A link-sprinkled news post in TIME discusses the possibility for a state-wide animal-abuser registry in California. [credit: Doodles/furryne.ws]

The proposed registry is estimated to cost anywhere from half-a-million to a million dollars to setup, plus another $300,000-$400,000 annually.

While nobody really wants to support animal abuse, an editorial from the Fresno Bee notes the current proposal does not have the backing of pet food vendors, whose products would be taxed to fund it, and suggests it duplicates the work of private anti-abuse organizations.

The San Antonio Express-News has posted a follow-up to their original story about Wolfie Blackheart, a 18-year-old tail-wearing "werewolf" who wants to be a taxidermist.

Wolfie gained attention after the media heard how she removed a dead dog's head to boil and preserve it, as she has done with the heads of several other animals.

The new article talks more about the involvement of 4chan regulars, who tracked Wolfie down after seeing a picture of the severed head.

Placed under investigation by Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Police, Wolfie was ultimately cleared, as "the dog was already deceased at the time of the beheading."

The Melbourne Herald Sun reports development of pig lungs compatible with human blood. Such organs could fill a real need; 200 died last year on waiting lists in Australia alone.

The genetically-modified pigs do not express a certain antigen that causes the blood to clot. Research on such "knock-out" pigs has been going on for over two decades.

There is an ongoing debate about the ethics of creating such "chimeras." Still, replacement of human heart valves with pig valves or cow cardiac tissue is already widespread.

Onion News Network breakfast show Today Now! gives advice from author Melissa Donnelly on sparking up the relationship with your cat.

Hint: Watch for additional tips from her book displayed in the footer.

"When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a U.S. nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim reaper or four-legged angel of death.

But Dr. David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively."

Jennifer Smith and Dr. Kay Holekamp of Michigan State bring us cute photos of hyena cubs.

Their research (click names) on the social behavior of the Spotted Hyena is worth reading.

The BBC reports on the spread of Chinese tiger-farms, now estimated to contain more tigers than currently in the wild. The farms are popular destinations for tourists, but allegedly contain wineries in which the bones of dead animals are steeped to produce tiger bone wine.

As international law forbids the sale of tiger products, lion bones are often used - their price has reportedly risen 30-fold in the past two years.

The BBC reports that like humans, gorillas play competitive games - even making the game fairer for those of lesser ability.

Dr Joanne Tanner and Professor Richard Byrne of the University of St Andrews performed the research, published in Animal Cognition.

The Financial Times has an intriguing report on Moscow’s 35,000 stray dogs.

A four-year-old otter named Mo from Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire has started to climb trees. Mammal Manager John Crooks believes the behaviour may be a reaction to overcrowding from her younger sisters and seven-year-old mother Flo.

Mo began climbing at Christmas, and has ventured progressively higher over the past month. While the activity is not completely unheard of among otters, it has not been seen before at Slimbridge. [story tip: Kenoscope]