Meet Robomutt... The world's first bionic dog

A dog who had all four of his paws amputated when he was just a puppy is going walkies once again, thanks to a brand new set of bionic legs.

Naki'o, a Red Heeler cattle dog, was abandoned in a frozen puddle and suffered such severe frostbite that he was left with just stumps to move about on.

His future was looking grim until veterinary surgeon Christie Tomlinson, who was looking for a playmate for her golden retriever, saw him at a Colorado rescue centre.

She said: 'I've always had a soft spot for animals with problems. I knew I had the skills and knowledge to be able to take care of him properly. 

'I took him to work with me every day and was able to x-ray his legs regularly to see how they were developing.'

At first Naki'o was small and light enough to hold himself up on his stumps without too much difficulty.

But as he grew and gained weight it became painful for him to walk, especially on hard surfaces. 

'I felt so bad for him as his condition worsened,' said Christie.

'He is such a hyper and happy dog, but I was having to take him for walks in a stroller and carry him around. 

'He couldn't be a normal dog, he couldn't lead the life he wanted.'

Eventually Naki'o had to crawl along on his tummy at home and at the clinic's daycare centre.

Then Christie heard about a company called Orthopets in Denver, Colorado.

Founded by husband and wife team Martin and Amy Kaufmann, Orthopets began when Martin saw that his experience in creating human orthotic devices could be adapted for animals.

'I felt it was barbaric that in the 20th century we were still amputating dogs' legs,' said Martin, who carried out the operation free of charge.

'I thought we should be using the technology used for humans on our pets. 

'An animal is a much better patient than a human. They have drive, determination and they just won't quit. 

'They don't feel sorry for themselves.'

Since undergoing the pioneering surgery Naki'o can leap and bound with the best of them.

Christie is amazed at her pet's motivation and joy for life. 

'He was always a happy dog, but now he's much more confident,' she said.

'It's great to see him interact with other dogs at the park and play without a care.

'Naki'o can now not only chase after a ball with other dogs, but he can beat them to the catch!'

Orthopets is working to open clinics worldwide. As well as dogs, they have fitted cats, horses, llamas and a stork with state of the art prosthetics.

Digit the gorilla, huge beast is treated like one of the family

Admittedly, Mum and Dad are a lot less hairy. And smaller. And not half as grumpy. But lack of resemblance aside, Digit the gorilla has always been one of the family. 

Pierre and Elaine Thivillon, who own a zoo near Lyon, have looked after their ‘little one’ since Digit was abandoned as a baby. 

What started out as a bit of bottle-feeding turned into a full-time adoption, with the young gorilla having the run of the couple’s apartment. The family album is full of snaps of Digit cuddling up to the Thivillons and even pecking them on the lips.

But now 13, and a hefty 176lb, it’s time for this lumbering adolescent to leave the nest.  Mum and Dad are close to retirement and they think it is time for Digit to find out about life as a gorilla rather than a human.

Like many parents they are giving their child a hand to get on the property ladder – they plan to open a gorilla sanctuary which will become Digit’s new home.

The snake with a sssplit personality: Meet the python born with two heads Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009430/The-snake-sssplit-personality-Meet-python-born-heads.html#ixzz1e7pgQdOx

This is one snake who is likely to be more than a little snappy if provoked.

The mutant black and gold python regius - royal python or ball python - was born in Villingen-Schwenningen, southern Germany, with two heads.

Snake breeder Stefan Broghammer said the slippery customer is around one years old and has grown to around 20 inches.

He said the creature is only the second python known to be born with two heads.

The snake is non-venomous, found in Africa and are a popular pet.

Adults generally grow up to around 4ft and when threatened their instinctively curl into a ball to defend themselves.

Polar bear trainer's jaw-dropping photos

Grizzly man Mark Abbot Dumas is the only man in the world who can touch a polar bear. 

The fearless animal trainer even goes for dip in a swimming pool where he and 16-year-old polar bear Agee enjoy a watery cuddle together. 

Back on dry land he wrestles with the 60-stone (800lb) beast in her enclosure and bravely lets Agee clamp her huge jaws around his head.

And when the wrestling has tired both the animal expert and huge Agee out, they both enjoy a nap together inside Agee's enclosure.

Mark, 60, and wife Dawn, 49, from Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC), Canada, train the polar bear  - the world's largest land predator - to star in high-budget TV adverts. 

She even appeared in movies like Alaska in 1995 when she was just a few weeks old. 

With their incredibly intimate bond Agee even bear hugs owner Mark as she rears up on her hind legs to over seven feet.

‘If anyone else tried this they would end up as Agee's dinner,’ said Mark.

‘The only people in the whole world she likes are me and my wife.

‘I have worked with bears in this way for over 40 years, so I can read Agee's body language and know how to behave safely around her.

‘Agee has rules and we are always working inside those.’

Mark and Dawn took Agee on when she was just eight weeks old. 

With links to Hollywood through previous work with animals, Mark was approached by director Fraser Heston - the son of screen legend Charlton - 16 years ago.

Heston needed a polar bear cub for his forthcoming film Alaska and Mark found Agee - a surplus cub at Kolmarden Zoo, Sweden.

Mark and Dawn went through a lengthy application to show they had the facilities to care for her.

After being approved they transported the tiny cub - seen here at their old family home in Mission, BC, just after her arrival - to Canada.

‘She lived inside our home for the first few weeks and we hand-reared her,’ said Mark.

‘Eventually a time came when she was so big we had to move her outside into her own enclosure.’

Now Agee spends her time living in her new enclosure on rented land near Mark and Dawn's home in Abbotsford, and on the road working on TV and film sets.

At home, Mark enjoys 'play time' with her.

‘Earlier in the morning she's more playful and relaxed and she lets me roll around with her.

‘We wrestle for fun and sometimes we fall asleep on her grassy lawn together. It's a great way to unwind after a bad day.

‘I feel pretty privileged to be able to nap with my head resting on a fully-grown polar bear.’

Later in the day - when they are preparing for filming - Mark 'works' her, training Agee for the requested script requirements.

Agee performs a variety of commands in exchange for her favourite treats - steak, cookies, salmon and chocolates.

On cue from Mark, she rears up on her hind legs and will even pretend she's roaring when instructed to 'smile'.

‘She doesn't actually roar but she makes the action,’ said animal handler Dawn. ‘Film crews will later add in the sound of the roar if that's what they need for their production.’

Agee will also lie down, crawl and sit up in returnfor reward foods.

‘She loves her work,’ said Mark. ‘They are extremely intelligent animals and you can see she gets enjoyment out of being stimulated through her work.

‘She could never have lived wild so it's important to us that we keep her active and thinking. 

‘That's why I like swimming with her and playing on the lawn.’

In the evenings Agee is fed on mountains of protein-rich salmon, chicken or other meats, along with carbohydrates she gets from high-quality dog food and vitamin supplements.

‘In the wild she would be eating seal but we can't buy that so we have to try and replicate a fat-rich diet,’ said Mark.

‘Because they scavenge in the summer - when they are off the sea ice and on dry land - they have very adaptable diets.

Amazingly, Agee seems to have favourites between men and women.

‘She gets very jealous of other women talking to Mark,’ said Dawn.

Hairless baby Aardvark makes first public appearance after being born at zoo

Despite being completely bald, this adorable aardvark nevertheless faced a rather hairy situation when it was rejected by his mother moments after being born.

Staff at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, were forced to step in and care for the clumsy creature just hours after its birth on April 10.

But despite a rocky start the new arrival is now thriving and has made his first public appearance at the USA park.

A spokesman for the park said: 'Obviously we like to let nature take its course but we had to step in when we discovered his mother wasn't being attentive.

'We were scared she might accidentally step on him or even bury her cub as aardvarks have a primary instinct to dig for food and burrow for shelter.'

In the wild, female aardvarks typically give birth to one newborn each year.

The baby, which is yet to be named, is one of just 35 in zoos in North America.

The animals have a huge appetite for insects and have been known to suck up 50,000 of them in just one hour.

Taking photos with Polar bear at paw's length

Don’t be put off by the icy stare and fearsome claws.

This 40st polar bear actually gets along swimmingly with visitors who join her in the water at the Polar Bear Plunge.

Of course, eight-year-old Tatqiq’s friendly disposition is helped in no small part by a glass wall which lets her keep guests at a paw’s length.

Although the flexible screen gives slightly when pressed, it’s strong enough to withstand the force of a typical male polar bear – such as Tatqiq’s brother Kalluk, who weighs more than 70st.

The pair are part of an exhibit at San Diego Zoo which allows guests to see the bears up close while learning about how melting ice caps are affecting their species.

Two wild elephants invade Indian city and gore security guard to death in three-hour rampage

At least one man was killed amid widespread panic when two wild elephants went on a three-hour rampage across a city in southern Indian.

The raging elephants left a trail of destruction across a suburb of the city of Mysore, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, after they wandered in from a nearby forest.

One man, a 55-year-old security guard from the Bamboo Bazaar district, was trampled to death after he came out of his house to see what was going on.

Footage shown on New Delhi Television news shows the body of the man at the feet of one of the animals being repeatedly gored, butted and trampled into a doorway.

The footage also shows an elephant angrily butting a cow.

An eyewitness said: 'The two elephants entered our city and started stomping over everything that came in their way.

'One of them even entered a market place and crushed a man to death within minutes.'

Karnataka state higher education minister S.A. Ramdas told the AFP news agency the elephants entered the city from a nearby forest early in the morning.

One elephant barged into a women's college compound and stalked the grounds, while the other wreaked havoc in a residential area.

Schools and colleges were closed for the day, said Mr Ramdas, and extra police were deployed as forest rangers while staff from Mysore zoo tried desperately to contain the animals.

Officials ordered residents to stay indoors and urged them not to throw stones at the raging elephants for fear of provoking them further.

The two young elephants came with two others from a forest about 22 miles from Mysore. The other pair remain at large on the outskirts of the city, which is 87 miles from Bangalore.

Every year hundreds of people across India die when wild animals wander into cities as their natural habitats become ever smaller and they have to range farther and farther for food.

India's national parks suffer massive encroachment from people who live and forage for food in the forests or graze their cattle inside.

'Unregulated expansion of farm lands and increasing movement of people and transport vehicles through the elephant corridor are making the wild jumbos enter into villages and towns in search of food and shelter,' one official told AFP.

After a three-hour hunt, the two elephants who went into the city were eventually brought down with tranquilliser darts and captured. They are set to be released back into the wild.