A former PETA staffer in Seattle was on her way to work when she spotted a pigeon whose leg appeared to be broken. When the pigeon didn't try to fly away and let her gently wrap him up in a sweatshirt, she knew he also likely had other injuries or hadn't been able to forage for food and was weak from hunger or illness.

The former staffer called PETA, and we put her in touch with a local wildlife rehabilitator, to whom she rushed the injured bird.

It took only a few minutes out of her day to get help for the bird, and she saved him from suffering for days or even weeks from his injuries and possibly starving, being killed by a predator, or being hit by a car.

Her actions serve as a reminder to all of us that we are never "too busy" to help an animal who is in need.

Although Philbert was a full-grown tortoise in her 30s, she was being kept in a tiny enclosure at an elementary school in New Jersey and was serving as the "school pet."

While even tiny turtles deserve better than a tank, Philbert's life was just a shell of the one she ought to have had. A substitute teacher got wind of the fact that the school was looking for a new home for the tortoise, and she called PETA to ask if we could help. 

A wonderful sanctuary, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in San Antonio, was happy to accept the ravishing reptile. And as luck would have it, a reliable activist in Philbert's area was already going to be making the drive to San Antonio and agreed to a reptilian road trip.

Now, in place of her tank, Philbert has woods, grassland, and a pond to traverse and explore. And in place of hundreds of children handling her, she has the companionship of a male tortoise who has taken quite a shine to her. Tortoises are natural plant lovers, and for Philbert, everything is coming up roses.

Sure, human dads will slip you a couple of bucks and give you lots of advice—but can they give birth? Male sea horses can. PETA hopes while you're praising your family's patriarch this Father's Day, you'll also remember that some of the best dads in the world can be found in the animal kingdom:

• Sea Horses: The "Mr. Moms" of the marine world, male sea horses carry up to 2,000 fertilized eggs in pouches in their stomachs until they hatch. Even after the babies are born, they stay inside the pouch until they are ready to venture out on their own.

Tim Sheerman-Chase|cc by 2.0

• Microhylid Frogs: These frogs from New Guinea take family road trips to a new extreme. Once babies hatch, up to 24 froglets climb onto their father's back as he hops 50 feet every night, dropping the froglets off along the way to begin a new life of their own.

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• Darwin's Rheas: Thought your dad could be overprotective at times? Darwin's rheas, also known as South American ostriches, are so protective of their children that they routinely rush cowboys on horseback and have even been known to attack small airplanes on the ground if they get too close to their brood.

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• Marmosets: These little monkeys do everything but attend Lamaze class. Fathers assist during labor by biting off the umbilical cord and cleaning up the afterbirth. They also let mom get some R & R by taking care of the kids when she's not nursing them.

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• Sandgrouse: These pigeon-like birds sponge off their fathers—literally. Living in areas where water is sparse, fathers fly as many as 50 miles to get water for their offspring. After they soak up the water in their breast feathers, they fly home and let their chicks suckle the moisture from their bodies.

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• Emperor Penguins: Protecting their eggs is just the tip of the iceberg. While the female leaves the colony for the winter, the male incubates the egg by putting it on his feet and covering it with a skin fold to keep it warm. The males can't go out and feed, so they fast for four months until the chicks hatch.

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• Red Jungle Fowl: Red jungle fowl are the progenitors of the domestic chicken, and dominating males go to great lengths to care for their flock. Fathers not only protect both hens and chicks from predators but also introduce chicks to the pecking order when they are just a week old and teach them the ways of the world in the first seven weeks after they are born.

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All dads deserve to be honored—whether they have fins, feathers, fur, or a cardigan. This Father's Day, honor animal dads, too, by practicing kindness and compassion toward all animals.   

The elderly woman who called PETA's national animal-emergency number thought that she was doing the right thing. When she discovered a baby bird in her yard who was unable to fly, she took him into her home and tried to feed him. Frustrated by the bird's deteriorating condition, she called PETA to ask for advice.

Knowing that a bird who did not fly away from a person attempting to pick him or her up was most likely severely injured or ill, we let the woman know that despite her good intentions, the bird really needed to be assessed by a wildlife specialist.

The caller couldn't drive, so a staffer from our Los Angeles office went out to pick up the baby bird and got the animal into the hands of a wildlife rehabilitator who determined that the baby was in fact severely injured and suffering and should be euthanized.

While people who try to help wild animals by themselves have wonderful intentions, they may inadvertently cause the animal more suffering by providing improper care. If you encounter a wild animal who appears to be hurt or in danger, stay near the animal, but call your local humane society or animal control officials for help. If they can't provide assistance themselves, they may have names of licensed wildlife rehabilitators in your area. Keep the names and numbers in your address book for future reference.

As if we needed another reason why steel-jaw traps should be banned outright, PETA received a call about a man in Georgia using the cruel devices to injure squirrels who approached his pecan tree.

A distraught neighbor called PETA when she saw a squirrel fall victim to one such trap that the man had set on top of a nearby fence post. The animal was alive, hanging upside down by a crushed leg and in agony.

Despite the best efforts of PETA caseworkers to persuade animal-control officials to assist this suffering squirrel, the agency refused, stating that it does not respond to wildlife calls! But we persevered and got police to the scene instead. The suffering, badly injured squirrel was released from the trap and rushed for euthanasia.

Under Georgia law, the man is allowed to use these traps to harm squirrels if he considers them a nuisance for eating some of his pecans—but rest assured that PETA provided him with effective, humane alternatives for keeping squirrels away from his pecan tree in the future.

For every situation involving unwanted wildlife, there's a humane way to handle it. PETA's guide to living in harmony with wildlife is a great resource for everyone.

I just finished reading a touching story about two people who rescued a skunk whose head had become hopelessly lodged inside a jar, and their account truly made me think.

Raccoon: © iStockphoto.com/Eric Isselée

Not just about how skunks, like everyone, need a helping hand from time to time (or how this grateful animal never tried to spray the women who were saving his life). It also made me think about something I do every week that could be hurting animals: pitching my cans and jars into the recycle bin with nary a thought about the journey they will take—or whom they might hurt along the way.

Even when we recycle cans and jars, animals can still get into them, attracted by the smell of our yummy salsas and jams. Fortunately, the solution is as simple as crushing cans and sealing jars before disposing of them.

Two seconds to help animals? Yes, I can do that.

Exciting news out of Chennai, where the Animal Welfare Board of India has banned the use of glue traps to snare and (miserably) kill mice and rats, declaring, "Available evidence clearly suggests that the use of glue traps causes unnecessary pain and suffering to the rodents and is against the spirit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act ...."

PETA's cruelty caseworkers can offer plenty of evidence of the "unnecessary pain and suffering" caused by glue traps—and not just to rodents. For instance, a recent call concerned a bird who had become helplessly mired in a restaurant's glue trap.

You'll be glad to know that things worked out OK for this little guy, whom we arranged to be taken to a wildlife rehabilitator, but for far too many animals, glue traps mean days of suffering before death by starvation, dehydration, exhaustion, or shock. In addition to being cruel, glue traps also spread diseases, which is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not using them.

The other good news to come out of this case is that the restaurant has seen the light and will no longer use glue traps. Still, a lot of folks could stand to follow the example of these restaurateurs (and India) by detaching themselves from pans of pain.

If you see anyone using glue traps, or if you'd like to see a glue-trap ban in your community, don't be shy—speak up! And if you have rats or mice visiting your business or home, learn to live peacefully and kindly with our smart and resourceful rodent neighbors.

Written by Jeff Mackey

Here's a prime example of why feeding wildlife is cruel, not kind. People had been feeding a doe who was living in a residential area. This caused the doe to lose her healthy fear of humans, and she likely walked right up to the cruel person who shot her in the face with an arrow.

This doe had been living with the broken-off arrow lodged in her badly infected sinus cavity for weeks. After some urging from PETA, authorities were able to tranquilize her, remove the arrow, and treat her infection. Thankfully, the doe is improving, and she now has a fawn.

This story ended happily, but many other encounters between semi-tame wildlife and unkind humans do not. Please, resist the temptation to feed deer and other wildlife so that when they encounter someone who is not as kind as you are, they do the right thing: run away as fast as they can.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

A discarded mayonnaise jar proved to be more dangerous to a coyote pup than anything the Road Runner could dish out. The pup was freed from the jar—which, according to witnesses, had been stuck on his or her head for at least a week—by two kind Seattle men who spotted the coyote in their backyard. Because the pup was so weak from lack of food and water, they were able to hold the youngster and pull off the jar, and the freed coyote immediately trotted off into the woods.

jude/cc by 2.0

 
This coyote's close call should serve as a reminder that our trash can be mistaken for treasure by wildlife, sometimes with deadly results. That's why it's important always to rinse out discarded jars and to crush metal cans. Cut open one side of cup-like containers and cut apart all sections of plastic six-pack rings, including the inner diamonds. Securely cover garbage cans and recycle bins so that animals can't get into them and become trapped inside. And don't forget to keep an eye out for other people's trash too. I always bring an extra bag with me when I walk my dog so that I can pick up trash along the way.

When shopping, choose paper bags or your own reusable bags whenever possible. Wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking convinced her hometown of Modbury, England, to become the first in the U.K. to ban plastic bags. You can read more about her battle against the "plastic plague," and other inspirational stories, in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's book One Can Make a Difference.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Two upcoming documentaries examine our complex relationships with exotic animals and how all too often, animals pay the price for human greed and negligence.

The Genesis Award-winning  Elephant in the Living Room, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Webber, examines the exotic-pet industry in the United States, profiling a man who keeps lions in rusty cages in his backyard and a law-enforcement officer who has spent his career responding to the often-tragic consequences of people's keeping big cats and other exotic "pets" in their backyards.

A recent PETA case in Kansas exemplifies how bad it can get for captive big cats. Three lions and two tigers were confined to dilapidated pens surrounded by piles of junk until PETA was able to secure their release to better locations.
 

 
Further away from home but equally compelling, the upcoming IMAX film Born to Be Wild 3D follows the lives of orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue, protect, and rehabilitate them. World-renowned primatologist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas and eminent elephant authority Dame Daphne Sheldrick work in Borneo and Africa against all odds to return wild animals to their natural habitats.

You can help captive wildlife by refusing to patronize roadside zoos, pseudo-sanctuaries, and circuses. Also, be sure to complain whenever you see exotic animals used in TV shows and commercials. Don't miss either of these powerful films, coming soon to a theater near you.

 
Written by Jennifer O'Connor