Dog joins troops on parachute jump in Norway

A four-legged recruit to the special forces joined troops on a parachute jump into one of Europe's biggest military training exercises in Narvik, Norway.

The explosives sniffing pooch - a member of Austria's version of the SAS - took part in Operation Cold Response in Norway along with British special forces and Royal Marines assault teams.

Securely strapped to his handler and with a muzzle to stop him damaging his mouth on landing he plunged 10,000ft from a transporter plane.

"It's something he does a lot and he's very comfortable with. He has a much cooler head then most recruits," said one operation trooper.

Far from panicking at the experience of hurling themselves out of a plane at 10,000ft, the Austrians' Belgian Shepherd dogs appear to be perfectly calm both before and during the jump.

One handler explained: "They don't perceive height difference the same way humans do, so that doesn't worry them. They're more likely to be bothered by the roar of the engines, but once we're on the way down, that doesn't matter and they just enjoy the view."

He was also eager to point out that the dogs, like their human colleagues, are regarded as valued team members and aren't put into situations that could prove unnecessarily dangerous.

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Unique! Monkey's 'Profession' As a Midwife!

Peking - For all living things, giving birth is a tremendous momentum. However, remarkable, monkey took part in the birth process neighbor, by acting as a midwife.

Events of a monkey to help others who give birth, very rarely recorded previously in detail - through photographs and video. In 2013, a group of scientists watched the hairy monkey black-and-white, snub-nosed labor are helping each other. But only a few details about their interactions were published.

In the wild, animals destined for delivery alone. A female usually maternity unaided, alone elsewhere. Unlike human mothers who give birth with the assistance, as well as possible interventions that make the process run smoothly.

Recently, Chinese scientists witnessed the langur monkey or lutung helping other female births. And they document them properly. At that time, Meng Yao, an assistant professor at Peking University, Beijing, and colleagues are studying a group of white-headed lutung living in the wild in China.

Although there is endemic, the species is very rare, there are only 800 animals living free - making them the list of the most endangered primates in the world.

In the journal Primates, Professor Yao and colleagues describe the events of monkeys who played midwife in Nongguan Hills, Guangxi, China. Near Chongzuo Biodiversity Research Institute, Peking University.

There, between male and female herd, a 5-year-old lutung give birth for the first time.

When he would pull out the baby, the other females took part. 'Midwife' was 14 years old and had given birth five times - one of them even in the same day.

Seeing a monkey plays a role as a midwife is very surprising the scientists who witnessed it. "His behavior was very unexpected," said Professor Yao. "The female was actively approaching each other in labor, pulling the baby out of the birth canal. Interestingly, the mother had no objection to his actions."

"The phenomenon of 'midwife' barely audible among non-human primates." The researchers managed to record the complete sequence of behavior in detail, between the parent and 'midwife,' and their interaction thereafter.

Here's the sequence: the midwife sat and looked at the other younger females experienced 70 contraction. He was approaching when the baby's head and shoulders visible. Then stand on two hind legs and grabbed the newborn in his hands, then pulled it to his chest.

Within 18 seconds, he pulled the baby from the birth canal as a whole the mother, then licking it.

Finally, the mother asked for her baby, the older females do not mind handing it over. The midwife then sat next to a new parent for a while.

Scientists can only speculate about the behavior. "Midwifery is a common practice among humans. Believed to be the unique behavior of people," said Professor Yao.

However, it may be common among other primates, unlike previously thought. But, only possible in species where females do not form a hierarchy and compete with each other.

Macaques and baboons, for example, are more likely to abduct a baby from each other than helping fellow females give birth.

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Squirrel falls for toy dinosaur

A photographer used a tasty snack as a bribe to get a shot of a squirrel seemingly snogging a toy dinosaur.

Elliott C Nathan, of Boulder Colorado, placed a seed in the dinosaur's mouth to attract the bushy-tailed Romeo.

"I spent about half an hour getting the squirrel to trust me with seeds then I started putting them onto things," he said.

"He was careful about the dinosaur at first, but finally his hunger got the best of him and he went in for the kiss."

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Cheeky monkey's camera boob

A student has become a global internet star after holiday photos showing her fending off a playful monkey went viral.

Charmian Chen, 22, who is also a model, was feeding long-tailed macaques when one decided to retrieve a piece of corn that had fallen down her top.

As she struggled with the monkey, her dress was forced a little too far down - leaving Miss Chen struggling to maintain her modesty.

Now the photos have made her into an internet star making headline news in her native country and around the world.

The pictures - taken while she visited the Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud, in Bali - have appeared on blog sites and forums in the US, Europe and Britain.

She said: "I was on holiday and at first the pictures were just funny, but when I got back to Taiwan I had all these people trying to add me as friends on Facebook.

"I thought 'that's bit strange', and then one of them said they'd seen the pictures and I was really surprised. The next thing I knew I had TV stations ringing me.

"I was on vacation then in Bali so I didn't mind it, but back in Taiwan I was still studying so I didn't want to become famous just for my boobs."

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Dog shoots hunter in buttocks

A US hunter was rushed to hospital after being shot in the buttocks by his dog.

The 46-year-old man was hit after his "excited" pet stepped on a shotgun in his boat, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He escaped serious injury, receiving only minor wounds to his buttocks and probably a bigger one to his pride.

Police said the man had been duck hunting with a friend on the Great Salt Lake, Utah, when the bizarre accident happened.

The hunter, from Brigham City, was shot as he climbed out of the boat to move decoys in an area of shallow marsh.

Deputy chief sheriff Kevin Potter said: "The dog got excited, was jumping around inside the boat and then it jumped on the gun.

"It went off, shooting the decoy setter in the buttocks. I don't know if the safety device was on. It's not impossible the dog could have taken it off safety."

Mr Potter said the man was hit from about 10 feet away with 27 pellets of birdshot during the incident at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

He wasn't seriously injured, in part because he was wearing waders or thick, waterproof trousers.

The men called 911 and walked to a nearby main road to wait for emergency crews. The wounded hunter was then transported to a local hospital.

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Dog walks backwards on hind legs

A man in China says his clever pet dog walks backwards on his hind legs for more than a mile a day.

Hu Xianwei, of Handan, Hebei Province, says four-year-old Pekinese Zhu Zhu is brilliant at picking up new tricks.

"When I first got him he would let me know when he was hungry by licking my hand and rolling back and forth in front of me," he said.

"I decided to start teaching him tricks - like standing on his hind legs, squatting and waving his paws - and he's so smart he would master each one within a day or two.

"His best trick is playing war games. When I point my hand at him, shaped like a gun, he stands motionless until I say 'bang' when he drops to the floor and plays dead."

Hu takes Zhu Zhu for a walk each day and says he loves to show off, walking backwards on his back legs for two kilometres.

"He even looks backwards over his shoulder to look out for obstacles. And he bows to passers-by when they praise him," he added.

"As long as he has an audience, he is happy to show off his skills - he doesn't need any other reward. I would never sell him!"

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Spider bite causes four hour erection!

Scientists believe a spider could lead to a breakthrough in sexual health after finding a single bite can cause a four hour erection.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia believe the venom of the Brazilian wandering spider could lead to a new cure for erectile dysfunction.

Dr Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the college, said it works in a different way to Viagra, reports the Daily Mail.

"This is good because we know that some patients don't respond to the conventional therapy. This could be an optional treatment for them," she said.

Her study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, involved experiments using hypertensive rats with severe erectile dysfunction.

"The toxin was able to normalise the erectile dysfunction in these animals," said Dr Nunes.

However, further research is required. Other side-effects can include loss of muscle control, severe pain, difficulty breathing and death.

Dr Nunes added: "The venom of the Phoneutria nigriventer spider is a very rich mixture of several molecules.

"These molecules are called toxins, and then we have various toxins in this venom with different activity.

"Because of this, when a human is bitten by this spider, we can observe many different symptoms including priapism, a condition in which the penis is continually erect."

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Cheeky owl steals show at wedding

A cheeky owl almost stole the show on a couple's wedding day.

The injured bird popped up into the front of an official wedding photo, and was picked out by the camera's autofocus, leaving happy couple Libby Higgins and Jim Pearn blurred.

But luckily the newlyweds didn't get in a flap when 'Sam Adams' made his appearance - and the snap has become a favourite in their wedding album..

They were all smiles to see the resident of the John J Audubon Centre bird sanctuary in Pennsylvania.

Libby, 26, said: "He was hit by a car right near the Audubon Society and the bones under his eye were severed so badly that his tear ducts no longer work.

"They need to give him artificial tears. Poor little guy. We loved the little fellow and were only too happy to have our picture taken with him - even if he turned out to be the star."

Sam Adams was being shown around accompanied by a handler after the wedding ceremony when the photo was taken.

Libby added: "You better believe that the owl tried to steal the show!"

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Woman's phone eaten by crocodile

Zookeepers in Ukraine didn't believe a visitor who claimed a crocodile ate her mobile phone - until they heard its stomach ringing.

Rimma Golovko, a new mum in her 20s, admits being at fault for the accident at an aquarium in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk.

She stretched out her arm to snap a photo of Gena opening his mouth and dropped her Nokia phone into the water, reports the Daily Mail.

"This should have been a very dramatic shot, but things didn't work out," said Ms Golovko.

She told keepers what had happened but they did not believe her until they heard the phone ring.

"The sound was coming from inside our Gena's stomach and we understood she wasn't lying," said aquarium employee Alexandra.

Ms Golovko is resigned to losing her phone, but still wants its SIM card back since that has her precious photos and contacts.

The mishap has caused bigger problems for the crocodile, which has not eaten or had a bowel movement in four weeks and appears listless.

"The animal is not feeling well," said Alexandra. "His behaviour has changed, he moves very little and swims much less than he used to."

Dnipropetrovsk chief veterinarian Oleksandr Shushlenko said the crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.

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Dog loves to walk on two legs

A poodle has become something of a local celebrity in China - because he prefers to walk upright on his hind legs.

One-year-old Treasure can walk for more than half-a-mile on two legs - and often attracts crowds of fans.

Owner Dou Xianhui, 50, of Jilin City, started to train Treasure to walk on his hind legs not long after he was born - and says he took to it straight away.

"I only trained him for around a week, and then he started to walk on two legs by himself and can't seem to stop," he said.

"Since learning to walk on two legs, Treasure hardly ever walks with all four legs on the ground.

"His walking speed is about the same as mine, and he can walk like that for 20 to 30 minutes non-stop.

"Many times when I take him for his daily walk along the Songhua River, there are fans waiting, wanting to take pictures and say hello to him."

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Mammoth Could Be Brought Back To Life In 4 Years

Researchers will attempt resurrecting the mammoth, a species believed extinct for over 5,000 years, after finally obtaining tissue last summer from a carcass preserved in a Russian mammoth research laboratory.

The team will be led by Professor Akira Iritani, professor emeritus at Kyoto University, notes Physorg.com.

Though the study began in 1997, the researchers were unable to determine how to safely extract DNA until a 2008 experiment by Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama, during which he cloned a mouse that had been in deep freeze for 16 years.

They plan on taking nuclei from the mammoth cells and inserting them into an elephant's egg cells from which the nuclei have been removed. This will create an embryo that contains the mammoth's genes. The embryo will then be inserted into the elephant's womb, and the animal will, hopefully, give birth to a mammoth. According to The Daily Tech, Iritani said:

"The success rate in the cloning of cattle was poor until recently, but now stands at about 30 percent. I think we have a reasonable chance of success and a healthy mammoth could be born in four or five years."

According to PCmag.com, the team will need a working sample of tissue of at least three square centimeters. The team has had trouble in the past because they had only been able to obtain tissue samples from mammoths found in Siberia, which were rendered unusable because of the frost.

The effort has now become a joint one, bringing together the United States (two African elephant researchers), Russia (the head of the Russian mammoth research lab), and Japan (Professors Minoru Miyashita and Akira Iritani).

If everything goes as planned, a mammoth will be born in 4 to 6 years. It will take so long because it will most likely be at least two years before they can impregnate an elephant, and then there will be a 600 day gestation period.

Iritani realizes the potential ramifications of this procedure. He notes, "If a cloned embryo can be created, we need to discuss, before transplanting it into the womb, how to breed it and whether to display it to the public. After the mammoth is born, we'll examine its ecology and genes to study why the species became extinct and other factors."

Mammoths were between 10 to 12 feet tall and weighed from 6 to 8 tons. They are estimated to have gone extinct more than 5,000 years ago, probably due to a combination of the change in climate, hunting, and disease, and remain a symbol of the last ice age.

Tag : Animals, Dinosaurs, Mammoth, Mammoth Clone, Mammoth Cloning, Mammoth Reborn, Mammoth Resurrection, Predict The News, Prediction, Woolly Mammoth, Wooly Mammoth, Wooly Mammoth Cloning, Wooly Mammoth Reborn, Wooly Mammoth Resurrection, Green News

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Cute Dog : Smiley Riley does it again

A dog that wowed the world with his distinctly human-like smile a year ago has done it again on his second birthday.

Pictures of Riley the smiling dog at his first birthday party appeared on websites and in newspapers all over the world last year.

Owner Maureen Ravelo, 23, of San Jose, couldn't resist throwing another party for her pet this year - and again recording that famous smile.

Last year, Riley's smile appeared to be oozing satisfaction while this year he seems to be throwing his head back and laughing.

Ms Ravelo said: "Riley always makes faces like this, and that's the best part about him. He gives you a new facial expression every time that you forget he's a dog.

"Ever since he came into my family's life, we've always thought he had oddly human-like features, which have been captured on camera on more than one occasion."

In the picture Riley is about to tuck into a cupcake sprinkled with treats, surrounded by balloons and party decorations.

But one noticeable difference was the absence of the jaunty party hat he wore last year.

Ms Ravelo added: "Yep, no hat. He said big boys don't wear birthday hats. That or he bit me when I tried to put it on him.

"He's a mix of a bichon frise and poodle. His playfulness comes from the bichon part and the attitude from the poodle."

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2 Million Fish Found Dead In Maryland

Authorities in Maryland are investigating the deaths of about 2 million fish in Chesapeake Bay.

“Natural causes appear to be the reason,” the Maryland Department of the Environment said in a news release. “Cold water stress exacerbated by a large population of the affected species (juvenile spot fish) appears to be the cause of the kill.”

The investigation comes days after the deaths of an estimated 100,000 fish in northwest Arkansas. Authorities suspect disease was to blame there, a state spokesman said.

“The affected fish are almost exclusively juvenile spot fish, 3 to 6 inches in length,” the Maryland department said. A recent survey “showed a very strong population of spot in the bay this year. An increased juvenile population and limited deep water habitat would likely compound the effects of cold water stress.”

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Duck has three legs - and four feet

A farmer in China has spoken of his surprise after one of his ducks turned out to have three legs and four feet.

Yang Fuyong, of Linchuan County, Guilin, southern China's Guangxi Province, said the duck was one of a batch of 600 he had bought as ducklings.

While vaccinating them, he noticed one of them had one too many legs - and two too many feet.

He has since sold the ducks but kept the unusual one for a pet.

"I have been raising ducks for more than 10 years but I have never seen anything like this before," he said.

"It has an extra leg behind the other two and that leg has two feet. I'm going to carry on raising it to see how it does."

An official at the local livestock husbandry station said the duck was almost certainly the result of a genetic mutation.

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World’s Longest Snake in Captivity 2011 Guinness Records

A reticulated python called Fluffy from Columbus Zoo in Powell, Ohio, USA who measures over 24 feet (7.3 m) and weighs 220lb has been recognised as the Longest Snake in Captivity after a year of research from the global record keepers.

The length of the snake is the same as two cars, a caravan or a limousine, and it took a total of nine brave zoo members to lift the record-breaking snake for her picture in the new book. Fluffy arrived at the Zoo in 2007 and since then has been visited by between 50,000 and 70,000 visitors a week.

Carey Pratt, Assistant Curator at the Zoo says: “Fluffy is a fairly calm and laidback snake. She enjoys her life of solitude”. When asked about Fluffy’s diet, Pratt said “Let’s just say that Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse wouldn’t make good friends for her”.

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Dog prefers to walk on two legs

A pet dog has become a local celebrity in China because he prefers to walk upright on his back legs.

Zhou Guanshun, the 18-month-old dog's owner, of Zhumadian, Henan Province, taught his pet to walk on two legs by holding one of its front paws.

"Lu Lu was given to us by a friend and we loved him instantly," he said.

"He learnt to walk upright when he was just four months old, and hasn't stopped ever since then."

Zhou, a retired teacher, said that Lu Lu now spends most of his time standing upright on his back legs.

Even when he rests, he prefers to squat on his back legs while keeping his body upright and his front legs off the ground.

Each morning, Zhou takes Lu Lu to the nearby Century Square for a walk, where Lu Lu is a celebrity among the morning exercisers who all love him and bring him snacks.

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Spiderlings to descend on Suffolk broads

The 1,600 spiderlings were released at Castle Marshes on Wednesday

More than 1,000 young spiders from a hybrid species have been released into the Suffolk broads.

The Dolomedes plantarius spiderlings were released into suitable dykes at Castle Marshes between Lowestoft and Beccles on Wednesday.

About 4mm, they are hybrids between species found in Sussex and Suffolk.

The 1,600 spiderlings were hand-reared in the kitchen of project leader Dr Helen Smith, with the surplus reared at the John Innes Centre in Norwich.

Dr Smith said: "The hybrids bring the advantage of increased genetic variability to the new population.

"This... should give the new population at Castle Marshes the best potential to adapt to its surroundings and to cope with the impacts of climate change."

The project was organised by Natural England and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and was aided by a grant from the BBC Wildlife Fund.

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Cool! The world's longest cat! (Pic and Video)

A US cat has broken the Guinness world record for the world's longest domestic cat.

Stewie, a five-year-old Maine Coon cat, was certified as the new record holder after measuring 48.5 inches from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.

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His owners, Robin Hendrickson and Erik Brandsness of Reno, Nevada, said they decided to try for the record after hearing people say they were amazed by Stewie's length.

"We realized that Stewie was exceptionally long about three years ago," Mr Hendrickson told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "Everyone says, 'Wow what a long cat!' "

Stewie was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's longest domestic cat. The record was previously held by another cat that measured 48 inches.

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Dancing goat fights off stray dogs

A Chinese man says he has trained his pet goat to perform tricks and to act as a guard dog at his home.

Zhao Huaiyun says the 20-month-old goat will fight off stray dogs to protect his home in Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

And he claims the animal even makes sure he answers his telephone whenever he leaves it around the house and doesn't hear it ring.

"It's really smart," he told the West China City Daily. "It loves to dance with me and it can shake hands with visitors.

"And whenever it hears my mobile phone ring, it runs up to me, puts its forelegs on my arms, and baas nonstop until I answer it.

"Sometimes neighbours' dogs run to my home to try and steal food, and then my goat tries to drive them away. If he can't win the fight, he runs back into the house, calling me for help."

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Elephant causes traffic jam

An elephant brought commuter traffic to a halt when she went for a stroll through a Swiss city centre.

Sabu the elephant escaped from her circus home when she broke free while being loaded into her trailer.

The four tonne animal then went for a dip in Lake Zurich, before walking into the nearby city centre.

Startled motorists gave Sabu, 26, a wide berth as she strolled across Zurich's six lane one way system.

She was eventually recaptured by animal welfare experts and keepers from her home at the Circus Knie after two hours on the loose.

Circus spokesman Nik Leuenberger, 36, said: "Sabu took a bath in Lake Zurich. We are relieved that nothing happened. She didn't mean any harm."

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