Back on show: Tilikum the killer whale performs for SeaWorld crowds for first time since death of his trainer

Flawless performance: There was no special reference made in yesterday's show to Tilikum's return The killer whale that drowned a female trainer at Orlando's SeaWorld performed flawlessly yesterday, for the first time since last year's tragedy.Tilikum took part in the Florida marine park's signature Believe show, wowing thousands amid heightened safety that included a steel bar protecting the orca's trainers. It was his first performance since dragging 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau from poolside by her pony tail and drowning her during a performance on February 24 last year. Back in action: Tilikum and his fellow orcas jumped in unison and splashed those in the front rows, delighting a crowd that filled the 5,000-seat Shamu Stadium to capacity Trainers on the platform stood behind the stout...

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Heil Kitler! First it was the house that looks like Adolf, now we bring you the cats of the furred Reich

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER More furballs than Goebbels: This moggie has a striking resemblance to Hitler, including a little black moustacheThis week Mail Online introduced you to the house in Swansea that looks like Hitler, and now we give you the cats that look like the Nazi dictator. These hilarious photographs show moggies with striking resemblances to Adolf Hitler.Their white faces have black markings just below their noses just like Hitler's and even the fur on the top of their heads mimics the slanted side parting sported by the WWII German leader. Puss in Jackboots: This kitten even perfects Hitler's comb over This Kitler has a perfect Hitleresque square moustache Eyes of evil: This lookalike looks like he is thinking up an evil plan as he sits under a kitchen table The house in Swansea...

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Buzz off, this is OUR dinner: Angry wasps airlift ants away from their food

By MATT BLAKE Angry wasp: Instead of finding his own food, the barb-tailed bully swoops in, sweeps them up and airdrops the ants elsewhere before guzzling their tasty haul himself He should really mind his own buzz-ness, but this angry wasp's not going to listen to a tiny ant's terrified pleas.Instead of finding his own food, the barb-tailed bully swoops in, sweeps them up and airdrops the ants elsewhere before guzzling their tasty haul himself. Sometimes they return in greater numbers to reclaim the lost meal, biting and spitting acid at their resilient mugger. But the determined wasp just picks them up again and dumps them further away - and from a greater height. And he's not the only one of his kind to use his superior size to muscle smaller competitors away from a feast.Scientists at...

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Hold tight mum, I'm just drifting off: The otterly adorable dozing otters!

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Fast asleep: In this tender picture the pup looks utterly content as he floats along on his mother's belly There's nothing like a little snooze after you've had your lunchtime feed, but maybe this wasn't the perfect moment for junior to drop off. His mother - a rare white otter - ended up having to balance her four-month-old babe on her belly after he nodded off during suckling in the water.In the end, she carefully rolled the sleepy boy into the river where he continued to doze afloat on his back. Clinging on: Just like a human baby, the whelp enjoyed suckling his mother's milk before eventually dropping offRetired marine biology teacher Brian Maxwell, 69, captured the Intimate moments in and estuary in Moss Landing, California.He said: 'It was just amazing that the...

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That's one way to pluck a pheasant: Incredible pictures show a bald eagle swooping to grab its next meal

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Lunch on the go: Chris Bailey captured this amazing photograph of a Bald Eagle making a meal of a pheasantThis pheasant turned out to be not so plucky when a hungry bald eagle swooped down and took it away for its lunch.British-born photographer Chris Bailey had been taking some snaps of a brace of pheasants in the snow when the large bird of prey ominously loomed into view.In one swift movement it picked one of the bewildered birds up by the scruff of its neck with its lethal talons and flew off with it. Stunned Mr Bailey, 54, tracked the eagle which carried the game bird to a quieter spot where it promptly made a meal out of it.Mr Bailey captured the dramatic moment on camera on the snow-covered fields of South Dakota, US, where he lives and works as a service director...

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Critically endangered Bali starlings

Critically endangered Bali starlings (Leucopsar rothschildi), also known as Bali mynah, perch inside a cage at a zoo in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. There are estimated only around 100 of one of the world's rarest birds are left in the wild. A zoo official holds a critically endangered Bali starlings (Leucopsar rothschildi), also known as Bali mynah, at a zoo in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. There are estimated only around 100 of one of the world's rarest birds are left in the wild. A zoo official implants a microchip under the skin of a critically endangered Bali starlings (Leucopsar rothschildi), also known as Bali mynah, at a zoo in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. There are estimated only around 100...

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Gertie becomes Bertie after sudden sex change turns hen into a cockerel

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Confused: Jeanette Howard with Gertie - or should that be Bertie? An egg-laying hen has stunned its owner by changing sex and turning into a crowing cockerel.Jeanette Howard, 79, was amazed after one-year-old Gertie grew a distinctive comb and red flaps under its chin.He - or she - has even started crowing at dawn, so Jeanette now plans to re-name him Bertie. Characteristic: Gertie has grown a distinctive comb and red flaps under the chin She said confused Gertie began to walk differently from her two other hens, Daisy and Gracie, a while ago.But the pensioner was reassured by her vets that the hen was fine and there was nothing wrong.Mrs Howard said: 'I bought three chickens a year ago and they were all laying eggs for me until the end of the year. 'They began to...

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Water way to go: The unlucky ant trapped in a raindrop grave

Doomed: The unlucky insect is unable to escape from his tiny water prison after being caught in a sudden downpour, in Queensland, AustraliaThis extraordinary image shows an ant trapped in a tiny perfect sphere of water, totally unable to escape, after being caught in a sudden heavy downpour.The unlucky insect found itself literally caught in the rain after it decided to take a stroll outside in Noosaville, Queensland, Australia.Photographer Adam Gormley, 34, was there at exactly the right moment to to snap the incredible image. He said: 'I had been using specialist close-up camera gear to snap spiders in his neighbour's garden.'I wasn't having much luck because of a short but heavy shower of rain. So I decided to photograph the little water drops sitting on the leaves of the plants.' Adam...

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He's so dangerous trainers can't work with him directly... but SeaWorld puts Tilikum the whale who killed his trainer back on show

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER He's back: Kelly Flaherty-Clark, left, and trainer Joe Sanchez, work with killer whales Tilikum, left and Trua, right, during a training session at SeaWorld in OrlandoHe has been involved in the deaths of three people, but today Tilikum the killer whale will resume public performances at SeaWorld. The six-tonne whale has not appeared in a show at the Orlando marine park since he killed his trainer more than a year ago. Tilikum is due to appear in an 11.30am performance of 'Believe,' the company's main killer-whale show, according to the Orlando Sentinel.SeaWorld said that including the whale in shows is important for the animal's health and husbandry. Killer: The six-tonne whale has not appeared in a show at the Orlando marine park since he killed his trainer more...

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Lion regrets making this zebra cross... after he lashes out with a kick to his face

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Take that! The hind legs of the zebra slam into the lion's face and jaw, leaving him dazed but he is soon after the animal again It was like the scene from the hit film Madagascar when hungry Alex the lion sees his friend Marty the zebra as his next meal.But as in the film this lion was left hungry after he chose to make this particularly zebra cross - and was rewarded with an almighty kick to the face.These amazing images were captured from the safety of a truck in Ngorongoro Conservation area, Tanzania, by wildlife fanatic Thomas Whetten. The end? The lion easily catches the spooked zebra and grabs onto the back of the desperate animal before sinking his teeth into its flesh In them, the zebra, who was blissfully unaware that a pack of lions were on the prowl for...

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Spanish Queen Sofia poses with twin six-months-old pandas Po and De De at the Madrid Zoo

Spanish Queen Sofia poses with twin six-months-old pandas Po and De De at the Madrid Zoo & Aquarium March 29, 2011. Twin pandas were born on September 7, 2010 conceived through artificial insemination in a joint effort by Spain's National Research council and scientists from China. The cubs are the first of their species to be born in Spain since 1982 and only the third litter to be born in Europe, according to Chinese veterinarian Yuan Bo, who travelled from Beijing to assist the birth and the first months of the newborns. Spain's Queen Sofia (L) hugs a seven-months-old panda cub during her visit to Madrid's Zoo on March 29, 2011 in Madrid. The two panda cubs, Po and De De, born on September 7, 2010 in Madrid, are the first giant panda twins to be born by artificial insemination outside...

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Yap happy! The rescued puppy who was battered so badly he couldn't even open his mouth

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Ten-month-old Zippy is now on the road to recovery after undergoing an operation to correct his fused jawAn abandoned puppy whose jaw fused shut as a result of abuse has barked for the first time after undergoing life-changing surgery.Golden terrier Zippy almost starved to death after he was abandoned by an abusive owner with a broken jaw aged just a couple of weeks old.The puppy was so badly injured that bones in his mouth fused together meaning he could only open his mouth 4mm and was unable to feed. However, ten-month-old Zippy is now on the road to recovery after undergoing an operation to correct the problem, which means he can bark properly for the first time.Diane McLelland, rehoming centre manager for the Dogs Trust, which is the UK's largest canine welfare charity,...

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The lamb with an extra spring in his step: Five-legged 'Jake the peg' doesn't let his extra limb get in the way

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER More than he baa-gained for: Five-legged lamb Jake the Peg doesn't let his extra limb slow him down as he leaps around his field in Newnham, NorthamptonshireEwe won't believe your eyes... this plucky spring lamb is frolicking about just fine despite being born with five legs.The unusual creature, who has been aptly named Jake the Peg, was born last week with two normal hind legs and three front legs.But the bizarre deformity hasn't stopped Jake leaping around his field in Newnham, Northamptonshire, with hundreds of other newly born lambs. And he continues to baffle his owners by beating the odds - as most lambs born with deformities tend not to last long.Owner Pip Hopcraft said: 'He's a tough one all right - we've had more than 600 lambs born over the past few weeks...

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Mechanical wonder: Robot bird mimics flight so accurately it could be mistaken for the real thing

By GRAHAM SMITH Is it a bird? Scientists have invented a robot that perfectly mimics a bird's flight and could be mistaken for the real thingOne of mankind's oldest and most elusive dreams has been to recreate the effortless, swooping flight of a large bird.Now scientists have invented a robot that not only perfectly mimics that flight, but could be mistaken for the real thing. The SmartBird's revolutionary design allows it to start, fly and land autonomously. Its wings not only beat up and down, they also twist at specific angles, providing the ultra-light model with 'excellent aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility'. Radio-controlled: Steering is achieved when the SmartBird, which weighs just 450grams, moves its tail and turns its head from side-to-side Controlled by a radio handset,...

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