Animal's Kingdom

X-ray reveals rubber duck inside terrier 18 months on

2010-03-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

A dog has had a £1,000 operation to remove a rubber duck from its gut - 18 months after the bathroom toy vanished. The owners of Spike the Patterdale terrier were astonished when they took their sick pet to the vet and discovered what had caused the problem. Colin Smith, 52, of Thorner, near Leeds, said: "I was absolutely amazed. "When we saw it after the operation it was the same duck he swallowed 18 months ago. We assumed he'd chewed it up and it had passed through him." Mr Smith recalled how Spike had taken the toy from the bathroom in the summer of 2008. "He eats absolutely anything," said Mr Smith. "He must have seen the duck and thought 'they're not going to let me have this' so he just swallowed it whole." Mr Smith said he had kept the duck as a memento. "The only difference is it's gone black after losing its yellow paint," he said.

Starlings fall out of the sky and lie dying

2010-03-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

The deaths of 75 starlings which appeared to fall from the sky and crash land on to a driveway in Somerset has mystified the RSPCA animal charity. The birds were spotted falling onto the entrance of a house in Coxley in Somerset on Sunday 7 March.

Animal welfare officer Alison Sparkes, who was called by police, said: "It was a remarkable sight, I've never seen anything like it." There is no evidence the birds were ill or poisoned before they hit the ground. Ms Sparkes said: "Onlookers said they heard a whooshing sound and then the birds just hit the ground. They had fallen on to the ground in quite a small area, about 12ft (3.6m) in diameter.
"They appeared to be in good condition other than injuries that they appear to have suffered when they hit they ground. Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrow hawk and ended up crash landing."

She said that the birds had suffered broken beaks, broken legs and wings and abdominal injuries. Five of the birds survived the fall but had to be put down because of their severe injuries.

Ugly Dog Contest

2010-03-09T11:31:00.001-08:00

The toothless, mohawked 7-year-old won at the 15th Annual Ugly Dog Contest in Del Mar, California. An African sand dog named Rascal has won the Del Mar Fairgrounds Ugly Dog Contest at his first attempt.

Owner Dane Andrew said: "I think he's the most handsome dog I've ever seen."

Tallest Dog In The World

2010-03-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

A Great Dane from the US state of Arizona has been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the tallest dog ever on record.Giant George, owned by David Nasser, stands 43in (1.09m) tall paw to shoulder, and weighs 245lb (111kg). Guinness officials say there were conflicting reports about Giant George's height, so they sent a judge to his home in Tucson to verify it.

Giant George - who has his own website - consumes 110lb of food each month.

Four-year-old Giant George made it into the record books by beating his nearest rival, Titan, a Great Dane from California, by three-quarters of an inch.

He was named by Guinness World Records as both the world's Tallest Living Dog and Tallest Dog Ever.

Mr Nasser says George sleeps on his own queen-sized bed inside the house.

On a recent plane trip for a media appearance in Chicago, George was given a row of three seats to himself.

And his presence on the plane certainly caused a commotion, says Mr Nasser, with many passengers coming up to take photographs.

"There were so many people coming to the front of the plane, the pilot ended up illuminating the 'fasten seat-belt' sign to get everyone to sit down," he added.

If there's a will, there's a way

2010-02-11T05:08:00.000-08:00

Narcoleptic squirrel

2010-02-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Baby gorilla pose like a human

2010-02-04T04:17:00.000-08:00

A six-month-old lowland gorilla baby Yewande leans back with her arms behind her head.

Pictured relaxing in a human-like pose resting in the sun.

Rare Tree Kangaroo

2010-01-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Tree-kangaroos are rare where they exist in the tropical rainforests of Australia and New Guinea, relying on the fragile and swiftly diminishing tropical rainforest environment for their survival.

Pugs eat owner's body after suicide

2009-12-25T04:35:00.000-08:00

This two pugs were forced to eat their owner's dead body for survival.
The pups named Harry and Sally were left alone in their home for two weeks after their owner committed suicide.

Baby Elephant lives with family

2009-12-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

This baby Elephants was rejected by his mother. So adorable, saving elephants is rewarding and fun, but how long you can foster a baby elephants and live with you inside the house.

Elephant Lives With Family @ Yahoo! Video

Squirrel mother goes nuts and attacks dog trying to eat her baby

2009-12-10T03:19:00.001-08:00

Barking mad: The squirrel gets ready to leap off the tree and its terrified baby is pounced on by the dog

Make it snappy: The plucky creature bites and claws the dog, allowing its baby to escape certain death

That's my baby! The dog snarls in pain as the squirrel leaps in to attack it - and the baby makes a leap for the safety of the tree

Thanks mum: The heroic squirrel ushers its baby back up the tree to safety

dailymail

Transparent Sea Cucumber

2009-12-01T02:48:00.000-08:00

This bizarre transparent sea cucumber was recently spotted some 1.7 miles under the sea in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. And, according to a new report, there are many, many more where this came from.

Thousands of marine species eke out an existence in the ocean's pitch-black depths by feeding on the snow-like decaying matter that cascades down, and even sunken whale bones, according to a report released by the Census of Marine Life and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

So far the project has recorded 17,650 species living below 656 feet, the point where sunlight ceases. The findings are the latest update on a 10-year census of marine life.

This animal, Enypniastes, was recorded creeping forward on its many tentacles at a rate of about 0.9 inches per minute, while sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its mouth. Eventually the creature bloomed into a startlingly curved shape and swam away to find another meal.

As Robert S. Carney, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University and lead researcher on the census, commented, "Parts of the deep sea that we assumed were homogenous are actually quite complex."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bengal Dog

2009-11-21T04:28:00.000-08:00

Is it Real or It is dyed?

Amazing delivery of Shark

2009-11-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

Visitors at the New Zealand aquarium witnessed a shark perform a impromptu “cesarean section” on another shark! Acting as midwife, this shark took a great big bite out of the pregnant shark’s side.

Witnessing several babies emerge from the gaping stomach wound on the side of the school shark, The Surprised staff doesn't know that the shark is pregnant arrived at the tank, the mother shark and four babies were rescued and moved to another location. And what is even more amazing - staff found four more live sharks inside the mother’s womb!

More details at nzherald.co.nz

iphone Dog

2009-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Slide to unlock

Wolf Spiders With Babies

2009-10-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Wolf spiders are unique in carrying their eggs along with them in a round silken globe, or egg sac, which they attach to the spinnerets at the end of their abdomen.
Also unique to wolf spiders is their method of infant care. Immediately after the little spiders hatch and emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and all crowd onto her abdomen.

Funny Talking Animals

2009-10-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

From Walk On The Wild Side series

Buddy sings a duet with Maria Callas

2009-09-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

La Mamma Morta!

Very Cute Puppies- Real Kawaii

2009-09-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

Smart Dog Playing pool

2009-09-07T00:52:00.000-07:00

This dog is really serious with the pool game, he's a champion and better than me LoL . Anyway, what amazes me is that he knows how to hit the ball. His name is Halo, he's just talented and plays like a Pro pool dog.

10 days old Puppy Flushed down the Toilet

2009-08-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

A four year old boy thought it would be a big help if he washed a muddy puppy but accidentally flushed the toilet by mistake. Puppy spent 4 hours stuck in a sewer pipe before rescuers and a plumbing crew got the little furball out safely.

Amazing Bird Fishes Like A Human

2009-08-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Adorable creature loves being tikled

2009-08-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Caribbean Beach Overrun by Family of Cute Pigs

2009-08-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

A family of cute piggies frolics and swims with tourists. The brown and pink boars and piglets are known as the famous Swimming Pigs of the Exumas, and they've been an island fixture for generations, rooting around in the underbrush and living off scraps fed to them by passing boaters.

Heart-kun and Love-kun

2009-08-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Celebrity Chihuahua Heart-Kun shares his heart shape marking to his little brother. Heart-kun was born to the same mother two years ago. The one that brought great luck and lottery winnings to the owner.
Heart-kun's mother gave birth to a new litter of puppies, and one of the four tiny pups shares the unique heart-shaped coat marking.
The owner and breeder, Emiko Sakurada of Odate in the Japanese prefecture of Akita, named the little one as love-kun.