Up till now, zookeepers and veterinaries who wanted to monitor vital signs or do regular health checkups for wild animals had to use specialized equipment while sedating them and disturbing their daily routine.
But now, a new promising camera software offers a non-abusive way to do that without the need for anesthetics.
Story Via: Phys.org
Animals make our worlds an easier and better place to live in, giving us reason to pause and smile and — in some cases — serving as true companions and friends.
Prepare your heart: These incredible images of birds, reptiles, primates, and more will restore your wonder in the world.
Here's a link to our previous list of amazing animal photos
Shaaz Jung is an Indian wildlife photographer and Cinematographer who specializes in capturing the great moments of big cats.
In the following photo series, he provides us with a fascinating glimpse into the life of one beautiful black panther in the jungles of Kabini.
Meet the adorable rescued baby black bear -- Casper! Casper was abandoned as a very young cub, thankfully the wonderful team at Black Bear Rescue Manitoba, Canada, rescued him and nourished him before his release back into the wild.
When Casper was 1 month old, he was introduced to another rescued cub named Dudley. At first, Casper didn't want anything to do with Dudley but we're happy that didn't last too long because Caper and Dudley playing together is just the sweetest thing!
It wasn't long before the pair became inseparable. Watch their story below!
Story via Little But Fierce
Be still our tender hearts! There is absolutely nothing more precious than when two different animal species become best friends!
During the COVID-19 lockdown at the Australian Wildlife Park, a koala named, Elsa, and a wombat named, Hope, shared an enclosure together.
It was during that time that they two struck up the most adorable friendship. They're now being called, "lockdown BFFs." The two marsupials were hand raised by the keepers at the Australia Reptile Park, wombats are actually the closest relative species to the koala, so their keepers figured it would be a friendship match in heaven... they were right.
Now that the park has re-opened, the keepers are making sure that the two are able to see each other every day!
Photographers all around the world are sharing beautiful shots of wildlife, landscapes and nature in bloom to mark Nature Photography Day, celebrated every year on June 15th.
"Each year, June 15 is designated by the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) to promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images are used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes both locally and globally." — NANPA.org
This is pretty wild! Or... quite literally the opposite of wild.
According to a new study, foxes that were found in the city of London have stubbier snouts, and even smaller skulls than their wildlife-dwelling counterparts. And these changes aren't that new, it's been seen before.. with cats and dogs as they became domesticated 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.
Researchers are now suggesting that city foxes could possibly be self-domesticating due to the demands of the city environment, as well as, exposure to humans.
So why are these adaptations happening? Foxes that dwell in the city are reported to have a wider snout and smaller braincase due to the levels of requiring food in the city versus their natural habitat. They rely on food scraps, which doesn't require as strong of a bite to clamp down on bones. Whereas country foxes need that snout that enables them to bite their prey quickly.
Story via Business Insider
Wow! Talk about encouragement!
At first glance, it definitely seems like this magpie is nudging a hedgehog to quickly cross the dangerous road.
And if you look at it that way, it's rather beautiful. Animals helping other animals...and while, it does happen sometimes in nature, it's probable (as many comments below have stated) that the magpie is just pecking and eating fleas off the hedgehog. It does make a lot more sense but what's so wrong about seeing it the other way? Truth is, we don't quite know if the bird was intentionally helping the hedgehog to safety or not.
But we choose to believe he was because that's the kind of world we'd like to live in today. One full of hope and love.
CeciArmy was the one to capture the moment that has since gone viral with over 14 million views and 120k comments. The caption for this video reads, "I just saw a bird explaining to a hedgehog, to cross it so it doesn't die. My day is complete."
These wildlife bridges are just a brilliant innovation and we would love to see more and more of them pop up around the globe!
So many poor animals are killed every year due to being struck by a moving vehicle, it's actually a global crisis. Did you know that more animals are killed every day by motor vehicles than all the deaths of poaching, deforestation, or pollution?
It's the heartbreaking truth and some people out there are working hard to fix that problem. it's so uplifting to see that small (yet mighty) changes are occurring.
These wildlife bridges are saving countless lives.
Villagers in the coastal village of Candiis in the Philippines, are taking part in an initiative to protect turtle nesting sites have recorded their most successful season in awhile! With nearly 300 hatchlings released into the sea in the first half of May alone — and more expected before the month ends. In 2019, the town released only 315 turtle hatchlings from five nesting events.
300 critically endangered sea turtles! How incredible is that? It's the first time that no eggs were spoiled, according to Rolando Pagara, a village council member who leads the community turtle conservation in Candiis, "Yesterday at around 5 in the afternoon while I checked the nesting ground and make sure the protected barriers are in place, I saw several turtle hatchlings were slowly crawling out of the sand. We immediately gathered, checked and counted them; the eggs are around 155 before releasing them into the sea at around 6:30 in the evening."
Story via The Planetary Express
While humans are stuck inside, the animals will play! That's right! Animals are reclaiming (or just roaming around freely) the Earth. Thanks to humans being cooped up inside, animals are able to wander more freely and into territories that were more occupied by humans.
And as it turns out... Earth has been thriving without us!
This. Is. Amazing.
This is exactly what needed to happen and has officially happened! And Wuhan took it even a step further, the Chinese city is to become a 'wildlife sanctuary' where virtually all hunting of wild animals is banned... well, with the exception of measures for "scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances".
But still, we consider this to be a huge step in the right direction.
Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic announced the ban on May 20th, 2020, and as part of the ban, the city introduced stringent controls on the breeding of all wild animals, prohibiting any to be reared for food, CBS reported.
While the origins of the pandemic are still under investigation, one of the suspected sources is the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the city which included a live animal section reportedly selling more than 30 species of animals including live wolf pups, golden cicadas, scorpions and civets. China closed the market in January.
Humane Society International's China policy specialist, Dr Peter Li, said: "Wuhan's ban on wildlife consumption is extremely welcome as a clear recognition that the public health risk of zoonotic disease spread via the wildlife trade must be taken very seriously if we are to avoid another pandemic.
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There will however be no less severe of a disease risk from wildlife consumption in five years' time, so anything short of a permanent and comprehensive ban is still a risk too far. Wuhan becomes the fourth city in mainland China to show such leadership, but we now need cities and countries across the world to step up to the plate and shut down the dangerous wildlife trade."
Story via Independent.Co.Uk
We've been seeing a lot of really awesome creations for squirrels lately!
We've seen a replica of the classic bar from the show "Cheers," we've seen really adorable and creative squirrel feeders such as a picnic bench!
And we've seen a squirrel cuddling with a teeny-tiny teddy bear which is just the sweetest thing ever.
And now, wildlife photographer Sharon Cutler has taken it a step further by placing a tiny bed in her garden where squirrels frequently are. The bed was originally made to be used in a photoshoot with her daughter's guinea pig. When she uploaded the pictures onto Facebook, the reaction was instantaneous and people fell completely in love with Cyril the Squirrel.
Watch Out, National Geographic!
Just kidding...forget everything you think about wildlife photography because this specific Facebook group is all about those photos who were supposed to be amazing but ended up quite crappy.
And we can't stop laughing!
Via: Pleated Jeans
The Black Sea Hare (Aplysia vaccaria) is the world's largest species of a sea slug and according to Wikipedia, is weighing up to 30 lbs and measuring over 3 feet long which is actually the size of a small dog. The monster-sized slug can be found in abundance along the Pacific Coast of the United States, where they come to shore to lay their eggs. The cool slug is named Sea Hare due to their rabbit ear looking appendages and considered a truly a primordial wonder of the ocean.
In this episode of "Beyond the Tide" by the brave wilderness channel, Coyote Peterson sets off with expert Aron Sanchez to the coast of the Pacific Ocean in San Pedro, California, in search of this awesome huge slug.
