wild

Encounters with wildlife always have us torn somewhere between wanting to "aww" and being mildly terrified. Like, the person who was chased by a cow on valentines day probably thought the cow was cute for a second before starting to scream, or when the tiniest most dramatic possum infiltrated a cat rescue... actually, the possum was still awwdorable at the end. 

The following collection of tweets captures that feeling of adorable terror perfectly. Looking out the window one day, this twitter user found its home surrounded by tiny but fierce little felines - bobcat kittens, and other twitter users rushed to share their own wildlife encounters that left them "aww"ing but staying the heck home. 

It's like going to the zoo for these animals, watching us through our windows at home. We feel like they've earned a class tip every once in a while too. 

2021 has been weird so far, just as if not weirder than 2020. Trying to get back to normal life, our normal routines has left us madly confused and somewhat annoyed. So, it's no wonder that suddenly the internet has made the animal that is perpetually annoyed and confused go viral. It's simply too relatable right now- a spirit animal to us all. Meet the jaguarundi.

It is a small wild cat native to southern North America and South America, and it seems to be confused by things half of the time and annoyed by them the other half. It also has relatively short legs, an elongated body, and its coat is uniform in color and without spots - helping it to hide from this annoying world like we all want to sometimes. 

There are so many amazing animals out there that we don't know about. Rare and special creatures that, as animal lovers, we wish we knew more about. One of them is the Numbat. Numbats are insectivorous marsupials, they're adorable, they're fluffy, they looks almost mythical, and there are only about 1000 of them left in the world. 

They're an endangered animal in need of help, and we think one of the best ways to help them is to spread awareness about them and show people pictures of how incredibly adorable they are. Because no one can withstand their cuteness. Another incredible way to help is to read up about them and consider donating at Project Numbat. But for now, let's take a look at how amazing they are. 

You know how you're in love with dogs? And by extent, any dog-looking this is also something that you want to pet? Yeah, we love wolves too, but... how big and dangerous are wolves actually? Because as far as we see, wolves are super affectionate, and they're the biggest goofballs, and yes, to us, they are basically dogs. 

Well, tumblr is about to give you a reality check by showing you just how big wolves are... But if you're anything like us, them being totally dangerous, enormous, and not always dog-like in behavior is... not going to stop you even slightly from wanting to cuddle them.

Three months ago, in an event that puzzled wildlife carers, hundreds of bat pups were abandoned by their mothers at the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens. The number of bats that needed help was so massive, it overwhelmed local volunteers. It ended up taking three three groups from Brisbane and one from Townsville getting together to rescue all of these bats. 

Today, according to ABC News, "[m]ore than 70 baby black bats on the brink of starvation... are now being released into the wild after carer groups from across Queensland united in their rescue."

Read more of the story and check out pics of the adorable bats below.

An amazing world-first achievement: Saba and Nairo, two captive-born cheetahs from the UK have been released into the wild in Africa. 

The two brothers, as IFLSCIENCE reports, were born at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve in Kent, England, on July 15, 2017. Very quickly though, Saba "showed signs of illness and it was discovered that his liver wasn't functioning properly." To keep him alive, he had to be removed from the litter and hand-raised by Damian and Victoria Aspinall of The Aspinall Foundation. Under their watchful care, he made a full recovery. Of course, because of the way he grew up, he inevitably grew used to playing with humans and being fed, qualities which he would have to overcome if he were one day released into the wild.

"Saba rejoined his brother Nairo in December 2018 and despite their time apart the pair immediately formed a bond." And today, after honing their cheetah instincts for 12 months, the two of them have been released into the wild in Africa.

Read more about the story and check out pics of the adorable brothers below.

When we think of jobs that we would love to have in the future, since we're animal lovers, they tend to always involve animals. But even more so, as people who love watching animals run wild and be themselves, who love reading stories about animals being released back into the wild, living where they should, we never managed to name exactly what job we would love to have... Until we came across this viral thread by a wild animal technician.

Now, we know exactly what animal related job we would love to have. This one looks like an absolute dream, and we are both jealous and, at the same time, really grateful for all the work ZooWithMegLu does and for her sharing some of her stories working as a wild animal tech.

Is it too late to become a wildlife photographer? If the end result is to be surrounded with adorable animals and maybe even one day have a cute baby animal so curious about who you are that they simply wander up to you and become your new best friend. Who in the world wouldn't love that experience?

Ah yes, life as a wild photographer is looking quite grand indeed. You can tell from the look of pure happiness on the photographer's faces as they get real up-close and personal with some of their adorable subjects! We can't blame them for that though, we believe if it had been us in their place, there might be some crying due to pure joy. 

But those who got a bit too close to that bear had the right idea of fleeing! 

About a month ago, Atlantic Veterinary College staff found an emaciated and dehydrated snowy owl near Souris, P.E.I. and rescued it. Finally, after a month in capable hands, the beautiful bird was released back into the wild. 

As reported by CBC news, an intern with the Atlantic Veterinary College Wildlife Service, Dr. Hugo Gonzalez, said that it was "amazing" for the students and staff to see the owl fly off back into the wild. And we have to agree, seeing a wild bird released back to where it's supposed to be is always a beautiful thing. 

"To be able to see a patient who came with severe emaciation, not even able to properly move or eat, up to the point where you can see that the full recovery process has been successful and just have that moment to see her properly [fly], it's definitely an amazing moment for you," Dr. Gonzalez added. 

He also reminds people that if they ever see a snowy owl in the wild, it's important to only admire it from a distance. If you come across a bird in distress, contact local officials.

Read another beautiful story about an owl getting released back into the wild right here.

We all know that taking care of baby animals is a lot of work; helping them get used to their environment and the people around them. But taking care of baby wild animals is even more challenging, and imgur user hereyougobacon71, who's helped rehabilitate animals previously, shows us exactly why that is. 

Working to rehabilitate a baby bobcat turned out to be quite a challenge - with the kitty showing off its fierceness with biting and playing and... climbing and claiming the washing machine and... climbing into hereyougobacon71's pants. Yeah, it's not what hereyougobacon71 expected either, which only makes it more entertaining. 

The cub will, of course, be released into the wild after its rehabilitation, but for now, we are really enjoying watching it grow up to be the fiercest of all kittens. 

Wildlife photos are always something that we appreciate. Whether professional or taken by amateurs like us, being able to get a glimpse into the real life of an animal is amazing. Sometimes though, you might capture a picture of an animal in its natural environment that's less fascinating and more... hilarious instead.

Absolutely hilarious in its perfect timing, the pictures you're about to see will show you the true life of animals in the wild. The conclusion? In moments when they're not posing and being totally majestic, animals are as derpy and silly as any of us. And we love them all the more for it. 

A story truly fitting the Christmas cheer. A tiny little owl was found inside of a Christmas tree. Yup. Inside of the iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree, workers discovered the tiny owl "clinging for its life to the 75-foot-tall Norway spruce". After surviving a 200 mile journey from Oneonta to Manhattan, the owl was found as the crews that were about to erect the tree were unwrapping it. 

The New York Post reports that strangely, though the bird is tiny and looks like a baby owlet, since owls are born in the spring, it was immediately understood that this owl is not actually a baby. She is a northern saw-whet, a bird that only grows to about 5 inches tall and 2 to 3 ounces in weight. "I thought it was such a heartwarming Christmas story, that there was this secret in the Christmas tree," said Ellen Kalish, the director and founder of Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in New York. 

Workers at the Rockefeller Center, after the New York Post reached out for a comment, said: "We inspect each branch of the tree individually before it's wrapped, but birds sometimes can find their way into it on the journey." For three whole days, the owl didn't have any food or water, but once in the hands of Kalish, she got all the mice she wanted. 

Today, in an update to the story, we found out that the little birdy has been set free at last to its natural habitat to continue her migratory journey. And though her journey was harrowing and incredibly long, she's gotten herself a little Christmas miracle in not only being found and rescued but also in making a full recovery and getting to continue her life in the wild as she was meant to. 

Check out pictures of the owl and her release below. And for another story of an incredibly feisty owl with singed wings getting rescued from a fire, click right here. 

One of our favorite things in the animal kingdom is the obvious, heartwarming love between mothers and their tiny little babies. And the bigger they are, the more adorable we find them. There's a tendency to think of big cats as dangerous and heartless, but we know better than that, we know that they are just as loving as any cat once you earn their trust and love. 

Cheetahs are no different. They are known to be one of the most affectionate big cats when it comes to their relationships with humans. But when it comes to their babies, their little cheetos, their love and adoration is clear as day, and it's so adorable and wholesome, it makes our hearts flutter. 

Large cats may be dangerous, but we can't help but wanna pet them anyway. They're just so fluffy and cute and have big, big teeth but also such huge bellies. The smaller wild cats are just as pet-able, but people don't normally know about them as much as they know about the big cats. 

We think that should be fixed and so did the twitter user @soapachu who made a totally awesome thread giving these wild cats the appreciation that they deserve. She also made the astute observation that wild cats, just like all other cats, are really done with all of us fawning over them, but hahaha we don't care, we'll continue fawning over their totally-over-it little widdle adorable faces anyway.

In difficult times such as these, it's always good to hear about good things that happen every once in a while - happy endings that we are all a little desperate for. Today, we are sharing with you one of these stories. In Uttar Pradesh, India, as reported by NDTV, a Ganges river dolphin was rescued after getting lost and stranded in a canal. This is not just a rescue story, this is a story of working as a team and helping an animal in need get back home. 

Members of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) were working together to help the poor dolphin. And the results were totally worth it. The TSA shared in a twitter post that "4.2-foot-long male dolphin went astray and was stuck in a canal in Barabanki for hours," which is absolutely horrifying. Luckily, it was found in Sharda Canal, and immediately, everyone got to work taking care of it. 

Photos from the operation show how the team members splash water on the dolphin to help it, carrying it on a stretcher together, and ultimately, releasing it back into the river - back home into the wild, allowing it to get back to its previous life. An aquatic wildlife biologist from the TSA, Dr. Shailendra Singh shared in a twitter post: "What could be better than saving a nice male Gangetic River dolphin stranded in canal in River Dolphin Week in Barabanki UP?" And we agree. This is the kind of wholesome story that we all want to see today.

Check out pictures from the rescue below, and if you need some more positivity today, you can read about this incredible story of a lemur who was abducted returning back home and reuniting with its family.