Animals

158 Giant Endangered Tortoises Released on Galápagos Island Where They’d Been Extinct for 180 Years

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158 Giant Endangered Tortoises Released on Galápagos Island Where They’d Been Extinct for 180 Years

Floreana giant tortoises released – © Galápagos Conservancy For the first time in over 180 years, a giant tortoise population is once again walking the landscapes of Floreana Island—launching the largest restoration effort ever undertaken on the Galápagos islands. 158 juvenile giant tortoises of Floreana lineage were released his week into their ancestral habitat, marking … Read more

Loyal Dog Who Lived by Owner’s Grave Inspires New Law Allowing Pets a Place in Family Plots

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Loyal Dog Who Lived by Owner’s Grave Inspires New Law Allowing Pets a Place in Family Plots

Bob Gravedigger, a dog whose loyalty to his deceased owner inspired a new law – credit, PATRE The state of São Paolo in Brazil recently passed a law in honor of a famous loyal dog that will allow residents to have their pets buried in family cemetery plots. Bob, nicknamed Bob Gravedigger, was an orange … Read more

Manatee Stuck in Florida Storm Drain Showing Signs of Recovery After SeaWorld Rescued Him

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Manatee Stuck in Florida Storm Drain Showing Signs of Recovery After SeaWorld Rescued Him

– credit SeaWorld Orlando, released On February 9th, SeaWorld in Orlando received a call that there was an exhausted manatee stuck in a storm drain that needed immediate help. Arriving on scene, rescuers quickly confirmed that the juvenile male had entered a storm drain and didn’t know how to escape. Crews had to break through … Read more

Magical Footage Shows Stag Strolling up to Lick a Man’s Camera Then Calmly Walking Away – WATCH

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Magical Footage Shows Stag Strolling up to Lick a Man’s Camera Then Calmly Walking Away – WATCH

Red deer stag approaches hiker in the Scottish Highlands – Credit: Roaming Thistle / SWNS A new video from the Scottish Highlands shows a wild stag walking right up to a hiker, getting so close that his breath fogged up the stunned man’s camera lens. The ‘magical’ moment was captured by Craig who journeys around … Read more

Whiskers on Elephant’s Trunk Are Key to its Amazing Sense of Touch

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Whiskers on Elephant’s Trunk Are Key to its Amazing Sense of Touch

credit – A Posado via SWNS The whiskers on an elephant’s trunk are key to its “amazing” sense of touch, reveals new research. The 1,000 hairs that cover the trunk have unusual properties that highlight where contact happens along each whisker allowing the largest land animal to grab something as small as a peanut, say … Read more

‘Extinct’ Snail Found in Alleyway Results in Species Pulled Back From the Brink: A ‘Once in a Career’ Moment

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‘Extinct’ Snail Found in Alleyway Results in Species Pulled Back From the Brink: A ‘Once in a Career’ Moment

Chester Zoo saves Bermuda snail (Poecilozonites bermudensis) from extinction A button-sized snail once thought extinct has been officially saved after conservationists bred and released more than 100,000 into the wild. The greater Bermuda snail (Poecilozonites bermudensis) was believed to be lost forever until a small surviving population was rediscovered in an alleyway in Bermuda’s capital, … Read more

Apes Show Ability to Imagine in ‘Tea Party’ Experiments, and Scientists are Very Excited

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Apes Show Ability to Imagine in ‘Tea Party’ Experiments, and Scientists are Very Excited

43-year-old bonobo named Kanzi – Courtesy of Ape Initiative / Johns Hopkins / SWNS Apes share the human ability to imagine and pretend, suggests new research that included a series of tea party experiments. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, called it the first study to show the capacity for pretending is not … Read more

‘Crime-Fighting’ Llamas Catch Thief by Surrounding Him in a Field Until Cops Arrive

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‘Crime-Fighting’ Llamas Catch Thief by Surrounding Him in a Field Until Cops Arrive

Heidi Price with her llamas -SWNS A would-be thief was caught by police after a herd of llamas cornered the suspect in a field until officers could arrive. It was dark outside when a man was alerted to an intruder on the couple’s farmland by animals making a loud alarm call last Monday evening. The … Read more

Farmers’ Kids Cuddle Up with New Born Calf on the Couch After She Nearly Froze Outside

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Farmers’ Kids Cuddle Up with New Born Calf on the Couch After She Nearly Froze Outside

Gregory curls up with family’s calf on the sofa one recent frigid night – Courtesy of his mother, Macey Sorrell Over last weekend, a Kentucky farming family welcomed a new calf into a frigid world of single digit temperatures, and quickly realized it wasn’t going to last the night. So being a mother as well … Read more

Polar Bears are in Better Physical Shape than 25 Years Ago, Despite Sea Ice Losses

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Polar Bears are in Better Physical Shape than 25 Years Ago, Despite Sea Ice Losses

Arctic polar bear near Svalbard by Trine Lise Sviggum Helgerud via SWNS Polar bears are in better physical health than they were 25 years ago, despite the decrease in sea ice, reveals new research. The well-being of the iconic white mammals living around the Norwegian island of Svalbard has improved in the face of climate … Read more