Watch an elephant's first moments of life as mother shows off her calf to her rescuers
It’s a tale we’ve heard one too many times in recent years, an elephant is struck down by poachers, leaving behind young that must struggle to survive. But what starts as a sad tale about an elephant losing her mother takes a bright turn, as Wendi the elephant begins her own journey of motherhood. When … Continued
Africa’s biggest elephant is killed by a German hunter, who paid $60,000 to do it
In a rather macabre turn of events, one of Africa’s largest elephants has been shot dead by a German hunter, less than three months after the killing of Cecil the Lion caused international outrage amongst animal lovers. The killing is believed to have occurred on October 8 on a private hunting estate bordering Gonarezhou National … Continued
Rare albino whale takes a swim with his mum
Spotting southern right whales in Australia is pretty uncommon, but seeing an albino southern right whale is even rarer. The Department of Parks and Wildlife at the Fitzgerald River National Park in Australia managed to capture some incredibly unique drone footage of a pod of four southern right whales. What makes the footage that much more … Continued
The mysterious secret of ‘crow funerals’ finally revealed
New research has shed light on the mystery of ‘crow funerals’ in which crows gather in large numbers to seemingly mourn their dead; it appears that the birds are learning about danger from the fate of their less fortunate brethren. Crows are one of just a handful of species, along with African elephants, bottlenose dolphins … Continued
Baby elephant is sung to sleep with a soothing lullaby
If ever there was a sight that reaffirmed humankind’s basic capacity to do nice by the world, then this might be it. In the video, a three-week-old baby elephant lays curled up on a women’s lap, as she softly sings a lullaby to the drowsy pachyderm, gently stroking its head. The clip was filmed at … Continued
Swedish film company pays tribute to Monty Python with this funny, yet beautiful film
Today is the 40th anniversary of Monty Python’s iconic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and—in a bit of spirited high jinx—a Swedish company decided to pay tribute to the British comedy group with a modern interpretation of their classic Lumberjack Song. Based out of the fifth largest city Västerås, Film Kollektivet’s short film … Continued
Inquisitive moose plays with drone
Technology’s latest flying gizmos and Mother Nature aren’t always the best of buddies. In fact, it was only last year that drones were banned from all US National Parks over their intrusive noise and safety concerns. Yet it seems that, sometimes, UAVs aren’t as much as a nuisance as we believe them to be—at least … Continued
Killer whales spotted hunting and devouring helpless dolphin in New Zealand
There’s a reason why they’re called killer whales. During a fishing trip in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, 12-year-old Jackson Baker and his father Richard spotted a pod of orcas swimming and splashing about near their boat. The boy did what any excited whale watcher would do: he grabbed a camera and began to film. … Continued
It’s a virgin birth! Female snake produces offspring without help from a male, for the second year running
In a bizarre mash-up of biblical narratives, a female serpent in southeast Missouri gave ‘virgin birth’ to live offspring, all without any interaction from a member of the opposite sex. The yellow-bellied water-snake at Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Centre has been alone and devoid of male companionship for around eight years. Nevertheless this is the … Continued
Spay/neuter vaccine inching closer to reality
Spay and neuter procedures have revolutionised animal management programmes worldwide, and majorly benefited us all in the long run, but is it time for another infertility option? The world’s bustling cat and dog populations, both feral and pet, are a problem. This fact isn’t earth-shattering news—it’s the reason spay and neuter techniques are endorsed by … Continued
Incredibly rare deepwater animal found in Scotland
Marine biologists have found a rare deepwater shark off the coast of Scotland, which they have nicknamed a ‘sofa shark’ due to its ‘saggy, chilled out’ appearance. Dr Francis Neat and his team from Marine Scotland were undertaking a routine fish population survey around the remote islands of Barra and St Kilda when the bizarre … Continued
Amazing drone footage shows a couple of curious whales greeting a paddle-boarder in Australia
Absolutely stunning drone footage has emerged of the moment when two whales swam through a crystal-clear ocean to greet an Australian paddle-boarder. The serene video shows the southern right whales calmly approaching Dave Price through still and turquoise waters near the town of Esperance in Western Australia—the footage perfectly accompanied by a Jack Johnson cover … Continued
Horse trapped in snow rescued by kind-hearted snowboarders
What started as a normal day of snowboarding turned into an epic rescue story. While celebrating his 21st birthday in the snow-laden Chilean Andes, Rafael Pease spotted something unusual sticking out of the snow. At first glance, Pease wrote it off as a rock, but soon realised that he and his friend had come across … Continued
What happens when a swan meets a weasel?
A dramatic encounter between a young weasel and a curious swan has been captured on camera by an amateur photographer at a nature reserve in Scotland. RSPB volunteer Billy Blair snapped the unlikely duo as they came face-to-face in front of a crowd of astounded onlookers at the wildlife charity’s Lochwinnoch reserve in Scotland’s west … Continued
Black Fox spotted in a British backyard gains celebrity status
Wildlife artist Robert Fuller has had some pretty extraordinary animal-encounters, but when a patron called to say he’d spotted a Black fox outside his flat a few hours away, Fuller got excited. Black or Silver foxes are actually just melanistic versions of Red foxes, but they’re incredibly rare in Britain. When Fuller first got the call, and subsequent … Continued
We ain’t lion, this big cat’s breathtaking bouffant has become an internet sensation
This is Leon the Lion, and he’s obviously one cat that takes great pride in his appearance. With a perfectly coiffured mane of lusciously thick golden locks, it’s obvious why this Congolese lion has stood head and shoulders above all the other animals at Ústí nad Labem Zoo in the Czech Republic since 2005. The … Continued
Here's the first ever recorded video of Borneo's 'deer-killing' vampire squirrel
Deep in the forests of Borneo lurks a squirrel with the largest tail-to-body mass ratio of any mammal—and a taste for deer blood. Ok, so maybe only one of these facts is verified, but odder animal-legends have proven true in the past. The real name of this animal in question is the Tufted Ground squirrel, but it also … Continued
The world’s first ever Croc-Cow! Thai villagers mystified by ‘half buffalo, half crocodile hybrid’
It would be a touch melodramatic to say that onlookers in a remote Thai village were left terrified by the appearance of a weird-looking creature in their midsts. But they’re definitely intrigued and more than a little confused—as we all are—about how this abnormal creation came about. One glance at the video—taken in High Rock, Wang Hin—shows … Continued
Did our tooth enamel evolve from fish scales?
Researchers cut up a 415 million year old fish fossil searching for the origin of the hardest-vertebrate tissue out there Sometimes evolutionary concepts can be hard to come to terms with. Take for example, the fact that land vertebrates arose from fish. This isn’t new information, but there’s a lot about this linkage that remains unknown, … Continued
First ever sighting of a glowing sea turtle
Biofluorescence—the ability to emit luminescent neon colours—has been observed in a sea turtle for the first time. Marine biologist David Gruber and his team from City University of New York encountered the Glowing Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) while diving under a full moon one night off the coast of the Solomon Islands in the … Continued
Three bears chased from property by tiny French Bulldog
A plucky guard dog has shown that enough courage can make even opponents five-times your size cower in their fur, after it chased away three bears from its California home. When the bears—believed to each be about a year old and weighing more than 100lbs—wandered into Jules’ front yard (and one onto the balcony, out of … Continued
Animal lovers unite for World Animal Day
Animal advocates in around 100 countries are taking part in over 1,000 events today in celebration of World Animal Day (WAD)—the global initiative to make the world a better place for animals. WAD was founded in 1931 by a group of ecologists in Florence, Italy, and has since grown into an internationally recognised movement, coordinated … Continued
Sea turtles sport trendy swimsuits for science
How do you go about collecting the faeces of an extremely tough, 120kg ocean-roaming sea turtle? The answer, it seems, is with a customised and oh-so-fashionable swimsuit. Owen Coffee, a PhD student from the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Sciences, has recently been researching the diet of endangered sea turtles in the hope of … Continued
Is this the world's smallest snail?
While collecting soil samples in China’s Guanxi province, researchers discovered something very interesting (and very, very tiny). Meet Angustopila dominikae, a new species of microsnail that is so small, it’s said that 10 of them could fit inside the eye of a needle. Their shells alone are only 0.86mm in height! Angustopila dominikae could be … Continued
Twitter celebrates #IRAD, International Racoon Appreciation Day
Today is International Raccoon Appreciation Day, and yes, that’s a real thing. It was started back in 2002 for the express purpose of celebrating racoons and all those other poor, maligned animals us pushy humans generally regard as pests, and to highlight the important and often overlooked role they play in our respective ecosystems. Whether it’s … Continued
Thirsty leopard gets its head stuck in metal pot
A rather unlucky male leopard was forced to spend five hours with its head stuck inside a metal pot after it went searching for water in an Indian village. Residents of Sardul Kheda, in India’s northern state of Rajasthan, discovered the agitated animal wandering about blindly, trying in vain to remove its head from the sturdy … Continued