dailypetfwd

By Jamie Mcginnes


..Meet the proud mother of the first live Sumatran rhino born in captivity in Indonesian history.

These heart-melting pictures show 12-year-old Ratu tenderly caring for her as yet unnamed two-day old son.

Standing at just nine inches tall the tiny rhino is currently the size of a puppy - yet one day could weigh a whopping 125 stone.

Adorable: Sumatran rhinoceros Ratu is shown tenderly caring for her as yet unnamed two-day old son

Big plans: Standing at just nine inches tall, the tiny rhino is currently the size of a puppy - yet one day could weigh a whopping 125 stone

The newborn rhino's weight is not yet known because vets caring for him at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary at Way Kambas National Park cannot get near the youngster for fear of his protective mother, who could attack if she felt her offspring was threatened.

Ratu gave birth after suffering two previous miscarriages.

Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan explained the significance of the birth in the context of breeding Sumatran rhinos across Asia.

He said: 'This birth will increase the confidence of the international community.

'[It] will no doubt help government efforts to preserve endangered species like the Sumatran rhino, but also other now rare creatures that once existed all across Indonesia.'

Protective: The newborn rhino's weight is not yet known because vets caring for him at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary cannot get near as his mother could attack if she felt he was threatened

It is only the fourth known case of a Sumatran rhino being born in captivity in 100 years.

The creatures - one of the world's most endangered species - are critically at risk in the wild, with just 170 thought to survive in the forests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

It is possible another 50 of the rare animals live in the Malaysian-administered part of Borneo called Sabah.


High hopes: The baby creature is only the fourth known case of a Sumatran rhino being born in captivity in 100 years

Snuggled up: Ratu relaxes with her baby son at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, in Way Kambas National Park, Indonesia

The major threats to the survival of the Sumatran rhinoceros are poaching, loss of habitat and the difficulty such a small population has in finding mates to breed successfully.

Their numbers have slumped by 50% in just 20 years.

Each breeding pair can roam more than 5,000 hectares of forest and they are highly territorial - with encounters between the mighty beasts often turning into pitched battles for space.

Sumatran rhinos have been successfully bred in developed nations before.

This baby rhino's father, Andalas,11, was himself the world's first captive bred Sumatran rhino when he was born in 2001.

Andalas, who is not pictured because he is not yet allowed near his son, was born at Cincinnati zoo in America.


Future prospects: The baby's father, Andalas, (not pictured) was himself the world's first captive bred Sumatran rhino when he was born in 2001



source:dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


..Two black bears have been caught on camera wrestling on the front lawn of a suburban home in Florida.

But residents seem unperturbed by the dangerous animals, and say they will not even consider moving away because of them.

In the video, the bears appear to be play-fighting on the ground and later while standing up.

Scroll down for video


Fighting: Two bears were filmed wrestling on the front lawn of a suburban home in Florida

Grappling: The bears tussled aggressively for several minutes as they were filmed by Andrea Barnes

The fight spills over into nearby bushes and ends about two minutes later with both bears leaving in separate directions.

The bears were on Tammy Snell's lawn - but the Longwood resident insists that bears are just part of the scenery for the area.

She told the Orlando Sentinel that residents do not want to relocate the bears.

'We moved into their area,' she said. 'It's really like living in a zoo.'


Violent: But it was unclear whether the bears were wrestling in anger or just playfighting with each other

Common sight: But residents say the bears' presence is more of an attraction than a threat to them

Ms Snell added: 'They don't seem mean but we know they're not pets either. It's a part of living where we live.'

The amazing video was captured by Andrea Barnes, who lives across the street from Ms Snell.

Watch the video




source:dailymail

By Ian Garland


..It reads like the plot of a Disney movie - three unlikely animal playmates overcoming their differences to forge an adorable friendship.

But this is a real-life story, about a lion cub called Simba, a rabbit called Thumper and a dog called Monty, all being raised together at the Glasgow home of two zookeepers.

Archive footage has emerged of the trio spending their days play-fighting and cuddling - and their antics have now become a belated smash online more than 20 years after they were filmed.

Scroll down for video

Unlikely friends: Simba the lion nuzzles up to his playmate Thumper the rabbit in archive footage recorded in Glasgow during the 1980s that has now become a hit online

Upper hand: Monty makes the most of his temporary size advantage in a playfight with Simba

Thirteen-week-old Simba was taken away from his mother at Glasgow Zoo, which closed in 2000, after falling ill over the winter.

While sharing a home with two zookeepers in the 1980s, Simba found willing playmates in the couple's pet dog and rabbit.

Despite their obvious differences, the three became firm friends, showing genuine and heart-warming affection for each other as they scamper around the home they share.

Sadly the friendship was destined to come to an end - having shaken off the illness that kept him away from his real family, he soon had to return to the zoo.

He also quickly grew too big to be trusted around his already fully-grown playmates - as well as his human housemates.

His keeper reveals on the YouTube video, which has been viewed by thousands of people: 'As he gets older he gets more boisterous. In the morning you wake up and go to the toilet and there's a lion cub clinging on to the back of your leg.'


Simba pounces on Thumper, playfully. The cub was to quickly outgrow his playmates


Once he catches his little friend, they nuzzle and cuddle up and Simba nibbles affectionately on Thumper's fur


Simba had to be fed from a bottle while he was raised away from his pride


The lion cub grew quickly and was then returned to Glasgow Zoo, which closed in 2000




source:dailymail

By Sara Malm


..A baby panda high fives from the arms of a worker at a rescue and breeding centre in China.

Seen playing around with its mates and then being picked up for a cuddle its hard to believe that these fluffy bears are even real animals and not teddy toys.

Workers show off the baby pandas at the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province today.

This baby panda is clearly loving the limelight as it greets its fans as a worker holds it up to the audience at the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu, southwest China

The pandas were fed by bottle and staff held them up to greet visitors at the park.

The animals were made a rare display in order to attract visitors to the rescue centre ahead of the annual Duanwu, or Dragon Boat, festival.

Duanwu is the great mid-summer solstice celebration in China and always falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar.


One of the baby pandas discover the photographer as it plays in its enclosure before being picked up by one of the staff members at the rescue and breeding centre


'What did you say? Come here and say that to my face!': Another one of the baby pandas is loving the attention as it is displayed in its pin

They may look adorable and cuddly now, but giant pandas are in fact born pink, blind and toothless and does not start to grow fur until they are about a month old

It is celebrated all over southeast Asia including Taiwan and Malaysia, and involves racing dragon boats, drinking rice wine and making Zongzi, which is a type of rice dumplings.

China engages in "panda diplomacy", using the endangered but iconic bears as diplomatic gifts to other countries.

A worker bottle feeds one of the baby pandas at the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu in the Sichuan province in southwest China

Hiring the animals out to foreign zoos is also a lucrative way for the Chinese government to reap the benefits of the animals likeability and huge fanbase around the world.

The diplomatic trade in panda’s are a danger to the species which is already at risk.

Only around 1,600 remain in the wild in China, with some 300 others in captivity.


There are only 1,600 Giant Panda's living in the wild and the work of organisations like the Giant Panda Research Base is important in the fight for their future



source:dailymail

By Laura Cox


The bear cub starts off trying to hoist himself him onto the beam, having slipped off before the camera started rolling

If you go down to the woods today… you won’t find this bear cub. He has taken up residence in a garage instead.

Check out this heartwarming video of the adventurous bear, squealing as he tries to find a way down from the beam he is perched upon.

He slips and swings monkey-style, clinging on with his front two paws and trying to hoist himself back up.

After a struggle he rights himself and starts to creep gingerly along the beam

After some fairly acrobatic moves he manages to get back in position on the pole and takes a short breather before edging gingerly along to try to find a safer way down.

Every now and again his paws slip and he finds himself on his belly, lacking the necessary grace of a trapeze artist.

With one leg hanging haphazardly from the beam he steals a glance at the ground and barks discontentedly at the distance.

Distracted by the noise of the garage door opening he slips once again

At that moment the garage door starts to slide upwards and the cub starts yelping excitedly.

When the camera next pans round to the entrance, momma bear is standing there, having come to the rescue and somehow managed to open the sliding door.

Or at least that’s what it looks like. The source of the video hasn’t yet been identified and her reaction is almost too human to be real.

She stands on her hind legs in the garage doorway, propping up the door with one paw, her head cocked slightly to one side disapprovingly as though saying ‘I told you it wasn’t a good idea!’

Dropping back down onto all fours and disappears behind a parked car.


The camera pans round and focuses on mommy bear, reaching up to open the garage door so that she can get at her cub


With encouragement from his mom the cub carefully lowers himself onto a ladder which is propped up against the wall

The bear shimmies down the ladder to safety and finally his ordeal is over

Seeing his mother gives the cub a courage boost and he shifts over toward a ladder propped up against the wall before carefully shimmying down.

Safely back down on solid ground he bounds over toward his mother, yapping furiously. Is that bear talk for ‘I didn’t mean to mom!’?

The video was posted on YouTube on Wednesday after the garage owner spotted it lurking in the shadows and has been viewed 5,700 times.

What isn’t explained is how the cub got in there in the first place, or whether he left with his mom, since the video cuts off without showing them leave.




source:dailymail

By Nina Golgowski


Pretty ugly: Mugly, a Chinese Crested dog from the United Kingdom has won the 2012 World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California

A Chinese Crested's short snout, beady eyes and white whiskers earned it the title of World's Ugliest Dog at the annual contest in Northern California on Friday.

Competing for fame, $1,000 and a year's worth of dog cookies, Mugly won the honour by beating out 28 other ugly dogs from around the world.

The 8-year-old rescue dog from Peterborough, England - described on the competition as having a 'lovely personality [that] outweighs his looks' - will also be invited for a photo shoot and will receive a VIP stay at the local Sheraton.

Scroll down for video of 2011's contenders


Surprised: Mugly's owner Bev Nicholson of Peterborough, England, bottom right, reacts to the awarded title against Dane Andrew and his dog, Rascal, and Kathleen Francis and her dog, Princess Abby on Friday


Winnings: Mugly won $1,000 and a year's worth of dog cookies after beating out 28 other ugly dogs competing from around the world

Pro: The British pooch was named Britain's ugliest dog in 2005 as well

'I couldn't speak when they announced Mugly's name,' said Bev Nicholson, the dog's owner. 'I didn't know which way to look. I was shaking as much as the dog.'

It's not the first time Mugly has been recognized for his unattractiveness. Ms Nicholson said he was named Britain's ugliest dog in 2005.

A hard worker with such a memorable face, Mugly volunteers as a Pets As Therapy Dog for children, paying visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes in the UK, while having once had his own trouble when attacked in a park several years ago by a group of thugs, according to the competition's website.


Spotlight: A woman holds her competitor for the contest that gets worldwide attention, with reporters and camera crews traveling from around the world to attend


Classes: With two competitors seen, the competition in its 24th year, judged the dogs' natural ugliness in pedigree and mutt classes


Fits the description: Wild eyes, hair and prominent tongues appeared the norm among the 28 competitors on Friday

Benefit: Not all could be winners, though sponsors of the competition raised money for several animal causes

The contest held at the Marin-Sonoma Fairgrounds gets worldwide attention, with reporters and camera crews from around the world traveling to Petaluma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco.

Organizers say the competing dogs are judged for what they term their 'natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes.'
Mugly took home two trophies in both classes.

His victory was the latest for a Chinese crested, whose breed – offered in two varieties of Hairless and Powderpuff (having a full-body coat) is a regular competitor.

Last year's winner, Yoda, was a Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix described as having been found in a field by the owner’s two-year-old daughter at the time.


One by one: A boy carries in a white, scruffy dog high above the audience along the red carpet


What's in a name: Icky, pictured in the arm of his owner, rivaled other dogs named Handsome Hector, Creature, Rue, Spam-O-Rama and Mouse


No 2: An excited contestant presents his dog with a red, second place ribbon


Dolled up: A dog is held up before the cameras displaying pink toenails and feathers in her hair, all permitted accessories


Pugs too: While Chinese Crested dogs, pure bred or mixed, seem always in easy supply for the competition, other breeds like this droopy-tongued pug were seen pushing for the title

Close rival: Creature, a Mexican Hairless mix, topped Mugly by one vote in the online voting category according to the competition's website

'I told her to put it down because I thought it was a rat,' she said of the scrawny 1.8lb dog with a prominently large tongue and wild yellow hair.

Yoda, who had been in the family for 14 years, died this past March.

Coming in close second this year, in online votes a Mexican Hairless mix named Creature - with a described 'unique smile' of a wide, toothy overbite - rivalled Mugly appearing one vote ahead in the voting category.

Other contestants featured dogs with names like Creature, Rue, Icky, Spam-O-Rama, Mouse and Handsome Hector - a repeat favourite from last year.

Held for the last 24 years, the competition this year was hosted by pet psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick.


Checked out: All of the dogs permitted at the fair grounds, one seen relaxing, were required to go through a vet check and not allowed to compete if sick or having any active communicable disease


Psychic host: This year's host was pet psychic, Sonya Fitzpatrick, who said she gave a reading of the animals, several seen here, who expressed excitement for the attention and no hurt feelings by considered 'ugly'

Off to rest: In addition to a photo shoot, Mugly and his owner received a VIP stay at the local Sheraton hotel

According to Ms Fitzpatrick, who provided a reading of the dogs, she claimed they all loved the attention and didn't mind being called 'ugly' in the least bit.

The contesting dogs, who all go through a vet check, are not allowed to compete if sick or having any active communicable disease, and must have proof of current vaccinations.

The contest, that's free to enter, raises money for the Rancho Costal Humane Society, the Helen Woodward Therapeutic Riding Program and the Kiqanis Foundation of Del Mar through sponsored support.


Prior winner: This scraggly mixed Chinese crested and Chihuahua named Yoda won last year's competition


Quite a find: Yoda's owner, pictured with her here, said her two-year-old daughter found the dog in a field and the mother immediately thought it was a rat




source:dailymail

•Honey is in safe hands at Withington Hedgehog Hospital Trust in Manchester

By Graham Smith


This two-day-old baby hedgehog is in a prickly situation as she waits for her mother to recover from a gardening accident.

The newborn, called Honey, is in safe hands as she is looked after by animal welfare officers at Withington Hedgehog Hospital Trust in Manchester.

Her mother was injured when a lawnmower accidentally ran her over.

Newborn: Two-day-old hedgehog Honey is being looked after by animal welfare officers at Withington Hedgehog Hospital Trust in Manchester after her mother was injured in a lawnmower accident

She is now being nursed back to health alongside 22 hedgehogs others left injured in gardening accidents.

In the last two weeks the trust has seen a surge in new admissions, including several amputees, thanks to strimming accidents.

Owner Barbara Roberts, 60, has now issued a plea to householders tackling their summer lawns.

She said: 'A lot of us haven't mowed our lawns because of the weather and people don't look.

'I've got 23 babies that are all here because of people not looking. I want people to be aware because they are an endangered animal.

'By 2025 we might not have hedgehogs any more thanks to the dangers of roads, lawnmowers and pesticides. People must look in the garden.


Honey is now being nursed back to health alongside 22 hedgehogs others left injured in gardening accidents


Sanctuary: In the last two weeks the hedgehog trust has seen a surge in new admissions, including several amputees, thanks to strimming accidents

Making friends: The trust names each creature that comes in and recent intakes include Willow, Charlotte, Basil, Brad and Roger

Some of Ms Roberts' patients have been rescued after being abandoned by terrified mothers, while 11 of them are amputees.

The trust names each creature that comes in and recent intakes include Willow, Charlotte, Basil, Brad and Roger.

All of them, including the amputees, will eventually be released back into the wild.

Mrs Roberts, who opened the hospital in 2001, said none of the hedgehogs will be released until they have been gradually weaned off human contact.

She said: 'When they roll into a ball on contact we know they are ready to go.'


source:dailymail