The bear who dared: Awesome polar animal descends 300ft cliff in a bid to scavenge eggs from some VERY surprised birds

By Julian Gavaghan





-Previously undocumented scene stunned tourists as they watched bear scramble and slip down Russian precipice



-It is believed hungry bears are being attracted to more dangerous terrain because usual icy hunting spots are melting



Watch the birdie: A hungry polar bear inching down a 300ft cliff face in a desperate search for food on in Novaya Zemlya, Russia





For birds nesting on a precarious cliff, the last visitor they might expect to see would be a hulking polar bear clambering down to join them.



Yet this bulky beast somehow managed to descend a craggy precipice in Russia’s remote Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.



The young male risked life and limb scavenging for eggs along the 300ft-high rock face thronged with hundreds of squawking Brunnich's Guillemots.





Stunned tourists onboard a chartered ice-breaker boat were left in awe as the watched the previously undocumented spectacle.



American photographer Dylan Coker, who captured the incredible scene, said: ‘The height that the bear was at and the sheerness of the cliff face were absolutely amazing,’ said the 40-year-old.



‘Everyone was terrified it was going to fall.



‘Every so often there would be a gasp from someone on the boat when the bear slipped.

‘It was slipping quite a bit and one point it was stretched right out to reach for eggs in a nest.’



What are you doing here?! The bear approches nesting Brunnich's Guillemots, whose eggs he hoped to scavange





Gone again: The birds raced down the cliff every time the polar bear ventured further down. A quizzical seagull watches from above the bulky beast



Remote: The polar bear before making his daring descent on one of the rocky Ostrova Oranskie islands





Describing the moment the passengers relealised they were seeing a bear on the cliff on one of the Ostrova Oranskie islands, Californian Mr Coker, who now lives in Australia, said: ‘It was a really beautiful place; very foggy, cool, and serene with a sky full of squawking birds.



‘We rounded a corner and suddenly we could see this white blob at the top of some cliffs.



‘The cliffs were at least as high as a five-storey building. At first we thought it might be a large bird or a snow patch but as we got nearer we realised it was a polar bear.



‘Everyone on the boat was quiet, we just sat there in awe.’



Despite its bravado, the bear returned to the top of the cliff without enjoying a full meal after losing its footing several times.



Previously the group of group had encountered polar bears hunting on ice floes in Bukhta Maka, after journeying for two days without seeing land.





In awe: Tourists on a small boat capture the previously undocumented scene with their cameras



Precarious: The bear eventually returned to the top after losing its footing a few too many times





But it is believed that a scarcity of ice has led to bears seeking out food in more dangerous locations.



Mr Coker said: ‘There's a real problem with the ice disappearing due to climate change.



Traditionally the bears sit by an air hole in the ice waiting for a seal to poke its head out so they can grab it.



‘But because there's less and less ice, the bears are looking for alternative sources of food and have discovered the birds' eggs.’



During the expedition the tourists also witnessed bears swimming hundreds of miles out to sea.



Mr Coker added: ‘They're used to resting on and hunting from ice floes but now the bears swim around until they are exhausted, then they drown.’



This was the first time a civilian boat has been granted permission to sail in these waters, which also forms part of a large military zone.



Mountainous and shrouded in mystery, the Novaya Zemlya archipelago stretches 1000 km in an elongated crescent between the Barents and Kara seas.



Today it remains one of Russia's most restricted and isolated regions.



Aurora Expeditions secured the first permit on condition that two government representatives act as chaperones.



Mr Coker, who recently won an Archbishops Award for his photography, added: ‘We were really lucky to have witnessed it.



‘We could have easily been there on a different day and who knows how often this kind of thing occurs.



‘I will never forget the day I watched a polar bear hunt for eggs on a cliff-edge.

‘I couldn't have imagined a better or more unique adventure.’





source:dailymail

Chilling out with the slow-mo manatees of Florida... who like nothing better than a good tickle

By Wil Longbottom





For the unaware snorkeller, coming face to face with one of these enormous underwater mammals might cause a bit of panic.



But these rotund creatures want nothing more than their bellies scratched as they float around the warmer waters near Crystal River, Florida.



Several freshwater springs attract the gentle manatees when their usual ocean habitat becomes too cold in the winter.



Left a bit: A snorkeller tickles a young manatee near Crystal River, Florida, where the mammals gather in the winter to escape colder water





Underwater photographer Alex Mustard travelled to the west coast of Florida to capture the animals as they congregate together to escape the cold.



He said: 'Manatees live life at a slow pace, so when you swim with them you are forced to chill down to their speed.



'They're just floating about in a sort of zen state. Then, when they come up to you and want you to scratch them, it is so exciting - you get a real connection.'



The 36-year-old said photographing manatees was an easy task because of their laid-back nature.



He said: 'Manatees are big and, if you don't stress them, very friendly, so they are easy to get close to the camera.



'If you give one a good scratch, it will remember and 30 minutes later you will feel a nudge in your side - and there is the same individual wanting another tickle!



'The babies are the most playful, and I think the adults are happy to have snorkellers entertain their energetic youngsters while they get some sleep.'



Life in the slow lane: Scores of the hulking animals rest on the river bed



Can I help you? This manatee appears to strike a pose as one snorkeller attempts to capture the perfect picture





Mr Mustard began his passion for underwater photography as a child and every year he travels across the globe exploring everything from shipwrecks to wildlife.



But it is the waters around Britain that excite him the most.



He said: 'Our own seas and rivers are a hard place to photograph because they are cold and usually murky, so for years I ignored them, preferring to travel to find conditions more conducive to producing pleasing images.



'But for the last 18 months I have been working on a British conservation photography project called 2020VISION, where a team of 20 photographers are documenting the importance of the wild places of Britain for both wildlife and the British people.



'Being encouraged into British seas I have photographed everything from eight metre long basking sharks, to mating cuttlefish and secretive seahorses.



'It's made me appreciate our waters more than ever.'





'Sea cows': This adult manatee yawns as he shelters underneath a floating pontoon





source:dailymail

Pictured: The pet dog in a pickle stuck between railings, the cat jammed in a window and the horse with its head rammed in a TREE

By Daily Mail Reporter


They say that people do the craziest things, but as these pictures demonstrate, our beloved pets are also capable of getting themselves into sticky situations.

Whether it's an inquisitive kitten squeezing itself into a very narrow bottle, or a horse trapped between the forks of a tree, it seems animals have a nose for trouble - but are pretty clueless about how to get out of it.

Tight fit: This inquisitive dog showed it had some neck after poking its head through a hole in a fence

Pane-ful: This cat got more than it bargained for when it tried to sneak through an open window


But while the images might provide a chuckle, the sight of a poor pooch trapped up a ladder is no laughing matter. The Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals rescued more than 135,000 trapped animals in 2009 alone - with litter such as discarded bottles being responsible for many of these incidents.

Watchdog: This dog clearly has a head for heights after climbing some metal scaffolding to get a better view

Mane attraction: This horse is barking up the wrong tree

Good to the last drop: A kitten is determined to squeeze into a pint glass

Just grate: This poor moggy found there was no way out after attempting to crawl through a roadside grate


Where's the horn? A cow with some unusual headgear gets a bemused look from a companion


source:dailymail

How could they? Dozen sad puppies found in recycling bin after cruel owner 'throws them out like rubbish'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Saved: The abandoned puppies were dumped on the roadside in a recycling bin and left to die

A dozen innocent puppies were 'thrown out like the rubbish' by a cruel owner who piled them into a recycling bin and left them to die.

The five-week-old Staffordshire Bull Terriers were dumped on the roadside just outside the Welsh city of Swansea and left out overnight just like any other waste.

These puppies spent the night in the plastic crate usually reserved for glass, paper and plastic, but luckily they were too weak to climb out and wander into the traffic.


Recycled: The puppies are safe and well, but their cruel owner left them too weak to even get out of the box


The next morning they were found by passers-by and then taken to an animal rescue centre just half-a-mile away.

Animal shelter manager Laura Simpson said: 'They were in a bad way after being packed into the bin like sardines.

'It is staggering that someone could just put them out like the rubbish.

'We have treated them with emergency fluids and antibiotics - all 12 have bounced back.'


Happy and healthy: The rescue centre that nursed them says as soon as they are strong enough a new caring home will be found for the 12 puppies


Vets had their work cut out - tending the 12 Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross pups one-by one.

They had been ill-treated from birth, were badly dehydrated and in need of some tender loving care.

Police are investigating the doggy discovery on the roadside at Penllergaer, near Swansea.

But staff at the Llys Nini Animal Rescue centre in the city say all 12 will survive - and they will be free to good homes once their strength has built up.

source: dailymail

I'm no crazy cat lady... insists the California animal lover who lives with 700 felines

By Daily Mail Reporter


Lynea Lattanzio, of Parlier, California, lives with over 700 felines.

But she insists she's no crazy cat lady.

On the contrary, Ms Lattanzio, the star of a new Nat Geo documentary, runs Cat House on the Kings - a '12-acre no-cage, no-kill cat refuge' where she takes in strays, offers low-cost spaying and neutering referrals and facilitates pet adoptions.

Scroll down for video

Pioneering: The Cat House on the Kings in Parlier, California is the largest no-kill cat sanctuary in the world

Feeding time: Lynea Lattanzio, owner of The Cat House on the Kings, begins feeding her hundreds of felines early each morning


The show, titled The Lady with 700 Cats, is narrated by Glee actress Jane Lynch as part of the Nat Geo WILD series premiering later this month.

The programme opens with the backstory of The Cat House, founded by Ms Lattanzio just outside of Fresno.

Ms Lattanzio, who said her mother banned her from having a cat as a child, said she began taking rescues after a divorce.

Now, she takes in rescues from all over the world, and estimates she has saved close to 19,000 felines in almost two decades.

Loving: Ms Lattanzio and volunteer Tammy Barker examine a stray Siamese cat at the SPCA

Just a few: A 'small' group of cats gathers at The Cat House on the Kings

Litter overload: Litter boxes fill a room inside the cat sanctuary


She said often cats are flown in from New York, after owners decide their apartments are too small for their pets. Sometimes, locals drop unwanted kittens right on her doorstep.

Her sanctuary, which employees 25 workers, is an around-the-clock operation, and the largest of its kind in the world.

A nursery, an intensive care unit and even a retirement home for elderly cats are housed in its walls, where endless meows echo throughout the day.

'If I were a cat, this is where I'd be. We're a no-cage, no-kill adoption sanctuary,' she explained.

Well, hello: One of the over 700 residents of the Cat House on the Kings no-kill sanctuary, nestled in his favourite resting spot - the cupboard

Rescued: In the back of Lynea Lattanzio's van, crates of rescued animals await their new life at the Cat House on the Kings sanctuary

Big world: Just a few of the hundreds of stray kittens and cats rescued by the Cat House team


And as if hundreds of cats were not enough to look after, Ms Lattanzio also has about 15 dogs, which can be seen running around the property in a video trailer.

She says, however, this is just the start.

Ms Lattanzio, who promotes the sanctuary online on Facebook, PetFinder and YouTube.com, expects the series to increase traffic at the refuge. And she has no intention of turning many animals away.

After 19 years working to build the California sanctuary, she is content caring for her hundreds of strays - even if outsiders to call her the crazy cat lady.

'I'm not crazy, what I do is crazy,' she said.

Watch video here




source:dailymail