Little piglet Chris P Bacon was born without the use of his back legs. Destined for piggy heaven, vet Len Lucero came to the rescue and constructed Chris a wheelchair so he could get around. On Valentine's Day, Lucero presented Chris with a brand new set of wheels and released pictures of his pet enjoying the gift.Reuters
Little piglet Chris P Bacon was born without the use of his back legs. Destined for piggy heaven, vet Len Lucero came to the rescue and constructed Chris a wheelchair so he could get around. On Valentine's Day, Lucero presented Chris with a brand new set of wheels and released pictures of his pet enjoying the gift.ReutersA team from the Zoological Society of London captured a remarkable event on a camera trap in Russia's far east when an eagle was seen attacking a deer. The eagle was photographed clinging to the back of a young sika deer, which was later found dead nearby.Linda Kerley/ZSLSwino the beer-guzzling Asbo pig from Australia hit the headlines this year after stealing six packs of beer from tourists in Western Australia. One witness even said he had seen the pig picking a fight with a cow after one booze-fuelled night. However, his boozy lifestyle led to tragedy when he was hit by a truck and killed near Port Hedland. Fionna Findley of Main Roads called it a "sad end".Main Roads PilbaraElwood, who held the title of the World's Ugliest Dog, died earlier this year at the age of eight. The hairless Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix was snapped from the jaws of death after his first owner wanted him put down on account of his ugliness. However, he was rescued and became famous, appearing at over 200 events and raising thousands for charity.FacebookA blind dog jumped onto the New York subway train tracks after his owner who had fallen down and lay with him as the train rolled over after a failed attempt to pull him from danger. Both dog and owner, Cecil Williams, survived the incident. "The dog saved my life," Williams said.ReutersDolphins made headlines twice this year. In February when a 100,000-strong mega pod was seen by cruise passengers off the coast of San Diego, California. The pod was five miles wide and seven miles long. The following month, three "sex crazed killer" dolphins gained notoriety when they escaped their handler in the Ukraine. Local media said they dolphins were trained to kill enemies, detect mines and plant bombs.Antonio RamirezA circus llama in France became an internet sensation after a group of drunk teenagers took the animal from its zoo for a night time tour of Bordeaux. Photos of Serge the llama went viral and an online petition calling for the teenagers not to face criminal charges gained 700,000 signatures. "We went in and played with the animals. We ended up taking a llama with us," one, called Matthieu, told BFM TV.@x_cappelaereIn November, Susan Darrah uploaded a photo of a deer with an arrow through its head to Facebook showing how some hunters had left the animal, which was wandering around her garden. Darrah immediately contacted animal control and vets managed to remove the arrow and he has since made a full recovery.Susan Darrah FacebookEarlier this year, Werner Freund was photographed living with a pack of wolves, sharing food with them and living with them at a sanctuary he set up in 1972. Speaking of their encounter, photographer Reuters photographer Lisi Niesner said: "First the alpha male wolf Heiko came towards him and licked his mouth which is a sign of acknowledgment and a sign of membership of the pack. After this ritual Werner got the deer cadaver, put it on the ground, lay down and held it in a manner as if it were his prey."ReutersIt was widely reported that a group of scientists had killed the world's oldest living animal to find out its age. The clam, thought to be up to 507 years old, made headlines across the world with the BBC even dubbing the incident 'Clam gate'. However, the scientists quickly reacted saying they did not kill the animal to find out its age and that it was one of many samples of elderly clam they had been looking at.Wiki CommonsIn October, London Zoo announced the first tiger cub had been born there for 17 years. Staff had kept her pregnancy a secret for 105 days until she gave birth. However, tragedy struck less than two weeks later when the cub was found dead by zookeepers after drowning in a pool outside its den. Malcolm Fitzpatrick, zoo curator, told the Guardian: "We're heartbroken by what's happened. To go from the excitement of the birth to this in three weeks is just devastating."ZSLMen across the globe were horrified in August when it emerged testicle eating fish were on the loose in Scandinavia. Pacu fish, which have a reputation for snacking on men's genitals, were sighted in the strait between Sweden and Denmark over the summer. Henrik Carl of Denmark's National History Museum, said: "Their mouth is not so big, so it normally eats nuts, fruit, snails and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target."projectavalon.net
Every year, the animal kingdom serves up a selection of stories that capture the world's imagination.
In 2012, people across the globe were charmed by Darwin the Ikea monkey, who escaped in the car park of the furniture store dressed in a shearling coat and nappy. A year earlier, tear-jerking images emerged of a faithful dog refusing to leave the side of his Navy Seal owner after he was killed in Afghanistan.
This year, mankind has revelled at all walks of life from nature, from testicle-eating fish to a man who lives with wolves. IBTimes UK looks at the top 12 animal stories of the year.
