Here we see a touching photo of a male northern white rhinoceros by the name of Sudan. At the time this photo was taken, Sudan was widely believed to be the very last of all northern white rhinos in existence. Following his passing in March of 2018, his death left his species on the dangerous brink of extinction.
Named after the Greek words, ‘rhino’ (meaning nose), and ‘ceros’ (meaning horn), according to scientists there are only five rhino species still in existence today: the white and black rhino, found in Africa, the Indian rhino, the Javan rhino and finally, the Sumatran rhino, found in southern Asia. Today, the only hope for the white rhino species lies with the modern day technological science of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
The Tantrum of a Visibly Cranky Baby Elephant
For any parent who has the extreme displeasure of dealing with the tantrums of his or her baby, this photo of an elephant parent standing next to its clearly upset baby elephant is especially relatable. The largest of all land animals on planet Earth, similar to humans, Elephants are also highly intelligent mammals. In fact, like man’s tendency to be right or left-handed, elephants too can actually be either right-tusked or left-tusked!
Of all the similarities between us and these gentle giants, perhaps the most relatable of these is the often erratic behaviors seen in both young elephants and humans. Indeed, as seen in the above photograph, like human children, young elephants also often have irrational fits of rage, in order to get attention from members of their family.
The Pink-necked Green Pigeon of Asia: Not Your Everyday ‘Flying Rat’
The rainbow-colored bird in the photo below is none other than the Pink-necked Green Pigeon. This animal shares lineage with both the pigeon and the dove. A bird of many colors, this bird can be found throughout much of Southeast Asia, especially in forested and terrestrial regions of countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
While the male bird of this species is known for its beautifully bold, pink neck and bright orange breast, in contrast, the coloring of the female is far less bright. Unlike their counterparts, the females of this species do not obtain the pinkish and orange coloring seen on the male bird.
Cleo and Dona
Cleo, the mother giraffe, is seen in this remarkable photo kissing its precious baby girl, Donna. This photograph was taken on January 15th, 1980, in the Bronx Zoo, where Cloe had been living for several years. Donna, the baby giraffe, was only one month old when this photo was taken, and Cloe, her mother, couldn't wait to show off to the world the wonders of this world.
Donna was hidden from zoo visitors for several months and was not shown to the public until later when she was grown up, less nonverbal, and ready to cope with the roaring crowds.
A Giant Walrus Takes a Nap Atop a Russian Submarine
Think your sleeping habits are weird? Think again. In this hilarious photograph, an exhausted walrus is spotted choosing a particularly unusual bed: the deck of a Russian submarine. Truth be told, this is actually not the strangest place a walrus has ever been known to sleep. Indeed, of all the animals in the animal kingdom, walruses are notoriously some of the strangest, most unusual sleepers. According to sleep experts, walruses can actually go a shocking amount of time without sleep, and are able to swim almost continuously for up to a staggering 84 hours.
"The discovery that walruses remain active for periods lasting up to 84 hours without showing behavioral signs of sleep is unprecedented," said sleep specialist Niels Rattenborg. With such high amounts of constant, non-stop exercise, it makes sense that afterward, these enormous marine animals clock-in a startling amount of sleep: up to 19 hours, to be exact. Rattenborg claims that this animal's "unusual ecological niche” of part-land, part-sea could potentially explain the walruses’ shockingly unusual sleep patterns.