Double take! Meet the cat with nine lives and TWO faces

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Split personality: The cat's two faces are down to a genetic mutation.

We all know cats have nine lives. But this very special and much loved cat was born with two faces.

Frankenlouie, who lives with his owner in Milbury, Massachusetts, has a genetic birth deformity which caused him to grow the extra facial features.

The extraordinary feline's two faces were caused by a condition called Janus, which normally causes cats to live for only a few days.


Born this way: Cats born with the condition Janus which causes the mutation normally live for just a few days

But the unusual pet has beaten the odds to live long enough to celebrate his 12th birthday.

Now the feat of survival has earned him a place in the Guinness World Records.

Frankenlouie is already an internet star who has notched up thousands of hits on You Tube.

And the one-in-a million mog has featured on TV shows such as 'Strange, Freaky, True'.


Survivor: Frabkenlouie will now be entered in the Guinness book of records

source: dailymail

Read more!

He's behind you: Fox chases beagle in animal role reversal

By LEON WATSON

Fox and the hound: Role reversal as the fox chases the beagle

Tallo ho! This sly fox has made a monkey out of a bumbling beagle who was meant to be chasing him.

The dog is a trained hunter, yet he looked more lost than found as he walked just inches past his prey.

And despite keeping his nose to the ground the canine tracker was left totally oblivious to his target after being completely outwitted.


Catch me if you can! Fox leads dog on a merry old dance

To complete a role reversal, the fox then turned the tables on hundreds of years of tradition by confronting the dog.

Protecting a new litter of four little pups with the mother of his children on hand, the pair made it clear the doggy intruder wasn't welcome.


Happy families: Fox and cubs protecting their den

The bizarre moment was caught on camera by nature lover Mircea Costina in a forest north of Montreal, Canada.

Mircea, Master biogeography at the University of Montreal, said she was amazed the foxes were brave enough to confront the much larger beagle.

She said: 'This is the story of one fox family that I was watching from 2008 for three years.

source: dailymail

Read more!

My pet spaniel saved my life by sniffing out my breast cancer

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Mrs Murphy: 'She sensed something was wrong'

A mother says her breast cancer was discovered... by her faithful pet spaniel.
Brenda Jones, 47, was feeling fit and well but said her loving dog called Mrs Murphy sensed something was wrong.

He behaved strangely for a week before pawing at Brenda's left breast causing her to jump up in pain.

Mother-of-two Brenda examined the spot where Mrs Murphy had 'targeted' her - and discovered a strange lump.


Grateful: Brenda Jones says her dog Mrs Murphy has been a life-saver

She went to her GP the next day and was diagnosed with a Grade Three tumour in her breast.

Brenda was admitted to hospital for emergency surgery and is now undergoing a course of chemotherapy.

But she is in no doubt that her five-year-old pet had saved her life.

Brenda said: 'She was sitting on my lap all the time, something she didn't normally do.

'She would nuzzle against my breast and she was staring at me.

'After about a week of this I was sitting on the sofa when she jumped up and her paw caught my left breast.

'It really hurt - I remember saying to my husband: "The dog has bruised me."
'But when I looked and felt my breast I could feel a lump.'

Brenda, a sales negotiator with an estate agency, was diagnosed with the more rare triple negative breast cancer.

She had surgery for the lump in June and is now in the middle of chemotherapy before having a course of radio therapy.

source: dailymail

Read more!

'It was just like Jaws': Angler on kayak is dragged half a mile out to sea after hooking 6ft SHARK off Devon coast

By STEPHANIE DARRALL

Catch of the day: Rupert Kirkwood had been fishing a mile off the coast of Ilfracombe, North Devon, in his 16ft kayak when he hooked the five-stone shark

A vet fishing from a kayak was dragged half a mile out to sea after hooking a 6ft shark.

Rupert Kirkwood, 51, was towed around for 15 minutes after a 70lb Tope after it took his bait and headed for the deep.

He had been fishing a mile off the coast of Ilfracombe, North Devon, in his 16ft kayak when he hooked the five-stone shark.


Hair raising: The angler said he had been sitting in his vessel for about four hours before he felt a huge pull on the line and his canoe 'suddenly shot off through the water'

'It was pretty hair-raising stuff. I had been sitting there for about four hours before I felt a huge pull on the line and my canoe suddenly shot off through the water.

'These creatures are known to do a runner and it's just like Jaws - the line flew off the reel. I just had to hold on and wait for it to tire. Eventually it did, and I was able to lean in the water and pull it on board.


The father-of-four, who also works as a farm vet, has been canoe fishing for around ten years and landed the beast using mackerel bait

'You have to handle them very carefully and I nestled my hand under the tail and pectoral fin before landing it.

'The weight was incredible. I had to be extra careful as one snap of the jaws and I could easily lose a finger or hand.

'It was thrashing around on the canoe before eventually becoming quite still.'


You're gonna need a bigger boat: The angler was towed around for 15 minutes by a 70lb Tope after it took his bait and headed for the deep


Scary: Mr Kirkwood described the landing like a scene out of Jaws. He said: ' I just had to hold on and wait for it to tire. Eventually it did, and I was able to lean in the water and pull it on board'

source: dailymail

Read more!

Pandaaahs! Un-bear-ably cute cubs snuggle up in their nursery

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

I'm awake! One of the Giant Panda cubs raises his head while his 11 siblings sleep soundly in their nursery at the Giant Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu, south-west China

They are a picture of cute that would make anyone say 'aah'.

But these Giant Panda cubs, napping peacefully in their nursery, have a far more important role to play.

They have been born and raised in the research base of the Giant Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu, China, which is attempting to preserve the notoriously sex-shy species.


Bed time: A keeper tucks the tiny cubs in as they take a nap

Their successful upbringing comes as China launches its once-a-decade census to determine how many of the endangered bears live in the wild.

The census - the fourth since it was first launched in the 1970s - is also expected to work out their living conditions, ages and any change in habitat.

According to the count a decade ago, there are 1,596 pandas left in the wild in China, with 1,206 of them living in Sichuan.

The Giant Panda Breeding Centre boasts the world's largest artificially bred population with 108.


In line for a prosperous future? It is hoped the cubs will help preserve the endangered species


source: dailymail

Read more!

Pigs do fly! Iconic porker floats above Battersea power station again to celebrate 35 years of Pink Floyd album

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hamming it up: The Pink Floyd balloon pig hovers over Battersea Power Station today

Pink Floyd's iconic flying pig has made a comeback - 35 years after it caused chaos by escaping into the skies over London.

A new 30-foot, helium-filled balloon floated high above Battersea Power Station to mark the reissue of the band's 14 studio albums.

But unlike its famous predecessor, this pig remained firmly tethered to the ground.


Sow big: The 30ft monster is firmly tethered, unlike the original which escaped over London in 1976 and caused chaos

The original balloon, Algie - designed by band founder Roger Waters - broke free from its moorings during a photo shoot for the cover of the hit album Animals in 1976.
Plans had been made to fly Algie over Battersea on the first day of the three-day shoot, with a marksman ready to blast it out of the sky if things went wrong, but the pig was not launched.

On the second day, organisers had forgotten to book the marksman - and Algie made its bid for freedom. A strong gust of wind snapped the tether and the pig shot skywards, drifting off south over London.


Double take: The original Animals album cover from 1977 (left) and the new shoot on Monday

The pig disappeared from sight within five minutes and was soon spotted by startled airline pilots at 30,000 feet.

Flights to and from Heathrow Airport were cancelled as Algie flew through the path of passenger aircraft. The balloon headed out towards the coast before crash-landing at a farm in Kent that night.

The pig was recovered and repaired so the photo-shoot could resume. but by the time he was brought back to Battersea, the cloudless, blue sky was deemed too 'boring'. So what Floyd fans eventually got was a composite picture.


The way they were: Floyd together at Live 8 in 2005 (from left) Dave Gilmore, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright

source: dailymail

Read more!

The terrifying moment a rutting stag charged a woman walker and knocked her to the ground

By JESSICA SATHERLEY

Run! The unidentified woman quickly tries to run away from the rutting stag as she is chased through Bushy Park in Richmond

This was the petrifying moment a woman was chased by a rutting stag before being knocked to the ground in a London park.

She was left uninjured but ‘badly shaken’ from the attack, which occurred while she was watching three stags compete with each other during a mating ritual.

And the extraordinary scenes were captured by photographer Robert Piper, who had also descended to Bushy Park, Richmond, to watch the display last Friday.


Don't look back: A number of people had gathered at Bushy Park to watch as the stags compete, as part of the breeding season, but this one got worked up and charged at her

A number of people had gathered to watch as the stags competed, as part of the breeding season which typically runs from the end of September to late October.

But as a couple edged nearer to get a closer look, one stag turned its attention from its rivals and charged directly at the woman, knocking her to the ground.


Attacks: The unidentified woman is just one of three recent victims of stag attacks in Richmond and Royal Parks have issued a warning to tell people to stay away from the deer during rutting season

Mr Piper said: “The deer were bellowing and being aggressive. Two or three stags were charging each other.

“One stag was quite worked up. A few people had gathered to watch, but one couple got a little bit too close. I looked down at my camera for a second and then I heard a scream and the stag was charging the woman.

“He went for her and knocked her over. She got to her feet and he charged a second time, but she managed to get behind a tree where she hid, but the stag would not move. She could not get away.”


Knocked down: The photographer described how the stag went for her and knocked her over, but she got to her feet and he charged a second time


Terrified: The photographer added that she was really, really, shaken up, but lucky she wasn't badly hurt and was able to walk away


Rutting stag: During the rutting period, males often rub their antlers on trees or shrubs, as seen here

source: dailymail

Read more!

What a shaggy sheepdog tale! The lamb raised alongside springer spaniel who thinks he's a canine

By JESSICA SATHERLEY

Best friends: Alison Sinstadt sits in Adderley Wharf Farm in Shropshire with her pet dog Jessie and Jack the sheep - who thinks he is also a dog

A sheep that was rescued as a lamb and brought up with a springer spaniel is now convinced he is a sheep dog.

Jack is so sure he is a canine he fetches sticks, wears a collar and a lead, jumps up on his hind legs and even tries to bark.

The six-month-old pet doesn't even recognise his own species and tries to herd sheep when he is put in the field with the rest of the flock.


Chilling out: Jack and Jessie can't get enough of each other and seem to be inseparable since the springer spaniel befriended the sheep when he was just a lamb

Owners Alison Sinstadt, 48, and her partner Simon Sherwin, 50, were stunned when the Lleyn sheep was befriended by their nine-year-old springer spaniel Jessie.

Mother-of-two Alison, who runs Adderley Wharf Farm and a shop near Market Drayton, Shropshire, said: "Jack was born one of three lambs, which is quite rare.


Daily walk: Jack the sheep even joins Jessie on her daily walk with their owner Alison... and has his own collar and lead

"He was very small and we decided to bring him in the house and put the hair drier on him and forced him to drink milk.

"It ended up that he took to the dog and they now sleep together in a dog basket in the porch.


source: dailymail

Read more!

And in the arrivals lounge... foal for pony who shot to fame trying to board train

By CHRIS PARSONS

New arrival: Ruby and her new owner Michelle Crowther pose with the mare's new foal

She was the mare who became a worldwide sensation after trying to board a train, as well as walking into a hospital and a pub.

But now Ruby, who was taken into care amid fears for her health, has had her own new arrival after giving birth to a bay and white foal.

The mare shot to fame when her previous owner, Irish traveller Joe Purcell, was captured on CCTV leading his horse on to a train platform in Wrexham in May.


Happy and healthy: The as-yet unnamed foal playfully gallops around her new surroundings in Wrexham

Now Ruby has a new owner after the RSPCA took her into care and, two weeks ago, the mare gave birth to a beautiful skewbald - or white, brown and black - colt.

Her owner, housewife Michelle Crowther, 43, said the youngster has yet to be given a name and added: 'At the moment he's really shy but it's Ruby's fault because she's very protective and keeps pushing him behind her and making noises as if to say "Be careful" but he's very attentive and well behaved.'

'He’s really pretty with a lot of white on him and has an interesting quirk in that one set of eyelashes are black and the other set are white.


Caught on camera: The pony is led on to a train in Wrexham, Wales

'She’s a really, really good mother. She looks after him really well and has got him all organised. Ruby’s quite firm and bustling with him, but kind.

'She’s got him completely under control.'

Mother-of-three Michelle has not decided what to do with the colt but will keep the new arrival for the time being with husband Richard, 45, and the couple's three children at their home in Wrexham.


Unwell: A pregnant Ruby with her previous owner, traveller Joe Purcell

source: dailymail

Read more!

Sleeping like a log: The seven lemurs catching up on their beauty sleep in huddle at zoo

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Lemur alone - I'm trying to sleep! These sleeping lemurs were photographed at Colchester Zoo in Essex by public transport manager Jonathan Chown as he visited on a birthday treat

This long line of seven ring-tailed lemurs sits on a log as they catch up on some sleep.

The furry friends made sure they got the maximum amount of warmth by huddling together and wrapping themselves in their black and white tails.

Public transport manager Jonathan Chown took the photograph while on a visit to the zoo to celebrate his birthday with his wife and son.

The 37-year-old stood and watched the animals for 10 minutes without seeing them move once.

Jonathan, from Milton Keynes, in Bucks, said: 'We were just strolling about looking at some of the exhibits and found these lemurs tucked away on a log.

'They sat there like statues and didn't move at all. They were all snoozing away and looked like a giant animal of some kind.

'It was quite a surreal sight - there were no other animals in the enclosure, they had all obviously decided to cozy up together.

'Thankfully, I take my camera wherever I go and happily snapped away - it looked like they had been glued together.'

Jonathan, who took the photos at Colchester Zoo, in Essex, added: 'We were really lucky to see something like this and made my birthday even better.'


source: dailymail

Read more!