They say that determination and hard work always pay off, and the story of Walter Carr, a young man who wouldn’t let anything stay on his way to a successful first day on his new job, is just another proof of that. Namely, Walter got hired by Bellhops, a moving company. He was looking forward to this new chapter of his life, but the night before he was supposed to start working, his car broke down. Not wanting to miss his first day on the job, he decided to take a walk from his hometown of Homewood to Pelham, two cities 20 miles away from one another. 

He started his journey at midnight hoping to get there on time. A few hours into his walk, Walter met an officer who asked him where he was going. The young man explained what was going on, and the officer was left in disbelief from what he heard. 

Of course, he then offered Walter a ride to the house he was supposed to be working at that day. At around 6:30 am, both Walter and the officer knocked on the door of the Lamey family. Jenny Hayden Lamey answered the door. 

The officer told her he took “this nice kid” to her so he could help her move her staff. Jenny was expecting the moving company hours later, so she was surprised Walter was there so early. At the same time, she was amazed by his determination. “Around 6:30am the doorbell rang. It was a police officer. He proceeded to tell us that he had picked up ‘this nice kid’ in Pelham early this morning. The nice kid. Walter, said that he was supposed to help us with our move today,” Jenny wrote on Facebook. When the rest of the moving crew showed up, one of them shook Walter’s hand and thanked him for showing up. 

This made Jenny believe that not many of the new recruits show up. It was then that Jenny turned to the man in charge of the crew and said, “you wouldn’t believe what he did to get here. Tell him Walter,” to what humble Walter replied in a shy manner, “I walked.”

  The entire crew was in complete awe. They later shared the story with the company’s CEO, Luke Marklin, who without hesitation offered Walter his car, 2014 Ford Escape. 

“I’d like to give you this car right here. Today. Like right now. Like you can drive away with it,” Marklin told him. Walter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was extremely grateful for the gift, because that meant he wouldn’t need to walk long distances any longer. As for Marklin, he was glad he could help someone who had such a strong sense for work ethic as young Walter. You can learn more of this story by checking out the video below.

 
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This strange pup had totally made himself at home and was just chilling in a chair on the patio! They couldn’t believe it! The dog had taken up residence there, and every morning, there he was. Anytime they came home from work, he was right there on that chair! 

So Amy asked around the community and even had him scanned for a microchip, but no luck. But she would find a permanent solution for Walker, and the good boy is loving it! 🙂

 
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 Now, the internet is going crazy for a real-life pet dog who is Snoopy’s doppelgänger — meet Bayley:

Rick Anderson is a human who is best friends with a Port Jackson shark. This shark buddy is a female with marks on her body. These marks are what allow Rick to identify his buddy. Whenever Rick wants to meet up with his shark friend, he has to dive into the ocean with an oxygen tank tapped onto his shoulder and a regulator in his mouth. The shark has not been named yet and lives in the ocean off the coast of Nobbys Beach in New South Wales, Australia. 

Apparently, she always recognizes her human friend. Rick began playing with her many years (more than a decade) ago when she was merely a six-inch-long pup. He approached the creature slowly to make sure he didn’t take her by surprise and then patted her softly. Talking with us Rick said “I still cuddle with her when I have the opportunity. She is fit healthy and going strong. Always beautiful.” After she was familiar with him, he then cradled her in his palm and whispered soothingly through his regulator. Rick continued to do this every time during the first season she was there. 

Throughout the following seasons, she managed to identify him and swim to him for a cuddle and pat. With time the shark got used to Rick and would swim up to him whenever he went past. Then she would tap him on his legs until he cuddled her. The other divers find this friendship to be unbelievable because Rick doesn’t even feed her. He treats sharks the same way he treats dogs and even plays with other sharks. 

Rick has been scuba diving for over 30 years now and he runs his own dive school. By sharing his story with the rest of the world, he hopes to reduce the fear that people have towards sharks. According to him, thinking of sharks as creatures that await in the ocean to consume human flesh, is a common misunderstanding. 

Rick also dives with other shark varieties such as tiger sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, banjo sharks, grey nurse sharks, and even great whites. He even admits to feeling comfortable swimming with these magnificent creatures. 

 Image Credit & More Info; Rick’s Dive School | ricksdiveschool/instagram | Facebook
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Last month, one of his caretakers at World Bird Sanctuary (WBS) noticed something odd. Keeper Kerstin saw Murphy the eagle protecting a large depression in the ground. 

The spot was sparsely but carefully decorated with leaves and branches, and featured a simple rock right in the center. World Bird Sanctuary / Facebook
Later that day, Keeper Kerstin saw Murphy sitting on the rock as if it were an egg, and he continued to do so day after day. Male bald eagles take an equal part in raising young, so this is very natural behavior for a male. 

"Every so often he rearranges the sticks in his nest, and cackles at any other eagles that come too close. We wish Murphy all the luck in the world, but we're not telling him the reality of the situation," the nonprofit wrote on Facebook. "We have yet to see a rock hatch!"

The rock / World Bird Sanctuary / Facebook
Many viewers have assumed that Murphy is lonely and needs a mate, but the sanctuary keepers insist he is choosing to do this on his own. "Murphy is not lonely! He is housed with 4 other bald eagles - 2 males and 2 females," WBS said. 

"He is not welcoming help with his nest, nor is he seeking it! He has not chosen a mate, so he very clearly wants to do this on his own. He does not want anything (real eggs) but his rock. Eventually he will get bored and abandon it, but we love watching him care for it now. No need to feel bad for him! He is perfectly content, and very spoiled!" 

Last week, an eagle nest containing two chicks near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri was blown down by very high winds. One chick perished in the fall, but the other was found and rescued by a faithful nest watcher who brought the chick to World Bird Sanctuary's Wildlife Hospital. The staff decided to give Murphy a chance at fostering a real baby. 

However, at 31 years old, Murphy had never raised a chick before. It was definitely a gamble, but also the chick's best chance at survival. "BabyRock" was removed, and the chick was introduced to his enclosure. It took Murphy about an hour to approach the eaglet to examine it. Murphy was definitely curious. But he didn't feed him. The next day, the eaglet left the nest to go be closer to Murphy — and this is when the magic happened. 

"IT'S HAPPENING!!!!" WBS said in an update. "MURPHY FED THE BABY!!!!" WBS posted a photo of Murphy with the baby and said they will be "as hands off as possible" to allow maximum bonding between Murphy and the baby. If you would like to help feed Murphy and his baby, consider donating to the World Bird Sanctuary.
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  He maintained ownership of the property for 30 years before finally selling it for about $40 million in March 2022. 

Peterson recently spoke about how she sold her home to Pitt and became his longtime neighbor and how the star had an unexpected tenant in his property. Pitt slowly increased the footprint of the property, she said. 

"I think there were like 22 houses that were contiguous to the edge of the property. And every time they came up he bought one," the actress explained to PEOPLE. 

One of the properties was owned by an elderly man who was in his 90s, so Pitt finalized a deal with this man that allowed him to stay in their home. "He was very, very kind to the husband. His wife passed away and the husband, John, lived there," explained Peterson. 

"I know that Brad allowed him to live there without paying anything until he died." The deal lasted longer than one might have expected. "It was kind of funny because John lived to be 105," she said. The actress joked that John "just kept living forever," adding, 

"I imagine Brad was thinking well, you know, he can live there till he dies, which might be any minute now."

Elvira reacts to Brad Pitt selling her old house:

“He was just the perfect person to buy it" because "he's so interested in architecture and this house is just an exquisite house." pic.twitter.com/TUxFa2cxkO

— Everything Elvira Clips + Photos (@ElviraClips) April 1, 2023

Peterson, who became Pitt's neighbor after selling her property to him, shared her own experience with the actor throughout the years, and described him as "always kind and sweet." She revealed that she once came across him preparing for the 1999 movie, "Fight Club." 

As she took her dog for a stroll on the street, she recalled, "I go past Brad's garage and he's in there wearing only sweatpants. He's got on boxing gloves and he is punching a bag. I swear I almost fainted. I remember he goes, 'Hey, how are you?' and I'm like, 'Huh?' I couldn't talk. I was turning red. I felt like I was fainting. He's just so stunningly, stunningly handsome — and nice, to top it off." Peterson added that having the superstar as her neighbor sometimes left her friends in awe. 

"One of my favorite stories," she shared, "I was in a little restaurant down at the bottom of the street there, and I had a little meeting for a fundraiser for my child's school. I was there with about four or five other moms, and we were sitting there having coffee, and all of a sudden I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and it's Brad. He goes, 'Cassandra!' and he gives me a big hug." She added, 

"I've gotta tell you, these other mothers I was with, their mouths were hanging open and they could not shut their mouths. Living next to him was a great experience." The home that was sold off last month, is where Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, 47, raised their six children — Maddox, 21, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 16 and 14-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. The couple parted ways in 2016.
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When an elephant was injured on one occasion, people immediately called Mana Srivate. He has helped many animals by giving them CPR, but this is the first time it was about an elephant. While the others were helping the motorcyclist involved in the accident, Mana was trying to save Ellie the elephant. 

Considering that this is the first time he is helping an elephant, he was very nervous and confused. Mana didn’t have much time, but fortunately he was successful. Ellie was saved, and Mana’s face was almost flooded with tears. 

After that, they took Ellie for additional treatment, so that she could return to the other elephants as soon as possible. Thanks to this man, the elephant got a second chance at life.
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They are among the largest bats, with a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in) and weighing 0.7–1.2 kg (1.5–2.6 lb). The only other bats with comparable measurements are a few species of Pteropus. No, these photos are not photoshopped. I can still tell you someone in the comments is going to be like, “NO WAY THAT’S REAL, BRO!” But those are my favorite types of animals to share with you all; ones that cannot possibly exist on Earth but do! The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus) is a prime example of one of those such animals. 

These massive and rare bats are named after the golden fur that lays atop their head which sharply contrasts against its large, dark body. Giant Golden-crowed Flying Foxes have an astonishing wingspan between 4’10″ to 5’7″. They weigh from 1.5–2.6 lb. 

With such long wings, they have to wrap them around their entire body while sleeping making it look like their draped in a long black cape. Now that my friends, is how you know you have a big bat. Little is known about the behavior of these impressive bats because the area they inhabit is so remote. They have been recorded at elevations from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft). 

They make crazy journeys to find food (their favorite being figs) and will fly 25 miles or more in ONE NIGHT to fill their bellies. Another hard reason to find these guys is that they don’t put up with any humans (could you blame them?) and in a study conducted in 2005 NO bats were found living in inhabited areas. Another study found them to be forest obligate species, meaning that they stay hidden in the forest a majority of their time. 

Unfortunately, this incredible species is under threat from deforestation as well as hunting. However, there are a couple of agencies working to preserve the future of the weird and wonderful Golden-crowed Flying Fox. The local government of Maitum, Sarangani in the Philippines has organized a campaign to save the species from extinction. The Subic Bay region of the Philippines plays host to a lot of the research on this species. 

Subic Bay is a 14,000-acre (57 km2) protection area that is managed by individuals who want to preserve the species. Bat Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife fund, Lubee Foundation are among the other groups helping to save this species. They provide research funding and education worldwide as well as locally. 

Check them out to see how you can help! The megabat, contrary to its name, is not always large: the smallest species is 6 cm (2.4 in) long and thus smaller than some microbats. The largest attain a wingspan of 1.7 m (5.6 ft), weighing in at up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lb). Most fruit bats have large eyes, allowing them to orient themselves visually in twilight and inside caves and forests. 

Their sense of smell is excellent. In contrast to the microbats, the fruit bats do not use echolocation (with one exception, the Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus egyptiacus, which uses high-pitched tongue clicks to navigate in caves). Megabats make up the only family (Pteropodidae) in order Chiroptera that is not capable of laryngeal echolocation. Echolocation and flight evolved early in the lineage of Chiropterans and echolocation was later lost in family Pteropodidae. 

Both echolocation and flight are energetically expensive processes for bats. The nature of the flight and echolocation mechanism of bats allows for creation of echolocation pulses with minimal energy use. Energetic coupling of these two processes is thought to have allowed for both energetically expensive processes to evolve in bats. 

It is hypothesized that the loss of echolocation is due to the uncoupling of flight and echolocation in megabats. 

The larger average body size of megabats compared to echolocating bats suggests that a larger body size disrupts the flight-echolocation coupling and made echolocation too energetically expensive to be conserved in megabats.

  The Eurasian eagle owl, the biggest owl in the world, has made a home in Jos Baart’s high-rise apartment complex. 

The mommy owl and three young owls seemed to be very curious about everything around them. Baart initially thought they were annoying, but soon they seemed to be friends!  The owls have no reservations about this gracious host. And you can see the giant, fluffy chicks standing in quick succession, peering over Baart’s shoulder at the television screen. 

Perhaps they are eagerly awaiting to be invited into the house! Their less friendly mother frequently watches over her cubs from behind a bush, apparently suspicious of Baart and her children’s television habits. 

But she couldn’t stop the baby owls’ curiosity. With a wingspan of more than 1.5 meters, these owls, also known as Bubo owls, have been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest owls. 

They are not natural carnivores and have a wild lifespan of 20 years, but can live in captivity for up to 60 years. They usually nest on cliffs and ledges, but they will also take over abandoned golden eagle nests. That must be an unforgettable experience.

Watch the video bellow:

People may think the main danger of skiing through trees is the risk of running into one. But falling into a tree well is a less obvious, but still potentially deadly risk due to the possibility of snow immersion suffocation (SIS). 

Skiers and snowboarders die every year from SIS due to falling into tree wells and not being found in time.

Essentially, the area around the base of a tree creates snow conditions that are quite different than those out in the open. Air pockets in the snow combined with water vapor rising from the tree base turns the snow into a quicksand-like texture that is nearly impossible to escape from—the more you struggle, the deeper in you fall. 

That could easily have been snowboarder Ian Steger's fate in March 2023 if not for the eagle eye and quick thinking of backcountry skier Francis Zuber. 

Zuber had just begun a backcountry ski run with a buddy on Mount Baker in Washington State when a flash of red caught the corner of his eye. Zuber's GoPro footage shows him stopping and turning to see a colorful snowboard upside-down next to a tree. 

“I knew there was somebody attached to it, and obviously they were still alive," Zuber told Vancouver's City News. "I shout out to the guy…he can’t hear me, he’s five and a half to six feet into the snow at that point.” Zuber knew he had to work fast. 

As the video shows him struggling to make his way back toward the tree through the deep snow, we can hear him muttering expletives to himself and calling out to the snowboarder. At first, we can't see how Steger is positioned, but as Zuber gets closer and starts digging, it becomes clear that the snowboarder is completely upside-down, with his face buried deep in the snow. 

Watch the harrowing GoPro footage Zuber shared on YouTube: [Warning: This video contains strong language.]

  Zuber told the CBC that they estimated Steger had been buried between five and seven minutes, "probably at either a third or just the halfway point of his possible survival time in there," when he found him. 

Zuber said Steger hadn't been snowboarding alone—he was with a group of three other riders who were carrying safety equipment including shovels, beacons and two-way radios—but as we could see in Zuber's GoPro, getting back up a mountain when you realize someone in your group isn't behind you anymore is no small or quick task. 

Steger and Zuber have since become friends since the March 3 rescue and have even gone skiing together on Mount Baker. Steger told the CBC he just wants to "enjoy being alive." Indeed, after a close-call experience like that, every moment you have would feel like a gift.
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  Gabby and her younger sister Lily were adopted by a couple in the U.S. when they were just 4 years old and 1 year old respectively. 

Their homecoming is one of Gabby’s most cherished memories, which she recently shared with her mom. The adorable way she remembers the story is melting the hearts of thousands! In a precious video recorded by her mom, Gabby explains how meeting her parents changed her life forever. “Well when we was born, we became two little babies, and then Lily was still a baby, and I was 4 years old,” she says, making sure she doesn’t forget a single detail. 

“I got so big, and Lily was still a baby.” She goes on to explain that the two little ones were incredibly excited to meet their new parents. “We love you guys, and we want to be here for you and daddy,” Gabby continues. Touched, her mom assures her the feeling is mutual. But Gabby isn’t even close to done! She leans in and whispers her next point like she’s sharing a huge secret. 

“Do you know what happened to my heart?” she asks. “When I saw you… my heart fell in love with you!” Of course, her mom is quick to reply, “My heart fell in love with you too!” Moments like these are what make parenthood so incredibly rewarding. 

Gabby’s mom and dad are lucky to have such a loving daughter! It’s just icing on the cake that she remembers her adoption day so well. 

 Check out the heartwarming video, and bring a smile to other parents’ faces by sharing this story.

 
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