Is this…dun dun dun…the end of Cute Animal Blog???

Well, not really. In one of my more rash decisions, I’ve purchased the domain name cuteanimalblog.com because…geez, I don’t know it was cheap and I make bad Internet decisions (I’ve come dangerously close to buying this shirt on multiple occasions). So, in my head, Cute Animal Blog will continue on as its own Web site, a constantly updating place to check out adorable animals. Because what the web needs is another place to look at cats. I’ve already tricked several people into wanting to contribute to the site, now all I need is an actual, functioning Web page! Keep your fingers crossed and look for the site to launch sometime this summer (while you wait, keep following our Twitter, it will update!). Let’s celebrate this news with a puppy!

But tonight does end a major chapter in Cute Animal Blog’s history. This will be the last post ever on NBN, and this blog’s run on the site has been pretty great. I could wax poetic on Cute Animal Blog and my time running it, but I’ll keep it simple and say one of the biggest perks of my day the past two years has been seeking out cute animals to share with you. To close out this NBN chapter, let’s look at some of the all-time cutest videos and pics posted on this blog.

Corgi bein’ adorable

Mouse in a cup

Really, really small kitten

My vote for cutest cat ever

Cat owned by pillow

Dolphin plays with bubble rings

Sleepy bear

Puppy so cute that I e-mailed the owner in South Korea to ask him about the doggy, but he didn’t get back to me

Baby hamster eating food

Cat fights printer

Baby sloth!

Chimpanzee riding on a Segway

Baby tiger cub

Kitty!

Foxes jumping on trampoline=

Panda cubs

A few last videos …first, I’ve been told I’ve never featured an Alaskan Eskimo dog on this blog. So here we go!

Also, one more moment of hype for the blog …I promise if this thing actually happens, I will visit Tama, the famed stationmaster cat in Japan.

And last but not least, the unofficial mascot of Cute Animal Blog, the red panda! Thanks for reading everyone!

Of course, I’m way too lazy these days to go anywhere, so I’m relying on a much younger generation to come through for me. Thankfully, North by Northwestern staffers Dan Camponovo, Emily Chow and Matt Connolly decided to go down to the zoo to celebrate Mr. Connolly’s birthday, and snapped some great pics. So visit the Lincoln Park Zoo to see cute animals like these! And…they have a red panda, complete with stuffed red pandas. Do you need any other reasons to go?

All images courtesy of Emily Chow.

I didn’t realize they had cats at the zoo. Or maybe this is more unique than I think. Whatever, one more pic of it!

And a different critter now…

But wait, there’s more! These three also filmed a video of some monkey fighting one another. Good stuff, if you’ve come this far you have to watch it.

Lets learn a bit more about this strange little guy. The jerboa, according to your friend and mine Wikipedia, lives throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They also kinda hop. Check this out.

This clip shows a little bit more hopping action. It also has a sweet soundtrack.

According to the Internet, the jerboa doesn’t drink anything, instead relying on the food it eats to keep it hydrated. That sounds crazy. Let’s watch the jerboa eat food.

Some jerboas have longer ears than others. And according to this news report, they are also more rare.

I’ve just been informed by fellow NBN staffers that the jerboa is “scary.” These little fellas disagree!

To close out this post, here is a slightly longer clip of a jerboa trying to play with a hamster.

And after you’ve been in a car for 10 hours, you start feeling super cramped and you want to move around. Even… gasp!… do exercise. And thanks to some perfect timing… OK, Megan Friedman who sent me these videos… I have seen a video where a dog does squats.

He gets a human pal in the next vid, and the cuteness gets upped to a new level as a result.

Great work goes to YouTuber sararingosaki for posting these two videos. And, to cap it off, here is the same dog being lazy and watching TV.

Kay, time to pass out.

So I went to Hinman dining hall for lunch today and saw the choices were slim pickings as usual on a Sunday. I walked to the salad bar, and lo and behold, there was a bowl of the yellowest, most delicious looking pineapple I had ever seen. It was fantastic, and it got me thinking, hey, humans aren’t the only ones that can enjoy delicious, succulent fruit.

Here’s a video of a cat going crazy for some pineapple, just like me.

Here’s a cat struggling (cutely!) against a watermelon.

I guess this one doesn’t exactly count as “fruit” per se, but it’s fruit-flavored, and it’s adorable.

And here’s one where the cat is in the food bowl. Couldn’t you just eat him up?

This story comes out of Spokane, Wash., where some banker helped get a bunch of ducklings to safety. Cute stuff.

These two ducks are chatting with each other and also bugging some guy. Glad this didn’t happen to me.

The other birds I spent a significant amount of time watching today were seagulls. Now, I’m usually suspicious of them – when I was doing my study abroad in England, a seagull ripped a cereal bar out of my hands and left me with a cut that didn’t go away for three months. Apparently, I have all the rights to be suspicious of European seagulls, as this one in Aberdeen steals some Doritos.

Finally, a few photos of seagulls.

To compliment that clip, watch this one where the tables are turned and the cat gets to play. It’s a lot more minimalist, but still cool.

These two dogs exhibit some crazy strength (and persistence) by tugging a boat to shore. Look at how pleased they are with their work!

This dog drives a car…sorta. Hey, it looks pretty cool.

This puppy does some gardening, though he isn’t the most effective gardener you’re likely to encounter.

Even though dogs can do all these incredible actions, they still get tired in the end.

Big ups to Pet Tube for having all of these sweet dog videos.

This rabbit has a guitar pick on his head, and is sitting near an effects pedal.

The next clip features a bunny who doubles as an envelope opener.

I guess rabbits used as letter openers isn’t a weird thing, as there are quite a few videos of them online.

One more, for posterity.

OK, a few more pictures.

Best use of sound effects in a cute animal video ever, by the way. Look at all of these kittens!

Wow, even more kittens, each with a moment in the spotlight. Going with our weak theme, it’s like the awkward icebreaker game you play in your dorm the first day of college.

And now, a bunch of pictures!

Oh, did I mention I also have a test tomorrow? One more kitten!