Beastly

A CURIOUS whale breeches head first out of the water - giving tourists a close-up view of a lifetime. The 35ft humpback whale swam within arms reach of a boat of tourist by the Molokini Crater in Hawaii. Kelly Bryce, 32, from Maui, Hawaii, captured the incredible footage while working a snorkel tour on a Redline Rafting charter boat. She estimated that the whale weighed about 60,000 lbs - six times as heavy as the boat they were riding in.

An unlucky impala leaps across a dam in Kruger National Park and straight into the jaws of a hungry crocodile. The gruesome catch was captured on camera by Rene van der Schyff, 50, a personal assistant from Phalaborwa, South Africa. Rene was visiting the park with her husband when she witnessed the shocking kill. The impala attempted to cross the Sable Dam when the crocodile shot up and caught it mid-air.

Canine colossus Freddy is believed to be Britain's biggest dog. The Great Dane has been measured at 7ft 4in (2.24m) on his hind legs by owner Claire Stoneman. Although no official measurement has yet been made, that would make Freddy as tall as world-record holder Zeus, and significantly larger than Britain's current biggest dog Samson, who is 6ft 6in (1.98m). The gigantic dog began life as the runt of the litter, but experienced an astonishing growth spurt to reach his current size. Claire, a 38-year-old taxi driver from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, who drives a Barbie-pink cab, lives with Freddy and his sister Fleur.

OUT of the water, most seals would have every right to feel out of harms way. But off the coast of Argentina, the local killer whales have made even shore a dangerous place to be - by learning to safely beach themselves. With a powerful burst of speed the six-tonne mammals are able to rush onto the shore to ambush seal pups before sliding back into the water on the smooth stones. Amazingly, this behaviour is not thought to be the result of instinct and has instead been taught down the generations - with just a handful of whales using the technique each season. These images were captured by wildlife filmmaker Gil Arbel, 43, at Peninsula Valdes during the seal breeding season, which lasts from January to April.

Meatball the cat tips the scales at 2.5 stone - four times the weight of an average cat. The four-year-old was brought to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control by owners who could no longer care for him. Meatball, who weighs more than a three-year-old child, had to be weighed on scales for dogs as he was too heavy for cat scales. It is thought Meatball's previous owners fed him food for humans, which resulted in his super-sized appearance.

Photographer Chris Bray, 30, from Sydney, Australia, attached a GoPro camera to a remote control car and drove it straight up to the pack of lions. For ten minutes the lion cubs pawed at the lens and snarled at it - practicing their roars for the camera.

THE SECRET of the classic 'V' flying formation adopted by flocks of birds may have been revealed, thanks to the endeavours of a single-minded scientist. For more than a decade now Dr Johannes Fritz has been using his microlight aircraft to teach Northern Bald Ibis the migratory routes between their summer and winter feeding grounds in Tuscany and the Austrian and German Alps. Scientists found that the ibises positioned themselves in areas that afforded them an aerodynamic advantage by enabling them to capitalise on swirls of upward-moving air generated by the wings of the bird ahead, according to a study published in Nature.

Shocked holidaymaker Georgia Stephens got a cute surprise when a young seal suddenly jumped aboard her kayak in open water. Brit Georgia, 22, from Woodford, Essex, and boyfriend Martin, 25 from Wavre, Belgium, were canoeing in the ocean near Adele Island in the Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand, when the cheeky critter suddenly gave them a close encounter. The couple caught the whole event on a camera they had been using to photograph their month-long trip around the country.

A BRITISH couple sold up and moved to India - to rescue sick and injured donkeys. Jean and Bob Harrison have set up a sprawling 35 acre facility on the edge of New Delhi, India's capital. There they nurse the maimed, sick and malnourished animals back to full health after they are worked "close to death" on construction sites and brick kilns. The pair use their pensions to fund the endeavour, spending their spare time scouring locations across the region to tend to donkeys.

DOGGY fashion designer Anthony Rubio creates crystal encrusted dresses, sequenced jackets and miniature hats for pampered pups all around the world. The animal couturier has spent the last ten years helping animal lovers fill their closets with the most fashionable outfits for their four-legged friends. Anthony has created hundreds of outfits made of satins, taffetas and boucle fabrics that can cost over a whopping $1000. His twin chihuahuas, Bogie and Kimba, live a high fashioned lifestyle and are the muses behind his designs.

A lion was flipped 16 feet into the air by a buffalo in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The buffalo bull was conducting a daring rescue mission in a bid to save his friend from certain death. Two young lions had been silently stalking the buffalo for about 45 minutes when one finally made its move. But the predator was so focused on bringing down his prey that it left itself open to a surprise attack. The astonishing images were captured by Ian Matheson, 52, during an early morning game drive with his son Oliver, 16, and two of Oliver's friends in the Mjejane Reserve on the border of the Kruger Park. As soon as one of the juveniles got his hold on the <a href="https://rumble.com/v44iij-buffalo-flips-a-sleeping-lion.html" target="_blank">buffalo</a>, the bovine started crying out for help. As it lay in the grass, with the lion’s teeth firmly embedded in its behind, two of the buffalo’s herdmates came running to its aid. One of them, obviously enraged by the lion’s actions, shoved its horns in the lion’s side, tossing him in the air. The buffalo didn’t wait for the lion to escape and instead went for a second thrust, throwing the cat in the air again, much to the astonishment of the men watching. Even with all the flipping and tossing, the <a href="https://rumble.com/v44jm7-incredible-moment-buffalo-targets-weak-lion-and-even-flips-it-over-its-horn.html" target="_blank">lion</a> managed to run away. Amazingly all of the animals walked away from the encounter with no major injuries, except perhaps some bruised egos on the lion's part.

THIS Gentoo penguin clearly fancied a change from its usual fish-heavy diet. The inquisitive penguin virtually sprinted up to the GoPro and gave it a good pecking - before realising it was inedible and waddling away in search of tastier treats. The footage was captured on Cuverville Island in Antarctica, home to a large Gentoo penguin colony. The camera was left buried in the snow near a penguin highway by Alex Cowan, onboard geologist on the adventure tours vessel MS Expedition, which is owned and operated by G Adventures. The GoPro captured around 60 minutes of film, including this hilarious close encounter with a Gentoo. Cuverville Island, situated in the Errera Channel, is well-known for its large Gentoo colonies and abundant icebergs, while late in the year humpback whales are frequently seen feeding and breaching in the area.

Standing at just five inches tall from shoulder to paw, little Pixel could be the world's shortest cat. Despite being unverified by Guinness World Records, Pixel's owner Tiffani Kjeldergaard is confident that her Mini Mew Munchkin cat is a record breaker. The previous record of six inches was held by Pixel's mother Fizz Girl in 2012. The cats have a rare gene make up meaning they are born with unnaturally short legs.

Police officer James Kenison and his father Doug rescue a stranded deer who could not walk on the frozen lake on December 2, 2013 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. The three stricken <a href="https://rumble.com/v3musx-hurricane-harvey-deer-rescue.html" target="_blank">deer</a> were thrown a lifeline after being towed off the frozen lake by a cop on a hovercraft. James Kenison and his father Doug drove a quarter of a mile onto frozen Albert Lea Lake in Minnesota to save the stranded animals. The pair, who run hovercraft tour company, MedCity Hovercraft, tied ropes round the tired deers and dragged them to shore. The compassionate rescue was captured on camera by James, who said he believed the deer had been out on the lake for days after being unable to walk on the slick ice. But just how did they get there? The mystery of the three prostrate deer stranded for two days in the middle of this <a href="https://rumble.com/v40sm7-moose-trapped-in-frozen-lake.html" target="_blank">frozen lake</a> remains, since their hooves would make walking in the slick ice impossible. The dad-of-four made several trips a quarter of a mile onto Albert Lea Lake to make sure each animal made it home safely. The 39-year-old said: “I saw a Facebook photo of a deer on the ice and someone suggested we might be able to reach it on the hovercraft. We knew it had been stuck out there for a few days so we prepared for the worst, but when we got there we found three of them - and they were in surprisingly good shape."

A gang of hungry raccoons descend on father and daughter Neal and Victoria Stevens at a rural petrol station on 19 November, 2013, near Richwood, Texas. Neal fed the hungry nursery of raccoons, who excitedly devoured the Cheetos before disappearing into the night.

THIS footage shows 29-stone western lowland gorilla Kumbuka opening his birthday presents at ZSL London Zoo. Keepers at the zoo decided to mark the occasion of the silverback's 16th birthday by preparing a series of hand wrapped gifts packed with tasty fruit and themed decorations for his Gorilla Kingdom home. The seven-foot male was happy to share his spoils with his three female companions, Mjukuu, Effie and Zaire, although he was rather less keen on sharing once he realised his birthday package contained several slices of juicy watermelon.

BEAR trainer Doug Seus is a man who thinks nothing of play wrestling a grizzly bear - or posing with his head in its mouth. For the last four decades, Doug and wife Lynne have shared their ranch in the the Heber Valley, Utah, with their four bears: Bart the Bear 1, who died of cancer in 2000, brother and sister team Bart 2 and Honey Bump, and Tank. The bears' ease in human company has helped them carve out an impressive showreel working alongside Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston and Eddie Murphy, while Bart 2 recently starred in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. The bears are also ambassadors for Doug and Lynne's charity, Vital Ground, which helps to protect key landscapes used by grizzly bears and other wide-ranging wildlife.

A homeowner had his chimney and furnace flues capped - inadvertently trapping a mother raccoon and her kits inside. After having been trapped inside the house and removed by Animal Control, this mom still came back for her babies after three days of separation. Humane Wildlife Services was there to rescue the babies, rehydrate, and reunite them with their mom.

A JAGUAR ambushes a stunned caiman - by exploding from a river like a CROCODILE.The 20-stone cat then sinks its teeth into the eight-foot reptile before dragging it back across the water and into the jungle.The unbelievable kill sequence was captured by videographer Sally Eagle in the Pantanal Wetlands of Brazil.

Angela Goodwin keeps ants out of her kitchen - by keeping ANTEATERS in her WASHING MACHINE. The 37-year-old bought one of the unusual pets seven years ago and a second in 2011. The online administrator from Oakridge, Oregon, USA, says her pets - Pua and Aurora - are very intelligent and can open doors, drawers and windows. And they can even break into her fridge to raid their favourite snack - chilled ants.

WITH their reputation for causing a stink, the skunk may seem like the most unlikely pet.But Deborah Cipriani keeps 50 of the animals in her own home.The 55-year-old, from North Ridgeville, Ohio, runs America's only rescue centre for domestic skunks.But it's not like any other shelter.The animals are given free reign of the five-bedroom house and they're even allowed to sleep on the bed. Deborah, acustomer service worker, has to get up at 4.30 every morning just to feed and clean them all before she goes to work.

This incredible footage shows tour guides hand-feeding giant crocodiles on the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica. Jose Eduardo Chaves Salas, 32, and his team get up close and personal with crocs measuring up to 17 feet long on Jose's Crocodile River Tour. The guides dangle pieces of chicken above the gaping jaws of crocs and even pose for snaps while sitting on the aquatic predators' backs.

Eight-month-old baboon Rosa-Lee has made some unlikely friends during her time at the G.W. Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The cheeky little monkey enjoys playing with Mimi the tiger and Bullet the dog at the park for "abandoned, misplaced and abused" animals.

They might be some of the most dangerous animals in the world, but that did not stop one Brazilian family to take the trend for exotic pets to new extremes. Not content with the standard pooch or moggy, the Borges brood have been sharing their home with a pack of SEVEN tigers. Aryas Borges, began his love affair with tigers when he found two of the big cats living in a bad state at a circus -- and decided to bring them home. His daughters Nayara, 20, Uyara, 23, and Deusanira, 24, grew up sharing their meals, beds and playtime with the fully-grown predators and walking them on a leash. And Nayara, a real-life female Tarzan, regularly hops into the family swimming pool to take a dip with her furry friends. After his success with the <a href="https://rumble.com/v32afd-rescued-tigers-arrive-at-big-cat-rescue-in-tampa.html" target="_blank">rescue tigers</a>, Ary started breeding them, and the tigers still have the run of the house at the Borges family home in Maringa. The family have forged an incredible bond with the tigers after living under the same roof for so long. Aryas says that he is never afraid to let his daughters interact with these beasts, letting them swim together in the family pool, even ride them on their backs. Despite having no experience with big cats, Aryas rescued two of them from a circus eight years ago. He built them an enclosure and welcomed them in his family. It wasn’t long before Uyara started feeding and petting these <a href="https://rumble.com/v3v37h-petite-woman-is-best-friends-with-big-cats-beast-buddies.html" target="_blank">big cats</a> on her own and walking them on leashes. Her sister Nayara forged a special bond with one of the tigers, named Tom, and the two regularly take swims in the family pool. One question remains though - if they are so friendly and tame, why are they always on a leash?

A leopard goes head to head with a giant crocodile over the carcass of a dead impala. In dramatic scenes shot on safari with Bushcamp Company in Zambia www.bushcampcompany.com a leopard tries to muscle in on a giant Nile croc's dinner. The courageous big cat is just whiskers away from the jaws of the enormous reptile at the Mfuwe Lodge, Zambia's South Luangwa National Park. The animals even butt heads at one point as the leopard dines the impala carcass hanging from the crocodiles mouth.