Interspecies Cuteness: Dog Becomes Surrogate Mother For Pandas

Here's your "awww" for the day: two newborn red pandas, rejected by their mother, have found a surrogate mom in a friendly dog, who's nursing the cubs as her own.

The red pandas were born at the Taiyuan Zoo in China's Shanxi province June 25, and were immediately rejected by their mother as a large crowd of zoo visitors looked on, Xinhua News Service reported.

Zoo staff quickly began the search for a surrogate, and chose the dog from among three canine candidates.

"It's good-natured and has sufficient milk. The baby bears seem to like it, too," zoo staffer Ha Guojiang told Xinhua.

Unfortunately, being a surrogate has caused the dog to refuse to nurse her own newborn puppy, but Ha has taken over feeding the pup.

Red pandas, also called lesser pandas, are furry, tree-dwelling, raccoon-like mammals that are a protected species in China, like their black-and-white Giant Panda relatives.

[Source: NYDailyNews.com]

Interspecies Cuteness.

I can never, ever resist stories about unlikely friends. And this one is especially aww-worthy.

 

[Source: Fox.com]

Check Out This Adorable Animal Odd Couple!

It's the last thing you'd expect to see emerging from the woods of Tennessee - actually make that the last two things!

Their names, Bella, a once stray dog who wandered onto the property, and Tarra, the elephant.

They arrived at an elephant sanctuary one-by-one, but they tend to live out their lives two-by-two no matter what.

When Bella got sick last year and had to live in the sanctuary office, guess who stood vigil for three weeks? Tarra waited there. "We had no choice but to bring Bella down to see Tarra," said one of the workers.

[Source: Fox29.com]

Chihuahua Scares Off Cougar. Yeah, You Read That Right.

A big cat picked the wrong little dogs for a fight. Chiquita the Chihuahua and Rosie the border terrier chased off a cougar that strayed into this small town near the Oregon State University campus. The dogs' owner, Loren Wingert, said Chiquita and Rosie are tough, but lucky.

The cougar pinned down Rosie, who squealed, but Chiquita convinced the big cat to flee by barking ferociously.

Wingert lives in a cul-de-sac atop a hill that backs up to a wooded area with deer trails. Warning signs about cougars are posted on the trails.

Wingert said the dogs are fine.

[Source: The Associated Press]

Animal Odd Couple

In the pantheon of animal odd couples, these two belong up there with Kermit and Miss Piggy. Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe the Bluetick Coonhound met in a sanctuary for endangered animals two years ago, in South Carolina, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

Roscoe was an underfed stray, but Suryia quickly took him under his wing.

Dr. Bhagavan Antle, founder of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) in Myrtle Beach, told the Daily Mail that Roscoe followed him and Suryia through the park's gate one day.

"As soon as he saw Roscoe, Suryia ran over to him and they started playing," Antle said "It was unusual because dogs are usually scared of primates; but they took to each other straight away."

After a few unsuccessful phone calls to find an owner, Antle said they decided to let Roscoe stay.

Now the the pair have a ball frolicking around the park. "They will spend a few hours each day together rolling around, swimming," Antle said. "Suryia will take Roscoe for walks around the enclosure and even feeds him some of his monkey biscuits."

The pair may even appear soon on Oprah Winfrey's show, the Daily Mail reported.

[Source: abc.com]

Puppy Power is Penguins' Saviour

A world-first dog trial has proved central to turning around the fate of Warrnambool's Middle Island penguin colony - and now the next generation of pups is set to continue the good work.

After dwindling to a dire population of just four in 2005, penguin numbers at Middle Island have rebounded this year. An early start to the breeding season has already seen eight penguin chicks leave the nest and another 16 are still on the island in various stages of development. Deakin University PhD student Amanda Peucker, who is monitoring the penguins' progress, said the population growth could largely be attributed to the success of the guard dogs in keeping predators, like foxes, off the island.

"A couple of years ago we had something like 180 penguins killed by foxes, now there aren't even any fox prints in the area," she said. Mrs Peucker said about 51 penguins returned to Middle Island this breeding season. "Every year we get just a few more birds breeding," she said. "It's very exciting going out there and seeing the chicks grow. The early breeding season this year was a bit of a bonus too, so hopefully we'll get some more eggs laid in the next few weeks."

After the success of the trial, two female Maremma puppies are undergoing training to become the permanent guardians of the little penguins during breeding season. Environmental scientist and dog trainer Dave Williams said he expected the dogs would be placed on the island full-time next month, when they were six months old.

Right now the pair is regularly on Middle Island learning the ropes from Esta, an older Maremma that is teaching the puppies guardian behaviour. The Maremma guard dog project, which began late in 2006, hasn't been without controversy. The dogs were taken off the island last December after accidentally killing 10 penguins.

However, Warrnambool City Council decided in May this year to extend the project for another 12 months at an estimated cost of $40,000. This includes the employment of a Maremma carer, dog training and monitoring equipment

[Source: The Age]

It's a Pelican-Eat-Dog World

This improbable picture was taken at an exotic bird farm in Germany and shows the extraordinary moment when a one-year-old pelican body-searched a dog in search for a missing meal. Captured by the owner of the bird farm, Roland Adam, they show how Petri the Pelican took exception to the theft of its meal.

"I was preparing foods for the birds in our outdoor kitchen, when I noticed Petri at my side looking for a snack," explained the 38-year-old. "I decided to feed her one of the chicks I had been preparing when Katijina raced in, caught the frozen bird mid-air and gobbled up Petri's dinner."

Confused and slightly irritated by missing out on the proffered snack, Petri decided to scour every inch of the Rhodesian ridgeback - named Katijina - for the discarded chick.

"It was hilarious," said Mr Adam. "We have so many animals on the farm that they are very tame and at ease with each other. Katijina is no different and she was more than happy to allow Petri to come in for closer inspection."

Me Adam's exotic bird farm is in Hoerstel near Osnabrueck and houses everything from ostriches to flamingos. "You see a lot of things on my farm but I have never seen anything like this before and I just had to get my camera to prove it was real," he said. "But I suppose when it came down to it, Katijina was just too quick."

[Source: Telegraph.co.uk]

Baby Monkey Gets His Own Guard Dog

A Chinese zoo has given an orphan monkey its own guard dog to stop it from being bullied by bigger primates.

Keepers at Jiaozuo City Zoo said the monkey was always being bullied and they had intervened to save his life several times. "So we put a dog in the monkey cage, hoping he can protect the orphan," a zoo spokesman told the China News Network.

The zoo said the dog, Sai Hu, does his job very well. "Whenever the baby monkey gets bullied, he dashes up and drives the others away. And the baby monkey is also very smart. Each time he smells danger he runs to jump on the dog's back and holds on tight.

"The alpha male monkey has been really unhappy since we sent in Sai Hu. He tried to organise several ambushes on the little monkey, but they all failed because of the dog," added the spokesman.

[Source: Ananova]

Update on Golden Retriever and Tiger Cubs

Back in July, we were smitten with this story about a Golden Retriever who adopted 3 tiger cubs that were abandoned by their mother. The cubs have just finished weening and are absolutely adorable. Check 'em out on The Today Show!



[Source: msnbc.com]

Man Punches Shark to Save Dog

A man has saved his pet dog from a shark attack by jumping into the water and punching the fish in the neck. Greg LeNoir and his rat terrier, Jake, were swimming at a Florida Keys marina when the attack happened.

The 53-year-old carpenter said: "I saw a big, dark green shape, which I realised was a big shark's head. It zoomed up from under Jake. Jake screamed - a death scream - and it sucked him under. I dove straight down like a battering ram, and I drove my fist under the water into the shark. And it pushed him down - it felt like concrete on my hand."

The shark's teeth punctured Jake's skin and some muscle on the dog's abdomen, chest and back. Jake also suffered lacerations on his right side and front left leg. The incident happened on Friday afternoon when Mr LeNoir took Jake to the Worldwide Sportsman's Bayside Marina pier in Islamorada, Florida for the dog's daily swim.

Mr LeNoir said he was terrified when he saw the shark, but his only thought was saving Jake, who he described as a fast and fearless swimmer, often retrieving jellyfish and coconuts.

"Jake is such a big part of mine and my wife's life - we don't have children," he said. "This is what she considers the closest thing to a child. And I couldn't abandon him."

Mr LeNoir's brother, Phillip, told the Miami Herald: "Jake's doing great. And I still can't believe my brother jumped in the water and punched a shark."

[Source: Belfast Telegraph]

Golden Retriever Adopts Tiger Cubs at Kansas Zoo

A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them.

A day later, the mother stopped caring for them. Harvey said the cubs were wandering around, trying to find their birth mother, who wouldn't pay attention to them. That's when the cubs were put in the care of a golden retriever.

Harvey said it's unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. He had seen reports of pigs nursing cubs in China, and he actually got the golden retriever after his wife saw television accounts of dogs caring for tiger cubs.

Puppies take about the same amount of time as tiger cubs to develop, and the adoptive mother just recently weaned her own puppies. "The timing couldn't have been any better," he said.

The mother doesn't know the difference, Harvey said. The adopted mother licks, cleans and feeds the cubs.

The Safari Zoological Park is a licensed facility open since 1989 and specializes in endangered species. It has leopards, lions, cougars, baboons, ring-tailed lemurs, bears and other animals. It currently has seven white tigers and two orange tigers.

Because white tigers are inbred from the first specimen found more than a half-century ago, they are not as genetically stable as orange tigers. The zoo's previous litter of white tiger cubs was born on April 23rd, although one of the three has since gone to a private zoo near Oklahoma City.

[Source: Yahoo! News]

A Dog's Best Friend

A village dog adopts a wild monkey and the two become insperable. When severe flood waters hit northern Mozambique in 2002, causing misery and extensive damage to property and crops, many animals were left to fend for themselves. But villagers in Caia witnessed a bizarre friendship between a dog and a monkey. A skinny dog emerged from the bush with a tiny monkey clinging to its back. The villagers have named the pair Billy and Kiko, and they've been inseparable ever since.

Cloned Cats Glow in the Dark

Advancement in medicine can sometimes be...creepy. South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a florescent protein gene to develop treatment for human genetic diseases. A side-effect of this cloning method is that the cats glow in the dark under ultraviolet light. Like I said, creepy.

Cat Does Dog Tricks

You might be surprised to see that even cats can do dog tricks! Here's one very smart cat doing some adorable tricks! This is a must see video, check it out!

Donkey Back Rider

All right...so the first person to explain to me how this dog perfectly balances himself whilst asleep on this donkey gets a shiny new donkey. Also, at what point do you figure that the dog fell off as the donkey strutted about? And if there are horoscopes for dogs, are there horoscopes for donkeys too? According to Google, no and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you.

Monkey + Dog + Cowboys = Awesome!

OMG, I think this might be the most awesomest thing I've seen in my life (okay overdramatic...at least within this month). Whiplash is a Capuchin Monkey who herds sheep, while riding a border collie. Even though a monkey is taking top billing over a dog, we're okay with it since Whiplash is really talented, cute and...kind of studly at the same time! He's got a great wardrobe and his Taco Johns commercial outfit reminds me of Clint Eastwood from the spaghetti westerns.

What's Black and White and Barking All Over?

Nope, that's not a Panda. Or even a Pandog. Just a dog dyed to look like a Panda. This adorable pooch was cruelly abandoned by his former owner because of his of his less-than-stellar looks. Fortunately, he was then rescued by a pet shop owner who also happened to also be a beautician, and promptly given a very creative makeover! To read more about Columbo, the Panda formerly know as Dog, go here. If you want to witness the product of some interspecies love in the jungle, look no further:

That's a Liger. You may remember him from such films as "Napoleon Dynamite".

Rodent Clothes Horse?

We officially have spring fever. Most of the time, we do actual work while at work (or at least try very hard to act like we do)

But today our aimless procrastination truly reached new heights:

Yes, that is a squirrel. This ain't no cuteoverload.com, folks. Somewhere out there, there is a woman who is incredibly dedicated to dressing up her pet squirrel and taking photos like the one above. To see more, check out her site