Getty   Ah, Autumn. There's a nip in the air, and probably in the pocket of the tweed jacket belonging to the stout gentleman with the field glasses. The sun beats down, melting the frost on the turf. The women are in silk headscarves, breeches, and puffer vests for once, athleisurewear of the last century, And we're all ready for the action to begin. It could be a steeplechase, or it could be a flat race, but the excitement is always the same. The sleek, powerful beasts are in the starting gate. The crowd holds its breath. THEY'RE OFF!     Horses? Who said anything about horses? I'm all about the Jack Russells, spunky little dogs who will tear your arm off if you try and stop them (which is why the people who catch them at the end wear the same kind of gloves as people who handle eagles, no lie). They are a wee titch excitable on race day (and every other day) and that's why the racing rules include muzzles these days. Bred as rat-catchers, these pups never shy a...

Something rare happened in Northeastern Tennessee at Bright's Zoo, a family-run zoo with over 700 animals, including nine giraffes. A giraffe calve was born without spots, something that is very rare. The last time anyone saw this phenomenon was in Toyko's Ueno Zoo in 1972. Toshiko, the spotless baby's mother, had given birth to other spotless giraffes, but the mother at Bright's Zoo had three different babies, and they all had signature spots.  Animal geneticists are trying to determine what makes this happen and what it means. It is most likely a mutation, but there are many questions since seeing these rare creatures is exceptionally infrequent in the wild. They have figured out that the bigger the spots a calve has, the likelihood of long-term survival increases. So what does this mean for this baby? It is unknown. Over 17,000 people voted on the first day of voting for a name, and the four choices are in Swahili: Kipekee (unique), Firyali (extraordinary or unusual)...