During a recent dairy tournament in Brazil, a Girolando cow set a new national record for milk production by a single cow in a period of three days, with a whopping 343 liters (90.6 gallons).

Brazil’s Girolando cow breed, a cross between Holstein and Gir cattle, has long been famous for its incredibly high milk production. The average Girolando yields 3,600 liters (950 gallons) of milk per 305-day lactation period, but some specimens can produce well over 100 liters (26.4 gallons) per day. Brazilian cattle farmers take great pride in owning record-setting Girolandos, a breed developed in the South American country, and compete against each other in dairy tournaments to see whose cows yield the most milk in a set period of time. During a recent tournament in Delfim Moreira, southern Minas Gerais, a Girolando cow set a new national record by producing 343 liters of milk in a three-day period.

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A sizeable population of tropical fish native to Venezuela and Guyana has been thriving in the polluted sewer system of Kyiv, in Ukraine, since the 1980s.

The ability of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to adapt to various environments is well documented, but few people would expect to find a full-blown colony of the popular aquarium fish living in the sewer system of Ukraine’s capital city. And yet, a scientific study found that the little tropical fish native to South America has not only been surviving, but actually thriving in the dirty sewers of Kyiv. Guppies were first observed in the Bortnicheskaya treatment plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital in the 1980s, and have been able to breed there despite the high level of pollution and unpleasant odor.

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For years, Rosalio Culit, a self-described healer from the Philippines, has been treating the sick by allowing them to be bitten by venomous pit vipers.

Rosalio Culit, also known as Datu Kamandag among his fellow Manobo tribe members in Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, is a controversial healer who uses viper venom to treat various ailments. He claims that he only discovered the curative properties of snake venom by accident, after being bitten by one of his pet pit vipers many years ago. At the time, he was battling several illnesses, but just days after being bitten by the snake, he felt a lot better, so he deduced that the bite had cured him. He has been preaching the benefits of the North Philippine temple pit viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) venom ever since, and has made a name for himself as a snake healer.

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The pheasant-like hoatzin is the only bird species that ferments its food, an unusual digestive system that also makes it the stinkiest bird in the world.

The hoatzin is a very strange bird. Native to the backwaters of the Amazon, its chicks are born with clawed wings, it is the last surviving member of an ancient bird line believed to have branched off on its own around 64 million years ago, and its diet consists only of plants, which is very odd for birds. But this living oddity is most known for its strong manure-like smell, which has earned it the nickname ‘stinkbird’. The hoatzin is the only known bird species with a foregut fermentation system similar to the one found in cows, which releases significant amounts of methane via constant burping. The smelly burps and particularly stinky droppings give the hoatzin its signature odour.

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The caterpillar of the peppered moth has one of the most impressive natural camouflages in the animal world. Not only do they look like lifeless twigs, but they can also change color to match their background.

Over the past 17 years, we’ve featured some of the world’s most incredible camouflages. From caterpillars that position themselves perfectly on mango leaves to blend in, to butterflies that look like dead leaves and moths with flies feeding on bird droppings on their wings, we thought we had seen it all. And then along comes the stick caterpillar to blow our minds once again. Found in different regions of the Northern Hemisphere, like Asia, Europe, and North America, the caterpillar of the peppered moth is a master of mimicry. Not only does it have the shape of a twig, complete with all its natural imperfections, but it can also sense the color of the branch it is resting on with its skin and change its color accordingly to protect itself from predators.

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An Indian dog breeder recently paid 500 million rupees ($5.81 million ) for a unique cross between a real wolf and a Caucasian Shephard, making it the most expensive canine in the world.

Named Cadabomb Okami, the pricy canine was reportedly bred in the US and purchased by S. Satish, a Bengaluru-based dog enthusiast and the president of the Indian Dog Breeders Association. He is renowned for his collection of over 150 dog breeds, including some of the rarest in the world. Satish told Indian reporters that he felt the 500 million rupee price tag was worth it for Cadabomb Okami because he is literally one of a kind. Plus, he is an impressive specimen; at just eight months old he already weighs 75kg and stands 30 inches tall.

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A journalistic investigation by the Chinese newspaper The Paper revealed the widespread commercialization of “fake meats”, such as fox or raccoon meat being sold as beef, mutton, or rabbit to restaurants.

The Paper reports that in Chinese areas known for fur production, such as Tangshan, Hebei, Weifang, Linyi, or Shandong, animal farms resell fox and raccoon ‘white strips’ (carcasses with the internal organs and subcutaneous fat removed) all over the country, passing them off as beef, mutton or rabbit. Some vendors even go through the trouble of braising and grilling their fake meats before freezing them and selling them to restaurants to make them even harder to tell apart from meats meant for human consumption. Experts warn that the hormones and medicines used in the breeding of animals for fur, but also the pathogens they carry make these meats extremely dangerous.

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Chilean-born artist Marco Evaristti has come under fire for trying to starve three little piglets to death as part of a controversial art installation meant to raise awareness about animal welfare.

Marco Evaristti sparked controversy when he originally announced plans for his “And Now You Care?” exhibition, but he really attracted criticism both from animal rights activists and the general public when it actually became a reality. Located in a former butcher’s warehouse in the Meatpacking District of Copenhagen, “And Now You Care?” featured three little piglets on a pile of hay, trapped in a cage made up of two metal shopping carts and surrounded by paintings of slaughtered pigs and the Danish flag. It was already an unsettling display, but it was his plan to only give the piglets water and let them starve to death that really shocked everyone.

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Standing 185 cm (6 feet and 0.8 inches) tall from hoof to withers, 3-year-old King Kong is the world’s tallest water buffalo.

Water buffalos are among the biggest bovine species, but even among them, King Kong, a 3-year-old specimen born on a farm in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, stands out as exceptionally tall. Measuring a whopping 6 feet and 0.8 inches from hoof to withers, he is about 20 inches taller than the average water buffalo, according to Guinness World Records. Owner Suchart Booncharoen said that the animal’s name is no lucky coincidence, as his potential to grow into a huge frame was obvious from birth. Still, despite his massive size, King Kong is a gentle giant who loves playing and being around people.

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An Italian doctor is currently being investigated for using hospital equipment to diagnose his injured pet cat and then operating on her in order to save her life.

Gianluca Fanelli , head of the simple structure of Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology at the Parini Hospital in Aosta, Italy, recently split his home country into two camps – one that considers him a hero who values life over rules and regulations, and another that thinks he should face the consequences for knowingly breaking the rules of his workplace. On the evening of January 27, after taking his injured cat to a veterinarian and receiving a dire diagnosis, the radiologist took his feline, Athena, to Parini Hospital and put in the CT scanner to get an idea of the internal organ damage she had suffered. He then performed pneumothoracic surgery on her in the unit’s angiography room in order to save her life.

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A family of European beavers has become an overnight sensation in the Czech Republic after taking just two days to build a series of dams that the Czech Government had been struggling to build for 7 years.

A project to restore water areas in the Brdy Nature Park began in 2018, but authorities had taken years to get all the right permits and finally get construction of necessary dams underway. The cost of the dams needed to restore the wetlands of the area to their original condition was estimated at around 30 million Czech crowns, but thanks to a family of diligent beavers, the Government doesn’t have to spend a single dime anymore. Environmentalists monitoring the Brdy area recently reported that a few beavers took just two days to build functional dams in just the right areas, sparing us humans the trouble.

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A veterinary clinic in Turkey recently shared the touching story of a stray dog who carried her unconscious puppy in her mouth and left it at the clinic door as if begging for help.

If not for the viral video footage captured by CCTV cameras, most people would probably think this story too heartwarming to be true. A vet clinic in the Adnan Kahveci neighborhood of Beylikduzu, in Turkey’s Istanbul Province, recently reported one of its most incredible cases. On January 13, an animal lover brought a young puppy they had found on the street, claiming it was the only survivor of a stray’s litter. The clinic rushed to treat the pup only to then have its mother show up on the doorstep with another unconscious puppy in its mouth. A technician noticed the desperate animal and rushed to tend to its offspring, which suffered from hypothermia and had a very low heart rate.

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There are around 45,000 species of spider in the world, all of them carnivorous, with one exception – Bagheera kiplingi, a jumping spider known for feeding almost exclusively on plants.

Native to the forests of Central America and Mexico, Bagheera kiplingi is only 5-6mm long and spends most of its time on the old leaves of acacia trees, waiting for their opportunity to snatch their favorite meal – the Beltian bodies that grow on the very tips of young acacia leaves. There is only one problem, in order to gorge on their meal of choice, these tiny jumping spiders need to go through a gauntlet of aggressive ants that also feed on Beltian bodies, quickly clip it off with their fangs, and then run away to a safe place to feast on it. Rich in lipids and proteins, Beltian bodies are very nutritious for insects, but extremely unusual for arachnids,  the vast majority of which are carnivorous.

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An Uzbek zookeeper tragically lost his life after going into the lion’s enclosure at a private zoo to film himself petting the large felines only to get mauled by them.

On December 17, 44-year-old F. Iriskulov was working the night shift at a private zoo in Parkent, Uzbekistan, when he decided to impress his fiancee by filming himself going into the lions’ enclosure to pet three full-grown African felines. A short clip retrieved from the man’s phone shows him unlocking the lion’s cage and casually walking in while talking to the lions and addressing them by name. At one one point, the felines, which had been lounging on wooden pallets, become alert and approach the zoo keeper who continues to film, seemingly unaware of the danger he is in. The video cuts off with Iriskulov screaming as one of the lions attacks him.

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Pet vending machines have been sparking heated online debates in China for months, but this controversial “unmanned economy” model seems to have an even darker side than meets the eye.

We first featured China’s live pet vending machines back in May of this year when they were spotted in busy cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Back then, people were furious about having cats displayed in transparent containers barely large enough for them to turn around in, but according to recent reports by several Chinese news outlets, this business model has an even darker side. It’s hard to resist an adorable kitten meowing at you from inside one of these vending machines like it’s begging you to take it home, but it’s even harder when doing so costs nothing. That’s right, the cats in these ‘adoption boxes’ are free, even specimens of coveted breeds that would otherwise cost a few hundred dollars. But there’s a catch!

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