The Annamite striped rabbit, native to Vietnam and Laos, was first described in 1998 and has rarely been seen since. Sarah Woodfin, a graduate student at the University of East Anglia, set out on a three-month expedition with a team from WWF Vietnam to find and study the rabbit.

She said; "I didn't expect that I would ever see one up close. I thought that if I was very lucky, I might see one from a distance in the forest. I certainly never expected that I would have the opportunity to hold one of these magnificent animals. I was utterly delighted.

"My team and I encountered the rabbit completely by chance on the first night of my trip.

"It was found hopping along a stream bank eating vegetation. One of my team members managed to catch it and brought it back to camp, where we were all able to have a good look at it.

You can read more about the search for the Annamite striped rabbit at Science Daily. But the question remains: what does a team of researchers do for the next three months once their goal has been attained? We all know they can’t give the surplus grant money back. -via reddit

(Image credit: University of East Anglia)

A burned goose was brought to the wildlife rehab organization Back to the Wild in Castalia, Ohio. She had been spotted sitting on her nest full of eggs while it burned during a suspicious fire.

“It’s just her instinct to protect the babies, it doesn’t matter what’s going on around her,” Sammie Villa, Back to the Wild staff supervisor, told The Huffington Post. “All she’s thinking is, ‘I need to keep my babies safe.’”

Because the fire is the subject of a police investigation, Villa was unable to provide more detail about what started the blaze.

The caller put the fire out with a bucket of water, but it was too late for the eggs to survive, Villa said. The mother managed to escape without any internal injuries, but nearly all of her feathers had burned off. Back to the Wild staff took in the bird to nurse her back to health.

But the poor goose got a second chance when the wildlife center took in six goslings with no mother. Mother goose immediately took the brood under her wing, keeping them in line and protecting them from perceived threats. When the goose has recovered all her feathers, the family will be released into the wild together. See more pictures at the Huffington Post.  

(Image credit: Back To The Wild, Castalia, Ohio)

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Every group of children has that one kid that’s smaller or a bit less agile than the others. In a litter, you would call him the runt. Here, a long-tailed weasel leads her offspring over a wall. They aren’t all that great at climbing, but they eventually get it. Except for that one, who needs a little more time and encouragement. However, once he’s at the top, the other side looks so far down! What will he do? Mama comes back, but she’s a little exasperated by then. You’ll laugh when you see how the episode ends. -via reddit

Every once in a while, you come across an article about someone who works as a taste tester for a dog food or cat food company. It’s probably a nasty job, but someone’s got to do it. Or do they? The latest research indicates that human taste buds and cat taste buds may be so far apart that human tasters completely miss the mark.

The researchers (from pet food flavor companies) used cell cultures to test the cellular response of two taste receptors, the cells found on taste buds, that respond to bitterness in humans. Overall, the receptors in cats barely responded when exposed to natural and artificial compounds that taste bitter to people, such as the sweetener saccharin that has a bitter aftertaste. The receptors responded less to aloin, a compound found in aloe, and more to denatonium, which is added to chemicals like antifreeze to deter children from drinking them, suggesting that cat tastes diverge from people more than the researchers thought.

So maybe the cat food that is advertised as delicious could actually taste better to you than to your cat. Let’s hope that this research leads to the employment of hordes of hungry rescue cats as pet food company taste testers (and not just research subjects). That’s probably their dream job, after all. -via Uproxx

(Image credit: Flickr user Robert W. Howington)

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Samson Lee and his wife Kayleigh were visiting the Kodiak "waving bears" at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Washington, when one bear grabbed a snack of bread in mid-wave. That cutie isn't messing around! -Via Tastefully Offensive

Ashraful Arefin is a photographer in Dkaha, Bangladesh. For the past year, he’s owned two rabbits. The couple recently welcomed a litter of four kits into the world. So Arefin has been busy photographing the baby rabbits, documenting their lives from the day they were born. He writes:

Each and every day from their birth was special to me. Watching them growing up everyday, opening their eyes for the first time, wiggling their tiny feet… everything was just so special and magical to me! I thought I’d try to capture those moments and share the happiness with other people.

Thank you, Mr. Arefin! Go forth to Bored Panda and see the baby bunnies. You can also view more of his rabbit photos on his Facebook page.

-via Lost at E Minor

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Ozzy is fantastic! He and his human, Nick, live in Norwich, UK. He’s a cross between a Welsh Border Collie and Kelpie. Ozzy holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest crossing of a tightrope by a dog. You can watch him set that record here.

In this video, he’s doing a handstand, which is something that we’ve seen before. But he’s doing it on a tightrope! Ozzy can also do a parkour trick that Nick calls tree bouncing.

-via Nothing to Do with Aborath

Here’s your daily dose of squee: When it’s cold, the kids at Sunflower Farm Creamery get to wear their stylish pajamas to stay warm!

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Believe it or not, their pajamas were store bought ready-made from Hoegger Supply. It’s enough to make you want a pet goat to dress. And to mow the lawn. -via Tastefully Offensive

Wally, an Angora rabbit in Massachusetts, has long fur, as an Angora should. But his human, Molly, shaves his body. With long hair on only his ears, he looks like he’s a hound dog or a rabbit with pigtails. Check out his Instagram page for a full-out awwww experience.

-via Tastefully Offensive

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The parrot merrily dances on the refrigerator. He's got a rhythm in his soul that he can only dance out. But there's more! His moves are even more impressive with Riverdance music added:

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-via Nothing to Do with Aborath

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No more tiny hamster — the li'l guy nibbles on a bit of green ooze and turns into HamsterZilla, taking the town by storm with his absolute non-tininess. The city can only hope to find a suitable competitor to limit HumongoHammy's devastating effects on it. -Via Laughing Squid

Ever have one of those cats that react oddly to every kind of stimuli? If you have then you know how funny it is to find a new noise that sets them off, because their little kitty reaction is simply priceless!

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The cat in this video is named Blu, and he has a very strange reaction to the sound of crinkling plastic, such a strange reaction in fact that it almost seems like the furry fellow is about to have a stroke!

-Via KnowYourMeme

Most animals are naturally so darn cute that it's virtually impossible to imagine how they could be made any cuter, but thanks to the magical power of Photoshop we can multiply that cuteness factor by a million.

These awe inspiringly adorable animal hybrids may not exist in the wild (yet...), but they can, and will, run around in the fields of our critter loving imaginations for an eternity. Thanks teh internet!

Let's start this collection off with a hybrid that most families would be happy to have hanging around in their homes- the delightful Dird

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Turtles and tortoises don't bring a lot of cuddling and tail wagging to the table, but the cheese torturger will bring you dinner!

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Don't try to lock eyes with this rabbowl or he might see you as prey...

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This excellent video footage was captured by French photographer Xavier Hubert Brierre, who has shot similar footage in the past (previously). He set up a mirror in several jungle locations in Gabon, Africa to evoke reactions from the diverse species that inhabit the habitat. The reactive behavior of the different animals is as varied as it is fascinating. -Via Buzzfeed

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Dai Aoki, a dog trainer in Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia, does a pretty good handstand. And to improve the act, so does his dog! His Border Collie neatly lifts his body up, resting on only his front paws and nose. Now try this wherever you are and see if you can do the same.

-via Tastefully Offensive