dailypetfwd

By ANDREW LEVY

Shadow, a boarder collie, was killed last month while Daisy May died after being bitten while her owner was recovering from a knee operation


Pet lovers were warned yesterday to be on the lookout for snakes after two dogs died from adder bites.

Vets have reported an increase in attacks, saying the hot weather has encouraged adders out into the open.

One of the canine victims, a King Charles spaniel called Daisy-May, was put down after being bitten in a garden in Canvey Island, Essex.


Maggie Vinten was left devastated by the death of her dog


‘It was really nasty,’ said Carol Toplis, 57, who was looking after the dog for its owners.

‘The venom attacked her organs. She became very sleepy, it was as though she’d had major surgery.’

Vets decided to put the ten-year-old dog down when its kidneys started to fail last week.


Daisy May was taken to the vets to be treated but nothing could be done to save her


Mrs Toplis added: ‘I didn’t realise adders would be around in residential areas. Daisy-May was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

Another dog, border collie cross Shadow, was attacked last month by an adder while she was being walked in a nature reserve near Maldon.

Owner Celly White, 45, said: ‘The vets could see two puncture wounds and her skin was all black and had begun to fall away where it had died.


Sun bather: Adder sits up on a tree stump, to enjoy the sunshine near Godalming, Sussex


‘The vets were wonderful and did everything they could for her. They said they could try a skin transplant and a number of operations but in the end she was in such pain that we had to put her to sleep.

‘With hindsight I wouldn’t have let her off her lead but hopefully more dog owners will be aware of the dangers out there.’

Adder numbers are declining largely because of the destruction of natural habitats. Only 1,000 populations are thought to remain, some with as few as ten snakes.

source : dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Back next to its former home: This baby Ross's Turaco African bird has already outgrown the shell it came from


They may be just a few hours old, but it seems these tiny creatures had no problem coming out of their shells.

The newly-hatched baby birds were photographed next to the eggs they just came from in a series of eye-catching pictures by artist Eric Isselee.

Despite some of the birds being just 12-hours-old in the pictures, they are startingly already much bigger than the egg shells from which they entered the world.


Growing up fast: This baby Darwins Rhea bird is also much bigger than the shell it came from when photographed


Over the course of a year Eric - with the help of The Mulhouse and Beauval zoos in France - has catalogued a wide variety of birds enjoying a look round their former homes.

Eric said: 'I was photographing a very young bird, a Caracaras Southern, when the handler showed me its very colourful egg and placed it next to the tiny bird who had only hatched 12 hours earlier.


Out of their shell: This baby African penguin still looks quite attached to its former home


'It suddenly dawned on me that there are so many things that we ignore about birds.

'First of all, I was surprised by the difference in size between the egg and the animal, and was amazed that just a few hours before the chick was in that tiny little egg.

'We can all recognise a chicken's egg, but how many of us would know what a parrot's egg or a pelican's egg looks like for example?


Feathered friend: This young griffin vulture looks a little puzzled at being reunited with an egg just like the one it came from


'Also, many people have absolutely no idea how different some baby birds look compared to their adult form.

'A baby flamingo looks nothing like its adult form, in fact it almost looks like a penguin.

'I thought it would be interesting and educational for many people, including myself, to be able to learn more about some of our feathered friends.'

Eric said he was careful not to upset the balance of nature when taking his pictures and that all the chicks he used were hand-reared and not taken from their mothers without reason.


Newly-hatched: A young king vulture is another baby bird to be posed next to the egg shell in Eric's pictures


Bird's eye view: A baby southern Cararcas takes in its new surroundings while being pictured by an egg


He said: 'It is important that you know that all the birds I have photographed are hand-reared.

'Either their mothers could not take care of them, or they were taken from the mother to help her and to increase the chances of survival of the babies.

'Funnily enough most of the time the chicks seem to completely ignore the egg when it is placed next to them. Every now and again though a little chick pokes his head inside the egg, but it seems more like curiosity.'


source: dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


Incredible insects: A cockchafer beetle, otherwise called a may bug or spang beetle, is shot flying around the garden


Observing cats landing on their feet and squirrels scurrying around a garden might seem like just an ordinary event, but one talented photographer has transformed these moments into artwork.

The animal loving photographer has gone to extraordinary lengths to capture birds, rodents and insects in motion.

Using a special photographic technique that catches everything from the beat of a bird's wing to the flick of a squirrel's tail as it leaps through the air, Kim Taylor's stunning photos of an animal's ability to move from one place to another, also known as locomotion, is shown in awesome detail.

Playful cats: Photographer Kim Taylor captures a white cat, named Pyramus, leaping from a chair onto a table, taken at 50 millisecond intervals


With special homemade equipment, the 78-year-old from Surrey was able to capture his subjects in fractions of a second, giving a stunning 'strobe' effect on camera.

A rapidly-flashing light or strobe produces multiple images of a moving subject on a single photographic frame is a technique that has been around since the very early days of photography.

Legendary English photographer Eadweard Muybridge used this system to show the action of a galloping horse in the 1870s.

Mr Taylor was inspired to capture animals in motion by fellow Brit photographer Stephen Dalton who experimented with the technique in order to capture insects in flight.

Landing owl: A beautiful white and beige owl lands is pictured landing on a wooden post in a Surrey garden

Fluttering feathers: A European robin takes off from a wooden post as the sun sets in Surrey


He said 'I didn't have any special equipment at the time so I had to design and build a special unit for the job.

'This required generating dangerously high voltage - 3,500 volts - and storing the energy in a bank of special and very heavy capacitors.

'The resulting equipment has three flash heads that flash simultaneously and produce nine flashes at rates varying from 2 per second to 500 per second.'

Playful pony: A Welsh pony and her rider a photographed galloping around some stables at half second intervals

Scurrying squirrel: A grey squirrel is captured leaping around the garden using eight images taken at 40 millisecond intervals

Before turning to photography, Mr Taylorworked as a biologist with the Ministry of Overseas Development and later with the Ministry of Agriculture.

He received no formal training in photography or electronics but was able to learn most of what he needed to perfect his works by trial and error.

Kim said: 'You can't afford too many errors when dealing with a lethally high voltage, however, I am still here.

'Because it's very heavy, the unit does not often get taken on location, so most of the shots have been done in my Surrey garden.

'Some of my early shots were of garden birds taking off and I had to make sure the timing was precise - just 25 to 35 milliseconds between flashes was necessary to ensure that the images were sufficiently separated.

'I used further timing unit to ensure that the bird was already beginning to take off by the time the first strobe flash fired.

'The shot of the robin at take off is one of my favourites but I also like the shots of insects in flight since they show how the wings are used to propel the insect into the air.

'Digital photography and computerisation now allow series of images to be put together as if they represent a single event, whereas in reality, each image represents a separate event.

'But genuine strobe photography shows one event as it really happened.' Kim's pictures are so innovative that the BBC's One Show commissioned the photos of the squirrel which will be used on the programme this summer.'


source:dailymail

'Luk Chai', the calf of two Bangkok street elephants which arrived from Thailand in 2006, kicks a giant soccer ball during his second birthday celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on July 4, 2011. The 830kg infant was the first Asian elephant to be born in Australia and is considered to be a milestone in the zoo's Asian Elephant Conservation Program.



Taronga Zoo's elephant calf Luk Chai and keeper Bobby-Joe Clow take a rest from birthday celebrations in Sydney, Australia, Monday, July 4, 2011. Luk Chai, the first elephant ever born at the zoo, celebrated his second birthday on Monday with the rest of the zoo's Thai elephant clan eating fruity ice treats and playing soccer.



Bangkok street elephant 'Thong Dee', who arrived from Thailand in 2006, eats a cardboard box which contained hay during her calf's second birthday celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on July 4, 2011. The 830kg infant 'Luk Chai' was the first Asian elephant to be born in Australia and is considered to be a milestone in the zoo's Asian Elephant Conservation Program.



Bangkok street elephants 'Thong Dee' (L) and 'Pak Boon' (R), who arrived from Thailand in 2006, look on during birthday celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on July 4, 2011. The 830kg infant 'Luk Chai' was the first Asian elephant to be born in Australia and is considered to be a milestone in the zoo's Asian Elephant Conservation Program.



'Luk Chai' (L) and sibling 'Pathi Harn' (R), calves from two Bangkok street elephants which arrived from Thailand in 2006, are directed to carry a log by handler Bobby-Jo Clow (C) during Luk Chai's second birthday celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on July 4, 2011. The 830kg infant was the first Asian elephant to be born in Australia and is considered to be a milestone in the zoo's Asian Elephant Conservation Program.



'Luk Chai' (L) and his mother 'Thong Dee' (R) arrive for Luk Chai's second birthday celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on July 4, 2011. The 830kg infant was the first Asian elephant to be born in Australia and is considered to be a milestone in the zoo's Asian Elephant Conservation Program.


source: daylife
photo: Gettyimages

A Siberian tiger (Panthere tiger altaica) mother Niva faces one of her newborns at the Budapest Zoo and Botanic Garden in the Hungarian capital on July 4, 2011. Three eight-week-old Siberian tigers, Virgil, Thrax and Manu, were presented to the press for the first time with their health checkups and ID chips implanted by the chief doctor of the zoo.



Niva, a Siberian tiger, carries a cub at the Budapest Zoo July 4, 2011. Niva gave birth to three cubs on May 10, 2011.



A Siberian tiger (Panthere tiger altaica) mother Niva carries one of her newborns at the Budapest Zoo and Botanic Garden in the Hungarian capital on July 4, 2011. Three eight-week-old Siberian tigers, Virgil, Thrax and Manu, were presented to the press for the first time with their health checkups and ID chips implanted by the chief doctor of the zoo.



Niva, a Siberian tiger, carries a cub at the Budapest Zoo July 4, 2011. Niva gave birth to three cubs on May 10, 2011.



Niva, a Siberian tiger, carries a cub at the Budapest Zoo July 4, 2011. Niva gave birth to three cubs on May 10, 2011.


Zoo keepers hold two-month-old Siberian tiger cubs at the Budapest Zoo July 4, 2011.

source :daylife
photo: Gettyimages, Reuters

By Paul Sims


Unhappy: Owners are closing the front door and leaving their pet dogs to look after themselves


As man's best friend they will loyally follow you to the ends of the earth.

But woe betide those owners who close the front door and leave their dogs behind to fend for themselves during the day.

New research claims an estimated 1.5 million pooches in Britain are currently suffering from Home Alone syndrome.


Known as separation distress the condition can leave dogs feeling as traumatised by the whole experience as a young child would be.

As part of one study researchers placed video cameras in the home of 20 dog owners who believed their pets were happy to be left alone.

In fact, the resulting footage showed many of the dogs pacing in circles around the doormat, panting heavily and whining.

One dog was left so distressed by the experience that it had to be sent for a consultation with an animal psychologist, they claimed.

In another study the scientists observed seven litters of Labrador retrievers and five sets of border collie puppies.

Stressed: Puppies suffer from separation distress if their mother's leave the litter for too long


More than half the Labradors and almost half the collies displayed signs of separation distress.

‘Such numbers suggest a real and ongoing crisis for dogs,’ said John Bradshaw, director of the Anthrozoology Institute at Bristol University.

Mr Bradshaw, who has spent 25 years studying behavioural patterns of pets, has detailed the experiments in his forthcoming book, In Defence of Dogs.

The book, due to be published next month, reveals how his own dog Bruno, a black Labrador, also suffered from the condition.

When left home alone his pet chewed up his bed, furniture and even the wallpaper.

Although very rare some dogs have been known to carry out self-harm, such is the ordeal of being left behind.

Often, owners make matters even worse when they return home to find the damage and punish their dog with a smack on the nose.

For their pet will have no idea what it is for.

‘They have a different kind of memory,’ explained Mr Bradshaw. ‘They are not good at thinking backwards and forwards in time.

‘They can remember their litter mates years afterwards when they meet again, but they are not good at reasoning.

‘They cannot think back and realise what they did an hour ago is the reason their owner is cross with them.’

Nevertheless, Mr Bradshaw insists dogs have a range of ‘settings’ for handling their owners that makes them better at understanding of humans than any other species, including chimpanzees.

Dogs are capable of grieving and can identify those in the family who like them the best and offer them the most attention, he claims

Victoria Stilwell, who has become an animal behaviour counsellor in America and even has her own television series, It’s Me or the Dog, said: ‘We mustn’t devalue the capacity that animals have to feel.

‘We should give them the benefit of the doubt.’

There is, however, a cure for Home Alone syndrome. Owners should begin by leaving the dog at home for short intervals, rewarding them when they get back, each time leaving the dog for longer until they can be left all day.


source:dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


Scroll down for video

He's got rhythm: Snowball the dancing cockatoo has been hailed by scientists as proof that humans aren't the only creatures with rhythm


Meet Snowball, the dancing cockatoo who is forcing scientists to re-evaluate their opinion on avian intelligence.

The 13-year-old bird likes nothing better than bobbing up and down while shaking and tapping his feet to pop and rock music.

His dancing antics have made him an internet superstar while scientists are hailing his moves as proof that humans aren't the only creatures with a sense of rhythm.


Grooving to music by artists including Queen, the Backstreet Boys and Lady Gaga, the sulphur-crested Eleonora bobs his head, steps to the side, lifts his leg and shakes his body with impeccably good timing.

Now researchers have timed his rhythm to establish just how good a dancer Snowball is.

Using scientific measurements of synchronisation, they proved that the musical beats and dancing were linked up.

Dr Aniruddh Patel of The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego said: 'We've shown that if the music speeds up or slows down across a wide range, he adjusts the tempo of his dancing to stay synchronised to the beat.'

He added: 'I was transfixed. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.'

Snowball is a phenomenon because he is the first non-human animal documented as dancing to a synchronised beat.

While many animals respond to music, no other animal except for humans has been found to keep to a rhythm.

Precise grooves: Using scientific measurements of synchronisation, researchers proved that the musical beats were exactly linked to Snowball's dancing


Dr Patel and colleagues studied Snowball along with hundreds of other birds.
They searched the internet site YouTube for videos of animals dancing to music - including parrots, dogs and cats.

They studied each video frame by frame, comparing the speed of the music and the movements of the creatures.

Suspect videos - where the music appeared to have been added afterwards - were ignored, as were videos where an animal could have been following movements offscreen.

From more than 1,000 videos, they found evidence that 14 species of parrot and one species of elephant can move in time to music.

Chimpanzees, dogs and cats appeared to have no sense of rhythm.


Mid-move: Snowball gets down to a German polka


'For a long time, people have thought that the ability to move to a beat was unique to humans,' said researcher Dr Adena Schachner.

'After all, there is no convincing evidence that our closest relatives, chimpanzees and other apes, can keep a beat, and there is similarly no evidence that our pet dogs and cats can line up their actions with a musical beat.'

After identifying the dancing birds, the researchers studied Snowball - who lives in a bird shelter in Indiana - in the lab.

The scientists believe the parrots' sense of rhythm is closely linked to their ability to mimic songs.

Dr Schachner added: 'If you are imitating a sound, you constantly monitor your memory of the sound you are trying to imitate, as well as the sound you are producing, so if you notice a difference, you can change your vocalisation.

'So it seems plausible that vocal mimicry and keeping a beat might rely on some of the same mechanisms.'

The same ability to dance could also be shared by other mimics in the natural world - such as seals, dolphins, elephants and song birds, she said.



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source:dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


Self-portrait: This critically endangered macaque monkey took his own photographs after grabbing a camera ht had been left lying around


These marvellous images of a critically endangered monkey in Indonesia were captured by the monkey itself.

The inquisitive animal grabbed a camera that had been left lying around and playfully began to investigate the equipment before becoming fascinated with his own reflection in the lens.

And it wasn't long before the crested black macaque started snapping away with award-winning photographer David Slater's camera.

Say cheese: The monkeys were intrigued by their reflection in the camera lens


'One of them must have accidentally knocked the camera and set it off because the sound caused a bit of a frenzy, said Slater, 46.

'At first there was a lot of grimacing with their teeth showing because it was probably the first time they had ever seen a reflection.

'They were quite mischievous jumping all over my equipment, and it looked like they were already posing for the camera when one hit the button.

'The sound got his attention and he kept pressing it.

'At first it scared the rest of them away but they soon came back - it was amazing to watch.

'He must have taken hundreds of pictures by the time I got my camera back, but not very many were in focus. He obviously hadn't worked that out yet.

You can be in this one too: The monkey even snapped a shot with photographer David Slater in the frame


'I wish I could have stayed longer as he probably would have taken a full family album.'

Slater, from Coleford, Gloucestershire, was on a trip to a small national park north of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when he met the incredibly friendly bunch.

The crested black macaque is extremely rare and critically endangered.

These were part of a study group near a science base in the region, home to researchers from Holland.

'I teamed up with a local guide because I knew about the apes and wanted to photograph them,' said Slater.

'I walked with them for about three days in a row.

'They befriended us and showed absolutely no aggression - they were just interested in the things I was carrying.

'They aren't known for being particularly clever like chimps, just inquisitive.

'Despite probably never having any contact with humans before they didn't feel threatened by our presence, and that's why I could walk with them during the day.'


source:dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

The donkra stands next to its zebra mother soon after it was born yesterday in Xiamen, China


A donkra, the offspring of a zebra and a donkey stands beside its zebra mother in a wildlife park in Xiamen, China, yesterday.

This donkra was born on Sunday morning to the only zebra in the park.

Zoo keeper Lin, said she witnessed the natural mating between the zebra and a donkey last summer, but was astonished when she discovered the zebra was pregnant in February.


You can take a donkra to water... It born on Sunday morning to the only zebra in the park


The term donkra is specifically applied to offspring with a zebra mother and a donkey father but can also be referred to as a zebroid.

However, when a zebra stallion mates with a jenny donkey, it is known only as a zebroid and these are much more common than donkras.

During the South African War the Boers crossed ponies with zebras for transport work such as moving guns, according to Wikipedia.


Donkras, with a mother zebra and father donkey, are much more rare than zebroids


Charles Darwin mentioned in Origin of Species, drawings of ass/zebra hybrids saying: 'In Lord Morton's famous hybrid from a chestnut mare and male quagga, the hybrid, and even the pure offspring subsequently produced from the mare by a black Arabian sire, were much more plainly barred across the legs than even the pure quagga.'

In modern times they are used as curiosities and feature in circuses or small zoos.
Eden Ostrich World in Cumbria took delivery of a zony when one of its Shetland ponies was left in a field with a zebra.

source: dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Roaring to go: Victor lets out a growl as he is finally released back into the wild


This is the incredible moment an angry and fearsome tiger makes a bid for freedom - after being rescued from a poacher's snare.

The hulking beast, named Victor, was nursed back to health by experts for a week after being caught in a brutal snare set by ruthless hunters.

The nine-year-old Amur tiger, who was spotted by students in a remote Russian forest who heard him roaring in pain after being trapped in a cable snare.

The bleeding beast, who would have been worth up to $10,000 on the black market for its bones and skin alone, was finally released to safety in the frozen wastes of eastern Russia after being treated for cuts to his skin.


Freedom: The Amur tiger bursts from his cage and leaps through the snow


The dramatic moment where he burst out of his cage was caught on camera for BBC Wildlife Magazine and shows the powerful animal leaping through the snow to freedom as the team of conservationists stood well back.

One of them John Goodrich, 45, who has spent 16 years working with the tigers in Russia, said: 'We chose a place with enough open space so that we could sit in our vehicles and watch as Victor left his cage to freedom.

'We had cameras ready as my colleague raised the door to the cage.

'Victor glared at us and roared, making a great cloud of steam in the cold air. But he stayed put.

'Then, letting out another roar, he turned toward us again and burst out of the cage. He hit the snow and, with one great leap, disappeared into the forest.

'The power and speed with which he leapt from the truck and disappeared into the forest was awesome and would have been terrifying had I not been sitting in the safety of my vehicle.'

When Victor was found, the kindhearted students drove 50 miles to the nearest telephone to raise the alarm, and alerted the Inspection Tiger Department to their find.


source: dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Jump for joy: Little Jaxs has become very attached to the boots, which are made of canvas and attached using velcro


When it's time for walkies in the Domanic household, instead of pawing away at the front door, Yorkshire Terrier Jaxs rushes off to pick up his booties.

The beloved pet has to be dressed in specially made boots to protect his delicate paws because of his unfortunate allergy.

Eight-year-old Jaxs suffers a painful reaction if he comes into contact with even a single blade of grass.

The allergy causes huge clumps of fur to fall out and leaves Jaxs suffering huge sores on his sensitive paws.

But Jaxs' life was transformed after a vet suggested his owner Maria Domanic, 59, fit him out in 'doggy boots'.

The care worker from Kingsbridge, Devon, said: 'He absolutely loves the boots. Initially he was a little tentative but over time he's become very protective of them.



Booties for walkies: Eight-year-old Jaxs suffers a painful reaction if he comes into contact with even a single blade of grass


'I never really put two and two together with the allergy.

'One day, I took him to the vets and had him tested, which showed he was allergic to grass, as well as milk, protein and oats.

'He's so happy to finally be able to run around the field with other dogs.

'The allergy proves very painful for him and he would sometimes gnaw at his paws after walks.'


Happy at last: Maria Dominic with Yorkshire Terrier Jaxs


Jaxs has become very attached to the boots, which are made of canvas and attached using velcro.

But Maria admits she does get some odd looks and comments from fellow dog walkers.

She said: 'As soon as I got the lead he runs off and gets his boots and if another dog comes round or anyone tries to pick them up he will run off and protect them.

'He even sleeps with them in his basket. I've had a few people make some odd comments branding me "cruel" and "disgusting" for dressing him up in clothes.

'I have to explain it's for his own good and not some fashion statement I'm trying to make.'


source : dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Poodle power: The tiny poodle is groomed and his his fur dyed to look like a panda cub - but he does not look happy about it


If this cute creature growled at you, you wouldn't know whether to run from his sharp claws or pat him on the head and give him a biscuit.

From a distance his black and white fur coat makes him look like an unusual baby panda.

But take a closer look and he is actually a small furry Poodle who has been creatively groomed, including his fur dyed, to look the spitting image of a baby panda cub.

Not that he looks that happy about it. The made-up mut is probably looking forward to the moment he can roll in the mud and return to his former self.

Something of a canine fancy dress contest, this extreme dog grooming is the latest craze among some dog owners in China who like to dye their pets to look like other animals.

The Chinese are always quick to embrace bizarre trends, and it is not unusual for owners to take their dogs to grooming parlours where they are not only given a shampoo and trim, but a multi-coloured dye job as well.


New look: The dog had colour added to its fur to look like a baby panda in a craze sweeping China. Some owners have turned their dogs into tigers and raccoons


The incredible transformations reportedly take eight hours to complete and are particularly popular among pet grooming salons in Beijing.

Aside from being made over to look like pandas, owners have also turned their pets into tigers and raccoons.

The growing trend for extreme doggy makeovers has led to a surge in demand for dog salons and doggy beauticians with figures revealing a 500 per cent increase in the amount of money spent on pets between 1999 and 2008.

source: dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Mammoth: Shooter the elk stands 10ft tall from his hooves to the tip of his antlers


Keepers at Pocatello Zoo, Idaho, were worried when they noticed Shooter, a four-year-old elk, acting strangely at his water trough.

Baffled, they watched as the animal - who is so massive some keepers are afraid to even enter his enclosure - tried to dip his hooves into his drinking trough, before attempting to dunk his whole head in the water.

But they were amazed as 10ft tall Shooter lifted his head from the trough clutching a tiny marmot - a kind of large squirrel - between his jaws.


To the rescue! Shooter pulls the hapless marmot from his water trough


The gentle giant placed the hapless rodent down and nudged it with his hoof, as if checking it for signs of life, before calmly watching it scamper off into the bushes.

Zoo staff caught the entire rescue on camera. 'It really was amazing,' said Kate O'Conner, Pocatello's education co-ordinator.

'Shooter is such a huge animal - he stands at six feet tall without his antlers - which are another four feet, and he's pretty scary.

'Some of the staff don't like going in his enclosure with him - he's punctured car tyres with his antlers before, so to see him being so gentle with a little animal was heart-warming.


Down you go: Shooter gently lowers the tiny rodent to the ground


'We all know he's a real character, but I think he must have a soft side we didn't know about.

'He was trying to dunk his head in the water, but his antlers kept getting in the way.

'Nobody could figure out why he was trying to get his head in, and then he started dipping his feet in.

'We were all completely confused, until we saw the marmot in his mouth.

'I think he had nudged the animal away from the edge of the bucket with his antlers and hooves so he could reach it with his mouth without his antlers getting in the way.

'It was very sweet.'


Safe, but soaked: Somewhat shell shocked, the lucky marmot seems happy to be back on dry land


Zoo keeper Dr Joy Fox added: 'We think Shooter sensed that the animal was in distress and decided to help.

'However, he could have just decided he didn't like having something in his way.
'He spent quite a bit of time planning how to grab it.'

The zoo plans to auction off Shooter's incredible antlers when they are shed later in the year.


source : dailymail