Animals

UConn's live goat gift to Geno Auriemma on Wednesday night has infuriated animal rights activists ... with PETA telling TMZ Sports it didn't think the scene was cool at all.

Officials for the organization said in a statement to us on Thursday it was apparent to them the goat was under duress as a handler brought it onto the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion court to celebrate Auriemma's 1,217th career victory.

PETA claimed the goat "was visibly anxious" -- and to make matters worse, it said the person leading it "either didn't notice or didn't care that his collar was digging into his neck."

Ice Spice took a fun-filled trip all the way to the zoo -- and not just any zoo -- but all the way over in Dubai!!!

The rap star made the long journey from the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates partly to come face-to-face with a bunch of exotic animals.

Check out the photos ... for starters, Spice looks like a goddess in her powder blue gown with her long, flowing red hair.

As you can see, she feeds a bear, plays with a lion and tiger cub, poses with a snake around her neck, messes around with monkeys, and more.

You'll have to take a look-see for yourself to examine all the pics. Trust us, you won't be disappointed.

UConn found the perfect way to honor Geno Auriemma as the G.O.A.T after becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history ... by surprising him with an actual goat!!

The celebration took place at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday evening ... after the UConn Huskies whooped FDU, 85-41.

The victory marked Auriemma's 1,217th win ... making him the only coach to secure that many victories in women's and men's college basketball.

Diddy performed a bird sacrifice hours before he was acquitted on all charges related to the infamous 1999 club shooting with Shyne ... at least according to Diddy's former bodyguard.

The story, as told in a new Hulu documentary about Shyne, goes like this ... Diddy was on his way to court to learn the verdict in his shooting case when he had his driver make a pit stop in Central Park.

A man was waiting for Diddy and when Diddy approached the guy, Diddy dropped to his knees ... and smoke started swirling around Diddy. The bodyguard, Gene Deal, thinks the burning substance was sage.

Josh Brolin's telling all about his relationship with his mother in his new memoir ... touching on her drinking -- and, mentioning one scary trick his mother used to pull on him.

The actor sat down for an interview with The Times -- published Saturday -- to talk about his book, "From Under the Truck," a reference to a night of heavy drinking that ended with his mother's boyfriend literally passed out underneath a vehicle.

In the article, the interviewier mentions a story Brolin relays in the book ... about how his mother Jane -- a wildlife conservationist -- would often yell at "Sic 'em" to any wild animals like courgars, coyotes, bobcats and the like nearby which would then usually take off after Josh and his brother Jess.

Peanut the Squirrel was on the minds of lots of folks Saturday night, from fighters to comedians.

The rodent that was suspiciously seized and killed by NY authorities earlier this month was part of a UFC victory speech by one Jim Miller, who told Joe Rogan, "I've got one thing to say first: we need justice for Peanut. It's not just the squirrel, it's all the kids that went hungry that night, and all the other things that the money and resources could've been put to."

Miller wasn't done ... he invoked DOGE, the Dept. of Government Efficiency, which Trump wants Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead. Elon and Vivek were there as Miller said, "Hopefully that DOGE cleans things up at the State level."

The alleged insurance fraudsters who cops say used a bear suit and damaged several vehicles should've gone to the pros ... 'cause the guy who played the bear that attacks Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant" has notes.

We spoke with Glenn Ennis -- the actor and stuntman in the extremely realistic bear costume (with a CGI assist) who absolutely mauled DiCaprio in the film -- and he tells us he finds the details of the alleged scheme hilarious.

ICYMI, some California guys allegedly tore up their high-end cars, wearing a cheap bear costume, and tried to get an insurance company to pay for the damages. Ennis says those guys needed to do more research on how bears move ... 'cause it was pretty clear to him that this wasn't a real bear ransacking the cars.

Four people got mauled by the criminal justice system ... after they dressed up in a bear costume and allegedly damaged several cars as part of a bizarre insurance fraud scheme in Southern California, authorities said.

Ruben Tamrazian, Ararat Chirkinian, Vahe Muradkhanyan and Alfiya Zuckerman were arrested Wednesday on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy, but investigators didn't know which one sported the furry animal attire, according to the California Department of Insurance.

The L.A. area suspects are accused of scratching and tearing up 3 of their vehicles -- and filing bogus claims to insurance companies to collect a total of $141,839 in damages.

Piff the Magic Dragon is confirming he actually spent almost $60K to clone his late dog, Mr. Piffles ... telling TMZ he's "so glad" he did.

We caught up with the magician after the sad news his longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua had died ... with the "America's Got Talent" alum revealing he created a contingency plan for this inevitable day back when his pup first started getting older.

Though word of Piff's decision to clone the pup broke a while back, the British comedian assured us he "genuinely cloned" Piffles ... and even had Mr. Piffles 2.0 join him on camera for a quick hello.

Peanut The Squirrel was marked for death even before the government raided his owner's home ... and this whole case seems even more fishy.

We tackled the subject on "TMZ Live," with Harvey and Charles explaining why some of the conspiracy theories around this case aren't as crazy as they sound.

Frankly, we don't think it makes a whole lot of sense for authorities to say they ordered a fatal rabies test for Peanut because an officer got bit by the animal during the raid ... because now we know state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched.

Some in the office think owner Mark Longo put these animals in danger by trying to make them social media stars ... but not everyone is buying it ... and the need for a search warrant here is definitely up for debate.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Piff the Magic Dragon's longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, has died ... the Las Vegas magician confirms to TMZ.

The "America's Got Talent" alum tells us ... his beloved canine conjuror passed away on November 8th, just before his 17th birthday ... with Piff crediting the rescue dog for making his act sensational.

He adds ... "For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by Mr. Piffles. He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me."

Peanut the Squirrel is officially in the clear, testing negative for rabies after his death, but get this -- it's also emerged that both he and Fred the Raccoon were set for the chopping block days before they were seized in a raid ... and their owner is absolutely livid over it.

Mark Longo didn't hold back, telling TMZ it's hard to stomach the bombshell revelation that 4 different agencies had already given the green light to euthanize his pets 7 days before they were even taken from his Upstate New York property on October 30.

The New York Post reports state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched. This news contradicts the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's claim that Peanut had bitten an agent during the raid ... supposedly necessitating the rabies test. Animals must be euthanized to properly test for rabies.

A mysterious, but beautiful, canine hybrid was caught on camera ... and now experts are trying their best to ID the beast.

Voyageurs Wolf Project, a conservation org in Minnesota, recently shared some shots of the creature ... and asked if it could be the “elusive wyote dog'” — a fake wolf-coyote-dog hybrid.

All joking aside, the group noted the animal looked “coyote-esque” to them ... but has some dog-like aspects -- specifically the ears.

Kirk Herbstreit's grieving the loss of man's best friend ... breaking down over his dog Ben's death live on-air.

The football commentator appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" Saturday morning ... just two days after he announced he and his wife had to put down his golden retriever -- who traveled with him to many of his games.

During the broadcast, ESPN played a clip all about Ben ... with Kirk talking about how he was far more than just a dog or travel companion -- and, clearly Ben's still feeling very raw emotionally 'cause he could barely talk about Ben during the show.

Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House ... and the controversy surrounding the death of Peanut the squirrel might have helped ... at least that's what the squirrel's owner thinks.

Mark Longo told TMZ he was humbled and honored that on Monday, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance was at a rally, talking about how "fired up" DT was over the death of Peanut ... which ML is sure helped them at the polls.

Those campaign comments -- as ML sees it -- showed Trump cares about the little guy ... even if that little guy is a medium-sized rodent that took social media by storm with his tricks.

Peanut the squirrel might just get justice after all ... as authorities are investigating a raid that resulted in the tragic death of the beloved social media star, TMZ has confirmed.

Mark Longo, Peanut's owner, tells TMZ ... he has been made aware that the Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting an “internal investigation” into why 2 of his pets were seized  -- and later killed -- from his Pine City home.

ML tells us he does not know too much at this point ... but he is expecting to hear more on Saturday about just what the heck is going on.