Animals In News

Nine-year-old Ethan White feeds cereal to his four-month-old miniature pot-bellied pig Roger at his home in Midland, Mich. The Midland City Council has unanimously denied a request that would have allowed the animal to remain with Ethan White. Ethan is allergic to animals with long hair and fur. The local council does not allow residents to own pigs

A little orphaned chimpanzee abandoned by his mother has celebrated turning 100 days old. Shengdiao Wild Animal Park in Shandong Province organised the 100th day birthday party for chimp Dong Dong

Katie the chimpanzee eats some of the fruit donated by Waitrose. The supermarket has entered an agreement with Welsh Mountain Zoo to send them fruit and veg, which is past their best, to feed their animals

Meerkats tuck into some fruit donated by Waitrose at Welsh Mountain Zoo

Jasradj, an Asiatic lion, relaxes with his head resting on a large rock in his enclosure at Zurich's zoo

Indian lion, Joy, with her two-month-old cub at the zoo in Zurich, Switzerland

One of the four cubs of the Indian lioness Joy plays the tail of its mother during their official presentation at Zurich's zoo

Tiger cubs rest on the paw of their mother at the Villa Lorena animal refuge centre in Cali, Colombia. The refuge takes in injured and abandoned animals from circuses

A tigress lays beside a cub she gave birth to in captivity, at the Villa Lorena animal refuge center in Cali, Colombia. The refuge takes in injured and abandoned animals from circuses

Ugandan or Rothschild giraffe foal Egon explores its enclosure with mother Jette at the zoo in Berlin. Egon was born on September 8. The population of the endangered Rothschild giraffe is down to 670

A Rothschild giraffe calf checks out its enclosure at the zoo in Hanover, Germany

A wombat cub peeks out from between its mother's legs at Australia Zoo, Queensland. In recent months Australia Zoo has welcomed the arrival of a wombat cub, a koala cub and Tasmanian devil cubs

A five-day-old Asian elephant calf looks on as his mother and her sister raise a foot for the keeper at the Melbourne Zoo

An elephant stretches up to reach some tasty pods from the branches of a tall tree. It is thought this elephant, a 40-year-old male, is the only one of his herd who has learned how to do this. The rare sight was caught on camera by photographer Etienne Oosthuizen, who manages the Old Mondoro Bush camp in the Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia

A photo provided by the Clackamas Fire District #1 shows Oregon firefighters working to rescue a camel named Moses, who got stuck in a sinkhole 6 to 8 feet deep. Firefighters were called by the Oregon City owners of the camel, who have several camels and run a children's ministry. Firefighters shovelled mud for several hours to free him

San-Mare Pretorius with Odi the 16 month-old pet hyena at his home near Sun City, South Africa.. Young male Odi was rescued at less than an hour old when his mother had left him to die. While he still has a wild side to him - often being very aggressive to strangers - to his adopted family he is a big softie who likes being bathed in the tub outside their house

A pig smells a trophy of the Awake Animal foundation at the De Jofrahoeve pig farm in Esch. The farm won the trophy for best mud

Knut, the polar bear (front), warily watches his mother Tosca in Berlin Zoo. His mother was released into his enclosure the day before and Knut is still scared

Pauline Kidner with Garaint the otter and Mollie the black Labrador at home in Highbridge, Somerset. Secret World Wildlife Rescue are rehabilitating Garaint, who was found on a building site, and hopefully he will be released back into the wild

Tillman, the world's fastest skateboarding bulldog, makes an appearance at Madame Tussauds on the Las Vegas Strip

Guinness World Record's Tallest Living Dog and Smallest Living Dog, Giant George and Boo Boo, pose during a photo call in New York. Giant George, a great Dane, measures over 3 feet 5 inches (104cm) from ground to top of shoulders, 7 feet 3 inches (220cm) from tail to nose and weighs 245 lb (111kg). Boo Boo, a Chihuahua, measures 4 inches (10cm) tall, 6.5 inches (16.5cm) long and weighs 24 ounces (680g)

Two dogs look from a window at a stray dog in Bezigrad, a district of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Tikka, a one-year-old Vizsla, looks for her owner during the Sixth Annual Dog Daze at the Desert Breeze Outdoor Aquatic Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada

Shetland foal Joy was caught up in the recent flooding in Victoria, Australia, and was left alone after her mother died. She was discovered by kind-hearted members of the public practically entombed in freezing cold mud. They dug her out and rushed her home where, in front of a roaring fire, she started to show signs of life. Still less than two weeks old, Joy is now being cared for by Quest Equine Welfare president Rebecca Atkins at her home

Animal pictures of the week: 17 September 2010

Weighing a 1.2 tonnes, Ringo the giant ox is assisting medical practitioners and psychologists in therapy of children with behavioural disorders such as autism, ADS and extreme shyness. His owner, Dr. Cornelia Baur, 32, a medical practitioner in Munich, uses Ringo to work with children in one-hour sessions. Allowing children like Leopold, pictured on Ringo's back, to interact with the animal increases confidence and team building skills

A pigeon roosts inside the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex model on display at Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad, India