Napcatcher rather than ratcatcher: Larry the Downing Street cat shows 'no interest' in going after the rodents

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Napcatcher: Photographers had to wait 45 minutes to meet the new recruit when he arrived - because he was asleepLarry the Downing Street cat may have been brought in to catch the rats but he has spent his days curled up asleep, it has been claimed.The tabby was expected to go chasing after the rodents who have been seen scuttling down the street during television reports - but he's shown no interest in going after them.Within hours of arriving at No 10 he had courted controversy by taking a swipe at ITV News reporter Lucy Manning when they tried to get him to pose for an item. And he kept waiting reporters and photographers waiting for 45 when he was unveiled as the new pet because he was asleep.The cat has also apparently...

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Foster mutt: Rottweiler plays mother to orphaned bunnies, birds... and even kittens

By JAMES TOZER Dave the rottweiler has helped bring up four ducks, three geese, five rabbits, 13 kittens and five puppies - plus countless new-born chicksYou probably wouldn’t pick a ten-stone rottweiler to nursemaid orphaned bunnies and birds. But even kittens are in no danger from Dave the Dog. All he wants to do is look after them.Owner Amanda Collins discovered her six-year-old pet’s maternal nature when she brought home an unwanted French giant rabbit.‘Dave just walked over to him and started licking him to clean him,’ said the 25-year-old, who runs a pet shop in Blackpool. ‘They bonded straight away. Now they sleep together, and I’ve even seen them sharing each other’s food.’Miss Collins, who has looked after a menagerie of abandoned...

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Out of my way, don't you know this is a trunk road? Angry elephant rams car into ditch

By JOHN MCDONNELL Road hog: Five-tonne elephant tries to barge car off road in South African safari parkWhen an elderly man booked a safari adventure of a lifetime to South Africa he knew he'd been in for a trip he'd never forget.But little did he know that he'd end up getting involved in a physical encounter with an aggressive elephant.Irishman John Somers took a friend for a relaxing holiday to the Pilansberg Game Reserve in Johannesburg to celebrate his 66th birthday. But as the wildlife enthusiasts drove along a dusty road they found themselves in the path of a five-tonne bull elephant, who charged towards them.At first the massive mammal, named Amarula, went trunk-to-trunk with the grey car, before resting his weight right down on top...

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A little fishy: World's smallest aquarium creates a (tiny) splash

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Small fry: The tiny fish tank was made by a Russian artist who specialises in miniaturesHere is the perfect home for small fry: the world's smallest aquarium.Created by Russian artist Anatoly Konenko, who specialises in miniatures, the tiny tank is made of glass, contains tiny stones and plants and is home to a group of tiny fish.It is just 30mm wide, 24mm high and 14 mm deep - enough to hold just 10ml of water, or about two tablespoons' worth. The water has to be applied using a syringe so as not to disturb the landscape the Siberia-artist lovingly created.Konenko, who calls his art 'micro-miniatures', even made a minuscule fishing net which he used to place the fish, baby Danios.The adults are usually a favourite with...

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I've lost my psychic, life-saving dog: Pregnant mother-to-be distraught at losing pet who senses when she will have a fit

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Remarkable: Max has not had any formal training but can predict when Andree Trotter is going to have a fit A pregnant mother-to-be has lost her 'superdog' which can predict when she is about to have an epileptic fit.Andree Trotter's missing greyhound-Weimaraner cross Max rushes to her side when she is about to have a seizure and she gets into a safe position.The remarkable animal has not been specially trained to help her - although he was a rescue dog. The 31-year-old is due to give birth to her first child in two months time and is scared of hurting herself and her unborn baby without the dog at her side. Miss Trotter, from Oxted, Surrey, has up to five seizures a week when her condition is at its worst - and does...

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If you need to come to Britain, you might as well do it in style: Illegal immigrants caught hiding in Rolls Royce body shells

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Sniffer dog Jake, a four year old labrador helped make the discovery at the Calais port Illegal immigrants tried to smuggle themselves into the country by hiding in the body shells of £275,000 Rolls Royces, it was revealed today.The nine men were discovered by a sniffer dog at Calais Port, France, in a German lorry heading for the luxury car maker in Goodwood, West Sussex.The stowaways, from the African country of Eritrea, were handed to the French border police and the lorry was allowed to continue on its way. Rolls Royce Motor Cars today confirmed the lorries usually carry four car body shells and they would have been for either their Rolls Royce Ghost or Phantom.The Ghost costs around £200,000 and the Phantom £275,000....

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On reflection, I think I do look rather human...

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Mmm... maybe: Orangutan Suman, pictured at Melbourne Zoo, looks contemplative in the 97% Human exhibitAmazing facial expressions in portraits for 97% Human, project that proves how closely we're relatedAn orang-utan appears trapped in thought by his own reflection in this amazing portrait captured at Melbourne Zoo.Using techniques normally employed by baby photographers to produce emotional pictures, talented Arthur Xanthopoulos, 38, has forged an incredible relationship with our primate brothers. And his striking shots of facial expressions not so dissimilar from theose of humans add tangible evidence to the fact that monkeys share so many of our genes.The pictures were taken as part of a project called 97% Human, and...

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I didn't think you'd miss a hair or three! Cheeky crow feathers his nest at horse's expense

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Mind the crow's feet: Retired police photographer David Offord captured this jackdaw pinching hair from a horse's back while on holiday in Buston, near Norwich, NorfolkWhen you’ve got a young brood to look after, home improvements have to be done on the hop.So this determined jackdaw took a plucky approach to feathering its family nest.The cheeky crow was caught pinching hair from the backs of unsuspecting horses to make a comfortable home for its chicks. Retired police photographer David Offord captured the bird on camera while on holiday in Buston, near Norwich, Norfolk – then searched for three days until he found its cosy hair-lined nest on top of a chimney on a nearby home.The 66-year-old, from Stowmarket, Suffolk,...

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Rescued from floods: The lucky to be alive badgers weighing less than four spoons of sugar each

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Week old: Tiny badgers in the hands of Pauline Kidner. They weigh less than four spoons of sugar each - and will grow to an average of seven kilosThese super sweet baby badgers weigh less than four spoons of sugar each - and are lucky to be alive after being saved from British floods last week by their quick-thinking mother.The 2oz cubs are just over a week old and are the smallest ever seen by Secret World Widlife Rescue in Highbridge, Somerset, and signal the approaching Spring. And because the animals aren't normally seen until they first venture out of their sett at three months, they give a rare glimpse of what early life is like for the animals. They were found abandoned in a barrel when floods battered Wales a...

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New Home for Giant Pandas, Xiannu and Bili

A female giant panda named Xiannu is carried inside a cage in Sichuan province February 20, 2011. Xiannu and Bili, a male giant panda, will be flown from Shanghai to Narita International Airport and be delivered to Ueno zoo in Tokyo on February 21, 2011. In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the female giant panda "Xiannu" strolls in the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Chengdu, southwest of Beijing, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Two 5-year-old pandas are due to arrive at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Monday. They'll be the zoo's first since the 2008 death of its beloved giant panda Ling Ling.A male giant panda named Bili is carried inside a cage in Sichuan province February 20, 2011. Bili and Xiannu, a female giant...

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Doggone it: Eddie the Jack Russell is saved by truck driver owner after 19 HOURS trapped underground

By OLIVER PICKUP Happy ending: Eddie the Jack Russell sticks his nose out of the steel pipe, where he was stuck for hours This is the heart-warming moment when Eddie the Jack Russell was saved, after 19 hours of being trapped underground.The one-and-a-half year-old had come loose from his lead, scurried underneath a fence and accidentally fell into a nearby irrigation distribution box, before squeezing into a narrow steel pipe under the asphalt. Owner Glen Farrell, a truck driver, thought that he had lost his best friend when he returned to the yard in Boise, Idaho, but when he heard backing underneath where he was standing, he and his colleagues quickly set about saving the dog. Dig for victory: Eddie's owner and his friends dig into the...

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Giant pandas named Bili and Xiannu

A male giant panda named Bili eats inside its enclosure in Sichuan province February 19, 2011. Bili and Xiannu, a female giant panda, will be flown from Shanghai to Narita International Airport and be delivered to Ueno zoo in Tokyo on February 21, 2011. A female giant panda named Xiannu is pictured inside its enclosure in Sichuan province February 19, 2011. Xiannu and Bili, a male giant panda, will be flown from Shanghai to Narita International Airport and be delivered to Ueno zoo in Tokyo on February 21, 2011.source: daylife photo: Reuters...

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Vermin...or awesome bird of prey? The red kite is back in British towns

By JONATHAN PETRE AND VALERIE ELLIOTT Flying high: Back from the brink of extinction, the red kites are flourishing across Britain In Victorian times they were treated like vermin and hunted to the brink of extinction.But red kites are once again flourishing across Britain, thanks to the efforts of conservationists...and local councils who leave household rubbish to pile up.The birds of prey are natural scavengers, and experts believe the growing amount of food thrown away, combined with less frequent bin collections, is helping the species thrive. In Reading up to 60 red kites have been spotted from the roof of a multi-storey car park, apparently watching for the roadkill on which they like to feed.Earlier this month, BBC1’s The One Show featured...

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Monster meets its match: Record-breaking alligator gar fish caught in Mississippi lake

By Daily Mail ReporterBiologists with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks measure the record-breaking alligator garIt may not have been love at first sight but it was certainly a Valentine's Day to remember for angler Kenny Williams when he landed an alligator gar that tipped the scales at a world record 327lbs.Williams, from Vicksburg, Mississippi, bagged the fish in Chotard Lake, Issaquena County, using nets to catch it and then grabbing it by the gills to heave it into the boat.Biologists with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks measured the beast at 8ft 51/4ins long, with a girth of 47.95ins, and estimated it to be between 50 and 70 years oldThe current International Game Fish Association...

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Better luck next time bird lovers! Mission Impossible rodent make short work of breaking into 'squirrel proof' feeder

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Treasure: The cheeky squirrel has a look round the cage to get to its prizeThis is supposed to be a 'squirrel proof' bird feeder, but it didn't out-smart one particularly crafty critter when he turned up in a British garden.The feeder had flummoxed his friends but this clever creature was determined not to be beaten.After some careful negotiation of the extraordinary-looking feeder in front of him, the squirrel cracked it by squeezing his fat body through the protective wiring. His incredible feat was captured on camera by Sandra Carter in her garden in Gosport, Hampshire, who snapped away as he rewarded himself with the bird nuts inside.The 57-year-old support worker said the grey squirrel had become a regular visitor...

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