wild

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. 

Attention! Attention! We've got twelve little attention hogs here that demand your attention, and gosh darn, they shall have it!

According to LiveScience; Pigs, hogs, and boars are all describing the same animal. There are some distinctions, obviously, the term boar is to describe an uncastrated domestic pig, but at the same time, it also means a wild pig of any gender. 

And while a majority of piglets shown below are wild hogs, it's important to note these animals are indeed very dangerous. We just enjoy looking at them while they're young, and we hope you enjoy so too! 

Now, please stop whatever you are doing and give these hogs your undivided attention! 

Whoa! Who knew that an elephants foot and a humans foot would have so much in common?! 

Here are 10 wild animal facts you may not know! If you're hungry for even more knowledge, check out some of these other animal facts! 

Lions: the most majestic creatures in the animal kingdom. Fierce, caring and playful, lions are the animals we all admire and fear a little. Continue reading to see beautiful pictures of lots of lions. 

Her milkshake brought the bison to the yard! The story of a young cow returning to her natural wild roots by joining a wild herd of bison has left people feeling inspired! One Facebook user commented on the story, "Next time when I think that something stops me from fulfilling my dreams, I will remember the cow who became a bison." Story originally found on Wide Open Pets.

Mother nature never cease to surprise us!

We would like to introduce you to the surreal vision of the American artist, Kevin Peterson. Through his latest paintings, the artist reveals a dystopian world where nature takes back its rights and where only the innocence of childhood and the animal world has survived. Via: Ufunk