But no, it is just how these black rain frogs appear. These frogs are native to the Southern Coast of Africa. They live in burrowed tunnels that are around 6 inches deep. What makes the African rain frog unique is its ability to stretch up to a maximum of two inches long, despite being tiny in size. 

These frogs belong to a burrowing species that reside in forest fringes. This is why they do not need to be in the presence of open water in order to survive. 

Whenever these creatures feel threatened, they puff up and take on an aggressive pose by expanding its body. Image Credit: Delport Botma | facebook
The African rain frog puffs up while it burrows because the increased body size will make it hard for predators that attempt to drag the creature out of its hole. 

In the mating season, the female African rain frog discharges a sticky substance to prevent the male from falling off its back. This phenomenon is known as adhesive amplexus. Image Credit: 22sect This depicts how the female does not want to let go of the male rain frog. I guess in modern times we call it being loyal. 

When the female lays eggs inside the burrow, the male remains within the burrow guarding the eggs until the baby African rain frogs come into this world.
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In 2020, the Gentle Barn, founded by Ellie Laks and Jay Weiner, adopted a calf, who had just become an orphan. 

They had rescued him from a slaughterhouse, where his mother did not survive. He was only a week old. They named him John Lewis Thunderheart because he was also a fighter.

 

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When Lewis arrived at The Gentle Barn, he wasn’t in the best of health.“He had severe pneumonia. He had loud, raspy breathing. He had a deep cough. He had an extremely high temperature,” Ellie said.

And because of the stressful environment he was born in, Lewis did not get enough colostrum to build a stronger immune system. That’s why when he contracted pneumonia, he fought for his life. 

They knew he wouldn’t be able to survive living in the barn so they brought him inside their air-conditioned home. He needed a clean and cool environment and this way, they’ll be able to look after him 24/7.

 

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There was also another animal who lived inside the house who would turn out to be such a big blessing for Lewis. His name is Sky. The Gentle Barn adopted Sky from his previous owner who couldn’t keep up with his energy level. 

They weren’t supposed to adopt him but they discovered that Sky was a great therapy dog. He makes people laugh, he can soften the hearts of people with anger issues, and he’s able to calm those who are nervous.

  That’s why he was the perfect companion for Lewis while he healed. “Sky protected him, soothed him, and would lay down right next to him and curl up beside him,” Ellie described. 

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When Lewis was strong enough to go outside, that’s when they saw Lewis and Sky had formed a strong relationship. 

“They run all over the yard and tussle. Sky is very mouthy like a puppy and Lewis wonky like a cow, but somehow they make it work and understand each other,” Ellie shared. 

And when Ellie brought Lewis around the farm for walks and to meet the other cows, Sky was also there with them to help Lewis adjust to this new life at the farm.

 

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When they brought in Lewis, he was only 50lbs at a week old. Now, he’s two years old and weighs more than a thousand pounds. He’s now much, much bigger than Sky. 

They’re not as physical anymore with each other because they know there’s a big weight difference between the two of them. 

But it doesn’t stop them from showing their love for each other. Lewis will lay down on the ground and Sky will be all over him. He’ll lick Lewis and lay down beside him.

 

“Watching Lewis and Sky together, there’s so much to be grateful for. What I enjoy the most is no matter how old or big they get, their love still continues,” Ellie said of their relationship. 

“To us, we see a dog and cow. But to John Lewis and Sky, they just see friends, they see family, they see love.” Feel the caring love between these two when you watch the video below.

 
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The owner dropped him off on the side of the street and drove away while the dog begged him not to leave and ran after his car. The dog, named Snoop, is now happy again despite this very sad experience. After being rescued by RSPCA, he got adopted by a kind person named Laurence Squire. He saw what happened to Snoop in the news and he was touched and heartbroken like everyone.(h/t: thedodo)

  Dozens have been the request to adopt Snoop, and there was a rumor that Snoop Dogg himself wanted to adopt the poor dog, but Lawrence was the one who finally managed to bring him home. One thing’s clear, Snoop is a very loyal dog. He’s now very happy and comfortable with his new family. 

His new dad works at home so he’s being showered with a lot of attention and love. Snoop is now back to his energetic, playful, and loving self.
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The story of Sha'Kyra Aughtry saving Joe, a mentally disabled man, from the snowstorm, which first surfaced on the SweetBuffalo716 blog's Facebook page, has captivated people all around Upstate New York and the world. Aughtry overheard Joe in distress and pleading for assistance. They found Joe and carried him out of the snow bank and into their home early on Saturday, Christmas Eve, with the aid of her boyfriend. 

“During the blizzard, he must have gotten disoriented and he ended up North of where he lives. He didn’t have his gloves with him and with the windchills being what they were, his skin was burning and he was in real rough shape and he was crying,” said Ray Barker, program director at North Park Theatre, where Joe works as a janitor, according to The Washington Post.

  Joe has worked as the custodian at the Hertel Avenue landmark in Western New York for almost 40 years. His sister, Yvonne White believes he went there on Thursday, was afraid, remained overnight, and then decided to return home. 

Aughtry, a mother of three, had to carefully remove Joe's frozen garments from his body, cutting his socks off and ripping the straps of a Wegman's bag from his seriously frostbitten hands. She removed his clothes, which were adhered to his flesh, using a hairdryer. 

Aughtry washed him up, fed him, and wrapped him in warm blankets after removing his icy clothes.

  She put all other holiday plans on hold and did everything she could to make him feel at ease. Aughtry phoned his sister, Joe's only surviving family. “Hi, you don’t know me but I have your brother,” Aughtry reportedly said to Joe’s sister. 

Aughtry FaceTimed Joe at her house to distract himself from the discomfort he was still feeling from the frostbite. Meanwhile, she was aware that his hands need the attention of medical specialists. It was then up to them to figure out how to get Joe assistance in the midst of a terrible blizzard that had buried most roads and snowed in inhabitants. Many emergency services were unavailable, according to Barker. 

Two days passed before Aughtry was able to arrange transportation for Joe to the Erie County Medical Center. 

Aughtry posted a frantic call on Facebook, and wonderful Samaritans arrived, plowed, and lifted Joe to their truck, where he was transported to ECMC. She was said to have ridden with Joe to the hospital. Joe is still in the burn unit at the ECMC, recuperating from fourth-degree frostbite. Barker called Joe in the hospital on December 26. “He was in good spirits and his voice was strong,” Barker said.

 

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“I think he’s very fortunate he bumped into someone who was a compassionate soul, and I think it goes to show that there are kind people of goodwill everywhere in every neighborhood and in every walk of life,” Barker said. 

“She went above and beyond what a lot of people would do. It could have been a very tragic situation. She saved his life.” 

Joe, the longest-serving North Park employee, was employed in 1980, according to Barker. He has known White for almost 30 years while working there. Joe's life, he says, centers on the movie theatre, which provides him with a regular routine. 

The North Park Theatre has set up two GoFundMe pages to aid Joe and to thank Sha'Kyra Aughtry for her generosity. Joe's Support Fund will not only assist with medical expenditures, but any cash left over will be used to improve his day-to-day care at home.
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Turbo was born with a congenital defect, two luxating patellae, which left him with very limited mobility in his back two legs. 

This caused the sweet mini horse to walk in a hunched manner forcing all of his weight on his front legs. Turbo’s owners contacted Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary (R2RAS) of North Haven, Connecticut for help. 

The non-profit organization was started by Megan Pereira who got tired of seeing so many farm animals euthanized while working as an animal vet tech. Her sanctuary gives them a place where they could live out their days. 

“I lean towards the special needs ones, the broken ones, the really medical intensive cases,” Megan told Walkin’ Pets.

  Megan had helped out a goat named Peaches who got around with a wheelchair, so she figured she could help Turbo and took him in. 

After learning about Turbo’s story, the New Hampshire-based Walkin’ Pets mobility company decided to donate a wheelchair for Turbo. 

Turbo wasn’t even strapped in before he took off running before they even had him fully strapped into his new wheelchair.

 

“Seeing Turbo ‘walk’ before any assistance and dragging his legs, to being in his cart – I almost started crying. I am not a crier, but I almost started crying. He was running, bucking – it was all very exciting,” said Megan. 

He has an entirely different spirit about him when he’s moving along in that wheelchair. It’s a definite spirit of joy. Megan hopes that Turbo’s story will encourage others to rescue animals with special needs.

 

“It’s definitely a road worth traveling – they really make a special place in your heart,” Megan said. But Turbo needed more help than he could get from a wheelchair. The mini horse, who Megan refers to as her “unicorn,” also needed surgery on his legs. 

“My sweet little unicorn is out of surgery. He had surgery yesterday on his first leg, and today he had his second leg done & is doing very well post-op. As always, with any surgery, there is a risk of post-op complications. He is nowhere out of the woods yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic!” she wrote on Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary’s Facebook page. The non-profit is hoping that people will donate to help cover the costs of his surgery. Donations can be made here and will go toward funding Turbos’s surgery and helping the other animals at Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary. 

The sanctuary, which rests on 10 acres of land, has so far rescued 70 animals since 2020. Learn more about Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary here. 

Watch Turbo take his first happy steps in his wheelchair in the video below.

 
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The ants seem to be throwing what looks like a funeral for a bumblebee. The video shows a bumble bee sitting on some gravel and surrounded by pinkish-purple flower petals. Then you see some petals inching toward the bee. 

That’s when you realize there are ants carrying the flower petals to the deceased bee. 

“This video was taken outside of my work by the garden. There was a dead bumblebee and the ants were bringing flower petals to lay around him. It looked like some sort of bee funeral,” Nicole Webinger wrote on Facebook. Webinger, who works in Stillwater, Minnesota, was shocked by the display. So, was the rest of the internet. Her video ended up going viral. 

Apparently, it’s not the first time some ants have thrown a bee a funeral.

I have put Twitter back on my phone specifically to show you these circular arrangements of petals i found around multiple dead bees. if you are a scientist who knows what the hell is going on here, please tell me! pic.twitter.com/h3D8u89WxG

— sophie klahr (@sophieklahr) August 28, 2022

Twitter user Sophia Klahr posted photos on Twitter showing circular floral arrangments around a few dead bees with yellow flower petals. 

“I have put Twitter back on my phone specifically to show you these circular arrangements of petals i found around multiple dead bees. If you are a scientist who knows what the hell is going on here, please tell me!” she wrote in her post. 

 According to IFL Science, the ants aren’t “giving the bees a dignified send-off.” “Ants live in complex colonies and use a variety of pheromones to communicate. This can be for a walking trail, to alert other ants of danger, or even just to let them know they’ve died and everyone else should probably watch out for dying, too,” IFL Science writes. “It figures, then, that they’d be sensitive to the chemical signaling of other animals.” “In the case of these dead bees, it’s not known why they died – but their corpses are likely sending the ants some kind of message, and so it’s possible their floristry is a response to this.” The ants might also see the bees as their next meal. Putting the flower petals over the bees might be an attempt to cover their meal, so other scavengers don’t get it. 

Another theory is that the bees emitted a signal that the ants should tidy up. Ants love to clean and practice necrophoresis to keep their colony areas tidy. 

“As an adaptation that lessens the spread of pathogens, necrophoresis sees the ants gather their smelly dead and carry them away to a dedicated tomb. Some colonies even have specialized undertaker ants for the job.” 

The ants could be performing the same task but with bees – covering up the corpse would prevent it from attracting attention. We still think it’s an ant funeral though. Check out the ant funeral below.

 
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Meet Lala, an adorable King penguin who was living for years with a Japanese family in Shibushi City. Lala was reportedly rescued by the family in 1996 after he was caught and injured in a fishing net. They took him in, nursed him back to health, and even gave him an air-conditioned room. At that time, the penguin had gotten too attached to the family and refused to leave, so they decided to keep him as a pet. They did everything they could to make sure he would have a comfortable life. Many journalists from around the world got in touch with the family to interview them. In 2006, when Lala was around 10 years old, Real TV made a short documentary about his life. 

In the document, he spent his days living in his own air-conditioned room and roamed around the streets of his town. After the family took him to the market for the first time, Lala kept wanting to go back (naturally). 

They noticed he liked to walk and is smart, so the family taught him to wear a tiny backpack and walk alone to the market to get her favorite meal. When Lala hit the road with his backpack on, his favorite destination was the fish store. He bought his own fish there, and brought some home to eat. 

Clearly, the image of a penguin wandering around with his tiny backpack is something you don’t see every day. Lala loved nothing more than to strap on his penguin-shaped backpack and went to the market for some sardines and mackerel every day. 

He also loved his family and his air-conditioned room. Sadly, Lala has already passed away but the memory of him is still alive today. Watch his hilarious shopping routine and his memory in the video below:

 
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