This tiny baby bat that was in dire need of help, so weak that she wasn’t able to use her wings.

While the rescue of any animal is wonderful, it’s always so beautiful and heartwarming to see displays of compassion for the most misunderstood members of the animal kingdom – whether it be an insect, snake, or bat. This particular video is about the rescue and rehabilitation of a bat named Luna.

Animals Lebanon received an email about this tiny baby bat that was in dire need of help, so weak that she wasn’t able to use her wings.

She was immediately taken to a specialized vet for a check up and a foster home was found so she could get the care, nourishment, and time needed to regain her strength.

Though Luna couldn’t fly she loved climbing everywhere she could, which gave her lots of exercise and confidence. All that practice paid off because it wasn’t long before she spread her little bat wings and flew.

The day came for Luna’s foster family to release her into the wild, not knowing what would happen. To their surprise, Luna returned that very night and every night thereafter.

The little bat receives food and water each night and even has her own casita. She is seriously living the best of both worlds!

Keep in mind, if you come across an injured bat or any wild animal, it is always in the animals best interest to be cared for by a professional wildlife rehabilitator.

For the first time in nearly 150 years, bison will roam a new corner of a South Dakota national park. It’s a vital step in growing the population of America’s national mammal.

Badlands National Park officials released four bison into a newly expanded range on Friday. And if the way they careened out of their trailer onto the snow-covered plains is any indication, it seems the bison immediately made themselves at home.

The new real estate came from a land swap with a local ranch that blocked bison from entering the less rugged side of the park. Park officials worked with the US Forest Service and World Wildlife Fund among others to secure the additional 22,000 acres of land in 2014, according to the National Park Foundation.

The project also included new fences along the perimeter of the new land to separate bison from local cattle. Find the best national parks for your favorite outdoor activities

Around 1,200 bison now live in the 244,000-acre park, and their health secures the health of their ecosystem, the foundation said. All that noshing on grassy plains creates the preferred environment for prairie dogs to set up shop, and those populations attract other animals like coyotes and birds of prey that keep the ecosystem in check.

Badlands National Park (Lakota: Makȟóšiča) is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres (379.3 sq mi; 982.4 km2) of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Stronghold District of Badlands National Park, co-managed by the National Park Service and the Oglala Lakota Tribe.

For 11,000 years, Native Americans have used this area for their hunting grounds. Long before the Lakota were the little-studied paleo-Indians, followed by the Arikara people. Their descendants live today in North Dakota as a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Archaeological records combined with oral traditions indicate that these people camped in secluded valleys where fresh water and game were available year-round.

This is the first time bison have touched this land since 1877! #OneSmileEachDay pic.twitter.com/P3DnFlR1H0

— WWF UK (@wwf_uk) April 26, 2020

A rare white lion who faced being auctioned off and shot by hunters may have been saved by a mystery donor. Mufasa, three, was confiscated by police in South Africa as a cub and handed to a wildlife rehabilitation centre to be cared for along with another young lion called Soraya.

The rare big cat is infertile and so faced being put up for auction with activists and staff at the sanctuary fearing that he would be bought by hunters. However, a lawyer for the sanctuary has revealed that he is now in negotiations to buy Mufasa, together with Soraya, on behalf of a mystery donor who wants to move them both to a safe haven.

Mufasa was taken to the Rustenburg Wildlife Rehabilitation Center as a cub after being taken from his owner who kept him as a pet without a permit. He is set to be auctioned off, a practice that is common with confiscated animals. However, there are fears that he will be bought by a hunting group who will force him to take part in a ‘canned hunt’.

A canned hunt sees an animal trapped in a confined space and then shot by hunters. Carel Zietsman, the lawyer for Mufasa’s sanctuary, told ABC News on Tuesday that he is in negotiations to buy the lion and Soraya too.

He added that the two lions have emotionally bonded and that Soraya wasn’t eating before she met Mufasa. Staff fear that separating the lions could lead Soraya to starving herself. He said: ‘I cannot give you too much detail at this stage as the negotiations are in a sensitive stage but we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to buy Mufasa and Soraya and relocate them somewhere safe.

‘[Soraya’s] extremely close to Mufasa and we worry that, should the pair be separated from each other, she would stop eating again and starve. Our concern is for both of these lions and we’re doing everything in our power to keep them together.’

Activists want the three-year-old lion to be moved to a sanctuary and more than 230,000 have signed a petition amid a huge worldwide campaign to save him. But because the animal is infertile, he would be of no interest to a breeder and campaigners fear the only value he would have is to be bought by a hunting company. South African authorities are said to have agreed to put the animal up for auction.

There are understood to be fewer than 300 white lions in the world – and only 13 left in the wild, according to a letter accompanying the petition.

‘Nature conservation officials refused permission for Mufasa to be relocated to a sanctuary, who offered to care for both Mufasa and Suraya for their natural lives, free of charge,’ said the letter to South Africa’s Minister of Environmental Affairs.

‘Instead, the rehab centre was told telephonically that Mufasa will be auctioned to raise funds for the department.

‘We ask you to sign our petition, asking for both Mufasa and Suraya to be donated to a sanctuary chosen by the people who took care of them for the past three years, to prevent them from being exploited.’

The letter continues: ‘Mufasa has had a vasectomy and is no longer able to breed and is therefore of no interest to a breeder. The only commercial value he has, is to be hunted in a put and chase hunt, otherwise known as a canned hunt.’ According to the Mirror, the Wild for Life sanctuary has cared for Mufasa for the last three years and has already raised more than £6,000 for a court battle to block the auction.

It wrote: ‘In the last few weeks we have seen and read extensively about what happens to lions in the industry.

‘Mufasa has had a vasectomy and cannot be bred with. This means there is only one of two options left.

‘The number of lion hunters are down and lions have been killed in high numbers for their bones to be exported to the East.’

Among those taking up Mufasa’s cause is comedian Ricky Gervais, who retweeted a comment about the lion. He wrote: ‘Shame on the pathetic sadist who pays the money to shoot this animal, and shame on the snivelling coward who accepts the money too. Both worthless.’

Officers from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in Florida were leaving a call when they heard something that made them stop: whimpering that was practically imperceptible, coming from a septic drain.

They found a puppy on the verge of drowning. He had no home, and one of the officers felt it was meant to be that they found him, and promptly adopted him.

The deputies had all but departed from the call they had just been on when they heard the faint cries coming from an empty lot. Many people would have just ignored them, but not these guys.

James Gettings was one of the officers who found the little puppy struggling to stay afloat in a septic drain. He was scared and exhausted, nearly ready to give up when he was rescued.

They gave him several baths to get him smelling like a dog again, and then tried to find his family. But it seems there was none, and Gettings believed their meeting had to be fate.

So he took him home, and aptly named him Puddle. Now he is growing up very comfortably, and wants for absolutely nothing.

Wild horse rescues another horse from drowning in Arizona
Stallion named ‘Champ’ grabbed filly by neck and dragged her to safety.

In the late 15th century after the Europeans reintroduced the horse to the Americas, some horses escaped and formed feral herds. These herds still roam the west today although there is much controversy surrounding them as cattle ranchers continue to move their cattle stock onto lands that the wild horses now occupy.

The video below shows an incredible example of how the wild horses look after their own when a young filly gets in trouble while crossing a river. The stallion with her takes quick action to try to save her before she is swept downriver. He is unflinching in his attempts and even tries not to hurt her as he struggles to get her back toward the shore.

America’s Endangered wild horses

In the states of Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado, several times a year, the Bureau of Land Management conducts a wild horse and burro roundup. Using helicopters and flying low enough to nearly touch the backs of their prey, they herd thousands of these horses and burros into chutes that were previously set up, funneling the mares, stallions, and foals into a holding pen. Herds and family groups are broken up, many animals are injured, some even die during this desperate run. The remainder are then kept in the blazing hot sun, fed and watered whenever the keepers get to it, and are basically in a concentration camp for animals. These are the magnificent animals who symbolize the West. These are the animals the Bureau of Land Management likes to “manage,” a euphemism for “getting rid of.” Why does the BLM do this? It’s very simple…the public lands are wanted by the ranchers for their cattle, they certainly don’t want to share any forage or water with wild horses and burros that earn them nothing.

Cattle ranchers have lots of clout in Nevada and that strength puts their needs over everything else, including these wild animals. A cattle rancher will never admit to having enough land for his herd, always wanting more. The BLM is more than willing to work hand-in-glove with the ranchers, and they could care less about the horses and burros. They’ve become just a nuisance! (source ~ excerpt written by Nancy Carol)

‘The Private Life Of Deer’ Documentary Explores Rise Of Whitetails In U.S. Suburbs (Video)

White tailed deer are very common in the U.S., so common in fact that their numbers have exploded in the suburbs of most U.S. cities in the Midwest and out East. However, one type of deer remains quite rare. Albino deer, also known as “white ghost deer,” live “a private life in the northern Wisconsin woods,” according to PBS. Captured here by photographer Jeff Richter, the albino deer there appear to be almost mythical.

Boulder Junction, Wisconsin is home to Wisconsin’s largest herd of albino deer. The albino deer herd of Boulder Junction is one of Wisconsin’s great natural treasures. Sometimes referred to as white deer or ghost deer, these white-tailed deer are true albinos. They all exhibit the pure white coats as well as pink noses, ears and hooves.

Being able to see one of Boulder Junction’s albino deer is an unforgettable experience. During the spring, summer and fall, the bright coloration of these white deer makes them easy to spot among the forest foliage. During the winter, the white coats of the albino deer blends in with the snowy surroundings, making them appear as ghosts moving across the landscape.

Albino deer have been in Wisconsin as long as white-tailed deer have been in the state. Native Americans speak about white deer in their ancient lore. Many generations of Boulder Junction residents have spotted white deer in the pine forests. Over the centuries, a feeling of respect for these rare animals has grown, so that people in Boulder Junction are now quite protective of the white-coated deer.

No one knows for sure why there are so many albino deer in northern Wisconsin. However, it is illegal there for hunters to shoot an albino deer, so perhaps this has allowed an existing population of albino deer to grow. Also, due to their uniqueness, people probably feed and look after the albino deer more than other deer.

The best time to see white deer in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin is around sunrise and at sunset, when the deer are moving to and from feeding areas. Quite often, albino deer will be found among normally-colored deer. Recently, the Wisconsin Public Television program, “In Wisconsin” featured Boulder Junction’s albino deer. Watch the video below of these magical and beautiful creatures.

Prophesy of the White Deer

Native Americans have a long history of respect for white deer which are sometimes referred to as the ‘ghost deer.’ The Lenape Indians have a white deer prophesy. Here is an oral translation of that prophesy.

“It has long been predicted that there would come a time when a white male and female deer would be seen together, and that this would be a sign to the people to come together.’

VIDEO

eartwarming photos have emerged of a man rescuing five beloved horses from the severe flooding in his rural town triggered by the worst storm in a century in New South Wales.

Steve Spowart helped the horses’ owner, Sonia Sharrock, to lead the animals to safety near Dungog, in the NSW Hunter region – one of the hardest hit areas in the state – where three people died in the severe weather, four houses were washed away and the town received the most rainfall it had in 100 years.

Mr Spowart, in a black wetsuit, paddled out to where the horses were stranded on his surfboard, past trees, bushes and fences submerged in the floodwater that was almost as high as his shoulders. The moving images show the concentration on his face as he moves towards the animals and his concern as he struggles to lead them out of the deep murky water.

In one photo, a startled brown horse attempts to flee as the man is kicked backwards into the water. The man and owner Ms Sharrock, in a green jacket, then appear to try and calm the animal to coax it to come with them without any reins. A young boy with a tin motor boat waits in shallow water as they walk a chestnut and two white horses out of the flood.

A deer has been standing watch for several days over a female goose nesting in a city cemetery, a scene normally reserved for a children’s movie.

“People always want to turn it into a Disney story and in this case it’s not far off,” said Gina Browning, director of the Erie County SPCA.

For at least four days, the buck stood guard near the nest of a Canada goose as she sits on her eggs inside a large urn at Forest Lawn cemetery, home to the remains of President Millard Fillmore and rock icon Rick James.

“He does appear to be guarding the goose, as it were,” Erie County SPCA Wildlife Administrator Joel Thomas said. “He’s within touching distance of her — there’s no doubt what’s going on.”

The deer, which he said looks like a buck that has shed its antlers, has not strayed from his post.

“When someone approached the bird with a net, the deer puts itself between him and the bird, and he’s repeated that behavior for some time,”

Typically positioning himself broadside to any car or passerby who comes near the nest, the deer stares intently until the potential aggressor moves on, he said.

The gestation period for a Canada goose is up to 31 days, Thomas said, with the nesting season only just beginning. While normally both the male and female share the task of keeping the eggs warm, the expectant mother at Forest Lawn appears not to have that luxury.

A police officer in Norman, Oklahoma, got a very strange call on Tuesday about a suspicious individual wandering around a local neighborhood — but not just any individual … a donkey.

The seemingly lost donkey, nicknamed Squishy, was found along a busy road, and the concerned police officer didn’t want him to get hit by oncoming traffic.

So, he gave him a ride.

Seeing a donkey in the back of a police cruiser is certainly a sight to behold for bystanders, but it sounds like it was even more of an adventure for the officer driving the car.

Officer Kyle Canaan told CNN that Squishy made himself very comfortable — and went to the bathroom in the back of his car. Oops.

The woman who found Squishy was kind enough to let him stay on her property until his real owners could be located.

The fox had been up to his mischief for weeks before his stash was finally discovered by a resident. The collection had numerous flip-flops, sandals, crocs, and trainers.

In the German neighbourhood of Zahlendorf in Berlin, a curious case of stolen shoes has been traced to a fox.

A fox with an affinity for fashion has shown an impressive collection of over 100 pairs of shoes and flip flops after havings stole them from residents of Zahlendorf said reports.

Residents of the neighbourhood realised their shoes kept going missing. For some time, they had no clue who the culprit was. But recently, the thief was caught red-handed in the act.

The fox had been up to his mischief for weeks before his stash was finally discovered by a resident. The collection had numerous flip-flops, sandals, crocs, and trainers.

The case of missing shoes came to the fore after Zehlenforf resident Christian Mayer posted about his shoe going missing on a local Facebook group. He was angry and disappointed as his pair was a new one.

However, Mayer soon found out he wasn’t the only victim of the footwear theft in the neighborhood.

After a tip-off from a person, Meyer managed to track it down and saw the animal with two flip-flops in its mouth. A few days from the sighting, Mayer followed the animal and reached a large green to discover the entire stash of stolen shoes.

Tagesspiegel editor Felix Hackenbruch posted photos of the evidence on Twitter.

Fuchs, Du hast die Schuh gestohlen…🎶In #Zehlendorf wurden mehr als 100 Schuhe von einem Fuchs gemopst. Die ganze Geschichte morgen @TspCheckpoint. (📸: Christian Meyer) pic.twitter.com/pjnKhvobOa

— Felix Hackenbruch (@FHackenbruch) July 26, 2020

At first, a Belgian man thought the noise coming from his outdoor planter was pesky pigeons. Turns out, it was Europe’s largest owl — four of them.

One of the world’s largest owls, the Eurasian eagle owl, set up camp in Jos Baart’s third-storey apartment planter. Since the mother owl’s three gigantic chicks hatched, they’ve taken to watching TV through the window with their new landlord.

In video footage shared by Dutch nature show Vroege Vogels (or Early Birds in English), the huge, fluffy chicks can be seen standing at attention in a row, eyeing the television screen over Baart’s shoulder.

Their less-friendly mom typically watches over her hatchlings from behind a shrub, seemingly a little warier of Baart and her babies’ TV-watching habits.

“She has a good view of the nest from there,” he explains in the video. “She can stay there for six to eight hours at a stretch.”

They seem to have grown accustomed to each other now, but it wasn’t long ago Baart thought they were a nuisance.

“I thought, damn, those pigeons again,” he says in the video.

He was proven wrong one day when he arrived home and the large mother owl took flight right in front of him.

“You can see how relaxed they are,” Baart says in the footage. “They’re not scared at all. For me, it’s like watching a movie 24-7.”

Eagle owls typically nest on cliffs and ledges, the U.S. National Aviary says, but are sometimes known to take over abandoned golden eagle nests.Guinness World Records recognizes the species (also known as the Bubo bubo) as the largest owl in the world, with a wingspan of more than 1.5 metres. They have no natural predators and a long lifespan of 20 years in the wild, but can live up to 60 years in captivity.

We could hardly believe it when we got a message from Jos Baart telling us that Europe's biggest owl, the Eurasian eagle-owl, had made a nest in a planter in front of his window. Not only that, she had also hatched three giant chicks!#vroegevogels #springwatch #owl pic.twitter.com/gz1odkFLYC

— Vroege Vogels (@VroegeVogels) May 18, 2020

Seneca Krueger is a veteran foster parent, but still felt a special connection with Zelda, a 6-year-old German shepherd mix who spent 7 months in her care after being rescued from an overcrowded Texas shelter.

When she first arrived, the shelter dog was skittish, quiet, and seemed by frightened by her own shadow, so much so that she didn’t bark or wag her tail for months. But Zelda eventually came out of her shell in Krueger’s care, so much so that she could finally be adopted. The sweet girl quickly found a forever home in the nearby town of Chanhassen, about 30 miles way from Krueger’s house in St. Paul, Minnesota.

But after Zelda left, Krueger felt a strange sense of loss, even after watching dozens of former foster pets move on to new families. “Out of 30, 40 foster dogs, what happens is you love them, and then you let them go and you take the next one,” Krueger told Kare 11. “And with Zelda, I adopted her out and spent three days crying. I felt like I had lost my dog.”

Apparently, the feeling was mutual, because Zelda ran away after just 10 days in her new home. Krueger immediately joined in the search party, but couldn’t shake the feeling that Zelda was trying to make her way back to her.

This hunch led Krueger to plaster St. Paul with missing dog fliers and spend hours searching different parts of town. “Three times a week I was out for four or five hours,” she said. “The days where it was 30 below were the days I was most worried about her. I was out all day trying to find her so that she could be warm.”

Krueger’s hopes were buoyed by the dozens of people who spotted Zelda en route and posted her location on social media, so much so that she even enlisted a lost pet tracking organization, START for Dogs, to help follow-up on leads. “I never believed I wouldn’t find her,” the faithful foster mom said. Then, finally, somebody took a picture of Zelda just a couple of blocks away from her former foster home in St. Paul. “I couldn’t sit still,” Krueger remembered. “I was just out – I would walk for an hour and come back and see if she was here, and immediately, back out for another hour.”

The dog finally wandered into the home of a local couple who started feeding the stray, which gave STRAY, the pet tracking organization, time to set a trap for the hungry dog. Next time Zelda came back for dinner, she was safely captured, allowing Krueger to finally reunite with her loyal dog. “You found me,” Kruger told Zelda, crying, when they reconnected. “I never stopped looking for you.”

Now Kruger has officially adopted Zelda, the loyal pup who traveled for 97 days (and even crossed the Mississippi river all by herself, per social media sightings) to reunite with the first person who showed her kindness. (Zelda’s original adoptive family happily relinquished custody of the dog after it became clear she preferred her foster home.)

Two chefs put their lives on the line when they battled choppy conditions to rescue a kangaroo, drowning in the freezing waters.

Jeff Della-Mina, 28, and Dan Marshall, 19, sprinted to the rocks and dived in fully clothed when they spotted the struggling roo off Port Elliot, about 82km south of Adelaide.

The kangaroo reportedly became stranded near treacherous rocks to the south of Horseshoe Bay on Saturday about 4pm, according to The Advertiser.

Still in their chef garb following the lunchtime rush at the Flying Fish Cafe, the two men spent the next 20 minutes corralling the terrified animal back to the shore.

Initially spooked by the human help, the kangaroo eventually gave in when the men lassoed a rope around its neck and led it back to the beach, where it reportedly coughed up a significant amount of water.

Although they put their own safety second, the men insisted their efforts were not acts of bravery.

‘We are not brave, not at all. It just needed help. We like animals and we just wanted to give him a hand,’ Mr Della-Mina said.

When they reached the kangaroo, Mr Della-Mina said it was obviously stressed and fighting for life.

‘When we got to him he was pretty knackered and he was struggling,’ he said.

‘It was pretty cold. I would have liked to have a wetsuit. I think the run knackered us more than the swim.’

Mr Marshall, from Goolwa South Australia, said he was ‘just happy he is all right’.

‘I would do it again,’ he said.

When the men finally shepherded the terrified Kangaroo back to dry ground, they were met by local Country Fire Service and State Emergency Service crews.

When the men finally shepherded the terrified Kangaroo back to dry ground, they were met by local Country Fire Service and State Emergency Service crews

Kaziranga National Park is an incredible story of conservation success.

Kaziranga National Park is a story of success when it comes to conservation of rhinos – but what they’ve done to achieve it is allowing its workers to shoot and even kill potential poachers. So far, the park has killed 50 poachers.

Rhinos are safe there – a century ago, there was only a handful of Indian one-horned rhinoceros. Now, the park hosts more than 2,400, which is two-thirds of the world’s population.

However, little is talked about the fact that in 2015, more people were shot dead by park guards then the number of rhinos killed by poachers.

These people all went after rhino horn, as they could be sold for as much as $6,000 for 100g and are considerably more expensive than gold. They are mostly marketed as a miracle cure for everything from cancer to erectile dysfunction.

“The instruction is whenever you see the poachers or hunters, we should start our guns and hunt them,” Avdesh explains without hesitation.

Conservation efforts in India tend to focus on protecting a few emblematic species. The fight to preserve them is stacked high with patriotic sentiment. Rhinos and tigers have become potent national symbols.

Nigrita is an 80-year-old Galapagos tortoise that lives at the Zoo Zürich in Switzerland. She also happens to be making a big difference for her endangered species.

Nigrita laid her first eggs this year. Most species don’t live to be 80 years old, let alone give birth at that age, but for her species, it’s quite normal!

In fact, these tortoises typically don’t start reproducing until around age 40. Galapagos tortoises are known as one of the longest-living animals on Earth. By tortoise standards, Nigrita is in her prime.

Although Galapagos tortoises can live to be over 150 years old, there aren’t many left. The species is endangered due to greedy humans and hungry predators.

Nigrita is currently part of a breeding program at the zoo, which makes her nine hatchlings all the more special. It’s up to tortoises like Nigrita to ensure the survival of her species.

Some men ice fishing on a frozen lake in Russia get an unexpected guest when a red fox approaches them and asks for a snack.

Red foxes live around the world in many diverse habitats including forests, grasslands, mountains, and deserts. They also adapt well to human environments such as farms, suburban areas, and even large communities. The red fox’s resourcefulness has earned it a legendary reputation for intelligence and cunning.

Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food.

Like a cat’s, the fox’s thick tail aids its balance, but it has other uses as well. A fox uses its tail (or “brush”) as a warm cover in cold weather and as a signal flag to communicate with other foxes.

In winter, foxes meet to mate. The vixen (female) typically gives birth to a litter of 2 to 12 pups. At birth, red foxes are actually brown or gray. A new red coat usually grows in by the end of the first month, but some red foxes are golden, reddish-brown, silver, or even black. Both parents care for their young through the summer before they are able to strike out on their own in the fall.