The year in (animal) pictures....

[Kadie]

She's my woman: Love blooms in Pasco, Wash.





Pick-me-up bouquet: Sandra sniffs a bloom on the first day of spring at the Buenos Aires Zoo.





Let's do a bone! Pike the hippie-dippy hound barks for peace, love and happiness at a pet costume contest in Saginaw, Mich.





If at first you don't succeed, Mom will eventually come to your rescue. The chick's five brothers and sisters were able to clear the curb in Little Rock, Ark., but she was too small.





Rhesus pieces: After an invigorating day on the slopes, residents of Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park in Yamanouchi, Japan, like to relax with a nice hot tub in the snow. The thermal springs are the perfect place to pick a tick or two.




Low-speed police chaise: A sea lion growls at a rescue worker trying to herd him off a CHP cruiser that he was using as a sundeck. What exactly was the 300-pound marine mammal doing in Los Banos, in central California farm country 65 miles from the ocean? Probably fishing in the nearby San Joaquin River.


more later....