Animals

Dean Karnazes -- a famous ultramarathon athlete -- was terrifyingly attacked by a coyote during a run on a California trail this month ... and the incident was so bad, it left him with a bloody face.

The 59-year-old went into detail about the encounter in an IG video ... saying he was running in Marin Headlands when a coyote ambushed him.

"I just had something rather terrifying happen," Karnazes said. "I'm out on a 150-mile trail run and I got attacked by a coyote."

"That's a first. It knocked me over and thankfully I'm running with poles so I whacked it and it ran away."

But, Karnazes did suffer injuries ... you can see in his selfie video he had blood all over his mouth, chin and shirt.

"Not sure what I’m gonna do," he said in the clip. "I guess I gotta keep going or else it'll probably come back for me."

After the experience, Karnazes -- who has won the Badwater Ultramarathon and Vermont Trail 10 Mile Endurance Run -- advised people to stop feeding coyotes on the trail, with the hopes it'll keep the wild animals further away from runners.

"If you see someone feeding a coyote, please say something," Karnazes said.

"The local Rangers are doing the best they can, but we trail runners are out in these areas more than anyone. Thank you. It's best for everyone, coyotes included. #letwildlifebewild"

FYI, this ain't the first time Karnazes has been attacked by a wild animal -- he also said on his social media page that he's had a scary run-in with a shark in the past as well.

"I've been attacked by a shark, and now a coyote," he said. "Both incidents were terrifying."

Karnazes has competed in several running and swimming events throughout his career -- in fact, he swam across the San Francisco Bay and ran a marathon in every state in the U.S. for 50 consecutive days in 2006.

He's also a columnist for Men's Health and the author of "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner."

Anne Heche's death came just before the release of her final movie, and the director tells us he's dedicating the film to her.

The film is "Wildfire: The Legend of The Cherokee Ghost Horse" ... director Eric Parkinson tells TMZ he's adding an "In Memoriam" as the movie's final shot, right before the final credits.

Eric tells us Anne was superb in the movie, which started filming back in 2019 before being delayed by the pandemic, and the entire cast and crew are devastated by her death.

Anne plays a rodeo trainer in the film, and Eric says during negotiations to hire her for the role, her agent cautioned she was not an experienced rider, so producers decided they needed a stunt double for some barrel racing scenes.

The plan for those riding scenes, we're told, was for Anne to slowly ride up on the horse and then cut to the stunt double ... but once they were on location in Oklahoma, Anne surprised everyone.

We're told Anne politely asked the stunt double to get off the horse, then climbed in the saddle and told Eric to roll ... and that's when she took off on the horse in a full gallop, executing the barrel turn and racing to the finish in record time.

Shocked, Eric says he went up to Anne and told her what her agent said about her not being an experienced rider ... to which Anne responded, "I'm not ... but my character is a champ!"

A famous walrus in Norway has been killed after the government there thought it was getting a little too close for comfort when it came to human contact.

The Director General at the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries announced Sunday that Freya -- the 1,300 pound walrus in question -- was euthanized after officials deemed its habits of approaching humans and their boats were becoming too dangerous and a risk to the public.

Frank Bakke-Jensen, the honcho, says, "The decision to euthanize the walrus was made based on an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety."

Freya made a splash this summer after flopping itself into boats near the Oslo Fjord -- where they'd often be docked. In some cases, she partially sank the vessels ... and in others, she was able to catch a little tan in the sun, minding her own business as people looked on.

It might be those same people who are to blame for this, so say Norwegian officials. Their rationale to putting the animal down has been chalked up to the massive crowds that would form around Freya whenever she'd come near -- which is rare for walruses.

Spectators would approach and take selfies, something the government says was towing the line of potential harm -- and which caused officials to warn everyone to stay away.

PETA is putting Zac Efron on BLAST after appearing in an ad campaign with a bear that has spent its entire life in captivity.

The org is urging Zac to "come down to Earth" and recognize that bears belong with their families, not on screen ... according to Debbie Metzler, PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare.

She thinks Zac, who's been named Chief Brand Officer for Kodiak Cakes, forgot to ask Tank the bear an important question in his latest ad for the company -- "How wrong is it to use a captive bear to promote 'keeping bears wild'?"

BTW -- 27-year-old Tank was born in captivity and was taken from a breeder at just 6 weeks old ... he was featured on the Discovery+ Show, "Man Vs. Bear."

Kodiak Cakes is running a limited-time collab with Zac, where a dollar-for-dollar match of their "Keep It Wild" merch will go directly to the Vital Ground Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the preservation of wild grizzly bear habitats.

PETA, however, clapped back at the promo saying ... “It’s hypocritical to exploit one animal to potentially help another. No true conservation group would ever force captive animals to perform tricks for the camera in order to raise awareness about their wild counterparts.”

Tragic news for the Houston Cougars community -- the university's live mascot, Shasta VI, has passed away after suffering from an illness. He was 10 years old.

The school shared the devastating statement just minutes ago ... saying, "We are sad to announce that Shasta VI passed away on Thursday, August 4 after a brief and sudden illness."

"He represented the spirit and tenacity of UH's students and alumni, and personified the resilience and strength of the University."

Shasta VI was the school's first live mascot since 1989 ... and was rescued and adopted as a cub back in 2011 after his mother was shot and killed in Washington.

Shasta lived at the Houston Zoo ... and was a fan favorite among Cougars fans.

Shasta -- the school's first male live mascot -- attended many important university events via webcam.

A group of pigs were pronounced dead for hours as part of a study .... and then, incredibly, scientists got it beating again!

The implications here are staggering for humans ... being able, potentially, to regenerate what is essentially a dead heart and bring people back to life.

Researchers from Yale began pumping synthetic fluids through the bodies of dead pigs, finding their hearts began to faintly beat ...  according to a peer-reviewed study published by Nature.

The team used 2 systems for its test -- the first group of pigs got OrganEx, a device that resembles heart-lung machines ... they also got an experimental mixture of fluids that are supposed to reduce inflammation and provide cellular health.

Some motor function also returned -- the head and neck of some of the dead pigs began to move ... something that shocked everyone. The movements appeared involuntary.

Forget hats and hidden T-shirts ... top high school football recruit Aidan Mizell just changed the college commitment game forever -- bringing out live gators to announce his college choice!!!

The four-star wide receiver, who plays his H.S. ball in Orlando, officially pledged to the Univ. of Florida on Friday -- and he did it in arguably the most memorable way ever.

The wideout -- who was down to Florida, Tennessee and Alabama -- walked behind a curtain ... and then carried out two live alligators to reveal he's headed to Gainseville in 2023.

The crowd went crazy ... cheering as he walked to the podium with the reptiles in his arms.

Don't worry -- Mizell's very valuable hands were safe during the announcement ... the gators had small pieces of tape wrapped around their jaws so they wouldn't be able to bite him.

Kevin Love's honeymoon in Africa just took a WILD turn -- the NBA star watched lions hunt down a wildebeest ... and then saw them completely devour it from limb to limb!

Love, who's with his model wife, Kate Bock, in Tanzania celebrating their recent nuptials, shared video of the scene on Friday morning ... and, warning, it's pretty graphic.

In the footage, you can see a group of lions snacking on their prey -- all while Love recorded just feet away in a vehicle.

"We were told it’s very rare (and lucky) to see a kill play out in front of your eyes from start to finish," Love said, before adding, "It’s an ugly and yet beautiful game out there."

Love and Bock have been in Africa for a few days now, and the two seem to be thrilled with their experience so far.

The couple has been spotted watching elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals, all while enjoying some food and drink.

"This place is everything we dreamed of & more," Bock said. "The views, the animals, the light, the warm people, the adventure, the wildness…. Tanzania, you’re something special."

Monkeys are terrorizing residents in a Japanese city ... targeting young children and babies, and even hanging out at preschools to grab them.

The wild scene is playing out in the city of Yamaguchi in southwestern Japan, where city officials say a troop of monkeys has been carrying out the attacks since July 8 ... biting and clawing at human flesh, and sneaking into nurseries to try and snatch babies.

It's a huge problem ... the attacks involve at least 58 people, and the city is responding by hiring a special unit to hunt the monkeys with tranquilizers, with a 15-pound monkey already being caught and killed.

The story gets even weirder ... officials say the monkeys aren't interested in food, so traps aren't working, and they're mostly going after children and the elderly, often sneaking up from behind and grabbing people's legs.

The attacks include an assault on a woman while she was hanging laundry on her veranda, and there are images of monkeys peering through windows and loitering outside schools.

Japanese macaques are the monkeys behind the attacks, which are sending folks to the hospital in droves.

A standard grooming appointment at a PetSmart turned into an emergency crisis -- one that resulted in the death of a pooch ... according to a new lawsuit.

AJ Ross is suing the pet store retailer over the 2020 death of her poodle, Kobe -- which happened after she dropped off her pooch for a nail clipping at a PetSmart in Pittsburgh, PA.

In the lawsuit, she lays blame directly at the feet of the store's employees -- and adds, the store's own surveillance video is the most compelling evidence supporting her case.

The footage is tough to watch. You see Ross drop the dog off with the staff, having already placed a muzzle on its mouth, and then leave. The workers then take it to the back and lift it onto a table.

That's where things get wild ... it appears the employees put 2 different harnesses around Kobe's neck -- one from the top and one from the bottom -- seemingly to keep the dog in place while they try to work on its paws.

Kobe thrashes around, and they eventually tip the poodle over on its side for easier access ... at least that's what Ross claims in her suit.

Soon enough, the dog goes limp and the workers try waking it up, to no avail. Ross says when she returned a mere 10 minutes later, she discovered her dog was dead -- and she believes the way the PetSmart employees harnessed Kobe during the nail clipping caused the dog to lose consciousness and die.

According to documents, Ashley claims PetSmart has allowed this to happen to other pets over the years -- upwards of 47 have allegedly been killed by PetSmart groomers since 2009 -- and now she wants damages.

A rep for PetSmart tells TMZ ... "All of us are heartbroken by and truly sorry for the loss of Kobe. Following this terrible accident in 2020, we immediately launched an internal investigation and cooperated with the authorities involved. In response, we terminated the associates who violated our pet safety policies and did not meet our high standards of care."

Martha Stewart sure knows how to set the mood -- but the one she went for with this sad announcement might be ... a little off.

The famed home-life guru made news Saturday by revealing several of her peacocks had gotten murdered by wild coyotes at one of her farms -- presumably the one she has in upstate NY ... an attack that apparently happened in broad daylight.

MS writes, "RIP beautiful BlueBoy. The coyotes came in broad daylight and devoured him and five others including the magnificent White Boy any solutions for getting rid of six large and aggressive coyotes who have expensive tastes when it comes to poultry??"

She goes on to explain she's no longer gonna let her peacocks -- of which she has upwards of 21, as she's previously explained -- roam outside of their enclosed yard. Martha also says they're going to add wire fencing to the top of their pen area to avoid more episodes.

Like we said ... definitely a sucky update. And while we're sure Martha is devastated -- she sorta suggested the opposite with the music she set her IG post to ... namely, Marvin Gaye.

Terrifying scene out on the open waters near Florida on Sunday ... a shark bit off a fisherman's finger -- and, WARNING, video of the incident is graphic.

The attack went down in the Content Keys -- just a few miles south of Miami -- when Brett Reeder was attempting to corral a 6-foot lemon shark that he had just hooked.

As Reeder went down to grab the beast and get his tool out of the fish's gills -- it suddenly turned and chomped down on his hand.

You can see in video of the bite -- which, again, is VERY graphic -- blood spilled everywhere ... 'causing Reeder to yell out, "F***! I lost my goddamn pinky! F***!"

Brett, according to a follow-up video posted by his wife, Mandy, had to drive the boat all the way back to shore following the bite -- while bleeding profusely.

Brett eventually made it back to land, and was immediately airlifted to the hospital. He underwent surgery upon arrival.

It's unclear if docs were able to save Brett's pinky in the operation -- the fisherman said in Thursday's follow-up video they'll find out the official results of the surgery later this week.

'Black Ink' star Ceaser Emanuel has turned himself in to authorities in connection to animal cruelty charges ... just weeks after a video showing him abusing a dog went viral.

A spokesperson for the City of South Fulton PD in Georgia tells TMZ Emanuel turned himself in ... jail records show Emanuel is facing two misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty and one felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Ceaser was fired from "Black Ink Crew" shortly after the video -- which shows him beating a dog with a metal chair -- surfaced online. Emanuel's attorney says the video was recorded during COVID lockdown and possibly leaked by an ex-GF who had it out for Emanuel.

Cops have not yet confirmed if the charges are in connection to the abuse video, but we know investigators from South Fulton were looking into the incident ... so it likely lines up.

Of course, whether it was leaked or not, there's no excuse for abusing an animal ... but Ceaser insists the video doesn't reflect his true self -- telling us he was only trying to break up a fight between his animals.

Since the video was recorded, Ceaser tells us he no longer owns one of the dogs, it was given to a friend.

Cesar Millan found himself in the doghouse for having his pooches on a beach pier ... and now cops are using the celeb animal trainer as an example of what NOT to do when visiting the area.

The Redondo Beach PD took to Instagram to let followers know Cesar was recently given a warning for having his dogs on the pier. Lucky for all involved, cops say Cesar was quick to comply ... even snapping a smiley pic with officers, which they included in the post.

The caption continues with a warning for anyone else who might wanna take their pets for a stroll in the area, "We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that dogs are not allowed on the Redondo Beach Pier! Not even the dog whisperer."

Redondo Beach PD thanked Cesar for his understanding, and you gotta imagine, the post will likely lead to fewer people bringing their animals on the pier.

Tragic news for the Baylor community -- the university's live bear mascot, Judge Joy Reynolds, has died. She was 21 years old.

Joy -- who has been in the Baylor family since she was 4 months old -- passed away peacefully surrounded by her caregivers, staff and veterinary team, the school announced.

"One of Baylor’s treasured North American Black Bears, Joy will forever be remembered as an enduring symbol of Baylor’s spirit and tradition," the university said Monday ... adding the bear will be honored with a memorial on campus.

Joy -- who was named after wife of former Baylor president, Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds -- is survived by her sister, Lady, and brother, an animal actor in California. She was predeceased by an older brother.

Joy was beloved in Waco -- she was a big supporter of the Bears and participated in many charitable activities. In fact, she is also credited alongside Lady with being the first live mascots to ever post on Twitter, thanks to a "paw-friendly" app mounted inside their habitat.

The school says a memorial will be held for Joy when students return to campus in the fall.

A rambunctious emu that lives on a farm in Florida won't let his owner film any TikToks -- a hilarious back-and-forth that has taken the internet by storm ... and for good reason.

The bird's name is Emmanuel, a resident of Knuckle Bump Farms in South Florida -- where one of the workers, a female, has time and again tried educating the public about their animals and work there ... only to be interrupted by Emmanuel's long stride and fierce peck.

Check it out ... somebody got a little compilation together from the farm's TikTok account, and they may as well be Emmanuel's highlights -- because he steals the show every time.

The camera person gets pestered each time, scolding Emmanuel for once again foiling her plans to film an informative TikTok -- but you can tell it's part of the gag ... the real content is Emmanuel's antics, which are freaking gold.

Each time he walks by her phone, he seems dumbfounded by the device -- and goes in for a closer look, often knocking the entire thing down onto the ground and staring in. As the owner puts it, Emmanuel wakes up and chooses violence ... to her bewilderment.

BTW, it seems there are other animals at Knuckle Bump that like to be disrupters just as much as Emmanuel. There's Ellen, his apparent sister, and Princess the deer ... who bites.