This keeper should remember that elephants never forget: Calf is hauled by his trunk to get on the weighing scales

By Emma ReynoldsOuch: The zookeeper pulls on the baby elephant's trunk as she resists climbing on to the weighing scalesZookeepers in Germany appear to have come up with a novel way of getting reluctant baby elephants to behave.These pictures, which some may find disturbing, show a young man dragging a resistant calf by the trunk to get it on to the weighing scales for a check-up at Wuppertal Zoo in Germany.Uli is one of around 5,000 animals of 500 different species living at the park, who all have to be counted, weighed and measured each year to see if they are developing as they should.Distress: The calf looks frightened as she rears away from...

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Swooping to conquer: Dramatic shot of gull diving into a lake targets first prize in wildlife photography competition

By Charles WalfordDramatic moment: Tom Hines picked up first prize in the wetland wildlife category with this stunning shot of a gull diving to catch a tasty morselA flock of flying black and white Barnacle Geese, an inquisitive duck staring straight at the camera, a gull scratching its leg and a fluffy black-necked swan.These stunning wildlife images are among the shortlist of the The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s photograph of the year competition.A gull diving head first into the water at London's wetland centre helped Tom Hines win the 'wetland wildlife' category.A beautiful sunset picture, taken by Ian Cook was the winner of the 'wetland...

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Putting the PAN in chimpanzee: Kanzi loves nothing more than a good fry-up, skipping a few million years of evolution in the process

By David DerbyshireEagerly he collects wood from the ground, snaps the branches into small pieces and carefully balances them in a pile. Then, taking care not to burn himself, he gently strikes a match and gets ready for a fry-up.Like all red-blooded males, Kanzi loves messing around with a barbecue. But then, as these extraordinary pictures show, Kanzi is no man. He is a bonobo - pygmy chimpanzee - and his love of fire is challenging the way that we think about our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.For although bonobo apes and larger chimpanzees use twigs and leaves as tools, none has ever shown such skill for cooking food.Scroll down...

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Feeling more than a little peckish: Birds jostle to eat fleas from backs of antelope

By Lucy BucklandForm an orderly queue! Bank myna birds graze on fleas from the antelope's fur in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India It was definitely a case of you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours as these birds queued up to snack on fleas from the backs of strolling antelopes.And these nilgai antelopes were more than happy to provide a resting place for dozens of bank myna birds who plucked irritating fleas from their backs in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India.The nilgai were feeding in their grassland home when the birds decided they wanted a snack of their own and landed on their backs, necks and heads.Photographer Chhotu...

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Showered with affection: Cheeky walrus blasts a jet of water at young zoo visitor

By Lucy BucklandCheeky: Snor the walrus shows sometimes it doesn't pay to sit in the front row at a sea show This cheeky walrus shows sometimes it doesn't pay to get too close when visiting the zoo.Snor the walrus decided to surprise a visitor with his water attack as part of a sea show at the Dolphinarium Harderwijk Zoo, in Holland.Visitor Natalia Paklina, 30, was at the zoo to see the show this year when she spotted Snor the walrus approaching a young spectator.What happened next surprised Ms Paklina just a tiny bit less than it did the poor young girl because Snor, which means whiskers in Dutch, decided it would be funny to blow out a jet...

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Monster from the deep... on the Norfolk coast: 40ft sperm whale washes up on Christmas Eve

It is believed the mammal was dead before it was washed up on the beachBy Charles WalfordThe 40-foot-long sperm whale was washed up on the beach at Old Hunstanton, in NorfolkA 40ft sperm whale has been washed up dead on an East Anglian beach, with what appears to be a large gash in its stomach.The sand around its tail did not appear disturbed, suggesting the creature was dead before the tide carried it onto the sands at Old Hunstanton, Norfolk.Large crowds gathered to see the whale, which is near the high tide mark.A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said it may have been the same whale which had been seen dead on the RAF’s...

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The Panda that eats MEAT! Panda caught on infra-red camera having midnight feast of dead antelope

By Lucy BucklandForget the bamboo! This giant panda gets his teeth around a dead antelope in the forest in Ping Wu, in Sichuan province He looks like he has been caught out helping himself to a forbidden snack.And perhaps this panda realises he has given away a secret kept under wraps for years as he is captured red-handed tucking into a dead antelope.It was previously thought the creatures were strictly herbivores but as this infra-red camera shot taken in Ping Wu, in southwest China's Sichuan province shows, pandas sometimes do prefer a meaty snack.According to the World Wildlife Fund China pandas have the digestive system of a carnivore and...

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OK, who's going to take away his lawnmower this time? Grumpy crocodile steals machines from park keepers to play with in pool

By Anthony Bond Grumpy: Elvis the crocodile decides to steal a lawnmower off a worker at the Australian Reptile ParkThey are among the most fearsome creatures around, often attempting to eat humans and large wild animals.But workers at a reptile park in Australia were left amazed today when its grumpiest crocodile decided to steal a lawnmower.Employees at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, realised something was wrong when they heard one of the keepers let out a yelp.SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO'It's mine': Elvis takes his new toy into his lagoon and keeps guard of itWhen they looked up they saw 16-foot giant saltwater crocodile Elvis lunging...

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The All Black who's all white! Rare Kiwi chick a surprise Christmas gift for wildlife centre

By Anna EdwardsA bit of all-white! The rare bird gave wildlife authorities a shock when it hatched This rare Kiwi chick is betraying its 'All Black' heritage - because his feathers are snow white. The flightless bird's unusual colouring gave keepers at Pukaha Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre, New Zealand, a white Christmas when it hatched in their nursery.Both of its parents are believed to have carried a rare and recessive white gene which caused his pure white feathers.Local Maori have named the chick Mauriora, meaning sustained life, the New Zealand Herald reported.Centre manager Kathy Houkamau said: 'We were gob-smacked when we saw it was white'...

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Who turned out the lights? Polar bear cub melts hearts of zoo visitors playing with Christmas gifts

By Mary McconnellAdorable polar bear cub Milak has been amusing visitors as he gets his head stuck in a plastic tube.The young bear played with toys he was given, including a golden egg and a plastic ball, as combined birthday and Christmas presents at his enclosure in Aalborg Zoo in Denmark.Zookeeper Sussi Kober said: 'Milak got a new ball as a gift for his birthday on December 7 from some of his fans in Holland.'Playtime: Milak gets his head stuck in a plastic tube'Actually the egg was a gift for all the polar bears, but Milak is extremely fond of the egg and considers it to be his own special 'golden egg', added Sussi. 'His mum Victoria sometimes...

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Bats out of hell: The super-cute little orphans that have survived on a wing and a prayer

By Leon WatsonSky, Abinger, Bell, Elsa and Hercules the orphaned baby grey-headed flying foxes being looked after by Wildlife Victoria volunteersThey've survived on a wing and a prayer.And now these cute little winged critters are flying high at a special nursery for orphaned baby bats. Wrapped up in tiny bunny rugs, they are being looked after by volunteers at Wildlife Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.Snug as bugs in bat rugs: Melbourne's baby bats are filling the grey-headed flying fox nursery set up each year to care for orphaned batsThe staff are kept busy around the clock refilling formula bottles and rotating dummies for their baby bat...

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Meet your therapist: Last year Billy the terrier was saved by the kindness of strangers. Now he is repaying the debt by bringing joy to the desperatel

By Philippa TomsonFastening his smart little jacket — slightly baggy at the sides but comfortable — I stand back and beam at Billy with pride. This is his first day at ‘work’ and I’m willing him to do well. As he walks into the room, he is greeted with cries of delight. There are so many smiling faces ready to greet him, he doesn’t know who to approach first. This new boy obviously is a big hit.Billy, my two-year-old Tibetan Terrier, is on his first official day of duty at St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham as a Pets As Therapy dog. He is there to provide people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and motor...

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