amazing

An extremely rare spotted zebra was spotted (no pun intended) in Maasai Mara! A photographer at the Maasai Mara camp was completely surprised to come across the rare "blacker" newly born zebra. Mr Antony Tira, a renowned tour guide at the camp was able to photograph the black-dotted foal and posted it on the camp's Facebook page, where it has gained a lot of media attention. 

Tira told Nation, "At first I thought it was a zebra that had been captured and painted or marked for purposes of migration. I was confused when I first saw it." Upon closer inspection, Tira realized it was actually a zebra with melanin disorder, hardly a week old.

This is Mara's first record case of such a rare zebra.

Story via Nation

An incredible 138 seal pups were recorded in the pup-count in 2018! River Thames, a river in London, was declared "biologically dead" 60 years ago and is now clear evidence of a harbor seal breeding ground! Thea Cox, Conservation Biologist, told ZSL, "We were thrilled to count 138 pups born in a single season. The seals would not be able to pup here at all without a reliable food source, so this demonstrates that the Thames ecosystem is thriving and shows just how far we have come since the river was declared biologically dead in the 1950's." 

Anna Cucknell, Project Manager of the ZSL's Thames conservation added, "The restored 'Mother Thames' - as we call her - is an essential nursery habitat and home to many animals including more than 100 species of fish, including two species of shark, short-snouted seahorses and the Critically Endangered European eel. 

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Incredibly, harbour seal pups can swim within hours of birth which means they are well adapted to grow up in tidal estuaries, like the Thames. By the time the tide comes in they can swim away on it. Grey seals, on the other hand, take longer to be comfortable in the water, so breed elsewhere and come to the Thames later to feed." 

The seal numbers in Thames are rising and Thames has now become one of London's most important wildlife habitats! 

Story via ZSL

Sometimes, life...finds a way. Cue the Jurassic Park theme song

In all seriousness, this is really incredible. All these animals were so very close to extinction but overcame the odds and now are thriving! Just the kind of uplifting news we need in this world.

Learn more about each species below (commentary by MentalFloss):

Bats are widely misunderstood creatures in the animal kingdom - while they're associated with witches, vampires and darkness in general, they're actually super cute and interesting. And scientists have just discovered something amazing about them - bats use leaves as "mirrors" that reflect sound waves, helping them find insects hiding behind leaves. Cool, right? Or confusing? Keep on reading, we'll explain everything. 

You've probably heard that the rules concerning emotional support animals on airplanes are changing, after a few incidents including a hamster flushed down the toilet, a VIP turkey and a few dog bites. Now, all animals except for dogs, cats and miniature horses are banned from flying. Yep, you heard me right: miniature horses. If you're more interested in taking your doggo on board, check out this travel guide for your fur babies. But if you have equine inclinations, read on. 

Turtles are amazing animals. They can be traced back to the time of dinosaurs, they usually live around 70 years (tortoises reach around 150 or more years), and they're super cute. Sadly, as human development reaches the quietest of beaches, some turtle hatchlings are having trouble finding the ocean because of the confusing lights. But it's not all bad news! As well as being the problem (sorry turtles), we can also be the solution. Keep on reading to learn how you can help your little flippered friends live to be wise old creatures. 

This is amazing! Delaware is making history as the first and only no-kill animal shelter state in the country! According to Best Friends Animal Society, a non-profit animal welfare organization. for a state to be recognized as "no-kill," it must achieve a 90% save rate for all the animals that enter -- and Delaware did that. 

Brandywine Valley SPCA, which has three locations in Delaware and cares for more than 14,000 animals each year, have multiple programs implemented on how they achieved this no-kill status!

Ready for your weekly dose of amazing animal photos? These are sure worth your time. Here's a link to our previous list, in case you missed it.

Humanity at its best! It's amazing what we can accomplish when we band together for a common cause. 

In Redington Beach, Florida, five pilot whales were stranded in shallow water and thanks to the efforts of the Coast Guard, scientists, marine biologists, and veterinarians( from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), oh, and just a small army of beachgoers who volunteered.

Because he's the hero (the world) deserves. 

Meet 27-year-old Chris Van Dorn, the newly-famed masked crusader! Chris launched a nonprofit organization, Batman4Paws, in 2018. He's always loved animals and Batman, so why not combine the love for both and create something special and unique? Since the launch of Batman4Paws, Chris has embarked on numerous journeys all across the country in order to rescue animals from euthanasia and find them their furever home. 

Batman4Paws helps rescue and transport animals in need to furever homes, no-kill facilities, and foster homes throughout the state of Florida and beyond. Transports are done personally by Batman himself using any means necessary.

Read Chris's full story on his GoFundMe page! 

Not all heroes wear capes.. but this one does. 

Prepare to be amazed! The artist,Tina Kraus, certainly resides in Münster, Germany, and is a freelance illustrator and paper engineer-extraordinaire! Her hyper-realistic paper sculptures will make you do a double-take! 

Usually, it's pretty difficult to look at insects without getting a wee bit squeamish, but these marco photographs, by the talented Martin Amm, are absolutely mesmerizing! 

They almost look like they've been bedazzled, don't they?  

Wow! There sure is some incredible beauty in our world, and filled with so many unique animals you don't see or hear much about! Here is a complied list of just some of the stunning animals that currently inhabit our Earth. 

What a clever and incredible solution to their problem! According to the original poster, Zook the General. & Sgt Buster, posted on Facebook, "My wife was tired of our dog sleeping in our bed at night. So I decided to build him his own house." And did he ever! The house he built for his dog Buster came with some serious luxurious items and we want to move in, too! Check out the extraordinary home he built below! 

Nothing is impossible. When Imgur user, dressgirl200, saw a poor Monarch butterfly with a destroyed wing, she took it upon herself to do a wing transplant, in order for it to fly once more. How beautiful is that? And it may sound complicated but her process made it look effortless. Check out her recorded process of the entire transplant below: