It wasn’t all bad
■ A restaurant patron in southwest China recently spotted what looked like giant footprints the establishment’s stone courtyard. Indeed, paleontologists confirmed they were footprints, and they belonged to a pair of sauropods—herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks and tails that roamed Earth 100 million years ago. Paleontologist Scott Persons regards dinosaur footprints as underappreciated discoveries. “That is the motion of a living animal,” Persons said. “And tracks are some of the only evidence that we have of dinosaurs’ social behavior.”
■ In June, four women boarded a rowboat in San Francisco and set off into the deep waters of the Pacific.Thirty-four days later—through storms, sickness, and exhaustion—they arrived in Honolulu, breaking a new world record for the fastest women’s crossing of the 2,400-nautical-mile stretch from California to Hawaii. Rowing an average of 70 miles per day, the group was motivated by daily messages from fans, and during one stretch, an escort from a whale. But the final 3 miles were the most emotional, said team member Libby Costello: “We recognized it was the last time that we were going to have just the four of us, maybe ever.”
■ Veterinarians, volunteers, and drivers from across the country are banding together to find homes for 4,000 beagles recently rescued from an animal-testing lab.The first 400 beagles to be adopted will be divided between the Humane Society and other rescue partners, and there is no shortage of interest: Some shelters have already been overwhelmed by inquiries.The dogs are learning to play for the first time, said the Humane Society’s Lindsay Hamrick: “Everything, from the way that grass feels to watching cars drive by, it’s all going to be a brand-new experience for them.”