The Golden Tabby Tiger

The golden tiger has its white coat and gold patches due to an extremely rare colourvariation caused by a recessive gene. Around 30 tigers are believed to exist in the world but many more are carriers of the gene. Records of the golden or strawberry tiger date back to the 1900s, in India. The first golden tiger cub born in captivity was in 1983 and this came from standard colored Bengal tigers.

A golden tabby tiger is one with an extremely rare color variation caused by a recessive gene and is currently only found in captive tigers. Like the white tiger, it is a color form and not a separate species. In the case of the golden tiger, this is the wide band gene; while the white tiger is due to the color inhibitor (chinchilla) gene. There are currently believed to be fewer than 30 of these rare tigers in the world, but many more carriers of the gene.

The Whale Whisperer

Peering solemnly nose-to-nose at each other, this is the Whale Whisperer and his friend – Scar the 10-year-old giant of the sea.These spectacular images show Andrew Armour bonding with the colossal sperm whale in the warm Caribbean waters off the island of Dominica.Taken on the weekend, the photographs offer stunning insight into the lives of other pod members travelling with Scar.

In one picture a large group of ‘socialising’ whales come together – giving the impression they are meeting up for a chat.And in another they arrive in a perfectly formed procession – almost like they are part of an underwater military march.

The jaw-dropping series of images show how a decade spent befriending the gentle giant allows Andrew, 45, to stroke and gracefully swim alongside the 32-foot mammal.Whale watch operator Andrew, from Dominica, said: ‘Our bond began in 2000 when my wife Rhona found him injured out at sea when he was just a calf. We think he might have been attacked by pilot whales but we are not sure.’His head and dorsal fin were injured and he came to our boat, perhaps seeking some comfort. The most we could do was pet him and his injuries left him with some scarring.

Pig Lungs Could Soon Be Transplanted Into Humans

Pig lungs could be transplanted into humans to overcome a shortage of donor organs after a medical breakthrough.Australian scientists have paved the way for animal-human transplants in as little as five years, after keeping pig lungs alive and functioning with human blood.The breakthrough came after scientists at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital were able to remove a section of pig DNA called the Gal gene, which made the pig organs incompatible with human blood.

Prof Tony D’Apice – who has been breeding pigs for possible transplants since 1989 – said human DNA was added to the engineered animals to control blood clotting and rejection in humans.Dr Glenn Westall, from the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, said the world-first discovery meant pig-human lung transplants were a real prospect.

He said: ‘Five to six hours into the experiment they seemed to be working as well as they were at the start.’The blood went into the lungs without oxygen and came out with oxygen, which is the exact function of the lungs.’It showed that these lungs were working perfectly well and doing as we were expecting them to do.”This is a significant advance compared to experiments that have been performed over the past 20 years.’

Enormous Lion Wakes From His Slumber His Cub Emits A Tiny Growl

Nestled under the magnificent mane of his father, the little lion cub gives a growl so gentle it would fail to startle a passing gazelle.But when he grows up he’ll be able to roar just like daddy.Not that this particular parent looked in the mood for exercising his vocal cords. Or indeed any other part of his mighty frame.He had been trying to enjoy a catnap when his offspring was disturbed by the approach of a Land Rover carrying tourists on safari in Tanzania.One of the party, Martina Neumann, took this remarkable photograph. She said: ‘It was very funny to look at because the lion was so grumpy and tired that it reminded me of many of my friends when they were new dads having to cope with their children.

I bet he didn’t thank us one bit for ruining his brief moment of peace.’

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