Friday Fauna: World's oldest chicken; island for cows; dog escapes to nursing home; giraffe with no spots?

Peanut eats blueberry yogurt, grapes, bananas and vegetables.

(Photo via Smithsonian)

Meet "Peanut," the world's oldest chicken. She's sassy and just celebrated her 21st birthday, reports Sarah Kuta of Smithsonian magazine. Peanut loves her morning blueberry yogurt, muttering in the garden, possibly doing Chicken Little re-writes. The bantam hen is a "character" with a "ragtag group of chicken friends," reports Bridge Michigan. In addition to not being afraid to peck at cats, Peanut just earned another distinction: Guinness World Records has named her the world's oldest living chicken.

Chirikof Island sits in the Gulf of Alaska, a verdant home to over 2,000 feral bulls and cows, reports Jude Isabella of Hakai magazine. The remote island, affectionately known as the "Republic of Cows," has been a bovine home for 200 years, perhaps more.

This dog's first nursing home break-in was back in 2017. "He leaped over two fences and crossed a highway, then sauntered into the nursing home lobby through an automatic revolving door and parked himself on a brown-colored couch," reports Sydney Page of The Washington Post. Find out what happened next.

The spotless giraffe is ​the first one seen in 50 years.
(AP photo via National Geographic)

Spots, stripes, glow in the dark--nature has relentless creature fashion, but sometimes, less is more. This baby giraffe was born without blocked spots. It's a phenomenon that "hasn't been observed in any giraffe for more than 50 years," reports Dina Fine Maron of National Geographic. "She was born last month at Brights Zoo, a family-owned facility in Limestone, Tennessee. A spotless giraffe was last reported at a Tokyo zoo in 1972."

Well, meow--think you know everything about cats? This article thinks maybe you don't. "What makes cats even more interesting is that there are so many things we don't know about them despite their popularity. So, here are some of the most intriguing facts about cats that even their biggest fans don't know," writes Nancy Truman of Last Night On. "Your cat thinks you're bad at hunting . . ."

In 2021, Brood emerged throughout the Eastern U.S. in the trillions.
(Photo by Rebecca Hale, Nat Geo Image Collection)

If you thought there were more cicadas this year, you're right. "Some Americans are getting a preview of summer 2024, when two periodical cicada broods will emerge simultaneously for the first time in 221 years—an event rarer than Halley's comet," reports Kiley Price of National Geographic. Find out what's in store for 2024 here.

There are reasons to scout for whitetail deer year round. The animal needs hunters to keep its numbers in check and people need the food. There's even an app to aid in the scouting.