Talon contest: Fawn's gripping encounter with golden eagle as it swoops in for the kill

By DAVID RICHARDS



This dramatic scene was played out during an annual eagle hunt in Slovakia and was captured by photographer Milan Krasula, 30, who spent four days trying to get a good picture of the chase where owners release their birds to go after prey



With one set of talons grasping its back the outlook wasn't good for this fawn as a golden eagle swooped in for the kill.

But a split second later the deer managed to duck out of danger as it scrambled under a fence forcing the bird of prey to rise back up into the sky.

The dramatic scene was played out during an annual eagle hunt in Slovakia and was captured by photographer Milan Krasula, 30, who spent four days trying to get a good picture of the chase where owners release their birds to go after prey.



He said: 'You have to be very lucky to get a good shot, as you cannot predict where the prey will be hiding.

'I found an area that I thought it would be good for a photo and where some smaller animals might be hiding.

'I was waiting there around an hour or so, when all of a sudden there was a young little doe running out from the forest.



source: dailymail

Are these the sickest stuffed animals ever? Now artist faces JAIL over taxidermy

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER



Mythical: The surreal sculptures feature a doubles head swan on the body of what appears to be a goat



Like a modern day Dr Frankenstein, Enrique Gomez De Molina creates hauntingly stunning hybrid sculptures made from the stuffed parts of dead animals.

But it is his beloved mythical creatures that could land the Miami artist in jail for up to five years and see him forking out $250,000 in fines.

De Molina uses the parts of once-living animals and merges them together to create strange beings, one example features the head of two swans on the body of a goat and another shows the head of a squirrel meshed with a crab.



Creepy: This otherworldly piece is created with the head of a screaming squirrel and the body of crab



Nightmarish: This taxidermy Sculpture called the McSparboe Salmonella is a mix of a rooster and a goat



The artist pleaded guilty to illegally importing parts from endangered species to make the unique pieces of art after his arrest in November, reports Miami New Times.

He smuggled in the parts, skins and remains, from whole cobras, pangolins, hornbills, and the skulls of babirusa and orangutans from areas all over the world including Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and China.



Hybrid creature: De Molina uses the parts of once-living animals and merges them together to create strange but striking sculptures



According to the report, he is charged with possessing the skins of a Java kingfisher, collared kingfisher, bird of paradise, and juvenile hawk-eagle as well as the carcasses of a slow loris and a mouse deer, all from Indonesia.

The artist had not obtained the required permits to import the animal parts, and police claim De Molina knew what he was doing was illegal as he asked the people he bought them from to wrap them in carbon paper, according to the MN Times.



Weird: In this strange example De Molina merges a goat's head and hooves with the body and tail of a skunk



Macabre: De Molina smuggled the parts of dead endangered species into America to make the sculptures



De Molina's work was exhibited at the Scope Art Fair, one of the leading Art Basel Miami Beach satellite fairs, with two of his controversial pieces fetching a total of $100,000

He offers his pieces through galleries and on the internet for prices ranging up to $80,000.



Controversial: De Molina offers his pieces through galleries and on the internet for prices ranging up to $80,000



Scary: The mythical creatures could land the Miami artist in jail for up to five years and see him forking out $250,000 in fines



Illegal: The artist had not obtained the required permits to import the animal parts, and police claim he knew what he was doing was illegal



The artist claims that he aimed to raise awareness with his work to the danger faced by a range of species, with his surreal pieces representing the dangers of genetic engineering and human intervention.

On a website showcasing his work he says: 'The impossibility of my creatures brings me both joy and sadness at the same time.







source: dailymail

Disco gecko oozes cool as he dances himself dizzy in hilarious set of images

By LEON WATSON

Gettin' Jiggy wit It: Indonesian photographer Shikhei Goh took these snaps of geckos getting the party started

Here's some disco-dancing that's really off the scale - a group of groovy geckos who know how to party.
The rhythmic reptiles are proving themselves to be little John Travoltas with their dazzling dance routines.
Owner Shikhei Goh photographed the creatures after buying them from a pet shop and getting them home.

Watch and learn, Peter Crouch: This little mover looks like he's doing The Robot

He placed them on a reflective surface and watched as they got a bit excited and started lashing out with their arms and legs and shaking their bootie.
Their actions mimicked a series of funky disco moves similar to those seen on the film Saturday Night Fever.
One hilarious image shows a gecko striking a legendary Travolta pose with one of its arms in the air while another is of a reptile doing a 'kung-fu fighting' cameo.
Shikhei, 37, uploaded the pictures onto the internet and now thousands of people from around the world have viewed them.

Busting some moves: Photographed on a glass sheeted dance floor with a simple black background, these rumba dancing go-getters know how to jiggle

Le Freak: There Ain't No Stoppin' the reptile with rhythm on the left, and the one on the right is definitely no cold-blooded lizard, this fella's Hot Stuff

Shikhei, from Indonesia, said: 'I mostly photograph insects but then I bought the geckos and decided to take some pictures.
'These geckos come from Pakistan and these three were difficult to picture because they kept moving.
'But it did look like they were dancing and one shot looks as if one is doing a kung-fu kick.
'I am a hobby photographer but I have received texts messages and emails from around the world since I put these online.'


He's the greatest dancer: John Travolta was the star of Saturday Night Fever, with the Bee Gees providing the soundtrack

source: dailymail

Portraits of giant insects ... that are actually stunning close-ups of tiny creepy-crawlies

By MIKE O'BRIEN



Red alert: A stunning close-up of a fly caught up in some pink wool is an incredible example of macro-photography



Nobody really likes insects, bar a few cranks, natural historians and curious toddlers.

But these amazing images lend them the kind of pictorial beauty normally reserved for fluffy kittens.

The pictures are from the style of macro-photography where typically the finished portrait of a subject is greater than the life size.





A colourful character: The sympetrum fonscolombii, red-veined darter, a native dragonfly of southern Europe who in recent years has made his way up to the UK and Ireland



The stunning examples here capture insects not normally seen by most of us.

From a colourful dragonfly holding a raindrop between its legs to a caterpillar nestling in a flower, each picture presents a level of detail rarely seen before.

The photos were shot all over the world but one thing for sure, you wouldn't be so impressed if one of these fine subjects was making its way up for shoulder.



Sweet refreshment: A dragon fly cradles a raindrop as it perches on a branch



Just blending in: A praying mantis looks poised for a kill while right, a Leaf Katydid sits on an aloe in the Thanda Game Reserve in South Africa



Pretty in pink (with a dash of blue): The common blue butterly, the Polyommatus icarus, a Northern Hemisphere variety



Name that insect: A tight, close-up view of a white moth, and right, honey bees get to work on an orange helen's flower (Helenium) 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'



Peek-a-boo: A praying mantis and another unspecified bug play cat and mouse on a branch



Primary colours: A bright blue caterpillar with a yellow face make its way round a petal but, wait, what's that hiding in the middle of the flower ... his buddy, perhaps



Getting cozy: Seven spot ladybird, the Coccinella 7-punctata appears comfortable in a camelia



Nectar: A crab spider hugs a Campanula flower and, right, a Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum) makes light work of some Timothy grass



The great debate: Grasshoppers meet on the broad leaf of a plant to make a lot of noise together



It came from another planet: A praying mantis in her all glory



source: dailymail

'These are the actions of a sadistic human being': Hunt for twisted thug who fed kitten to python in sick video

By CRAIG MACKENZIE



Killer: A yellow Burmese python which can grow as long as 19ft and squeezes its prey to death



A hunt has been launched for a sadistic pet owner who filmed himself feeding a kitten to a python.

The vile video, entitled Python Christmas, shows a man in his 20s carrying the kitten called Jasmine into a bedroom in a Santa hat and then placed on a bed.

Lurking half-hidden under a pillow lay a yellow Burmese python, which can grow up to 19ft long and is one of the largest snakes in the world.



The bait: The kitten is distracted and moments later the python pounces and wraps its coils around its prey



Jasmine is seen slowly walking across the bed until the thug distracts her and she fatally turns her back on the danger.

The snake pounces, wrapping the kitten in its coils as it squeezes the life out of the playful animal.

Once the kitten's tail stops moving the snake swallows her whole — head first. Its cries of agony are drowned out by the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy playing in the background of the video.

At the end of the seven-minute footage there is a chillingly threat of more 'feeding videos'. It was posted on a site called Flix from an account registered in Islington, north London.



If caught, the sicko faces six months' jail and a £20,000 fine for causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Among the few clues to his identity are that he is a fan of the Disney film Aladdin. Images and songs from the movie have been posted on his YouTube site.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: 'There is no excuse for feeding a live cat to a python.'

Vet Pete Wedderburn told the Sun: 'The kitten is probably no older than four months. It has no hiding place and can't get away. These are the actions of a sadistic human being.'



source: dailymail

He has an eye for an eye! Photographer's incredible close-up shots of animals that reveal the inner beauty of nature

By REBECCA SEALES

The eye of a Veiled Chameleon, which boasts 360-degree vision

These are the eye-catching images which capture the beauty in the eyes of the animal kingdom.
The colourful pictures show the delicate detail of a variety of animal eyes, from a tiger to a tree frog and a penguin to a parrotfish.
Perhaps the most remarkable is the eye of the veiled chameleon (below) whose upper and lower eyelids are joined together.

Always watchful: The eye of a Green Tree Python

The creature sees through just a pinhole-sized pupil, but can rotate its eyes by 360 degrees.
By focusing each eye independently, the chameleon can look at two different objects simultaneously. But if prey is sighted, deploying both eyes in the same direction will ensure a sharp view of insects up to 10 metres away.

Pretty in pink? The eye of a military macaw

The green tree python, like all snakes, has an ever-watchful slit for an eye (above).
Covered by a thin veil of clear scales rather than an eyelid, the snake’s eye can remain constantly open. When it wants to sleep, the snake buries its face in the coils of its body.#
Joel Satore, a photographer who took a number of the shots, said: 'Animal eyes are really amazing to me, truly the gems in the crown when you consider how an entire animal looks.
'Some cat species, as well as some snakes and geckos all have great eyes, as if they come from another world.'

Ancient: The eye of a Grand Cayman Blue Iguana

The 45-year-old from Nebraska used a Nikon D-3 camera with either a 60mm or 105mm macro lens, to capture the eyes of animals he photographed at zoos and aquariums worldwide.
He added: 'I'm often so close to the animals I can smell their breath, which in the case of meat eaters is often both foul smelling and frightening at the same time.
'I decided to photograph animal eyes to try to get people to care about these endangered animals before it's too late.

source: dailymail