Cheeky monkeys give each other a fright playing with spooky Halloween toys

By STEVE NOLAN

Ring-tailed lemurs had fun scaring their friends with ghoulish Frankenstein and vampire masks

Cheeky monkeys got into the spirit of Halloween early as they gave each other a playful fright messing around with masks and disguises at a Bedfordshire safari park.
Ring-tailed lemurs had fun scaring their friends with ghoulish Frankenstein and vampire masks.
Meanwhile a brave Patas monkey proves he’s not scared of monsters by eagerly tucking into this sorrowful jack-o-lantern pumpkin.

Cheeky monkeys gave each other a fright messing around with spooky disguises ahead of Halloween at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire

A black-and-white ruffed lemur shows off his pumpkin head wear as animals at the safari park, close to Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, got into the Halloween spirit early

Park spokeswoman Abi Crowley says the Halloween fun went down a treat at Woburn Safari Park, which is close to Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
She added: 'All the lemurs and monkeys were running around teasing each other with the masks.As the lemurs held the masks up to eat they looked like they were trying to spook each other out.
'And the sad face carved on the pumpkin was priceless as one of our monkeys munched straight into it.

Despite some of the animals getting spooked by the Halloween paraphernalia, others got to grips with pumpkins and Jack o' lanterns
'They are usually fed a lot of cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and squash so this was a nice treat.'
Staff at Woburn put mashed banana on the back of the Halloween masks to tempt the lemurs, who live in a ‘walk-through’ section of the park.
Ring-tailed and red fronted lemurs can even be seen sticking their heads into pumpkins dangling from climbing ropes to steal the yummy snacks inside.
Ms Crowley said: 'A lot of our visitors stopped to have a good look and enjoyed watching the animals’ antics.'

This brave Patas monkey proves he's not scared of monsters by eagerly tucking into a pumpkin

Woburn Safari Park spokeswoman Abi Crowley says the Halloween fun went down a treat

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The fox outfoxed by a flock of geese: Birds gang up on predator who thought he was in for an easy lunch

By DAVID WILKES

Outnumbered: As the fox wades through the water looking for an easy meal, the geese surround him

As he splashed into a pond full of geese, this hungry fox no doubt thought he was in for an easy lunch.
But he had chosen the wrong flock for that. The brave birds banded together – and outfoxed him.
The Canada geese even recruited passing ducks, coots, moorhens and cormorants for their cunning plan.

Safety in numbers: Other birds join in to defend themselves and their offspring

They ganged up on the would-be predator to prevent him picking them off one by one and followed him along the pond.
Eventually, the fox gave up and returned to dry land still hungry and probably rather baffled.
The encounter was photographed by a visitor at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre in Barnes, south-west London.

Better luck next time: Defeated, the fox begins slink away

A spokesman for the centre said: ‘They will be used to seeing foxes and have developed strategies to deal with their presence and protect themselves. It is typical behaviour in the wild but rarely seen.
These are fascinating pictures.’ Tim Webb, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said it was an example of ‘mobbing’, a form of behaviour that birds engage in to defend themselves or their offspring from predators.
They aim to divert a predator’s attention through their behaviour and to blow its cover, thus reducing its chances of success.

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Mummy's little girl: Emma the orangutan holds newborn daughter close after giving birth at Chester Zoo

Proud mother: Emma, a Sumatran orangutan, looks at the camera as she cradles her newborn daughter

This baby orangutan may have been born in captivity but that hasn't stopped her mother from holding her close.
Emma, the Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to her daughter three days ago and has not let her out of her sight since.
The, as yet unnamed, newborn is the latest addition to the Realm of the Red Ape exhibit at Chester Zoo which houses a group of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans.

Emma who was also born at the zoo, in 1987, gazes lovingly at the newest addition to the family

These adorable images show the tenderness and love that Emma bestows on her daughter.
She cradles her newborn in her arms while looking proudly at the camera before another photograph captures her gazing lovingly at the baby orangutan.
Not one for missing the action, however, the infant manages to poke her head out from underneath her mother's fur to see what is going on around her.
She looks straight at the lens before something catches her attention and she looks away.

Peek-a-boo! Emma holds her unnamed three-day-old baby close to her body at Chester Zoo

Sumatran orangutans originally come from the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia and live in tropical and subtropical forests in the lowlands as well as in mountainous areas up to a height of 1500m.
When fully grown, they can measure up to 1.4 metres tall and weigh up to 90 kilogrammes.
Orangutans are the only great ape found outside of Africa.
Their numbers in the wild have decreased from more than 12,000 in the mid 1990s to just 6,500 in recent years.

A mother's love: The unnamed baby orangutan gazes up at the camera from the safety of it's mother's protective embrace

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The massive foot-wide Malaysian moth found in a Lancashire back garden

By MARK PRIGG

Mark Lightowler of Animal World with the foot-wide moth which turned up in a Lancashire back garden - and has already bred.

A massive moth measuring a foot from wing tip to wing tip has been found in Lancashire.
The Giant Atlas Moth is normally seen in south-east Asia, particularly in Malaysia.
However, one was found by the Blackmore family in Ramsbottom - more than 6,000 miles away. It has now taken up residence at Animal World in Bolton and has laid eggs - which have hatched into caterpillars.
Centre manager Mark Lightowler said: "The moth was found in the back yard of a house in Ramsbottom.
'It must have escaped from a private collection.

The Giant Atlas moth is well known for its massive size. Here Sir David Attenborough, holds one at a London museum.

'The family contacted Animal World and I could not believe they had found a Giant Atlas Moth in their backyard.
'It doesn't happen.
'It is just amazing and for it to have laid eggs, I am staggered.'
The moth was brought to Animal World in a large container on the advice of Mr Lightowler in mid-August and two weeks ago the caterpillars hatched and now measure five inches.
They can all be seen at the centre's butterfly house.
Mr Lightowler added: 'Often when people see Giant Atlas Moth they don't believe they are real because of their size.
'This moth would just not be able to survive in the wild and for it to have survived is amazing.'

source: dailymail

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The whale who learned to talk to the man-imals: Noc' could imitate a human's voice and used an underwater microphone to make contact with scientists

By MARK PRIGG

NOC the white whale approaches a diver underwater. The whale may have begun speech-like sounds after hearing divers using underwater communications equipment, researchers believe

A white whale which learnt to imitate the voices of humans may have been trying to make contact, scientists believe.
The male named Noc had a distinctly human-like voice, much to the surprise of scientists who previously thought whales typically produce sounds in a manner that is wholly different from humans.
Noc died five years ago after 30 years of living amongst dolphins and other white whales and being in contact with humans at the National Marine Mammal Foundation based in San Diego in California.

NOC with an underwater microphone which the team used to make recordings along with microphones on the surface

However, the incredible recordings of the whale were revealed for the first time as the team published their findings.
Sam Ridgway, who led the study, said: 'Our observations suggest that the whale had to modify its vocal mechanics in order to make the speech-like sounds.
'Such obvious effort suggests motivation for contact.'
Mr Ridgway and his colleagues first began to notice some unusual sounds in the vicinity of the whale and dolphin enclosure which was described a sounding as though two people were conversing in the distance in 1984.

The researchers analysed the vocal passages of a white while to discover how NOC made the unique noises

The sounds were traced back to Noc after a diver surfaced from the whale enclosure to ask his colleagues an odd question 'Who told me to get out?'
Although there has been other anecdotal reports of whales sounding like humans before, in this case Ridgway’s team wanted to capture some real evidence by recording Noc over the years.
The team built a special underwater listening platform to try and hear more 'voices'.

NOC the white whale that spontaneously began to imitate human speech. The other whale, an older female, never made such speech like sounds

It revealed a rhythm similar to human speech and fundamental frequencies several octaves lower than typical whale sounds, much closer to that of the human voice.
Mr Ridgway said: 'Whale voice prints were similar to human voice and unlike the whale’s usual sounds.
'The sounds we heard were clearly an example of vocal learning by the white whale.'
He said it was all the more remarkable because whales make sounds via their nasal tract, not in the larynx as humans do.

Noc, the white whale researchers believe developed a human-like voice in order to try and make contact

To make those human-like sounds, Noc had to vary the pressure in his nasal tract while making other muscular adjustments and inflating the vestibular sac in his blowhole.
In other words, they say, it wasn’t easy.
The study 'Spontaneous human speech mimicry by a cetacean' are published in the latest issue of Current Biology.
'Our observations of human voice mimicry began in May 1984 when a male white whale about 9 years of age at our facility in San Diego Bay spontaneously began to make such speechlike sounds,' the researchers say.

White whales have previously bonded with humans - here one blows heart-shaped bubbles in the water in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province

The whale called 'NOC' was the youngest of three that had been collected at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in August of 1977.
At times, the speech-like sounds were heard from a distance when no humans were nearby, however most episodes were observed when humans were nearby on the surface or underwater.



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Feline like a coffee? St Petersburg cafe offers customers the chance to enjoy a hot drink... while patting the in-house cats

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Feline love: An employee kisses Dyushes, a Don Sphynx cat, at the Cats Republic art cafe in St. Petersburg

A Russian cafe is offering customers the chance to enjoy a hot drink while playing with their feline residents.
Visitors can play with the furry animals at the cats art cafe Cats Republic in St. Petersburg.
The owners currently have eight residents - four of them came from the State Hermitage Museum, where they used to hunt mice.

Cat kisses: Dyushes stretches out to lean in and kiss. The owners currently have eight residents - four of them came from the State Hermitage Museum, where they used to hunt mice

Petting time: A visitor strokes a cat. The cafe includes an exhibition area, a library and a separate hall with cats living inside

The other four are purebreds acquired from breeders.
The cafe, which is popular with children and adults alike, measures visitors with a 'cat-metre' as well as calculating tier age in 'cat years.'
The main rule of the cat cafe is that visitors should not try and interact or pet a cat if they seem unwilling to engage.

Price to pay: Visitors of the cafe can pay $5-10 to play with the cats, according to the owners

Cat years@ Every visitor's height is measured with a 'cat-metre' and their age is calculated in cat years

Cat love: The cat cafe has already proved popular with children and adults alike

The concept is springing up across the world - there are similar cafes in Japan and Europe.
There are now around 40 such establishments in Tokyo alone since the first cat cafe opened in 1998.
As well as the feline residents, there is also a cat library and an exhibition area, covered in photos and pictures of cats.
For true cat lovers there are relevant items to purchase such as pillows and photo frames.

Interaction: A visitor caresses a cat - the main rule at the cafe is that visitors can not make the cat play with them if it is uninterested in engaging

Life of luxury: Dyushes stretches on an armchair at the cafe which currently has eight feline residents

Theme: As well as the feline residents, there is also a cat library and a an exhibition area, covered in photos and pictures of cats

Cat mad: A visitor looks at figurines at the Cats Republic - it is an oasis for cat lovers

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Saturday Nut Fever: Meet Tony, the red squirrel whose moves are putting John Travolta to shame

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Jazz hands: The cheeky chappy appears to be showing off for the camera

A shimmying squirrel shows off his best moves as he dances for his dinner
Wildlife photographer Lillian King snapped the greedy critter as he stretched out his arms during feeding time at the British Wildlife Centre near Lingfield, Surrey.
The red squirrel, named Anthony by staff, balances carefully on a branch while throwing his paws in the air with energetic moves similar to Tony Manero, played by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

Staying alive: The nimble red squirrel could give Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta a run for his money

Lillian, a retired receptionist of Godalming, Surrey, said: 'He was so cute.
'I've seen him do it a few times before and I had to take some pictures of him.
'There are around twenty squirrels in a conservation project at the centre.
'The squirrels are fed by workers and there's a big bag of hazelnuts which this little guy goes crazy for.

Throwing shapes: The red squirrel appears to be taking his 'dancing' very seriously

'But this squirrel is the centre of attention, he stretches his hands and dances up and down the branches so he gets fed first.
'It's as if he doesn't want any of the others to get any, so he manoeuvres himself in wonderful ways so he doesn't miss out on feeding time.
'He's so lively, the squirrels are very popular at the centre but he does his best to stand out.'

source: dailymail

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Cubs bred for profit, torn from their mothers - and sent to die in the wild: The cruel truth of China's panda factories

By RICHARD JONES and HAZEL KNOWLES

Captive-bred pandas are no more than a 'caricature' of the real thing and are unable to survive in the wild

It was a scene worthy of a Disney tear-jerker – and had a television audience to match. Leaving his mother behind, Tao Tao, the two-year-old giant panda, walked out of his cage and took his first uncertain steps to freedom in the mountain slopes of south-west China.
Behind him, the keepers who helped raise the cub from his birth in captivity watched as their young charge padded away into the bamboo-rich woodland where his fight to survive would begin.

Captive-bred Tao Tao being taken for release by handlers dressed in controversial panda suits

No detail had been spared in the careful preparation for Tao Tao’s future. His keepers made a model leopard, complete with a roaring sound, to teach him about his potential predators.
When the model was put into his enclosure in June, he dutifully ran for cover. Staff at the breeding centre even dressed in panda outfits to prevent their young charge becoming too familiar with his human captors.

Doomed: Xiang Xiang died in the wild shortly after he was released

Feeding time: Pandas born at the Chengdu breeding base. There might soon be more captive-bred giant pandas alive than wild ones

Images of Tao Tao’s release into the remote Liziping Nature Reserve in Sichuan ten days ago were broadcast around the world, just as the authorities intended, portraying an unusually humane side to the Chinese regime and demonstrating its absolute determination to save the giant panda, the national symbol, from extinction.

One of China's leading panda experts, with years of experience on the official breeding programme believes wild pandas have been driven to the brink of extinction

Today, Tao Tao is the only captive-bred giant panda in the wild. Officials boast that, if his release is a success, more young pandas will follow in his paw prints until the mountain forests of western China are once again home to a flourishing population.

Saved? Ynag Guang before he left for Edinburgh Zoo last December

If that is the vision served up to a credulous international audience, the reality is shockingly different. The truth is that wild pandas, their numbers already desperately low, are continuing to die out – their habitat disappearing beneath a tide of concrete as China’s economic juggernaut rolls on. It is entirely possible that there may be just a few hundred left.
Meanwhile the Chinese government makes millions lending captive-bred pandas to overseas zoos – including Edinburgh, which recently paid £6 million in a decade-long loan scheme.

Baby pandas being cared for in an incubator. During the breeding season, the centre becomes a brutal place as scientists use the window of opportunity to force the animals to reproduce

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Picture perfect pooch: Britain's Got Talent winner Pudsey releases his 2013 calendar

By J J ANISIOBI

Canine cool: Pudsey has released his official 2013 calender and seems to be living a pretty relaxed life judging from the pictures

With his amazing routines wowing both the audience and judges, Pudsey easily won Britain's Got Talent 2012.
Now, the cute entertaining canine is set to send his fans barking mad with his brand new 2013 calendar.
The little white terrier shows a different side to his personality as the calendar only features one image of him actually doing tricks.

Drinks are on him: The cute pooch was pictured ready for a night out down the pub with his bow tie on

Having made his name and gained international fame through his difficult routines, Pudsey can be seen mostly relaxing in the new calendar.
In one shot he is suited and booted with a black bow-tie on as he props himself up at a pub bar.
Then in another photograph he can be seen preparing to have a bubble bath with his trainer and owner Ashleigh Butler.

Soaking up the spoils: Pudsey and his owner/trainer Ashleigh Butler prepared to take a bubble bath together

Mr December: Pudsey doesn't seem to do a lot of work these days and mostly relaxes

Pudsey really is living the life of luxury now and the spoils of his superstar lifestyle are all on display in the calendar.
He gets to cross the road with a long slender legged female and spends Christmas in his large stately home, perched in his comfortable luxury chair.
The only bit of work the prize pooch seems to do is a leisurely dance work out in his spacious studio.
If his calendar fails to keep him in the lap of luxury, he at least has a plan b to fall back on.

Back to his old tricks: Pudsey did begin to break a sweat as he worked out in his dance studio

Pudsey has written and published his own book called Pudsey: My Autobidography.
Ashleigh, 17, said: 'The Autobidography is more about what happened before Britain’s Got Talent, like his journey from when he was a puppy to how he always wanted to dance.
'I think Pudsey did a good job in writing his Autobidography. Not only can he dance - he can sing, he can act, he can write books now.

Picture perfect pooch: Britain's Got Talent winner Pudsey releases his 2013 calendar

'I think there’s a bit of everything in there for everyone. It’s humorous, it’s cute. It has its sad moments as well.'
The Official 2013 Pudsey Calendar is exclusively on sale online at www.danilo.com or at Calendar Club.



source: dailymail

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Fisherman's (unlikely) friend: The unusual bond between a man and the seagull who followed him home from fishing trip

By SAM ADAMS

Feathered friend: Ron Ifield with Herbert the herring gull. The fisherman revealed how the pair had bonded over a cup of tea while he was out to sea

A fisherman has told how he befriended a seagull after it followed him home from a voyage.
Ron Ifield, 70, struck up an unlikely bond with the bird - which he has named 'Herbert' - when it landed on his boat during a fishing trip in the Thames estuary.
After handing him a scrap of fish the plucky herring gull then flew into Mr Ifield's cabin, sipped from his cup of tea and nestled up to him on his bunk.

Herbert somehow managed to search out Mr Ifield's home after following him back to port in Rochester, Kent

The bird stayed with him for the entire day before following his ship back to port at Hoo Marina in Rochester, Kent, during the trip in July.
Amazingly, the gull then managed to search out the fisherman's family home, which is 400 yards away from the mooring site - and the pair have been friends ever since.

Backing: Mr Ifield has denied claims from neighbours that Herbert has attacked pets and stolen sweets since his arrival in town

Mr Ifield said: 'I fed him with the odd bit of fish and he stayed on the boat for about four hours. He was hungry.
'He even went in the wheel house and got onto my bunk and started drinking my tea.
'I have been sailing for 40 years and I’ve never had anything like it before.

'I’ve no idea how he found our mobile home, its about 400 yards from my boat but as soon as he saw me by my home he started squeaking and recognised me.
'I have become attached to him. He is like a pet now.'
But their friendship has been tested, after Mr Ifield was forced to defend the gull from families complaining that he been attacked people and pets in the area.
Residents claim Herbert has swooped down to steal children’s sweets and has even attacked dogs in the neighbourhood.
Mr Ifield, who lives with wife Christine, has denied the claims.

source: dailymail

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