Animals And Their People

We keep them as pets, although which species maintains the upper paw in that relationship is sometimes in doubt. We drive them to the brink of extinction, and then make desperate attempts to bring them back. We tend them as livestock, display them in zoos, and research them in labs and in the wild. Our lives are intertwined with those of animals, and better for it. Gathered here are images of that furry interface...

A ranger inspects a 10-day-old baby elephant at Sarah Deu conservation response unit in Sampoiniet, Aceh Jaya, Indonesia on September 27, 2012. There are fewer than 3,000 Sumatran elephants remaining in the wild, a 50 percent drop since 1985. (Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/GettyImages)

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An employee kisses Dyushes, a Don Sphynx cat, at the "Cats Republic" art cafe in St. Petersburg on October 21, 2012. The cafe has an exhibition area, a library and a hall where cats live. Visitors can pay $5-10 to play with the cats. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters) #

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Patrick the hospice dog visits with Mary and Warren Rand, who have been married 71 years, at a hospice in Danvers, Mass. on September 12, 2012. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff) #

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Dr. Elisabetta Coletti, a veterinarian who makes house calls, examines her own pet during a house call in New York on August 9, 2012. (Kathy Willens/Associated Press) #

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A member of BETA, Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, holds her dog during a march against harming animals in downtown Beirut on October 7, 2012. (Bilal Hussein/Associated Press) #

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Gabriel Guallo of Ecuador's Quichua tribe stands with a tarantula on his face to demonstrate how he is planning to break a world record, in El Tena October 2, 2012. Guallo hopes to carry 250 tarantulas on his body for 60 seconds. (Guillermo Granja/Reuters) #

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Chester Zoo vet Gabby Drake examines a Dormouse after microchipping it as part of a multi-agency conservation project in North Wales October 18, 2012. (Phil Noble/Reuters) #

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A Golfina turtle hatchling sits on the hand of a volunteer before being released into the ocean at San Diego Beach in La Libertad, El Salvador on October 3, 2012. Local fishermen protect them from looters. (Ulises Rodriguez/Reuters) #

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A young hedgehog is fed with cat food in Berlin on October 1, 2012. Young hedgehogs weighing less than 250g are raised by hand. (Wolfgang Kumm/AFP/GettyImages) #

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A visitor pets a baby Tasmanian devil during a National Threatened Species Day event in Sydney on September 7, 2012. (Daniel Munoz/Reuters) #

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People get their picture taken with a pet snake at an amusement park as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on August 20, 2012 at the old city of Acre, Israel. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) #

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A U.S. Army soldier of Attack Co, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment holds a dove while taking a brief rest at the Afghan local police camp during a patrol in Zharay district in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on October 25, 2012. (Erik De Castro/Reuters) #

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A man smokes a cigarette in a temple at Khokana in Lalitpur on October 9, 2012. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters) #

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Children crowd around a man selling chicks and quails in Mumbai on October 25, 2012. (Danish Siddiqui /Reuters) #

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An Indian man sleeps with stray dogs in Kolkata on October 17, 2012. (Saurabh Das/Associated Press) #

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A man stretches surrounded by strays near the Pashupatinath temple in Katmandu on October 18, 2012.(Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press) #

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A Catholic priest blesses pets during a blessing of animals service outside the San Francisco church in Lima on September 30, 2012. (Martin Mejia/Associated Press) #

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Hanzo, a 4-year-old German boxer, catches a wave during the annual Surf City Surf Dog competition at Huntington Beach in California on September 30, 2012. (Joe Klamar/AFP/GettyImages) #

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Surfers wait for waves with dolphins at Bondi Beach in Sydney on September 25, 2012. (Daniel Munoz/Reuters) #

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Bavarian farmers transport their cows on a boat over Lake Koenigssee at dusk on October 3, 2012. Before the winter season approaches the farmers have to drive their cattle down from their Alpine meadows to a narrow valley that can only be reached by boat. (Michael Dalder/Reuters) #

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Children look at a sea lion in the zoo in Frankfurt on October 19, 2012. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters) #

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Zack Lemann, animal and visitor programs manager of the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, shows a Northern mole cricket he found as he collects bugs for their exhibits in Des Allemands, La. on September 24, 2012. (Kerry Maloney/Associated Press) #

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A woman sits with her pet jellyfish on a train near Weifeng, China on October 13, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages) #

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An abandoned pet tortoise walks on the debris of a damaged house in old Homs, Syria on September 9, 2012. (Yazen Homsy/Reuters) #

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A dog named "Negrito" stands with a mouse on his back in Old Havana, Cuba on August 12, 2012. (Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press) #

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A rabbit takes a hurdle during a pet fair Dresden on September 5, 2012. (Arno Burgi/AFP/GettyImages) #

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Thai workers parade with elephants as part of the annual King's Cup elephant polo tournament in the southern Thai resort town of Hua Hin on September 12, 2012. (Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/GettyImages) #

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A woman holds her cat in front of a banner on September 30, 2012 during a march for animal rights on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/GettyImages) #

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A woman visits with her dog Bruno the grave of her late dogs Gizmo and Maxio at the pet cemetery in Nowy Konik, Poland on October 7, 2012 on the annual meeting for owners of late pets. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/GettyImages) #

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Barb Schmidt makes freshly rolled peanut butter biscuits at The ARC in Boise on October 3, 2012 ahead of the See Spot Walk event. (Darin Oswald/The Idaho Statesman/Associated Press) #

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Researchers wait for giant panda Taotao to get into a cage in Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province in China on October 7, 2012. Taotao and its mother Caocao were transferred down from a 2,100-meter high mountain to Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for a health examination and to be prepared for reintroduction to the wild. Researchers wore panda costumes to ensure that the cub's environment was devoid of human influence. (China Daily/Reuters) #

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Kids gather around the pen of competitor Boy Serrere, during the national final of the televised sheep reality competition, Khar Bii, in Dakar, Senegal on October 20, 2012. In a nation where sheep are given names and kept inside homes as pets, the most popular television show is "Khar Bii," - "This Sheep" - in the local Wolof language. It's an American Idol-style nationwide search for Senegal's most perfect specimen. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)#

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A puppy tries to avoid a bath at the Tierra de Animales (Land of Animals) sanctuary for abandoned or abused dogs in Cancun on October 20, 2012. (Victor Ruiz Garcia/Reuters) #

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A motorcycle pillion rider leads a horse in New Delhi on October 23, 2012. Horses are traditionally hired for Indian weddings, where the decorated animals accompanied by brass bands parade down the busy streets. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images) #

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Pepper, a Dachshund, poses as a turtle at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on October 20, 2012 in New York City. (John Moore/Getty Images) #

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Sphynx cats Rapheal (left) and Madeline pause during the American Kennel Club's Meet the Breeds event in New York October 21, 2012.