Category: Animals

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These Tragic Photos Show the Apocalyptic Devastation of the Australian Bushfires

I visited Australia in 2001, and it truly is a remarkable country. It’s a beautiful place filled with friendly, hard-working, generous people, and weird animals that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

The devastating wildfires taking place in Australia are so enormous and have killed so many animals – scientists estimate nearly half a billion – that it is almost incomprehensible. Here are 15 moving photos to show you the hell on Earth that is occurring right now Down Under.

https://twitter.com/Sci_Phile/status/1213703245794693120/photo/1

Be sure to look through all the photos and scroll to the end of the article to find out how you can help!

1. Watching it burn.

2. Heroes.

This fire fighter (and all FF’s) saving the people, animals, and homes in Australia. from HumansBeingBros

3. All those poor animals.

4. Unbelievable.

5. These guys need a rest.

Exhausted firefighters in Australia from pics

6. World on fire.

Balmattum Hill is really glowing tonight, however not as much as all of our incredible & selfless emergency services. Thank you ?

Posted by Melissa Ericksen on Saturday, January 4, 2020

7. The numbers are staggering.

8. The eyes say a lot.

My uncle at the end of a 13 hour shift volunteering with NSW RFS from australia

9. The smoke is moving.

Caught the smoke as it was spreading over our suburb in Australia from pics

10. Hell opens up.

Hell opens up in Australia. Thoughts go out to our brave fire fighters. from pics

11. Scorched earth.

In Australia after a fire. from pics

12. All red.

No filters. Australia is red from wildfires. from pics

13. Raging inferno.

A picture one of the local postmen took from his front yard. This was in Forster. from australia

14. Looks like the Apocalypse.

This is a pyrocumulus cloud produced by smoke from the Australian bushfires. It’s 12km high. It produces its own thunderstorms, fire tornadoes and 100km/h winds. from WTF

15. No filter.

No filter. A motel in NSW Australia in middle of the day. from WTF

Click HERE to learn about how you can help out and organizations you can donate to help out during this terrible tragedy

The post These Tragic Photos Show the Apocalyptic Devastation of the Australian Bushfires appeared first on UberFacts.

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Research Shows That Underwater Speakers Can Help Revive Dying Coral Reefs

Dying coral reefs have been a problem for years now, and scientists have struggled to figure out ways to revive struggling reef ecosystems. But a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications has given scientists (and everyone, really) newfound hope about this critically important issue.

The study found that playing sounds on underwater speakers could entice fish to come to dying reefs. The sounds being played on these speakers aren’t pop music, to be clear. Rather, they mimic the sounds of a healthy reef. Researchers found that when a loudspeaker played the sounds of a healthy reef, double the number of fish came by, and 50% more fish species visited compared to dead coral reef areas without any artificial sounds.

The experiment lasted 40 days, and the species of fish that flocked to the coral with the loudspeakers were very diverse. This is valuable because fish clean reefs of choking algae and help make space for new coral to grow. While this certainly isn’t the only ingredient in reviving dying coral reefs, it definitely can help reefs begin to recover. And diverse fish species bring different functions to coral reefs, which further helps recovery.

Andy Radford, a co-author of the study, said, “If combined with habitat restoration and other conservation measures, rebuilding fish communities in this manner might accelerate ecosystem recovery.”

Coral Reef, Florida

There are many factors that cause a cause reef to suffer or die. In the Florida Keys, sewage and fertilizer runoff has led to nitrogen enrichment in areas with coral reefs, killing corals. Rising ocean temperatures kill coral as well – around 50% of Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef has been bleached to death because of high oceanic temperature caused by climate change. Though, on a positive note, it looks like some corals are becoming more resistant to increasing temperatures in the water.

Let’s hope that research and ACTION continues to develop for this very important cause. We only have one Earth, let’s take care of it!

The post Research Shows That Underwater Speakers Can Help Revive Dying Coral Reefs appeared first on UberFacts.

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There’s a Great Facebook Page Dedicated to All the Dogs UPS Drivers Meet

UPS drivers encounter a lot of people along their daily routes. They probably see a lot of the same faces day in and day out. And that includes dogs who they meet on the road.

So many UPS drivers make friends with pups along the way that there’s even a Facebook page dedicated to showing off these unique relationships.

Here are some great pics of drivers and their furry friends.

1. A whole gaggle of dogs.

Lloyd making some new friends in Shipton Oliffe, CHELTENHAM, UK

Posted by UPS Dogs on Friday, December 27, 2019

2. New friends!

Father/daughter duo delivered packages to River and Jax’s house! Tigard, Oregon

Posted by UPS Dogs on Tuesday, December 24, 2019

3. Santa’s here!

Merry Christmas! Ups lake wales ,fl ( Avon park )

Posted by UPS Dogs on Wednesday, December 25, 2019

4. Big fans of each other.

Harper getting some love from her boyfriend Darren at Blossom and Basket Boutique. Mt. Airy, MD

Posted by UPS Dogs on Friday, December 27, 2019

5. Come on in the truck.

Who ordered a pair of Neos for Christmas?! ❤??

Posted by UPS Dogs on Monday, December 23, 2019

6. Along for the ride.

Our awesome driver, Trevor, and Claire. Best of friends!Beale AFB, California

Posted by UPS Dogs on Saturday, December 28, 2019

7. Big hugs all around.

Ruby loves our UPS man! Hugs for Christmas!Wantage, NJ

Posted by UPS Dogs on Wednesday, December 25, 2019

8. Here they come!

Merry Christmas from Kentucky ? ?

Posted by UPS Dogs on Saturday, December 21, 2019

9. Back home safely.

Have to say a big THANK YOU!!! to our driver, Dakota! None of my Amazon packages came today..lol..but he did bring my…

Posted by UPS Dogs on Thursday, December 19, 2019

10. How about a kiss?

This is Storm with her very own UPS Dad, stopping to give him some kisses on this cold day! I love you!❤

Posted by UPS Dogs on Thursday, December 19, 2019

It doesn’t get much better than that, folks!

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A Study Shows That Cats Are Less Stressed When They Have Access to Cardboard Boxes

If you have a cat, you’ve probably suspected this for a long time, but now we know that it’s official: cardboard boxes help alleviate cats’ stress.

Researchers from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands conducted the study on shelter cats to see if access to cardboard boxes genuinely helped lower their stress levels in a scientifically measurable way. The scientists used 19 shelter cats in the study, 10 of which were given access to boxes, while 9 were not.

What...?

The study showed that the cats who had access to the boxes showed a faster recovery ability and adapted more quickly to their new environment than those cats that didn’t have access to boxes. The researchers noticed major differences between the two groups just three or four days into the study.

Nap time photoshoot

The researchers explained, “Stressful experiences can have a major impact on the cats’ welfare and may cause higher incidences of infectious diseases in the shelters due to raised cortisol levels causing immunodeficiency. Though several studies showed preference for hiding places and stress-reducing effects of hiding boxes on cats in combined studies, none of these studies determined if proper hiding enrichment would be effective in a quarantine cattery.”

Muffin9

The study lasted 14 days and the cats who had access to the cardboard boxes had a lower mean CSS, which means they had lower stress levels than the cats without the cardboard boxes. Also, the 10 individual cats with the boxes showed little difference in their stress levels while the 9 cats with no access to boxes showed high variance in their levels.

Bottom line: if you have cats, you’ll probably make them feel a lot more comfortable if you toss some old boxes around the house. It makes sense – in the wild, cats are pretty small, and would likely spend quite a lot of their time hiding out of sight.

So help your kitties keep those stress levels down!

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These People Swore up and Down That They Did Not Want a Pet

There are pet people and then there are people who claim to be human but still say they definitely don’t want a pet.

Okay, fine. I know there are responsible reasons to not want a pet, like not being financially able to care for them, or in a living situation that’s not conducive, or you travel or work a lot.

For most of us, though, those claims come to an end the moment “our” next pet worms their way into our lives.

Which is exactly what happened to these 18 people, who changed their tunes rather quickly.

17. I mean, he does look interested.

16. All animals can smell a sucker.

15. He’s clearly appalled at how they’re being deprived in his absence.

14. The cat wants what it wants.

13. She knows a nice chair when she sees one.

12. This is so innocent and adorable.

11. Never say never…

10. You gotta spoil the grandkids – it’s a rule!

9. No one getting tossed out, I see.

8. He was asleep!

7. If you’re gonna do it, do it right.

6. Not even with her children. Ha!

5. Education is important.

4. That seems right.

3. A beard snuggle omgggg.

2. Snuggle buddies!

1. That cat looks awfully smug!

Annnnnnnd I totally want a new pet for the new year. How about you?

Have any of your pets found you accidentally? How did you react?

The post These People Swore up and Down That They Did Not Want a Pet appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Artist Imagines Fantastical Animals Living in the Real World

Art can make us think, push us out of our comfort zone, challenge us, please us, and connect us. In some cases, like Yee Chong’s adorable illustrations of fantastical animals living as pets, it can utterly delight us.

Below are 12 of my favorite images (I just want them to pop off the page so I can snuggle them, for real!), but you can check out everything she does if you follow her Instagram!

12. I can haz some dinner?

11. He sees you trying to leave.

10. This one is my favorite.

9. That face!

View this post on Instagram

Yamper. #pokemonswordshield #yamper

A post shared by Yee Chong (@art_of_silverfox) on

8. You just said awwwwww, didn’t you?

7. He fits he sits!

6. You couldn’t even be mad at him!

5. No one likes a bath!

View this post on Instagram

Instafloof #floofy #wet #fox

A post shared by Yee Chong (@art_of_silverfox) on

4. That’s not the kind of table food he wants and you know it!

3. What, am I not supposed to play with it?

2. Reporting for duty!

View this post on Instagram

Swiper no swiping! x3 #swiper #fox #doratheexplorer

A post shared by Yee Chong (@art_of_silverfox) on

1. So cozy!

 

So freaking adorable – it’s fun to live in a fantasy world now and then, no?

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A Man Died of Sepsis After His Dog Licked Him

I routinely let most dogs I encounter lick me as much as they want. Now, after learning about this story, I can say that maybe I need to back off a little bit…

A 63-year-old man in Germany began to feel ill and ultimately died – and the culprit might freak you out a little bit: the man’s dog licked his face. A couple of weeks later, he got a fever, started experiencing muscle pains, and then had trouble breathing. He decided to go to the hospital to find out what was going on and he received some awful news: he had advanced kidney damage and liver dysfunction.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Holly Koffler (@hollykoffler) on

He was admitted to the hospital but things took a turn for the worse. The doctors realized he was suffering from gangrene and that he had a terrible sepsis infection.

Of course correlation is not causation, so how do we know it was the dog licking that did it?

The man’s bloodwork showed that he was infected with Capnocytophaga canimorsus, which is a bacteria usually found in the saliva of cats and dogs.

No treatments worked on the poor man, and he suffered for 16 days as multiple organs failed. Sadly, his family eventually decided to turn off his life support and the man passed away.

This may sound like something that has never happened before or that would never happen again, but there were two other cases of humans contracting Capnocytophaga canimorsus from dogs in 2018 alone. A 58-year-old woman in Wisconsin died after her dog nipped her, and a man, also from Wisconsin, contracted the bacteria after spending time with eight puppies. The man had to have both of his legs amputated and parts of his hands removed because of the infection.

Our advice: if you happen to be bitten by a dog or a cat, wash the area immediately with soap and water, and have a doctor take a look at the wound just to be on the safe side. Yikes…

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10 Cute Cat Bleps That Might Warm Your Heart

Cats on social media give us all kinds of sweet little moments, but the bleps have been winning big lately. What are bleps, you ask? It’s when a kitty has just a little bit of their tongue hanging out of their mouth and it is freaking adorable.

Here are some perfect examples.

1. Good morning!

Good morning blep from Blep

2. Looks like a drawing.

She has anime eyes and the cutest blep from Blep

3. A snoozin’ blep.

Meet my cats blep from Blep

4. A real beauty.

The prettiest blep I ever did see from Blep

5. I thought I heard something.

Blep did I hear the treat baggy crinkle? from Blep

6. Extreme close-up.

One handsome blep from Blep

7. It sure is magnificent…

Caught this magnificent blep the other day. It has taken a few years but we caught one in the end! from Blep

8. Bleppy boi, bleppy boi.

Please enjoy our bleppy boi from Blep

9. The muppet blep.

October looks like a a scruffy muppet with a blep. from Blep

10. Just a little one…

A tiny blep from Blep

Don’t hold out on us!

We know you have some great blep photos that we’d love to see in the comments!

The post 10 Cute Cat Bleps That Might Warm Your Heart appeared first on UberFacts.

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10 Tweets That Prove Cats Also Like to Play Fetch

This may surprise you, but playing fetch isn’t only for the dogs anymore.

All kinds of cats are getting in on this action!

But that’s a good thing, right? The more, the merrier, we like to say!

1. Look at her go!

2. A hair tie will work, too.

3. Keep practicing.

4. Your cat’s ears were burning.

5. Here’s the proof.

6. A pawsome game.

7. Just like a doggo.

8. Magical, indeed.

9. Three-legged fetch!

10. You gotta love it.

Do you have any videos or photos of your pet THAT ISN’T a dog playing fetch?

Share them with us in the comments! We want to see these animals in action!

The post 10 Tweets That Prove Cats Also Like to Play Fetch appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Village in Russia Is Facing a Sudden Onslaught of Polar Bears

As the earth continues to get warmer, polar bear populations are sadly declining. Strangely enough, though, one village in Russia is actually being overrun by polar bears.

Almost 60 polar bears were spotted looking for food near the village of Ryrkaypiy in far east Russia, CNN reports. The bears, most of them looking starved, are feeding on walrus carcasses on the village’s shores. Males, females, and cubs have all been spotted.

This is a marked increase from previous years, when it was rare to spot more than three to five polar bears at a time. Experts attribute the sudden increase to climate change – as warmer temperatures melt the sea ice, more bears are forced to remain on land rather than at sea, their preferred habitat.

“If the ice was strong enough, the bears, or at least some of them, would have already gone to sea, where they could hunt for seals or sea hares,” Mikhail Stishov, coordinator of WWF-Russia projects for the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, told CNN. “Similar situations are becoming the norm. We need to adapt to this so that neither people nor bears suffer.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Thankfully, no incidents have been reported between bears and humans. Still, Ryrkaypiy’s 500 residents are understandably stressed. What will happen if the bears run out of walrus carcasses to eat? They might venture even closer to people’s homes.

“The psychological situation in (Ryrkaypiy) is complicated, women worry, because their children walk to school,” said Anatoly Kochnev, a scientist at Russia’s Institute of Biological Problems of the North.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Volunteers on “bear patrol” are now on lookout at the town limits. School buses have also begun picking up children so they don’t have to walk to school.

This is climate change in action, folks.

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