giant

He is over 100 years old, weighs about 175 pounds, is nearly 35 inches long, five feet tall, and the ladies love him. His name is Diego. Diego the Chelonoidis hoodensis Galapagos giant tortoise.



According to Washington Tapia, a tortoise preservation specialist at Galapagos National Park, Diego "has fathered an estimated 800 offspring, almost single-handedly rebuilding the species' population--and saving it from extinction--on their native island, Espanola, the southernmost in the Galapagos Archipelago."

"Around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego's species alive on Espanola, and they were too spread out to reproduce."

Six years ago, they did a genetic study and discovered that Diego was the father of nearly 40 percent of the offspring released into the wild on Espanola, thereby doing more parenting than any other turtle to repopulate the species.





"He's a very sexually active male reproducer. He's contributed enormously to repopulating the island," said Tapia.




"Rawr, damn straight," replied Diego.

They're still listed as "vulnerable", but this is very good news for pandas!

This monster was spotted lazily strolling around at the Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, Florida. A pro shop worker for the golf course, Wendy Schofield, told 3 News that he's been there for a while. She said, "He doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him, he's like a mascot for the course, which is owned by Manatee County."

So it's fine that basically a dinosaur is roaming around the golf course. Let's just hope that someone doesn't get eaten trying to take a selfie with him now that his existence has gone viral. 

The Chinese salamander is a very rare nocturnal salamander that lives in lakes and streams in the mountains of China. This one is believed to be at least 200-years-old. It measures 4 feet 7 inches long and weighs 104 pounds. These animals are becoming increasingly endangered due to habitat loss. 

Maybe that's why this giant was found in a cave in Chongqing Municipality in China. He's since been transferred to a research facility. You can really tell how big he is here with a scientist for scale: