Animals

Jimmy Kimmel's honoring his late pal Cleto Escobedo by raising some money for worth causes ... setting up a pair of fundraisers in his honor.

The talk show host revealed the plan on Instagram Friday ... telling fans the late musician was always eager to help others -- and, to mourn his loss, they've started two fundraisers to follow up his good works.

The first cause, Kimmel says, is the UCLA Medical Center where Cleto received a ton of amazing care need the end of his life ... while the other is The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas -- Cleto's hometown -- in recognition of his love of animals.

Guests at the Indianapolis Zoo got a bit more than they bargained for on Friday morning ... because a chimpanzee escaped its enclosure.

The Indianapolis Zoo's senior vice president of external relations, Jake Oakman, told WTHR-TV a female chimpanzee was seen outside of the International Chimpanzee Complex at around 10 in the morning.

He said the zoo locked down and guests were escorted to safe locations.

The errant chimpanzee didn't make it off zoo property ... it was located and sedated returned to the complex.

No guests were injured, and the zoo reopened at noon.

Oakman said staff and security had been prepped for similar situations, and he said they "responded in a textbook and professional manner."

Jeff Goldblum's role as The Wizard of Oz not only changed his legacy, it changed his diet ... the Hollywood legend stopped eating meat and poultry after filming.

The 73-year-old Oscar-nominated actor revealed the news Monday on the British daytime show "This Morning."

Citing the character's cruelty to animals in the film, he said he made the decision to make a conscientious switch IRL. Goldblum told the hosts ... "I'm happy. We need the world to work for everybody on Earth and every creature, too."

Sometimes you flip the bird, sometimes the bird flips you -- almost -- as a German cop found out while rescuing an angry swan from a busy road recently.

According to local media outlet Sudwestrundfunk, the bird-brained subject was reported to be darting in and out of traffic, making the road extremely dangerous for drivers ... and itself.

In a viral video, the policewoman can be seen stepping in to save the swan from the precarious situation, but the waterfowl wasn't having it. Still, the hissing and menacing posturing didn't deter the officer from her swan song.

The single mother who fatally shot one of the escaped monkeys in her Mississippi back yard did nothing wrong despite the primate showing no signs of aggression, according to Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson.

Sheriff Johnson tells TMZ ...  he does not believe the woman who pulled the trigger -- Jessica Bond Ferguson -- broke any laws even though the primate was just minding its own business while hanging out in her backyard.

Video shows the monkey falling to the ground from its perch after getting hit with a single gunshot fired by Ferguson.

Dave Portnoy is calling out Tom Brady … after the NFL legend revealed his new dog, Junie, is actually a clone of his late pooch, Lua.

ICYMI … on Tuesday, Brady said he partnered with Colossal Biosciences -- a biotech company he invests in -- to clone Lua through a blood sample collected before she passed.

Brady originally shared Lua with his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen ... and nearly two years after Lua’s death, Junie entered the picture -- looking similar to the OG pooch.

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.”