An Orangutan eats pumpkin during a 'Halloween-breakfast'

An Orangutan eats pumpkin during a 'Halloween-breakfast' in its enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in the northern German city of Hamburg October 29, 2010. Orangutan clan chief 'Tuan' eats pumpkin during a 'Halloween-breakfast' in his enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in the northern German city of Hamburg October 29, 2010.Orangutan 'Kejutan' drinks some water from a pumpkin during a 'Halloween-breakfast' in their enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in the northern German city of Hamburg October 29, 2010.Orangutan clan chief 'Tuan' (R) gets some pumpkin from four-year-old 'Kejutan' during a 'Halloween-breakfast' in their enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in the northern German city of Hamburg October 29, 2010.Orangutan 'Harapan' plays with a pumpkin during a 'Halloween-breakfast' in its enclosure at the...

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Is this Emperor? Tantalising picture that suggests the great stag of Exmoor might not have been shot dead after all

By LUKE SALKELD A mystery solved? This picture taken by wildlife tracker Dave Webb shows the antlers of a stag (circled) concealed by a treePartially concealed behind a tree, surrounded by a harem of females, could this be the Emperor?A deer hunter yesterday claimed this tantalising picture could prove that the magnificent stag at the centre of a mystery which has gripped Exmoor could actually still be alive. The 9ft tall, 21-stone deer – believed to be Britain’s largest wild animal – has not been seen since locals reported he had been gunned down earlier this month. News of his alleged demise provoked not only anger that such an impressive beast could be shot, but also a search for the perpetrators who had apparently spirited away the body.But then a second theory emerged: That Emperor was...

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Grandmother whose 'micro pig' grew into eight-stone hog says 'I was told porkies by the man who sold it to me'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Hogwash: Pensioner Margaret Smith was told the micro pig she bought would grow to just 12 inches - but now it is an eight-stone monster hog named PigwigIt was supposed to be a cute companion to a pensioner that would spend its days snuffling around her home.But after Margaret Smith spent £450 on her so-called micro pig, she was shocked when the the creature started to grow longer than the 12 inches she was assured it would reach. It wasn't long before Margaret realised she had been told a few porkies and that instead of being the owner of a micro pig, she was sharing her home with a monster eight-stone hog. The last straw came when the hog she named Pigwig tore a radiator off the wall and the 65-year-old had to move the beast outside and contain it with a stable door.Margaret...

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A baby lowland gorilla

A baby lowland gorilla munches on pumpkin in its habitat at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC. A baby lowland gorilla in its habitat at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC.A baby lowland gorilla looks out from its habitat at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC.A baby lowland gorilla in its habitat at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC.Photo: Gettyimages...

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Mjukuu, a female western lowland gorilla

Mjukuu, a female western lowland gorilla, rests with her newborn baby at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) London Zoo in this undated handout photo. First-time mother Mjukuu gave birth on the afternoon of October 26, 2010 to the healthy male gorilla, according to a media release by the ZSL. Mjukuu, a female western lowland gorilla, plays with her newborn baby at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) London Zoo in this undated handout photo. First-time mother Mjukuu gave birth on the afternoon of October 26, 2010 to the healthy male gorilla, according to a media release by the ZSLMjukuu, a female western lowland gorilla, cradles her newborn baby at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) London Zoo in this undated handout photo. First-time mother Mjukuu gave birth on the afternoon of October...

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Two Orangutans watch zoo goers from high on a cable

An Orangutan watches zoo goers from high on a cable that stretches one side of the habitat to the other at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC. Two Orangutans watch zoo goers from high on a cable that stretches one side of their habitat to the other at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC.Two Orangutans watch zoo goers from a perch in their habitat at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo on October 26, 2010 in Washington, DC.photo: Gettyimages...

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Meet Jack, the sheepdog that was so good no one knew he was blind

By CHRIS BROOKE Superdog: Despite his blindness Jack was so good at herding sheep that he won the hearts of the family, who have now kept him as a petIt's only fair to make allowances for a newcomer.So when their new sheepdog missed rounding up the occasional ewe, farmers Barry and Liz Edwards put it down to inexperience and gave him a bit of extra training.After all, their new recruit was a willing learner, had settled well into the farm and won the hearts of the family. Unknown to them, it was amazing that Jack was doing any work at all. The four-year-old sheepdog was blind – a fact the Edwards only discovered when he ran straight into a wooden peg sticking out of the ground.A check-up with the vet confirmed Jack had lost vision in both eyes. It changed their view of him from a trainee...

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So THAT'S how the elephant got its trunk (in a lucky escape from a crocodile)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Tug of war: The baby elephant digs his feet into the mud as tries to pull his stretching trunk out of the crocodile's jaws It looks like the perfect illustration for the tale of how the elephant got its trunk.Sadly for this youngster, however, this was no scene from Kipling’s Just So Stories but all-too-painful reality.Under the watchful eye of its family, the baby elephant had gone to the edge of an African waterhole for a drink. Cooling off: There was no sign of the impending danger as the herd of elephants met at a watering hole to have a drinkUnfortunately, the leafy pond was perfect camouflage for a hungry crocodile, which clamped its teeth on to the end of its surprised victim’s trunk and began a tug-of-war.Or, as Kipling writes in The Elephant’s Child: ‘And...

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First gorilla to be born at London Zoo for 20 years... but he will never see his father

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Breakthrough: The baby gorilla has become the first to be born at London Zoo in 20 years and is pictured today with its mother. Both are said to be doing wellAfter tragedy, there was joy in the gorilla enclosure at London Zoo today with the arrival of a new baby - the first to be born there in 20 years.And now staff are starting the delicate process of introducing the as-yet unnamed male to the head of the family - hulking Kesho. The newborn western lowland gorilla was born to mother Mjukuu, 12, on Tuesday. His father, Yeboah, died at the zoo in March after arriving in November 2009. He had been brought in as a mate to three female gorillas, Mjukuu, Zaire and Effie.Yeboah was the second male gorilla to die at the zoo after Bobby, a 25-year-old silverback, died in December...

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Out of Asia? Ancient ancestor of modern man walked Sahara 39million years ago

By DAVID DERBYSHIREAfrotarsius (top left) Karanesia (top right) Biretia (bottom left) and Talahpithecus (bottom Right) were early pre-cursors to humansThe human family tree may have to be rewritten after scientists found evidence that the ancient ancestors of humans, apes and monkeys evolved in Asia - rather than Africa - tens of millions of years ago.The astonishing claim follows the discovery of four species of early primate in the Sahara desert, dating back 39 million years.The creatures - or anthropoid primates - are unlike anything seen before in Africa from the same time period or before, suggesting that they evolved elsewhere. Scientists say there is overwhelming fossil evidence that mankind evolved from ape-like creatures in Africa, two to three million years ago.The last common ancestor...

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Who said I wanted to learn how to swim? Lion cub is less than impressed after dip in zoo moat

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Wet and wild: The unhappy lion cub tries out swimming in the moat at the zoo in Washington DC They say elephants never forget, but what about grumpy lion cubs forced to do something they hate?Let's hope this little growler doesn't remember who decided to find out if he could swim, when he grows up.The eight-week-old cub didn't appear to be very pleased at all when he was 'thrown in the deep end' in a zoo's moat in Washington DC. Making a splash: The lion cub does not appear to be best pleased to find itself having to doggy paddle Water torture: The reluctant lion cub finally gets into the swim of things at the zooAnd he he didn't seem to appreciate being grabbed by scruff of his neck either as he was gently put in the water.Cats, big or small hate the wet stuff, but...

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I'm over here... Polar bear says hello to Arctic cruise ship with a friendly wave

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Hans missed the amazing moment the first two times and had to wait for the bear to take part in a third and final performanceLiving in the limelight can be difficult but as these fantastic pictures show for one bear the tourist train never stops.This arctic animal loves nothing more than an audience and will even climb out of his snowy bed to give the crowd a wave.The antics of the friendly polar bear were caught on camera by Swedish photographer, Hans Strand. During a cruise through Svalbard in the Arctic, the 54-year-old snapped the fame-hungry bear as he came out to pose for the excited crowd. But it was third time lucky for Hans who missed the amazing moment the first two times and had to wait for the bear to take part in a third and final performance.Hans, from...

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Paul the psychic 'World Cup octopus' is found dead

By DAVID DERBYSHIREPaul correctly predicted the results of six World Cup games involving Germany, including the final when he went for SpainHe probably saw it coming. But for fans of Paul the psychic octopus, the news of his sudden death yesterday was a shock.The British-born oracle, who dazzled the world with his accurate World Cup predictions over the summer, passed away peacefully in his tank in Germany.His owners – who turned down lucrative offers for the octopus from zoos and restaurants around the world – say he died of natural causes, and that there was nothing fishy about his end. Paul passed away in the night aged two and a half years, when all three of his hearts ceased to beat at once.He was unmarried and leaves no larvae.‘Management and staff of the Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium...

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Bees' tiny brains able to beat computers at complex mathematical problems

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Bees are able to calculate the shortest distance to a number of different flowersBees can solve complex mathematical problems which keep computers busy for days, research has shown.The tiny insects learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers discovered in random order.Effectively, they are capable of solving the 'travelling salesman problem' - unlike any other animal known besides humans, say scientists. The classic conundrum involves finding the shortest route that allows a travelling salesman to call at all the locations he has to visit.Computers solve the problem by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the one that is shortest.Bees manage to reach the same solution using a brain the size of a grass seed.Dr Nigel Raine, from the School...

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Discovered, the unfortunate monkey with a misshapen nose which makes it sneeze when it rains

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Oddity: The snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus strykeri, has upturned nostrils which collect rain and is pictured in this computer-generated imageA new species of monkey with an unfortunate infliction caused by the shape of its face has been discovered in the forests of northern Burma.The snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus strykeri, has upturned nostrils that fill with water when it rains, making the creature sneeze.Although new to science, local people living near its habitat say the monkeys are easy to spot in rainy weather. To avoid sneezing, the animals spend days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees.R. strykeri is known as 'mey nwoah' - 'monkey with an upturned face' - in the local language.The black-furred monkey is believed to live in a confined area...

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A fifth of the world's animals face oblivion: Scientists fear 'sixth mass extinction' has begun

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE The panda is one of those species most at risk according to the listOne in five of the world's mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians are under threat of extinction, according to a major new stock take of life on Earth.The shocking study found that the number of endangered vertebrates, or animals with backbones, is still rising and that humans are largely to blame.Many scientists believe the world is going through a 'sixth mass extinction' and that more wildlife is going extinct now than at any time since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago. The report comes as governments are taking part in UN talks in Nagoya, Japan to tackle the global threat to wildlife.It looked at the status of more than 25,000 species on the Red List - a database of threatened animals...

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