animals

Not sure whether this belongs here or not, but had it been seen in the wild it may have started a debate. I'd have thought it was more all spot than spotless, interesting though. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195279578/spotless-giraffe-born-tennessee-zoo

A diver who is best friends with a huge 15ft tiger shark that could attack at any moment says she is really just a big softie. Jim Abernethy, from Palm Beach Florida, has spent most of his life swimming with the top ten most dangerous shark species and says he’s never encountered an aggressive...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-66361506 What an amazing story! He was digging a pool for his children when he struck a bone. More details at the link.

A thread for decomposing animal carcasses that make the news because people think they are mysterious creatures It's a common thing for people to post their pictures of odd remains to social media. Sometimes these get picked up by news outlets because curious people love to click on stories...

'We love each other': Why a Mexican mayor married an alligator /and you thought your spouse was cold blooded...

Crow drops mystery clue propelling murder probe in Istanbul BY DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES JUN 22, 2023 9:56 AM A bizarre and chilling incident unfolded at a local fuel station, capturing the attention of authorities and leaving the community bewildered. The discovery of a human foot's [sic]...

There were a couple of mentions of "Judas Goats" on the forums, but no information on what they actually were. tldr: tobacco addicted goats led lambs to the slaughter. Judas Goats: Agriculture’s Bizarre, Drug-Addicted Masters of Deceit Once Ruled the Killing Floor...

A rare rock pool find Rare rainbow sea slug found in Falmouth rock pool Published 2 hours ago I MAGE SOURCE, VICKY BARLOW Image caption, Vicky Barlow was looking around the pools of Falmouth when she found the rainbow sea slug A rock pooler has found a rare sea slug while searching around...

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew of any folk tales which contain references to wolves and are likely to have been in circulation in Britain and Ireland during the 19th century. Thanks for reading.

Were they trying to inspire incipient serial killers? New Zealand cat-killing competition for children axed after backlash A children's cat-hunting competition in New Zealand has been cancelled following backlash to the event. Organisers of an annual hunt were criticised after they announced...

A research team in New Mexico is converting taxidermic birds into drones in order to study flight patterns. Mostafa Hassanalian, a mechanical engineering professor leading the project at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, said the team started looking into deceased...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-dairy-explosion-leaves-least-18000-cattle-dead-person-critically-injured

I'm not counting those freakish creatures that evolved back in the Cambrian epoch, but was thinking of the most alien-looking animals around today. Here's my top 3. In 3rd place, the Devil's Flower Mantis. Thank goodness they don't grow to human size: 2nd, my favourite fish (and Predator...

Here's one I'd not heard of before. The idea that elephants self domesticated and a reference to the theory that early humans may have as well. https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-elephants-appear-to-have-been-domesticated-but-not-by-humans Research article at...

https://abcnews.go.com/US/dolphin-harassment-cases-opened-33-swimmers-hawaii/story?id=98198737

This entry from this weekend's Jeff Kacirk's Forgotten English was a doozy, served with a size order of night soil.

The reason gorillas spin themselves around in circles Apes turn rapidly to achieve an altered mental state and feeling of euphoria, just as the earliest humans did millions of years ago Gorillas and other apes spin themselves around in circles to get “high” – and early humans who lived...

Persian criminals who included tortoises, cats and apes in their gangs...

Who is attacking Dallas Zoo? Monkeys missing from Dallas Zoo in fourth suspicious incident IMAGE SOURCE,STEVE CLANCY By Imogen James BBC News Two monkeys have allegedly been taken from Dallas Zoo - adding to a series of suspicious events including the release of a leopard and a vulture's death...

Uncle Fatty, the simian lard arse is sent off to lose weight. A monkey who has been given the nickname ‘uncle fatty’ is finally getting help for his obesity. The 33lb long-tailed macaque will go to boot camp after gorging on food from tourists including melons, milkshakes, sweetcorn and...

Newly published research indicates a wolf population provides a substantial net reduction in damages and expenses caused by deer. FULL STORY: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gray-wolves-scare-deer-roads-reduce-car-collisions

In a move that some scientists say raises serious ethical questions, researchers have for the first time embryos that are a hybrid of human and monkey cells. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla...

Maybe someone can clear this up: can a tracker dog follow your scent through a river or body of water? You see it certain films, the escapee getting away because they crossed a river (apart from in No Country for Old Men, which provides a twist on that cliche), but is it true in real life? I...

A rare and Fortean sighting indeed: a science article from the BBC which is detailed, well written, balanced, looks at the likely causes and consequences, and doesn't trivialise or sensationalise! The story is of Orcas/killer whales following and repeatedly head butting yachts and fishing...

Robot 'spy' gorilla records wild gorillas singing and farting, because nature is beautiful Source: livescience.com Date: 29 April, 2020 Mountain gorillas have been caught on camera as they "sing" during their supper, a behavior that has never before been documented on video. Filmmakers...

Today I recalled a "fact" related to me years ago about domestic turkeys: they are so stupid that, if they are outside when it rains, they can drown because they look up in surprise at the rain coming down, and then drown because the rain gets into their lungs. Apparently this is not true, but...

Something that never fails to amaze me is the vast and frequently-contradictory designs of camouflage seen woven or printed into the uniforms of the world's armed forces. Whilst the logic in a leap from red to khaki is inarguably-sound, it seems there has been from then onwards an...

Can you help identify this TV show? It was broadcast in the 1970's on the BBC and the time slot would be mid to late morning during the Summer holidays. Same time they used to show things like 'Why Don't You?' and 'The Banana Splits'. My memory tells me that it was presented by David...

Everyone is tocking about this tick. LAST SUMMER, IN a town just outside New York City, a tick bit a man. This ought to sound unexceptional. Ticks are normal on the upper East Coast; after all, tick-transmitted Lyme diseasewas first identified next door, in Connecticut. But the tick that...

A few nights ago I was sitting up watching late night TV, and heard what I can only describe as an exotic bird, it was loud and sounded to be just beyond the back door in my back garden - It was the sort of sound that you may hear, if you visited the bird house in your local zoo. Not wanting to...

On a somewhat related note, one of the cancer hospices in my town keeps a cat in-house. According to the nurses, when the cat camps in a particular patient's room it means the patient isn't going to live through the night. The cat only seems to do this with patients who don't have any family...

Living in Australia and having lived in the remote isolated hot desert ouback for years I can easily believe that story. However, for us it's not rats, but on occassions, mice plagues and they come out by the droves at night looking for food. With nothing much for them to eat where I lived, they...

There doesn't seem to be a general purpose thread for scary noises and spooky sounds, so here's one. Mods, if there's a better place for this, please feel free to move it. Tonight, I needed to go down to the nearest shop. It was about 11 PM, just before closing time. It was cold, windy and...

Slightly old news, but intriguing – and, unless I’ve missed something in the mean time, I don’t think there’s been a resolution. I’ve had a quick shufty around the MB but can’t find that the following story ever made it here – which kind of surprises me. Bump me if I’m wrong. Full article...

Not being an expert on Crocodiles - Saltwater or otherwise - I find myself wondering: a) Is there a likely upper figure for a community or is this wholly dependant on food availability? b) Do crocodiles save food for later? Would there be a point at which they'd simply stop killing available...

Godzilla? 9-foot great white shark EATEN by huge mystery sea monster, say scientists Jun 07, 2014 14:56 By Mikey Smith A nine-foot-long great white shark was eaten by a huge mystery sea monster, according to scientists in Australia. As the saying goes, there's always a bigger fish -...

Up until this video was shot, Florida diver Dave Marcel had an interesting habit when he encountered sharks. According to Animal Planet, he enjoyed flipping them over, then kissing and rubbing their stomachs. But when he decided to get a little friendlier and kiss a nurse shark on the lips, his...

I think an Invasive Species thread is required, OOPA & OOPP don't quite fit the bill.

On the way home from work (between Chislehurst and Greenhithe) I nearly hit 3 foxes at different spots, and have noticed lots of dead foxes (clearly hit by cars) in the road (more so than ever before). One fox was on the middle of a bypass roundabout. I wonder what's happening with them at the...

Edit to amend title.

When cats and dogs lived together in peace.

Trouble bruin? Will we have a Planet of the Bears? This could polarise debate.

Actually, in the image it looks as if the bear is using a mobile phone!

OK I'm quite a serious arachnophobe. I think I picked it up off my mum when I was a kid. I've been thinking about it again because I had a conversation with a bloke at work about the bird eating spider. He mentioned attempts to find the chicken eating spider. I'm not as bad as I used to be...

Goose photographed flying upside down telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... -down.html Link is dead. The MIA webpage can be accessed via the Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20090523084442/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5353933/Goose-photographed-flying-upside-down.html...

Pink dolphin calcasieucharters.com/index.cfm/ ... ID/125.htm Link is dead. Here's the text of the MIA article, salvaged from the Wayback Machine ... SOURCE: https://web.archive.org/web/20090221150547/https://calcasieucharters.com/index.cfm/MenuItemID/125.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7896028.stm edit to amend title.

I remember reading somewhere years ago that an egyptian wall painting showing some gifts being given to one of the early Pharoahs "quite clearly shows a juvenile mammoth". I can't remember exactly where I read it though. Anyone got any Ideas?

Link unrecoverable, animal identified below Now that's some weird creature. My head says its been 'shopped, my gut says real - however impossible that may be. It's the noise it makes. Truly sinister. Wadd'ya all reckon? obviously move merge mods if ive repeated someone else's groove...