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Paul Nicklen, a contributing photographer for National Geographic, talks about his wild sea adventure with a giant leopard seal. His photographs tell a frightening story, but his memory of the events is quite different. Leopard Seals are amongst the animal kingdom’s most vicious predators. [via here/here]

Whew, that was close. Unless you were rooting for the Lions, in which case the results were not too dissimiliar from the Detroit football team.

Good god, if there is anything more frightening than a bear, it’s the hairless variety.  Leipzig Zoo vets have been unable to determine what caused Dolores and all other female Spectacled Bears in captivity to suddenly go bald. “Some experts believe it could be due to a genetic defect though the animals do not seem to be suffering from any other affliction.  The bears, which originate from South America,  normally have fluffy dark brown fur and would now be growing a thicker fur coat to keep warm during the winter.”

Update: Yup, just as creepy when they are seen in motion.

Actually, they are dying of chlamydia. The virus breaks out in Koalas anytime they become stressed out.  Which is now happening at alarming rates.  “Koalas are in diabolical trouble,” says researcher Frank Carrick, who heads the Koala Study Program at the University of Queensland. “Numbers show that even in their stronghold, koala numbers are declining alarmingly.” 

The virus can cause infections in the eyes and urinary, reproductive and respiratory tracts. It can cause blindness, infertility and death.

And I thought the Herpes virus I get from stress was bad enough.  Looks like the little buggers need to start smoking weed.

This will warm your cockles, but just know that I’m about to go make myself a bacon, egg and cheese for breakfast. [via]

Awww…now that I’m taking care of the world’s greatest golden retriever, a spry 14-year-old, I just need to get some tiger cubs.  I’ve always secretly (or not so secretly) wanted to own some sort of jungle cat — tiger, lion, puma, cougar, lynx, etc.  [via]

Huh.  I honestly figured the little chihuahua died every coupla years and they just kept on replacing it. 

 So much for that. 

Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign (and her famous overdubbed tagline, “Yo quiero Taco Bell”), died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15.”She made so many people happy,” says Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton. PEOPLE met both Gidget and Sue at a Hollywood animals photo shoot in February, where the pup was a consummate pro and delighted the crew with her playful nature.

“When she’s on a set, she comes alive,” Chipperton said at the time. But when the mostly retired canine actor wasn’t joining her trainer on shoots, the 15-year-old was happy to just kick back. “She goes on hikes with me and she loves the sun,” said Chipperton, who added that Gidget was happy to sleep “for 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. She’ll lay outside when it’s 105 degrees! I like to joke that it’s like looking after a plant.”

But, if we’re talking about the pantheon for corporate animal endorsements then the little guy is at least in the conversation with the Budweiser clydesdales, Spud MacKenzie, the Geico Gecko and maybe the Afflack duck. 

Gidget ain’t no Spud, but she was all right in my book.

After the mysterious deaths of nine fairy penguins in Sydney Harbour, the world’s smallest penguin is evening up the fight with protection from two professional snipers.

We continue our quest to be the foremost expert on drunken animals throughout the world.  Here are some nice shots of animals getting toasted off of some fermented fruit in Africa.

It’s still not as hilarious as the Caribbean monkeys from yesterday, but it’ll do.  And again, in the above clip, the monkeys steal the show at the very end, when they get all human-like and try to drunkenly make out and engage in some coitus, but alas one of the monkeys just passes out and calls it a night.  Hopefully, he didn’t have to sneak out in the middle of the night.

It’s true!  Because it’s on the BBC and the host has a British accent and I’ve been conditioned to believe that anything told to me with a British accent has to be truthful.  Regardless, after watching this I want a drunk monkey for a pet.  Mostly so we can drink together on the weekends.  I have no friends.

They are one of the oldest mammals, belonging to the same group as the platypus, however, the long-beaked echidna — native only to New Guinea — is one of the least studied animals on the planet. 

They are monotremes, animals that are genetically in transition.  From the NY Times:

Echidnas keep their cool, all right. “They’re one of the most pacifistic mammals,” Dr. Rismiller said. “Nobody bothers them; they don’t bother anybody. There’s a lot we could learn from them.” And in that level head sits a mighty brain. Among humans, the neocortex that allows us to reason and remember accounts for 30 percent of the brain; in echidnas, that figure is 50 percent.

If only they could stand to teach us. Short-beaked echidnas put up with people, however grudgingly, but as Mr. Opiang learned, the long-beaks of New Guinea shun all signs of human habitation, perhaps because, being twice the size of short-beaked echidnas, they are prized as bushmeat by local hunters and their dogs. “They’re not attracted to baits,” he said. “You can’t catch them with traps for tagging.”

To reach them, you must hike for miles into the highlands, on treacherously steep and slippery terrain where it rains 275 inches a year. “It’s one of the wettest places on earth,” Dr. Wright said.

Most importantly, the male long-beaked echidna packs a four-headed penis.  Also, they sorta look like a photoshopped combination between a porcupine, crane, mole, pig, turtle, anteater.  Not too shabby.

Your daily animal cuteness.  [via reddit]

A couple of thoughts on this squirrel video.  First, this is the best thing you will watch all day.  Honestly, I was riveted from start to finish.  Narratively this is as gripping a story as they come.  It’s got everything a great Disney movie should have. Hint, hint.

Compelling animal leads?  Check.  Baby animal trying to make his way in the world?  Check.  Overcoming great odds?  Check.  Help from unexpected places?  Check.  A satisfying conclusion that will definitely break out the applause/hankies?  Check.

[via Bits and Pieces]