Big Cat Rescue shows us once again how big cats are like house cats. They like playing with balls, they get high on catnip, they chase laser lights, and in this video, we see that they love to crawl into boxes, too! -via Tastefully Offensive
Hoglets, or baby hedgehogs, are so cute that we, too, surrender! Pic via Amazing Things in the World
A friend of redditor PGERMS really likes the soap opera The Young and the Restless. But the music "is so bad, that her cat could have written it." PGERMS put this hypothesis to the test. As you can see from the above video, the cat wrote and performed a completely appropriate score.
Photo: Rod Block
That's one BIG spine to adjust! If you think that chiropractic is just for humans, you haven't met chiropractic veterinarians:
Thirty years ago, Dr. Gene Giggleman was a veterinarian who thought chiropractors were quacks. Since then, he says he's straightened out thousands of dogs and cats, not to mention the occasional snake, hamster, gerbil and guinea pig.
"And I know people who have adjusted pigs, goats and rodeo bulls," said Giggleman, a professor at Parker University in Dallas, which specializes in chiropractic care.
In Southern California, Dr. Rod Block has tended to an elephant, a paralyzed iguana, a turkey, pigs, llamas and countless dogs and horses.
Sue Manning of AP has the post: Link
Snake, guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, parrots, newts, hamsters, hermit crabs? Oh, come on! This dog wants a kitty. A KITTY!
Here's the cutest video clip you'll see today, starring Clyde the dog: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
Prince the sloth loves his cat Daisy. Daisy seems to really enjoy an extremely slow ear scratch. It's a match made in heaven! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
Thomas Scott found a rattlesnake in his garage. He bravely chased the snake outside and decapitated it. But that doesn't mean the end of the snake -yet. A snake head, even without its body, can bite and kill up to an hour after decapitation. See a video of a the rattlesnake head looking around and ready to bite at Nat Geo TV. It's scary. Link -via Uproxx
This vintage picture has been making the rounds of the internet in the past couple of days, but it was first posted three years ago by redditor jordanofthehill. His grandfather raised the animals from infancy and as they never had to catch their own food, it never occurred to the lion and the bear that lunch was walking between them. As a further example, here is a picture of jordanofthehill's father as a young boy. Link
The Redcoats attacked again at Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord, Massachusetts. One of their officers rode this photogenic horse, snapped by American militiaman and redditor Samafoof. He describes what's involved in an American Revolutionary War battle reenactment:
In the Battle Road reenactment I was on a National Park so basically the whole thing is planned out by the Park Rangers. But in normal reenactments there are a number of different ways. You can die basically when you want to but here are some guidelines. 1. If you run out of ammo, you die 2. If your musket is malfunctioning, you die 3. (my favorite) Your Captain hands out the ammunition in the beginning and arranges it your cartridge bag. But one of the cartridges is colored, my Captain usually picks red, once you go to reload that colored cartridge, that is your last load, then, you die. 4. If you are surrounded and just totally screwed, you die
Anyone can win really, just depends on how many die on your side or the other side surrenders.
Link -via Daily of the Day
Like it said on the tin, here's The World's Cutest Photo Ever™, presented to you by French bulldog breeder Cindy Clark of LovableFrenchies. It's so cute it's practically criminal!
Buzzfeed and Cute Overload has more pics.
The photographer behind a Swedish-language photo blog captured this image two Common Goldeneye ducklings flying for the first time. Flap harder, baby ducks!
Link (Translation) -via Twisted Sifter
Wilson the meerkat was born at Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary & Animals Gardens in Mablethorpe, England. He was rejected by his mother as the runt of the litter. What do do? Sanctuary owner Dennis Drew tried hand-rearing the tiny meerkat, but knew he needed help.
But when he overheard staff member Leanne Clark, 22, talk about her pet Chihuahua who was going through a phantom pregnancy Dennis had a bright idea.
He introduced Wilson to Leanne’s dog Kimi – who was lactating as part of her phantom pregnancy – and was amazed when the meerkat fed from her.
Within days Wilson became bigger and stronger and Kimi took over as mother believing the meerkat was her own puppy.
After nearly two months together, the pair have forged an inseparable bond.
The plan is to eventually re-introduce Wilson to his meerkat family. The maternal Kimi may have a future as a foster mother for the sanctuary. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: SWNS)
Remember the amazing Skidboot? The dog was a legend. Skidboot and his owner David Hartwig show off a little in this clip. These guys have probably done this routine a million times, but it's still impressive, and downright humorous. After watching this, you'll probably want to go back and watch the full report we posted a few years ago. -via Tastefully Offensive
Hey, Jude, don't be afraid! Jude is a very attractive 3-month-old Beagle. He's never seen popcorn before. Is this something to eat? To play with? To be afraid of? He handles the novel experience the best he can! -via Blame It On The Voices
Fluffy is ready for his turn in front of the camera for an all-cat remake of Ghostbusters! If you know who originally took this picture, please let us know. -via Geeks Are Sexy
Do you want to see sports balls replaced with cats? Then Sports Balls Replaced with Cats is the blog for you. Don't worry! It's all Photoshop work. At least, I think it is.
Photo: Vishnevskiy
Vasily/Shutterstock
Gimme more noms or else! New research shows that young pied babbler birds blackmail their parents to get more food by behaving dangerously:
Once the baby birds reach their fledgling stage, kind of like our awkward teenage years, the birds have a little more control over their bodies, but still not enough to fly or feed themselves. And like teens, when the young birds disagree with their parents, they start taking risks. When they want more food, for example, researchers found that the young birds leave the nest early. [...]
The study found that parents that heard recorded alarm calls of other species (signalling a possible predator in the area) nearly doubled how much they fed to ground-based babies, while feeding nest babies no differently. The authors speculate this is in part an attempt to get at-risk babies to move back to the safety of nearby bushes since the young birds don’t take as many risks or behave as dangerously when they are full.
From the youngster’s perspective, though, they might be paradoxically more inclined to leave the nest when the danger to them is the highest, since their manipulative powers to get more food are also strongest at that point.
Breanna Draxler has more at Discover's D-brief blog: Link
At the center of the universe, the Great Seal remains still. You and everything else, however, spin around it.
I could watch this video all day. I'd love to have it on a continuous loop.
-via Daily of the Day
Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal has written a comic essay on Why the Mantis Shrimp is My New Favorite Animal. The picture here is an idealistic view of this strange creature, and not to be confused with the truth. And truth is stranger than fiction, as you'll find out. With bonus videos. Link
Matt Curran turned his 10-month-old Lab pup into something that many of us Calvin and Hobbes fans wanted when we were younger: a real-life Hobbes (well, labs are much safer than tigers).
The Telegraph wrote:
Lilo the 10-month-old Labrador has been dyed to look like a tiger. Owner Matt Curran from Surfers Paradise decided to turn his pup into a tiger, using animal-safe dye, for his niece's 4th birthday. It took 90 minutes to dye Lilo's coat at Mudgeeraba's Animal Magic Pet Grooming Salon.
Link (Photo: David Clark)
Do you find cruises relaxing? So do your pets! To help relieve them of their stress, Pet Cruise in Singapore offers pets boat rides:
Boat owner Joe Howe, 48, started the Pet Cruise company last July.
His 26-foot (7.8-metre) motor catamaran, which comes with a swimming deck, has a fully-stocked cleaning station and life jackets for dogs.
On weekends, a basic cruise lasting two hours costs Sg$40 ($32) per guest -- human or pet -- or Sg$400 to book the entire boat.
Howe, a retired broker who now leads an average of two cruises every week, has even had people bring pet tortoises on board.
Link -via Marginal Revolution
(Photo: Pet Cruise)
After
living 17 years in the ground, a swarm of cicadas ominously called "Brood
II" is set to come topside. And if you live on the Eastern seaboard,
you're in for a treat, as billions (that's right) of Magicicada
will swarm and mate, and, of course, "sing" loudly at night.
Buy some earplugs so you don't have to say goodbye to a good night's sleep, then read on for some neat 17 year cicada facts, from Dan Mozgai's very cool Cicada Mania website:
They’ll
attackland on you if you’re using a power tool or lawn mower. Cicadas think the sounds made by power tools and lawn maintenance equipment are made by cicadas. They get confused and will land on the people using the equipment!Cicadas have five eyes: Cicadas have two, obvious, large, compound eyes, and three ocelli. Ocelli are three jewel-like eyes situated between the two main, compound eyes of a cicada. We believe ocelli are used to detect light and darkness. Ocelli means little eyes in Latin.
Cicadas pee: Yes cicadas pee, so wear a hat when walking under trees if that sort of thing bothers you. Cicadas drink tree fluids, and then expell the excess fluid they do now need. People call it “honey dew” or “cicada rain”.
There are billions of them: there are literally billions of 17 year cicadas. Why? One theory suggests that the large number of cicadas overwhelms predators, so predators are never able to eat them all and cicadas, and many always survive to mate. This is a survival strategy called “predator satiation”.
Stragglers: Periodical cicadas that emerge in years before they are supposed to emerge are called stragglers.
17 and 13 are prime numbers. Scientist speculate that one reason why these cicadas emerge in 17 or 13 year cycles is because those are prime numbers. The fact that 13 & 17 are relatively large* prime numbers makes it difficult for predators to synchronize with them. (*Relative to the average lifespan of an animal.) Annual cicadas (cicadas that arrive every year) often have wasps specialized to prey on them; periodical cicadas have no such wasp because no wasp could evolve to synch with it.
17 year and 13 year broods co-emerge every 221 years. Cicada Broods usually don’t overlap geographically, and it is very rare when they emerge in the same year. The next time Brood II (the brood emerging in 2013) will co-emerge with another brood will be in 2115 when it co-emerges with Brood XIX. You might need a time machine to see that happen.
Read more over at Dan's website: Link
The zookeeper wants to hose down the pen, but the wombat wants his undivided attention. Guess who wins that battle? I believe this is at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. -via Daily Picks and Flicks
Surprisingly, that is a serious question, as a man who thought he bought a toy poodle at Argentina's largest bazaar found out that he had gotten a ferret instead:
Gullible bargain hunters at Argentina's largest bazaar are forking out hundreds of dollars for what they think are gorgeous toy poodles, only to discover that their cute pooch is in fact a ferret pumped up on steroids.
One retired man from Catamarca, duped by the knock-down price for a pedigree dog, became suspicious he had bought what Argentinians call a 'Brazilian rat' and when he returned home took the 'dogs' to a vet for their vaccinations.
Imagine his surprise when his suspicious were confirmed - he had in fact purchased two ferrets that had been given steroids at birth to increase their size and then had some extra grooming to make their coats resemble a fluffy toy poodle.
James Nye of The Daily Mail has more of this hard hitting news story: Link
Now I want a ferret.
The telly a bit fuzzy? Must be the birds again! Photographer Phil Chapman of Buckinghamshire, England, sent the The Telegraph this photo titled "Fantastic Reception," of a flock of waxwings perched on his neighbor's TV antenna. You can't get that with cable! Link - via CuteOverload
He put a hotdog down a hole and caught crabs. That's the joke, but it's also what redditor dustbin3 did when he saw a large hole in his yard. This crustacean is a crayfish, also called a crawfish, crawdad, yard lobster, freshwater lobster, mudbug, yabby, and other names depending on where you live. They can be tasty with the right sauce. This one is, ahem, larger than average. Link
Tilly the river otter teaches her nine-week-old baby Molalla how to swim, by dunking him in the water repeatedly. He'll get the idea. -via Buzzfeed
A fish may not need a bicycle, but a chameleon? Why, that worked out quite well, as CuteOverload reader Linsay E. wrote: "This is Porkey, she’s an African Pygmy Chameleon. She’s in a bike gang with me (her mom.) Porkey is in such good shape and likes to eat fruit flies."
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