Ten-month-old J.J. nurses her two kittens and a 2-week-old Raccoon on Monday, April 2, 2012, at Jonesboro Animal Control in Jonesboro, Arkansas. J.J. came to the facility on Friday. The same day an Animal Control officer rescued a baby raccoon and was having a hard time getting it to eat. They put it next to J.J. and she immediately started nursing and cleaning it. Animal Control supervisor Larry Rogers said they have been calling the raccoon Bandit. “We were having to feed him around the clock every two hours and had to clean him up, now the momma cat does everything,” Rogers said. Animal Control volunteer Nicole Costner feeds baby possums behind the cage.
(AP / The Jonesboro Sun, Tami Wynn)
By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature
A BBC/National Geographic film crew have recorded rare footage of humpback whales intervening in a killer whale hunt.
Ms Bromley told BBC Nature: “we saw a lot of grey shapes in the water and quickly realised they were humpbacks.” According to the crew the additional whales were not just observers of the hunt but were actively involved.
Humpback whales are known for their impressive range of calls, including a high-pitched “trumpeting” noise made when they are agitated. The humpbacks at Monterey Bay were trumpeting, diving and slapping their pectoral fins against the water. “It didn’t seem at all like they were confused… they were definitely there with a purpose,” said Ms Bromley.
Read more and watch the video at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17991601
Whale facts
- Gray whales undertake the longest annual migration of any known mammal, a round trip of about 20,000km or more
- Humpback whales perform spectacular displays of breaching (leaping clear of the water) and males sing a complex song that can last for days, in order to attract a mate
- Killer whales are not actually whales at all – they are the largest species of dolphin
