Picture Special: Wild stallions square off in bloody fight for mating rights. It is so unreal!

This is the dramatic moment two proud stallions faced off in a bloody fight for dominance and mating rights in a herd of wild horses.

The Koniks, or Polish primitive horses, reared up on their hind legs with their teeth bared during the ferocious attack.

Photographer Henri Ton, 41, captured the fight over females at a nature reserve in Loevenstein, The Netherlands.

One stallion could be seen chasing a mare while others fought among themselves.

Mr Ton, who works as an electronic engineer, spends several hours a week observing the herd of 36 horses to better understand their behaviour.

He said: 'The Koniks were put in a nature reserve and left to fend for themselves.

'The public are told to keep their distance and not to feed them so they can remain wild.

'I go looking for them about once a week and have done for over a year now.

'I try to avoid attracting their attention so their behaviour in my pictures is as natural as possible.'

He said the herd is formed from a mix of bachelor groups - young stallions who have been abandoned or rejected and need to play to build up their strength before returning - and harem groups which feature one stallion, around six mares and foals.

There is one lead stallion in the herd, which is the only male allowed to breed.

'Fights with the lead stallion can be very rough and if he is injured the other stallions try to take over.

'Sometimes it is playful, almost like an act or dance, but it can also be very aggressive with bloody injuries.

'The Konik horse is one of the few types of horses able to survive in the wild. They are wild but they have never been aggressive towards me.'

Irate hippo lunged and threw veterinarian into a pool

Dragged to safety by a colleague, this veterinarian got a bit more than he bargained for after attempting to sedate an irate hippo.

Dr Markus Hofmeyr narrowly escaped serious injury after the animal lunged at him and threw him into a pool by Crocodile River in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The enraged creature was just inches from trampling on the unfortunate vet but thanks to intervention by colleague Dr Nico de Bruin he was pulled to safety just in time.

The incident occurred after the hippopotamus was shot with a tranquiliser dart in an attempt to test a new chemical for sedating the animals.

After the creature had been darted it had sat sedately in the shallow pool, and appeared to be passive as scientists began their work.

But the experts rushed to its aid after its head dropped below the surface of the water.

Dr Hofmeyr said: 'We suspect that it got water in its nose, which stimulated it back into consciousness.

'The animal was very dazed and confused when it straightened up again. It snapped in our direction and then came for us.

'The hippo passed between us and made for the deeper water.'

The furious animal made another lunge at the retreating pair before they were able to scramble on to a nearby mud bank.

A game ranger then shot and killed the animal.

'It is regrettable that the hippo had to die, but for our safety's sake it had to be shot.

'The scientific team were attempting to develop an alternative sedative drug to the one currently available.

'The conventional drug was originally designed for elephants and rhinos and is too strong for hippopotamus,' Dr Hofmeyr said.

'The biggest problem with darted hippos is that they usually flee into the water. Many then drown.

'That is why we started doing research to develop a more suitable substance specifically for hippos.

'A lesson we definitely learned from this incident is to muzzle these animals in future.'

Ten-day-old orphan dolphin is rescued

A baby dolphin is lowered into a swimming pool just hours after being rescued.

The mammal was discovered by walkers on a beach near the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.

It was suffering from injuries believed to have been caused by a fishing net.

There was no sign of its mother. The dolphin is only about ten days old.

Richard Tesore, head of the NGO Rescate Fauna Marina, has been caring for tiny animal in Piriapolis, 62 miles east of the capital, Montevideo. And while his cute charge is a hit with visitors, it seems they must queue behind a penguin if they want to see him.

The Magellan penguin is also being looked after at the centre and has taken an interest in the new patient.

The natural survival rate for dolphins within their first year of life in the wild is 20 per cent.

The death toll of captive born dolphins is much higher. According to the US Marine Mammal Inventory Report did between 1960 and 1993 more than 50 per cent of the dolphins born in captivity within the first four months of life.

Bears take stroll in town centre!!

Two giant brown bears ventured out of their forest home — to take a stroll through a town centre.

The 300lb beasts were spotted by children near a school in rural Hokkaido, northern Japan.

They then took a 40-minute ramble through the streets.

The Hokkaido bears, known in Japan as "higuma", are particularly powerful and aggressive.

They have been known to attack humans in the district, which is the size of Ireland, and where around 3,000 of the animals live in the wild.

Attempts were made to remove the two bears from the town, but after they failed they were shot by a local hunter.

A third bear that formed part of the family group has not been found.

Meet this duck..as pretty as Marilyn Monroe!!

Most ducks, when they want to express themselves, go quack quack quack.

But looking at this delightfully coiffured creature, one might expect her to say boo boo bee doo.

For her hairdo bears an uncanny resemblance to the beautiful blonde locks of Marilyn Monroe.

While the screen legend went to great lengths perfecting her style, this bird’s look is entirely natural.

It’s known as a crested duck, and the feather-covered growth is mainly formed of fatty tissue which emerges through a gap in the skull.

Amateur photographer Rainey Shuler captured the image at a pond in Soulsbyville, northern California.

She said: ‘I had never seen a duck like this.

'When I first saw the hairstyle I thought I was seeing things. I had to chuckle.

‘It looked as though it was wearing a wig that was ready to fall off.’

Baby koala fights for her life after being shot 15 times

Queensland police are continuing investigations into a shooting attack on a baby koala after it was found riddled with pellets beside its dead mother.

The tiny animal, nicknamed Frodo, received a fractured skull, and gun pellets were found scattered throughout her body, damaging her intestines.

The shooting took place on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, Australia, and although the mother was killed, vets are doing all they can to save her baby.

Vets at the zoo said it was touch and go whether Frodo, who was blasted from a tree with a shotgun, will survive.

Stomach and intestinal perforations have been repaired and three pellets removed, including from the skull, but a further 12 remain.

'She's in a critical condition, but if she can be stabilised she will undergo further surgery to remove pellets and repair damage,' said vet Amber Gillett.

Miss Gillett said Frodo was receiving intravenous antibiotics, fluids and pain relief, as well as blood transfusions.

'We are stunned to see this kind of animal cruelty and cannot begin to fathom why somebody would want to shoot a koala that poses no threat to them,' she added.

Mark Townend, a senior officer with the RSPCA, said his organisation would provide any help needed to search for the culprit and bring cruelty charges.

Outraged Australians have called for the person who shot the koalas to receive the same punishment.

Koalas were declared a protected species in the 1930s, after their numbers fell dramatically due to the fur trade.

Scores of people sent their good wishes to Frodo, saying they hoped she would pull through.

Frodo remains in a critical condition at a wildlife hospital on the Sunshine Coast.

The maximum penalty for shooting a koala is a $225,000 (£140,000) fine or two years in jail.

Dying mountain bear forced to drink Coca-Cola to amuse cafe customers

Shocking footage has appeared showing a dying mountain bear being held captive in a filthy cage drinking from a Coca-Cola bottle for the amusement of customers in an Azerbaijan cafe.

The cruel spectacle has been branded 'a disgrace' by The International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The harrowing scenes show the malnourished bear gripping the plastic bottle with its paws in a cramped, squalid cage.

The pictures were taken last month in the city of Gabala by Daryl Willard a British sports coach who has worked in the former Soviet republic.

Gabala is where former England football captain Tony Adams currently lives and manages a team.

Mr Willard, 27, revealed that just a few days after his initial visit he returned to confront the cafe owner only to discover the bear had died and been replaced by another one.

He told the Sun: 'People cheered and shouted as they watched the starving bear drink from the cola bottle and eat sandwich leftovers they threw.

'A few days after it died, there was a new one. They told me they catch a new one up in the mountains.'

The country's embassy claimed the cruelty was 'an isolated case'.

Lioness has a head for heights as had a catnap amongst the treetops

This is one cat up a tree that the fire brigade might think twice about rescuing.

Sweet Pea, a lioness at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, has taken a shining to shinning up trees and taking an afternoon nap there.

The sleepy feline has made a habit of clambering up the sweet chestnut tree in her enclosure and hiding amongst its foliage.

But it is not all bad news for birds who nest in the trees.

Instead of clambering up the branches to prey on feathery food, Sweet Pea is more interested in catching 40 winks instead of a snack.

The four-year-old clearly has a head for heights - she can swiftly climb the 30ft in just a matter of seconds before settling down for a cheeky snooze.

So far Sweet Pea has managed to find her way back down again by herself, but staff at Longleat are - understandably - nervously monitoring the situation in case she ever needs assistance.

Ian Turner, Longleat's deputy head keeper, said Sweet Pea's siesta habit is unusual as lions normally scale trees because they want to keep their food away from rivals.

'She has only just started climbing up the tree but it is already very much her favourite thing,' he said.

'In the wild lions are known to climb trees when they want to feast on a piece of meat that they don't want another lion getting hold of.

'She must have fabulous views over the parkland although I have to admit I won't be joining her for a look.

'It is good to see such natural behaviour but we're just hoping that she doesn't get stuck up there.'

Baby elephant lucky escape from a crocodile

It looks like the perfect illustration for the tale of how the elephant got its trunk.

Sadly for this youngster, however, this was no scene from Kipling’s Just So Stories but all-too-painful reality.

Under the watchful eye of its family, the baby elephant had gone to the edge of an African waterhole for a drink.

Unfortunately, the leafy pond was perfect camouflage for a hungry crocodile, which clamped its teeth on to the end of its surprised victim’s trunk and began a tug-of-war.

Or, as Kipling writes in The Elephant’s Child: ‘And the Elephant’s Child spread all his little four legs and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose kept on stretching; and the Crocodile threshed his tail like an oar, and he pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and at each pull the Elephant’s Child’s nose grew longer and longer – and it hurt him...’

Hearing the baby’s calls of distress, the herd of elephants immediately went to its rescue, scaring off the crocodile by trumpeting and stamping the ground. After the attack the herd stayed with the youngster.

When the baby had recovered the herd crossed the waterhole together in safety, only yards from where the crocodile had been hiding.

These pictures were taken by amateur photographer Johan Opperman in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

He said: ‘The crocodile was hoping for a nice lunch with elephant on the menu.

‘From a couple of experts, I’ve heard that this is very rare, and that crocodiles do not normally try to catch elephants.’

Grinning hippo poses for zoo-goers' snaps. Its a Happy- potamus.

When Jay Parker told his wife Lauren to say cheese, it seems someone else was listening, too.

Otis the hippo pressed his face against the glass of his tank and produced what appears to be a beaming smile.

And when the couple exchanged positions, the three-ton beast duly obliged with another grin. The Parkers, from Little Rock, Arkansas, took their extraordinary photographs during a holiday visit to San Diego Zoo in California.

After posting them on the internet, they soon found them popping up on blogs and chatrooms from Chattanooga to China.

Mr Parker, 5, said Otis and a female named Funani had only recently been put in a tank together and had been battling for supremacy -  hence the scars on his back.

'When I look at his face I think he looks pretty tired by it all, or maybe he's having a happy dream - either way it's a great picture.'

'We took the picture on holiday at San Diego Zoo, my wife is a big fan of animals so we always try and visit somewhere when we are away,' said Mr Parker.

'Actually the week we were there the zoo had just put two hippos together for the first time in the tank.

'Hippos are not usually that friendly and the two they had in the tank - the male Otis and the female Funani - had been having a bit of a fight with each other that day.

'The hippo behind me is Otis, when we saw his face we just thought we had to get a picture.'

Mr Parker said he wasn't sure if Otis was happy or not after his day's ordeal with Funani - in fact he might even have been asleep.

He said: 'If you look at Otis's back you can see the scaring from his fight with Funani, this is normal hippo behaviour but I don't think he won.'

BULL FROG pictured eating tiny rodent alive

This danger mouse met a sticky end when crossing the path of the voracious African bull frog.

The pimpled and veiny behemoth has the self-satisfied air of one who takes pleasure in eating a hearty meal, even if it is a live rodent struggling for survival.

These carnivorous amphibians have an aggressive temper, can jump 12ft and have tooth like projections called odontoids, which are said to feel like broken glass when the bellicose beasts close their jaws.

Senior Tropical House Keeper at Newquay Zoo, Dan Garrick is an expert in feeding these greedy bullfrogs.

'They are huge predatory frogs that sit and wait for animals to pass by,' said 30-year-old Dan.

'They are stimulated by movement and will lunge at pretty much anything that comes within range, including this unlucky mouse.

'The mouse will die of suffocation or even shock before digestion.

'If the prey item is too big, the frog can simply disgorge its stomach and wait it out for the next meal.

'Despite their unsavoury dining habits they are devoted parents and will guard spawn and tadpoles from predators.

'They even excavate pools to ensure their brood doesn't dry out.'

African bullfrogs, or Pyxicephalus adspersus in Latin, prey on insects, rodents, birds and are even known to become cannibalistic and overpower other frogs.

A single individual can weigh up to two kilograms, reach 24 cm long and grow a watertight cocoon to stop itself from drying out in the unforgiving African sun.

African bullfrogs are found throughout southern, central and eastern Africa and are second only in size to the almighty goliath frog from the Cameroon.