• 
• Tweet

• Tweet

The extraordinary sight was captured on camera by photographer Hiroya Minakuchi at the Shimane aquarium in Japan… A Beluga whale has become a sensation at an aquarium after learning how to blow halo-shaped bubbles.

He said: “This beluga started making bubble rings when she was seven. And a couple of years ago she developed her technique. Now she blows the water from her mouth to make a current, which is not visible for us underwater. She then blows air from her blow hole into the current and that makes a ring shape.”

Two Aldabra giant tortoises mate at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam.

Adventurer Mark Moffett has found the world’s biggest and heaviest insect…which is so huge it can eat carrots. The renowned entomologist discovered the giant weta up a tree and his real life Bugs Bunny has now been declared the largest ever found. He came across the cricket-like creature, which has a wing span of seven inches, after two days of searching on a tiny island. The creepy crawly is only found on Little Barrier Island, in New Zealand. The species was wiped off the mainland by rats accidentally introduced by Europeans.

He’s behind you! Meet the world’s worst hunting dog. This beagle failed to spot the fox behind him. The dog had strayed too close to a den containing four fox cubs, but their protective parents stood their ground. Naturalist and photographer Mircea Costina captured the scene in a forest north of Montreal, Canada.

A sleeping squirrel stretches out on a bench in Central Florida, United States. 2010

Louise Bleakly snapped this obese orangutan as it lazed by a tree after over-indulging. The sedentary creature soaked up the midday sun at Taman Safari Park near Jakarta, Indonesia.

A macaque monkey in Indonesia took a camera from a wildlife photographer before snapping himself in a variety of poses. The primate went to investigate the equipment before becoming fascinated with his own reflection in the lens. And it wasn’t long before the crested black macaque hijacked the camera and started snapping away, sending award-winning photographer David Slater bananas.

This fat California ground squirrel has ballooned to twice its size after tourists repeatedly fed it nuts in the park where she lives. Marina van der Linden photographed the chubby creature in the Morro Rock State Preserve, California.

This very drunk moose was discovered entangled in an apple tree by a Swede in Goteborg, Sweden. Per Johansson, 45, says he heard a roar from his vacationing neighbour’s garden and went to have a look. There, he found a female moose kicking about in the tree. The animal was likely drunk from eating fermented apples.

A mischievous kitten who likes hiding in empty jars has become an internet hit. The young Himalayan Cat – called Ksyusha – is pictured hiding in a variety of places, including in the washing machine and under the kitchen table. Owner Yuriy Korotun, 37, who lives in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, said: “She was a special kitten from the beginning – always very playful.

A street dog popularly known as ‘Lengua,’ or ‘Tongue’ sits on a pavement in Havana, Cuba.

Eight-month-old baby sloth Camillo sticks out his tongue as he yawns at the zoo in Halle, eastern Germany.

This grasshopper appeared a little confused when confronted with a camera lens. The curious insect looked almost human-like as he scratched his head in apparent bemusement. The humorous pose was captured on camera by Matt Cole in Lount Nature Reserve, Leicestershire, England.

An African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) with two heads and five legs is displayed in Zilina, Slovakia. The seven-week-old two-headed tortoise has been given two names: Magda (left head) and Lenka (right head).