Where seagulls dare: Eagle is ambushed for his supper above Norwegian fjord

By Mail Foreign Service

Brave: A sea eagle swoops down in a bid to catch a fish, unaware a plucky seagull is on his tail


This is the moment a brave seagull decided to take on an eagle mid-flight in a battle for fish.

Soaring over the Norwegian fjords the sea eagle was not expecting trouble as it scanned the deep water below for a meal.

With its razor sharp beak and talons the huge bird of prey swooped down for its catch of the day.

However, before it could grab the fish, it was subjected to an astonishing attack by a seagull which landed on its back.


A word in your ear: The seagull briefly touches down on the back of the eagle, preventing it from catching the fish


The daring interception was caught on camera by wildlife photographer Paul Beastall.

In a series of incredible images the gull even seems to ride the back of the surprised eagle in a desperate bid to put him off his catch.

Mr Beastall captured the wildlife confrontation during a trip to the Norwegian fjords, which are also known as sea lakes.

The 38-year-old, from Cambridgeshire, said despite the cheeky seagull's attempt to disrupt dinner the eagle got his fish in the end.

He said: 'The eagle flew off I think more through surprise than anything but the gull didn't get the fish either.

'Happily for the eagle he managed to come back later and get it.

'When I first saw the gull attack I was amazed, I had heard that this does happen but never thought I would capture it on camera.


Success at last: The sea eagle returns for its fish dinner, without accompanying seagull this time
'The sea eagle has a wing span of over eight feet so it's much bigger than the gull and would be more than a match for it.


'But as you can see from these pictures the gull attacks from behind in an ambush to put the eagle off and hopefully get the fish for itself.

'In one shot the gull is right on top of the bird of prey, it's like a real David and Goliath battle, the seagull clearly didn't know the pecking order of things.'

Mr Beastall, who was in Norway leading an expedition to film wildlife, said getting the confrontation on camera was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

He said: 'I have been on photography trips all over the world and a lot in Europe taking pictures of birds, but I've never seen anything like this.

'I have been taking pictures of wildlife for more than 20 years and this is one of the best sights I have seen.'


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Who gave me panda eyes? The poodle given a makeover

By Daily Mail Reporter

Head-turning: This poodle was turned into a panda by one 'creative' owner


Clearly this poodle's owner wanted the best of both worlds.

The fluffy canine was given a makeover when its owner decided to dye its hair so it resembled a giant panda for a pet fair in Shanghai, China.

What exactly the pooch thought of the startling result is unclear - but it certainly turned heads as its owner proudly paraded their handiwork at the show.

And where dogs are a man's best friend, the feeling might not be so strongly returned by this spruced-up pooch.

This frankly alarmed-looking animal looks a lot more manageable to care for than a real panda, with one of the endangered creatures typically weighing around 330 lbs.

One thing is for sure - we bet it caused panda-monium when it saw what it looked like.

The craze for transforming poodles has swept the U.S. too, where the breed are trimmed, dyed and adorned with fancy dress outfits in canine 'creative grooming' shows.


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Why did the tiny caterpillar cross the road? To form an incredible 17ft long convoy

By Daily Mail Reporter

Bumper to bumper: This slow moving convoy of migrating caterpillars was spotted in the Kruger National Park by Jamie Rooney, from High Wycombe, Bucks


This is the moment a group of tiny caterpillars formed an incredible 17ft long convoy to cross a road.

Some 136 caterpillars made the single line and wriggled top-to-toe across the road, linked by a thin silk thread which set their path.

And their safety-in-numbers approach had the desired effect as the slow-moving convoy was easily seen by motorists, who were held up for 20 minutes as it made its way across.


This incredible convoy is the ultimate commuter train - a trail of tiny caterpillars heading off into the bush. An amazing 136 caterpillars wriggled top-to-toe across a road on their migratory route in Kruger National Park, South Africa.


The spectacle was captured on camera by British tourist Jamie Rooney, who was visiting the famous Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Jamie, from High Wycombe, Bucks, was in a Jeep full of tourists when their driver slammed the brakes just inches from the crawling caterpillars.

Jamie, 38, who works in website sales, said: "It was an incredible sight.

'We were out driving in Kruger National Park for a safari, when all of a sudden the driver shouted out and slammed on his brakes.'

'He managed to stop just in time in front of this amazing trail of caterpillars, which was stretching across the road.'

'Conservation is a massive deal in South Africa and the idea is that if there is any living creature in the road you have to wait patiently until it is safely across.'

'We got out to get a closer look and counted 136 caterpillars in convoy, all moving together across the track.'

'They were following a very, very thin silk thread on the ground and it took them about 20 minutes to get across the road safely.'

'Our guide had never seen it before, but he'd heard about it and explained they were migrating into the bush where they would disperse.'

'It's like the mass migration of bigger animals like wildebeest, but on a different scale and pace.'

'When they arrive in the bush, they turn into chrysalis and then butterflies.'

'It's a rare sight. It was an absolute joy to watch and a great experience to be able to get down close and see it first hand.'


Hold up: Traffic stopped while the slow-moving caterpillar convoy crossed the road


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The buffalo whisperer: Luke, 13, tames one of Africa's most feared killers

By Mail Foreign Service

Kiss-off: Luke Michaelides, 13, plays with his two African wild buffalos Hop-a-long and her calf Skip-a-long

As a feared killer they belong to a group of animals known as the 'Black Death' to locals - but to 13-year-old Luke Michaelides these wild buffalo are his best friends.

Luke plays with, washes and even kisses mother 'Hop-a-long' and her offspring 'Skip-a-long', who live on the Michaelides' farmland in Limpopo, South Africa.


The species, known as the African buffalo or Cape buffalo, is a huge bovine that belongs to one of the country's 'big five' and are believed to kill over 200 people every year.

For animal whisperer Luke, who is writing a book about his relationship with the buffalo, his relationship has been built upon a slow process of trust and communication.

For the past nine months he has had the chance to get up close and personal with the creatures while his mum looks on holding her breath in fear.

'If they wanted to, Hop and Skip could rip me apart, but I don't think they will do it because I trust them,' said Luke, whose farm also houses hippos, leopards rhinos.
'I really started to get close to them at the turn of the year.

'Hop-a-long came to us in 2008 with a broken leg she had sustained after an accident with a male buffalo.

'Then eleven months later Skip-a-long was born.


Tongue-tied: As one of South Africa's most feared killers they belong to a group of animals known as the 'black death' to locals


'They looked so lonely in the camp all by themselves so I decided to go and keep them company.' Part of the 'Black Death' group because of their fearsome reputation, they are also one of the country's 'big five' - a term coined by big-game hunters to encompass the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.

Growing up to 6ft high and 11ft long, wild African buffaloes can weigh an astonishing 3,000lbs - meaning Luke is dwarfed by his unusual four-legged friends.

Approaching the buffalo a little closer each day, Luke attempted to get the buffalo to trust him.

'I would give them food and stand a distance away so they would get used to me and my voice,' said Luke.

'I spoke to them calmly and then one day they were acting so nicely that i decided to try and touch them.

'After that our relationship got stronger and stronger.

'I went everyday and spent time with them.


The Cape buffalo is a huge bovine that belongs to one of the country's 'big five' and are believed to kill over 200 people every year


'Now I take them food and water, I wash them with a scrubbing brush which they really enjoy.

'And lie on them as the sun goes down.'

Luke's parents Marion, 52, and father Jaani, 50, shows cautious support for his unique relationship.

'I really feel for his safety - every time he goes out to them I say a little prayer,' said Marion.

'I would never stop the relationship he has with them because to see it from a distance its something extremely special.

'He has been extremely patient with them. He spends many hours with them each day.

'He has taken time to get to know them and placed his trust in them and has a special rapport with them that we don't understand.'

Despite her mother's concerns, Luke's younger sister Ruth believes he has managed to tame the buffalo.


For animal whisperer Luke, who is writing a book about his relationship with the buffalo, his relationship has been built upon a slow process of trust and communication


'Sometimes I am frightened for him but not really anymore because he has them so tame and he has worked so hard,' said 11-year-old Ruth.

'Luke understands everything about them - they really are best friends.

'He has worked really hard to get them to trust him. He will take his books over there and study next to them and he has even spent a night with them to watch their behaviour.'

Despite his confidence in his relationship with the buffalo, Luke is aware of the dangers that with daring interaction like this.

'Buffalo are one of the big five and I know they can be dangerous,' said Luke.

Luke's book focuses on his interaction with the huge animals .

'Everyday I am here I write about them in a special book that I have,' he said.

'I describe what they are doing, how they are feeling and their emotions and how I am feeling about them.

'I love them and I have a passion for what I am doing and it's given me the chance to do something that's unique.'


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Silly billies: Two young goats get stuck on six-inch ledge of railway bridge for two days

By Daily Mail Reporter

Making goats of themselves: Cory Freeman of the Rimrock Humane Society looks over at two stranded goats as they perch on a rail bridge in Montana


Here is the perfect example of how a moonlight stroll can go horribly wrong.

Two young goats that wandered onto the thin ledge of a 60ft railway bridge had to be rescued by a crane after two days high above a remote highway.

The poor animals' plight was only discovered when a passing motorist contacted a local charity and alerted them to the situation.

Rimrock Humane Society called the police, who then enlisted the help of a local coal mine to bring in a crane and pluck the animals to safety near Roundup, southern Montana.

The young female animals, weighing about 30lb each, mostly stayed on the angled ledge - even though there was a wider surface area on a pillar just a few feet away.

Rimrock Humane Society president Sandy Church said: 'The whole time, we thought they were going to fall off. These guys are just babies.'

Ms Church said it wasn't clear how the nimble-footed animals got into the predicament, but she speculated they wandered onto the ledge at night and then froze after the sun rose and they discovered where they were.

She said that the goats sometimes stepped to the pillar but returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds at a time.


Long way down: The two goats remained on the thin ledge for two days - until authorities could pluck them to safety after enlisting the help of a nearby mine, which brought a crane to the rescue


Authorities were called on Tuesday, when the goats were first spotted. But confusion about the location delayed the rescue until another caller alerted the humane society yesterday.

The sheriff's office, Ms Church and Cory Freeman, a humane society volunteer who runs the Animal Edventures Sanctuary, enlisted the help of officials at Signal Peak Energy, which operates a nearby coal mine.

Mine boss John DeMichiei volunteered a mining crane with an arm high enough to reach the stranded goats that eventually moved to the pillar.

Both animals were thirsty and tired but have recovered well after their ordeal - and are undoubtedly giving late-night walks a miss for the time being.


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If you glow down to the woods today... the moment fireflies turn woods into an enchanted forest

By Daily Mail Reporter

Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically-produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale red


No, these aren't deleted scenes from James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar - these spectacular images show mesmerising phosphorescent patterns swirling through a forest that are all produced by earthbound insects.

Amateur photographer and full time physicist Kristian Cvecek spends nights in woodlands waiting for fireflies to come out so he can capture them on camera.

German Kristian, 31, from Erlangan, near Nuremburg, photographs the creatures near his home. He uses slow shutter speeds to capture on camera their movements between the trees and ferns.


Here Kristian has captured the moment that a firefly has alighted on a fir cone in the forest near his home in Erlangen


Fireflies are winged beetles and give off a green luminous glow from chemicals in their lower abdomen in a process called bioluminescence.

As babies - the larval stage of the insects' lives - they use their glow to warn off predators but as adults they use the same phenomenon to attract mates.

He said: 'The fireflies are also called in some regions "'St. John bugs" because they start to fly at around the St. John's Night which is between the 23rd and 24th of June.'


Using a slow shutter speed on the camera makes the fireflies appear to leave ghostly phosphorescent trails between the trees


In Germany, many people celebrate the summer solstice with a bonfire and name it after St John. 'Depending on the weather they can start to fly earlier in the month and fly for around 3-4 weeks' added Kristian.

'As I don't have the opportunity to go into the woods every night, I always have a limited amount of nights to shoot them, so getting the pictures I wanted took a lot of perseverance..'

'They come out between nine and 10 o'clock at night, so it is already quite dark and they show up nicely against the dark background.'


There are some 2,000 species of firefly found in temperate and tropical environments. Most are to be found are in marshes or in wetland environments


There are many different species of firefly, from a variety that produces no light at all to one that imitates the 'mating' light of other species, to lure hopeful males into becoming supper


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Arch nemeses: King cobra and grey mongoose clash in classic battle, but who ends up as dinner?

By Mail Foreign Service

What are you staring at? The Indian gray mongoose and king cobra eye each other up


It's the classic battle between two age-old enemies as these two creatures stare into each other's eyes.

This epic showdown between mammal and reptile sees an Indian grey mongoose taking on one of the world's most poisonous snakes - a king cobra.

The pair warily circle each other looking for a weak spot, before the snake strikes in rapid succession at its enemy's face.

But the mongoose is just too quick as it leaps and dances out of the way before closing in to try and bite the cobra's head.

The two arch nemesis then attempt to stare each other down before striking at each other again to be bring their duel to a close.


Who's for dinner? The mongoose begins circling the snake after spotting it slithering across a patch of open ground


Closing in: Both creatures realise there is no escape and square off against each other


Venomous: The mongoose leaps clear of an attack by the king cobra - one of the most venomous snakes in the world


The footage was taken in southern India after the mongoose stumbled across one of its favourite foods in the wild.

King cobra venom is able to kill a human within just 30 minutes, according to National Geographic.

Indian mongoose are popularly used to fight and kill venomous snakes, because of their rapid reactions and thick coat.


Clash: The pair continue to battle against each other


Killer blow: The mongoose sees its moment after flipping the snake into the air and sinks its teeth into the cobra's head


Tea time: The victorious mongoose wanders off with his next meal




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Terrified mother confronts 'noisy burglar' in her kitchen only to find... an orphaned baby otter

By Daily Mail Reporter

Lost and lonely: The baby otter was hungry and dehydrated. It is now being looked after by the RSPCA


A petrified housewife tiptoed downstairs to confront what she thought was a noisy burglar in her kitchen only to find - a little orphaned baby otter.

Sheila Manisier , 44, discovered the three-month-old mammal foraging for scraps after her daughter Laura Manisier-Hilton, 13, heard noises at their home.

Brave Sheila crept into the kitchen fully expecting to find an intruder but instead spotted the foot-long juvenile otter cowering underneath her kitchen table.

Healthcare manager Sheila fed the female otter a £10 piece of raw cod and has now handed it over to the RSPCA.

Sheila, who believes the otter entered the house in Taverham, Norfolk, through an open back door said she 'couldn't believe' her eyes.

She said: 'When I first saw it I thought it could be a rat but when I got closer I saw the brown fur and long tail and realised it was something else.

'I've never seen an otter in the wild before, let alone under my kitchen table so it was such a shock.

'It was so lucky it came into our home because we are real animal lovers and so I had a dog crate in the garage which I was able to put it into.

'I'd also been shopping that morning so had a lovely piece of raw cod in the fridge, which the otter jumped on and gobbled up so quickly.


Night-time surprise: Sheila Manisier, with daughter Laura (right) and au pair Larisa Ionita. She is holding the bowl she unsuccessfully tried to get the otter to drink from


'I put out a bowl of water for it to drink as well but it didn't understand it could drink it and instead tipped it over and rolled in it.

'We are still finding it hard to believe that it happened, but feel very privileged that it did.' Sheila and keen horse rider Laura, who live with Romanian au pair Larissa Ionita, 22, heard their dogs barking at 11.45pm on Monday.

She was concerned that a burglar may have entered the property but was relieved to discover the otter.

The RSPCA are now caring for the kitten at East Winch rehabilitation centre in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA revealed that the otter is 'very young' and should have remained with her parents until she was one year old.

She said: 'The otter has been examined by a vet. She is quite poorly and very dehydrated and has been given fluids and antibiotics.

'We have no idea how it came to be in the home, but juvenile otters can be naive and can get into all kinds of trouble if they wander away from their mum.'


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Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt hand over dogs in bizarre custody battle

By Daily Mail Reporter

Canine custody: Spencer Pratt and his estranged wife swapped over their two dogs at Heidi Montag's private villa in Costa Rica yesterday

When a marriage breaks up, the couple usually have to come to some arrangement over custody of their children.

But things are a little different in the case of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.
The estranged couple yesterday were honouring their slightly bizarre arrangement to share custody of their dogs.


Dog swap: Spencer took two of the couple's dogs after exchanging the other pair with Heidi


Spencer arrived at Heidi's villa in Costa Rica where he performed the dogs swap - delivering two pooches and taking away another two dogs on a golf cart.

The dog exchange apparently forms part of the couple's divorce terms - Heidi filed for divorce back in June, citing irreconcilable differences.

She yesterday looked slim in a lilac sleeveless shirt over a bikini while the bearded Spencer, 26, sported a pair of blue shorts and a backpack.

The 23-year-old former Hills star was also still wearing a strip over her nose to keep it in place following surgery last year.


Furry friends: Heidi wore a lilac shirt over a bikini yesterday as she swapped two dogs with Spencer


She famously underwent ten surgeries in one day last November.

The couple have been back in the headlines after their split, with the public and Heidi's former Hills co-stars sceptical that the split was just another publicity stunt.

There hve also been reports that Spencer has been trying to sell a sex tape of Heidi and Playboy playmate Karissa Shannon for $5 million, although Heidi has denied one exists.
The reality show stars married last April in Pasedena, California.


Custody arrangement: The dog sharing is part of their divorce agreement


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In the playground of giants: Paddle-surfer captured risking life and limb to enjoy close view of a 40-ton acrobatic whale

By Daily Mail Reporter

Photographer Michael Poliza captures his friend Axel Ohm edging closer and closer to the southern white whale off Hermanus


This is the moment stand-up paddle-surfer Axel Ohm decided to grab a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the world's mightiest beasts.

Fortunately, the southern right whale also happens to be quite playful, as German photographer Michael Poliza was relieved to discover as he captured his friend in this extraordinary confrontation in calm waters just a few hundred yards off South Africa's Western Cape.

Axel enjoyed unsurpassed views of the breaching whale as he inched closer and closer in Walker Bay, near Grootbos Nature Reserve.


Axel Ohm closes in on the whale as it continues the dramatic display of acrobatics


Poliza explains: 'This shot was almost intentional. We were near Hermanus and saw a few southern right whales playing and frolicking near the shore. Axel and I looked at each other and he decided to jump on his board and give it a try.

'I only had a 100-400mm lens with me, so chances of getting a very close shot were minimal. But in any case, one whale happily cooperated and breached about five times just in front of Axel. The whale was basically checking him out.'


A southern white whale crashes, mid-breach, into a sailboat in waters off Cape Town


Southern right whales, which normally weigh in at 40 tons, were hunted to near extinction when the whaling industry was at its height, but today people watch these acrobatic animals purely for pleasure.

It was a southern white whale that was captured on film in July crashing, mid-breach, into a sailboat in waters off Cape Town.


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