The first baby whales of the season that belong to the critically endangered Northern Right Whale species have been born off Georgia and Florida.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rare North Atlantic right whales were spotted on Dec. 4 and Dec. 7.

The whales number only 366 and their population has declined in recent years.

WATCH: Dolphins swimming with southern right whales

The whale calves were spotted swimming with their mothers off Cumberland Island, Georgia, and Vilano Beach, Florida.

The whales move north to New England and Canada to feed in the spring.

The right whale population was decimated during the commercial whaling era.

They now face threats such as ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

The shoebill stork has been called the world’s most terrifying bird, but i guess that depends on your perspective.
A shoebill looks like it either has the same goofy charm as the long-lost dodo or it looks like it might go on the attack any moment.

These pre-historic-looking birds stalk the marshes of South Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere in East Africa.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the shoebill storks, the first being that they aren’t actually storks.

The shoebill’s most unique feature is its foot-long bill which looks like something out of the prehistoric era.

It’s five inches wide and has sharp edges and a sharp hook at the end and has been compared to a dutch clog.

The unique bill is specialized to allow it to grab large prey such as lungfish, snakes, and even baby crocodiles and Nile monitor lizards.

At first glance, it doesn’t look like the shoebill is an ambush predator, reaching heights of five feet tall and a wingspan of 8 feet, they aren’t the smallest of predators.

They have long thin legs with large feet that are ideal for walking on vegetation in the freshwater marshes and swamps they inhabit in East Africa.

Shoebills can stand virtually motionless for hours, this means when a lungfish comes up for it, it may not notice the shoebill until it’s too late.

They also practice urohydrosis, which is the habit of defecating on their legs to lower their body temperature.

This characteristic confused taxonomists and some felt the shoebill placed it within the family of true storks and they also did this.

In fact, they are in a family all on their own, they share traits with storks and herons, but their closest relatives are the pelicans.

These creatures earned a fierce reputation and are by no means a safe bird for a stranger to approach, as some amateur photographers have found out the hard way.

The IUCN Redlist estimates 3,300 and 5,300 mature shoebills living in the world today and that number is decreasing!

For 35 excruciating years, an elephant named Kaavan suffered inside the small confines of his zoo enclosure.

Kaavan is 36 years old and weighs 9,000 pounds, and for most of his life, he was chained up in a now-defunct Pakistan zoo.

He was gaining weight, getting sicker by the year, and suffering from neglect, depression, and all sorts of medical issues.

One of the most heartbreaking aspects of Kaavan’s story is the fact that his female partner passed away inside his enclosure.

After she died, her body lay beside him for days. The grief and trauma only added to his mental and physical damage.

Kaavan’s nails were so poorly cared for that they became overgrown and painful.

He spent so much time in isolation that all he would do was pace his enclosure, repeatedly shaking his head as a way to cope with the boredom.

It makes total sense that Kaavan was dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant.”

Thankfully, his story now has a happy ending.

For many years, animal advocates fought to find Kaavan a new home that would restore his health and happiness.

Then legendary pop icon Cher stepped in to help.

Cher then took to Twitter to share the news that she’d met with Prime Minister Imran Kahn and that Kaavan would be moved to a sanctuary.

She tweeted: “Just came from meeting to thank Prime Minister Imran Kahn for making It possible for me to take Kaavan to Cambodia.”

Cher is also working on a documentary about Kaavan’s story.

READ: Elephant Hilariously Climbs Over 5ft Wall To Steal Some Mangoes
WATCH: When he calls them, the elephants he helped rescue come running!

Nothing is quite as cute and sweet as inter-species friendships. That’s the reason why we would like to show you a video of an adorable dolphin saying “hello” to two friendly dogs. Despite being different species, these cute animals don’t let anything stop them from making friends.

The two adorable pups named Miles and Stanley now live a happy life with their mom, Magen Peigelbeck. One day, they were out enjoying a day of boating in a river near the Isle of Hope Marina on the Georgia coast when a friendly local swung by to greet them and say hello! It was a wild dolphin — and he seemed to want to make the pups’ acquaintance.

Although there were many people on the boat, the dolphin only paid attention to Miles and Stanley. He swam toward the dogs and kept popping up out of the water to get their attention and say hello. The curious dogs have never seen a dolphin before, so when seeing it, they barked for a while.

“I was in awe,” Peigelbeck told The Dodo. “I knew it was a special moment.”

The interaction went on for a short time, but thankfully Peigelbeck managed to capture the sweet moment on camera and shared it on social media. It’s nor surprising that the video has gone insanely viral everywhere – from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram.

Here’s video of that cute moment:

The dolphin didn’t seem to care much about Peigelbeck, but fortunately she wasn’t too hurt and even felt happy. “The dolphin was having a great time, there to see the dogs, clearly. [He] had no interest in me!” she said.

Peigelbeck and her dogs have been boating a few times since then, but have yet to meet that dolphin again. “We have been out on the water for years and never experienced something like this.” Peigelbeck said. “Very special.”

Do you love this story? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! Be sure to share this post with your friends and family members!

When it comes to rabbits, we often think of their long unique ears – the most recognizable feature of them. For this reason, it hard to imagine how they would look without ears. However, nature works in strange ways, and sometimes a rabbit is born with no ears.

This is Leo, a super cute rabbit that was born without any ears. Possibly due to a genetic defect, Leo was the only one of eight siblings to come into this world without floppy ears. She now lives her happy life with her owner, Kylie Clarke, from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“Once Leo was born I knew something wasn’t right. Then, as she got older, you could see she’s been born with completely no ears,” Clarke said.

Leo has this name because she looks a little bit like a baby lion. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. She’s just beautiful. We called her Leo because she just looks like a wee mini lion.”

Clarke was worried Leo’s situation, so she’s decided to keep her as a pet. Although she has no ears, she seems to be a healthy and happy rabbit. We are happy to know that Leo can live a happy and healthy life with her owner.

“I was really scared at the start, but when I started doing a bit more research, I realized it’s so, so rare to happen, but it can happen. As far as I’ve researched, there’s no spot-on explanation, really. She’s otherwise happy and healthy,” Clarke said.

Here’s how people reacted:
“It’s actually pretty common, they aren’t born that way, some mums actually eat the babies ears shortly after birth from over grooming them, I would bet that’s what happened here.”

“Looks like a Hamster too, but I guess Lion is the next one.”

“Isn’t this just a guinea pig? He is a cutie!”

“Yes 1st thing I thought straight away Simba out of Lion King.”

If you love this bunny, please share this post with your friends and family members!

Tuffy is a black bear from Vietnam who spent most of his life under the harshest conditions. Also known as moon bears, they are often used in large bile farms where they are used to extract the substance from their abdomen through a very painful procedure.

These bears are black in color and have a cute white crescent-shaped marking on their chest.

After many years of belonging to one of these farms and living in uncomfortable cages, Tuffy was rescued by Animals Asia. Once they managed to get him out of there they took him to a vet.

Tuffy spent nine years on a bile farm.

In the first check-up, they realized that his gallbladder was so badly affected that it had to be removed as soon as possible to save his life. In addition, Tuffy had serious dental problems and many injuries to his legs.

When he made a full recovery from the surgery, Tuffy could not imagine that a new life was now beginning for him. They transferred him to a beautiful refuge where he could enjoy the outdoors and even a pool to cool off on sunny days.

The Vietnamese government assured that this practice will be completely eradicated in 2020.

Seeing everything around him, he ran very happy and went to take a well-deserved and delicious dip. Walking on the lawn fascinated him so much that he did not spend a single night in his lair. He prefers to sleep under the stars.

“After so much pain this was a true oasis for him.”

A video shows the adorable moment when Tuffy swims and happily plays with the water. After living such a difficult and painful life, these beautiful minutes of tranquility and freedom are worth gold to the beautiful animal.

“Everyone loves it. He is very playful and it is impossible not to fall in love with him. They all want to be your friend. “

Tuffy stayed there for a year and when he fully recovered his strength they moved him to an area where he can share with 15 other rescued bears.

Tuffy became one of the leaders of the pack that lives in the shelter.

There is a very strong reason why they call dogs man’s best friend

So it has to be hard to let your dog go, right? But you definitely can’t break up with your significant other over a pet, or can you? The following guy tried something different.

Our guy was about to move in with his girlfriend of five years. However, there was a condition his girlfriend demanded from him, before they make this step.

When his girlfriend gave him the definite ultimatum ‘Either the dog goes, or I go.’ He had a hard decision to make. They had been dating for four years and moving in with each other is the next logical thing to do, right? So that is exactly what they were going to do.

However, his girlfriend wasn’t fond of his 4-year-old dog beagle, Molly. I am not sure why because she is such an adorable pup. I mean, just look at this adorable face!

Whether this decision was an easy one or a hard one, we may never know. It could be that the man spent hours laying awake at night deciding what he should do, or it could be that he knew his plan of action instantly. When he did decide to act, he definitely acted in a hilarious way.

Obviously, it was a big choice to make. So, he took to the internet to solve his problems. He posted an ad on Craigslist, looking for someone to take in the being that was causing him so much trouble. His post is absolutely perfect.

“My girlfriend does not like my beagle Molly. SO I have to re-home her. She is a purebred from a wealthy area and I have had her 4 years. She likes to play games. Not totally trained. Has long hair so she’s a little high maintenance, especially the nails, but she loves having them done.

Stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Only eats the best, most expensive food. Will NEVER greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you’re down. Does not bite but she can be mean as hell!

So… anyone interested in my 30-year-old, selfish, wicked, gold-digging girlfriend? Come and get her! Me and my dog want her re-homed ASAP!”

I have to admit, his response is legendary. The best one ever, to a totally difficult situation. Not only did this man preserve the sacred bond between himself and his dog, but he spared himself from years of headaches with someone who did not share the same core values as him.

This man made the right choice, and he announced his decision in a totally epic way. I’m sure the ex-girlfriend was embarrassed when she saw the post for herself.

Karma definitely exists in this world. When we make selfish decisions, that negative energy circles back to us. This girl threatened to leave if her boyfriend didn’t get rid of his dog, so he made her exit a little easier. Be careful what you wish for.

After all, if anyone asks you to pick between your dog and something else, there will only be one winner, the dog!

Just like most of the wild animals, elephants are also overprotective when comes to their babies. So naturally, when a calf is taking its first steps, its mom is always there to care for him.

In a heartwarming series of photos, a wildlife photographer captured a lovely scene that put together a mother elephant and her newborn baby, in the South African wildlife. Charl Stols was on a boat ride on Chobe River in Botswana, when spotted a mother elephant and her cubs heading to the water for a drink. So he decided to snap some photos of them and accidentally surprised the sweetest gesture a mother can do to her baby.

Due to the rough terrain that lead to the water, the newborn elephant tumbled a few times. Thankfully, its mom was always behind it to adorably lift it with her trunk, every time it needed. Because that’s what moms do – take care of their babies, every time they need!

“The smaller calf seemed to be only a few hours old, still in pink colour and wobbly on its feet,” the photographer told CAETRS. “At the water’s edge, the newborn plunged down several times and the mother gently helped it back up using her trunk and feet.”

The heart-melting scene impressed, even the photographer who wasn’t on his first encounter with an elephant family.

“It was a very special moment,” Stols said. “There are lots of elephants in Chobe but that must have been the youngest elephant I’d ever seen.Surprisingly they even crossed the river to one of the islands and the little one did manage to swim all the way.”

After a lifetime in darkness, a cute cocker spaniel undergoes eye surgery and finally gets the chance to see his human parents – a moment that can be described by words. Meet Olive and her heartbreaking story!

Just like so many other innocent dogs, Olive ended up on the streets, because of some heartless humans. Left alone on the streets of Los Angeles, the poor little thing had to find a way to make it through. But as being homeless wasn’t difficult enough already, Olive had a very serious cataracts on her eyes. Unfortunately, by the time someone finally rescued her, that issue had dramatically affected her sight. But even though there was still hope!

Holly and Bart Emmerson – a young couple, fell in love with the friendly pup the next moment they’ve met her. So without a second thought, they took her home and since that moment they promised to do everything in their power to help Olive to see again.

Even if it shouldn’t have been a big deal, Olive’s cataracts got worse because over three years when she lived on the streets no one offered her some medical care. But thankfully, after years of blindness, the pup finally got the chance to see again. The surgery went as everyone hoped and Olive was about to leave the clinic and step into a brand new different world.

But the moment Olive finally sees the humans that saved her live is so overwhelming. An emotional scene that sent everyone in tears. “Such an incredible moment to witness. The cutest thing ever!” as Holly described it. Have a look:

This is the moment a village came together to help save the life of a wild animal in need.
It was a baby giraffe who was stranded for four hours in the crocodile-infested waters of the Uaso Nyiro River in Kenya.

So the community stepped in and did everything they could to save the poor baby giraffe’s life.

They came together and risked their lives by stepping into the crocodile-infested, fast-flowing river to rescue the wild animal.

The giraffe’s long legs were trapped by some dead branches in the river which meant the villagers came out with machetes to cut it loose.

Images posted on the Samburu Aboriginal Heritage museum forum’s Facebook page by Facebook user Baba Sue show the steps of the rescue.

The community’s heroism did not go unnoticed, with the post being reshared all over the internet with netizens all of the world hailing them as heroes.

Every rescue counts for the giraffes declining population. Well done to Baba Sue and the community.

Meet Jonathan, the 189-year-old giant tortoise who is currently the largest living land animal in the world.
It is believed that Jonathan was brought to St Helena Island all the way back in 1832.

A photo taken of him in 1902 shows a full adult-sized Jonathan.

Since it takes around 50 years for a giant tortoise to reach adult size, it is estimated that he was born in 1832.

1902 vs Today

Although Jonathan is the oldest living land animal, there were other tortoises in the past who lived longer.

More info: sthelenaonline.org | bbc.com

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