Rare photo of the ‘end’ of the rainbow

We received several storm photographs from readers Saturday, including one that depicted something that’s very, very rarely seen, especially in Southern California — the end of the rainbow
Several readers have said in the Comments section that they think this image was PhotoShopped. Nick: But it appears that this image is genuine. I have now had it reviewed by 7 people — 3 veteran photographers, a top-notch graphic designer who specializes in PhotoShop,m and 3 meteorologists at the National Weather Service. We also uploaded the image to Flickr and checked the lat/long of the image, which was taken with an iPhone. The info box says the photo was taken where the reader said it was taken. And the info text says the photo was not manipulated.
The photo was reviewed by: photographers Jebb Harris, Michele Cardon and Nick Koon, graphic artist Rick Ho, and meteorologists Mark Moede, Stefanie Sullivan and Brandt Maxwell. I’m stating these names for transparency.

THIRSTY KOALA IN AUSTRALIA FIRE STORM of 2009

SAM became the most famous koala in the world when firefighter David Tree stopped to give her a drink amid the devastation.
Pictures of Sam, who turned out to be female, traveled around the globe and featured in major newspapers including The New York Times, London's The Sun and on CNN. The image provided a much-needed picture of hope in a week filled with news of despair. Yesterday Sam was recovering in Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter. Carer Jenny Shaw said she suffered burns on her paws and was in a lot of pain, but was on the road to recovery.
She was put on an IV drip and is on antibiotics and pain relief treatment. "She is lovely - very docile - and she has already got an admirer. A male koala keeps putting his arms around her," Ms Shaw said. "She will need regular attention and it will be a long road to recovery, but she should be able to be released back into the wild in about five months."
Mr Tree said he was surprised by the reaction to the photograph, which was snapped by Mark Pardew - a fellow CFA volunteer - on a mobile phone.
Mr Tree said he was in the middle of backburning at Mirboo North when he saw the stricken koala."I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," he said.
"I offered her a drink and she drank three bottles.
"The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that."

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This is the Fattest Cat in the world……

35 kilograms or approximately 77 pounds.
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Respect for Nature

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Chris Angel the Illusionist

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Dog and cat are inseparable

A special case of puppy love has two animal shelters working together to find the right home for a pair of best friends. When the staff at the Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC) opened the night drop box, they found a big brown Pointer/Cattle Dog mix named Reddy Boy curled up with a little 4-month-old tabby cat called Mousey. A note from their previous owner that stated they were the best of friends and that Reddy Boy gets nervous when he's not near his girl Mouse. The letter said they should not be separated. TLAC does not have an area where the close chums could be housed together, so they transferred the cat and dog to the Austin Humane Society.
Reddy Boy and Mousey will live together at the Humane Society until they could be adopted together. "This odd couple plays together, hangs out together, sleep and cuddle together, and even drink out of the same water bowl," says Robin Brandon, AHS Operations Director. "Through our transfer program with TLAC, we were able to bring over 1,100 cats and dogs to our AHS adoption program last year, and this is just another example of how we work together."
Reddy Boy about 2 years old, housetrained, walks well on the leash and knows some commands. Officials at the shelter say he is a very smart dog and eager to please. Mousey is about 4-months-old, very affectionate toward people (and Reddy;) she is also confident and playful and litter trained.
With news video.
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Elephant falls in love with zoo keeper

An love-struck elephant has fallen for her zoo keeper.

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Wild otter checks itself into the Jacksonville zoo

When the keepers shut down the otter exhibit at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Sunday, they left one otter out in the exhibit overnight.
When they came back to open up Monday morning, there were two.
Nope, there wasn’t a birth. A wild North American river otter had found its way in to make itself part of the exhibit.
Craig Miller, curator of mammals, said that’s the first time he’s heard of that happening at the zoo.
"We get birds or squirrels coming in, of course," but never this.
He’s not exactly sure how the otter got in, but the exhibit is primarily designed to make sure the animals inside don’t get out. There’s a gently sloped hill behind the exhibit, and he figures maybe the otter climbed that and squeezed between the gate and the fence.
Once it got to the top of the wall, there was a six- or eight-foot jump down to the water.
Then there’s the question of why. Otters aren’t particularly social, Miller said, and both the wild and captive animals are male. But there were two females back in the holding area.
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Monkey Adopted by Pigs!

A red-tailed guenon monkey who thinks he is a farm animal.

Filmed in Rumangabo, DR Congo.

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Subwoofer Cat

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