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Wild moment giraffe snatches toddler from car

<p>A father has recalled the heart-stopping moment his toddler was snatched by a giraffe at a safari park in Texas. </p> <p>Jason Toten, 24, his fiancé Sierra Robert, 23, and their daughter Paisley were at Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre in Glen Rose where visitors can drive-through the park and get close to wild animals. </p> <p>"We were having a little family day, just getting out of the house," Jason told a local news outlet. </p> <p>While the family were admiring the view, one giraffe slowly approached them and the pair encouraged their daughter to offer it some food, but within an instant, the two-year-old girl was lifted into the air.</p> <p>"I looked out the back window and I saw the giraffe … and then up she went," Jason recalled. </p> <p>The giraffe, who was only trying to grab the bag of food from Paisley, accidentally hoisted the toddler up by her shirt, with other park visitors behind them capturing the wild moment. </p> <p>Sierra reacted immediately and clung to her child, as she was pulled into the air, and all it took for the giraffe to let go was a stern "hey". </p> <p>The giraffe then dropped the tot back into the car uninjured, and throughout the entire ordeal Paisley was the bravest of them all. </p> <p>"I guess it startled the giraffe. She wasn't even scared," Jason recalled. </p> <p>"As soon as her mom caught her, she went 'oh.'" </p> <p>"It scared me but after it was all over, we realised everyone was safe and unharmed, and we laughed about it," Jason added. </p> <p>After the incident, the family took Paisley to the gift shop and "all she wanted was a giraffe toy and a giraffe T-shirt."</p> <p>"We ended up getting her both, we figured she deserved it."</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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One of our favourite animals could be facing extinction

<p>It’s one of the most beautiful, majestic creatures on the planet, but if we don’t act soon, the tallest land animal on Earth may be heading for extinction. Giraffe numbers have plummeted in the last few decades, with populations <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/news/new-bird-species-and-giraffe-under-threat-iucn-red-list" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">falling by almost 40 per cent</span></strong></a> from 160,000 in 1985 to 97,500 in 2015.</p> <p>In fact, the giraffe threat level was upgraded from “least concern” to “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List, skipping the “near threatened” status altogether. The alert comes after decades of the animal being hunted for sport, poached for their tails, meat, and even for their skin and hair for use in jewellery.</p> <p>“These gentle giants have been overlooked,” Sir David Attenborough said in June last year. “It’s well-known that African elephants are in trouble and there are perhaps just under half a million left. But what no-one realised is there are far fewer giraffes, which have already become extinct in seven countries.”</p> <p>The crisis is yet another sad reminder of the world’s dire wildlife situation, with the current global extinction threat at its worst in around 65 million years. In fact, according to <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_index2/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">the WWF</span></strong></a>, the total number of vertebrate species has more than halved within the last 40-odd years.</p>

Family & Pets

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April the giraffe gives birth

<p>After 15 long months and a highly-publicised pregnancy, April from New York’s Animal Adventure Park has given birth to her fourth calf.</p> <p>New York Animal Adventure park had set up a live-stream video of April’s pregnancy and 1.2 million viewers were tuned in to watch the labour unfold.</p> <p>Within an hour of being born, the healthy 129-pound calf was up and standing at 5’9. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fdPKC4wpog0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>Giraffes go through labour upright which means that the newborn calf had roughly a six-foot drop to the floor when it was born.</p> <p>Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch warned viewers on social media when staff realised there were signs of imminent birth on Saturday.</p> <p>He said “"It's happening! We are in labour 100% Cancel your plans, it's time to have a baby!"</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FAnimalAdventurePark%2Fvideos%2F960527900716756%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=400" width="400" height="400" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>Jordan later said in a press release, "His entrance into the world was unnerving to even those of us who have witnessed animal births previously.”</p> <p>April’s labour started at around 7:45 am, the park went live at 8am and then the birth happened at 9:50am.</p> <p>The newborn calf hasn’t been named yet but the Animal Adventure Park has created an <a href="http://nameaprilscalf.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">online vote</span></strong></a> to name him. Votes are $1 US and the funds will go to the Giraffe Conservation Fund and Ava’s Little Heroes which is a foundation that supports families of children who are suffering from complex illnesses.</p>

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People glued to watching live stream of pregnant giraffe

<p>Tens of thousands are watching a live stream of a giraffe who could give birth at any second.</p> <p>The giraffe, April, is expecting a calf in New York’s Animal Adventure Park with her mate Oliver.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZuYR4cTNbB0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><span style="text-align: center;">The animal park have been </span><a style="text-align: center;" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnQCgFa9lCBL-KXZMOoO9Q/live"><strong>live streaming April’s pregnancy</strong></a><span style="text-align: center;"> and viewers are anticipating the moment she gives birth to her little calf.</span></p> <p>The animal park have been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnQCgFa9lCBL-KXZMOoO9Q/live"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">live streaming April’s pregnancy</span></strong></a> and viewers are anticipating the moment she gives birth to her little calf.</p> <p><span style="text-align: center;">The live stream shows April in her pen with the animal park making specific updates regarding her health online.</span></p> <p>When April finally gives birth, there will be thousands welcoming her baby into the world with her. </p> <p>One update from the Animal Adventure Park said, “<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/giraffewatch2017?source=feed_text&amp;story_id=915652141870999">#GiraffeWatch2017</a></strong></span> continues Keepers have reported the continued shedding of the wax caps on April's teats, increased belly movement, and a bit reluctant to go into the giraffe yard. Looks to be another warmer day so they will have the option of yard usage if they desire.”</p> <p>Some fans of April’s pregnancy have said on Twitter, “I would rather watch a giraffe give birth for 3 days than a Kardashian for 3 seconds <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AprilTheGiraffe?src=hash">#AprilTheGiraffe</a></strong></span>”</p> <p>Another wrote, “If this giraffe could just have her baby so I can go back to being a functioning member of society... <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AprilTheGiraffe?src=hash">#AprilTheGiraffe</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/giraffewatch?src=hash">#giraffewatch</a></strong></span>”</p> <p><strong>Related Links: </strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2017/02/crocodile-bites-selfie-seeker-at-thai-national-park/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Crocodile bites selfie seeker at Thai national park</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/news/news/2017/02/cockatoo-trapped-in-soccer-goal-net-is-freed/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Cockatoo trapped in soccer goal net is freed</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2017/02/horrifying-moment-zebra-attacks-keeper-at-zoo/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Horrifying moment zebra attacks keeper at zoo</strong></span></em></a></p>

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Rare white giraffe spotted in Tanzania

<p>An extremely rare white giraffe calf has been recently spotted in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park.</p> <p>Scientists at Wild Nature Institute, a New Hampshire-based wildlife-research group first spotted the Masai giraffe calf in 2015. The giraffe named Omo after a popular local brand of detergent has a genetic condition called leucism, which means her skin cells don’t produce pigmentation, but soft tissues, such as her dark eyes, do.</p> <p>The scientist spotted the giraffe again recently.</p> <p>“We were lucky enough to resight her again this January, almost exactly one year later. We are thrilled that she is still alive and well,” the organisation wrote on its blog.</p> <p>“Omo is the only pale giraffe we are currently aware of,” Dr Derek Lee founder and scientist at the Wild Nature Institute, explained. “Omo appears to get along with the other giraffes, she has always been seen with a large group of normally coloured giraffe – they don’t seem to mind her different colouring.”</p> <p>“We and our partners are working on giraffe conservation and anti-poaching to help give Omo and her relatives a better chance of survival. We hope that she lives a long life and that some day she has calves of her own.”</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/best-advice-ever-received-video/">People aged 5 to 105 reveal the best advice they’ve ever received</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/photos-of-animals-hitchhiking/">Hilarious photos of animals hitchhiking</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/12/cheap-school-holiday-activities/">30 cheap – or free – holiday activities to do with grandkids</a></em></strong></span></p>

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Baby giraffe and elephant become best friends

<p>Everyone needs a best friend, and a giraffe and elephant have found just that in each other, despite their obvious differences in height and species.</p> <p>Kiki the giraffe was discovered abandoned in Meru National Park, Kenya, while Loboito, a baby elephant was rescued in Samburu, Kenya. Since arriving at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the young animals have become thick as thieves.</p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10443/63110481_h40391323_500x333.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391323" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10444/63110481_h40391326_500x333.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391326" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="750" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10445/63110481_h40391335_500x750.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391335" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10446/63110481_h40391341_500x333.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391341" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10447/63110481_h40391347_500x333.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391347" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="750" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10448/63110481_h40391353_500x750.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391353" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><img width="500" height="334" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10449/63110481_h40391359_500x334.jpg" alt="63110481_H40391359" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p>

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