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A Belgian zoo has confirmed that two hippopotamuses have tested positive for coronavirus in what could be the first reported cases in the species. Hippos Imani, aged 14, and 41-year-old Hermien have no symptoms apart from a runny nose. Antwerp Zoo in Belgium said the pair had been put into quarantine as a precaution. It is unclear how the hippos caught the virus, but staff tested the pair after they were seen “expelling snot”. “To my knowledge, this is the first time in this species. Worldwide, this virus has been reported mainly in great apes and felines,” said the zoo's vet, Francis Vercammen. Antwerp Zoo is investigating the causes of the contagion. None of the zookeepers had recently shown COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive for the virus, the zoo said.  The coronavirus is thought to have jumped from an animal to a human and it is proved to have passed from humans to animals. Pets including cats, dogs and ferrets have become infected following contact with their owners, while

The Victorian government has proposed a ban on horse-drawn carriages from Melbourne's busy inner city streets saying it is a harsh environment for horses particularly in summer. Under the government proposal, carriages would not be permitted on public roads in the CBD area bounded by Flinders, Spring, La Trobe and Spencer streets. Operators would still be allowed to drive the carriages outside this zone within the City of Melbourne with pre-booked passengers. The state’s roads minister, Ben Carroll, said the government proposal – which will be subject to consultation over the next month – would ensure safer streets and protect animal welfare. “We’ve heard the community’s concerns about horse-drawn carriages and this proposal will improve safety for everyone on some of our busiest streets,” he said on Friday. “We will continue to work with our road safety partners, RSPCA and the community to ensure animal welfare and safety across the industry.” The planning minister, Richard Wynne,

A cyclist and his cat have become an online hit after filming their adventures exploring London - with the fluffy feline riding in the bicycle's front basket. After Travis Nelson, 45, from San Francisco, was made redundant from his job as a software engineer last year, he began to take his four-year-old Norwegian forest cat, Sigrid, on bike rides around London. Now, the pair get out to see the sights around three times a week, and attract plenty of attention from passersby and online.  Mr Nelson posts videos of their excursions on Instagram where he and Sigrid have more than over 43,000 followers.  A clip shared on November 28 shows them riding around central London, negotiating the traffic - including a double-decker bus, as it gets dark. Sigrid sits calmly in the front basket, wearing a festive red jumper and securely held in place by a harness.  At one stage she meows, as though complaining because they are stationary. View this post on Instagram A post shar

On a chilly morning in Florida, a group of manatees basked in the sunlight while huddling together in the warm-water discharge canal of a power plant. The beloved sea cows congregating at the Apollo Beach plant are a common sight this time of year, but it seems that sharks also discovered the giant hot tub.  In the video below, both manatees and sharks were seen swimming together on Tuesday. Manatees are true Floridians. When the weather dips to a chilly 68 degrees for long periods of time, they seek out warmth. On Tuesday morning, the low temperature in the Tampa area was just above 50 degrees.  Those wishing to see the manatees – and sharks – up close can stop by Tampa Electric's Manatee Viewing Center.  It was closed last year because of the pandemic, but reopened earlier this month. It’s located right across from the Big Bend Power Plant in Apollo Beach. This time around, there will be safety protocols in place. There will be a limited capacity inside the gift shop and visitors

A mountain lion was seen strolling down a residential street in San Bruno on Thanksgiving afternoon. Liz Burdett said she looked out of her window on Thanksgiving day around 4 p.m. and spotted the big cat. “We saw a mountain like in broad daylight just giving itself a bath across the street,” she said. It was the first daytime sighting for Burdett and her three boys. But the night before, they saw two mountain lions. “Around 11 p.m., we heard some growling and roaring,” Burdett said. “We looked outside our window and saw two mountain lions walking down the sidewalk on Wednesday night. We’ve lived here for four years and that was the first time we’ve seen one then.” California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the number of mountain lion sightings has been normal for this time of the year. CDFW said wildlife may be coming into more urban places because of the drought and earlier wildfires. People are also more equipped to catch videos and photos of wildlife. “Any time you catch a gli

Two professional guides have rescued a two-metre-long, nearly 100-kilogram stranded sturgeon from an isolated and shallow pool in Fraser river, British Columbia. Tyler Buck and Jay Gibson were upriver doing debris collection and picking up garbage when a call came in from the Fraser Valley Angling Guides Association (FVAGA) concerning a struggling sturgeon left behind by receding floodwaters from recent catastrophic rains in B.C. According to the FVAGA director, Kevin Estrada, “They were obviously very happy they could help out in any way”. In a short footage shared by the FVAGA, Buck and Gibson can be seen slogging through thigh-high brown water — one at the head of a custom cradle holding the giant fish, the other at the tail. “We're at about a kilometre and a half right now,” Gibson says, between gulps of air. “Half a [kilometre] to go to get to the river.” What the video doesn't show are the three overland portages where the men had to carry the flood-stranded sturgeon to g

Shocked plane passengers reportedly watched on in horror as a woman started to breastfeed her cat onboard a flight. The bizarre news comes from a message from Delta Air flight DL1360 to Atlanta, seemingly from the crew, suggesting that the woman was refusing to stop what she was doing. The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System message read: “Req Redcoat meet AC Pax (passenger) in (seat) 13A is breastfeeding a cat and will not put cat back in its carrier when FA (flight attendant) requested.” “Req Redcoat meet” suggests that the pilot had a member of Delta's Redcoat ground team meet the passenger after landing. The message was shared on Twitter with the caption: “Someone just texted me this… what the actual hell?” Delta has tightened regulations regarding emotional support animals over the last few years after experiencing an 84 per cent increase in incidents. However, unlike this case, it is usually the animal acting up. Passengers are still allowed to bring their

Herd of pigs were released in the area surrounding Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to help ward off birds on airport grounds and in the immediate vicinity. According to the airport press release , about 20 farm animals were used to chase off larger birds, such as geese, in the area surrounding Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam. The pilot program launched in September makes use of pigs which feed on crop leftovers that attract birds, thereby removing their source of food. As meat-eaters, the pigs also try to catch geese that land in the field to rest.  While the pigs can't move fast enough to actually catch the geese, their attempts to do so mean they act like living scarecrows and frighten the birds away. In the program, pigs were allowed to graze on a plot of land between two runways where sugar beets were recently harvested. Bird activity in the area with the pigs was compared to a plot without pigs. The six-week pilot project ended in the first week of November, Schip

They measure the same height from floor to shoulder — 31 inches — and share near-identical brown and white markings. And Skye, 1, a Great Dane and Fudge, 12, a miniature horse, prove they're best friends, with the duo hugging each other closely and spending time together. The animals have been infatuated with each other since meeting for the first time in December 2020. According to their owner, Ilonka, Skye is always looking to hang out with Fudge, and they're always playing or hugging each other. Ilonka, who lives in Texas, told SWNS that Skye wasn't always obsessed with other animals. “She was terrified of the horses when she was a puppy and would even hide her face in my neck while I tried to introduce her,” Ilonka said. “Now, she always wants to hug them, especially the mini horses like Fudge because they're the perfect size for her.” “I think horses and dogs are very similar in general, and these two are the same. Skye and Fudge love to work and train together,” t

The UK is stepping in to prevent octopuses, crabs and lobsters from suffering when transported, slaughtered, or boiled for food. In a newly commissioned review, the animals were added to the list of sentient beings to be given protection under new animal welfare laws. The report by experts at the London School of Economics looked at 300 scientific studies to evaluate evidence of sentience, and they concluded that cephalopods (such as octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) and decapods (such as crabs, lobsters and crayfish) should be treated as sentient beings. Vertebrates, animals with a backbone, are already classified as sentient in new animal welfare legislation currently under debate in the United Kingdom. “The Animal Welfare Sentience Bill provides a crucial assurance that animal wellbeing is rightly considered when developing new laws. The science is now clear that decapods and cephalopods can feel pain and therefore it is only right they are covered by this vital piece of legislation,

A bald eagle flying across Dunedin Causeway surprised a couple when it swooped in to snatch their catch away. Chad Rissman and wife, Amanda, was visiting family in Pinellas County when they decided to go to the beach to catch the sunset on Wednesday, which they missed the night before. Amanda said while there, they decided to test out Chad’s fishing skills since he got his fishing license that morning, but after a day of no nibbles, the family was beginning to pack up their stuff. That’s when one of the lines started moving. Spotting the movement, Chad and an uncle began reeling what they thought was a fish, but as their quarry approached, they realized what they caught was actually a shark. In the video below, the two men can be seen trying to get close to the shark to cut it loose, but as they got closer, a bald eagle swooped out of nowhere, and snatched the shark. Amanda said the eagle stayed around the family for around 20 minutes while it ate the shark on the beach, even drawing a

A California man shared hilarious video of a dog after he turned him to a giraffe during grooming. Gabriel Feitosa, 29, with the username @gabrielfeitosagroomer, has used his skills as a groomer to transform dogs into different creatures including tigers, zebras, unicorns, and other animals. In a video posted here on TikTok, Feitosa was able to transform Cooper, a goldendoodle, into a giraffe. Feitosa, who has been featured on ABC’s “Pooch Perfect,” said he finds his “creative inspiration” from emojis and video games. “Adventurous” owners typically break down what color schemes they want from him, according to Feitosa, and the groomer takes it from there. “Dogs kept me from growing up out of the streets and definitely prevented me from getting into trouble,” Feitosa told Jam Press, “It’s safe to say that dogs saved my life.” Although grooming is a healthy and necessary part of responsible dog ownership particularly with certain breeds, opinions were divided on the impacts from dyes an

Dolly Parton has said she was saved by her dog who served as a “spiritual messenger” when her marriage to husband, Carl Dean, hit the rock. Paton made the claim that there was one particularly difficult period in her life and marriage where dog helped save her in an interview with Closer Weekly . During the interview, she revealed how she had affairs “of the heart” throughout her life. One of these put the singer through emotional anguish. According to the book Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton, she became emotionally involved with her bandleader, Gregg Perry. “Gregg and I became very close … I had never spent so much time with such a well-educated and knowledgeable man … I let myself get completely wrapped up in him,” she explained. Parton was devastated when this ended, and she says that the split brought her to a very dark place. She revealed that she even contemplated suicide at this time. She said that she stood staring at a gun for a while. “I looked at

Gunther VI, the world's richest dog, has put up his Miami estate for sale at $31.75 million. The millionaire dog is the owner of the gorgeous estate once belonged to pop music legend Madonna in the 1990s. Gunther VI who is a German shepherd , inherited his vast fortune, and the Miami estate, from his grandfather Gunther IV who purchased it from the pop star over 20 years ago. The canine comes from a lineage that dates back 40 years and 6 generations. Gunther III inherited a multimillion-dollar trust when his owner the late German countess Karlotta Liebenstein died in 1992. The Tuscan-style villa with views of Biscayne Bay went on sale Wednesday for $31.75 million, quite a markup from the purchase two decades ago from the pop star for $7.5 million. “He lives in Madonna’s former master bedroom,” said real estate agent Ruthie Assouline who nabbed the listing with her husband Ethan for the 1.2-acre property in a row of a half-dozen waterfront homes next to a public county park and on

Singer Will Young has said that he's a dog-lover, an animal-lover and a human-lover, while chaining himself to the gates of a beagle breeding facility in Huntington in protest against medical experimentation on animals. The pop star, 42, padlocked himself to steel gates outside the MBR Acres research site in Cambridgeshire at lunchtime on Tuesday. He also held a poster aloft reading: “Cambridgeshire. Famous for beagle torture. Thanks to MBR.” The 42-year-old said: “People are unaware there is still animal testing in this country and it is not needed.” The biomedical facility, named “Camp Beagle” by animal rights campaigners, has been at the focal point of protests since the summer. MBR Acres is owned by Marshall BioResources, a global provider of purpose-bred animals for biomedical research and related services. The company said the facility helped “save millions of human and animal lives”. Campaigners have demanded the release of the dogs and an end to the use of beagles in labora

A sea-obsesed man has stumbled upon the remains of a deep-sea exotic fish floating along a beach in Devon. The goldfish-like boarfish which usually hides deep below the water was spotted by a family walking their dogs near the Maidencombe beach in Torquay. Ziggy Austin was walking his dogs with his children when his youngsters Ellie, 7, and Lauren, 5, pointed out the strange fish to him. Austin, 38, who has run Rock Solid Coasteering in Devon for seven years, said it was a “rare find”. He said: “It was fresh, it had literally just died, and the weather has been very calm, so it wasn't pushed here. It must have swum here, but they usually swim in large shoals from the deep ocean.” “I read online that only two wash up a year, so it's pretty rare.” This is the latest in a series of bizarre findings after three of the fish were reported on the Isles of Scilly, one in Newquay and one in Kimmeridge, Dorset over a three-week period in March and April. Normally no more than two of the

A rare White-thighed hornbill has been sighted in North Florida Wildlife Center. The bird named Matilda is currently the only white-thighed hornbill in the United States. Joel Sartore, a world renowned National Geographic photographer who managed to snap a few photographs of the bird, told WCTV that hornbills are very charismatic and super smart animals. “I’m very excited, hornbills are very charismatic animals. They are super smart.” Another expert, Ryan David Reines who caught the lucky sighting described the hornbill as “the only individual of her species in the United States, at the moment.” David Reines, who is the director of North Florida Wildlife Center added that “White-thighed hornbills are native to Africa. There are several individuals in captivity in Africa and also in Europe”. David Reines said it is unclear how old Matilda is, but they can tell by her build and condition of her cask that she is a young adult. Moments after Sartore captured her photograph, Matilda was re

If you've got a dog or a cat who is rarely ever ready to stay separate from you while travelling, there's a good news for you. Etihad Airways just announced that your dog and cat can now travel in the cabin with you at additional cost.  While there are restrictions on the size and weight of animals allowed on board, here's everything you need to know on how to travel with in-cabin pets on Etihad Airways. 1. Submit Your Bookings On Time Before you can enjoy this new travelling experience, you have to submit your bookings at least 72 hours before travel via an online booking form, declaring details such as the pet’s microchip number, a certified health certificate and a fit-to-travel certificate. 2. Check The Weight Of Your Pets Before travelling with your pets, ensure that their total combined weight and travel bag or kennel does not exceed 8 kilograms. 3. Know The Entry And Exit Regulations For The Country You're Flying To And From Even though you can bring your small p

A Thai woman who lives in the province of Pathum Thani was stunned to find shoal of fish in her bedroom after a heavy rainfall. The woman who took to TikTok under the handle @lookpud935 and shared the incident with her followers on October 31 panned her camera around her bedroom as she stood atop a chair, with the interior filled with enough water to reach up to just below the knees. In the water, hundreds of small fish could be seen swimming around as if in a large aquarium.  In the video which has since been viewed over 1.2 million times , she explained in the caption that the fish were northern snakeheads – a species native to Russia, China, and the Korean Peninsula. With the heavy rain, the fish must have somehow managed to find their way from from an overflowing body of water – probably the nearby Tha Chin river – and merrily into the woman’s bedroom. In a follow-up video, the woman showed just how badly her residential area had been swamped with rainwater after the heavy downpour

An 18-year-old student was suspended from Gloucester high school after he rode his mom's 27-year-old horse, Sonny, into the premises on Nov. 5, according to reports. Austin McGill told a local media station that he hatched the idea weeks before he took the reins, but he waited to take the ride into the building until he knew his friends would be there to see him and Sonny. “Nobody’s ridden a horse into this school,” the boy told 13News Now. Video shared on YouTube shows McGill successfully coaxing the Arabian gelding through a school doorway of Gloucester high school. The two stayed inside about 10 minutes, as students and staff poured out of classrooms to take a look.  He saddled up Sonny and rode two miles from his family's farm to the high school. Many of his classmates met McGill and Sonny outside. Then, it was time for class and the prank, but he wasn't sure how far he'd get. “I was outside for I’d say about a good 20 to 30 minutes and nothing happened, so I was li

A dog named Bear who saved more than 100 koalas during Australia's Black Summer bushfires has received an award for his bravery in the UK. The six-year-old Australian koolie was awarded a special medal by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at the House of Lords on Oct 11, 2021. Bear and his team appeared via video link to accept his special recognition on Tuesday. Romane Cristescu, Bear's handler, said she could not be prouder of the former rescue dog, saying he will get lots of extra pats and play time for his award. “He's been such a good boy in helping us find and rescue a lot of koalas, especially during the bushfires, but he works throughout the year to help us in our job to make a better and safer place for koalas,” she said during the acceptance speech.   The life-saving dog was abandoned by his former owners due to his obsessive compulsive disorder that made him unable to play well with other dogs.  However it made him a great candidate for the Univers

U.K. experts working at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) laboratory in Weybridge on 3 November confirmed first case of Covid in pet dog. It was the first expert confirmation of a pet dog catching the virus responsible for Covid-19, apparently from its owners. Previously, the same laboratory detected coronavirus in a cat last year. According to the UK’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Christine Middlemiss, “The infected dog was undergoing treatment for another unrelated condition and is recovering.” However, it seems owners need not be too worried. “It is very rare for dogs to be infected and they will usually only show mild clinical signs and recover within a few days. There is no clear evidence to suggest that pets directly transmit the virus to humans,” said Middlemiss. “We will continue to monitor this situation closely and will update our guidance to pet owners should the situation change.” Some experts have suggested owners with Covid should avoid their pets to prevent sprea

Dozens of cats were rescued from a home in Moss Point this weekend after the owner abandoned them and moved away to North Carolina. An animal rescue group, For Pet’s Sake , moved the cats totalling over 40 out of the home to a safe space in Long Beach after getting a call about the abandoned felines. According to Vanessa Cruz, For Pet’s Sake has taken in about 30 to 40 cats from four separate hoarding situations this year alone and is asking for donations of cat food, flea treatment, towels, cat beds and cat toys.  Some businesses in Long Beach are accepting items, and some Cub Scout troops are collecting donations. “The dream is just to be able to help as many cats along the Gulf Coast as possible,” Cruz said. “We didn’t really have the space or the ability, but we’re making it work. And, because of our community and the Scouts reaching out and us partnering with everybody, we are able to make this work.”

A young boy has died after being attacked by a dog in the village of Penyrheol, near Caerphilly, South Wales. The 10-year-old was killed by the dog while visiting a friend after school, according to shocked neighbours. One neighbour said: “He was with one of his friends who was shouting that the dog was biting his leg.” “One of the neighbours tried to get the dog off but it was impossible. It was crazed.” Police were called after screams were heard coming from a house where children were playing on Monday afternoon. The boy, who has not been named by police, was attended to by paramedics from the West Ambulance Service, but was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. Locals confirmed that the dog had bitten a customer outside a nearby shop at the weekend. It had recently been brought into the area and a family volunteered to look after it for a few hours as a favour to the owner. Shop worker Tarjit Sandhu, 67, said: “The little boy who died was at the house with his little friend whe

Family dog Rocky is recovering Wednesday after fearlessly chasing a mountain lion out of his owners’ La Verne backyard last week. Just before 8 p.m. Friday, Mary Padres was in her yard when she spotted a mountain lion staring back at her. “He was literally right here looking at me and I got freaked out and started screaming,” Padres said. “It was humongous. It was huge. It was very, very scary.” Security video captured the moment she started shouting and her family came out to see what was going on. That’s when one of the family’s two dogs, a 7-year-old pitbull mix rescue, leaped into action, charging at the big cat and chasing it off the property. Padres’ teenage daughters, Verena and Ashley, said they began to panic and were terrified because they didn’t know what was going to happen. “We were very terrified that he wouldn’t come back,” Padres said. The dog went all the way up the hillside as the mountain lion disappeared into the night. The family was frantic, calling for Rocky in t

Mochi ‘Mo’ Rickert, the dog who became famous for its slobbery appendage, holding the record for the longest tongue on a living dog, died on Wednesday, 20 October, 2021. Mochi, who was 12, got tongues wagging after she was crowned the Guinness World Records holder for the longest tongue on a dog. The female Saint Bernard's tongue measured 18.58 cm (7.3 in), according to Guinness World Records. Mochi held the record for five years. Mochi, from Sioux Falls in South Dakota, was a rescue dog in Colorado. She made more than a hundred appearances at schools, nursing homes, events for animal rescues and TV. Mochi was featured on the cover of “Amazing Animals,” a Guinness World Records book published in 2017. The dog faced many obstacles as a result of her long tongue including breathing challenges, extra slobber when she’s nervous, dirt, and dust. She also needed help to pick things up off the floor. Treats also have to be given to Mochi in a particular manner as she cannot grab onto them

A man killed his girlfriend's dog by repeatedly hitting it and then discarded the remains in a Providence park after finding it had peed on the bed, police have revealed. Devon Hernandez, 29, was arrested on Thursday after the remains of his girlfriend’s dog were found inside a shopping bag, according to the Providence Police Department. Lindsay Lague, a spokesperson for the Providence Police Department, said officers responded to a home on Updike Street for reports of a woman arguing loudly with her boyfriend. When the officers arrived, Lague said the woman told them that her boyfriend had killed her dog, Davinci. The woman explained that Hernandez had called her while she was at work to tell her that he hit Davinci for peeing on the bed, according to Lague, and she had video evidence of her boyfriend abusing the dog. Lague said the footage showed Hernandez picking up Davinci, throwing him to the ground and kicking him several times. In the footage, the dog can be heard yelping wh