Airport officials find drugged tiger cub in passenger's suitcase

At first glance it looked to airport officials like just another stuffed toy in a suitcase.

But on closer inspection, the tiny tiger cub was found to be real and alive but unconscious after it was drugged.

Shocked police then arrested the woman owner of the luggage at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand where she was allegedly planning to smuggle the three-month-old animal to Iran.

Luckily, the tiger cub has started to recover from his ordeal after officials delivered him to a wildlife centre suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

'The cub arrived at our unit Monday,' said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, of Thailand's Wildlife and Plant Conservation Center, where the cub was put under close supervision.

'He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn't walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation,' said Chaiyaporn.

'We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now.'

A DNA test was expected to provide details about its origin, said Chaiyaporn.

The woman, identified as Thai national Piyawan Palasarn, 31, faces up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht (£824) fine for two wildlife smuggling-related charges, police said.

She denied the luggage with the cub belonged to her and said another passenger had asked her to carry it for them, said Adisorn Noochdumrong, head of an international wildlife division at the conservation center.

The cub could have fetched about 100,000 baht (£2,060) on the black market in Iran, where it is popular to have exotic pets, Adisorn said.

He said he did not know what the woman allegedly intended to do with this particular cub.

The look that proves that maternal affection is universal as Orang Utans are reunited with baby

Orangutans have long been seen as very close to humanity in terms of their intelligence. Even their name is derived from the Malay for 'Man Of The Woods'.

Orangs have been observed to use tools and medicinal plants and even have a primitive sort of economy, assigning value to (mainly food) gifts and items shared by other orangs and keeping a running total of the balance owing over time.

But there has rarely been a more explicit reminder of the narrow gap between ourselves and our jungle cousins than this superb and affecting picture of look that a mother gave her child.

Hesty the baby orangutan has just made her public debut at Denver Zoo. She is the first Sumatran Orangutan born at the Colorado zoo in 25 years.

She was born on June 19 but less than two weeks later had to be taken from her mother Nias and put in an incubator because she was dehydrated, weak and unresponsive.

She was bottle fed by animal experts until she was able to feed herself. Now both Nias and Hesty can be seen by visitors to the zoo.

It is estimated that there are only about 6,000 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild. They can only be found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Wondering how this cute little hedgehog can be injured with 3 broken legs!

With three of his tiny legs swathed in bandages, Trifle the baby hedgehog appears to have got himself into a prickly situation.

The 10-week old male hedgehog has been rescued by a wildlife hospital after he was found injured in Ruislip, Middlesex, last Sunday with three injured legs.

He was taken to the St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Bucks, where an X-ray revealed he had broken his front leg and fractured both his rear legs.

Staff at the hospital are baffled as to what happened to the tiny creature but one theory is that he fell off a wall, and failed to curl up into a ball to protect himself.

There is also a chance he was attacked by a dog.

Hospital founder Les Stocker said Trifle was being treated with antibiotics and having his dressings changed every second day.

He said his legs would take up to eight weeks to mend.

'We're not sure if he's going to keep all of his legs, but we're hoping he will,' he said.

He plans to keep Trifle at the hospital for about a year to ensure his recovery goes smoothly.

'He will be a nice big fat hedgehog by the time we release him.'

The miracle recovery of a dog which used to walk like a SPIDER!

These striking pictures tell the story of a remarkable surgical procedure which has transformed the life of little Belle the greyhound cross.

Now a playful picture of health, before her operation she was afflicted with cruelly deformed legs which made her walk like a spider.

The gorgeous seven-month-old greyhound cross was born bow-legged and has been in constant pain while campaigners raised money to pay for the operations that would straighten her front legs.

Heartbreaking images of Belle before her expensive corrective surgery show her front limbs splaying out to the side but after two bouts of surgery she now looks like any normal pup and is searching for a new home.

Manager and founder of the Mayflower Sanctuary in Doncaster, Jennie Foxall-Lord, started fund raising three months ago on Facebook with dozens of caring dog-lovers helping to raise the £3,000 required.

She said: 'When she walked before it was like a little spider. Now she's so much more positive and happy, she plays with the other dogs, before she would only lay down by herself. She is a lovely natured dog and hopefully we can find her a loving home. Belle is an absolute delight, what a treasure.'

Irregular bone growth caused Belle's legs to bow but if the problem had been diagnosed earlier the painful operations - which involved breaking her legs, pinning them and adding growth plates so they healed straight - could have been avoided.

'She didn't have a life before these operations, she really didn't have a future,' said Jennie. 'She wouldn't have been able to walk.

'Luckily the vet said there was a possibility of improvement. If they had said there wasn't any hope we may have had to put her to sleep.'

'But now things have completely turned around, what a happy dog she is. She is a big, happy puppy who hasn't been able to do all the puppy things yet.'

'She is so full of life and such a little fighter. If anyone was going to do it, it was Belle.' Belle had splints put in which were removed in May. The determined hound, who was left at the sanctuary by a member of the public, then took her first short walk last month and this month she was finally given the all clear.'

The pretty pooch, which is now looking for a new home, will require careful monitoring for the rest of her life, but thankfully won't need any more operations.

Jennie, whose sanctuary is housing around 40 dogs and a litter of pups at the  moment, said Belle's vet hadn't seen anything like it before and added that she  was no longer in any pain.

She said: 'We didn't even dare to think about a home for Belle until we knew how the operations would go'

'She is still a puppy, she will be very lively and needs somebody to watch her weight and give her plenty of exercise. Probably not a home with toddlers as she might knock them over.'

Scene of a lion and its little cub that inspired Disney movie: Lion King

Standing tall this proud lion leads his cub over their home terrain.

His mane streaming back in the breeze, the father looks over his tiny cub as they stand on a barren rock in Tanzania.

The little cub - just old enough to walk - took his first steps following his father on the Serengeti plains.

In a scene straight out of the Lion King the adult lion stood on a rock overlooking the surrounding region, with his tiny cub beside him.

The picture was taken on the Simba Kopjes, a granite outcropping which the animated Disney film drew inspiration from and is known in the cartoon as Pride Rock.

The movie, which is the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history after making £490million at the box office following its release in 1994.

Great white shark leaps out of water to kill tiny seal

With fearsome power, a great white shark launches itself from the sea as it claims its favourite meal.

The 5,000lb predator had pursued a Cape fur seal through the waters off South Africa before lunging at it with such force that it became virtually airborne.

The little seal stood no chance against nature's ultimate killing machine, with its powerful jaws and 250 razor sharp teeth.

These astonishing images of great whites, which measure 12-16ft, were captured last week near Seal Island, just off the coast of Simonstown in False Bay, by British photographer Dan Callister.

Gremlin bat dropped by mum in flight nursed back to health

One-week-old Cruella may look a bit scary but in reality she is highly vulnerable.

The baby brown long-eared bat in the care of Secret World Wildlife Rescue at East Huntspill near Highbridge in Somerset, was found by a member of the public in Minehead after it is believed her mother dropped her during flight.

Having been assessed by vets, Cruella will undergo rehabilitation at the rescue centre as one of more than 400 wildlife casualties to be cared for by the charity each year.

Debbie O'Keefe, of Secret World, said: 'The biggest challenge is getting her to self feed and keep muscle condition to sustain flight for long periods of time.'

Cruella is predicted to be flying within four weeks and could be released by the end of the summer.