Apes, Bears, and Dragons!

Ape House by Sara Gruen
Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelanie, and Makena are no ordinary apes. These bonobos, like others of their species, are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships--but unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language. Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn't understand people, but animals she gets--especially the bonobos. Isabel feels most comfortable in their world than she's ever felt among humans...until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what's really going on inside. When an explosion rocks the lab, severely injuring Isabel and "liberating" the apes, John's human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime, one he'll rick his career and his marriage to follow.
The Bear in a Muddy Tutu by Cole Alpaugh
Newspaper man Lennon Bagg is mourning the loss of his job and the abduction of his daughter by his ex-wife. Lennon rescues Graceful Gracie the runaway bear, and helps her rejoin her trainer at a traveling circus, which has illegally pitched its tents on a small island on the Jersey Shore. Their self-proclaimed shepherd is Billy Wayne, a wannabe cult leader, but when Lennon arrives, he is the one they turn to. Unbeknownst to Lennon, his daughter Morgan is in Bermuda, having been told that her father is dead. Believing that dead people become birds, she is convinced that one day he will fly to her. Meanwhile, Lennon and Billy have hatched a plan to save the circus. Lennon boards a plane headed to the Bermuda Triangle, along with a man who holds the record for being struck by lightning. And it's starting to cloud up...

Dragon's Time by Anne McCaffrey
Even though Lorana cured the plague that was killing the dragons of Pern, sacrificing her queen dragon in the process, the effects of the disease were so devastating that there are no longer enough dragons available to fight the fall of deadly Thread. And as the situation grows more dire, a pregnant Lorana decides that she must take drastic steps in the quest for help.