He Tried to Make Friends with a Horriblis

Many years ago I took my four small children to the Pretoria zoo. There was a sunken bear enclosure with two bears in it. The words on the sign read: Ursus arctos horriblis. That’s the scientific name for grizzly bears. We spent some time there, leaning over the rail, throwing peanuts down to them.

Standing straight up on their hind legs, begging for the peanuts, they looked so cute, so friendly, the expression on their faces so much the antithesis of aggression, trustworthy enough that if allowed to, you’d enter the den with your kids — well perhaps not with your kids — and give them each an affectionate pat. You just knew those two bears wouldn’t harm a fly. They were just overgrown teddy bears.

Well, if you had been there and that’s what you thought, perhaps you should have looked again at the sign bearing the scientific name for those teddy bears: Ursus arctos horriblis.

Horriblis! That’s right. Horriblis.

So what do you think would happen to someone who ventured into a grizzly bear enclosure?

Well it just happens that someone did venture into a bear enclosure recently. I’m not sure if a European brown bear is a grizzly, like its American cousin, but I’d stake my bottom dollar on it, this European brown bear was a horriblis.

So what happened? Here, see for yourself.

Squirrel Mother Rescues Her Baby From a Dog

They have a bit of a reputation for a vicious streak, but this dog certainly got more than it bargained for after pouncing on a baby squirrel it found on the ground.

Moments before the hapless baby would have been torn apart, these images show its mother appearing to leap off a nearby tree and attacking the surprised dog.

Using its sharp teeth and claws, the squirrel tore into its canine opponent and distracted it so the baby could escape to freedom.

That squirrel mother wasn’t about to let no dog mess with her baby. Great article and great pics.

Moscow’s Canine Commuters

STRAY dogs are commuting to and from a city centre on underground trains in search of food scraps.

The clever canines board the Tube each morning.

After a hard day scavenging and begging on the streets, they hop back on the train and return to the suburbs where they spend the night.

Experts studying the dogs say they even work together to make sure they get off at the right stop – after learning to judge the length of time they need to spend on the train.

There’s potential here for a tourist attraction. Tourists at a designated point, waiting for the dogs to arrive, then feeding them with food available for purchase on site. Could be a tidy little foreign exchange earner for Moscow, and a better deal for the dogs.

To add to the attraction the dogs would first have to go through their routine, as per the article, to get the food.

I might want to pay a visit and see for myself.

Here’s more to read and great pics to see …

The Moment a Crocodile was Killed Trying to take a Shortcut Across a Herd of Hippos

Their bone-crushing jaws, 24 razor-sharp teeth and armour-plated skin are enough to ensure most animals keep their distance.

But, as our incredible pictures show, even crocodiles are no match for a herd of angry hippos.

This is a case of a wildlife photographer being in the right place at the right moment to scoop perhaps the only photos of the kind ever taken.

Love a Duck

These ducklings were rescued by a farmer after they hatched earlier this week – six months before most broods.

Fearing they would perish outside, the farmer took them indoors and later put them in his bathroom sink for their first paddle.

Take a look at them; they’re so cute, it’s a crying shame they have to grow up.

Band of Raccoons Line up For the Bus (photos)

“Their masked faces give a clue as to their devious ambitions – but this is no stick-up.”

Well, according to reported raccoon behaviour, should the bus driver have decided not to give the critters their chow, this could indeed be a stickup. If you don’t believe that, click here to read how some cousins of these furry little gangsters mugged one old lady who tried to shoo them away.

Nevertheless, the images are heart-warming.

You Better Believe it — There’s Nothing Cute About the Leopard Seal

These two-inch long razor sharp teeth look like they belong in the jaws of a shark rather than a sleek, cute seal.

The leopard seal is no docile creature, however, as these pictures of one hunting down a penguin show.

Taken in the shallows of Antarctica’s freezing Southern Ocean by photographer Amos Nachoun, the 12-foot long creature is anything but cute.

Read the article and view the stunning visuals.

Israelis Working to Save Endangered Species Through Cloning

Among the acacia trees near Moshav Tsofar in the south, a single African wild ass (Equus Africanus), a rare species of wild African donkey that is almost extinct, wanders the desert. There are only a few dozen of the species left anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately, the Israeli specimen, which lives on a remote Arava antelope farm, will soon also no longer be alive. But the farm’s manager, Yossi Ben, has a test tube with a white powder which could ensure the future of the species.

There is one sure-fire way to save endangered wildlife species from extinction. And the great thing about it is those species will be on tap to be reintroduced any time the scientists choose — now, tomorrow or in a hundred years … even after a nuclear holocaust.

Roadkill: Tourists Left Stunned as Lioness Attacks Buffalo – Right in Among Them

This stunning series of pictures shows the moment a water buffalo becomes a road-hog.

But the tourists driving through Kruger National Park in South Africa could hardly blame the poor creature, who was more concerned with the tail-gating lioness than other traffic on the road.

The convoy of cars came to a halt to watch – but the passengers then found themselves part of the action as the two beasts lumbered on to the road, oblivious to their gaze.

Click on this link and you’ll be as stunned by the visuals as the tourists were by the action.

By the way: It’s not a water buffalo; it’s a good old fashioned African buffalo. I can vouch for that because I’ve seen them up close in the bush a time or two.

Left alone they mind their own business, but rile them and you’ll find they can be among the most dangerous creatures anywhere in the bush. They regularly kill lions (and even, sometimes, man with his high-powered rifle).

This buffalo, especially since it was alone, may be old or ill.

Rescued Wild Animals in Their Natural Habitat at the Wild Animal Sanctuary

People are keeping confined in tiny cages in their homes, wild animals that nature hardwired to live free in the wilds of the world.

Animals kept in these conditions invariably suffer from improper diet and lack of veterinary care. And you can add abuse to the above, because to incarcerate wild animal in cages in garages or basements is abuse plain and simple.

Pythons have been in the news a lot lately. Some people think it’s cool to bring home a python for a pet. They don’t realise what they’re taking on, and when they do, they take the easy way out and just dump the snakes in the bush somewhere.

The Florida Everglades is a favourite dumping ground for unwanted pythons.

And of course the great snakes find the Everglades an ideal new habitat to proliferate in. There’s an abundant source of food in the Everglades. And that’s an ecological disaster happening right now. Pythons are eating their way through the birdlife as if there’s no tomorrow.

There’s an intensive program to capture and destroy all the pythons in the Everglades but it’s meeting with little success. The animals’ natural camouflage makes them practically undetectable in the thick undergrowth.

People also keep in their homes as pets, lions, tigers, leopards, bears, wolves and cheetahs; and they can’t — when they tire of the animals — get rid of them in the same way they do pythons. So they dump the great cats in animal shelters or sanctuaries that also aren’t equipped to take care of them.

The problem is huge. Believe it or not, in the U.S. there are over 30 000 carnivores being kept as pets. The situation is intolerable.

Nevertheless, there are good people trying to put right some of the wrongs that thoughtless people have perpetrated on large carnivores. Over the past 29 years Pat Craig and his family, with the help of many volunteers, have rescued and cared for over 200 large carnivores previously abandoned, abused or kept caged in people’s homes in sometimes horrible situations.

The Craigs own the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Centre, also called the Wild Animal Sanctuary, just outside of Denver.

There, at last, the great carnivores have found relief from misery. Now they are free to live and play in their natural habitat. And the change that has come over them is as clear as day after night.