Animals

11/5 12:03 PM PT -- Tika’s owner Thomas Shapiro tells TMZ ... "Tika had just wrapped what would be her final Fashion Week and PetCon appearances, and the family had planned to retire her so she could enjoy her relaxed final year at home.  Even though they had consulted with some of the best medicical professionals in the country, it was her time to go."

Tika the Iggy, an Italian greyhound with a fashion sense and a huge internet following, is dead.

Tika's owner, Thomas Shapiro, announced her death Tuesday in a heartbreaking social media post.

Shapiro says Tika had two tumors in her liver and they had surgery to remove them -- on the advice of veterinarians -- and things seemed like they were going well.

If you’re a fan of monkeys, proceed with caution ... there's now video showing the moment an escaped monkey in Mississippi was shot at in a private backyard Sunday.

Check out the clip ... you can see the moment a monkey falls from its perch under an eave of a house after a woman -- fearing for her children -- gunned it down after discovering it in her backyard. Video shows authorities then carrying its body away by the tail.

We've been covering the story ... a truck carrying 21 Rhesus macaques overturned last Tuesday ... 13 were gathered up by authorities after the incident, while 5 were shot and killed by a deputy on the scene ... after he was mistakenly informed the monkeys were infected with COVID, herpes and hepatitis C. Three escaped.

Jessica Bond Ferguson -- the mom who shot and killed an escaped monkey Sunday to protect her kids -- wishes the whole thing never happened ... she told TMZ.

The mother of 5 told us, "I wish it didn't have to happen that way. I just wish they took better measures in taking care of it and trying to find them."

As you know ... a truck carrying Rhesus monkeys from a research center overturned in rural Mississippi last week -- 21 monkeys onboard nearly escaped the vehicle.

A "tight-knit" community in Wales was left heartbroken by tragedy Sunday when a 9-month-old baby was reportedly attacked and killed by a dog.

BBC News reports the child was killed in the village of Rogiet in southeast Wales Sunday around 6 PM local time. The dog was seized and removed from the property ... Gwent Police did not immediately release the breed of the dog. No arrests have been made.

According to the outlet, the "quiet community" is standing together through the profound sense of loss over the shocking tragedy. A local cafe called Rogiet Community Junction has become a much-needed source of comfort for those who need it.

One of the escaped monkeys in Mississippi was shot and killed Sunday morning by a mom who told the Associated Press she feared for the safety of her children.

The AP reports Jessica Bond Ferguson -- a mother-of-five living in Heidelberg, Mississippi -- was alerted to a monkey running in the yard outside their home by her 16-year-old son this morning ... and, when she looked, she says the monkey was just 60 feet from her home.

Ferguson told the outlet she fired her gun ... “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children. I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that's when he fell.”

In what authorities reportedly called a 2-part attack, wild elephants broke a man's legs in Malaysia ... then later came back and trampled him to death.

According to local news outlet, The Vibes, Saidi Jahari, 43, was working at a logging site in the Gua Musang district of the country at the time of the incident. The news outlet reports elephants attacked the logging site, injuring Saidi while the five other loggers were able to escape into the woods.

Following the attack, Saidi's coworkers brought him inside their communal house for protection as he nursed his two broken legs.

Elon Musk isn't worried about autonomous vehicles messing with people's pets ... because he just claimed they'll actually make animals' lives safer.

ICYMI ... driverless vehicles have been hitting some PR potholes lately -- especially after a bodega cat named KitKat was killed by a Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco on Monday.

There was an outpouring of support from residents of the Mission District after the beloved feline's death.

Nearly 3 days after a truck crashed in Mississippi and unleashed a group of lab monkeys into the wild, cops were tipped off on a possible sighting -- but hold your bananas, 'cause no monkeys have been found!

Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson tells TMZ ... an individual called in Thursday night reporting a monkey sighting around the apartments on Country Road 828 near Heidelberg in Jasper County.

But, when the search team arrived, there was no monkey swinging around.

The otters at Oregon Zoo were flippin' out -- dunking, dribbling, and flexing skills that might just have the NBA sweating ... and TBH, their game is pretty legit!

The zoo in Portland just dropped an IG clip of their star players -- Lincoln, Juno, and Sushi -- three sea otters casually slam-dunking jack-o’-lanterns like it was the playoffs ... and as you can see, they were total show-boaters.

The trio was launching out of the water, slamming pumpkins like pros -- they were rewarded with fishy treats -- and even nailing a worthy aerial that's straight-up epic!

According to the zoo, the otters aren’t just clowning around ... dunking’s part of their training. Usually it’s basketballs, but this time pumpkins -- seasonally appropriate -- all to keep 'em moving and keeping those little joints in top shape.

San Francisco is reeling after the loss of one of its most beloved bodega cats ... a community fixture who, according to his owner, was tragically struck and killed by a Waymo self-driving car.

KitKat -- the resident feline at Randa’s Market in the Mission District -- was reportedly hit by a driverless Waymo late Monday. A local resident told Mission Local he was driving down the street when he saw the Waymo suddenly swerve ... and people on the sidewalk started shouting and grabbed the cat as the Waymo drove off.

A 311 city complaint stated KitKat was near the store, sitting on the sidewalk next to the transit lane when he was struck -- and the self-driving taxi “did not even try to stop.”

Okay, folks, let's get down to business ... some serious -- and literal -- monkey business!

You might've heard about a bunch of primates getting loose after a truck accident on a highway in the South ... and you might've even learned about some serious diseases they were reportedly carrying ... because we had the scoop on it all!

Here's an overview of how the situation got so hairy ... and what to do if you come face-to-face with one of the escaped monkeys.

The mystery behind why five monkeys were killed by police after a truck carrying the primates overturned in Mississippi has been solved -- and TMZ has the full scoop!

Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson tells us ... he contacted one of his deputies who responded to Tuesday's truck accident along a highway in rural Heidelberg, and he asked the deputy what kind of threat the monkeys pose to the public.

Johnson said the deputy had the 2 truck occupants contact their supervisor -- who warned the cargo contained 21 test monkeys infected with COVID, herpes, and hepatitis C -- and, as a result, they needed to be handled with protective gear.

Mississippi’s got one wild situation -- a hostile STD-carrying monkey busted loose from a large trailer truck hauling primates after the semi flipped over on a highway, according to police.

The wreck went down Tuesday in Heidelberg, where the truck, containing several monkeys infected with hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID, crashed en route from Tulane University to a Florida testing lab.

Witnesses shot camera footage that captured the monkey climbing out of the trailer and wandering around in a rural area. Cops say six monkeys made a break for it -- but five have been destroyed, and one’s still on the loose.

A Saudi Airlines jet was turned into a bloody mess after it was hit with a massive bird strike ... which damaged the nose of the aircraft.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, Saudi Airlines flight SV340 hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers Saturday.

While the strike damaged the nose cone of the Boeing 777-300, the plane continued to its destination and landed safely at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

1 PM PT -- The former professional dog-sitter who lost her job at Rover.com has now been kicked off her jiu-jitsu club.

Miami's Fight Sports Club tells TMZ they just learned of the incident, and said both the pet-sitter and her boyfriend have been banned from the team.

The academy said ... "We are very sad and deeply sorry for this situation. ... We want to make it clear that we have no involvement or responsibility for anyone’s personal life or business outside the academy. Fight Sports stands for truth, values, and integrity, and we will always take action when something goes against those principles."

The HGTV couple who say their dog was killed while supposedly in the care of a professional pet-sitter is demanding accountability ... and, they're thinking about ways they can redefine the legal status of dogs in Florida.

We spoke with Eilyn and Ray Jimenez -- best known for starring in the hit reality show "Divided by Design" -- on "TMZ Live" Friday ... and, they ran through the events surrounding their dog's death, which they previously laid out on social media.

ICYMI ... Eilyn and Ray were told their dog Aria -- a 12-year-old Shih Tzu -- died of a heart attack while in the care of a pet-sitter while they were out of town for 2 days. However, they said they learned from the cremation center where their dog was taken before they got home that their pup was actually killed by another dog.

Katherine Schwarzenegger is heartbroken over the loss of her beloved horse, Cinco ... sharing a flood of pics on IG, honoring their 20+ years together.

In her Tuesday post, Katherine wrote a heartfelt caption ... saying goodbye to a pet is never easy, especially one who’d been part of every chapter of her life -- even sizing up Chris Pratt on the now-married couple's very first date.

Katherine shared Cinco had been with her since she was 11 ... she’d do homework in the stalls -- her safe haven -- and lean on him through heartbreaks, first loves, worries, and every major life moment in between.