Animals are Magical

**PlasmaVortex** · 21st June 2023 11:30

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jg_pwC2ZbWw

If you ever seen one of these you'll know how Cool they are

**Icare** · 25th June 2023 01:40

Wow, I've seen so many of these when snorkelling or diving but I have never ever seen a stingray (it looks like an eagle ray) breach

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YCGge0UoFdM

**Icare** · 25th June 2023 01:44

Beluga whale plays ball with a human:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q6juysiwIL8

Roughly 10 minutes for a truly amazing story with some beautiful footage as well.
Extraordinary

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OXNCCdcBhcY

**onawah** · 25th June 2023 04:54

Incredibly beautiful true story

Posted by Icare (here)

Roughly 10 minutes for a truly amazing story with some beautiful footage as well.
Extraordinary

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OXNCCdcBhcY

**mountain_jim** · 25th June 2023 14:40

https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/...192220160?s=20

**Harmony** · 26th June 2023 01:47

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-vBUxmWeoc0

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=c2HrbaMENcI

**Icare** · 27th June 2023 01:23

Mobula rays can jump over two metres (!!!) out of water

A gorilla cradles with a tiny bush baby

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=HZdeU5ONCVE

**gini** · 27th June 2023 06:45

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=t0nohx7auDw

**atman** · 27th June 2023 13:40

With Russia being so much in the news, lately, and with the constant fear-mongering and russophobia being fed to the populations of the world from almost all directions, I thought the following two short video reports about some of the most notable "employees" working at the Hermitage Museum, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, would bring a big smile to several of us...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nknkO1I30hM

Cats Take Up Residence at the Hermitage Museum (2:48)

Why do housecats roam the halls of the Hermitage?

And why did they disappear during World War Two?

Since the era of Catherine the Great, the Hermitage has been home to hundreds of house cats. They earn their keep by keeping the museum vermin free.

Today, the cats are fed and cared for by dedicated volunteers.

But there was one brief period in Hermitage history when cats were nowhere to be found. This was during the Second World War when St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad, was under siege by the Nazis. The Hermitage was under siege too -- marked for destruction by Adolf Hitler. As the staff of the Hermitage crafted a plan to save the museum's masterpieces, the housecats disappeared one by one...

Their mice-catching duties are now over, according to the following more recently-produced video (4:31 min.), but the cats are still being treated as royalty in the basement and in the courtyard of the Heritage Museum:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZA3YZrEyIuI

Miaow!

**mountain_jim** · 28th June 2023 13:16

https://twitter.com/TheWakeninq/stat...134832641?s=20

**Eva2** · 30th June 2023 15:18

Warm and fuzzy story of man rescuing fawn:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lissi_schwei...97740836275717

**PlasmaVortex** · 30th June 2023 16:37

HummingBird-Hawk-moth

first sighting for me this year i have been waiting for the flower that's grown out of a wall through solid concrete also to flower for the summer not the best picture but you see why they are slightly exotic compared to the average flora and fauna of the UK, feel like david attenborough now, im not sure how long they live for so im assuming they may have genetic memory like the monarch butterfly to fly to a particular plant species shown in the video. Not sure how they navigate to the uk much of them is amystery in my opinion they could lab engineered chimeras because they are strikingly similar to a bird

**Icare** · 3rd July 2023 02:16

This guy plays music for his animals and you can see how much they enjoy it, especially Hazel, the donkey

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=P2xTs8vH79s

**onawah** · 3rd July 2023 02:20

Donkeys have always been one of my favorite animals.
When I was a kid, I loved visiting the donkey at the zoo-- with his sad, expressive eyes, I could tell that he liked having visitors too.

Evidently they can also be a bit stubborn and uncooperative though ...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YwZud-5s-Ws

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=V1F5sNLxHZ0

Posted by Icare (here)
This guy plays music for his animals and you can see how much they enjoy it, especially Hazel, the donkey

**Icare** · 8th July 2023 22:14

Love,

just heart-warming

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=K_pnsNQg-QI

a fascinating sea pen

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=j9VM-bRd8ts

**Eva2** · 9th July 2023 00:23

Orca Vendetta

'White Gladis The Orca May Have Been ‘Pregnant’ When She Started the Uprising

https://thepremierdaily.com/white-gl...8NOLQWknqm_p1k

There have been several stories regarding orcas attacking boats along the coasts of Spain, Portugal, and England. As a result, since sometime in 2020, there have been more than 500 hundred vessels reportedly damaged. Researchers have spent a lot of time trying to understand the vendetta these orcas have against humans. Recently they’ve come up with some answers and more groundbreaking information regarding White Gladis, the orca who started it all.

Orcas are incredibly bright creatures with their own culture, so to speak. They communicate with one another, help each other hunt, and travel in pods caring for one another’s babies. They’re actually incredibly impressive and evolved despite the numerous misconceptions about them. However, one detail about them is a little terrifying and simultaneously amusing. Because they’re such smart creatures, they have the ability to remember things in the same way people, crows, elephants, and other animals do.

White Gladis Holds a Grudge
As such, one infamous matriarch, White Gladis, has been deemed “holding a grudge” against humans. Specifically, human boats. The Coast Guard noticed a bizarre trend amongst reports off the coasts of the aforementioned countries. Many reported the same thing, their boats were being “attacked,” and orcas damaged the rudders. Researchers set to work to discover that one “matriarchal” member of an Orca pod has been showing other Orcas, through learned behavior, how to demolish boats—or at least their rudders.

White Gladis developed her grudge after it was believed that she may have come into contact with a fishing boat nearby. Evidently, she’d either been injured by the boat or caught in a fishing net. However, because Orcas seemingly target rudders, it’s most likely what caused her injury or trauma. Biologist Alfredo López Fernandez explained, “That traumatized orca is the one that started this behavior of physical contact with the boat.”

Alternatively, scientists now believe they may have uncovered another explanation for the vendetta.

White Gladis Faces Motherhood
While human pregnancies are around nine months long, Orcas have a gestational period of around 15-18 months. Therefore, scientists believe that because White Gladis gave birth to a calf in 2021, she could have been pregnant during the first reports of Orca attacks. They’ve even noted that she has “neglected her calf” to see her recruiting plans through. In fact, White Gladis has now recruited an estimated dozen other Orcas in an effort to eliminate the “threat.”

“She went to the boats with this calf, so she preferred to stop the boats rather than keeping her baby safe.” Mónica González, a marine biologist involved in studying this odd phenomenon, disclosed. “Orcas have echolocation, so they can see the rudder inside and outside, and they know how to touch it to break the rudder.”

Robert Pitman, another Orca expert and marine biologist, has highlighted an interesting point. Orca moms, like many species, are incredibly protective of their babies. Those calves stick around for at least two years while learning to hunt and survive on their own. This occurrence stands out to experts because White Gladis is ignoring her natural instincts, and endangering her baby, in pursuit of fulfilling her agenda.

Other Possibilities
Orcas are highly intelligent, playful, and curious. As such, other researchers have also disclosed that they believe White Gladis may just be playing or exploring. Regardless of the reason behind the attacks, researchers plan to take action, developing ways to deter White Gladis and her pupils.

Safety of the Orcas
As is good news for animal rights activists, the plans include “noise deterrents”, intended to scare the Orcas away. Sadly, researchers know that there’s a good possibility that Orcas will pay the price for White Gladis’ grudge or playfulness. “I am worried that people will take the situation into their own hands and use lethal or harmful tactics to try and, you know, get the whales to stop or at least, you know, stop an attack at the moment,” Deborah Giles shared.

As experts explore the animal kingdom, they learn a lot about the habits, patterns, and social behaviors of other species. Some of the most fascinating discoveries they’ve made are in regard to the intelligence of certain species. Although White Gladis’ motives are still being speculated, one thing is clear. She, Orcas, and likely most animal species have far more intelligence than experts believed in earlier generations.