Ruling the roost: Hen that thinks it's a dog adopts litter of puppies

By Daily Mail Reporter

Mabel the hen adopted the litter of puppies and jumped into the dog basket to keep them warm

You'd be forgiven for thinking that chickens and dogs were not natural bed fellows.

But a one-year-old hen that thinks it's a dog has adopted a litter of puppies much to the bemusement of their canine mother.

Mabel has taken to keeping the small dogs warm by snuggling up to them while their mother, Nettle, sits out in the yard at a farm in Shrewsbury


The chicken, who was saved from the pot by Mr Tate, has taken to roosting on a litter of puppies


Owners Edward and Ros Tate saved Mabel from the pot and now the hen has taken to roosting on the litter of puppies.

Mr Tate said: 'Mabel was hatched here about a year ago. She would have gone onto someone's dinner plate but we saved her.

'Unfortunately, she got into an accident with a horse, which accidentally trod on her foot.

'Because of that, she gets terribly cold during the winter so we decided to bring her into the house.

'We have a dog, Nettle, which has just given birth to a litter of pups. Within a few days of giving birth, Nettle was up and about, prowling in the yard.


Edward Tate with Mabel the hen and her adopted litter of puppies


'Mabel observed Nettle's behaviour and, as soon as there was a chance, she hoped into the dog basket to roost on the pups.

'She keeps them and herself warm, while Nettle is outside on the yard.'


source: dailymail

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Cat that gets head stuck in Whiskas tin finds its own way to animal shelter

By Scott Warren

Can got your tongue? The cat got stuck while scrounging for food


Black cats are generally associated with bad luck, but this female feline had fortune on her side when her head got stuck in a Whiskas can.

Amazingly, the cat managed to make its way to an animal rescue centre in Fife, Scotland, where staff were able to avoid a cat-astrophe and cut the desperate animal free.

They expressed amazement the disorientated moggy managed to avoid being hit by a car as she made her way to the centre.

Staff said the cat is in extremely good condition, leading them to think she was lost, rather than being a stray.

After the can was removed she was checked over before being transferred to the Scottish SPCA’s rehoming centre in Edinburgh.

Colin Seddon, manager at the Scottish SPCA’s Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife, said the cat was lucky no damage had been done.


Free again: The cat has recovered from its ordeal and will be rehomed


He said: 'We think it’s likely that she was scavenging and came across this discarded tin of cat food.

'She may have got the can stuck on her head and then became disorientated, it’s lucky she wasn’t hit by a car.

'She is a friendly and well looked after cat and she was wearing a distinctive black collar with bright green cats eyes imprinted on the material.'


source: dailymail

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'Dog whisperer' row as trainer accused over electric shock collars tours Britain

By Fiona Macrae

A dog's best friend? Cesar Millan is a bestselling author and stars in a successful TV show


A dog trainer to Hollywood stars begins a UK tour tonight amid warnings from animal welfare groups that his techniques can cause unnecessary pain and suffering.

Cesar Millan, also known as the Dog Whisperer, is credited with turning tens of thousands of disobedient and aggressive animals into perfect pets.

He has a string of bestselling books and a successful TV show to his name and satisfied clients include Oprah Winfrey, Nicolas Cage and Scarlett Johansson

His philosophy is that the owner, not the pampered pooch, is 'leader of the pack'.

But the RSPCA claims he has advocated using electric shock collars and restricting dogs' air supply with nooses and leads, as well as pinning them down to the floor.

Mr Millan, who denies the electric shock claims, teaches that dogs should be treated as dogs, not substitute children.

He believes that if the owner shows he is a strong, calm leader, the dog will become passive, loyal and obedient.


Methods likely to be demonstrated on his 12-date tour, which begins at London's O2 Arena, include repeatedly jabbing the animals in the ribs or face at the first sign of trouble, to teach them who is the boss.

Owners whose dogs can't help but jump up on guests will be told to establish dominance by avoiding showering their pet with affection on returning home from work.

Begging for food should be ignored, says Mr Millan, 40, who lives in Los Angeles, where his Dog Psychology Centre and business empire are based.

But animal welfare organisations say some of his more extreme techniques – which are claimed to include using electric shock collars to tame wayward dogs – leave the animals in pain or fear.

Twenty-six charities, including the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust, have signed an open letter ahead of the Dog Whisperer Tour, condemning 'aversive dog training techniques'.

The letter states: 'This kind of training technique can include the use of prong collars, electric shock collars and restricting dogs' air supply using nooses/leads or pinning them to the ground, which can cause pain and distress.'

Mr Millan said he did not endorse the use of electric collars but did believe they were useful in 'very extreme cases' where the dog was in danger of being put down if its behaviour did not improve.

He added: 'However, the live show is not about these kinds of emergency situations. It's really about training people to reconnect to their dog.'


source: dailymail

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Murder most fowl: Three hens and cockerel named Dude peck fox to death after it breaks into coop

By Luke Salkeld

Dude the cockerel was the ringleader who turned the tables on a sly fox who broke into his coup


Being chickens, they probably didn't put too much thought into it.

But somehow a flock of four birds managed to kill a fox that had slunk into their pen hoping to gobble them up.

Their owner Michelle Cordell, 43, had the shock of her life when she went to collect the eggs on the weekend and instead found a heavily pecked pile of fur lying dead in the corner.

She said: 'I was shocked. When I opened up the door, the chickens came running out, happy as anything.

'I went inside and the fox was laying there. I've never heard of anything like this before. It's like revenge of the chickens.'

The family, of Basildon, Essex, have in the past lost a hen and a cockerel to foxes, so are well aware of the danger the animals pose.

And so, it seems, are their chickens.


The bloody aftermath after the chickens pecked the fox to death
This time, the marauder was a relatively young fox - and no match for the new cockerel Dude and his hens Izzy, Pongo and Pecky.

Miss Cordell has no doubt it is Dude who was the ringleader in the murder.

She said she had shut the sliding door of the coop when she put the chickens to bed on Friday night, but the fox must have nosed his way under. When she went out on Saturday morning, the door was still shut.

The little table in the corner of the coop, which the chickens perch on, had been kicked over and was lying next to the fox's head.

It appeared to have fallen on him and knocked him out, leaving him an easy target for the beaks of the chickens.

Miss Cordell said she thinks they finished off the young fox with pecking as 'it had little blood marks on its legs. It had not been dead long'.


The dead fox was knocked out by a table before being pecked to death
The table falling down could have been part of an elaborate plot hatched by the brood - but was more likely the lucky result of frantic squawking,flapping and running about.

Miss Cordell, who lives with partner Gary Howell, 45, and daughters Maddi, eight, and Ruby 13, began keeping chickens last summer because Maddi begged her to.

They lost their first two before Christmas, and were left with just Dude and Izzy, both a speckled variety.

Pongo and Pecky, both Rhode Island Reds, joined them a month ago.

'The fox was not a cub but it was only a young one and Dude and Izzy are big birds,' she said.

'It looks like the fox bit off more than he could chew this time.

'I reared Dude from a tiny little chick and he has become very protective of the others.

'He thinks he is human and chases our dogs around the garden, pecking them.

'Now he is a murderer.'


source: dailymail

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Polar bear and its cub drift on shrinking ice 12 miles from land ... but is it all it seems?

By Daily Mail Reporter


Adrift: The polar bear cub snuggles against its mother as they drift 12 miles from land


A forlorn polar bear cub is comforted by its mother as they drift miles from shore on a rapidly shrinking ice floe.

The Arctic-dwelling animals have become an iconic cause for green campaigners, who claim dramatic images such as these prove that global warming is destroying the world.

But despite this image being released today, it was actually taken in August last year, when it is normal for coastal ice to naturally break up and melt.


Environmentalists don't dispute this - but argue that decades of scientific evidence show that sea ice is breaking up earlier each spring and freezing later each autumn.

As a result, summer sea ice has decreased by more than half a million square miles over the last 25 years.

It is thought the mother and her young cub, aged about nine months, had gone out hunting seals and climbed onto the floe to cool down.

The drifting ice shrank to just a few yards wide as it drifted down the Olga Strait of Svalbard, Norway, forcing the bears to huddle in the middle.

Photographer Eric Lefranc, 40, captured the scene while cruising the area in a boat in temperatures of about 5c.

He said: 'As we got closer we could see a polar bear mum and her cub trapped on a little and unstable ice floe. These bears looked very distressed.

'The mum was desperately trying to keep the ice floe stable and to protect her little cub who was scared and moving a lot. Polar bears are usually good swimmers but the ice floe was 12 miles from the nearest coast and drifting away in the strait.

'Some of the members on our trip were in despair. They wanted to take the bears with us and bring them to the nearest land, which was obviously impossible.'

But animal expert and BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham today said he believed the sad scene may well have had a happy ending.

He said: 'Being so isolated, their fate may look doomed but I think there will have been a happy ending. Polar bears have four-inch-thick blubber to keep them warm, big paws that act as flippers and waterproof fur - that means they are incredibly well suited to the water.

'An adult can swim up to 50 miles at five or six miles per hour, so the mum here should have no trouble completing the 12 miles back. The cub will struggle more and certainly faces an exhausting swim but I imagine it will have been OK if they paced the journey.

'Cubs usually doggy paddle behind their mum, clutching onto their back, so they are shielded from the current.'

'The biggest threat to these two is actually hyperthermia, as their body temperature could rise and that could kill them if they swim too fast.

'It is likely they have gone out hunting for seals and climbed onto the ice floe to cool down. They have then found themselves drifting, possibly at some speed.'

The polar bear is native largely within the Arctic circle, and their main food source is seals. An adult male can weigh up to 1,500lb and stand 10ft tall. An adult female is about half the size.


It is thought the mother and her young cub, aged around nine months, had gone out hunting seal and climbed onto the floe to cool down


As adults can swim 50 miles, it is likely the pair would have survived the 12 mile distance to shore, an animal expert said


The discovery of an ancient polar bear fossil suggests the species may have survived at least one period of global warming before.

The jawbone, dated between 110,000-130,000-years-old was discovered on the Arctic island of Svalbard by Professor Olafur Ingolfsson, of the University of Iceland, and Professor Oystein Wiig, of the University of Oslo.

It means polar bears have already survived a global warming that affected the northern hemisphere from 130,000 to 115,000 years ago, when the Greenland ice sheet and the Arctic ice cap were smaller than now.

'We have this specimen that confirms the polar bear was a morphologically distinct species at least 100,000 years ago, and this basically means that the polar bear has already survived one interglacial period,' said Professor Ingolfsson.

'This is telling us that despite the ongoing warming in the Arctic today, maybe we don't have to be quite so worried about the polar bear. That would be very encouraging.'

But Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London said: 'Living through a warm period back then does not mean polar bears are resilient to climate change now.'


source: dailymail

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You old fossil! Odd-shaped rock found in garden is dinosaur bone from 135m years ago

By Daily Mail Reporter

Proud: John Ruggles with the 135million-year-old Plesiosaur's paddle bone he found in his rockery


To John Ruggles it was just an odd-shaped rock.

After it turned up in his rockery he moved it around his garden as an ornament for nine years, before eventually settling on a place for it in the greenhouse.

But the rock nagged away at his curiosity until eventually he gave in and sent it to experts at his local museum to be identified.

Their reply left him staggered - his lump of stone turned out to be a dinosaur fossil from 135million years ago.

The startling discovery of part of a Plesiosaur's paddle bone from the Jurassic period was described as 'very rare' by experts, who also said it was in 'stunning condition'.

It has been so well preserved that blood vessels are still visible in the sandstone-like rock, which measures 12in by 8in.

Mr Ruggles, 75, who lives with wife Eileen, 70, in a bungalow in Downham Market, Norfolk, said it was lucky he never threw it away.

'When we moved in I thought it seemed different to any other rock I had seen but I didn't know what it was so I just left it in the garden,' he said.

'But we were curious about it for a number of years and I thought, "I'm going to find out about it". When my daughter read out the letter from the museum we just couldn't believe it, and the age of it as well - you just can't think of something being that old.

'To think it was just sitting in the garden for all those years!'


Survivor: The fossil is a Plesiosaur's paddle bone - the part which joins the fin to its body


Mr Ruggles, a retired British Gas meter reader, sent the rock to Lynn Museum in King's Lynn in December. They passed it on to experts at the Sedgewick Museum of Earth Science in Cambridge for testing.

He returned from a holiday in Florida with his family to find the letter with the experts' verdict. Mr Ruggles now plans to donate the fossil to Lynn Museum's permanent collection.

But first the father-of-two says he will let granddaughter Emily Ruggles-Brown, seven, take the rock to school for a show-and-tell.

'When it goes into the museum people will be able to go and see the bone but not touch it,' Mr Ruggles said.

'But it's the beauty and excitement of something so old that makes it really special. I have been handling it for nine years or more but other people haven't had the chance - but I'd never sell it. It belongs in the museum.'

A spokesman for Lynn Museum said: 'You can still see the blood vessels on the bone itself which is very rare. Usually it's just bone that is preserved rather than fleshy parts.

'It was a chance in a million that he found it in his garden and it's a very nice specimen indeed - we will be extremely pleased to have it in the museum collection.'

The Plesiosaur was a large marine reptile which fed on fish and smaller reptiles. It had an extremely long neck and tail and four flippers to propel itself through the water in a 'flying' motion.

The ocean dweller could grow to lengths of up to 40ft and is known to have lived from the late Triassic period through the Jurassic period and into the late Cretaceous period.

source: dailymail

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If you think I'm sharing, you're nuts! With three females to keep happy, Yeboah the gorilla grabs a snack

Settling in: Twelve-year-old male gorilla, Yeboah, has moved to London Zoo


As he clutches a pile of nuts in one of his huge hands, it is clear Yeboah's bachelor lifestyle has taken a toll on his manners.

The 20-stone adolescent gorilla is supposed to be winning the attentions of three new female companions.

But, perhaps not surprisingly for a teenage boy, nothing was going to come between him and his food yesterday.

Yeboah, though he doesn't quite appear to realise it yet, has been handed a dream job.

All he has to do is eat, sleep, listen to music and hang around with some lovelorn girlies. Anytime he fancies a spot of monkey business, he can pick any one of them.

After years in a bachelor pad with only another male for company, its fair to say he doesn't know a great deal about sharing.

But sheer animal appeal seemed to be doing the trick yesterday as he was allowed to mingle with all three females at once for the first time since arriving at London Zoo in November. He has one crucial mission - to be a stud.

The girls had already been shown a photograph of the hunky 12-year-old and seem to have found him rather tasty. So tasty, in fact, that one of them ate the picture.


Mingling with the locals: French gorilla Yeboah, left, with Effie, one of his three female mates


Feast for a beast: Yeboah enjoys a mix of monkey nuts, cranberries and home-made popcorn
When they met him for the first time, it appears, he lived up to all their expectations.


There was his physique, of course - 6ft 6in of rippling muscle and not an ounce of fat. Then there was that sexy walk - big, confident strides, and knuckles dragging lightly on the ground.

Top that with a French accent from his time at La Boissiere-du-Dore zoo in western France, and it was l'amour at first sight.


Gallic charm: The French gorilla is said to have a 'gentle nature' and 'good manners'


Yeboah, who is a young teenager in human terms, is destined to fill the gap left when the girls' long-time partner Bobby died last year.

He will soon assume the role of dominant male in the group, developing a distinctive patch of silver hair that will transform him into a fully-fledged silverback. When fully mature, he will weigh around 30stone.

Yesterday he appeared at his first formal photocall with Effie, 16, Mjukuu, 11, and Zaire, 35. He was coaxed into the open with a trail of monkey nuts, cranberries and home-made popcorn laid by zoo-keeper Daniel Simmonds. Then it was back inside for a spot of fruit tea and an afternoon snooze.

'It's a life of five-star luxury,' Mr Simmonds told me. 'He's given the best food, the best care, and he's dating three girls at once.

'His quarters are heated to 25C in the winter and air-conditioned in the summer. We play him classical music so he can chill out. It's a superb quality of life - probably better than mine, actually.'

The name Yeboah is African, and said by the zoo to be a tribute to Ghanaian footballer Tony Yeboah, a former Leeds United star and one of the most prolific and spectacular goal scorers in African history.

The gorilla's job description primarily involves mating with the girls to produce some offspring. It means he will quickly have to change from boy to man - and he's already making a flying start.

Mjukuu has become his devoted companion and the slender Effie has already succumbed to his charms. Zaire, who has no doubt seen it all before, is biding her time.


source: dailymail

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It's the latest buzz: How owning an urban hive could save Britain's honey bee

By David Derbyshire Environment Editor

Garden guest: People living in towns and cities are being encouraged to keep hives in a bid to save the honey bee


A campaign to save Britain's honey bee by encouraging people in towns and cities to keep bees in their back gardens is launched today.

The Co-operative says urban hives could reverse the worrying decline in bee numbers over the last few decades.

But while some people will welcome the arrival of colonies of honey bees in their streets and suburbs, the spread of urban beekeeping could lead to tensions between neighbours.

Bee numbers have fallen dramatically in Britain over the last few years. In England, the population has shrunk by 54 per cent since the 1980s as a result of pesticides, industrial farming and disease.

Farmers say the decline could be disastrous for agriculture. The insects are vital for pollinating crops and are worth an estimated £200 million to farming each year.

Now the Co-op is launching a campaign to encourage people in towns and cities to take up beekeeping - and put hives in their gardens and on their rooftops.

Last year, it piloted a scheme to train would-be beekeepers on allotments in Manchester. This year, it will roll out the idea to other cities.

Paul Peacock, an amateur beekeeper who is helping to run the project, said people did not need a large garden to keep bees - but conceded they could be a source of neighbourly tension.

However, careful positioning of hives - which can contain 30,000 bees - and sensible beekeeping removed most of the problems.


Living the hive life: Urban beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular


'You can stop them from swarming and landing in your neighbour's garden by artificially swarming them once a year,' he said.

'And if you build a frame around the hive with fences, hedges or a shed, then the bees are forced to fly up 10 feet in the air before they leave the garden, making it unlikely that a neighbour will notice them at head height.'

Urban beekeepers taking part in the scheme will be encouraged to take out insurance, just in case.

Paul Monaghan, head of social goals at the Co-operative, said: 'Nature's number one pollinating machine appears to be breaking down and no one knows for sure why.

'Urban beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular and could be a vital tool in the reverse of honeybee decline in the UK.'

Under the scheme, people can attend a free two-day course on beekeeping - and are provided with free equipment, bees and a plastic "beehaus" hive.

The company is also be giving away hundreds of thousands more packets of wildflower seeds, containing bee favourites such as poppies, cornflowers, white campion and corncockle.

Last year the Government's conservation agency Natural England urged householders in towns and cities to consider keeping bees in their gardens and on rooftops or even balconies to counter declining honeybee populations.

Natural England, also backed the launch of the "beehaus" design of beehive and called on people to support bees - including wild bumblebees - by planting insect-friendly plants in their gardens.

UK beekeeping courses are regularly oversubscribed in the UK. Last year, the British Beekeepers' Association reported a 25 per cent jump in membership to 15,000 people.


source: dailymail

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Battery farm for cows: 8,000 animals to be housed in milk factory

By David Derbyshire

No room to move: An automatic milking shed


A factory farm housing more than 8,000 'battery cows' will be built in the English countryside.

Under the controversial plans, Britain's largest ever dairy herd will be kept in industrial-scale sheds with little access to pasture or sunshine.

The cows will be milked around the clock to produce 430,000 pints each day - while their slurry will be recycled to generate power for the national grid.

The complex is the first 'supersize' cattle factory planned for Britain and follows growing concerns about the spread of 'zero-grazing' farming.

Justin Kerswell, of animal rights group Viva, said: 'This is factory farming - and it blows out of the water the pastoral image the dairy industry likes to portray.'

The £40million farm will be built near Nocton, Lincolnshire, later this year. It will have eight hangars for 8,100 cattle and two 24-hour milking parlours.

The animals, fed on fodder, will spend most of their days inside where they will stand and sleep on sand rather than pasture.


And they will be milked three times a day, while a typical dairy cow is milked just twice.


Waste will be removed each day and fed into an anaerobic generator to produce enough electricity for more than 2,000 homes.

Robert Howard, a farmer behind the Nocton Dairies project, said the farm will be the largest in Western Europe and help the dairy industry compete against imports.

'Campaigners think cows should be like in the Anchor butter advert, with 50 to 100 cows dancing in a field,' he said. 'It is a lovely idea, but not the reality.'

His colleague Peter Wiles said the cows would have access to open pasture when they were not producing milk. The sheds would have open sides, he added.

'We will have a visitor centre to show the public around,' he said. 'We are aiming to have exceptional standards.'

The company's website played down the industrial scale of the farm, saying: 'The layout is designed so the cows get plenty of exercise and fresh air.

'A vet will be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support the trained dairy staff in their daily inspections of every single cow to check they are healthy and happy.'

But animal campaigners are fighting the plans. Linda Wardale, of the group Vegan Lincs, said the conditions would be akin to ' battery farming for cows'.

'Cows should be in the fields, nibbling on grass, but here they're going to keep them in sheds,' she added.


Open air: Campaigners say cows should be free to roam in fields, not in a factory

And Patrick Holden, an organic dairy farmer and director of the Soil Association, said the farm was a wake-up call.

'Will consumers be happy to know that they are drinking the milk from one of 8,100 cows that will never get out to grass?' he asked.

'There is also a greater risk of disease - and the spread of new diseases, as we saw with BSE.'

In addition, the move away from family farming would make Britain more vulnerable to rises in energy prices and trade crises, he added.

The Nocton Dairies' farmers hope to have planning permission by the end of next month and milk the first cow by September.


source: dailymail

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Lily, the rare three-week old white lion cub cuddles up to a new friend

By Daily Mail Reporter

Cuddly buddy: Lilly, a white lion cub, sits beside a teddy bear at the Mystic Monkeys & Feathers Wildlife Park, near Rust de Winter


In the glorious surroundings of Mystic Monkeys & Feathers Wildlife Park in Pretoria, South Africa, three-week old white lion cub Lily feels safe at last.

The rare creature was only born on February 8 to parents Alex and Saharav but had to be taken away for her own safety as her father had begun to show signs of aggression towards her.

Now, though, she has found someone much more tranquil to spend her time with; a little cuddly toy panda.

Lilly dozes most of the day on a shaded pile of cushions.

Every two hours she is woken and fed. Still toothless, her diet consists of an imported milk product.

When she has had her fill, she deigns to make a public appearance to her admiring hordes.

Lilly ambles across the grass to the collective 'oohs' and 'aahs', grunting like a hippo.

Perhaps not quite so much like a princess, after all, but the public still adore her.

'Some people go crazy,' says park owner Christa Saayman.

But what she lacks in elegance, Lilly makes up for in rarity. White lions are classified as a vulnerable species.


Lilly was born on February 8 to parents Alex and Saharav but was taken away for her own safety as her father started showing signs of aggression towards her


Little Lily get up close and personal with the camera lens


But with her blue blood come duties to fulfil. Lilly is destined for an arranged marriage.

'What we would normally do is get a mate for her from a different bloodline and then breed them," explained Saayman.

But for now Lilly lies on the grass, her lip covered in cream and her belly full.

The Wildlife Park touts itself as a 'piece of paradise' and boasts one of South Africa's largest collections of different species primates and exotic birds.

It is also home to the first two Angolan black and white Colobus and Bearded Saki's babies born in captivity in South Africa.

Visitors can also find Chimpanzee and White-Handed Gibbons - two of the 'Big Five' in the 'ape' world.


source: dailymail

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