It's a bizarre scene in Zanesville, Ohio this morning as police are on the hunt for 48 exotic animals that escaped from the Mushkingum County Animal Farm, a wildlife preserve. The owner of the preserve was found dead, and the animals' cages were left open. Lions, tigers, bears, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, and camels were among the animals that were found roaming free. Police have shot around 30 of the animals. The town remains on lock down, and residents have been advised to stay indoors. Danielle White, a resident of Zanesville, lives on the property next to the animal preserve, and reports on what she's witnessed.

Today the granddaddy of all dog shows — the Westminster Dog Show — kicks off. As you may know, it’s something of a beauty contest for dogs. And last year, we commemorated the event by asking listeners to submit pictures of their dogs for our cutest dog contest. But this year, we’re more interested in brains than looks. We’re asking you to send in pictures and videos of your dogs being brilliant. As she did last year, WNYC's Sarah Montague will judge your entries this week. And today we’re talking with two scientists who know a thing or two about canine intelligence.

First it was thousands of red-winged blackbirds falling dead from the sky on New Year’s Eve in Arkansas. Then more bird deaths in Louisiana earlier this week. Now all of a sudden we’re getting reports of mass animal deaths all around the globe: more birds in Sweden, fish-kills in Louisiana and the Chesapeake Bay? Are any of these events related?

Thousands of blackbirds fell from the sky over the Arkansas town of Beebe just before midnight on New Year's Eve, leaving people in the area scratching their heads and speculating about the possible cause: a lightning strike? Aliens? A secret government project? We're joined by Keith Stevens, of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which is investigating the incident. 

• BUSINESS:  Our partner, The New York Times is looking at the lasting negative effects of the recession in a series called "The New Poor." Times finance contributor Louise Story describes the series and the effects of long-term unemployment on Americans.
• OLYMPICS: New York Times reporter, Jason Stallman, previews the Olympic ice dancing finals, the semi-finals in women's hockey, and freestyle skiing aerials.
• ANIMAL PROTECTION: There is a new bill in the works in California that could treat people who abuse animals like sex offenders. New York Times reporter, Jesse McKinley, explains how animal abusers could soon be listed in an online registry.

It may seem like we know everything about the natural world around us, but new species are being discovered every year. The man in charge of helping decide the most interesting discoveries is Quentin Wheeler, vice President of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University and founding director of the International Institute for Species Exploration. Some of this year's most fascinating discoveries: a pony the size of a pea, the world's longest stick insect, and naturally decaffeinated coffee.

A decades-experienced elephant trainer with Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey's left a notarized letter and photos to be opened after he died, documenting long years of elephant treatment that troubled him and his wife. David Montgomery wrote the story for yesterday's Washington Post; he takes us inside the story PETA calls abuse and Ringling Bros. calls responsible training methodology.

Today is the second day of the Supreme Court’s new term. And for the first time in a quarter century, justices may declare an entire category of speech outside of First Amendment protection. At the center of the case is a law that Congress passed in 1999 making it illegal to distribute videos and other materials depicting animal cruelty, like dogfighting. In 2003, a man named Robert J. Stevens was sent to jail for 37 months for breaking that law. Today the court will decide whether Congress overstepped its authority by passing the law in the first place.

Alan Isaacman, a First Amendment attorney who famously defended Larry Flynt, and Mary Lou Randour, director of human-animal relations with the Humane Society of the U.S., discuss the case.

Residents of two Miami neighborhoods have been terrorized by a string of gruesome cat killings over the past month. On Sunday, police arrested a local teenager and charged him with the crimes. The Takeaway talks to Miami Herald Reporter Jose Pagliery about an the cat serial killings that have disturbed the whole city.

***UPDATE*** Miami-Dade police have made an arrest in this case. Tyler Hayes Weinman, an 18-year old who divided his time between the two neighborhoods where the killings took place, was taken into police custody and charged with 19 counts of felony animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary. Each of the felony counts carries a minimum mandatory fine of $5,000, six months in prison and psychological counseling.

For more on this story, watch the video below.

When we covered the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, a listener criticized us for not addressing charges that breeding practices, drug use, and harmful track surfaces are costing many horses their health or even their lives. The Preakness, the second race of the Triple Crown, is coming up on Saturday. The Takeaway talks to Sally Jenkins, a sports columnist for the Washington Post, and gets her perspective on how the sport could be reformed to make it safer for horses. She wrote a column critical of thoroughbred racing after the filly Eight Belles had to be euthanized on the track at last year's Kentucky Derby.

Each year, 10 billion animals are raised for consumption in the U.S. and most spend their lives on industrialized farms that aren't federally mandated to treat animals humanely. An activist and investigator that goes by the name of "Pete" went undercover at factory farms to document abuses towards animals. A vegan, Pete worked undercover at a farm in Ohio and took footage of how farm animals are treated for the new HBO documentary, “Death on a Factory Farm." He joins The Takeaway to talk about his experience.

Watch a clip of "Death on a Factory Farm" below.

» Video: "America's Disappearing Forests" (The New York Times)
» "Bark Beetles Kill Millions of Acres of Trees in West" (The New York Times)

"If you stand on a mountaintop in Colorado you can look in every direction and see dead trees. It is everywhere."
--Jim Robbins on the impact of pine beetle infestations