These Giant, Multi-Colored Squirrels In India Can Grow Up To 36 Inches Long

There’s a species of squirrel so large and colorful that they look like something out of a fairytale.

The Malabar giant squirrel can grow up to 36 inches long. John Koprowski is a professor and associate director at the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, and a squirrel expert. When he visited India in 2006 and first saw the creatures, he thought they looked more like primates than squirrels.

“These are giants!” Koprowski told The Dodo.

To read more on this story, click here: These Giant, Multi-Colored Squirrels In India Can Grow Up To 36 Inches Long

Queen and Swarm of Bees Land on Towel at Cape May Beach

Dean Bloemer, of Cape May, told NBC10 he first noticed several bees swarming around a man’s umbrella on Steger Beach around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. He then saw an entire swarm land on a woman’s towel about 50 feet away from him. 

“At that time we turned around and a woman was saying, ‘Oh my goodness, bees are landing on my towel,’” Bloemer said.

To read more on this story, click here: Queen and Swarm of Bees Land on Towel at Cape May Beach

First COVID-19, Now Mosquitoes: Bracing for Bug-Borne Ills

The CDC has offered states additional help with mosquito testing this season as the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed state public health offices

Sophia Garabedian had been dealing with a persistent fever and painful headache when her parents found her unresponsive in her bed one morning last fall.

Doctors ultimately diagnosed the then-5-year-old Sudbury, Massachusetts, resident with eastern equine encephalitis, a rare but severe mosquito-borne virus that causes brain swelling.

Garabedian survived the potentially fatal virus after about a month in Boston hospitals, but her parents say her ordeal and ongoing recovery should be a warning as people take advantage of the outdoors this summer.

To read more on this story, click here: First COVID-19, Now Mosquitoes: Bracing for Bug-Borne Ills

Puppy Dog Eyes Are REAL, Says Science

You know that look your dog gives you when he wants something—whether it be food, a walk, a toy, or maybe just attention. His eyes get bigger and droopier, and he looks so sad that you just have to acquiesce to his wordless request. But how does he DO that? It turns out science can tell us a lot more than we ever thought we’d learn about puppy-dog eyes.

The answer, it seems, lies in two muscles, called the retractor anguli oculi lateralis muscle and the levator anguli oculi medialis muscle (RAOL and LAOM, respectively). These two muscles connect the ring of muscle around the dog’s eye to either end of his eyebrow. By using these muscles, he can tilt his eyebrows so the inner corner is lifted, giving him that wide-eyed sad look that we all know and love.

To read more on this story, click here: Puppy Dog Eyes Are REAL, Says Science

Maternal Gorilla Received Box Of Kittens For Her Birthday

Koko was one special gorilla. She could communicate very well with her handlers and loved taking on a mother role to other animals. After becoming a part of the longest experiment to teach language to another species, Koko had become an icon for The Gorilla Foundation. Aside from art, Koko also loved kittens.

According to The Gorilla Foundation, Koko loved babies. Although her handlers weren't able to find Koka a baby gorilla, they did find her the next best thing. As a gift for her birthday, her handlers got Koko a box full of adorable kittens.

To read more on this story, click here: Maternal Gorilla Received Box Of Kittens For Her Birthday

9-Year-Old Boy Sells Custom Pet Paintings For Food and Supplies For Shelter Animals

You don’t have to be supersized to do something wonderful. In fact, even the smallest of people can make a difference in this world. That is what you will see with this young child, who is stepping up to the plate and making a difference in a big way.

The nine-year-old Russian boy, Pavel Abramov, is doing his part to help animals at local shelters. He is an artist at such a young age who lives in the small city of Arzamas in Nizhny Novgorod. He has been busy painting pictures of pets but he isn’t collecting money to buy the latest gadget, he is exchanging the pictures for supplies and food to be donated to a local shelter.

To read more on this story, click here: 9-Year-Old Boy Sells Custom Pet Paintings For Food and Supplies For Shelter Animals

People Are Crocheting Adorable Tiny Couches For Their Cats

All cat owners know that when you have a cat, your house is not your own. In the cat’s mind, it’s their home and you’re just paying either the rent or mortgage on it. But they’re so adorable, you don’t mind. Let’s face it, a cat’s assertiveness is a big part of why we love them.

However, even though the cat runs the household, we still sometimes try to keep them off the furniture since they shed a lot and it makes keeping up with the vacuuming a little easier if they don’t constantly lounge on the good sofa or the good chair.

To read more on this story, click here: People Are Crocheting Adorable Tiny Couches For Their Cats

Mara The Ex-Circus Elephant Retires To Brazil

Brasília (AFP) - Mara, an Indian elephant rescued from an Argentine circus, arrived at an animal sanctuary in Brazil Wednesday to start a new life at 50-something -- beginning with a celebratory frolic in the dirt.

Mara, who weighs around 5,500 kilograms (more than 12,000 pounds), spent much of her life as a circus attraction, then was brought to the Buenos Aires Zoo in 1995.

To read more on this story, click here: Mara The Ex-Circus Elephant Retires To Brazil

Bird With Deformed Feet Gets Tiny Casts Made By Veterinarians

A tiny Mockingbird that doesn’t even have a name recently ended up with the California Wildlife Center. They rescued him and took him in after they saw his feet were deformed.

The little bird had ‘knuckled feet’, meaning that they folded in on themselves so it was impossible for him to walk or even perch comfortably.

If the rescue group wouldn’t have stepped in, the little Mockingbird would probably have died.

In addition, the bird probably had to deal with painful sores constantly. Thankfully, a solution was only one creative decision away.

A team of veterinarians got busy creating a little set of shoes for the tiny bird. They made the shoes out of cardboard.

The shoes were designed to help realign the little bird’s feet so that they were back in shape again. It took only one week and his feet were fixed. He was then able to get back to life as normal.

They removed the little makeshift shoes and released the bird into the wild. I guess we could all use a little help sometimes.

Man Finds Giant Bird-Eating Spider Guarding His Garage

Australia, The Land Down Under, is full of beautiful beaches, incredible landscapes…and scary things that can kill you.

Speaking of scary, meet Martha, the giant golden orb spider who made herself right at home in someone’s garage in Buderim, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Golden orb spiders typically eat flies, beetles, and moths – as well as small birds and bats.

To read more on this story, click here: Man Finds Giant Bird-Eating Spider Guarding His Garage

Rottweilers Save Horses From Intruders Who Planned On Slaughtering Them

This is awful: authorities in Florida have recently been warning more owners about a statewide increase in horses being slaughtered and harvested for their meat.

Horse theft and slaughter cases in various counties across Florida have left owners reeling and searching desperately for solutions.

Brena Kramer of Zephyrhills knows about this horrific crime firsthand. She claims three intruders tried to slaughter her beloved horses for their meat.

If it weren’t for Brena’s two rottweilers, she says things would have ended much differently. She believes the dogs chased off the intruders.

Brena ran to their barn as quickly as she could and found one of the horses was left with a rope still tied around its neck.

The horses were left with cuts and scrapes all over their faces, especially near their eyes, along with rope burns near their mouths.

Brena is now sharing her story to warn other horse owners in her area and beyond.

“It is common down South. It’s something most horse owners know about, especially in Florida,” she told Fox13. “They will bleed them out and start butchering while the horse is bleeding.”

Thankfully, there are a couple of heroes who were watching over the horses during the incident.

Learn more in this video.

Overweight Cat Is Going Viral After Passerby Shares Vet Clinic’s Hilarious Sign

A post-it and several sheets of paper were tapped to the door of a vet clinic – all to describe the resident cat.

A chunky cat named Fat Fred has captured people’s attention and apparently the clinic has received many inquires about him – so they decided to post a witty note.

Someone was strolling by the clinic when they noticed the note and snapped a photo to share online.

KneeAppallingTanIceCream posted the hilarious sign to Imgur with the caption, “Walking by a vet clinic when I saw this sign…” and it immediately went viral.

To read more on this story, click here: Overweight Cat Is Going Viral After Passerby Shares Vet Clinic’s Hilarious Sign

Unicorns May Not Exist, But Did You Know That “Magical Rabbits” Do?

Unicorns may not exist, but did you know that “magical rabbits” do?

Okay, so they’re not really magical, but they’re certainly something special. “Magical rabbits” are also known as Ili Pika, and they are one of the most endangered species on the planet.

Pictures of them are exceptionally rare. In fact, the pictures seen in this post are the first images to surface of the elusive rabbits in 20 years.

Conservationist Weidong Li first discovered these cute animals in the 1980’s. The second time they were spotted was in the Tianshian mountains, located in the northwestern region of China.

The species was originally known as “Ochotona iliensis”, but Li changed its name in honor of his hometown. Sadly, the species population has plummeted even farther since they were first discovered.

Experts now estimate that there are fewer than 1,000 of these rabbits still alive.

Li feels a great responsibility to keep them safe, being as he was the person who discovered them in the first place. He’s said that he would feel very guilty if they went extinct on his watch. So he actually retired from his day job early in order to spend more of his time observing these creatures in their natural habitat.

But because of their rarity, it’s hard to establish any scientific data on them. What scientists do know definitively is that they are a member of the rabbit family, and there aren’t many of them left.

This is one of many issues that is blamed on global warming. Humans play a big part in the elimination of species in general, and this case is no different. We need to come together and make an effort to save the creatures of our planet.

Images of the Ili Pika have been released in order to raise some awareness about these special animals and their endangered status.

Pets in Prison: The Rescue Dogs Teaching Californian Inmates Trust and Responsibility

Bringing rescue dogs and prisoners together in a remarkable rehabilitation programme in California is helping inmates learn valuable lessons

On an idyllic sun-drenched day in California, I find myself in jail. But unlike the 5,000 or so inmates of North Kern State Prison, located 150 miles north of Los Angeles, I’m here voluntarily, accompanied by Zach Skow, a man on a mission to bring dogs into every US prison.

Skow is the founder of Pawsitive Change, a rehabilitation programme that pairs rescue dogs with inmates. He began a pilot programme at California City Correctional Facility in January 2016, teaching inmates to become dog trainers, and it’s now been rolled out to four more California state prisons and one female juvenile correction centre.

To read more on this story, click here: Pets in Prison: The Rescue Dogs Teaching Californian Inmates Trust and Responsibility