In an incredible display of just how smart the octopus is - and how they are capable of forethought - Dr. Julian Finn of Museum Victoria in Australia has caught on film a veined octopus transporting coconut shells for the express purpose of building a shelter (and then doing so).

Says Dr. Finn, of the moment when he realized that he had evidence of an invertebrate using tools, “I was gobsmacked. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I’ve never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.”

Here is the video of the veined octopus carrying the coconut shells and using them to create a shelter:

This is the quick and dirty post - just copied and pasted directly from what my daughter (creator of the awesome fashion shows to benefit animals organization, FABShows.org just emailed me. It’s heartbreaking but maybe - just maybe - our collective positive thoughts can make a difference. Please read on.

“There has been a sea lion here in the Sacramento River, he traveled from the San Francisco Bay. He has been hanging out on the Delta here outside of, of all places, Joe’s Crab Shack restaurant . He kind of became known amongst the locals and I could even hear him vocalizing from my house when I lived in West Sacramento. Well anyways, he was shot by a fisherman here in Sacramento who claimed the sea lion was eating all his fish. Marine Mammal Center was able to finally rescue him on Saturday (after he had swam all the way back to the SF bay, and then all the way back up to Sacramento again). He’s in critical condition and has a 50/50 shot of making it at this point. So just trying to get as much positive vibe going for him as possible! Here’s the story: http://cbs13.com/local/sea.lion.shot.2.1360802.html
The fisherman, by the way, has been arrested and charged with felony cruelty to animals.”

You can reach my daughter on Twitter at @AnimalRescueGal.

I was so excited to find Vegan UGG Boots - well, Vegan UGG style boots, that is - and for a fraction of the price of actual UGGs! And they are so comfortable! All of the comfort, half the price, and none of the suffering!

And actually, they are generally not even half the price - with genuine UGG boots running between $90 and $160, the vegan UGG-style boots are a real bargain at $30 to $35 dollars.

Yes, you read that right - Vegan UGGs are only $30 to $35 a pair!

It seems counter-intuitive that a specialty boot - vegan boots - would be so much less expensive, but when you think about it, it really does make sense. After all, think about what has to go into making each type of boot.

I ordered the black vegan Uggs, but I have to tell you that I am sorely tempted to order the purple ones!

One note: because I’m in Colorado, and it’s winter, I waterproofed the heck out of these with three coats of shoe waterproofing for fabric shoes. It worked great, and it had no effect on how the boots looked at all.

You can find links for both the black and purple vegan UGG boots below, along with a few others.