Satanic cult blamed for ritualistic killing of Dartmoor foal which was horrifically mutilated in centre of ring of fire during full moon

By STUART WOLEDGE

Sickening: The body of this two-month-old foal was found horrifically mutilated and there are fears it is the work of Satanists

A Satanic cult has been blamed for the sickening death of a pony, which was found horrifically mutilated and laying in the remnants of a ring of fire after full moon.
Police are investigating after the young male had its genitals, right ear and tongue sliced off, and eyes gouged out. It is thought the animal may have been alive when the atrocities were committed.
Its belly was hacked open and the young pony also had traces of white paint on one of its legs, suggesting it was killed as part of a bizarre ceremony.

Cult: The foal was found surrounded by patches of burnt grass, suggesting candles had been lit during the ritual. It also had white paint of one of its legs

It was also surrounded by circular patches of burnt moorland, which experts believe were left by a ring of torches or candles.
The two-month old pony seemed to have been dragged into a clearing and placed at the foot of a slope to face the previous night’s full moon.
It was found on Tuesday morning by a horse rider at Yennadon Down, a remote, area of Devon National Park.

Easy target: Experts believe ponies have become so used to humans they are vulnerable to this sort of attack. Pictured here, the foal's mother

Animal welfare officers are investigating and police have appealed to the public to be extra vigilant.
Horse carers believe the butchery was part of an evil occult or Pagan ceremony by Devil worshippers.
Dartmoor’s Livestock Protection Officer Karla McKechnie said: 'We do get strange things happening from time to time, normally when its a full moon.
'I’ve come across strange circles in the ground, boulders used as altars, that sort of thing, but thankfully animal mutilations are rare.

Remote: The dead foal was found in Yennadon Down by a rider on Tuesday. An investigation into its grisly end is underway

'I suspect its witches or devil worshippers but it’s always hard to get to the bottom of it.
'My main concern is how someone has been able to walk up to a foal and kill it in the middle of the night.I’m almost certain more than one person was involved.'
South West Equine Protection's Jenny Thornton believed Dartmoor ponies had become so used to being fed by humans they were now easy targets.
She said: 'I’ve seen plenty of dead animals but this was horrendous.

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377782/Satanic-cult-blamed-ritualistic-killing-Dartmoor-foal-horrifically-mutilated-centre-ring-moon.html
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Ready for take-off: Tiny owl makes its first successful flight from the top of a barn door

Photographer caught the moment a tiny owl made first flight
Pictures show owl standing nervously on door's edge before leaping out

By ANTHONY BOND

Wide-eyed: Perched on one leg inside a disused barn in Merseyside, these two baby owls look out into the big wide world, preparing for their first flight

For any young owl, the first flight out of the nest is a nervy occasion.
And as these incredible pictures show, for this baby owl in Merseyside it was no different.
Photographer Steve Ward caught the moment a tiny owl decided to make its first successful flight from its nest in a disused barn.

Nervous: The young owl appears to test the water by hanging a leg over the edge of the barn

Bold: Summoning all of his concentration, the youngster decides to leap towards the great unknown and attempt to fly for the first time

Just a week ago, Mr Ward caught the owlet with a sibling each standing on one leg on a ledge of the barn.
They had begun to edge out from the nest as they became more bold in readiness to fly.

Brave: With his eyes flixed on his destination, the owl launches himself into flight

He has kept an eye on them ever since and finally caught one of them launching itself off the barn for its first swoop.
Mr Ward , 34, set up his hide about 12 metres from the barn and was even forced to strip to his boxers in the sweltering heat inside as he waited up to 17 hours a day to get the shots.

Success: The owl passes its first major test in life by stretching out its wings and flying with ease

He said: 'I loved the pictures I got last week, especially the one of the pair of owlets each standing on one leg.
'It is the one on the left that I finally captured flying.
'I could tell by how bold they were becoming, edging out onto the ledge to be fed by their mum, that they were getting ready to learn to fly.
'I erected my pop-up hide at 5am on site and waited patiently for the juveniles to appear in a hole in the barn door, about four feet off the ground.'
'It was a mere five hours until one appeared.'
Mr Ward said it was at about 10am when one tiny owl showed its face.
He said: 'Looking confident it stretched its wings, checked the flight equipment and posed like a true caped crusader.

Hungry: The two young owls had earlier been spotted wrestling over a large worm

Dedicated: The photographer waited up to 17 hours a day to get the shots

'Then it scratched the surface beneath its feet to make sure the ground was firm, checked the sky for clearance and potential predators and took a leap - straight down on the grass below like a cannon ball.
'It all happened incredibly quickly and the pictures of it on the ground looked very messy. I was also laughing at the sight in my camouflaged hide.
'Flapping its wings it managed to hop back up on the barn door for a second and third attempt as its mother hooted encouragement from a tree about 45 feet away.
'On the fourth attempt he avoided the drop and took to the sky giving me a great shot against the dark light coming from the gap in the barn door and being lit by the gorgeous morning sunlight outside.'
Mr Ward said that the conditions did make the shoot difficult.
He said: 'After a 17 hour shoot in the hide from 5am to 9pm I was exhausted and down to literally my boxer shorts as it was 28 degrees and with no breeze in the hide it gets seriously hot. It was a good job I took a few litres of water with me.
'But these are lengths us nature photographers have to go to to get and witness such wonderful moments such as these.
'It was a first for me and one I will never forget.'

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2378046/Tiny-owl-pictured-making-successful-flight-barn-door.html
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It's raining cats and frogs! When it gets too wet even for an amphibian...

By HELEN COLLIS

This tiny little frog was snapped clinging to a leaf to shelter from the rain in a downpour in Jember, East Java, Indonesia

While millions of Brits swap sun hats for brollies today, this resourceful little frog was snapped sheltering from the rain - using a leaf as an UMBRELLA.
Photographer Penkdix Palme, 27, caught the tiny tree frog sheltering from the rain in his neighbour's back garden.
The aqua-phobic amphibian clung on to the stem of the green leaf for an impressive 30 minutes as it was lashed by wind and rain. In this fascinating series of photographs, the two-inch high frog appears to angle the makeshift umbrella towards the direction of the downpour.

The clever little amphibian clung to its 'umbrella' leaf for 30 minutes as the rain fell all around him

Large droplets of water gather at the bottom of the leaf and surrounding branch while the clever frog remains protected.
Penkdix, who only took up photography six months ago, said he was shocked when he stumbled upon the unusual scene in his hometown of Jember, East Java, Indonesia.

He avoided taking a battering by the rain drops, which instead collected on the leaf above him

It seems the frog wasn't too fussy on which style of 'umbrella' to opt for

source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2375183/When-things-wet-frog-.html
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Will you play with me? Baby giraffe frolics round a field after befriending a butterfly

By LAURA COX

Dinner time: At first the baby giraffe is quite happy to hang out with her mom and nibble on some fresh grass

A baby giraffe showed off her dancing skills as she enjoyed the sunshine gracefully frolicking around with a butterfly at the Bronx Zoo.
The month-old calf caught a glimpse of the butterfly as it flew into her enclosure, where she was nuzzling her mom and enjoying a tasty snack of grass.
At first she stays close to her mom, not sure what to make of the fluttering insect, but she doesn’t stay coy for long. She shakes off a grooming attempt from her mom, like any youngster eager to go out and explore.
Clearly intrigued by the unexpected visitor the Baringo giraffe bounds playfully after it galloping round in a huge circle as she plays hide-and-seek with her new friend.

But what's that?! Something far more exciting catches her eye and she abandons the snack

Unsure: The giraffe seems a little tentative at first, unsure what to make of the new visitor

But the butterfly doesn’t hang about within reach of the 9-foot tall giraffe. It scarpers faster than the giraffe can make chase, still wobbly on its newborn legs.
Realising she is back where she started from the giraffe looks up at her mom, looking puzzled by the whole experience.
‘It’s a learning curve, dear’ her mom seems to say as she cranes her neck south to give her daughter a sloppy kiss.

And she's off! Gleefully the young calf bounds off after her new friend, in typically graceful fashion


Gerroff, mom! Before she knows it the baby giraffe is back with her mom, puzzled at how quickly her game ended

source: dailymail

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Who's NOT a pretty boy, then? Nelson, the baby parrot, who could be the ugliest bird in the world

By SIMON TOMLINSON

Who are you calling ugly? Nelson the parrot chick adapts to life after being rejected by his parents following his birth at Bergzoo in Germany

He has a face that only a mother could love. But sadly for poor Nelson, his didn't.
The parrot chick, who must surely be a contender for the ugliest bird in the world, was rejected by his parents after he hatched. However, he can at least take some comfort in the knowledge that he will one day grow up to be an attractive Kea parrot.
Nelson, who has been described as looking like a cross between an alien and a roast chicken, was born last month at Bergzoo in Germany. He was the only one of three eggs laid by his mother to survive and hatch, but was promptly rejected by his parents.

It hasn't cracked, yet: Nelson admires his very unique features, described as looking like a cross between an alien and a roast chicken, in the mirror

Vulnerable: Nelson was the only one of three eggs laid by his mother to survive and is now being looked after by zoo staff

As such, the youngster is now being cared for around the clock by staff and spent the first four weeks of his life in an incubator.
Keas are large parrots native to the alpine regions of New Zealand that are known for their intelligence and curiosity.
Adults are mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange flash under their wings.


Ugly no longer: Nelson will eventually blossom into a beautiful Kea parrot like this one

source: dailymail

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Don't play with your food: What happened when a leopard befriended a cute baby antelope? (Actually, you probably don't want to know)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Fearless: The baby Steenbok wanders away from the leopard but the big cat doesn't take her eyes off her prey

It may look like one of nature's heartwarming interactions but the outcome sadly does not have a happy ending.
This at first apparently playful encounter between leopard and newborn steenbok (part of the antelope family) was captured by a safari guide in the Sabi Sand Game reserve, in South Africa.
The big cat seemed to want to make friends with the calf for 45 minutes and the small creature was so unafraid of the predator it even tried to suckle milk from it.
But then nature opened up its powerful claw and the leopard decided playing with the Bambi lookalike was probably not as much fun as eating it. In a flash, he killed the newborn, which had foolishly ventured out into the brush after being hidden in a nearby bush by its terrified mother, who was powerless to intervene.
Safari guide, Marius Croetzee, 30, from Durban, was travelling by Land Rover he and his clients witnessed nature at its most heart-wrenching from only six yards away.

The large leopard played with the calf for 45 minutes and the small creature was so unafraid of the predator it even tried to suckle milk from it

Marius said: 'I got a call over the radio that a female leopard were located close to the lodge and that she was busy stalking.
'The mother stashed the lamb in thick scrub while feeding nearby, when it was caught she ran away for her own safety.
'It is not uncommon for a leopard to make more than one kills if the opportunity presents itself.

The calf's terrified mother was powerless to intervene and stop the baby being killed and eaten

'Upon arriving at the scene I witnessed the leopard sitting with the steenbok in her paws. The lamb was new born and completely oblivious to the danger it was in.
'It had no fear, and at one stage even tried to suckle from the female leopard. This was a first for me in and in more than 12 years of safari guiding I have not seen it again
'People were absolutely amazed and felt sad, but they realised that this is nature in its rawest form.'

The leopard eventually got bored and killed the calf, which was only hours old

source: dailymail

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