According to a Facebook post, park rangers in park rangers in Thap Lan National Park, in Thailand, discovered six young elephant calfs that were trapped in mud pits. 

It was apparent that a herd of wild elephants had passed through the area when the young ones got stuck, and the adult elephants were waiting for the calfs, but they were unable to get out of the mud by themselves.

  The park rangers then decided to get involved and help the elephants get out of the mud. However, they couldn’t do anything immediately: they didn’t have the right equipment on them, and it was getting late. 

So instead, one of the rangers kept an eye on the elephants overnight, and they returned the next morning with the gear.

  Using the equipment the park rangers dug a ramp so the elephants were able to climb out of the mud pit. All six climbed out, all safe and in good condition, and they rejoined their herd. 

And it was all thanks to these park rangers who went above-and-beyond to help.

  We’re so glad these elephants are safe! Thank you to these park rangers who went out of the way to help them get to safety!
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This beautiful big dog was rejected by his family because he had a cancerous tumor growing on his head and only had a few weeks left to live. 

Thankfully Luciano Karosas, from Berazategui in Buenos Aires, welcomed Thanos into his home so he could live out his days with unconditional love. luciianokarosas/Instagram/Unilad
While waiting to be adopted the sick pup had already been rejected by four families because of his illness. 

The 21-year-old couldn’t resist giving this dog all the love during his final weeks after hearing how many families had dumped him, unable to cope with his illness. As well has suffering such a cruel illness, Thanos had to deal with the constant rejection and being taken back to the animal shelter by four different families who found they couldn’t cope with the sick dog. 

“I came out with a piece of my heart in my hand,” he told Portal Amigo Cao. Not only did Luciano want to make Thanos’ last days as comfortable as possible, he also tried to save him and took him to his local veterinary clinic to find out if they could remove the tumor. “I found it hard to adapt to the idea of how little time we will spend together,” he said, according to Unilad. “I took him to a stem cell veterinarian to see what we could do, looking for a little more hope (which had given him 40 days to live) and told me that there is no treatment that extends that time.” 

Following the heartbreaking news that nothing could be done, Luciano simply decided the two would make the most out of what limited time Thanos had left. 

Thanos was given all the love and pampering during his final weeks but eventually this cruel illness took over and he passed away earlier this year. Taking to social media to pay tribute to his four-legged friend Luciano wrote: “I will love you forever.” I can’t believe this sweet dog was rejected by so many families in his hour of need. All he needed was some extra love as this awful disease took over. 

I’m glad he’s no longer in pain. Please share to pay tribute to the big-hearted Luciano who took Thanos in and loved him as he deserved. Rest in peace Thanos.
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Unfortunately, as development grew the butterflies began to fade away. Nowadays, you rarely see them. But thankfully, a 28-year-old aquatic biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, Tim Wong, is single-handedly taking action to repopulate this beautiful creature, and he’s doing it all in his own backyard. Various stage of pipevine swallowtail growth (from bottom: eggs, different growth stages of the caterpillar, chrysalis, full butterfly). Credit: Tim Wong
Butterfly collectors consider the wings from the California pipevine swallowtail — or, Battus philenor hirsuta, to be the most magnificent in North America. 

These beauties start their life-cycle as tiny red eggs that hatch into a very large orange-speckled caterpillar; then it has a gestation period of up to two years, finally, it emerges as a beautiful blue butterfly glimmering with oceanic tones. 

On a normal day, Wong works in the science museum taking care of 38,000 animals, including albino alligators, Japanese stingrays, and octopuses. In his free time, he is devoted to raising butterflies and taking care of the garden from where they eat. 

Since he was a child, he became very intrigued and passionate about these creatures. He would spend his days in an open meadow near his home, catching, studying, and raising any butterflies that he could find. Wong said: I first was inspired to raise butterflies when I was in elementary school. We raised painted lady butterflies in the classroom, and I was amazed at the complete metamorphosis from caterpillar to adult. 

Therefore, it’s no surprise that once he learned about how increasingly rare the pipevine swallowtail had become in San Francisco he made it his personal mission to bring the butterfly back. Wong started by researching the butterfly extensively. He discovered that when the butterfly is in caterpillar form, it only feeds on one plant – the California pipevine (Aristolochia californica). This plant is exceptionally rare to spot in the city, so it wasn’t easy to find when he went on a search for it. 

“Finally, I was able to find this plant in the San Francisco Botanical Garden [in Golden Gate Park] and they allowed me to take a few clippings of the plant,” Wong said. Once he had his plant clippings, using self-taught techniques, he managed to create the most incredible butterfly paradise in his backyard. 

Wong explains how he built this paradise: [I built] a large screen enclosure to protect the butterflies and to allow them to mate under outdoor environmental conditions — natural sun, airflow, temp fluctuations. 

The specialized enclosure protects the butterflies from some predators, increases mating opportunities, and serves as a study environment to better understand the criteria female butterflies are looking for in their ideal host plant. Caterpillars pupate into chrysalises, remaining in this state for up to several years before emerging as butterflies. While inside, their bodies liquefy and reform as completely new creatures. Credit: Tim Wong
Once his paradise was complete the next step was for him to find some caterpillars. Wong managed to find a group of 20 caterpillars outside the city from private residences that had lots of vegetation. 

He brought them back to his backyard and released them onto the plants to feed. “They feed as a little army. They roam around the pipevine plant from leaf to leaf, munching on it as a group,” he said. About 3-4 weeks later, the caterpillar pupates and forms an outer shell known as a chrysalis. 

Inside that shell, the insect liquefies itself and either develops into a butterfly in around two weeks or stays dormant for up to two years. When the butterfly is in this delayed development stage, it’s called diapause.

  The adult pipevine butterfly usually hatches from its chrysalis in spring, but sometimes can be spotted flying around from February to October. 

The creatures usually live for only two to five weeks, depending on temperature, predation, and food availability. During its short life, the females spend it laying their eggs on the pipevine plants. 

According to Wong, they typically lay their eggs in clusters of five to 30, which he carefully collects and incubates them indoors, away from predators like spiders and earwigs. 

“From there, the cycle continues,” he said. Once the eggs hatch, Wong raises the caterpillars at home, then brings them to the San Francisco Botanical Garden’s “California Native” exhibit. He has been doing this same routine for years already and has successfully introduced thousands of caterpillars to the garden. 

While other conservationists have succeeded in repopulating the pipevine butterfly in Santa Cruz and Sonoma, none have been successful in San Francisco. Tim Wong’s backyard butterfly enclosure includes the California pipevine plant, along with other native flora, to make the butterflies feel at home. Credit: Tim Wong
Wong said: Each year since 2012, we’ve seen more butterflies surviving in the garden, flying around, laying eggs, successfully pupating, and emerge the following year. That’s a good sign that our efforts are working! 

Wong’s actions can teach us all a lesson about how we too can help species such as this butterfly to repopulate all on our very own. While he does caution that raising butterflies takes a lot of work and special understanding of each species’ natural history, there are still much simpler ways that we can contribute. 

It’s as simple as restoring native habitats to flourish and boost endemic butterfly populations and other local species. For example, by planting native flora host plants, weeding (to allow easier access to food sources) and avoiding pesticides.
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  Image credit: Project Noah
The bagworm moth, also known as case moth, in the family of Psychidae, belongs to the insect order of the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). 
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