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Movie Set Travel / Animal Travel / Movie Travel / → All Tags

Pay a Visit to 'Winter,' the Real Life Dolphin Who Inspired 'A Dolphin's Tale'

This weekend A Dolphin's Tale hits theaters, bringing the true story of Winter the dolphin to the big screen. The movie is based on "Winter," a dolphin rescued by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium after getting caught in a crab trap. And though she lost her tail, an amazing team of doctors and vets were able to create a prosthetic tail, saving her life.

In honor of the new movie, several Clearwater Beach, Florida hotels and resorts are offering special packages, including discounted rates or special offers at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Each room rate also includes a donation to CMA to help build Winter a new home.

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Animals / Animal Travel / Bruges Travel / Belgium Travel / Doggies / → All Tags

Bruges' Most Famous Son is a Bit Furrier Than You'd Expect

Guido Gezelle, the Flemish poet. Philip I of Castile, Spain’s first Habsburg ruler. Tony Parker, the marriage wrecker basketball player. It’s fair to say that Bruges hasn’t given birth to many A listers.

But do not fear, because these days there’s a celeb who not only lives in Bruges but appears daily for photograph sessions with his fans. He even made a cameo appearance in In Bruges.

His name is Fidel, he’s a golden Labrador, and he lives at the Côté Canal bed and breakfast overlooking the main canal. But he’s better known as “that dog who’s in every person who goes to Bruges’ photo album”.

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Zoo Travel / Zoos / Music Travel / Animals / Animal Travel / Events / Festival Travel / → All Tags

Rock Out with The Monkees and The Monkeys at a Zoo Near You

We already know that the zoo is a great place to drink this summer, but it’s also a great place to chill out with a little outdoor music. As long as the wildlife doesn’t get too crazy, here are three places worth checking out this summer that will provide a little music along with the menagerie:

· Oregon Zoo - Portland
When it comes to music with the animals, the Oregon Zoo in Portland does not mess around. Not only do they have plenty of concerts throughout select weekends during the summer, but they also are attracting some pretty big bands—at least for a place where the concert venue is next to the lions and giraffes.

Things start at the end of next month with Taj Mahal and Joan Osborne on June 23, and then there’s Mary Chapin Carpenter with Marc Cohn on June 25. Things get even better—well at least it seems that way to us—with Huey Lewis and the News, Peter Frampton, and Matisyahu all making appearances. Admission varies depending on the artist, but it’s usually no more than $30—although there are a couple of outliers—we’re looking at you Huey.

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National Parks / Animal Travel / Outdoor Travel / Active Travel / → All Tags

Why You'll Need to Bring Pepper Spray on Your Next Visit to Yellowstone

Spring has sprung in national parks across the country, but if you’re heading out into the wilderness just remember one thing. All the critters and creatures are also excited about the warmer weather, and they’re also kind of hungry after being cooped up indoors for the entire winter.

In Yellowstone National Park, the bears have started to come out of their dens, and they’re eager to snag a few pick-a-nick baskets or whatever us humans leave lying around the park. Officials say that loads of snow has forced the bears to stay put a little longer than usual, but they’re on the loose now and they really want a snack or two.

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Zoo Travel / Zoos / Drinking Travel / Beer Festivals / Animals / Animal Travel / Events / Festival Travel / → All Tags

Drink to the Animals This Month at Three 'Zoo Brew' Events

If you’ve ever wanted to get drunk with a skunk now’s the month to do it. Zoos across the country have started to add alcohol to their animal lineup, and if you’re looking for something to do at the end of May there might just be some sort of Zoo-Brew festival in your neck of the woods. Here’s three that we think are worth checking out:

· Brew at the Zoo - Atlanta
The best way to cool off in Hotlanta is with a refreshing adult beverage—although we’ve heard they’re also pretty fond of their hometown Coca-Cola. Instead of downing a couple in your neighbor’s backyard over Memorial Day weekend it might be best to head down to the Atlanta Zoo where there’s plenty of ales and lagers to go along with all the critters.

The Brew at the Zoo takes place between 5:30 and 9:30pm on Saturday, May 28, and it offers a chance to rub elbows with all of the place’s famous animal residents along with unlimited samples of the sudsy stuff. Local breweries like Terrapin and SweetWater will be showing off their latest concoctions, and giant pandas, gorillas, and naked mole rats are also going to be hanging around to provide a little live entertainment. Tickets include admission to all the fun and exhibits and start at just $40 for most if purchased in advance.

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Festival Travel / Events / Arizona Travel / Animals / Animal Travel / → All Tags

Two Words: Ostrich Racing.

The Southwest might not be on your Spring Break short list, but they’ve got something that might be even better than the surf and sun. It’s definitely a little warmer there, and in just over a week one of the most unique festivals invades Chandler, Arizona.

This year’s Ostrich Festival—yep, it’s exactly what it sounds like—runs from March 11 through March 13. They’ve been putting on the party for almost 25 years, so at this point it’s pretty much a must-see.

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Travel Tips / Whale Watching / Animal Travel / San Diego Travel / Animals / → All Tags

Five Tips to Get the Most from Going Whale Watching

Although it's too chilly to swim on the West Coast, it's just perfect to hit the water and do some whale watching. In San Diego, whale-watching season runs through April, and you can spy gray whales as they migrate to Baja California. We tried it out for the first time recently and came back with tips to ensure you have a whale of a time (har, har).

Check out our top five whale-watching tips this way:

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Animal Travel / Wildlife Travel / South Africa Travel / → All Tags

Go to South Africa with the Humane Society for the Sake of Cute Animals

Animal lovers who've admired Humane Society International's work can now go behind the scenes—and see some cutie creatures while you're there. The organization launched Humane Travels, a new program that allows you to tour sites where Humane Society International has worked to protect animals and help the cause with your travel dollars.

Humane Travels plans to offer trips to Bhutan, Canada and Guatemala, but the inaugural trek will be to South Africa.

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Volunteer Travel / Animal Travel / Ecotourism / → All Tags

Save Big Cats with Earth Day Conservation in Costa Rica

Just in time for Earth Day, the Lapa Rios Ecolodge in Costa Rica is offering a special package deal where guests can help out in the conservation of big cats. The ecolodge is set in a private nature reserve spread over 1,000 acres of rainforest, making it a perfect environment for conservation and exploratory research.

As part of this special package, visitors work directly with local wildcat researchers to conserve jaguars, pumas and other animals native to the region. Guests help set up equipment, use cameras to monitor their movement, track and collect footprints. Those who want to get more involved, can learn how to conduct an analysis of the animals' diet or present research findings to local schools and community groups. Guests will also have downtime to enjoy the resort or participate in other activities like hiking, swimming or play a game of soccer with the locals.

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Whale Watching / Whales / Animal Travel / California Travel / → All Tags

Whales Say Goodbye to the West Coast and Hello to the East

Whale watchers, grab your binoculars. As whale watching winds down on the West Coast, whales are being spotted on the East Coast.

On the west coast: San Diego's whale-watching season usually ends in the first week of April, but this year it's been briefly extended. For one last chance at whale spotting, San Diego Harbor Excursion will offer tours through April 11 and Hornblower will hit the water with its own cruises through April 18.

But the best spotting is on the east coast, after the jump

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Whale Watching / Hawaii Travel / Festivals / Animal Travel / Events / → All Tags

Count the Humpbacks During Maui's Whale Festival

Plenty of marine mammals call the islands of Hawaii their home, but humpback whales usually only swing by during the winter. After all, wouldn’t you winter in Hawaii if you could afford it? To celebrate their arrival, the Pacific Whale Foundation has created the Maui Whale Festival; however, it’s not just a one-day thing—it’s more of a whale month.

There’s many options to both enjoy and support the whales throughout February and into March. February 20 welcomes the Parade of Whales where floats filled with all things whale will be on display along Alanui Keali’i Drive. Awards will be handed out in several categories, so expect a lot of creativity and a few off-the-wall entries.

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Volunteer Travel / Animal Travel / San Diego Travel / San Diego Zoo / → All Tags

How To Get Closer To The San Diego Zoo's New Baby Panda

It seems like all the world's a-twitter today over the San Diego Zoo's 4 1/2 month old giant panda, Yun Zi. The cub stepped outside his den on Monday to explore an outdoor area where he checked out the bushes, played with his mom and climbed on tree branches. This is one of the first times Yun Zi has left his den, so it's causing quite a stir at the zoo and online of course, where people can't seem to get enough of newly posted pictures and video of the baby.

If you want to do more than just gawk at the animals in the San Diego Zoo, they have a volunteer program that offers both short-term and long-term opportunities. Some of the positions available include Interpretive Volunteers who provide information about wildlife conservation to guests, Information ambassadors who answer questions and provide assistance throughout the zoo and Conservation Research Volunteers who usually have a science background and help out in the Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research.

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