Pictures: Penguins take 17-hour trip to new home, and other adventurous animals
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Fourteen Humboldt penguins had to make an international voyage across land and sea, from the Isle of Man to Northern Ireland. It should've been a short trip across the Irish Sea, but due to coronavirus travel restrictions the birds had to make an epic 17-hour-long trek through England and Scotland. The park's manager said it was a "miracle" the move had gone to plan and that "it was a great team effort."
The move was part of a European breeding programme for endangered animals. The penguins had to be loaded into a temperature-controlled van and taken by ferry to England, before being driven to Scotland for another sailing across to Belfast. The site's managing director Kieran Quinn said the birds were "settling in and feeding well" and had already created a "buzz around the town".
This dog, discovered about 220km (135 miles) off the coast of Thailand, was rescued by a team of oil rig workers after the exhausted pooch was spotted paddling near a drilling platform. It is not clear how he ended up stranded so far out at sea, but some reports suggest he may have fallen from a fishing trawler. The rig workers named the dog Boonrod, a Thai word that roughly translates as "the saved one" or "survivor". The workers were able to nurse him back to health, before arranging for a tanker to take him back to shore to be checked over by a vet.
Tyson the dog was found on a train in Ireland. Rail staff looked after him while they tried to track down his owner but as he wasn't micro chipped it was tricky. However with the help of social media and a couple of TV and newspaper appearances, Tyson's owner was found. He's going to get micro chipped so if he ever goes on an adventure again, his owner can be traced!
Lucy may look like an ordinary cat... but she's really quite a spectacular traveller. What started out as a secret trip in her neighbour's car in Belgium, in Europe, ended up in an epic one year round trip to the UK and back. Luckily she was micro chipped so her owners were found and everyone was reunited.
This Fiordland penguin might look small, but it managed a pretty mammoth journey all the way from New Zealand to Australia! The penguin was rescued by Melbourne Zoo's Marine Response Unit (MRU) on the coast of Victoria after swimming 1500 miles across the Tasman Sea. It was been released back into the ocean on Phillip Island, south of Melbourne.
A cat in Canada was reunited with its family after being put in the post by mistake. Baloo appeared to have crawled into a parcel his owner was packing and got stuck inside. The cheeky cat was then sent 750 miles away to another city. After a journey of around 17 hours, a parcel company spotted Baloo and took him to a local animal rescue centre. From there his owners were tracked down and Baloo returned home safe and sound.
This might look like a leaf but its not! It's a praying mantis, a meat-eating insect which had travelled to England in a shipping container all the way from India. The RSPCA was called and they took the little critter to a specialist exotic animals centre. The RSPCA Animal Collection Officer Catherine Strawford said: “It isn’t unusual for us to get calls about spiders coming over from abroad but it is rare for us to get called about a praying mantis. This particular one is very lucky as they have very delicate bodies, which has travelled 4,800 miles across the world!”
A family in the US got quite a shock when they woke up to find an unexpected visitor in their basement! According to the Idaho Mountain Express, a moose had fallen in through an open window. The woman who owned the house said the moose was very "polite" and caused hardly any damage. Luckily, the animal wasn't hurt and was released back into the wild.
Here is something you have probably never seen before - 80 falcons strapped in, ready for take-off. These feathery fellas are actually owned by a Prince from Saudi Arabia who obviously decided he couldn't travel without them. Falconry is extremely popular in Saudi Arabia and lots of airlines in the area actually allow people to bring their birds with them when they travel. Usually the limit is 6, but we think this Prince may have some friends in high places to get 80 birds on board!
Here is a strange sight - a horse looking like it wants to hop on the bus! This is Invictor, a police horse giving some support to his commanding officer, who was actually on the bus helping a man who had collapsed. A spokesman for the police said Invictor was "showing he's a team player". The man was fine and Invictor's support was much appreciated by his colleague. It's a good job he wasn't after a ride because we don't think he would have had the correct change or a bus pass...
Can you spot the odd thing about this photo? Ok, so it isn't that well hidden, but look it's a sailing chicken! This is Guirec - a 24-year-old from France and his friend Monique...who is a chicken. The pair set off on a trip around the world. Guirec said: "The hen was an ideal choice. It doesn't need that much looking after and I'm able to get eggs at sea."
Anyone would be shocked to open their car bonnet and see this little face staring back at them but that's exactly what happened when Betty Boop the dog got herself caught inside a car bonnet and taken on a 12-mile journey around Greater Manchester! It was only when a neighbour came home and heard barking that Betty Boop was found.
This turkey was snapped on a flight in the US and is thought to be an 'emotional support animal'. This means they are animals that help people to calm down. They are becoming more and more popular. It's thought that for people who are scared of flying, using animals can make the experience much less scary.
Dogs catch buses all the time, right? But usually they have their owner with them. Well, Eclipse the Labrador is an independent kind of hound and gets the bus to the dog park on her own! Her owner then meets up with her to go for a nice walk. Many residents and bus drivers around Seattle know Eclipse and say that they like seeing her furry face on the buses.
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