This is a close up of a llama eye. The strange "ruffles" are called 'iridic granules' (corpora nigra) and they are used to to shade the eye from bright sunlight. In bright light these iridic granules can actually interlock to completely cover the centre of the pupil. This leaves just two holes open on either end of the pupil, reducing the amount of light that can enter the eye. These odd looking structures are also found in horses, cattle and sheep.

After the tsunami in 2004, an orphaned baby hippo was found stranded on a coral reef off the coast of Kenya. He was brought to a wildlife sanctuary, but couldn’t be put with the other hippos because the oldest male may have viewed him as a threat and killed him.

The hippo, named Owen, was put in with a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee. Owen was desperate for a mother figure and immediately took to Mzee. In the coming months, the two became inseparable. They snuggled together and even tried to communicate. While hippos are known for being social, the same is not true for tortoises.

Workers at the sanctuary feared for Mzee’s safety as Owen continued to grow. They were separated in 2007 and a young female hippo named Cleo provided companions ...

Glow-in-the-dark rabbits were born a few days ago at the University of Istanbul, Turkey. To produce the ‘mutant’ bunnies, researchers took two embryos from a pregnant female rabbit, injected them with a fluorescent jellyfish protein, and reinserted them into the female rabbit. The scientists believe this experiment could help in the development of better, more efficient ways to produce medicines.

The Mandarin duck is a sexually dimorphic species, meaning males and females differ in appearance. The male has a rich, colorful appearance, which includes brown cheeks and a long brown and white crown sweeping back from the top of the head. The chest is dark purple, with black and white strips, and the wings are brown with an iridescent blue-green edge. This striking coloration helps the male attract the less-colorful females, which display brownish-black plumage with white markings around the eyes and along the throat. ...

New data shows alpine swift can spend up to 200 days in the air.

It is a mystery how the birds are able to physiologically accomplish this feat. While their diet is relatively straightforward, they feed on airborne insects, how they rest in midair is not known.

A 2-year-old albino kangaroo has been spotted in Canberra’s Namadgi National Park. Albino kangaroos in the wild usually don’t survive because they stand out and become an easy target for predators. Albino animals also have a genetic predisposition towards sight and hearing issues, making life in the wild almost impossible—but Rene(e), which is always surrounded by its mob, has survived against all odds.

The blue whale is not only the largest animal alive currently, but is likely the largest animal ever to have lived.

Depending on the location, blue whales can grow to be 33 meters (108 feet) and weigh as much as 181 metric tons (200 imperial tons).They can live to be 90 years old and ingest about 3.6 metric tons (4 imperial tons) of krill each day. Blue whale are considered endangered by the IUCN.