Disco gecko oozes cool as he dances himself dizzy in hilarious set of images

By Leon Watson


Here's some disco-dancing that's really off the scale - a group of groovy geckos who know how to party.

The rhythmic reptiles are proving themselves to be little John Travoltas with their dazzling dance routines.

Owner Shikhei Goh photographed the creatures after buying them from a pet shop and getting them home.

Gettin' Jiggy wit It: Indonesian photographer Shikhei Goh took these snaps of geckos getting the party started


He placed them on a reflective surface and watched as they got a bit excited and started lashing out with their arms and legs and shaking their bootie.

Their actions mimicked a series of funky disco moves similar to those seen on the film Saturday Night Fever.

One hilarious image shows a gecko striking a legendary Travolta pose with one of its arms in the air while another is of a reptile doing a 'kung-fu fighting' cameo.

Shikhei, 37, uploaded the pictures onto the internet and now thousands of people from around the world have viewed them.


Watch and learn, Peter Crouch: This little mover looks like he's doing The Robot


Busting some moves: Photographed on a glass sheeted dance floor with a simple black background, these rumba dancing go-getters know how to jiggle


Le Freak: There Ain't No Stoppin' the reptile with rhythm on the left, and the one on the right is definitely no cold-blooded lizard, this fella's Hot Stuff


Shikhei, from Indonesia, said: 'I mostly photograph insects but then I bought the geckos and decided to take some pictures.

'These geckos come from Pakistan and these three were difficult to picture because they kept moving.

'But it did look like they were dancing and one shot looks as if one is doing a kung-fu kick.

'I am a hobby photographer but I have received texts messages and emails from around the world since I put these online.'



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Nature at its cruellest: Tiny field mouse pictured seconds before it is swooped on by a hunting snowy owl

By Daily Mail Reporter


Freeze-framed: The snowy owl is inches away from the unsuspecting mouse


Freeze-framing nature at its cruellest, these stunning photographs show a tiny field mouse - seconds before it is swooped on by a hunting snowy owl.

The jaw-dropping images were captured by photographer Hal Trachtenberg - who braved bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures from dawn until dusk to frame his favourite wild bird at its fiercest.

In his series of pictures hotel-worker Hal, 49, from Montreal, Canada, snapped several owls patrolling snow-covered fields near Saint Barthelemy, Quebec.


Closer and closer: The owl focuses in on its prey

Within touching distance: The mouse is unaware of the fate that is about to befall him


His patience finally paid off when one young adolescent male - less than a year old - pounced on the unlucky rodent in front of Hal.

He said: 'The little mouse didn't stand a chance. The owls are silent when they fly so it didn't know what hit it.'

The bird's feathers are frayed and break up the air as they fly - meaning they make barely make a sound when travelling.

The snowy owls seen in Hal's pictures usually live high on the Arctic Tundra - on Canada's north coast - where they feed mainly on lemmings.


Gotcha: The mouse feels the force of the owl as it makes contact


Up and away: The mouse's tail can be seen dangling from the owl's claws as the predator makes its escape


In flight: The snowy owls seen in Hal's pictures usually live high on the Arctic Tundra - on Canada's north coast - where they feed mainly on lemmings



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Photographer's incredible images capture the rare moment a mother hyena brings her offspring above ground

By Daily Mail Reporter


These incredible photographs have captured the rare moment a mother hyena brings her offspring above ground.

Hyenas are nocturnal animals and the young are born and raised in underground burrows - so daytime pictures of young cubs are very unusual.

Wildlife photographer Rajesh Pardeshi managed to capture the amazing shots in Ahmednagar, India.

Stunning: Wildlife photographer Rajesh Pardeshi captured the rare moment a mother hyena brought her offspring above ground in Ahmednagar, India


The images show a cub looking cheekily towards the camera before being cleaned by its mother.

Mr Pardeshi also took an amazing picture of the two cubs staring towards the sky with the mother howling at the slowly rising moon.

He said: 'These photos were taken about 35km from my home town.

'I couldn't believe it when I saw this hyena mother with her brood in broad daylight.

Rare: Hyenas are nocturnal animals and the young are born and raised in underground burrows - so daytime pictures of young cubs are very unusual


'It is very, very rare to see them out in the open like this.

'I have been tracking striped hyena for the last few years and these are the best images I've got.

'Because they are nocturnal animals it is very difficult to get decent pictures taken in good light.

'And to be able to get the mother with the cubs is an extremely rare event.

'I'm used to sleeping outdoors and I spend many days trying to get shots like this.

'I like these pictures because they are something of a triumph.

'But I also like them because like any good mother the female hyena is protecting her cubs, which is nice to see.'

The Striped Hyena is an endangered species with less than 10,000 adults left in the wild.

It is typically a scavenger but larger males have been known to kill their own prey and attacks on humans have been recorded.

This species is monogamous with both males and females assisting one another in raising the young.


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It's panda-monium: Giant pandas Sweetie and Sunshine finally set to arrive in Britain from China

By Mail On Sunday Reporter


Bring me Sunshine: Giant pandas Sweetie and Sunshine will arrive in Scotland today after a 5,000-mile journey from China


Britain’s first giant pandas for nearly 20 years will arrive in Scotland today after four years of diplomatic negotiations.

Tian Tian, whose name is translated as Sweetie, and Yang Guang (Sunshine) are causing a stir even before going on show at Edinburgh Zoo later this month. Interest in the pair crashed the zoo’s computers.

The pandas will arrive at the zoo at 1pm today after a gruelling 26-hour journey from south-west China.


The eight-year-old bears – whom it is hoped will produce Britain’s first panda cub – will be taken straight to their new £300,000 enclosures to recover.

The pair will be kept under a strict six-month quarantine, with keepers wearing protective suits and being trained in avoiding bites, amid concerns the pandas could be carrying rabies.


Bulking up: Sunshine pictured tucking into some bamboo in his enclosure before embarking on his journey this week

Going the distance: Sweetie and her mate Sunshine will be the first pandas to live in the UK for 20 years


Their arrival follows years of tense negotiations with the Chinese government.
Princess Anne, Prime Ministers David Cameron and Gordon Brown and First Minister Alex Salmond were all involved before China agreed to loan the pandas to Edinburgh Zoo for ten years.

Fragile cargo: The bears are loaded into special crates before boarding a plane heading for Edinburgh


It is 17 years since the UK’s last giant panda, Ming Ming, left London Zoo to return to China.

Edinburgh Zoo’s computers crashed almost as soon as the pandas’ arrival was announced last week. A spokesman said: ‘We have had tremendous interest and expect ticket sales to soar when the pandas are actually here.’


In the media spotlight: The arrival of the bears will be the culmination of five, painstaking years of negotiations between the UK with China



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He's joined the camera club: Safari tourists discover why you shouldn't leave things lion around

By Valerie Elliott


Paws for your close-up: A cub moves into focus with a lion behind the lens after tourists dropped their camera equipment


This is the extraordinary moment when two young lions grabbed a camera and tripod dropped by tourists on safari – and ended up taking pictures themselves.

The cub and three-year-old male companion closed in on the equipment belonging to two Belgian travellers after it fell out of their group’s Land Cruiser on an early morning expedition.

The animals pounced within moments of the camera hitting the ground. And not only did the predators manage to nudge the button to take pictures, the younger lion seemed to be a willing model.


The older animal then took matters into his own hands – or at least his jaws – as he seized the camera tripod in his mouth.

The moment was captured by photographer Paul Goldstein at the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

He said: ‘It took a little while for them to realise the camera wasn’t a meal before they used it as intended.

The lion grips the tripod dropped from the safari vehicle. The moment was captured by photographer Paul Goldstein at the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.


'The cub seems to have enjoyed the attention. The lions managed to fire off four actual shots.’ But he added that the pictures were ‘out of focus and poorly composed’.

Mr Goldstein, who is a guide for Exodus Travel, said: ‘The tourists got their battle-scarred gear back after 15 minutes. Amazingly, it still worked but it’s not likely to fetch much on eBay.’


The tourists got their damaged camera equipment back eventually and remarkably it still worked



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Miracle mutt! Terrier survives 20 days down rabbit hole... then wriggles free after losing weight

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Owner Nicky Harwood is reunited with seven-year-old Bilbo who get wedged chasing a rabbit down a 10-inch wide hole in Dobwalls, Cornwall.


With a name like Bilbo, you would have expected him to be good at finding his way out of holes.

But when the border cross lakeland terrier chased a rabbit into one, his owners feared they had seen the last of him.

For unlike his hobbit namesake, the seven-year-old pet was unable to find his way out of the narrow underground maze.

The tiny rabbit hole where Bilbo got stuck for 20 days until he lost enough weight to wriggle free


After nearly three weeks his owners had all but given up on him, when suddenly he popped out after losing enough weight to wriggle free.

Bilbo had squeezed down the 10in tunnel during a walk on Bodmin Moor, near his home in Dobwalls, Cornwall on November 7.

Firemen told owner Nicky Harwood, 39, that the tunnel might collapse if they dug into it and she would have to wait for the dog to find his own way out.

Mrs Harwood, her husband Andy, 42, and her two children Perry, 18, and Georgina, 15, tried to tempt him out with bowls of food.

But after 20 days he finally scampered out weighing about 15lb – 3½lb less than when he went in.

Artist Mrs Harwood said: ‘I had given up hope that Bilbo was still alive by the time we got the call to say he had been found.

‘I couldn’t believe it, I thought “how has he survived with no water or food for all this time?”

‘When we took him to the vet’s the following day they said he must have survived by eating soil and getting water from that.

‘We will never know what happened to him but I think he may have got stuck in one of the small tunnels and after he lost the weight managed to free himself.’

The family had sat outside the hole for a few hours every day and tried to lure Bilbo out with various familiar scents – including his bed, the family’s bedsheets, and his pet food.

But after 20 days he was thin enough to wriggle free and dashed straight back to the car park where his family had parked nearly three weeks before.

A passer-by recognised him from missing posters that had been plastered around the village and reunited him with the grateful family. Mrs Harwood added: ‘He looked so skinny and sorry for himself when I first saw him. He was caked in bog mud and had trouble breathing. Luckily he is gaining weight and is nearly back to his full health now.

‘We are just so grateful to have him home. It really is a miracle he survived.’


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'These are the actions of a sadistic human being': Hunt for twisted thug who fed kitten to python in sick video

By Craig Mackenzie


Killer: A yellow Burmese python which can grow as long as 19ft and squeezes its prey to death


A hunt has been launched for a sadistic pet owner who filmed himself feeding a kitten to a python.

The vile video, entitled Python Christmas, shows a man in his 20s carrying the kitten called Jasmine into a bedroom in a Santa hat and then placed on a bed.

Lurking half-hidden under a pillow lay a yellow Burmese python, which can grow up to 19ft long and is one of the largest snakes in the world.


Evil: The callous thug carries the kitten in a Santa hat to the bed where he appears to play with it

The bait: The kitten is distracted and moments later the python pounces and wraps its coils around its prey


Jasmine is seen slowly walking across the bed until the thug distracts her and she fatally turns her back on the danger.

The snake pounces, wrapping the kitten in its coils as it squeezes the life out of the playful animal.

Once the kitten's tail stops moving the snake swallows her whole — head first. Its cries of agony are drowned out by the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy playing in the background of the video.

At the end of the seven-minute footage there is a chillingly threat of more 'feeding videos'. It was posted on a site called Flix from an account registered in Islington, north London.


Horror: Last moments for the kitten as the snake squeezes the animal then swallows it head first

The video shows the kitten disappearing in the python's mouth


If caught, the sicko faces six months' jail and a £20,000 fine for causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Among the few clues to his identity are that he is a fan of the Disney film Aladdin.
Images and songs from the movie have been posted on his YouTube site.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: 'There is no excuse for feeding a live cat to a python.'

Vet Pete Wedderburn told the Sun: 'The kitten is probably no older than four months. It has no hiding place and can't get away. These are the actions of a sadistic human being.'



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The salmon that can't jump! Desperate rescue effort to save fish as low water levels prevent them from swimming upstream to breed

By Rebecca Seales


Final hurdle: Using the sandbag as an aid, a male fish makes its way to safety up the emergency run


They had already travelled 2,000 miles across the North Atlantic and were only days away from their winter spawning grounds.

But instead of leaping their way upstream, low river levels have left around 200 salmon stranded at the bottom of a steep weir for more than three weeks.

If they don’t manage to jump over it, the next generation will be in jeopardy – and there are another 800 fish battling their way up the river behind them.


To avoid disaster, Environment Agency staff have stepped in to build emergency slopes or ‘fish runs’ out of sandbags to help them clear the weir.

Crowds have gathered to watch the exhausted fish attempt to conquer the River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire, cheering every time one makes it up the narrow channels.

The temporary corridors – which are the first ever built for salmon – were created by knocking the top off a section of the weir with a pneumatic chisel.

Workmen then built ramps to allow the fish to move to the higher water more easily.

Salmon are very sensitive to disturbance and could not be rescued with nets, as the stress would have killed them.

Under construction: Chris Bainger builds up the fish-run with sandbags


The agency team have to work round the clock moving the sandbags to help get the flow of water just right. They are also providing a 24-hour guard to prevent poachers descending on the river.

The fish are the first of this year’s Atlantic salmon to make their way up the Teme. Four or five years old, they have come all the way from Greenland via the River Severn.

But their spawning grounds, where they can lay their eggs safe from predators, are another 30 miles north of the weir.

If the water levels fall any further they may need to be moved by hand, which is risky as the females are ‘gravid’, carrying around 10,000 eggs which can be lost if they are picked up.

Floundering: A salmon fails to makes its way up the weir


Environment Agency fisheries specialist Chris Bainger, 43, said: ‘The water is now at summer levels making the distance too high for the salmon to leap.

‘There isn’t enough water flowing over them either – it’s like trying to swim through air for the fish. They are trying to get upstream to the nursery areas. That’s where they’ll spawn and lay their eggs in the clean gravel where they’ll be safe from being eaten.

‘The river bed here, where they are trapped, is not right for them – if they spawn here, which a few are, the eggs will simply be washed away or eaten.

‘What we’re doing is helping, but what we really want is rain – another three inches is what the salmon need.

‘Normally the water is a metre higher at this time of year.’

One onlooker said: ‘I’ve been watching them trying to jump up for the last three weeks. They’re getting really tired now and aren’t leaping as high.

‘I’ve been coming here to watch the salmon for 30 years and have never seen the water this low.

‘It’s great to see this beginning to work – I saw about 20 fish make it up last night.’

Weather forecasters warned this week that the drought is likely to continue into next year if there is low rainfall this winter after one of the warmest Novembers for years.

Arid conditions have blighted central and eastern England since June following the lowest rainfall since records began 100 years ago.



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Meet the world's heaviest insect, which weighs three times more than a mouse... and eats carrots

-New Zealand's giant weta is the heaviest insect in the world and this one is the largest ever recorded


By Jessica Satherley


Big appetite: A former park ranger from America found the heaviest ever recorded giant weta on New Zealand's Little Barrier Island and fed her this carrot out of his hand


A nature-lover has revealed how he spent two days tracking down a giant insect on a remote New Zealand island – and got it to eat a carrot out of his hand.

Mark Moffett’s find is the world's biggest insect in terms of weight, which at 71g is heavier than a sparrow and three times that of a mouse.

The 53-year-old former park ranger discovered the giant weta up a tree and his real life Bug's Bunny has now been declared the largest ever found.


Various species: There are over 70 types of Weta species in New Zealand but the giant weta has been named the biggest insect in the world because of its weight

He came across the cricket-like creature, which has a wing span of seven inches, after two days of searching on a tiny island.

The creepy crawly is only found on Little Barrier Island, in New Zealand, although there are 70 other types of smaller weta found throughout the country.

The giants of the species were wiped off the mainland by rats accidentally introduced by Europeans.

After Mark found the female weta he fed it the carrot before putting it back where he found her.

Mark, 53, said: ‘Three of us walked the trails of this small island for two nights scanning the vegetation for a giant weta.

‘We spent many hours with no luck finding any at all, before we saw her up in a tree.

‘The giant weta is the largest insect in the world, and this is the biggest one ever found, she weighs the equivalent to three mice.

‘She enjoyed the carrot so much she seemed to ignore the fact she was resting on our hands and carried on munching away.

‘She would have finished the carrot very quickly, but this is an extremely endangered species and we didn't want to risk indigestion.

‘After she had chewed a little I took this picture and we put her right back where we found her.’

Mark, from Colorado, America, added: ‘We bug lovers hear a lot of people who think insects are inferior in some way because of their size, so it was great to see such a big insect.

‘This became all the more amazing when we realised that this was the largest insect recorded.’




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Gorilla babe in arms: It may be time to stand on his own two feet, but Kukena prefers to hitch a ride with mum

By Sara Nelson


Think I'll just hang on for a bit longer: Baby Kukena fits comfortably into his mother Salome's hand as he hitches a ride at Bristol Zoo


He may be old enough to take his first steps, but this baby gorilla has decided to stay cuddled up to his mother for just a while longer.

The two-month-old western lowland gorilla was born at Bristol Zoo and has been named Kukena – which means ‘to love’ and comes from the language of the Lunda Tribe in north-west Zambia.

The youngster has just begun learning how to stand up by himself - although unsuccessfully so far.

His mother, Salome, has started putting him down more often, and he has become much more active over the past week.

Still a bit wobbly: The two-month-old lowland gorilla is learning to stand up by himself - but so far unsuccessfully


Lynsey Bugg, assistant curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: 'Kukena continues to do very well - he is bright-eyed and alert and it's lovely to see him starting to learn how to stand by himself.

'He is not quite there yet, but I don't think it will be too long before we will see him starting to take his first steps, and playing more with his brother and sister, although Salome will be keeping him close while he is still very small.'

The Lunda Tribe originates from the Congo, where western lowland gorillas are found in the wild.

Kukena, who was born on September 27, is the third baby Salome has had at the zoo. Her last baby, Komale, was born in December 2006 following a course of ground-breaking fertility treatment.

This time Salome conceived her baby naturally and the zoo is thrilled she has delivered a boy.

Cuddling up: Kukena, his name means 'to love', was born on September 27 and becomes the seventh gorilla at Bristol Zoo


John Partridge, senior curator of animals, said: "It's great that we now know that Kukena is a boy.

'We will inform the studbook co-ordinator for this species so that detailed, up-to-date records are kept.

'Kukena is genetically very important to the captive breeding programme for gorillas as his mother and grandmother have not produced many offspring so their genes are not very well represented in the studbook for captive gorillas.

'In addition, Kukena's grandparents, Sampson and Lomie, who also lived at Bristol Zoo, were wild caught which means that any of their descendants are important.'

Kukena could eventually move to another zoo as a mate for a female gorilla to continue the breeding programme, but this will not be until he is much older.

As well as Salome and Kukena, the zoo is home to silverback Jock, who is father to Namoki, six and Komale, four. The zoo also has Kera, seven; and Romina, its other adult female gorilla.

The gorillas at the zoo are part of an international conservation breeding programme for the western lowland gorilla, which is a critically endangered species.

All gorilla species are facing serious losses in the wild caused by a number of issues including forest destruction for logging, diseases such as the ebola virus and the slaughter of primates for the illegal bushmeat trade.



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The oldfish: Two pets won at fair 34 years ago believed to be UK's oldest... and they've even gone GREY

By Emily Allen


A pair of fairground goldfish believed to be the oldest in the UK have celebrated their 34th birthday.

Splish and Splash were won as a prize in 1977 and have lived for so long that they have gone grey.

The fish, who belong to Richard and Ann Wright, from Brockworth, Gloucestershire, have even outlived four family pet cats.

They originally belonged to the pairs son Matthew and daughter Hayley, who were six and nine when they brought the goldfish home from a county fair in Cheltenham.

Elderly: Splish and Splash were won as a prize in 1977 and have lived for so long that they have gone grey


Though Matthew and Hayley have now moved out to start families of their own, the fish have remained at Richard and Ann's home.

Despite having an expected lifespan of just ten years - with fairground fish often living much shorter than that - Splish and Splash have survived for three decades.

Their owners say they are baffled as to how the fish have managed to live such long lives.

Mr Wright said: 'I've no idea why they've lasted so long, they've just been cleaned out really regularly and given a pinch of food every morning, but we haven't done anything special.

'They're amazing, really.'

He added that, like their human counterparts, the fish have started to show signs of age, with them losing their gold colour in the last few years.

Long life: The fish belong to Richard (pictured) and Ann Wright, from Brockworth, Gloucestershire and have even outlived four family pet cats


Retired human resources consultant Mr Wright said: 'Since we got them they have obviously grown, although they don't dart around the tank like they used to.

'In the last few years they've lost their gold colour - they've gone grey, like me.'

The two fish shared a goldfish bowl given to Ann by a former boss, which was only replaced eight years ago with a more modern version equipped with a filter.

Mr Wright said: 'When we got the new tank my wife said 'they'll die now you've bought that new tank', but they didn't.

'We call it 'The Old Fish Home'.'

Splish and Splash have not only had to contend with old age, but also with the unwanted attentions of other pets.

Mr Wright said: 'We used to have a cat called Smokey which would sit on top of the tank.

'The old tank had a little hole in the top and she would try to reach in and fish them out of there.

'I don't think she ever managed it but she had a good go.'

Smokey, who lived to a relatively sprightly 16, was the first of four cats to have been outlived by Splish and Splash.

Mr Wright said: 'It's incredible really, we never expected them to live this long.

'They feel like part of the family now, definitely.' The fish are thought to be the oldest captive goldfish in the UK.

Tish the Goldfish was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest when he died aged 43 in 2005.



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One slippery customer: Angler snares deadly 20st stingray after four-hour battle

By Lucy Buckland


It was the most exhausting and dangerous catch of his career.

When British angler Jeremy Wade decided to grapple with one of the world's biggest and deadliest freshwater fish he never imagined he would win the battle.

But the 53-year-old managed to snare the 20 stone monster short-tailed stingray in Argentina after a tiring four hour standoff on the River Parana near Buenos Aires.

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Prize catch: Jeremy Wade had to pull the creature to the shore before he could finally snare the 20 stone stingray

After taking his bait of eel, the creature stuck itself to the bottom of the river, prompting an exhaustive battle of attrition with Mr Wade, host of the TV series River Monsters.

The flat fish is one of the heaviest found in the world's freshwater rivers and has been known to kill people with its lethal and poisonous barb.

The four hour stalemate was only broken when the fish became tired and Mr Wade was finally able to lift it towards the surface.

Fight: Jeremy Wade grapples with one of the world's biggest and deadliest freshwater fish that he spent four hours reeling in


Even then he had to tow it towards the shore using his boat before he could see the huge fish in all its glory.

Mr Wade, from Bath, Somerset, had to wear a pair stab-proof gloves while he handled the creature which was then released back into the water safe and well.

He said: 'This is the largest true freshwater fish that I have ever caught.

'This species is the biggest true freshwater fish in the world and this must be one of the biggest of the species.

'It just stuck to the bottom and borrowed itself in the sand and the mud, so it was like lifting a dead weight.

'After half an hour with no further movement I was convinced it had swum around a tree.

'We moved position and I pulled my rod from a different angle. When I locked the reel with my thumb and heaved and I felt a wrench on the line.



'Then it was stalemate again. For the next two hours nothing changed then I gave it another desperate heave and got it moving.

'It eventually got tired and when it lifted off the bottom we pulled it into shallow water. 'It was a huge circular shape, humped in the middle and the same colour as the sand.

'My arms and back were completely shot afterwards, I was so tired.' Because the short-tailed ray - Potamotrygon brachyura in Latin - is camouflaged to sand unwary people often tread on them in shallow water.

When the fish attack it lashes out with its lethal tail which is covered in thorny spines that can rip flesh to the bone. It has two barbed four inch prongs which can inject a flesh-rotting venom.

Mr Wade said: 'If you get the barb through an artery or body cavity it can be fatal. It normally attacks feet and ankles from where people tread on them by accident.

'It can leave a nasty wound and take six or seven years to stop weeping. People in that area of Argentina shuffle their feet forward when walking through the surf so that they kick the side of it and not tread on top of it.'



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Someone been playing Jumanji? Zebras escape zoo and roam the suburbs after worker forgets to lock cage

By Daily Mail Reporter


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Running free: An escaped zebra was spotted running through a residential area after making a bid for freedom from the Leesburg Animal Park


It could have been a scene straight from the movie Jumanji,
Zebras who had escaped from a petting zoo were found wandering in a small town after an employee reportedly left their cage open.

The two animals managed to get out of their pen at Leesburg Zoo in Virginia. They were later captured by the sheriff's office and hit with tranquiliser darts before being returned to their enclosure.

Police received several calls yesterday afternoon from alarmed residents reporting zebras on the loose in traffic. No one was injured by the escaped animals.


Call of the wild: A zebra gallops through a suburban estate in the small town of Leesburg, Virginia after escaping from a petting zoo

Free to roam: One of the two zebras which escaped from the Leesburg Animal Park, Virginia after an employee left their cage open


The owner of the Leesburg Animal Park said the zebras got loose after two workers, who are not directly employed by the park, left a gate open.

This is the second time animals have escaped from the zoo in Leesburg. Last year, a type of Africa cat, a serval, got out and was hit by a car but survived.

The zebras had a fortunate escape. Last month nearly 50 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - were shot by sheriff's deputies after the owner of an exotic-animal park in Ohio threw their cages open and committed suicide in what may have been one last act of spite against his neighbors and police.

Feeding time at the zoo: The zebras are one of the attractions at the Leesburg Animal Park in Virginia


Officers armed with high-powered rifles and shoot-to-kill orders fanned out through fields and woods to hunt down 56 animals that had been turned loose from the Muskingum County Animal Farm by owner Terry Thompson before he shot himself.

After an all-night hunt, 48 animals were killed. Six others - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. A wolf was later found dead.

Another monkey that was carrying the dangerous Herpes B virus, is believed to be dead after being eaten by one of the other animals.


Blood-shed: Sheriff's deputies shot 48 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - across the state's countryside




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Come on then, if you think you're hard enough: Feisty jackal takes on huge lion

By Daily Mail Reporter



Sharing a drink: The jackal strolls by the lion as it bends down to sip water from a watering hole at the the Ongava Game Reserve in Namibia


When you're sat on by a large male lion you would consider yourself lucky just to escape unscathed.

But this feisty jackal appears so angry at the indignity that it attacks the king of the beasts.

The amazing sequence of pictures showing the unique encounter was captured next to a waterhole in the Ongava Game Reserve in Namibia.

Co-founder and Director of Research at Ongava Research Centre, Dr Ken Stratford told how this sort of behaviour by a jackal has never been seen before.

Oops! The enormous lion leans back and accidentally sits on the tiny jackal which yelps with surprise, throws its ears back and wriggles free from the tight squeeze


Dr Stratford said: ‘The tail end of the dry season is a time of year when the waterholes in Ongava Game Reserve are particularly busy. But no one in my team ever dreamed of seeing this.

‘One of our camera-traps had fired off a sequence of 10 shots revealing a black-backed jackal attacking a young adult male lion - in broad daylight.

‘Not only do cat and canine typically frequent waterholes at night rather than by day, we found no previous record of a jackal being so aggressive towards a lion.’

Describing the sequence of ten pictures, British-born Dr Stratford said: ‘A large but young adult male lion is taking a drink at the waterhole as a black-backed jackal passes by and as the jackal gets closer, the two animals seem to be ignoring each other.

‘The lion has sat down, presumably inadvertently squashing the passing jackal.

Unhurt, the jackal squeezes out from under the lion and rounds on him, furious at the indignity.


You're not getting away with that! The plucky jackal rears up onto its hind legs and bares its sharp teeth at the surprised lion, starting a David and Goliath showdown


The fight is on: The brave jackal refuses to be intimidated by the size of the lion and moves in close enough to grab the predator's beard in its teeth


‘The feisty jackal leaps towards the lion's face risking a side-swipe from the big cat's enormous and deadly paw before continuing to prance around the lion like an irritating wasp.

‘Ominously, the lion rises to his feet, perhaps nearing the end of his patience, towering over the jackal and it is then that the jackal appears to consider the prudence of continuing the assault.

‘Wisely, the jackal decides that the lion has learned his lesson and continues his journey around the waterhole.’

The Ongava Game Reserve in Namibia is home to some of the rarest wild animals on the planet and the Research Centre is a privately funded facility devoted to the scientific study of all parts of the ecosystem at Ongava.

Renowned for its biodiversity, Ongava Game Reserve boasts an incredible variety of fauna and flora, including successful breeding populations of both black and white rhino and one of the largest and most important breeding populations of rare black-faced impala.

With many thousands of animals to study it also provides the perfect 'living laboratory' for some serious wildlife research.

A rhino DNA study is just one element of a successful breeding programme which has seen numbers of white rhino at Ongava increase from just six in 1995 to more than thirty at present. Dr Stratford is a well respected academic with an accomplished background in neurophysiology and computer science. Born in Britain in 1954, he has spent many years living and working in South Africa, where he now resides with his family.

A passionate conservationist and trustee of the Namibian Wildlife Conservation Trust, his scientific credentials are backed by years of practical experience working in the field at Ongava, where, together with his wife Sabina, he continues to take a hands-on role in all aspects of the wildlife research.


source:dailymail

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