Animals

Mark Longo -- who owned now-deceased Peanut the Squirrel -- has lawyered up and is demanding answers from the state of New York ... or at the very least an apology for what authorities put him through, claiming he's been targeted for harassment.

Peanut and Longo's pet raccoon Fred were taken from his Upstate New York home and killed on suspicion of having rabies back in October -- the house was raided over reports of harboring undomesticated animals, and an agent claimed the squirrel bit his finger during the search -- and Longo gives us the dirt on what's been going on the past 8 months ... spoiler: he says it's been a whole lotta bull.

Mark said there was supposed to be a vote in the New York State Assembly this week on "Peanut's Law" -- a bill that would help protect animal welfare, particularly critters in wildlife sanctuary care -- but instead, he says the bill is being stifled with no action allowed to advance it.

Hollywood is speaking out after the L.A. Zoo snuck out its two remaining Asian elephants Tina and Billy overnight on Tuesday -- avoiding any potential protesters amid fierce pressure to move them to a proper sanctuary rather than the Tulsa Zoo.

Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger both tell TMZ they believe the overnight transfer was "cowardly," with the former adding she is "devastated and outraged" by the "cruel" treatment of the beloved elephants.

Priscilla -- who has advocated for animal rights via Last Chance for Animals for nearly a decade -- says Billy and Tina "deserved freedom, space to roam, and the peace of a true sanctuary."

9:11 AM PT -- The L.A. Zoo has confirmed Billy and Tina the elephants have been "safely" transferred to the Tulsa Zoo despite fierce backlash over the move.

Contradictory to what critics argue, the zoo says in a statement Billy and Tina "will receive the same love and expert individualized care that they have had at the Los Angeles Zoo."

They also confirm Mayor Karen Bass inquired about having the elephants relocated to a sanctuary ... but after a "comprehensive evaluation" the decision to transfer the elephants to the Tulsa Zoo was "made with the health and well-being of the individual elephants as the top priority" -- plus a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its Elephant Species Survival Plan.

Cher is gonna be pissed! The beloved L.A. Zoo elephants she went to bat for -- Billy and Tina -- were secreted outta the zoo under the cover of darkness last night ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the L.A. Zoo tell us Billy and Tina were removed around 1:30 AM Tuesday and, presumably, loaded up to be shipped to Tulsa Zoo -- a controversial move that prompted protests, a lawsuit and an angry letter to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass ... which Cher and several other celebs signed.

We're told the elephant exhibit at L.A. Zoo was empty Tuesday morning -- no elephants, no keepers and the electric perimeter fence was off ... clear indications the animals were on their way to Oklahoma.

Cher is using her starpower for the good of Los Angeles' beloved zoo elephants Tina and Billy again ... signing a letter sent to Mayor Karen Bass to demand the beloved creatures be transferred from the L.A. Zoo to a sanctuary -- and not to the Tulsa, Oklahoma zoo as planned.

Cher appears on the list signed by several celebs -- such as Alicia Silverstone, Diane Warren, Katherine Heigl, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Justin Theroux -- that was delivered to L.A.'s mayor Monday to advocate for the health and well-being of the zoo's longtime resident elephants.

The letter argues the arranged transfer of Billy and Tina to Tulsa to join five other Asian elephants will only worsen their suffering, and that they deserve to be released to a proper elephant sanctuary so they can "live their twilight years with liberty and dignity."

"Barehand" and "clean-up" took on whole new meanings at one Minor League Baseball stadium over the weekend ... as a team staffer had to scoop up a bat dog's poop -- with no gloves on!!

It all happened at Atrium Health Ballpark on Sunday ... when the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers were taking on the Carolina Mudcats.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Cannon Ballers' de facto mascot had a bathroom emergency just feet away from home plate ... and a stadium employee was unfortunately given the unenviable assignment of getting it out of the dirt.

There's a lot to celebrate in the Ohtani household ... 'cause Shohei's famous pooch, Decoy, has made another trip around the sun ... and the Dodgers superstar commemorated the big birthday with an adorable tribute!!

The three-time MVP -- who has quite the stuffed trophy case -- gave his four-legged friend some hardware of his own ... by gifting him a "Most Valuable Dog" plaque.

Decoy also got flowers and a number two balloon for his little pawty. We didn't see any treats ... but with Ohtani's $700 million contract, we're sure he was able to splurge a bit.

That Mexican OT showed he's fearless enough to pull off his own stunts -- by going head-to-head with a charging bull and walking away with all his limbs!!!

The Texas rapper took center ring as the special guest at Ultimate Bullfighters' Midnight Bullfight on Saturday in Ft. Worth, and tested his reflexes against one massive animal.

The "Johnny Dang" rapper was all smiles -- even when the bull was trying to gut him from the inside out. Thank goodness for his protective vest!!!

Cher’s stepping up for the L.A. Zoo elephants, saying they’ve been through enough -- and while their reported Oklahoma move might offer more space, a zoo’s still a cage ... just with a bigger backyard.

The icon, who’s been fighting for Billy, Tina, and other animals for years, didn’t miss a beat when L.A. resident John Kelly sued to block their move to Tulsa Zoo -- she jumped in with a declaration backing their freedom, saying a sanctuary, not another zoo, is where they belong.

In her declaration to the L.A. County Superior Court, Cher said the elephants have done their time in confinement -- now they deserve a shot at peace and dignity.

From leashes to limelight, stars and their scene-stealing sidekicks are always serving paws and applause -- and TMZ's got the ultimate reel to prove it!

We’ve rounded up the wildest tail-wagging moments -- from Glenn Close’s pup causing pure NYC chaos to a pooch at LAX sniffing out Mel Gibson and literally barking in for a TMZ exclusive.

One bold bull was fed up with walking -- hijacking a scooter outside a shop and taking off on a wild joyride through the streets of India like he owned the place.

It’s one thing to read about it, but seeing is believing -- CCTV footage shows the moment this bovine badass, strolling through Rishikesh, India, earlier this month, locked eyes on a white scooter ... and hopped on like he was born to ride.

This bull didn’t just hop on ... he got comfy, planted his head on the handlebars, and started scooting across the road -- looks like he's definitely done this before!

Jon Jones is at the top of everyone's list of 100 dudes who could join forces to take down a gorilla ... so what's his take on the whole debate??

Pray for the gorilla.

TMZ Sports caught up with the UFC superstar at LAX this week ... and we had to ask with so many social media users throwing his name around, how does he feel he'd fare against a silverback??

Animal rights activist Varun Virlan says he's horrified at a video that has gone viral -- showing a woman seasoning and then air-frying two crabs while they were still alive!

ICYMI ... a TikToker posted a cooking video last week showing how she prepared a dish featuring blue crabs -- she seasons some potatoes and corn, then the live crustaceans themselves, before placing them, still alive, in a glass-bottom air-fryer and cooking them for 15 minutes, with the camera showing their demise.

We spoke to the Virlan, the digital media director of Animal Save Movement, who says videos like these are exactly the problem with how crabs are excluded from being considered protected animals -- like dogs, cats, horses -- and are seen more like vegetables than animals.

It seems Rocket Raccoon's fallen on hard times ... 'cause instead of saving the Marvel Universe, he's smoking meth in Ohio -- or, at least a raccoon that looks like him is.

Body cam footage from in Springfield Township, Ohio Monday evening is going viral after an officer pulled a woman over and told her she had a warrant out for her arrest.

After putting her in cuffs, he goes back to the car ... and finds a raccoon sitting in the front seat -- hands wrapped around a glass cylinder.

There will be no Triple Crown winner this year -- Sovereignty, the big star of the Kentucky Derby, will NOT compete in the Preakness later this month.

Race officials stated Tuesday they received word from trainer Bill Mott that the three-year-old colt would shift its focus to the Belmont Stakes.

"We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision," Mike Rogers, VP of 1/ST, said. "We continue to see the excitement building toward the milestone celebration of the 150th Preakness Stakes, and we look forward to an incredible weekend of world-class racing and entertainment."

A top primatologist is trying to bring some reason into the hundred men vs one gorilla debate ... explaining the main reason why a fight like this wouldn't go down -- and arguing this paints these beautiful creatures in a bad light.

We spoke with Michael Stern -- a Harvard-trained primatologist with decades of experience studying gorillas both in captivity and in the wild in Uganda -- and, he tells us the main reason this debate is so silly is because one gorilla would look around, see it was outnumbered and take off.

Stern says this is the equivalent of asking if a unicorn could take down a dinosaur -- or if a shark with a laser beam could blow up a submarine!