World & Nation

Year in review: Animal stories

Matthew Simmons gets a lick from his wolf dog, one of 29 that were rescued from small cells where they were bred and imprisoned in Anchorage, Alaska. They now live in a 20-acre wolf sanctuary in the Los Padres National Forest. More: Los Padres sanctuary goes to the rescue of wolf dogs

Matthew Simmons gets a lick from his wolf dog, one of 29 that were rescued from small cells where they were bred and imprisoned in Anchorage, Alaska. They now live in a 20-acre wolf sanctuary in the Los Padres National Forest.

More: Los Padres sanctuary goes to the rescue of wolf dogs  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Pandas, dogs, seals, horses and more -- 2012 has had its share of animal tales. We’ve assembled 10 this year’s most memorable.

Glen Bearian captured ... again

A 400-pound black bear known as Glen Bearian, or Meatball, visited the Glendale area three times in 2012 to plunder trash cans and play cat-and-mouse with the authorities, who twice returned him to his home in the Angeles National Forest. The next stop? It was to be a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado, but now his current caretakers at a San Diego County sanctuary are making plans to build him a permanent home.

More: “I looked out the window, and he was standing there, 5 feet away”  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Rescued horses find a new home and purpose

Johnny Benton tends to two young colts that were abandoned and left to starve on a ranch in the Central Valley. Now recovering in the Sierra National Forest, they are being retrained for use as pack horses.

More: The number of abandoned horses has more than doubled  (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

Dennis Christen of the Georgia Aquarium feeds a beluga calf being rehabilitated at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.More: Rescued baby beluga not out of the woods yet

Dennis Christen of the Georgia Aquarium feeds a beluga calf being rehabilitated at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.

More: Rescued baby beluga not out of the woods yet  (Mark Thiessen / Associated Press)

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