Swarms of jellyfish invading the Med, warns top scientist - and some of them could really give you the wobbles

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Nothing to trifle with: Swarms of jellyfish like these pelagias are taking over the Mediterranean and could be a danger to tourists, warn experts Enormous swarms of jellyfish - some of them deadly - are taking over the Mediterranean, a top scientist has warned.The holiday hotspot, a favourite with Brits, has seen a sharp increase in numbers and could turn into an 'ocean of jellyfish'. Now researchers have set up a 'Jellywatch' so the public can report sightings via a website or by using a phone app. Invasion: Blooms of Aurelia jellyfish like this one await sun-seekers heading for a winter break in the Mediterranean.. and it's getting worse The scheme started in Italy and Israel three years ago after growing public fears over jellyfish 'blooms'. Monitoring has since...

Read more »

Rare pure white humpback whale calf spotted off Great Barrier Reef

By WIL LONGBOTTOM A white spectacle: A rare pure white humpback whale has been spotted off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There are only 10 to 15 in the 15,000-strong humpback population along the east coast of Australia A rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia's Great Barrier Reef.Believed to be just a few weeks old, the 12ft calf was seen at Cid Harbour in the famous reef's Whitsunday Islands area by a family out in the bay in their boat.White whales are highly unusual, with only 10 to 15 believed to exist among up to 15,000 living along Australia's east coast. Has he got a famous dad? This picture shows Migaloo - Aboriginal for 'whitefella' - another pure white whale that been spotted off Australia since 1991. The calf may be related Wayne Fewings was diving...

Read more »

Am I adopted, Mum? Rare monkey gives birth to ginger baby at London Zoo

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Like mother, like son: First time mum Lu Lu, a rare Francois langur monkey, snuggles up with baby Tango, who was born with ginger fur at London Zoo It's tricky to see a family resemblance between these two but this tiny flame-haired primate, nicknamed Tango, is actually snuggling up to its mother Lu Lu at ZSL London Zoo.And far from going ape when he saw his offspring, Tango's father Neo was gingerly helping the little monkey settle in. Both parents have black fur but as little Tango's mother is a rare Francois' langurs monkey, a flame coloured coat is typical in offspring. Go ape: Baby Tango's fur will gradually turn black and by the time he is six months old, he can be expected to look more like his Mum Experts say the ginger fur evolved so it is easy for parents...

Read more »

I'm big enough to clean my own face, mum! Rare baby Amur tiger looks less than impressed by his mother's attentions

By SARA NELSON Oh mum! Iris gives one of her triplets a loving lick - but he looks less than impressed This seven-week-old tiger cub looks less than impressed as his mother gives him a hearty lick during his first foray into the open air at a Russian zoo. The cub is one of three born to female Amur tiger Iris and her mate Kedr, who have already have seven babies. The latest litter was born at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on August 5 and the trio have been named Kaktus, Jasmin and Narciss. I'll get you back! The tiny cub play fights with his mother as the family makes it's first public appearance at Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk Siberian tigers are one of the world's rarest species with only 300 thought to be left in the wild,...

Read more »

Is it a bird? Is it a hamster? Meet the sugar gliders flying around a suburban living room

By LUCY BUCKLAND Flying high: Kayleigh Price playing with her pet sugar glider Gizmo, Ms Price said the creatures don't so much fly as 'fall with grace' Soaring through the air these creatures are often mistaken for flying hamsters or bats with tails.But far from being an oddity, these friendly furry marsupials are in fact a type of possum known as a sugar glider. In the wild these tiny creatures fling themselves from tree to tree but at the Animal Experience in Cambridge the sugar gliders are usually seen flying around the living room.Owner Kayleigh Price, who cares for five of the furry marsupials with her parents Mitch and Hazel, said the adorable creatures are popular with visitors to the animal centre. Gliding: Gizmo can fly up to 200m, in the wild he would go from tree to tree but...

Read more »

How did a 33ft whale end up in the middle of a field in East Yorkshire?

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Stranded: The 33ft whale was found beached 800 yards from the shoreline of the Humber Estuary A young whale died after an exceptionally high equinox tide carried it 800 yards from the shoreline to a salt marsh where it then became stranded.The 33ft mammal, thought to be a Sei whale, was discovered in marshes on the north bank of the River Humber near the village of Skeffling. As the tide retreated the whale became stranded before rolling over onto its blowhole, causing it to suffocate. The highest tides of the year occur after the spring and autumn equinox. Mysterious: Experts are baffled by the beached whales, as this one, like others, are from species not normally stranded on the British coast The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has since carried out a post-mortem examination...

Read more »

If you wake up my baby I’ll go ape! The moment a 200lb gorilla cradles her newborn baby seconds after giving birth

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER I'll never let you go: Salome cradles her sleeping newborn at Bristol Zoo. The gorilla house has been temporarily closed to allow the apes to bond with the new arrival Five years ago she became the first gorilla in the world to have fertility treatment.So it’s little wonder Salome looks utterly content as she cradles her newborn – who arrived following nothing more complicated than a bit of monkeying around. The western lowland gorilla gave birth on Tuesday, but the baby has not yet been named because Salome, 35, is so protective of her third child that she won’t loosen her grip for keepers to determine its sex. Furry much in love: Salome cradling her newborn gorilla baby, still wet seconds after being born at Bristol Zoo Gardens yesterday. The baby's father Jock, is...

Read more »

Let the dog see the rabbit... sorry, he can't! Greyhound who lost every race turns out to be BLIND

By JESSICA SATHERLEY Plucky Jack: The greyhound was diagnosed with a rare type of blindness after being retired because his owner thought he was a dud. In fact his condition meant he would have been terrified while on the race track When Jack Sprat the greyhound came last in every race in which he competed, his owners thought they had a dud.But in fact, he did well to keep up with the pack at all because it turns out Jack is almost completely blind and couldn’t see the rabbit. The hound, who was born in Ireland, was entered into dog races in Wimbledon, London, last year after he hit speeds of 40mph in training. Lagging behind: Jack, circled, struggling to keep up with the pack on the track at Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. He came last in both his races Despite his disability, Jack can still...

Read more »

Caught on CCTV: Culprit who stole 39 goldfish from garden pond is unmasked as an OTTER

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER The otter runs around the pond, which is firmly covered with the plastic net, looking for a way in A retired couple who set up CCTV cameras in their garden to catch the mystery predator which was eating their goldfish finally discovered it was a hungry otter.Pensioners Elizabeth and Harry McDougall were devestated to find their collection of 27 goldfish, in two ponds in their garden in Carlisle, had been wiped out. All that remained after the night-time attack were fins and scraps of skin. Sneak thief: The hungry otter, below right, appears by the side of the pond and first sees the plastic meshThe couple restocked the ponds and fitted a strong plastic mesh, installing CCTV to try to find the culprit. Three weeks later, the predator struck again, killing all 12 of...

Read more »

Two women Cotswolds villagers 'organised illegal dogfights and starved their bull terriers to make them bloodthirsty'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Caged: The dogs were kept in squalid conditions in between fights Members of a dog-fighting ring today admitted starving bull terriers to make them more bloodthirsty.Two women and two men are accused of chaining dogs to treadmills - often in complete darkness - and forcing them to run for hours to lose weight. The dogs were kept in squalid conditions and were so starved of food that one ate its collar to satisfy the hunger pangs, while another ate its own faeces. Defendants: Both Danny Draper, left, and his father Ian have pleaded guilty to multiple charges of animal cruelty Once fighting fit, the dogs were forced into brutal bouts watched by baying punters which could last for up to 40 minutes and often resulted in permanent deformities or death.Today the four defendants...

Read more »

Auf wiedersehen, pet: Heidi the cross-eyed opossum closes her eyes for good

By ALLAN HALL Heidi the opossum has died, Leipzig Zoo have confirmed Heidi the cross-eyed opossum has been put down in Germany to ease her suffering.The visually challenged critter who became an Internet sensation - she had three times as many Facebook fans as Chancellor Angela Merkel - passed away today.'The cross-eyed opossum Heidi has closed her eyes for ever,' said the zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany. The animal, aged three-and-a-half, had been treated for health problems for weeks and zoo officials decided to put her down 'to spare her further pain and suffering'. The cross-eyed opossum is shown sitting in her enclosure in December (left) and a picture in June shows that Heidi has not been well (right) Heidi’s distinctive eye problem was thought to be due to a poor diet before she was...

Read more »

In the heart of a stampede: Amazing images capture herds of animals as they rampage OVER photographer

By WIL LONGBOTTOM Worms' eye view: These images were captured by Chris Weston who dug a 4ft deep trench in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, to capture wildebeest as they stampeded This is the moment a wildlife photographer comes face to face with a stampeding herd of wildebeest as they trample OVER him.This amazing series of images was captured by Chris Weston, who dug a 4ft ditch in the rampaging animals' path in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Covering the trench with railway sleepers, he lay underneath for seven hours awaiting the stampede. On the hoof: A marauding zebra hurtles past inches from Mr Weston's camera lens as he snaps awayAnd when it finally came he had just seconds to get his shots before the stampede passed over him and off into the distance.Mr Weston, who quit his job as...

Read more »

Whoops! Kingfisher diving for her lunch misses her minnow and ends up with a pebble

By SARA NELSON Splash! The kingfisher plunges into the stream but just misses her minnow, biting down on a pebble instead Plunging into a stream, this hungry kingfisher had her lunch firmly in her sights - but veered off course at the last moment, missing her minnow by a whisker and grabbing a pebble instead. The orange and turquoise bird was left empty-handed after the speedy fish darted off and evaded capture. But the common kingfisher - thought to be a female less than one-year-old - returned immediately and did get a meal. Still hungry: Unthwarted the bird plunged back into the water and snatched up her dinner Photographer Tony Flashman has spent ten hours a week at the stream, near his home in Deal, Kent, for the past 18 months.The 54-year-old sits in his hide watching the kingfishers...

Read more »

The man packing a dozen peckers in his pants: Traveller arrested smuggling live hummingbirds in his trousers

By WIL LONGBOTTOM Keep your pecker up: More than a dozen hummingbirds were found wrapped up in pouches sewn into the front of a Dutch traveller's pants in French Guiana If you were sat next to this airline passenger, you might understand why he was fidgeting around so much.This Dutch traveller was caught trying to smuggle more than a dozen live hummingbirds in special pouches sewn into the inside of his underwear at Rochambeau airport in Cayenne, French Guiana. The birds were individually wrapped in cloth and taped up to prevent them from 'escaping' from their sweaty travel container. Lucrative? The live birds, which are not thought to have been sedated, were rapped in cloth and taped into the pouchesBut fortunately for the unfortunate birds authorities noticed the passenger acting suspiciously...

Read more »