inu who was born in Japan in 1923. He became the pet of Professor Hidesaburō Ueno of the University of Tokyo. For around a year Hachikō would meet his master, at the end of the day, at Shibuya Station.

On 21 May 1925 Prof. Ueno died from a stroke while at the university. For the rest of his life Hachikō continued to make the trip to the train station and wait for his master. Hachikō finally died in 1935.

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, died of a heart attack on Feb. 5, 2011. He was 71 years old. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and one granddaughter.

Jacques was born June 15, 1939 in Liverpool, England. At age 10, upon completing an assignment to write a story about animals, he was accused of lying about the origin of the story by a teacher who couldn't believe a 10-year-old would write that well.

Most people love dogs; many would say they're one's best friend. However some exploit animals for profit – and when said animals don't create profit, they perform extremely disturbing actions, often causing harm to the animals.

In a recent story, an owner of a Canadian dog sled tour business did just that, slaughtering 100 magnificent animals over the course of two days.

More details, photos, and a video can be found in the Vancouver Sun's coverage.

Sad news from Roy Calbeck: J.P. Morgan, creator of Fission Chicken, has passed away at 53.

Singer, musician and furry fan RandomOnlooker has been reported dead by his friend Vera.

It is known that he had a long-term illness, but not whether it was directly related to his death.

Members of FA are celebrating his life and work through prose, poetry, music and song.

The BBC celebrates the successes of the Russian Tiger Response Team, while noting that a cull is not likely to be successful in the case of the white-nosed bats.

Also recently covered was the death of Wombles creator Elisabeth Beresford.

Matthew Paul Finnigan (26), also known as Starblade Enkai, died 22 September 2010 – apparently after being stabbed in a friend's apartment. The suspect, James Torrey Hill, has plead not guilty to murder and is being held in custody.

Starblade was a controversial figure in fandom, best known for inspiring the "FYIAD" meme.

Update (20 Feb 2011): More news has emerged on the killer, who apparently had a preoccupation with the idea of killing someone, and stabbed Starblade because he was "sick of his life", "sick of school", and "might as well go to jail." [tip: rodox_video]

Texan artist, fursuiter and longboarder Derek Paws (DJ) has reportedly passed away at the age of 22.

Derek was injured in an automobile accident on Monday morning, and died just after midnight the next day.