Stoatally Crazy!!

It wasn't just humans enjoying the unprecedented snow fall in Britain last week. Michael Cox of Wiltshire captured a snow-crazed stoat going berserk in his back garden! The crazy little fella!

How many tentacles does it take an octopus to solve a Rubik's cube?

That's the question researchers wanted to answer - so they gave 25 octopuses a Rubik's cube each and watched them go!

Full story here.

Maybe a Rubik's cube will keep Otto out of trouble!

There's sNOw news like snow news

News of our beloved animal friends snow antics is coming to us in a veritable flurry, so time for an update;



Twycross Zoo have reported that their elephants are in the midst of a snow dance performance possibly hoping for sunnier weather soon.





London Penguins are said to be "baffled by white flakes in the sky" but later "proved their mettle and ventured outdoors to inspect a scene they had never seen before – snow."



In Bristol the lion-tailed macaque monkeys have been happily playing outside in the snow, enjoying a light hearted snowball fight. Allegations that they were not monkeys but rather UWE students who had broken in during their day off has been strongly denied by zoo officials.

Panda Attacks!

We at Amazing Animal News often comment on how rubbish pandas are. "They eat nothing but bamboo and can't reproduce for love nor money," we would often holler across the office. So you can imaging the surprise when Pete Billcliff, our current intern and budding young animal journalist, informed us that a vicious Panda has recently attacked not one, not two, but three people.

Gu Gu the Panda' most recent victim was the hapless Mr Zhang Jiao of China who fell over a 5 foot wall into the blood thirsy animal's pen while trying to catch, you guessed it, a toy panda. While we here in the UK spend every waking hour filling in risk assessments and COSHH forms, it's clear that there's certainly no panda-ing to health and safety in China.

Displaying characteristic Chinese patriotism and confucian philosophy, Mr Zhang said, "The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn't fight back," Zhang said. "The panda didn't let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood."

Sea Lion can write his own seal

We've all heard of spelling bees, and Animal News told the world about painting elephants - but get ready to be amazed by the sea lion who can write Chinese!

Digital Journal has more:

Peter the writing sea lion, is the pride and joy of the staff at Ningbo Zoo, China. It took them three months to teach him to write in Chinese. Is he ready now for the big time and signing checks? ...

This very special six-year-old male sea lion can write the Chinese character for a “bull” and can sign his own unique ‘sea lion” seal. He can actually hold the seal and stamp it on paper as a signature that sort of reads: ‘Peter was here.’

It is expected that Peter will demonstrate his writing skills for tourists during the up and coming Spring Festival at the zoo, but currently permission has not yet been granted by his agent, Harry, the orangutan, and his attorney, Martin Van Parrot, both of whom reside a few cages down.

And who said you can't teach an old (sea) dog lion new tricks???

It's panda-monium out there!!

It's not only us mere humans which are enjoying the snow our animal friends are having the time of their lives too.

The Austrian times reports this heart-warming tale;

There's only one word for it when this young cub got sight of his first ever snow - panda-monium.

Giant panda cub Fu Long was clearly delighted to be frolicking with his proud mum at Vienna's Schönbrunn zoo as heavy snow covered the whole of Europe.

And 18-month-old Fu Long really got a taste for snow - gobbling down mouthfuls of the stuff as if it was ice cream, said his keepers at the Austrian zoo.

Koala Bare

First, we had a penguin who was afraid of water, but now what really takes the bucket is a koala who prefers water to trees!!! The baby koala in question has become an internet sensation due to the circulation of the sensational topless photo pictured above - featuring said koala chillaxing in a bucket-bath. Australian website new.com.au takes up the story:

Wildlife officers have come to the rescue of an abandoned baby koala who found internet stardom by being the bear in a bucket...

"The mum had become distressed and disorientated by the heat so she left the baby on its own without realising," [said] Tracey Young... "They’re normally up in the tree together, in a pair, and we see them all the time."

Ms Young’s nephew first spotted the distressed animal on the family property in Maude, between Melbourne and Geelong. "I had to scoop water up in my hand to get it to drink and at first it wasn’t very unresponsive... Eventually it realised the water was in the bowl and it just climbed in itself."

A viral email showing the koala taking its refreshing dip generated media interest in the marsupial.

It has been quite a day for Australian animal news!

Hat tip: Perez

A coo for anti-pigeon smuggling efforts

Australian authorities have finally caught a member of an elusive pigeon smuggling ring - and they nabbed him literally with his pants down.

For trapped in each trouser leg was a pigeon trying to enter Oz illegally.

The pigeon mastermind behind the ring is still at large.

An arresting officer told Animal News:

The pigeons thought they could smuggle themselves into Australia by being hidden down under. The dude's socks were full of guano. We got them in the end but it was a bit hairy. And I'm not just talking about the legs!

This is not the first time that pigeon criminals have been caught in a smuggling ring, and their crime also extends to spying. But the last animal airport smuggling scheme we heard about was a monkey passing for a baby bump. Will this animal crime wave never end?

Hat tip: Doug

But why?

And we thought monkey karate was exploitative!

Say NO to monkeys sitting on a goat tightrope walking!

Couple waddle down the aisle in rare penguin marriage

Marriage rates for humans may be going down, but wedding planners needn't panic as they may have plenty of penguin business coming their way - because penguin matrimony is definitely on the up!

Little Brat and Little Beauty recently got married in a Chinese zoo and are looking forward to a life of wedded bliss.

One insider told Animal News: "I think Little Brat just did it for the tax breaks, he's not a romantic. But Little Beauty just loves confetti! I think that was her main motivation."

A more cynical onlooker had another take on the affair: "Penguin marriage may be increasing but that just means one thing - get ready for a whole lot of penguin divorce!"