Buckalike: A proud stag meets an artificial rival and won't give up until it's crushed

Convinced: The buck stands up to the plastic model, fooled into thinking is a genuine rival for its territory This deer looked a bit of a fool when he picked a fight with a plastic model he thought was a real-life rival. The animal attacked after spotting the fake deer apparently trespassing on its territory. I'll show you! The buck goes on to the attack as its rival stands its groundThis extraordinary set of pictures, taken by photographer Don Jones, show how the buck fronts up the plastic model.When the model shows no sign of stepping down, the deer launches at it with his impressive antlers.He doesn't back down until his rival has been floored - but appears quite bemused when its head pops off. One last push: The fake deer apparently trespassing on its territory, is overturned The bizarre...

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What a whopper! Angler enters record books after catching EIGHT FOOT albino catfish

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Monster catch: Chris Grimmer, left, caught the biggest albino catfish ever landed by an angler on the the River Ebro, near Barcelona, Spain This monster from the deep has netted a British angler a place in the record books.The whopper, caught by plucky Chris Grimmer, is the biggest albino catfish ever caught by an angler.The 8ft beast tipped the scales at 194lbs - 2lbs heavier than the previous best by blind woman angler Shelia Penfold last year. Say cheese: Chris Grimmer shows off his 194lb catch before releasing it back into the River Ebro Chris, a 35-year-old ground worker, spent 30 minutes trying to reel in the white catfish after it took his bait.Chris, from Sheffield, toasted the record catch with a bottle of champagne which he and his friends drank on the river...

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Now THAT'S a fat cat! Otto on diet mission after weighing in at equivalent to 500lbs for a human

By Mark Duell Diet: The New Jersey cat is six months into a fat-fighting mission and has already shed more than five pounds - dropping from 35.8lbs to 29.5lbsWhen he entered hospital, Otto was the biggest cat some doctors had ever seen, weighing the equivalent in human weight of a 500lbs man. But the New Jersey feline is six months into a fat-fighting mission and has already shed more than five pounds - dropping from 35.8lbs to 29.5lbs.Otto, who suffers from arthritis because of his weight, has been put on a diet by vets at Clementon Animal Hospital as they try to help him. Getting better: The cat, who has been billed 'the Round Mound of Purring Sound', was taken to an animal hospital by his owners in JanuaryOtto arrived at more than twice the average weight of a wild bobcat - and triple his...

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Your goose is cooked: Canada variety to be placed on the menu and it's perfect with teriyaki sauce

By Valerie Elliott Dinner: The goose could soon be sold in restaurants and served as an alternative to turkey for traditional Christmas dinnerThe Canada goose, one of Britain’s most hated birds, could soon be served as an alternative to turkey for the traditional Christmas dinner. Natural England – the Government’s advisers on wildlife – want the law changed to allow meat from the bird to be sold for the first time in Britain. The birds, with their distinctive black heads, are a common sight in parks and on lakes but are seen as pests. They can already be shot and eaten, or given as a gift to cook at home. However, it is illegal to sell them. Restaurateurs who serve them can be fined up to £5,000 and face six months jail. Natural England will make its recommendation to the Law Commission,...

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Downton's war of the labradors: Show's canine star is hounded out by castle's very unwelcoming rival

By CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS and PETER ROBERTSON War: Lady Carnavon with Percy and Bella at Highclere Castle - her dogs have not got on with Downton Abbey's RolyDownton Abbey – as its millions of fans know only too well – is a house seething with tension at the best of times. But now it seems there is another source of rivalry every bit as fierce as the class struggle between the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants.Lady Carnarvon, the owner of Highclere Castle, where the hit ITV drama is filmed, has revealed her pet labrador Percy was unwilling to tolerate the presence of Roly, the labrador that starred as the Crawleys’ pet, Pharaoh. Rivals: Roly, pictured here with Hugh Bonneville, has been hounded out by Highclere's resident labradors At one stage, producers considered dropping Pharaoh’s...

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Adorable odd couple: Chimp's maternal instincts awakened as she feeds milk to a baby tiger

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Maternal instinct: A two-year-old chimpanzee called Do Do feeds milk to Aorn, a two-month-old tiger cub They are humans' closest relative, sharing a similar genetic make-up and displaying behaviour not unlike our own. Now this little chimpanzee is showing off a motherly instinct to rival even the most maternal of mankind.These adorable images reveal the close bond that has formed between a two-year-old chimpanzee called Do Do and a two-month-old tiger cub called Aorn. Bonding: The animals both live at Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok Completely at ease in each other's company, the ape's motherly instincts take over as she attentively bottle feeds the baby tiger.Aorn gratefully laps up the milk as Do Do tenderly holds the tiger in her...

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Lucky cow! Barmy Brazilian bovine braves crocodile field in search of tasty treat

By LEE MORAN Silly moo: The barmy bovine was lucky to escape with his life after he wandered into a field full of crocodilesThis silly moo was lucky the only snap he suffered when wandering into a field full of carnivorous crocs was from a camera. Showing the confidence of a catwalk model, but with more than a hint of udder idiocy, the barmy Brazilian bovine avoided stepping on the crocodile moos in his search for tasty vegetation.Photographer Robert Mooney, of Arlington, Virginia, took the incredible photograph on the tropical Pantanal swamps in the western state of Mat Grosso. The 50-year-old said: 'I was amazed the cow dared to stroll among the crocs with such apparent ease.'The Pantanal is the world's largest wetland area - covering 88,803 square miles - an area larger than France.It stretches...

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Won't somebody love us? Britain's cats are being abandoned in record numbers and inspiring volunteers are struggling to find them homes

By LIZ JONES Two's company: These tabby kittens will be re homed in pairsStroking the motherless grey kitten on my lap, I look down and see a thin, rangy tom cat winding around my legs. For three years Major has survived on scraps from the local Chinese, and he is covered in wounds. Yet he is so friendly, someone must have loved him once.Sadly, those days are long gone. Like so many of the cats around me, Major was abandoned by his owner and left to the care of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust (CHAT) in East London. Take a chance on me: (Left) Jack's eye had to be removed when he was rescued and Majorie (right) was left with two broken legs and a broken jaw after being hit by a car This cat and dog rescue centre, opened by the former Vogue model in 1986, receives 30 or more calls a day reporting...

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It's a Monk-hee-hee-hee! The macaque who makes himself laugh by tickling his own feet

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Adorable: Biologist Natalia Paklina caught this long-tailed macaque on camera in the Sacred Monkey Forest on the Indonesian island of BaliThis cheeky monkey couldn't help bursting out into a beautiful grin after learning how to tickle his own feet. The long-tailed macaque was caught on camera in the Sacred Monkey Forest on the Indonesian island of Bali.At first the cute primate appeared to be itching his toes - but he soon started to laugh as he tickled his feet. The adorable pictures were captured by biologist Natalia Paklina, 51, who was visiting the site near Ubud while on holiday.Mrs Paklina, who has homes in Moscow, Russia and Enkhausen in the Netherlands, said: 'You are able to get quite close to the monkeys in the forest because they are used to humans. Monkey...

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Bandit bird: The shoplifting seagull that is so prolific one bakery has hired a BOUNCER

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Sneaking in: Grenville steals from the Upper Crust bakery up to three times a dayUsually only shops in the roughest areas have to hire bouncers to ward off thieves.But a bakery in the seaside resort of Newquay in Cornwall has had to take this drastic measure to tackle a shoplifter who visits three times a day. However, no security measures have yet been enough to stop this persistent thief - Grenville the seagull.The cheeky bird waits at the door of the Upper Crust bakery and hops behind the counter to grab pasties, sausage rolls and sweets which it drags outside.It has a particular taste for crisps and has been known to scoff entire chocolate bars in one sitting.Worker Martine Hawkes said: 'It's getting ridiculous. He paces up and down all morning until our backs are...

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New Zealand's castaway penguin has p-p-p-picked up: Happy Feet given health clearance to return to Antarctica

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Back on his Happy Feet: The emperor penguin prepares to return home after recuperating at Wellington Zoo New Zealand's favourite penguin visitor has been given the all-clear to return to the wild after he was found on a beach more than 2,000 miles from his Antarctic home. The emperor penguin, nicknamed Happy Feet, has been recuperating at Wellington Zoo since he was discovered on the North Island five weeks ago.He is the first emperor penguin to be found in the wild in New Zealand in 44 years.He became ill after eating sand, likely mistaking it for snow. Touch and go: Happy Feet undergoes an operation to have sand flushed from his throat and stomachBut he has made good progress after a lifesaving operation by a top New Zealand surgeon, who removed nearly 7lb of sand...

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It's Adolf Kit-ler! The kitten with a Hitler moustache that even gives the Nazi salute

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Kitler has a remarkable resemblance to HitlerAn abandoned kitten is struggling to find a loving home because her unusual markings bear an uncanny resemblance to Hitler. The six-week-old cat - abandoned at the roadside - earned her name 'Kitler' because the distinctive black patch on her top lip looks like the Nazi leader's moustache.Staff at the animal shelter where Kitler is being looked after say hundreds of people visiting the centre have ignored her and chosen more conventional looking kittens instead. The six-week-old moggie was found abandoned on her own by the side of a busy main road by a member of the publicSpokeswoman Tara Dundon from Wood Green animal shelter in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, said: 'Kitler is an adorable little girl who will make a wonderful...

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Revealed: Shocking cruelty at massive abattoir... but those responsible WON'T be prosecuted

By SEAN POULTER Beating: Abattoir staff are filmed striking pigs with sharp paddles - even when the animals were severely injuredAppalling cruelty, including cigarettes being stubbed out on the faces of pigs, has been revealed in secret filming inside a slaughterhouse. The footage of pigs being burned, punched and smacked across the head with sharp paddles was captured by animal welfare campaigners.They reveal the shocking truth of the casual brutality inside one of the country’s biggest abattoirs. Despite the clear evidence, the Government, through the Food Standards Agency, has refused to prosecute those involved.The decision has been condemned by Animal Aid, which carried out the secret filming. It says it is evidence that ministers are putting the commercial interests of the meat industry...

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Revealed: Shocking cruelty at massive abattoir... but those responsible WON'T be prosecuted

By SEAN POULTER Beating: Abattoir staff are filmed striking pigs with sharp paddles - even when the animals were severely injuredAppalling cruelty, including cigarettes being stubbed out on the faces of pigs, has been revealed in secret filming inside a slaughterhouse. The footage of pigs being burned, punched and smacked across the head with sharp paddles was captured by animal welfare campaigners.They reveal the shocking truth of the casual brutality inside one of the country’s biggest abattoirs. Despite the clear evidence, the Government, through the Food Standards Agency, has refused to prosecute those involved.The decision has been condemned by Animal Aid, which carried out the secret filming. It says it is evidence that ministers are putting the commercial interests of the meat industry...

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A little trooper: Beryl the hedgehog on the mend after being shot in the head and having two legs broken

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Getting better: Beryl puts a brave face on her shocking injuries after being shot in the head with an air rifle Sporting a bandage and still looking a little worse for wear, brave Beryl the hedgehog looks like she's finally on the road to recovery.The tiny female hedgehog has amazed vets by somehow overcoming the shocking injuries inflicted on her just weeks ago in Northwood, Middlesex.Beryl was cruelly shot in the head with an air rifle and kicked by heartless yobs.The adorable creature was left with an air rifle pellet embedded in her jaw and also suffered two broken legs. Horrific: An x-ray shows the air rifle pellet lodged in Beryl's jaw, as well as both of her broken back legs She was found stumbling around Northwood a few weeks ago and was immediately rushed...

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Wild horses get into the swim of things at the 'Saltwater Cowboys' annual fair

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Giddy up: Chincoteague Ponies make their way across Assateague Channel during the 86th annual Chincoteague Wild Pony Swim in Virginia More than a hundred wild ponies found their sea-legs yesterday as they swam across the Assateague Channel, while putting on a show for thousands of spectators.Horse lovers took photographs and recorded the Chincoteague Pony herd during its 86th annual swim in Chincoteague, Virginia. Keep going! A tired pony struggles through the water but luckily the low tide made it a bit easier Each year the wild ponies are auctioned to raise money for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which cares the Virginia herd. Ponies that are not sold and those that are donated back to the fire department will roam free for another year on the national...

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