Animal Videos

Why’s Zippei So Quiet? TV Dog Had Vocal Cords Removed

If you watch Nihon TV’s Zip! morning show, you probably recognize the dog in the picture above. It’s Zippei (ジッペイ), a cute and fluffy Samoyed dog that travels around Japan as the television show’s mascot.

Every day, Zippei visits a different area, interacting with locals and spreading awareness about the show. The clip below shows a typical Zippei segment:

As you can see, Zippei is extremely well-behaved and never seems to make any noise. This bizarrely unnatural lack of barking gave rise to internet rumors that the Zippei had undergone surgery to remove his vocal cords. Some netizens who claim to have attended Zippei events said they saw the dog trying to bark, but not making any actual bark sounds.

The Asahi Shimbun is now reporting that the internet rumors were true: Zippei had a vocal cordectomy. The procedure took place before Zippei appeared on TV. It was supposedly not a pre-condition for the dog’s participation on the program. NTV is not commenting on whether it approves or disapproves of such surgical procedures .

According to Wikipedia, some people in the United States and Europe consider it cruel. It has even been outlawed in some areas:

The procedure is outlawed as a form of mutilation in the United Kingdom and all countries that have signed the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. In the United States, devocalization is illegal by state law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and by city ordinance in Warwick, Rhode Island. Efforts to ban devocalization are underway in other states.

If the 2channel comments picked up by Itai News are any indication, it seems that quite a few Japanese people also strongly disapprove of de-barking surgery and are disgusted by NTV [むごい話だ / 動物虐待じゃん / ひどいね / 日テレは動物をオモチャにするのが好きだな ] .

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Labrador Retriever Saves Little Girl

Here’s a heartwarming news report about Junior, a dog that saved a 3-year-old girl by keeping her warm when they were trapped inside a wrecked car during a snow storm in Hokkaido:

While driving along a river in the neighboring town of Urausu, however, he accidentally drove off the road, sending the car rolling down an embankment. When the rolling stopped, the man and the girl found that they were unable to move.

The car was found the following morning several meters below the road, resting on its side with a broken window.

When they went down to check the car, police officers found Junior cuddled up to the girl and licking her cheek.

The humans suffered only minor frostbite on their feet despite outside temperatures that plunged below zero during the night.

Junior received a gold medal for heroism from the local government. He’s also apparently had his meals upgraded to a more expensive brand of dog food.

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Toy Poodles as Police Dogs

If you’re a regular reader of this site, you may remember that there are Chihuahuas and Miniature Schnauzers that have become police dogs in Japan. Here are a couple toy poodles to add to the cute police dog club:

Fuga, two, and Karin, one, passed the police canine test in July and would be put to work finding missing hikers in the mountainous region (of Tottori).

The female toy poodles, one of which is gray and the other brown, also would take part in criminal manhunts, the report said.

Police in Tottori prefecture rarely make use of dogs, so they don’t maintain a full-time K9 unit. Instead, they accept volunteers from private homes. The poodles will live with their masters, and if needed, the police will be able to call them into service.

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Mega Long Venomous Snake in Okinawa

Take a look at Okinawa’s longest snake:

The habu was found along a road in an area of Okinawa not far from Camp Hansen. It was apparently alive at the time, but died shortly afterwards. It was 242 cm long, making it the longest habu ever found in Japan.

According to the English language Wikipedia article about the Okinawan habu, this was about twice as long as an average habu:

Grows to an average length of 4-5 feet (122-152 cm). With a maximum of 7.5 feet (229 cm), it is the largest member of its genus.

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Japanese Cops vs. Deer

A deer wandered into Shizuoka city yesterday. Here is a video of the epic struggle to capture the animal:

The operation required about 30 police officers. After driving the animal into a fenced parking lot, several officers in protective gear slowly advanced with a net. As they pressed it into the final corner, the deer attempted to leap away. However, it was no use. The animal was captured.

The deer was put on the back of a truck and taken up to the mountains, where it was released. The deer’s release is shown at the end of the video clip. The deer appears to have difficultly walking, but that is apparently because it’s still groggy from the tranquilizers that had been used to subdue it.

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Arakawa Seal Given Honorary Residency Certificate

Ara-chan, the seal that has been hanging out in the Arakawa river since last week, has been given a special certificate of residency from the city of Shiki:

On the the residency certificate, they decided to assign the seal the last name “Shiki,” so nobody would be confused about the city in which it is living.

Note: this is just “special” residency certificate, not a real residency permit. It doesn’t have the same legal status as a real residency permit, and the animal will obviously never use it for anything.

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