A Seattle choir director says the only thing whales ever hear from humans is noise. So Fred West took his choir out into Puget Sound along with some underwater speakers to serenade the gigantic sea mammals. During the performance, a dozen Orcas responded by jumping in the air around the boat. West says the whales' favorite song appears to be "Amazing Grace."

LESS-EXOTIC NEW YORK

You won't see any elephants on leashes in New York's Central Park. The city's health department has officially banned a long list of exotic animals from the Big Apple. No more whales in bathtub or polar bears in the third bedroom. Even ferrets have been given their notice to get out of town. Other than the horses used for buggy rides and police work, dogs, cats and caged birds are now the only animals welcome in New York City. There's no word on whether the city's billions of rats have heard about the law.

AND LEADING BY A SNOUT...

David Maze is a busy man when it's pig-racing season. He and his swift swine do the midwest fair circuit. He says cookies are the secret to getting his pigs to run. But rewards don't come cheap. Maze says he spends $5000 a year on Oreos. Among his racers' names are Dolly Porkin, Pig Wee Herman and Monica Squealinsky.

GRADES K9 TO 12?

Educators in Britian would like to see their schools go to the dogs. The Professional Association of Teachers has recommended that big dogs be the "extra eyes" teachers need to keep order in today's schools. "A big dog would be helpful for breaking up fights and looking for lost property, like gym shoes and Barbie Dolls," says Wendy Dyble. "They'd also be useful in sniffing out smells that children do not own up to."

CATS & WHISKAS

An Australian Rules footballer changed his name to a pet food, to help out his cash-strapped club. Geelong Cats captain Garry Hocking changed his name to Whiskas. Under terms of the deal, the pet food company made a generous donation to the team and a local animal welfare center.

HERE'S LOOKIN' AT YOU, KID

6-year-old Josh Dickert has quite the fish story. And it's about the one that didn't get away. The Springville, Alabama boy caught a catfish that was 31 pounds and 40 inches long. That's only two inches shorter than Josh himself.

THAT'S NO BABY ON THE DOORSTEP

A wriggling sleeping bag left at the front gate of the San Diego Zoo wasn't exactly a bundle of joy. Inside was an 8-foot 300-pound alligator named Wally. A note says Wally likes chickens and ducks and got to big to take care of. Reptile curator Don Boyer says it's a classic case of cute little baby gators growing up to be menacing monsters. "If you want a pet, go to a shelter and adopt a dog or a cat," says Boyer. "At least you know how big they're gonna be at maturity."

TO HAVE AND TO PAW

A lavish wedding in Boca Raton, Florida saw the union of Samantha & Dustin. The bride wore white and the groom wore a tux. The flower girl tossed dog biscuits. Yes, dog biscuits. Samantha & Dustin are lhasa apsos. The dogs' owners staged the wedding because of the ethics of their young kids, who didn't want Samantha & Dustin to mate unless they were married.

A DOG BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL THE SAME

Dozens of four-legged thespians turned out for auditions for a play in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They were auditioning for the part of Crab in Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen Of Verona." The local theater company says some of the performers showed up with printed resumes and "head shots" - 8-by-10 glossy photos used by professional actors.

HOT DOG COMPANY TO HELP PREVENT HOT DOGS

The Nebraska State Patrol has been worried about its K9 patrol, because the dogs spend a lot of time in cruisers in the heat. So a Lincoln meat company is donating special devices that warn officers when their canine pals might be getting too hot. A Fairbury Brand Hot Dogs spokesperson says the monitor can turn on the sirens or lights and even open the window a crack when the temperature rises inside a cruiser. The devices also adjust the temperature downward on the car's air conditioning system when the inside temperature rises to dangerous levels. State troopers can also use the device to remotely let the dog out of the car if it's needed in an emergency situation.

WAR DOGS

Michael Lemish is worried that some battle-hardened veterans are forgotten each Memorial Day -- four-legged vets. Lemish is the author of War Dogs: Canines in Combat. He says the wartime contributions of man's best friend are often overlooked. He notes that more than 12,000 dogs served with U.S. forces during World War II, and another 4,000 in Vietnam. In the Miami area, at least one war dog received a hero's send-off. An American flag flies over the grave of Fella, at the Oak Lawn Pet Cemetery. Fella served with the Marines in World War II and his tombstone reads "War Hero."

THIS JOB IS FOR THE BIRDS

A border collie named Jet has probably saved some lives at the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Meyers. Jet's job is to keep birds away from airline flight paths. Jet is believed to be the first runway herd dog in the nation. Florida is plagued with bird-airplane collisions, and most bird strikes occur on approach, landing, take-off or the initial climb. After Jet's first year of using his herding skills on the runways, there have been no strikes at the airport.

BABE: PIG IN THE DOGHOUSE

A piglet that was the runt of a litter and given little hope to survive is thriving now, thanks to a Jay, New York woman's Siberian Husky. Anabelle the pig nuzzled right up to an empty spot as the Husky nursed its pups. Helen Richter says her relationship with the pig has changed her life: she'll never eat pork again.

DOGS IN THE YARD

Some Oklahoma prisoners are in the doghouse ... doing some good for society. Inmates at the Lexington Correctional Center are training dogs to be companions for infirmed and disabled people. The cons must have 6 months of good behavior before entering the program, which sergeant Jack Cottrell says teaches the dogs - and the inmates - a lesson in responsibility.

THE LATEST BUZZ FROM HOLLYWOOD

It's official. The killer bees have arrived in Los Angeles.  L.A. County Commissioner Cato Fiksdal says DNA tests on bees found in the eves of a Palmdale office building prove that Africanized honeybees have colonized the entire county of Los Angeles.

GOT MILK?

Some fresh bread left by a bakery at a Maltby, Washington cafe disappeared before the staff got there to open up. The culprits turned out to be some hungry cows who had broken through a pasture fence about a block away.

CYBERCATS

William Shakespurr, Sigmund Fureud and Lucy & Ricy Ricatto are just a few of the celebrities featured in the Cat Hall Of Fame Mewseum. The latest creation from authors Terri Epstein and Judy Epstein Gage is an online museum which includes features like an Acatemy Awards ceremony and a Miss Americat Contest.

STOWAWAY HERMIT

A woman returning home to Bethel, New York from a Florida vacation noticed that one of the items in her shell collection was moving. It was a tiny hermit crab from the shore of St. Andrew's bay. Shelli Lipton - who named the crustacean Woody - packed the crab in a moist cloth and shipped him back to the motel where she'd stayed in Florida. The desk clerk later informed her that Woody was successfully reintroduced to his home shore.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE PUP

Canadian psychologist Stanley Coren says his studies prove that dogs very often match the personalities of their owners. The author of Why We Love The Dogs We Do says says proof that we treat dogs as part of social life is the fact that we talk to them.

JUST DUCKY

Firefighters in Milwaukie, Oregon put their rescue skills to the test removing 10 ducklings trapped in a storm drain. A motorist had noticed the babies disappearing into the drain as they followed their mother in a straight line. Although the mother was struck by a car before firefighters arrived, one of the rescue crew has put the ducklings under the adoptive wing of one of his own ducks.

WORLDWIDE LOST & FOUND

Lost and found pets can now be located throughout the world, via the Internet. The Internet Lost And Found site allows vistors to post their lost pets for free, or check to see if their pet has been found. The site may prove to be invaluable to those who have lost pets while traveling.

JURASSIC BARK

The Tasmanian Tiger - a marsupial wolf thought to be extinct, may be returned to the planet in a matter of a few years. Australian Museum director Mike Archer says baby tiger DNA has been found in a jar stored at the museum's Sydney branch, and scientists may be able to clone the breed back into existence.

JUMPING KITTY

Miss Kitty O'Neil beat out 2,000 other competitors to take the title at the Calaveras County Frog Jumping Contest. Her frog jockey, 13-year-old Jimmy Jones, says there's one secret to Miss Kitty's 19-foot-10-inch jump: "She's good."

AN EYE FOR A MOOSE THAT CAN FLY

Doctors implanted an artificial lens in the eye of a blind bald eagle named Moose and reported that the bird is beginning to see again. "When we shine a very bright light in her eye she blinks immediately, So she can definitely sense the light is coming into her eye," ophthalmologist Dr. Margaret Cawrse said after the surgery at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital. Al Cecere, president of the National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles, said the surgery was a first for an eagle. Not long ago, Moose's future looked bleak. She was starving because she couldn't see her food.

DUMB LOVE

Roger Banks' pet emuis named Stupid. And he says a wild male turkey has fallen for Stupid and follows the emu wherever it goes. The affair took wing in a pasture near Salem, Oregon, where Stupid lives. But it's a match with no future. The smitten turkey only comes up to the knees of his beloved big bird. The ostrich-like emu can outrun the love-sick turkey, too. Banks notes that unlike most bird species, neither emus or turkeys are very bright.

THE ROAD TO LOVE

Amorous toads and their human allies force cars off a country road in eastern England every March. The Nottinghamshire County Council says in local newspaper ads each March that it has closed a 1-mile stretch of Beanford Lane in the village of Oxton to help the creatures cross to their breeding grounds in nearby ponds and lakes. Campaigners for the local Wildlife Trust paid the council £2,000 toward the administrative costs of the ban. The creatures often cross the lane hundreds at a time.

BAMBI'S BACK

When James Parks hit a baby deer he didn't drive on -- but tried to save it. Parks put the injured deer in the back of his pickup and took it to his home in upstate New York. His wife, Bonnie, called veterinarians for their advice. Some suggested steaks. But the Parks family refused to quit. Now, the deer, whom they named Bambi, has recovered from at Cornell University and has been returned to its wooded home, thanks to the generous donations of the Parks' Kirkwood, N.Y. neighbors.

GOOSE-LOVER CHANGES JOBS

Ellsworth Meadows Golf Course in Hudson, Ohio has fired its border collie because she simply stopped chasing pesky geese. "Jill came to us with absolutely everything we asked for, except for some reason, all of a sudden, she decided to stop going after the geese," course manager Denny Smith said of the working dog which the course bought for $2,000. The course got a replacement bird-chaser, and Jill is getting rave reviews as a guard dog at an apartment complex.

OFF INTO THE SUNSET, ARM-IN-ARM-IN-ARM-IN-ARM...

Ursula couldn't wait to wrap her arms around her guy -- all eight arms. Ursula the giant octopus ended her 3-yearr stay at the Seattle Aquarium. Biologist Roland Anderson says it was Ursula's time to mate, so she was released in Puget Sound. Anderson will miss Ursula, who could work through a maze and use her arms to unscrew a jar.

TAKE YOUR COMPUTER UNDERWATER

No swimsuit or oxygen tank is required for this underwater exploration. A Web site being launched by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution allows anyone with Internet access to come face-to-screen with a shark or to watch when researchers discover a new species 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface. "It's like looking over their shoulder," says Mary Clark, director of the media lab at Harbor Branch, Florida. The site includes daily dispatches from marine science expeditions worldwide.

YA OTTER RECONSIDER

Four otters at a Florida wildlife sanctuary got a stay of execution when the parents of a toddler apparently bitten by one of the animals decided to allow the child to have rabies shots, health officials said. The parents initially refused to allow their child to receive shots against rabies, fearing she would have a dangerous allergic reaction. If a victim won't have shots, a biting animal must be euthanized and tested per state law. But the parents of the child, bitten during a visit to Flamingo Gardens, in a Fort Lauderdale suburb, decided to go ahead with the shots, saving the otters.

MORE THAN A PECK ON THE CHEEK

Wild turkeys have been terrorizing visitors to one California wilderness park, charging hikers, chasing cars and blocking trails. "If you encounter these robust birds, avoid getting closer than 30 feet," rangers at the Rancho San Antonio preserve in Santa Clara County warn in a newsletter. "Keep your young children with you. Clap your hands and make noise to discourage the birds from approaching." Rangers have reported that the string of turkey incidents is linked to breeding, with growing numbers of male birds showing off for females. "Gobbling and strutting ... to show off his masculine vigor, he will sometimes chase, peck, or fly at people," the park's newsletter warns of the their love-struck "tom" turkeys.

DO THEY CALL CALL HIM CUJACK?

Forget a car alarm or even the club. If you want to avoid a carjacking get a dog. Police in Colonie, New York, credit a dog with foiling a bad guy. Officers say a woman was stopped at a light when a man opened the passenger door and jumped into the car. He was holding his hand under his shirt as if he had a gun. But the would-be carjacker didn't check the back seat, where the woman's dog was sitting. It lunged forward, causing the suspect to hit his head on the dashboard. That apparently was more than enough for the bandit, who ran away.

6 FEET UP ON EVERY DESK

First we had Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Then the boys came along, too. Soon, will Fido be following? The Wall Street Journal reports Pet Sitters International wants a designated "Take Your Dog to Work Day." But big corporations aren't ready to give Rover the run of the office. A spokeswoman for IBM says their workplace isn't designed to accommodate the four-legged set. The Pet Sitters say they hope "Take Your Dog to Work Day" will encourage pet adoptions.

PEEK-A-BOO

A couple of Minnesota lawmakers have seen the future of fishing -- and they don't like it. State Senators Doug Johnson and Bob Lessard are avid anglers and want to ban fish-cams from Minnesota waters. The underwater T-V cameras allow fishermen to peer beneath the waves and see what the fish are biting. Johnson says it's not really fishing when you use high-tech gizmos.

NEW YORK MAN RATTLED OVER COURT RULING

Jay Montfort is hissing mad -- over some endangered rattlesnakes. He put a fence around his stone company's property in Fishkill, New York to keep out the rattlers. But state environmental officials are ordering Montfort to take down his fence, because it might bother the snakes. Montfort says that's the point -- they're deadly snakes and he wants to keep them off his property. Officials counter the timber rattler is endangered and therefore protected from humans. Montfort lost a bid in court to keep his "snake-proof" fence.

NOT A B-A-A-A-D IDEA