Buzz off, this is OUR dinner: Angry wasps airlift ants away from their food

By MATT BLAKE Angry wasp: Instead of finding his own food, the barb-tailed bully swoops in, sweeps them up and airdrops the ants elsewhere before guzzling their tasty haul himself He should really mind his own buzz-ness, but this angry wasp's not going to listen to a tiny ant's terrified pleas.Instead of finding his own food, the barb-tailed bully swoops in, sweeps them up and airdrops the ants elsewhere before guzzling their tasty haul himself. Sometimes they return in greater numbers to reclaim the lost meal, biting and spitting acid at their resilient mugger. But the determined wasp just picks them up again and dumps them further away - and...

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That's one way to pluck a pheasant: Incredible pictures show a bald eagle swooping to grab its next meal

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Lunch on the go: Chris Bailey captured this amazing photograph of a Bald Eagle making a meal of a pheasantThis pheasant turned out to be not so plucky when a hungry bald eagle swooped down and took it away for its lunch.British-born photographer Chris Bailey had been taking some snaps of a brace of pheasants in the snow when the large bird of prey ominously loomed into view.In one swift movement it picked one of the bewildered birds up by the scruff of its neck with its lethal talons and flew off with it. Stunned Mr Bailey, 54, tracked the eagle which carried the game bird to a quieter spot where it promptly made a meal...

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When horses attack: The battle of stallion 'boxers' fighting for mating rights

By Ticky Hedley-dentHooves at the ready: These two stallions stand on their hind legs and prepare to throw the first blows in the annual battle for supremacy over the pick of the maresHooves raised and nostrils flaring, two stallions rear at one another in a timeless battle for supremacy. Spring has arrived on the blossoming plains where the horses live in wild seclusion — and with it, the mating season.It’s an annual ritual among the herd in which its stallions fight to secure mates from the pick of the mares.In these extraordinary pictures, the stallions, each weighing almost half a ton, stand on their hind legs like boxers preparing to throw...

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Otterly adorable! The tender moments of a mother and her dozing pup

By Daily Mail ReporterFast asleep: In this tender picture the pup looks utterly content as he floats along on his mother's bellyA mother otter shares a tender moment with her son as she carefully balances her dozing youngster on her belly while floating along the water.It was in an estuary that she was spotted grooming and suckling her four-month-old child.Eventually, her son dozed off while clinging to his mother for warmth. After a while the rare white otter rolled her boy into the water where he continued to sleep while afloat on his back.With her son asleep, the mother took the moment of peace and quiet to dive underwater at Moss Landing,...

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He's so dangerous trainers can't work with him directly... but SeaWorld puts Tilikum the whale who killed his trainer back on show

By Daily Mail ReporterHe's back: Kelly Flaherty-Clark, left, and trainer Joe Sanchez, work with killer whales He has been involved in the deaths of three people, but today Tilikum the killer whale will resume public performances at SeaWorld. The six-tonne whale has not appeared in a show at the Orlando marine park since he killed his trainer more than a year ago.Tilikum is due to appear in an 11.30am performance of 'Believe,' the company's main killer-whale show, according to the Orlando Sentinel.SeaWorld said that including the whale in shows is important for the animal's health and husbandry.Tilikum, left and Trua, right, during a training...

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Lion regrets making this zebra cross... after he lashes out with a kick to his face

By Daily Mail ReporterTake that! The hind legs of the zebra slam into the lion's face and jaw, leaving him dazed but he is soon after the animal againIt was like the scene from the hit film Madagascar when hungry Alex the lion sees his friend Marty the zebra as his next meal.But as in the film this lion was left hungry after he chose to make this particularly zebra cross - and was rewarded with an almighty kick to the face.These amazing images were captured from the safety of a truck in Ngorongoro Conservation area, Tanzania, by wildlife fanatic Thomas Whetten.In them, the zebra, who was blissfully unaware that a pack of lions were on the prowl...

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Spanish Queen Sofia poses with twin six-months-old pandas Po and De De at the Madrid Zoo

Spanish Queen Sofia poses with twin six-months-old pandas Po and De De at the Madrid Zoo & Aquarium March 29, 2011. Twin pandas were born on September 7, 2010 conceived through artificial insemination in a joint effort by Spain's National Research council and scientists from China. The cubs are the first of their species to be born in Spain since 1982 and only the third litter to be born in Europe, according to Chinese veterinarian Yuan Bo, who travelled from Beijing to assist the birth and the first months of the newborns. Spain's Queen Sofia (L) hugs a seven-months-old panda cub during her visit to Madrid's Zoo on March 29, 2011 in Madrid....

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Yap happy! The rescued puppy who was battered so badly he couldn't even open his mouth

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Ten-month-old Zippy is now on the road to recovery after undergoing an operation to correct his fused jawAn abandoned puppy whose jaw fused shut as a result of abuse has barked for the first time after undergoing life-changing surgery.Golden terrier Zippy almost starved to death after he was abandoned by an abusive owner with a broken jaw aged just a couple of weeks old.The puppy was so badly injured that bones in his mouth fused together meaning he could only open his mouth 4mm and was unable to feed. However, ten-month-old Zippy is now on the road to recovery after undergoing an operation to correct the problem, which...

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The lamb with an extra spring in his step: Five-legged 'Jake the peg' doesn't let his extra limb get in the way

By Daily Mail ReporterFrolics: Five-legged lamb Jake the Peg doesn't let his extra limb slow him downEwe won't believe your eyes... this plucky spring lamb is frolicking about just fine despite being born with five legs.The unusual creature, who has been aptly named Jake the Peg, was born last week with two normal hind legs and three front legs.But the bizarre deformity hasn't stopped Jake leaping around his field in Newnham, Northants, with hundreds of other newly born lambs.And he continues to baffle his owners by beating the odds - as most lambs born with deformities tend not to last long.Bizzare: The unusual animal has two normal hind legs...

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Mechanical wonder: Robot bird mimics flight so accurately it could be mistaken for the real thing

By GRAHAM SMITH Is it a bird? Scientists have invented a robot that perfectly mimics a bird's flight and could be mistaken for the real thingOne of mankind's oldest and most elusive dreams has been to recreate the effortless, swooping flight of a large bird.Now scientists have invented a robot that not only perfectly mimics that flight, but could be mistaken for the real thing. The SmartBird's revolutionary design allows it to start, fly and land autonomously. Its wings not only beat up and down, they also twist at specific angles, providing the ultra-light model with 'excellent aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility'. Radio-controlled: Steering...

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Monkey misery: Inside the 'shameful' Thai theatre where guitar-playing macaques string along the tourists

By Chris ParsonsCruel: A male macaque monkey, Kai Lek, holds a toy guitar while chained to a leash as a laughing tourist watches At first glance it may appear like a harmless holiday fun, cute monkeys performing a succession of tricks for amused tourists.The star performers at Samui Monkey Theatre bounce around playing musical instruments and interacting with visitors to their show in southern Thailand.But these happy pictures disguise a different story - and scores of tourists have taken to travel website tripadvisor to describe their disgust at the appalling treatment of the animals.The same male monkey continues to hold the blue instrument...

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How two baby lions survived their mother's death, a raging civil war and 'cubnap'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Rare: The two tiny cubs are believed to be Berbera lions Their mother was shot and they were driven through a raging civil war, destined to be pets in the Middle East - until Somali authorities intervened to save two lion cubs smuggled aboard a ship in the chaotic country's port.The two tiny cubs, a brother and sister, are believed to be rare Berbera lions because of their spotted coats. They were confiscated four weeks ago after Mogadishu's port manager reported his suspicions to Bancroft, an organization which is training African Union peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Somali capital. The pair survived their mother being...

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King Kong! Photographer's optical illusion captures gigantic baboon crushing a car

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Crushing: The huge baboon appears to use its giant arm to pound down on the car in front as it stalks around - but it is fact an optical illusionThe gigantic baboon bears down on the packed car, angrily pounding his clenched furry fist on the roof. A scene from a spin-off version of King Kong, perhaps?Or worrying evidence that mutant monkeys are on the loose in Britain? Well, no... Thankfully, the image is simply an optical illusion. It was taken at Knowsley Safari Park, in Merseyside, and the baboon was perched on the windscreen of photographer Chez Owen’s car with its arm out. Split-second timing and the angle of the...

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