Animals

9:58 AM PT -- NYC Mayor Adams' 'Rat Czar' Kathleen Corradi tells TMZ ... "Mayor Adams declared war on rats when he took office, and under this administration, we are winning that war day by day. Rat sighting complaints are down 7 percent citywide since May and down 20 percent in 2023 in rat mitigation zones, where we are deploying targeted and effective rat reduction strategies."

She adds, "We’re employing a whole-of-government approach which includes the Sanitation Department’s ambitious, paradigm-changing plans to containerize all garbage in New York City and bring free, no-hassle, curbside composting to all 8.3 million New Yorkers by this fall. The Adams administration will continue this fight until we can definitively declare victory"

Move over Pizza Rat -- there's a new video of New York City rodents running the streets ... and this time it all has to do with a fellow subway bedfellow ... of the human variety.

Check out this wild video from a Big Apple subway station that was posted this week ... you can see commuters walk over to a homeless person sleeping under a blanket, and dozens of rats scurry out from under the covers.

It starts with a few rats running away as subway riders approach, then a massive stampede follows ... with the rodents scurrying down onto the train tracks. It all happens in a matter of seconds.

The sheer number of rats seemingly sleeping with this homeless person -- cozying up under the blanket, no less -- is shocking. We're talking about at least a dozen of the mouse-y monsters here, if not more.

Looks like New York City's new "Rat Czar" Kathleen Corradi has her work cut out for her.

We've seen rats dragging pizza slices, fighting over pizza and attacking pigeons over the years in NYC ... and this video is right up there in the NYC Rat Hall of Fame.

One last thing ... the video doesn't show the homeless person under the blanket or who pulls the blanket up, leaving some folks to wonder if this was all staged. It does all play out a little too perfectly, and like we said ... there's a lot you don't see in the viral clip.

Anyway ... talk about a rat pack, huh?

Tom Sandoval's back in his all-too-familiar villain role ... he's under fire from fans and castmates for interacting with a captive tiger, and PETA is schooling him on why it's bad for big cats.

The animal rights organization fired off a letter to the "Vanderpump Rules" star after footage emerged showing him inside an animal enclosure at Tiger World Thailand, where a tiger put its massive front paws on Tom's shoulders.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, PETA scolds Tom for the photo op ... explaining, "When popular folks like you pose with wild animals, people are moved to support pay-to-play animal experiences, for which big-cat cubs are torn away from their mothers prematurely and denied their freedom as well as anything remotely natural and important to them."

More specifically, PETA's also schooling Tom on tigers ... it says wild tigers avoid humans and are naturally solitary and reclusive, adding, "Any human interaction with big cats poses dangers for both humans and the felines, and captive big cats have attacked and killed their captors and visitors."

While Tom walked away from the visit physically unscathed ... he's taking heat online from fans and his 'VPR' cast members, Lala Kent and James Kennedy.

Un surfista adolescente murió trágicamente el jueves tras ser atacado por un tiburón en el sur de Australia y un testigo dice que el horrible incidente ocurrió justo en frente a su padre.

La policía de Australia Meridional informó en un comunicado de que había recibido el aviso del ataque sobre las 13:30 horas en la playa de Ethel, en el Parque Nacional de Innes, pero cuando los médicos llegaron al lugar, dijeron que lamentablemente el niño había fallecido.

Un transeúnte le dijo al Adelaide Advertiser que el adolescente había estado en el agua con su padre jugando con las olas cuando un tiburón de repente tomó su pierna.

"Otro chico salió corriendo, saltó sobre su tabla y remó para ayudarle", le dijo el testigo al medio.

"El tiburón los estaba rodeando mientras el chico sacaba al niño del agua. Había mucha sangre. Lo llevó a la orilla, pero creo que ya era demasiado tarde".

Trágicamente, éste es el quinto ataque de tiburón que se registra este año en Australia Meridional y los avistamientos de estas criaturas marinas han sido frecuentes en la zona recientemente.

A teenage surfer tragically died on Thursday after he was mauled by a shark in South Australia ... and a witness says the horrifying incident all went down right in front of the boy's father.

South Australia Police said in a statement they received reports of the attack at around 1:30 PM at Ethel Beach in the Innes National Park ... but, sadly, when medics arrived on the scene, they said the boy had passed.

A bystander at the beach told the Adelaide Advertiser ... the teen had been out in the water with his father catching waves -- when a shark suddenly took his leg.

"Another local guy ran out, jumped on his board, and paddled out to help him," the witness told the outlet.

"The shark was circling them as the guy pulled the boy out of the water. There was a lot of blood. He brought him to shore but I think it was too late by then."

Tragically, this is the fifth reported shark attack this year in South Australia ... and sightings of the sea creatures have been common in the area recently.

In fact, a teacher was just killed by a shark at Walkers Rock in May -- which is just west of where the teen died Thursday.

A Sephora customer has untangled a mysterious web ... why spiders can't get enough of their body butter.

A review on Sephora's site for Sol De Janeiro Body Butter set the internet wild, warning folks who are scared of wolf spiders not to butter their bodies, claiming the product is a magnet for the pesky insects.

The customer claims the bugs have appeared every day since using the lotion, adding, "one time, the spider wanted to eat whatever ingredient it is so bad that it chased me. I swear on everything. I'd run left, it ran left."

The bizarre review spun quite the web on the web, with a deep dive on Reddit ... where someone discovered a combination of farnesyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate often attracts male spiders.

The 2 chemicals are often used in skincare products, including body butter and lotion ... although it's not entirely clear if these are included in Sephora's product.

Una clienta de Sephora ha revelado una característica muy peculiar de un producto.

Una reseña de la manteca corporal Sol de Janeiro en la página web de Sephora ha desatado la locura en Internet, advirtiéndole a las personas que temen a las arañas lobo que no se unten el cuerpo con manteca, alegando que el producto atrae a los molestos arácnidos.

La clienta afirma que los bichos han aparecido todos los días desde que usa la loción, y añade: "Una vez, la araña quería comerse el ingrediente que fuera, tanto que me persiguió. Lo juro por todo. Yo corría a la izquierda, ella corría a la izquierda".

La extraña reseña dio bastante que hablar, con una inmersión profunda en Reddit... donde alguien descubrió que una combinación de acetato de farnesilo y acetato de hexadecilo suele atraer a las arañas macho.

Los 2 productos químicos se utilizan a menudo en productos de cuidado de la piel, incluyendo manteca corporal y loción ... aunque no está del todo claro si estos se incluyen en el producto de Sephora.

2:48 PM PT -- Aaron Gordon reportedly needed 21 stitches to fix the wounds he suffered in the dog attack on Monday.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, meanwhile, said on Wednesday there's currently no timetable for a return for his star -- saying he wants Gordon to "heal inside and out" first.

Aaron Gordon will be away from the Denver Nuggets for the foreseeable future ... after he was attacked by a dog on Christmas.

The NBA org. revealed on Wednesday the 28-year-old was bitten by a pooch following the team's victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

The Nuggets said in a statement the power forward suffered cuts to his face and hand during the incident, but, thankfully, he's "in good condition."

"[He] will remain away from the team while he recovers," the team added.

Gordon looked just fine while playing 31 minutes in the victory over the Dubs just prior to the incident ... scoring 16 points while adding 10 rebounds and three assists.

He's been a key player for Denver since he was traded to the team in 2021 -- helping the Nuggets win their first-ever NBA championship last season.

Una pareja de Washington parece haber adoptado extraoficialmente a un mapache cojo, lo que ha horrorizado a su hija... pero ha cautivado los corazones de miles de personas en Internet.

La presentadora de deportes de la radio de Seattle, Stacy Jo Rost, ha documentado durante todo el fin de semana a esta bola de pelo a la que llama "Pequeño Rick", en honor a su padrastro. Dice que, después de tener que sacrificar al perro de la familia hace dos años, Rick padre y su madre han recurrido al mapache para sobrellevar la situación.

Básicamente, sus padres han recurrido a alimentar a Ricky. El mapache de un año va a su propiedad con regularidad para comer y al parecer tiene un horario establecido.

Stacy publicó un montón de videos capturando los hábitos alimenticios del pequeño Rick, incluyendo algunos intentos apresurados de pedir más bocados y arañando la ventana en lo que parece un intento de entrar. ¡Incluso intentó morder el dedo de Stacy a través del cristal de la ventana!

Stacy dice que sus padres encontraron a Rick cuando era pequeño y se dieron cuenta de que su pata trasera estaba herida. Por lo tanto, parece que empezaron a atenderlo (tomando cierta distancia) y ahora, el pequeño viene a su casa como un lugar de consuelo y comida.

Como dijimos, se puede decir que Stacy no es una gran fan de esto, señalando que es, de hecho, un animal salvaje y no una mascota, a pesar de que su mamá y papá parecen estar tratándolo como uno.

Curiosamente, si te metes en la tendencia del pequeño Rick en Tuiter... verás una buena cantidad de gente apoyando a los padres adoptivos humanos y argumentando que Stacy está siendo dura.

An older couple in Washington appears to have unofficially taken a hobbled raccoon into their care -- which has horrified their daughter ... but captured the hearts of thousands online.

Seattle sports radio host Stacy Jo Rost has documented this fur ball all weekend, who she calls "Little Rick" ... named after her stepdad. She says after having to put their family dog down 2 years ago, Rick Sr. and her mom have turned to the raccoon as a way to cope.

Basically, her folks have resorted to feeding Ricky here ... and the 1-year-old raccoon comes over to their property regularly for his meals, which are scheduled and on the dot, it seems.

Stacy posted a ton of videos capturing Little Rick's eating habits, including some hasty attempts at asking for more morsels ... by scratching at the window in what looks like an attempt to come inside. He even tried biting at Stacy's finger through the window pane!

Stacy says her parents found Rick when he was tiny, and they noticed his back leg was injured. So, it sounds like they started to attend to him -- from a bit of a distance, though -- and now ... LR comes by their place as a place of comfort and food, limping at that.

Like we said, you can tell SJR is not a huge fan of this ... pointing out it is, in fact, a wild animal and not a pet -- even though her mom and dad seem to be treating it like one.

Funny enough, if you hop into the Little Rick trend on Twitter ... you'll see a fair amount of people actually supporting the adoptive human parents, and arguing Stacy's being harsh.

El zoológico de Denver tenía una seria disputa de paternidad en sus manos y recurrió al experto, Maury Povich, para que ayude a resolver las cosas de una vez por todas.

El icono televisivo que ha resuelto cientos de disputas de paternidad en su programa de entrevistas fue llamado para un caso de un nuevo bebé orangután. Los funcionarios del zoológico no estaban seguros de si Berani (de 30 años de edad) o Jaya (de 16) eran los padres del bebé de 4 meses llamado Siska.

Povich, de 84 años —siempre dispuesto a entretener— grabó un video para  da a conocer la gran revelación, sacó un trozo de papel de un sobre marrón y pronunció su icónica frase: "Berani... ¡tú ERES el padre!".

Jaya está fuera del drama, a pesar de que la madre de Siska, Eirina, disfrutó de "alguna actividad de apareamiento" con él también.

El sitio web del zoológico de Denver dice que Berani vive con otras tres hembras y fue aprobado para la cría a través del Plan de Supervivencia de Especies de Orangutanes de Sumatra. Recordemos que los orangutanes de Sumatra son una especie en peligro.

The Denver Zoo had a serious paternity dispute on its hands, and turned to the expert, Maury Povich, to help settle things once and for all.

The TV icon who has gotten to the bottom of hundreds of paternity disputes on his talk show was called in for a case of a new baby orangutan ... zoo officials weren't sure whether 30-year-old Berani or 16-year-old Jaya was the baby daddy of 4-month-old Sumatran orangutan, Siska.

Always a showman, a suited and booted 84-year-old Povich recorded a video for the big reveal, pulling out a piece of paper from a brown envelope and delivering his iconic line: "Berani ... you ARE the father!"

Jaya's off the hook -- even though Siska's mother, Eirina, enjoyed "some courtship and mating activity" with him too.

Denver Zoo's website says that Berani lives with 3 other females and was approved for breeding through the Sumatran Orangutan Species Survival Plan -- which is a big deal cause Sumatran orangutans are a critically endangered species.

Los Lakers de Los Ángeles recibieron el lunes por la noche la visita de un fan tan peludo y tan adorable que hasta los locutores del partido tuvieron que pararse a reconocerlo.

El hincha número 1 del Lake Show no era otro que Brodie The Goldendoodle, un perrito que ha ganado tanta notoriedad en los últimos años que ha conseguido un millón de seguidores en Instagram.

De alguna manera, el cachorro obtuvo uno de los mejores asientos para el juego de Los Ángeles contra los Knicks en el Crypto.com Arena, al puro estio Timothée Chalamet.

El perrito sin duda aprovechó el centro de atención en la cancha. Movió su cola tan duro durante una pausa, que llamó la atención de Mike Breen.

"Ese es Brodie", dijo Breen en vivo mientras el perro agitaba sus patas en el aire. "¡Nunca había visto algo así en más de 30 años de carrera!".

Brodie, por supuesto, está acostumbrado a ser el centro de atención... él y su dueño han viajado por todo el país juntos apareciendo en eventos deportivos esporádicamente.

El curioso fan ha sido una estrella durante los juegos de los Marlins y los Heats en el pasado y al parecer también es grande en Los Ángeles. Decimos esto porque apareció luciendo una camiseta de Austin Reaves durante la mayor parte del partido de los Lakers contra NY.

The L.A. Lakers got a visit Monday night from a fan that was so furry and so cute -- even the game's broadcasters just had to take a paws to stop and recognize him!!

The Lake Show's No. 1 K9 supporter was none other than Brodie The Goldendoodle -- a doggo who's gained so much notoriety over the past few years, he's garnered 1 million followers on Instagram.

Somehow, the pup scored one of the best seats in the house for L.A.'s contest against the Knicks at Crypto.com Arena -- snagging a chair that was actually so good, it might have been better than Timothée Chalamet's.

And, the ball of fuzz certainly took advantage of the center-court spotlight ... dancing his tail off so hard during a break in the action, he actually caught the attention of ESPN play-by-play man Mike Breen.

"That's Brodie," Breen said on live television as the dog waved its legs in the air. "I've never seen this in 30-plus years!!"

Brodie, of course, is used to the limelight by now ... the 3-year-old's owner and he have trekked all over the country together while hitting sporting events sporadically.

In fact, he's been a star at Marlins games and Heats games in the past -- though apparently he's big into L.A. too ... 'cause he rocked an Austin Reaves shirt for most of the Lakers' contest vs. NY.

But, Monday did have a bit of a ruff ending for Brodie ... as LeBron James and co. couldn't get him a win, falling to the Knicks, 114-109.

A guy in Florida was caught on video dumping what cops say was an old, helpless dog that he allegedly tried killing before throwing it away ... and now, he's facing criminal charges.

55-year-old Anthony Bellman was recently arrested and booked for animal cruelty in Lee County, FL -- this after he was seen on surveillance footage last week chucking a black garbage bag into a dumpster behind a Family Dollar store in Lehigh Acres.

The authorities there claim a 16-year-old Shih Tzu pooch was in the bag, and that it'd been left for dead after Bellman allegedly tried choking it out with a rope, but failed.

It was later found alive by an employee with a rope still around its body. The dog has since been taken to a clinic for its injuries. Her name is Xyla, and she's mostly blind.

As for Bellman, he was tracked down by the Sheriff's Office and hauled in for a mug shot not long after this ... and according to officials, he allegedly said he didn't want to take the dog to get euthanized since it'd be too sad. Instead, he attempted to snuff it out himself.

Un hombre en Florida fue capturado en video tirando un perro viejo e indefenso, que supuestamente trató de matar antes de abandonar, y ahora se enfrenta a cargos criminales.

Anthony Bellman, de 55 años, fue arrestado recientemente y fichado por crueldad hacia los animales en el condado de Lee, Florida. Esto, después de que las imágenes de vigilancia revelaran que estaba tirando una bolsa de basura en un contenedor detrás de una tienda Family Dollar en Lehigh Acres.

Las autoridades afirman que dentro de la bolsa había un perro Shih Tzu de 16 años de edad, que había sido dado por muerto después de que Bellman supuestamente tratara de ahogarlo con una cuerda, aunque fracasó.

Más tarde, un empleado lo encontró vivo y con la cuerda alrededor del cuerpo. Desde entonces, el perro ha sido llevado a una clínica por sus heridas. Su nombre es Xyla y está en su mayoría ciega.

En cuanto a Bellman, el hombre fue rastreado por la Oficina del Sheriff y arrastrado para una ficha policial no mucho después de esto. De acuerdo con los funcionarios, Bellman dijo que supuestamente no quiso recurrir a la eutanasia, pues le parecía demasiado triste. En lugar de eso, intentó matarlo él mismo.

Las autoridades afirman que el hombre intentó romper el cuello de Xyla con un cinturón antes de darse por vencido y tirarla como si fuera basura. El sheriff del lugar Carmine Marceno dice que se alegra de haber podido responsabilizar a Bellman.

After a ton of speculation, Shohei Ohtani is finally spilling the beans on what he named his dog ... and as it turns out, it has nothing to do with his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His name is Decoy!!

The 29-year-old Japanese superstar met with the media as a Dodger for the very first time just minutes ago ... where he talked all about topics like his decision to take his talents to L.A., winning aspirations and recent surgery.

But the one question everyone wanted the answer to -- what the heck is your dog's name, dude?!?!

Of course, the phenomenon started after Ohtani accepted his 2023 MVP award ... when reporters claimed Shotime's team refused to disclose any information about the four-legged friend who made an appearance with him in a video interview.

The secrecy led to a bunch of rumors -- and some even claimed it was because Ohtani chose a namesake related to his next destination.

But the two-way athlete put an end to all that talk on Thusday ... saying he decided on Decoy -- or the Japanese version, Dekopin.

As for when he knew he would be a Dodger, Shohei said he came to the decision the night before he announced his next move on Instagram.