This is a Plum TV video of the girls who photographed the "Montauk Monster," the corpse of indeterminate species that washed ashore in the posh Hamptons. The ladies are clearly gunning for a movie of the week, or at least their very own Cardiff Giant. Gawker has been keeping up a breathless commentary from the start. So, assuming it's a real beast, what do you think it is: racoon, dog, cat, or chupacabra? Here's the photo:

Drudge had this item from WCBS TV of a 44-pound cat who was rescued from the street by an animal shelter. There are indications (like the fact that she weighs FORTY-FOUR POUNDS) that she had a home until recently, but there was no collar.

That owner is going to be mighty surprised when she starts making the talk show rounds with the shelter staff, as she's scheduled to do this week. Her caretakers have nicknamed her "Princess Chunk" and put her on a diet.

Meanwhile, in Indiana, a family has found Jesus . . . in their cat's fur. Check out the video and be the judge of whether or not the cat's fur pattern is a sign from God. (Although isn't finding patterns in a TABBY's fur cheating? They're like furry, walking Rorschach tests.)

On our first day of vacation last week, we got off the highway and stopped off at the WDST station to appear on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," hosted by the utterly charming Neal Conan. The subject: "No Expense Spared on Nation's Pets," a subject we talked about in this Salon story.

It was our first-ever radio experience and so pleasant. Here's why: The engineer was super nice. Our co-subject, Jon Katz, who's written a bunch of books and Slate columns and other fancy things later invited us to visit the famous Bedlam Farm if we're ever in the neighborhood.

The Berlin Zoo is in trouble yet again. Spiegel Online reports that the zoo director, Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, had a goat from the petting zoo killed and fed to the zoo's wolves - in front of families visiting the zoo.

Or, as Der Spiegel rather dramatically put it: At the Berlin Zoo, it's a short distance between the petting zoo and the wolves' habitat. But it can apparently also be the distance between being lovingly caressed by children and being dismembered by bloodthirsty predators.

PETA is stirring up controversy within its ranks by offering $1 million for the first person who can create a decent fake meat in vitro, reports the New York Times.

According to the story: New Harvest, a nonprofit organization formed to promote the field, says on its Web site, "Because meat substitutes are produced under controlled conditions impossible to maintain in traditional animal farms, they can be safer, more nutritious, less polluting and more humane than conventional meat."

Sounds like a good idea to us. The current state of tofurkey and fake bacon is not all that impressive. But according to a PETA member, the decision created "a near civil war in our office," because so many animal-rights activists don't believe in eating animal tissue even if no animals were killed to provide it.

This reminds us of someone we knew who for Thanksgiving one year constructed a turkey out of tofu to serve to his southern in-laws. (The guests took one look at it and ordered out KFC.)

A local radio morning show has a special segment titled "Ryan's Roses." Basically, a woman who suspects her significant other is cheating calls into the station and asks Ryan Seacrest to have someone call her love interest and offer him a free dozen roses. The man is then asked who he would like to send the free roses to. More often than not, the man ends up sending the roses to his mistress...unknowingly spilling the beans about his affair.

Each morning on my long drive to work, I get the pleasure of hearing a new story about an additional woman who is being lied to, cheated on, and humiliated on the airwaves of the Greater Los Angeles County.

Several experiences in my life, and in the lives of others has taught me one valuable lesson:

Monogamy is a social standard, NOT a biological one. Whether we would like to accept it or not, we are animals. We have hormones, testosterone, urges, libido, and temptations. We are a finicky bunch who seek new ways to appease our cravings for pleasure. With all these factors working against monogamy, it's hard to believe it's possible to be with one person for the rest of our lives.

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer single handily humiliated his wife and family when he was caught dilly dallying with hookers. And how could we ever forget Bill Clinton's scandal with Monica Lewinsky? A New York Times article titled "In Most Species, Faithfulness is a Fantasy" even mentions that cheating in the animal kingdom is the norm.

Interestingly enough, despite the fact that monogamy is not the norm, we all have a special little element of jealousy. That is how monogamy becomes a social expectation, rule, and standard. No one wants to think about their significant other doing he dirty with someone else. So we demand it doesn't happen, and punish those who do cheat. I talk about this a bit in the following video:

With all that said, I do not feel it's impossible to be completely faithful for eternity. I know I strive to be faithful to my love interest, and I know there are people out there who have been married for 50 plus years and have never cheated on their lover. But don't tell me they haven't thought about extramarital activities. One may love steak more than anything, but after eating it every day, suddenly chicken looks a lot better.

My writing this blog is also not any sort of justification for cheating, (especially when it comes to MY love interest.) If someone takes the ultimate plunge and decides to get married, I truly believe staying faithful should be an ultimate priority. However, my blog does serve as an explanation for why radio segments like "Ryan's Roses" have a lot of material to work with.

A couple of months ago, one of our two cats got sick. We took him to the vet and, before we knew it, we owed $1,300.

Almost every pet owner we know has a similar story about paying hundreds or thousands to save a pet, so we wrote an article about it that's up today on Salon: "What I wouldn't do for my cat: After shelling out $1,300 on a vet bill, I had to wonder: How much is too much to pay for your pet?"

Here's an excerpt:

On a site unfortunately titled "Thrifty Fun," there's a "urinary blockage in cats" thread describing our same predicament, although some of the cat owners in there have already spent thousands. Mixed in with the complaints is some boasting: "What can I say? I love my cat!" is a recurring theme. In a Yahoo chat room on the subject, one person trying to figure out how to help his cat without spending so much money is attacked from all sides. One poster tells him, "You obviously could not care less about your cat or you would get it the medical care that it needs."

My first volunteer is Rommel Santor or as we call him on the Sift Lucky760. Since Lucky is the blogger and I am merely milking his work, I sent Rommel a $25 gift certificate to Kiva.org so he can try his hand at Microloans.

Turning Foxes Into House Pets by Lucky760

Here is a 3 minute clip from NOVA about the experiment (which has been submitted to the Sift here):

A rather fascinating experiment that was started over half a century ago by geneticists in Siberia (at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk) has yielded some truly awe-inspiring results, including what can be considered indisputable proof of evolution.

The experiment accomplished in foxes what Mother Nature took thousands of years to do with wolves. It began with wild foxes that were captured and kept in captivity. Not surprisingly, most of them were very aggressive toward all humans. The experimenters selected only those which exhibited the least aggression and bred them.

This is essentially how the study continued for generation after generation of breeding over several decades. The foxes were never given much contact with any humans except for brief studies. After selecting 45,000 foxes over 35 generations, some amazing observations were made.

The foxes were not only more tame showing little to no aggression toward humans, the obvious intent of the study, but several physical changes started to happen: coats were no longer camouflaged, but had lots of different colors and even started having patterns in their fur; straight, pointy ears became floppy; legs became shorter; tails were no longer straight and long, but short and curly.

This is clearly reminiscent of the way wolves evolved into such a vast plethora of breeds that vary so greatly from one another, except this evolution occurred in only a few decades rather than the assumed several millennia it took to change wolves into dogs.

There has always been extreme debate over oil and gas drilling in Alaska. While some are convinced the drilling is making no negative effect on the environment and its inhabitants, others exist on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. The debate is understandable, and one must look at the facts.

The federal government is expected to begin sales of drilling leases in Alaska's Chukchi Sea. But it's not a big deal because they are only selling 30 MILLION ACRES of Alaskan sea in the name of oil. More importantly, most of this area is critical to the survival of polar bears.

However, environmentalists and Alaskan Natives cannot decide on whether or not to list polar bears under the endangered species act (ESA). The reason for this is because a conservative law-firm known as the Pacific Legal Foundation is ready to pounce and attack, "any arbitrary, unjustified ESA listing." A bitter court battle could possibly ensue.

Studies show that in recent decades the polar bear population has increased dramatically. There are estimates that as few as 5,000 polar bears existed in the 1950s. But keep in mind, that was a time when hunting polar bears was legal and acceptable. Now that polar bear hunting is regulated, as many as 25,000 polar bears exist. Unfortunately, we are still 60 percent below historic levels of polar bears.

U.S Geological Survey scientists say drilling 30 million acres of Alaskan sea will result in the loss of about two thirds of the world's polar bear population by 2050. In a letter to congress last week, a group of more than 600 scientists said, "Global warming is already causing serious damage to wildlife and ecosystems, and reliable projections call for significant additional damage and disruptions."

Legislative director for the Alaska Wilderness League, Kristin Miller, says the Mineral's Management Service has admitted there will be a substantial likelihood of oil spills in the Chukchi Sea. She adds that, "There is no proven method to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's broken sea ice, or even to reliably clean up a spill in open water."

I'm not exactly sure how anyone could think that drilling is not harmful to the environment. We obviously have to encounter the death of thousands of polar bears by the mid-century to be convinced. But even then, I doubt the federal government will care much. Coca-Cola better come up with another animal to feature in their winter ads!

Watch The Young Turks

A Michigan resident's beloved Jesus statue has been statue-napped! The culprits explain in a ransom note that the statue will be returned when its owners start cleaning up after their weiner dogs. Wasn't this an Encyclopedia Brown story?

Check out this viral video from the new movie Strange Wilderness. The plot outline: "With the ratings dropping for a wilderness-themed TV show, two animal fans go to the Andes in search of Bigfoot." Guaranteed: the laughing shark is already a co-worker's ring tone.

AZCentral.com reports that Buddy, a three-year-old Labrador retriever, ate his owner's two Superbowl tickets ($900 each). The story:

The mishap occurred Wednesday when Chris Gallagher requested that a courier leave the anticipated package under the doormat of his Avondale home.

The courier instead slipped the envelope under the front door.

Buddy accepted delivery.

He didn't sign, but he licked, mauled, chewed and swallowed portions of the coveted tickets.

The article goes on to say that the guy can get the tickets replaced, so the story seems a little sensationalized, especially with the photo they chose to run, in which the dog looks like he's just killed someone.

But it's a good excuse to swap stories. Has an animal ever destroyed something valuable to you?