See rare video of a swimming great horned owl. Hikers walking through a canyon in Lake Powell between Arizona and Utah stumbled upon the rare sight. It’s likely a young great horned owl and still has some of its nestling feathers.

Great horned owls often roost on cliff ledges, so it’s possible the young owl fell into the water from its nest. Seeing an owl swim is unusual, and they have no way to defend themselves while in the water. Owls are unable to take flight while swimming, so they must leave the water and dry their feathers before flying.


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At one time there were estimated to be only a few hundred Florida manatees left. So, in 1973 they were put on the endangered list. And as hoped, their numbers began to flourish once again.

It makes sense, then, that if the Florida manatee is out of harm’s way, so to speak, they should be removed from the endangered list, right? Well, yes and no. Though there are now estimated to be more than 6,000 Florida manatees in the wild, not everyone is thrilled to see their status changed from “endangered” to “threatened”.

With overall manatee numbers in the Caribbean region up around 13,000, and around half of those Florida manatees, the US Fish and Wildlife service went ahead and made the change to their status. This was in order to make way for others who need the services and protections the “endangered” designation affords them.

What landed them on the endangered list in the first place? Unfortunately, it’s human interference, as you might have guessed. The main causes of manatee death, are impacts from boat propellers, and the loss of their natural habitat. Since neither of these root causes has been remedied, the risk of the manatee numbers suffering again in the future is quite high.

Florida Manatees Are Not Out Of The Woods
The Center For Biological Diversity had this to say about the removal: “… manatee numbers have never truly recovered, as the animals must contend with a barrage of manmade threats. Each year, about 87 manatees are killed by collisions with boats, the single greatest cause of premature mortalities. This is more than seven times (the) number of manatees that the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates can be killed without impairing the species’ recovery. Meanwhile, boating in Florida is at an all-time high and increasing…” and “in 2017, the (US Fish & Wildlife) Service downlisted the manatee from “endangered” to “threatened” despite the fact that 2016 had been the deadliest-ever year for manatees.

There are many who echo these sentiments and believe the move is a real blow to the future of manatees. That removing the protections which afforded manatees the chance to beef up their population, will cause their numbers to dwindle once again. Then we’ll be back at square one.

But let’s not forget the really good news in all of this. The manatee population throughout the Caribbean and Southeast US is now estimated at around 13,000. Of those, about half are believed to be Florida manatees. That’s a far cry from the 1970s when only an estimated few hundred remained. So the special attention on these gentle giants and the protection they were previously afforded did have a positive affect. It’s unfortunate that limited resources exist for protecting endangered animals, and their status must be continually reassessed. If the protections they were enjoying did, in fact, make a positive impact, it’s easy to see how removing them will negatively impact their numbers too. Will the Florida manatee’s status have to be looked at again in the future? If the fatalities continue at this rate, it seems quite likely.

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Emily was an orphaned elephant who arrived at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust after she fell down a disused pit latrine when she was just an infant back in 1993.


When she grew up she went on to a normal wild life amongst the wild elephant community of the Trust’s Tsavo East Voi rehabilitation facility. As the years went on, she has become an able matriarch, leading and guiding the younger orphans who were part of her orphaned herd. The elephants in Emily’s herd came from almost every elephant population throughout Kenya.

So it was with great pride and happiness that the Trust welcomed her back to the stockades on December 23, 2014. Emily came back on her own to give birth to her second wild calf in the company of her human family, who had brought her up during her formative years.

The Keepers filmed the momentous occasion filled with elephants trumpeting and rumbling with joy. Emily’s herd of orphans accompanied her back and were eager to gently help the newborn baby to her feet. In the video, you’ll see them gently nudging the calf named Emma, and using their trunks to lift her off the ground.

It’s a beautiful moment to witness, as the once-orphaned elephants gather together and celebrate the arrival of a new member of their family!

Watch this precious moment in the video below and share it with your friends on Facebook!


The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has many amazing people helping orphaned elephants, but none more amazing than Dame Daphne Sheldrick.

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Pandas are known for their distinct pattern and coloring: bright white fur and jet black on their backs and around their eyes. But in very rare cases, a panda will be born with brown, softer caramel-colored fur where the black fur normally is.

He Xin
There are only less than 2,000 pandas in the wild, due to the fact that pandas rarely give birth. This is because females ovulate only once a year.

He Xin
Giving birth to a brown panda is even more rare. There has been only five recorded cases of brown pandas, and today, there’s only believed to be one in the entire world.

He Xin
Meet Qizai, a brown panda who resides at a panda center called Foping Panda Valley in China’s Shaanxi Province. He is seven years old, and they believe his brown coat may have come from a genetic trait specific to pandas from the Qinling Mountains. But his mother had normal black and white fur, so it may be a recessive trait.

He Xin
Qizai was rescued and brought to Foping Panda Valley after being found, alone and malnourished, when he was just two months old.


Staff nursed him back to health, and today he is a healthy and happy panda. His caretaker, He Xin, says he is “gentle, funny and adorable.” But sadly he is a little slower than the other pandas and was bullied by them for a while. They would steal his food since he eats slower too.


Now, Qizai has his own enclosure, so he doesn’t have to worry about being bullied or having other pandas steal his food.



Instagram / pandamayi
Qizai may look different and act a little slower, but aside from that, he’s just like any other panda. He is average-sized and weighs around 220 pounds, and also eats around 44 pounds of food a day.


Pandas are no longer on the endangered species list, but they’re still considered “vulnerable.” Since Qizai is now older, they plan to soon match him up with a female. They’d like to grow the panda population and are also curious to see if his brown coloring is passed down to his babies.

He Xin
Watch Qizai in the video below:


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