A Chinese zoo has given up on its plans to help an overweight leopard lose weight after two months of efforts yielded virtually no results.

Back in March, a leopard at the Panzhihua Park Zoo in China’s Sichuan Province became an overnight internet sensation after photos and videos of him went viral online. The overweight feline quickly became known as ‘China’s Officer Clawhauser’, a reference to the overweight police officer from Disney’s hit animated movie, Zootopia. Many people joked that the fat leopard resembled a seal, while others took his deformed frame more seriously, expressing concerns about the animal’s health and general well-being. Due to mounting criticism, the zoo was eventually to put out a statement, promising to make a series of changes to make the leopard lose some of its extra weight. However, it recently announced that its initiative failed miserably, as the real-life Officer Clawhauser hasn’t lost any weight in two months.

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Photos and videos of unmanned vending machines selling live animals like cats, small dogs, and rodents installed in various Chinese cities have been going viral and sparking outrage among the general public.

The significant technological developments of the last decade have created a fast-growing “unmanned economy” that continues to spread into almost every sector of the global economy. However, there are still some industries that are incompatible with unmanned, self-service devices. The pet-selling sector has so far been considered incompatible, but things are apparently very different in China, as more and more unmanned vending machines selling live pets are being spotted all around the country. One such video showing a pet vending machine in a busy part of Beijing recently went viral on Chinese social media, sparking a heated debate around the ethics of this controversial business model.

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Researchers studying various species of animals on Australia’s Kangaroo Island stumbled upon a colony of Polyrhachis femorata ants that they believed was dead until one of its members moved slightly.

Feigning death, also known as thanatosis or tonic immobility is a well-documented defense mechanism observed in dozens of animal species, from insects and lizards to birds and mammals. Some of these natural actors are better than others at playing dead, but what they all have in common is implying this particular defense strategy on an individual basis. However, in what many consider a world-first, a team of researchers encountered an entire colony of dozens of ants that all played dead at the same time when threatened. And they all played their part so well, contorting their bodies in unnatural positions and remaining completely still, that the team was convinced they were all dead.

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A morbidly obese macaque named Godzilla who gorged on treats offered by passers-by in Bangkok, Thailand, succumbed to a myriad of weight-related illnesses at the tender age of six.

On May 6th, Godzilla breathed his last breath at the Crystal Pet Hospital in Bangkok as his master held its tiny hand in his. However, the man and his family are facing criticism for killing the young macaque with kindness, indulging his addiction to sweets and other fattening treats, and turning him into a popular attraction at their market stall. Tourists would pass by the vest-wearing primate and feed him all kinds of junk food, which led to him ballooning to over 19 kilograms, more than double the weight of an average macaque. Sadly, his condition never really improved after he was taken away, and a number of obesity-induced illnesses eventually claimed his life.

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Over the course of two years, a black dog turned completely white due to vitiligo, a condition in which the skin and hair lose their natural pigment.

In late 2021, at the age of two, Buster was diagnosed with vitiligo. The condition is caused by an autoimmune disease that causes areas of the skin, hair, muzzle, and lips, as well as the oral and facial mucosa, to lose pigment or color. Buster’s owner, Matt Smith, was told to keep an eye out for skin irritation, but other than that the dog’s health wasn’t going to be affected. At first, Matt noticed small white patches around Buster’s eyes, nose, and chin, but nine months after the vitiligo diagnosis, the dog’s face was peppered with with spots. Today, Buster has gone from completely black to an immaculate white.

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A 68-year-old French woman diagnosed with Noah’s Syndrome has been given a one-year suspended sentence for keeping 159 cats and 7 dogs in her 80sqm (861sqft) apartment.

The unnamed woman and her 52-year-old male partner got into a dispute with neighbors in their Nice apartment building because of the mess and filth caused by their dozens of pets. Police were eventually called and the state of the woman’s apartment shocked them. There was animal excrement everywhere, over 150 cats and seven dogs, as well as at least two dead cats and two dogs in the bathroom. Many of the animals were dehydrated, suffering from malnutrition, or infected with parasites, and some of them subsequently died because of their health problems. The elderly woman admitted that she had “screwed up” while trying to take care of her many pets, but described the animals as “the love of her life”.

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Haementeria ghilianii or the Amazonian Giant Leech is the world’s largest leech by quite a significant margin, growing up to 18 inches (46 cm) long.

Leeches are found in wet and humid areas all over the globe, and while most are smaller than the average person’s index finger, a few can grow a lot longer than that. But one particular species of leech can get so big that it is considered the stuff of nightmares. Haementeria ghilianii, also known as the Amazonian Giant Leech, is an elusive leech that can only be found in French Guyana and certain nearby areas in Brazil, so you’re unlikely to run into one unless you live there, but photos of this slimy critter should be enough to send shivers down your spine. While most specimens measure between 30 and 35 centimeters, exceptional specimens can grow up to 46 cm long.

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The Goliath Frog, the largest living frog on Earth, is facing extinction after a 50% decline in population size in the last three generations, mainly due to human activity.

The Goliath Frog certainly lives up to its name. Reaching up to 13 inches long (32 cm) from snout to vent, and weighing up to 7.2 lb (3.25 kg), it is by far the world’s largest frog. However, it has a contrastingly tiny habitat range in Africa’s Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, which makes it particularly vulnerable to human-related habitat destruction. They are skittish creatures that tend to avoid humans as much as possible, but increasingly sophisticated traps and habitat destruction have caused a massive decrease in the number of Goliath frogs, and experts warn that if things don’t change soon, this impressive creature will become extinct.

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Bear, a stray Cane Corso that had been roaming around Alabama’s Gulf Coast for almost a year with a large box stuck on his head was recently caught and freed from his plastic trap.

Bear’s story first made news headlines in January of this year, when it was covered by CBS affiliate, WKRG, following multiple reports of a large canine walking around Mobile with a large, black box on its head. One person told the outlet that his son had seen the dog a couple of months earlier, but they only believed the account after seeing the animal themselves. The story of this unfortunate animal caught the public’s attention and WKRG followed it up with another report, this time featuring the City of Mobile Animal Services (COMAS). The dog had gotten its head stuck in the metal box many months before, but all attempts to capture and free it had failed.

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Four-year-old Fedya, a gray rescued cat from Russia, has become a social media sensation thanks to his funny permanently startled look.

When Fedya’s owner, Natalya Zhdanova, found him in her backyard in 2020, she had no idea he would one day become an Instagram star with over 300,000 followers. At the time, she wasn’t even sure he would survive. He had been born with a coordination issue and struggled to move around, but as he grew, his condition improved, and before long he was behaving like a normal cat, although he didn’t really look like one. Natalya claims she didn’t really notice his unusual looks, but her friends always seemed amused by Fedya’s constantly startled appearance, and she reluctantly started posting photos of him on social media. The rest, as they say, is history.

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The Brazilian flea frog (Brachycephalus pulex) measures only between 7 and 8 millimeters in length, which likely makes it the smallest vertebrate on Earth.

In 2011, Mirco Solé, a researcher at the State University of Santa Cruz in Brazil, discovered the tiny Brazilian flea frog, an amphibian so small that it could comfortably fit on a small coin. The discovery made news headlines in the scientific community, but because of a small available sample, there was simply no way to provide conclusive information regarding the frog’s size. Now, over a decade longer, a team led by the same Mirco Solé has published an extensive study on the elusive frog species that can only be found on two forested hillsides in Bahia, Southern Brazil. It shows that the flea frog is a very likely candidate for the title of ‘world’s smallest vertebrate’.

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Rope Daddy is an exceptional specimen of Big Rope, one of the most sought-after varieties of French Bulldog, whose enviable genetic traits allegedly make him worth around $120,000.

According to a study by the American Kennel Club (AKC), the global number of French bulldogs has increased by over 1,000% in the last decade, helping the canine breed dethrone the Golden Retriever as the world’s most popular dog breed. However, this overnight popularity has caused the degradation of the breed’s genetic structure, resulting in thinner, longer, and taller dogs, all of which are considered undesired traits. The Big Rope variety is characterized by a small, compact, and muscular body, and a large, square head, making it among the most coveted among French bulldog fans. But even among other Big Rope specimens, one pooch stands out as exceptional thanks to its excellent genetic material. His name is Rope Daddy and he is probably the world’s most expensive French bulldog.

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In what is believed to be the first ever such documented case, researchers in India came across a live frog with a small mushroom growing on the side of its body.

The Last of Us, the hit HBO series based on the namesake video game series, has popularized the fictional idea of mushrooms and fungi infecting humans and turning them into mindless zombies. In reality, fungi from the cordyceps family only infect insects, but a team of Indian researchers recently made a discovery that speaks to the adaptability of these microorganisms and their ability to survive and thrive in the most unusual conditions. While observing the fauna around a small pond in the foothills of the Kudremukha Ranges, India, hobbyist naturalist Chinmay Maliye and wetland specialist Lohit Y.T. came across a frog with a mushroom sprouting from its flank.

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Tiffany and Grégory, a couple from Belgium’s Wallonia region, have been sharing their home with Oscar, a rescued wild boar, for more than a year now.

It all started about a year ago, during a hunting trip, when Grégory Guiot brought home a 700-gram boar cub that his dogs had found. It was December 6th, Saint Nicholas Day, and Gregory didn’t have the heart to just leave the helpless animal in the wild, where it would have likely perished on its own Instead, he took hit home to his partner, Tiffany Pierre. Neither of them even entertained the idea of keeping the boar at first, instead focusing on caring for it until they found another arrangement. However, Tiffany and Grégory found themselves becoming more and more attached to the little bundle of joy with each passing day, so when they finally decided to take little Oscar to an educational farm where he would be well taken care of, they both had tears in their eyes…

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The hairworm might not look like much, but it is a sinister parasite that steals its host’s genetic code to manipulate it into deep water, so it can reproduce and start the cycle all over again.

During its larval stage, a hairworm’s first goal is to get eaten by a tadpole or a mosquito. It then lies dormant until this initial host is itself eaten by a larger creature, such as a cricket, grasshopper, or mantis. Once its Trojan horse is digested by the new host, the hairworm breaks out and begins sapping the poor insect of nutrients. This only takes about three months, after which the hairworm somehow manipulates its drained host toward water, where it would never go on its own, to drown. Hairworms breed in water, so after their host dies, they swim to the nearest ball hairworms to reproduce and start the cycle once more. Scientists have known about the worm’s ‘mindsnatcher’ trick for years, but a team of researchers claims to have finally figured out how hairworms actually brainwash their hosts.

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