Dancing Bear Cubs

Valtteri Mulkahainen was travelling in the forests of Finland when he saw a magical sight: some bear cubs playing together, looking like they were dancing or playing a game of ring-a-ring-a-rosies.
Their mother kept a close watch to make sure nothing untoward happened.
More on this important story (Huffington Post; with more dancing bear cubs)

Valtteri Mulkahainen (more bears, and other photographs)

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Koalas' STD Crisis

Everyone loves Koalas, but what not everyone knows is that the honorary bears are in a lot of trouble. Some of their problems are the result of human activity, with Koalas suffering from habitat loss thanks to urban sprawl. Many of them are also being hit by cars or killed by dogs. But some of the problems Koalas face are their own little furry fault, as the marsupials are suffering from an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases spread by their promiscuous habits and lack of interest in safe sex.

Chlamydia seems to be a particular problem, with up to 90% of Koalas being infected in some areas. The disease can prove fatal, but it also has a tendency to leave its survivors infertile, which is depressing the Koala birthrate. Worse, a new retrovirus, akin to HIV/AIDS in humans, has started to affect the cuddly marsupials.

Fortunately some help is at hand. Koalas infected by Chlamydia are being given courses in antibiotics in special Koala-hospitals, where they can recuperate for a couple of months until they are ready to go back into the wild. Volunteers are also looking after the little baby Koalas (known as Joeys) who are left abandoned when their mother succumbs to disease. These people look after the furry orphans until they are old enough to fend for themselves, bringing them tasty eucalyptus for the little fellows to eat in the meantime.

The hope of scientists, though, is to develop an understanding of why Koalas are so much more susceptible to Chlamydia than other animals. That may lead to a vaccine that would protect the marsupial bears from this ailment, while also possibly leading to a vaccine that would protect humans from our own strain of that disease.

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Important Panda Pictures

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Capybara adopts dachshund puppies

In Arkansas in the United States, some gobshite dumped a load of dachshund puppies in a plastic bag behind a church. Fortunately the short-legged dogs were rescued and brought to the Rocky Ridge Refuge. They might have proved something of a handful there - had Cheesecake the Capybara not been on hand to look after them. The giant rodent hopes to inculcate the prime Capybara virtue of sensibleness into the young dachshunds.

The little dachshund puppies are adoptable (as are many other animals at the Rocky Ridge Refuge), but Cheesecake is not; she is needed in the refuge in case any further abandoned puppies need to be looked after.

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The Rocky Ridge Refuge

I learned about this important story from the Rev. Richard Coles.

Brave Dog Rescues Puppies From Fire

Reports are coming in of how a brave dog responded when a car bomb caused fire to engulf a house in Santa Rosa de Temuco in Chile. Amanda the dog carried her little puppies out of the building one by one, returning back into the inferno each time to rescue another. She then lay beside her young to protect them and was very protective when vets came to check on their health.

The story does not have an entirely happy ending, as one of the puppies was so badly burned that it died.

You can read more about this here. That article carries no further information on the car bomb that started the blaze, suggesting that these are an everyday occurrence in that part of Chile.

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Important Panda News

Pandas in China have been playing on a slide.



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CAT WAR

Koala Bears In Danger!

The Australian government has officially classified the Koala Bear as "vulnerable" in much of the country. The popular marsupial is believed to be in trouble because of habitat loss and strikes by cars. Badly controlled domestic dogs have also created great problems for the eucalyptus-eating animals. It is estimated that in some parts of Australia the little animals have seen their numbers collapse by 40% since 1990.

It is hoped that the Australian government measure will bring some succour to the Koala, although some have complained that the classification does not extend to all of Australia. The authorities are saying, however, that the reason why the furry animals are not classed as vulnerable in Victoria and South Australia is that they are thriving there.

Whatever the case there, everyone will be hoping that the Koala Bear pulls through. And of course, despite its teddy-like appearance, Koalas are not actually bears at all, but as a marsupial bear analogue they do have observer status at the International Bear Congress.

Koalas themselves spend more than 20 hours a day asleep, so they are probably not spending too much time worrying about their vulnerable status.

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Koala Bear Picture Gallery

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Little John and Nikitas

Greece is famous these days mainly for riots and its imploding economy, but there are other things going on there. Such as the release back into the wild of Nikitas and Little John, two bear cubs whose wild mothers abandoned them. The two little bears have spent the last nine months in a rehabilitation centre, where they have been learning survival techniques. And now they have been brought out to a specially dug den in which they will continue their winter hibernation before emerging as free bears in the spring.

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Dog Adopts Piglets

Six abandoned little piglets were recently brought into an animal sanctuary near Berlin. It is thought that some prick who likes hunting had killed their mother. The sanctuary is providing for the physical well-being of the piglets until they can be released into a nature reserve – and Baby the Bulldog is looking after their emotional needs. Baby has adopted the piglets, who are almost the same size as she is, and has remained by their side since they arrived in the sanctuary. "She thinks they're her own babies", says sanctuary employee Norbert Damm.

Baby is apparently a serial adopter, having previously mothered raccoons, cats, and other animals.

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Interspecies Love

Changmao and Chunzi live in Yunnan Wild Animal Park. They appear to love each other. However, they are not of the same species – Changmao is a ram and Chunzi a doe. Although they have a close bond, their relationship is not exclusive, and Changmao recently became a father with one of his own species. The park keepers decided to separate the two lovers so that Changmao could devote himself to his parental duties, but the plan went horribly wrong. Once parted from his true love, he became violent and abusive towards his offspring and its mother. Chunzi, meanwhile, was trying to lick at Changmao through a fence and had apparently squeezed out of her enclosure to be near him. So the park authorities have relented and are now letting the path of interspecies love flow freely.

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Important Animal News

The Guardian Newspaper has found a picture of a mother Tortoise carrying a baby Tortoise on her head.

And here are two Lovebirds who wuv each other. Lovebirds are a class of parrots who form very strong pair bonds and are highly affectionate (though they can reputedly be aggressive to birds and other animals with whom they are not pair-bonded).

Good Man Saves Puppy

Nutty is a Jack Russell puppy. He saw his mother drinking water from a pond and decided to do the same thing himself. But then he fell in and was unable to climb out. When John Greene saw what had happened, the little puppy had sunk to the bottom of the water and was no longer breathing. So Mr Greene fished him out and revived the little fellow with mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Nutty has made a full recovery, but he is now afraid to go anywhere near the pond.

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Good Dog Sniffs Out Bacteria

Cliff the Beagle is a clever dog who helps out in the Amsterdam Free University Medical Centre. His work has proved so useful that some have taken to calling him Doctor Cliff. Cliff goes around the hospital sniffing out colonies of dangerous bacteria. With his acute sense of smell, he can find traces of these virulent and contagious germs that would otherwise be almost impossible to locate. And his cheery manner is also proving a hit with the hospital's many patients.

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Baby Hedgehogs

Baby hedgehogs are very small. You can hold them in your hand. They look a bit like toys.

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Puppycam

Have you ever wanted to look at puppies who are in training to become police dogs? Then this website is for you.

The puppies are not there right now, but they have some puppy pics.

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MOST IMPORTANT NEWS STORY OF ALL TIME

Photographs of a budgerigar waking up a kitten and making it play have been discovered.

Albino Elephant Must Learn to Adapt

A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera, living with a herd of some 80 elephants in Botswana. The pink calf appears to be an albino. To survive, it will have to learn to protect its sensitive skin and eyes from the harsh African sun. However, it already seems to be taking due care, hiding in the shade of its mother.

"I have learned that elephants are highly adaptable, intelligent and masters of survival", reports elephant expert Mike Chase, so the pink elephant may find a way to survive.

OMG PHEAR TEH CUET

Do you like pictures of baby pandas?

(thanks to Jennifer)

Animal Rescue 2: Koalas

While lots of people have tragically died in recent Australian bush fires, fire fighters have managed to rescue a traumatised Koala now named Sam. She is now in an animal rescue shelter, where she has been comforted by another rescued Koala named Bob.

Footage of Sam the Koala Bear being rescued

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Koala Bears are not actually real bears.