A Lion named Bob Junior, who was known as the “King of the Serengeti,” has been killed by rival Lions. The fearsome big cat, also known as Snyggve, had dominated his territory for seven years alongside his brother, Tryggve, who is also presumed dead.
Bob Junior has ruled his territory for seven years. Credit: James Lewin.
“These incidents normally happen when the head of a pride becomes old or sometimes when the other male Lions are not happy with his control over a large territory,” Fredy Shirima, a Serengeti conservation officer, told the BBC.
Tour operators and visitors to the national park have paid tribute to the “legendary” Bob Junior – also known as Snyggve – online.
The “photogenic” and “coolest cat” in the Serengeti, Bob Jr had a fearsome reputation among his rivals and had ruled for seven years with the help of his brother, Tryggve.
The Serengeti is home to approximately 3,000 Lions. National Geographic reports adult males can up to around 12 years.
Bob Junior, who was named after Bob Marley, was thought to be around 10 years old. He had a distinctive black mane and was often spotted by wildlife groups touring the park.
Online tributes called him “Legendary” and “Iconic.”
He reportedly did not put up a fight when he was attacked on Saturday.
Bob Junior’s Last Stand – He Fought To The End!
Wildlife officials are preparing a special burial on a day yet to be announced.
RIP Bob Junior – Credit: Giles Laurent.
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He remains very much at the forefront of our minds. Not many Rhinos live to such an age but Sudan led an extraordinary life and his legacy, as the last male of the species, continues to live on, reminding us of the disastrous impact human ignorance and greed has on all wildlife species.
Joseph Wachira, a keeper at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, says goodbye to Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino. Credit: Ami Vitale
Though the Northern White Rhino is functionally extinct – following the loss of Sudan, the last known living male, five years ago this week – conservationists are finding hope in a technique that is creating new embryos using genetic material taken from him and two remaining females.
To mark the occasion, photographer Ami Vitale has released a new short film called “Remembering Sudan,” which will be screened at upcoming film festivals.
“Our fate is linked to the fate of animals. What happens next is in all of our hands.” said Ami Vitale.
Sudan, a 45-year-old rhino believed to be the world’s last surviving male Northern White Rhino, died five years ago at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19, 2018. He had been battling ill health for months, and after his condition worsened considerably, veterinarians decided to euthanize him.
Since then, an international consortium of scientists and conservationists known as the BioRescue Project – a consortium made up of Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Germany; Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic; the Kenya Wildlife Service; and Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya – have been working to bring the species back from extinction through in vitro fertilization and stem cell research. They have already created 24 viable embryos using eggs from the last two female White Rhinos that are still alive, and the frozen sperm of deceased male Northern White Rhinos like Sudan.
Fatu (left) and Najin (right) are the last two Northern White Rhinos left on the planet. They are both female and are a mother-daughter duo. Credit: Gurcharan Roopra
To mark the occasion, photographer Ami Vitale has released a new short film, Remembering Sudan, which will be screened at upcoming film festivals and can be viewed online, here’s the trailer:
Remembering Sudan: The Trailer
Though the Northern White Rhino is functionally extinct following the loss of the last male of the species, conservationists like Vitale find great hope in BioRescue, and in the power of humanity to react positively:
“What happens next is in all of our hands. What’s going to save us all is to get beyond our routine ways of thinking. Wonder is what allows us to reimagine our future together. Wonder allows us to believe that we can fundamentally change the course we are currently on.” Vitale said when reflecting on the anniversary.
“Our fate is linked to the fate of animals. Without Rhinos and other wildlife, we suffer more than loss of ecosystem health. We suffer a loss of imagination, a loss of wonder, a loss of beautiful possibilities,” she said.
Readers can view the film, learn more and support the project at its website, www.rememberingsudan.org..
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Kiska, the Orca dubbed the “World’s Loneliest Whale,” died recently after 44 years in captivity. Her life was a tragic one, and her death could be seen as a sort of release. She was believed to be 47 years old, although her exact age isn’t positively known. She was the last captive Killer Whale in Canada.
In 1979, when Kiska was three years old, she was caught in Icelandic waters and taken to MarineLand, a theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Kiska was captured along with Keiko, the whale made famous in the movie Free Willy, and for a few years in the ’80s, the pair shared a pool. Kiska spent 40 years there, swimming in a concrete tank.
For the last 12 years of her life, Kiska was alone in her tank. Orcas are social animals that live in tight-knit pods, hunting together and communicating with each other. Her tank at MarineLand was bare and featureless, and her depression was caught on film recently in a hard-to-watch video that went viral.
Kiska’s death comes four years after Canada passed bill S-203, banning the captivity and breeding of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Although the new law was too late for Kiska – individuals already in captivity were excluded from protection – activists say her story was instrumental in drawing public attention to the plight of captive marine mammals.
In one of the last recorded videos of her, she drifts listlessly in aquamarine water as a boy behind the glass wall tries to get her attention. “Kis-kaaa! Kis-kaa! Kis-kaaa!” he calls as the Whale floats by, seemingly oblivious.
The heartbreaking footage below shows Kiska floating listlessly and hurling herself against the walls of her cramped tank. This unnatural behaviour was the result of stress, frustration, distress, and loneliness caused by cruel confinement.
Kiska’s harrowing story is not unique – around the world, Orcas just like her are languishing in marine parks so that humans can gawk at them and watch them do demeaning tricks.
Help end their suffering. Speak out against the exploitation of Whales and Dolphins in tourism.
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They are the country’s icon – but behind the dazzle of religious festivals and tourist ‘attractions’, these giants of the wild are painfully abused in Thailand.
Some Elephants in Thailand are captured from the wild or bred in captivity and then forced to perform like monkeys to humans for the rest of their lives. When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken, like a horse, or else they would not do what the humans tell them.
When small they are beaten with sticks until they are broken.
When they are not performing they are shackled in chains and when they come into heat or ‘musk’ they are re-beaten again to make them tame – THIS IS THE REALITY of your trip to see the Elephants in Thailand! Please do not support captive Elephants and only visit the ones that are free and not shackled – humans paying these people only make this continue – if we cut our money off, they will not continue doing this.
ALL temple elephants are shackled and beaten – do not be tricked into thinking they are not.
YOU PAY, THEY SUFFER!
I WILL STAND UP AND NOT BE AFRAID
I will stand up and not be afraid Of those who ask why I share the elephants suffering And show them on video coloured pink
I do it, Not because I support what I see I do it, Not to encourage you to go I do it, Not so you find the link To the website advertising such horror shows
I do it, To remind those that have a life That many who walk amongst us Are suffering at the hands of man Because humans say they can As there is no law to fight And animals have no rights
I do it, So the voiceless will be heard. I do it, To show you that it it is wrong of man To sink so low as to abuse these magnificent beasts So you may feast Upon the evil show Now you know.
Sadly, the person clapping knows The elephants do not love these shows These elephants are forced to perform for your enjoyment They have been abused since very young With bull hooks and chains To force them to obey A command by the human, Which destroys their natural ways And makes them servants of man
I call the elephants slaves to its mahout Because they cannot call a halt to the video shoot Because they cannot escape the strife That is their life.
Rachel Bose.
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Plans to ban imports of animal hunting trophies to Great Britain are set to become law.
The government has backed legislation which would stop hunters bringing back body parts of thousands of species, including Lions, Rhinos, Elephants and Polar Bears, killed abroad.
Tory MP Henry Smith, who proposed the bill, said it would help conserve the world’s most endangered species.
It was approved by MPs and will now face further scrutiny in the Lords.
As it has the support of the government, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill is likely to become law.
Every year, hunters from the UK travel abroad, often to southern Africa, and pay thousands of pounds to legally shoot animals, such as Lions and Elephants.
Under current rules, with the right paperwork, they can then bring trophies, such as stuffed heads or horns, back to the UK.
Campaigners backing the bill had feared it could be blocked after more than 30 amendments were tabled by two Conservative MPs, Sir Christopher Chope and Sir Bill Wiggin.
However, after the government accepted two of their proposals – to establish an advisory board on hunting trophies and to limit the power of the secretary of state to add new species to the list the ban would apply to – the pair dropped their other demands for further changes to the bill.
Critics of the plans have argued that profits from hunting are used to pay for conservation projects in African countries and can ultimately help to protect endangered species.
Sir Bill, the Tory MP for North Herefordshire, told the Commons there were concerns that removing the revenue supplied by trophy hunters could “open the floodgate to poachers, who will cause far more cruelty and pain to the animals and will pose a far greater threat to endangered species”.
However, animal welfare charities have rejected this, arguing that hardly any of the revenues from trophy hunting ever reach local communities.
Environment Minister Trudy Harrison told MPs: “I do recognise that some of the income from trophy hunting has contributed towards the protection of habitat and the prevention of poaching.
“But to bring back the body parts of endangered species… is not the way forward.”
Sir Bill also suggested the legislation was a “a neo-colonial attempt to control conservation management programmes of African democratic countries”.
This was denied by Mr Smith, who insisted: “This is about the values that we in Britain have, that we do not want to be part of a trade in endangered species’ body parts.
“We are not telling other countries how to run their trade, or their conservation or hunting policies.”
Some MPs, including the Democratic Unionist Party’s Sammy Wilson, also raised concerns Northern Ireland could become a “back door” for hunting imports as the law would not apply there.
Ms Harrison said the government would do “everything we possibly can” to ensure Northern Ireland was not a “stepping stone for imports to Great Britain”.
Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, singer Ed Sheeran and actress Dame Judi Dench are among the celebrities who have backed the proposed legislation.
Animal charities welcomed the progress of the bill, with Born Free saying it sent “a clear signal that, with wildlife in crisis, allowing rich people to kill wild animals for kicks has no place in the modern world”.
Humane Society International said it was “relieved” only two amendments to the bill were accepted, although the charity added that it was disappointed one removed the power of the environment secretary to add other species in need of protection to the legislation.
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For five years, Ruben the lion’s roars went unanswered as the last animal in an abandoned zoo.
So scarred was the 15-year-old by solitary confinement in a tiny cage, he fell silent. But now Ruben is learning to roar again with the help of the British animal charity which rescued him.
Jan Creamer, of Animal Defenders International, said the zoo in the Artsakh Republic, a self-declared republic within Azerbaijan, had been owned by an Armenian businessman.
RUBEN THE LION WHO LOST HIS ROAR
After the businessman, died all the other animals were rescued. ‘Sadly, there was no room for Ruben,’ she said. ‘Lions live in family groups and roaring is chatting to them.
‘He is still trying to roar. Ruben has never felt the sun on his back or the wind in his face.’
Now he will soon find a home at a sanctuary in South Africa where, his rescuers hope, he will roar again.
The rescue operation had to be meticulously planned and strategically timed to avoid inflaming tensions in the region, which is patrolled by a Russian peace-keeping force.
The former businessman’s family were keen for Ruben to have a better life and agreed to the move, which had to negotiate multiple armed check-points.
He will soon be taken to an ADI sanctuary in South Africa for Lions and Tigers.
Ruben, who was born in captivity in the zoo, has been left with health issues from his years spent alone with little food.
But his coat, once matted with mud and moulting, is getting its shine back as he gets used to a healthy diet and the comfort of a hay-bed, two heated rooms and a 30ft by 15ft enclosure.
‘This is more space than he has ever known but the real transformation will be in Africa where he will eventually have access to 2.5 acres of natural habitat,’ Ms Creamer said.
‘His life-long restrictions have weakened his muscles and there appears to be neurological damage to his spine and head and one leg is wobbly and drags. But we are building him up with exercise and food and he is responding well.
‘Ruben is now engaging and interacting with people which is wonderful to see. His calls went unanswered for five years but we are confident that he will roar again.’
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A frail Lion that looks like a walking skeleton has become too weak to chew.
Shocking footage showed the skinny lion walking through its enclosed cage
The Lion, called Ala, is so emaciated he can barely walk through his enclosure at the Jinniu Lake Safari Park in Nanjing, China with outraged social media users accusing the zoo of inflicting suffering on the lion and starving their animals.
Shocking footage has emerged of a starving lion which is barely more than skin and bones at a Chinese zoo.
Many have been left furious and disturbed by the sight of the big cat who looks so malnourished it is struggling to carry out basic functions such as walking.
In the horrifying video viewers can see the Lion’s ribs because it is so thin.
The clip – shared later on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – shows the ultra-skinny Lion wobbling down a walkway.
The lion is so frail he can barely walk
It caused outrage among viewers who accused the zoo of not taking proper care of the feeble feline.
One user said: ‘This is too much suffering. If you can’t afford to feed it, send it to a different zoo that can.
‘Why let him suffer? It should have been left living in nature.’
Meanwhile, another added: ‘This zoo is too much, starving the lions like this.’
Officials at the zoo later attributed the lion’s shocking appearance to its old age because he can no longer chew his food.
They claimed that the 25-year-old big cat would be 80 if he was a human.
Officials say he is fed a special diet of liquid protein and small cuts of meat and is watched over by specially trained vets and keepers in a private cage.
The zoo added: ‘Usually, we let it out for a walk in the morning or evening.’
Despite the concerning footage, Jinniu Lake Safari Park is ranked in the top five family-friendly things to do in Nanjing on Trip.com.
It has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 but there are also hundreds of negative reviews, with some visitors citing the zoo’s ‘poor management’ and others complaining of the huge costs.
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Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
America’s first war dog, Stubby, served 18 months ‘over there’ and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, located and comforted the wounded, and even once caught a German spy by the seat of his pants. Back home his exploits were front page news of every major newspaper.
Stubby was a bull terrier – broadly speaking, very broadly! No one ever discovered where he hailed from originally. One day he just appeared, when a bunch of soldiers were training at Yale Field in New Haven, Ct; he trotted in and out among the ranks as they drilled, stopping to make a friend here and a friend there, until pretty soon he was on chummy terms with the whole bunch.
One soldier though, in particular, developed a fondest for the dog, a Corporal Robert Conroy, who when it became time for the outfit to ship out, hid Stubby on board the troop ship.
So stowaway Stubby sailed for France, after that Cpl. Conroy became his accepted master, even though he was still on chummy terms with everyone else in the outfit; and in the same spirit of camaraderie that had marked his initial overtures at Yale.
It was at Chemin des Dames that Stubby saw his first action, and it was there that the boys discovered he was a war dog par excellence. The boom of artillery fire didn’t faze him in least, and he soon learned to follow the men’s example of ducking when the big ones started falling close. Naturally he didn’t know why he was ducking, but it became a great game to see who could hit the dugout first. After a few days, Stubby won every time. He could hear the whine of shells long before the men. It got so they’d watch him!
Stand Easy Sgt. Stubby
Then one night Stubby made doggy history. It was an unusually quiet night in the trenches. Some of the boys were catching cat naps in muddy dugouts, and Stubby was stretched out beside Conroy. Suddenly his big blunt head snapped up and his ears pricked alert. The movement woke Conroy, who looked at the dog sleepily just in time to see him sniff the air tentatively, utter a low growl, then spring to his feet, and go bounding from the dugout, around a corner out of sight.
A few seconds later there was a sharp cry of pain and then the sound of a great scuffle outside. Conroy jumped from his bed, grabbed his rifle and went tearing out towards the direction of the noise.
The Highly Decorated Sgt. Stubby
A ludicrous sight met his eyes. Single-pawed, in a vigorous offensive from the rear, Stubby had captured a German spy, who’d been prowling through the trenches. The man was whirling desperately in an effort to shake off the snarling bundle of canine tooth and muscle that had attached itself to his differential. But Stubby was there to stay.
It took only a few moments to capture the Hun and disarm him, but it required considerably more time to convince Stubby that his mission had been successfully carried out and that he should now release the beautiful hold he had on that nice, soft German bottom.
By the end of the war, Stubby was known not only to every regiment, division, and army, but to the whole AEF. Honors by the bale were heaped on his muscled shoulders. At Mandres en Bassigny he was introduced to President Woodrow Wilson, who “shook hands” with him. Medal and emblemed jackets were bestowed upon him for each deed of valor, plus a wound stripe for his grenade splinter. Not to be left out, the Marines even made him an honorary sergeant.
After the Armistice was signed, Stubby returned home with Conroy and his popularity seemed to grow even more. He became a nationally acclaimed hero, and eventually was received by presidents Harding and Coolidge. Even General John “Black Jack” Pershing, who commanded the American Expeditionary Forces during the war, presented Stubby with a gold medal made by the Humane Society and declared him to be a “hero of the highest caliber.”
Stubby toured the country by invitation and probably led more parades than any other dog in American history; he was also promoted to honorary sergeant by the Legion, becoming the highest ranking dog to ever serve in the Army.
He was even made an honorary member of the American Red Cross, the American Legion and the YMCA, which issued him a lifetime membership card good for “three bones a day and a place to sleep.” Afterwards, Stubby became Georgetown University’s mascot. In 1921, Stubby’s owner, Robert Conroy was headed to Georgetown for law school and took the dog along. According to a 1983 account in Georgetown Magazine, Stubby “served several terms as mascot to the football team.” Between the halves, Stubby would nudge a football around the field, much to the delight of the crowd.
A FITTING TRIBUTE TO A HERO
Old age finally caught up with the small warrior on April 4th, 1926, as he took ill and died in Conroy’s arms.
It’s said, that Stubby and a few of his friends were instrumental in inspiring the creation of the United States ‘K-9 Corps’ just in time for World War ll.
With this virtual gift, you will bring love to the life of a rescue in need this Valentine’s
At Miracle’s Mission, we bring rescued dogs and cats into our care who’ve never known what it feels like to be loved. You could change that by purchasing a virtual gift for them. With your gift, we can continue to give homeless rescues the love and care they deserve – and find their perfect match. What better way to help rescues this Valentine’s?
After purchasing a gift, you’ll receive an email that includes a certificate to download for yourself or your loved one – a nice keepsake as a reminder of the difference your gift has made to rescues.
So, if you can, please help homeless pets find love by purchasing a Whole Lot of Love Pack. We promise this is one gift that’s guaranteed to make someone’s heart flutter this Valentine’s!
How does a virtual gift work?1. Pop your virtual gift into your shopping basket and complete your checkout.
2. Look out for a thank you email including a downloadable virtual certificate.
3. Print out your certificate or email it to your lucky pet-loving Valentine.
All proceeds goes directly to Miracle’s Mission to support vulnerable pets.
Firefighters from Verona (Italy) rescued a Wolf that ended up in a stream, in the city centre. Initially mistaken for a Dog, the Wolf, exhausted, had stopped on the branches of a fig tree and then ended up in the ditch.
he firefighters, who intervened to save the animal that could no longer free itself and get back on the street, took it and put it, in total safety, inside a cage.
The Wolf rescued by firefighters will now be released on the mountains of Lessina, from where it is thought to have reached the centre of Verona.
The fire brigade of the city of Verona often intervene to rescue animals. During 2022, a total of 242 rescues were carried out, about 4% of the rescue operations performed.
It is no longer so anomalous to see wolves trespassing in some Italian cities, as well as other types of animals (in Rome it is now usual to see wild boars). A problem that should certainly be tackled intelligently, to protect citizens and animals.
PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE 