Save my lion! Desperate plea from woman who is looking after paralysed Ariel in her living room

By LEE MORAN

Caring: Ariel's owner Raquel Borges launched the Facebook campaign to raise money to care for her paralysed lion


Stretched across a mattress, Ariel the lion dozes as four people gently clean and massage his body.

Under usual circumstances his carers would be at risk of a serious mauling from the 140kg beast.

But three-year-old Ariel is no ordinary animal - because just over a year ago he was struck down by a debilitating virus which paralysed all four of his legs.


Routine: Vet Livia Pereira has taken Ariel into her home so she can care for him full-time


An internet campaign has now been launched by his owner Raquel Borges and vet Livia Pereira to raise the $11,500 needed each month to pay for his treatment.

A staggering 35,000 people have already clicked the 'like' button on Ariel's Facebook page and sent in donations to help fund his daily caring routine.

Pereira said: 'When the Facebook campaign began in May, we had less than five followers, because it was designed to inform people of Ariel's case not to ask for help.


Kindness: Vet Livia Pereira snuggles in to paralysed lion Ariel


'But then we started asking for donations and the number of people following Ariel's case soared.'

Pereira, who cares for Ariel at her home, said that for unknown reasons his white blood cells were attacking his healthy cells due to a degenerative disease affecting his medulla.

This is a portion of the brainstem involved in motor functions.


Passed out: Ariel lies on a mattress, propped up by packets of toilet rolls


She believed Ariel's symptoms were similar to those of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Guillain-Barre syndrome - an autoimmune disorder that can cause paralysis.

A team of Israeli veterinary neurologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who tested Ariel to see what degenerative disease was involved, will publish their results later this month.

Their trip to Brazil was paid for by Graziela Barrette, a Brazilian model living in New York, who had been moved after hearing of Ariel's plight.

Ariel was born in the shelter that Borges and her husband run in the southern city of Maringa, where they care for sick or abandoned animals.

She said: 'He was a perfectly normal and docile lion that slept with me until he was 10-months-old.'



Loving: Vet Livia Pereira kisses paralysed lion Ariel who has lost the use of his legs


But last year, after spending hours leaping and chasing balloons, Ariel started limping. 'I could tell he was in pain,' she added.

Days later he was unable to move his two hind legs and after surgery to remove a herniated disc he lost control of his front legs.




source :dailymail

S'warm in 'ere! Staff trapped in chocolate shop for almost THREE HOURS after thousands of angry bees threaten to invade store

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Help! Terrified staff at Thorntons were trapped for nearly three hours after they were attacked by this swarm of bees


This is the incredible moment terrified staff at Thorntons chocolate shop were trapped for nearly three hours after they were literally bee-sieged - by a buzzing swarm.

The sweet store was forced to close for two-and-a-half hours after thousands of bees swarmed around the queen in its doorway.

Staff at the shop in Leominster, Herefordshire, said it was like something from a horror film as they watched an angry cloud of black and yellow coming at them.


Buzz off: The bees are believed to have swarmed the shop to protect a queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby nest


They were forced to hide inside the shop, barricading the door with chocolate boxes, while a beekeeper was called.

Shop assistant Kim Kinsey said: 'I thought they had been attracted to the shop by the sweet smell of the chocolate, but the beekeeper explained they follow the queen.'

The bees are believed to have swarmed the shop to protect a queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby nest by a younger female.

They were eventually removed by a beekeeper after tourist information centre manager Gill Ding raised the alarm.

Ms Ding, 45, said: 'Nobody seems to know where they came from but it was probably from a large hive. It was quite alarming.




source: dailymail

Get out of my way! The bulls of Pamplona go running… over the backs of revellers

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Ouch! Revellers crouch for cover as a bull jumps over them to get into the arena


Thousands of thrill-seekers dashed ahead of six fighting bulls in the streets of the northern Spanish city of Pamplona today in the first running of the bulls in this year's San Fermin festival.

Miraculously no one was gored, but one person was hospitalized after falling in the sprint, said Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba. In all, four people needed treatment by medical staff.

The bulls, from the Torrestrella farm, accompanied by six guiding steers charged down the 849 metre course from a pen to the city's bull ring in two minutes and 30 exhilarating seconds.


That's got to hurt! A 'mozo' or runner is painfully flipped over when a young bull catches him with a horn between the legs


Runners, wearing traditional white clothing and red handkerchiefs around their necks, tripped over each other or fell in the mad rush but avoided getting caught out by the charging bulls.

There were some unexpected moments as one of the steers separated from the pack and charged back towards the starting gate, sending runners scattering after they thought their dash was over.

Another steer stopped and laid down on the pavement near the end before eventually being guided into bullring, where the six bulls will take part in the afternoon's bullfight.



Stampede: The fighting bulls charge round a corner on their way to the ring as the runners try to keep up


Hoofed: a reveller winces as he is trampled after falling on the street


'The truth is there were very few people for the first running, so it was quite comfortable,' said 20-year-old Julen Iruzun, who was taking part in his third 'encierro,' the Spanish term for the run.

'That must be one odd steer' Iruzun said about the wandering one, 'but these things happen.'

The runs take place each morning at 8 a.m. and are televised across Spain.

People come from all over the world to test their bravery and enjoy the festival's nonstop street parties which last until July 14.

The festival was immortalized by author Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises'.


Taking it easy: Runners are forced to wait while a cow that took a tumble on the cobbled street gets to its feet. Right, locals cheer from their balconies as the the bull run rushes past on the way to the town arena


Steer crazy: The angry animals rampage down the street as festival goers, dressed in traditional red and white, urge them on


A sangria-soaked runner is pressed up against a wall by a bad-tempered bull


At the end of each run, that last around two and a half minutes, the animals are led into the city's bullring


Spain bull running festival gets underway


source: dailymail

Gymnastic Mr Fox! Cubs sneak into garden to have a bounce on children's trampoline

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Boing! One of the fox cubs leaps into the air on a trampoline in a garden in Colorado, U.S., as his sibling watches on


They're more used to bounding about, chasing each others' tails and steering clear of humans.

But for these fox cubs, the chance to enjoy a bounce on a trampoline in a back garden was clearly too much to deter their natural caution.

The two were captured on video playfighting in the garden of a home in Colorado, before curiosity got the better of them and they decided to investigate the trampoline.


Outfoxed: But the cub hasn't quite got the hang of this bouncing lark as he sniffs suspiciously at the surface of the trampoline


Perhaps the wild cubs had spotted a child having a go on the trampoline and thought they would have had a try.

But the footage - posted on YouTube by user Samron - shows they hadn't quite got the hang of bouncing as they leapt around on the springy surface.

One of the cubs repeatedly jumps into the air, but forgets to 'bounce' as it lands down again and looks bemused at the top of the trampoline.


Larking about: The two cubs playfight after climbing on to the trampoline, before jumping around in delight



Cunning: One of the foxes leaps into the air, perhaps copying children the animal had seen jumping on the trampoline





source :dailymail

Tragedy at the Queen's Salute: Horse has to be put down in front of shocked crowd after being run over by a gun carriage in Hyde Park

By REBECCA ENGLISH


Behind the foreground rider the horse can be seen as it falls and entangles its legs in the wheels of the gun carriage


Members of the public looked on in horror today as an army horse died on parade during a freak accident in London’s Hyde Park.

The animal, called Murphy, was taking part in the Royal Gun Salute which takes place on June 2 each year to mark the coronation of the Queen.

Soldiers from the King’s Troop were lining up when the horse tripped while galloping and his legs became entangled in the wheels of a gun wagon, which then dragged him across the grass.


Soldiers rush to disentangle the fallen horse


Realising the animal is bady hurt, a soldier dashes off to find expert help


As he fell, Murphy suffered a ‘complex fracture’ of his leg and after being examined by an on-site vet was immediately put down by injection.

Devastated soldiers erected a green tent around the animal to shield onlookers from the distressing scene which took place shortly before mid-day.

An army spokesman told Mail Online: ‘Unfortunately the horse, called Murphy, became entangled in the gun carriage which was being moved into position and very sadly broke its leg.


A soldier looks up as he realises the severity of the animal's injury


Distraught, a horseman buries his face in his hands


'The vet officer in place immediately gave him pain relief but it was a very complex fracture and the only course of action was to put him down by injection. It was really the only course of action.

‘Everyone involved was naturally distressed. Murphy had been with the regiment for a very long time.

‘It was a tragic accident, one of those split second things that happen and he went down straight away.

‘It is very rare, though, that something like his should happen. No-one can remember anything like this happening before.’


n a shot taken from the watching spectators, soldiers from the King's Troop erect a barrier around the horse as a vet gives it a lethal injection


The salute, to mark the 59th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne, was cancelled as a mark of respect.


Horse injury cancels Queen's 41-gun salute



source: dailymail