Bizarre animals

[faceless]

Bear 'took car for joyride'
A bear took a car for a joyride after breaking in to steal a sandwich.
23 Jul 2010

After becoming trapped in the vehicle, the animal honked the horn and seems to have knocked the gear lever, rolling the Toyota Corolla 125 feet (38 meters) into a thicket, a Colorado family said. The car's owner, Ben Story, 17, said he and his family were asleep in their home south of Denver when the bear managed to open the unlocked door. A peanut butter sandwich left on the back seat is probably what attracted the bear, Mr Story said.

It's not unusual for bears to open unlocked doors to cars and houses in search of food, said Tyler Baskfield, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "It happens all the time," he said. "They're very smart."

Once inside, the bear must have knocked the shifter on the automatic transmission into neutral, sending the car rolling backward down the inclined driveway, Mr Story said. The door apparently slammed shut when the car jolted to a stop, he said, trapping the bear inside.

Neighbours had called 911, and deputies freed the bear by opening the door with a rope from a distance. The bear then ran into the woods. Mr Story said he'll need a new car because the bear smashed up the interior trying to get out.

[faceless]

Two-legged lamb saved from the chop
Tender-hearted sheep farmer Cui Jinxiu has saved this extraordinary lamb from the chop after he was born with just two legs.

Sheepish Cui, 38, says she would normally have killed the youngster at birth, but was so impressed by his struggle to survive she began to hand-rear him. ‘He was so determined to live he pulled himself up onto his own two feet and started drinking his mother's milk. I couldn't let him die,’ said Cui at her farm in Shangdong province, eastern China.

Now the baaamy young lamb - who weighed in at just 11 lbs when he was born - and Cui are inseparable. ‘He may only have two legs but he gets around very quickly and is pretty steady on his feet. He follows me everywhere and I haven't got the heart to slaughter him. After all, half my profit is missing anyway,’ she laughed.

Vets have told the farmer that the birth defect could have been a genetic throwback or the result of chemical pollution. ‘He doesn't mind. He has such a friendly personality and I don't think he even realises he's disabled,’ said Cui.

-----------------------

it's like a wooly pigeon!

[iraqia_Jasmin]

The lamb is cute good to know it was saved

[faceless]

This sea gull shows no fear as it takes on a large sea eagle and tries to rob it of a fish it was poised to gobble up. The white tailed sea eagle had swooped after setting its sights on the fish but was stopped by the brave greater black-backed gull. However, the eagle was able to shrug off the challenge. Wildlife photographer Mick Durham, from Dumfries, in Scotland, took the snaps during a holiday to Flatanger, in Norway

----------------

I was kept awake by a bastard flock of seagulls last night. Tonight I'll be listening to Classix Nouveau instead...

(shit joke courtesy of Viz!)

[faceless]

Let's hear it for Luntik: The amazing cat with FOUR ears
11th August 2010

The brief Seventies craze for quadraphonic sound might have lasted a little longer if there were more cats like Luntik around. The three-month-old kitten who lives in a garage in Vladivostok, Russia, has a 'spare' pair of vestigial ears just in front of his real ones.

It's not a completely unique condition. There's a cat called Yoda living in Chicago with an even bigger pair of spare lugholes. Unlike the widespread reports of 'winged cats' - which are usually just the result of wishful thinking and extremely matted fur - Luntik really does have a fully formed extra pair of ears. However, they don't have any of the internal 'plumbing' that would actually make them workable.

Best leave those old Pink Floyd LPs up in the loft then.

[faceless]

White whale Migaloo spotted off Cairns
Stephanie Harrington
August 16, 2010
The Cairns Post

RARE, professionally-shot footage of Migaloo at play in Cairns waters will be a boon for the local tourism industry and help protect the famous white whale, a tour operator says. Migaloo was spotted on Saturday about 2km from Green Island slowly travelling south. The famous whale enjoyed clear skies and low winds and dived repeatedly into the blue depths before surfacing every 10 to 15 minutes

GBR Helicopter Group director Deborah Ross said the footage taken by cinematographer David Farmer and pilot Chris Rose, of Chris Rose Flying Films, would be given to the BBC, which is producing a documentary on Migaloo. "We’ve made it a professional goal to make sure we get Migaloo recorded so we can help protect him because he is so precious," she said. "This is the first time Migaloo has been filmed anywhere professionally in the world. It’s about Migaloo and it’s all about the fact we were able to get the footage in Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef."

Ms Ross, who has worked in the tourism industry for 28 years, said the day was a career milestone for her. "I cried. I was so happy," she said. "He was at play in the tropical waters. He was just rolling around having a lovely time."

About 70 Reef Magic Cruises passengers were treated to the rare sight. Reef Magic Cruises owner Tim North said its whale watching vessel spent about five hours with Migaloo on Saturday. "It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you’re with him," he said.

Reef Magic worker Jenna Marino was thrilled to see her first whale. "He was pure snow white," she said. "People were amazed. They thought they were the luckiest people alive."

[faceless]

A barreleye fish - this might look like a computer graphic, but it's real... the things that look like eyes at the front are actually nostrils. Its eyes are those round green things inside the transparent head! Very cool.

[faceless]

Rare pink hippo snapped by British wildlife photographers
A rare pink hippo has been snapped in Kenya, marking the first time such a creature has been spotted in the African country.

Wading through the muddy waters, the rare pink calf looks uncertain and almost shy in the company of his family. British wildlife photographer brothers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas captured the images in Kenya's Masai Mara, Kenya last week.

‘It was a young one as it is much smaller than the other hippos and always stayed close to its mother,’ said Will, 26. ‘It was nice to see the other hippos treated it no differently to any other. It was also very shy and after spotting us it hid behind its mother before disappearing into the water.’

Pink hippos are leucistic, where the pigmentation cells fail to develop properly. ‘Usually leucistic and albino animals do not survive in the wild as they are very visible to predators and they get serious sunburn,’ said Will, from London.

A handful of pink hippos have been recorded in Uganda but never Kenya.

[faceless]

Two-legged pig becomes major tourist attraction
A disabled pig may constitute an unlikely tourist attraction, but Chinese travellers from miles around are flocking to see one particular porker who walks on its two front legs.

The 10-month old piggy is somewhat of a celebrity and the local villagers have fondly named her ‘Zhu Jianqiang.’ Zhu Jianqiang means strong-willed pig, in English, and it seems a rather apt name for such an incredible animal.

Young Zhu Jianqiang is lucky to be alive though. As a piglet in a nine strong litter, there were calls for the wee piggy to be put out of her misery. Wang Xihai, the pig’s owner, told the Telegraph: ‘My wife asked me to dump it but I refused as it's a life. I thought I should give it a chance to survive and unexpectedly it survived healthy.’

Mr Xihai’s perseverance paid off and true to her name the piglet survived. Several days after her birth, Wang decided to try and train the pig. ‘I trained her for a while each day. After 30 days she can now walk upside down quite well’, stated Wang.

Wang said since the birth of the pig, which currently weighs 50kg (110lbs) his home rarely is besieged by visitors everyday. ‘I won't sell it no matter how much the offer is,’ Wang said.

------------------

[faceless]

'Charlie the Smoking Chimp' dies from old age
A chimpanzee which became addicted to smoking cigarettes has died from old age having managed to live at least 10 years longer than most chimps.
Dan Newling
6 Oct 2010
telegraph.co.uk

'Charlie the Smoking Chimp' was famous for his habit, picked up from visitors to his South African zoo, of smoking lit cigarettes. But the zoo announced that the ape had finally died, aged 52. Most chimpanzees live to around 40.

Qondile Khedama, a spokesman for Mangaung Zoo, said Charlie was only an 'occasional smoker', but had none the less become famous around the world for the habit. She explained that although the zoo discouraged the practice, the ape obtained cigarettes from visitors who would throw lit cigarettes to him through his bars.

Ms Khedama explained that Charlie had recently been receiving special care, including a special diet of protein shakes and vitamin and mineral supplements. Ms Khedama said she did not know whether the ape's bad smoking habit contributed to his demise and that post mortem to determine the exact cause of death would take place soon.

The chimpanzee had learnt that he was not supposed to smoke, he would try and hide the habit from his zookeepers. Charlie is thought to have picked up the smoking habit when he worked in an American circus. It has been speculated that he was taught the trick to entertain circus-goers.

[faceless]

Stand back, he bites: British fisherman grapples with ferocious 'fucking big fish'... which has been known to eat CROCODILES
Richard James
20th October 2010

British angler Jeremy Wade looks understandably anxious as he grapples with this ferocious-looking 'giant piranha'. The 52-year-old caught the aptly-named goliath tigerfish during a fishing expedition up the Congo River in Africa. The brave fisherman was forced to hold the fish at arms-length for fear of being bitten by its razor-sharp teeth while posing with it for the camera.

The goliath tigerfish is one of the most fearsome freshwater fish in the world and said to be a much bigger and deadlier version of the piranha. The giant fish has 32 teeth that are of similar size to those of a great white shark and has been known to attack humans and even crocodiles. It has only ever been caught by a handful of fishermen due to the danger it poses and the fact its habitat is notoriously hard to reach.

Wade, the host of ITV's River Monsters show, said he took extra care when reeling in this specimen, which weighed more than 100lbs and was 5ft long. The TV programme looks into mythical reports from around the world of humans being attacked by unknown monsters from the deep before the British host sets out to find and catch the suspect. Commenting on the goliath tigerfish, Wade said: 'This fish is no tench. It is, for all intents and purposes, a giant piranha. It is quite a beast. The teeth on it are incredibly sharp and are about the same length as a great white shark. It also has an extremely powerful bite and has been known to consume prey the same size as itself, attack people and take pieces out of crocodiles. It is thought that these fish attack in a reflex response to a sudden movement or splash. It is very rare to catch one, especially by an outsider because they are found in such a remote and difficult location to get to. There are no guides or lodges on that part of the Congo River.'

Wade revealed he used a sizable catfish as bait for the tigerfish and a 200lbs rod and line. He said he also took care to stand back from it until it was safely in his landing net. 'It is a very dangerous fish to handle. If you aren't careful it could easily take your finger off or worse,' he added. Wade, who spent eight days trying to land the fish, said he returned it to the river soon afterwards.

The new series of River Monsters starts on ITV1 on November 2 at 7.30pm.

---------------------

It doesn't look very alive to me... but still, what a scary looking bastard!

[faceless]

Baby monkey - riding around on a pig!

the porker doesn't look too happy about it...

[faceless]

Mallard Monroe! Pond bombshell duck is a ringer for movie legend Marilyn
6th November 2010

Most ducks, when they want to express themselves, go quack quack quack. But looking at this delightfully coiffured creature, one might expect her to say boo boo bee doo. For her hairdo bears an uncanny resemblance to the beautiful blonde locks of Marilyn Monroe.

While the screen legend went to great lengths perfecting her style, this bird’s look is entirely natural. It’s known as a crested duck, and the feather-covered growth is mainly formed of fatty tissue which emerges through a gap in the skull. Amateur photographer Rainey Shuler captured the image at a pond in Soulsbyville, northern California. She said: ‘I had never seen a duck like this. When I first saw the hairstyle I thought I was seeing things. I had to chuckle. It looked as though it was wearing a wig that was ready to fall off.’

[Stones]

I can't get the baby monkey song out of my head now!

[faceless]

Flamingos gathered in the shape of a flamingo is 'holy grail' of pictures
A photographer in Mexico claims he captured a real ‘bird’s eye view’ when a flock of flamingos gathered in this incredible shape.

Bobby Haas explained he had spent half an hour photographing the birds in their natural habitat from the air and was ready to head home. Yet just as the helicopter turned to leave he noticed the flamingos created an unusual formation.

Mr Haas said: 'I was just leaving when I noticed that the flock was moving into a shape resembling a flamingo. I told the pilot to whip around but go in slowly, since if you startle the flock they will splinter’. His chance to snap the birds was fleeting and Haas only managed to take one picture. It wasn’t until he developed it months later that the picture’s true majesty became clear. It’s the holy grail in photography when you capture an image you’ve never seen before and may never see again. It really was a spiritual moment’, Mr Haas added. ‘Some people have actually said that the image is divine intervention and proof that there is a God.’

Holy creation seems like a stretch, but it is certainly a once in a lifetime snap.

-----------------------