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Well, my Monday has been a bit of a nightmare…so to cheer me up I’ve found some adorable panda cubs having a bit of rough and tumble in the Chengdu Giant Panda Base in Sichaun province, China.
The twin boys were fighting over who got prize spot in a water pit. The play fighting will have to stop when they grow up as they’ll be about 5ft long and up to 150kg!

Heartwarming story of how a maternal hippo was seen helping other animals in need.
During the wildebeest migration, thousands of animals cross the dangerous Mara river. This is a vulnerable time for the wildebeest as they face not only the treacherous fast-flowing river but also crocodiles lying in wait for them. Tourists spotted a young gnu struggling and being swept off with the current. This female hippo came to its aid and gently nudged it safely back up the river bank, then went on to also save this young zebra. Although they are herbivores, they’re reknowned for being one of the most aggressive animals in the world so this act of kindness could be signs of a strong maternal bond, even across different species!

It’s my birthday, so I’m having a bit of a lazy day…in the meantime, here’s one of my lovely Winter White dwarf hamsters, Fatso, being nosy and very interested in some sunflower seeds.
Winter Whites are so called because the moult their fur during Winter and gain a much paler, whiter one so they are more camoflagued against snow. Fatso however is always white as she is a ‘pearl’ variety, ulike the normal brown-grey colouring. (I do have one hamster who is a normal dark grey, however she is also the speediest hamster known to man and isn’t very keen on cameras…when I manage to get a non-blurry shot of her I’ll post it!)
We called her Fatso because she was twice the size of the other hamsters…however, as you can see, despite her sunflower seed addiction, she’s not all that fat really, bless her.
Photos by Suzie Pipes ©

Beautiful advert from Ikea at the moment…what 100 cats would do if they roamed a homeware store on their own. The director let the cats free into the Wembley shop and simply filmed them as they made themselves at home…
Brilliant video showing how they did it :

Otters having a soak in your bath? Only at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in Somerset…Here, Pauline, the founder of the charity explains how they teach otter orphans how to swim in the safety of her bath…and also why she’s encouraging the little one’s friendship with her labrador puppy.

Scientists have discovered there’s a real reason why dogs seem to resemble their owners. They match human gestures in the same way humans subconsciously yawn when someone else does.
(But all the foods above are doggy-friendly…as much as they want be the same as us, I don’t think that extends to drinking a nice bottle of chianti!)

Rather sweet story about a tortoise sanctuary going to all lengths to bring little Timmy out of his shell. Bullied by the other tortoises, Timmy is now inseparable from Tanya, a plastic model of a tortoise.
The sanctuary look after hundreds of abandoned, illegally imported or unwanted tortoises.

…these dogs are in trouble. My dog ate what? An intriguing sounding programme on Nat Geo about the weird and wonderful things people’s pooches have ingested.

Welcome to Suziesden from me…and Fatso the Winter White dwarf hamster.
Photos by Suzie Pipes ©