These clouded leopard cubs have recently been born at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury. The two male and two female kittens were born in April and have recently made their first public appearance at the wildlife park. Clouded leopards are difficult to breed but the breeding program at Howletts has been quite successful with 30 births since 2003. The leopard is currently threatened with extinction in the wild due to the demand for it coat.

The recent wet weather seems to have encouraged the frogs in the garden to leave the pond and start hopping around looking for food. Unfortunately this means that in our garden they are almost certain to come into contact with one of the cats. The cats obviously think frogs are lots of fun. You can pounce on them and they jump, let them go and then they jump again. Frogs also scream when they are cornered and stressed. They make a very high pitched screaming noise which doesn't seem to deter the cats. It does, however, alert me to the fact that the cats are playing with another poor frog. So far this morning I have rescued two frogs and returned them unharmed to the safety of the pond. My cat Oliver has also learnt this morning (after picking a frog up in his mouth) that whilst frogs are great fun, they actually don't taste that good. I wonder whether he will remember this when the next frog comes along, my guess is that the urge to pounce on another jumping frog will be stronger than the memory of the bad taste.

When Hector the great dane started drooling and looking unwell, it was obvious there was something wrong with him, so his owner took him to the vet. It was only when, he was given an X-ray, however, that it emerged he had managed to swallow a 63cm stick. The stick was so long that it stretched over two thirds of the dogs body. It was later removed under anaesthetic and Hector appears to be fine despite the sticky situation.

Sainsbury's will launch a new range of chickens that are kept in better conditions meaning that a third of its stock will no longer come from battery farms. It will also start phasing out chickens from battery farms completely so that all of its stock will meet RSPCA standards. Sainsbury's have said that sales of poultry reared in better surroundings were up 60 per cent since January so I wonder whether this move is simply in response to consumer demand for better quality chicken.

These little guys are so adorable. They were born at the West Midlands Safari Park and are unusual because white lions are very rare. According to African folklore white lion cubs are a lucky charm and are born just once every 100 years. These cubs belong to two lionesses who gave birth within a month of each other and are the only white lions in the UK. White lions are thought be extinct in the wild and at the last count in 2004 there were only 300 left, all in zoos.

I always loved going to the doctors surgery when I was younger because it was one of the few places around that had a rocking horse. This gadget has been described as a rocking horse for the wealthy. It is in fact a simulator which lets people ride in their own home. The virtual reality riding machine includes a mechanical horse with electronic sensors and a screen. It allows users to trot, canter and perform various dressage manoeuvres but unlike a real horse produces no mess and does not require feeding. Its an interesting concept but personally I think the real thing is much better. For me part of the joy of riding was building up a mutual relationship with my horse and of course the fact that you can never predict what a real horse will do, no matter how well you know it. Its an interesting variation on the rocking horse, though but not cheap at just under £40,000.

Selfridges have launched a very expensive teddy bear that costs £43,000. The bear has eyes made of emeralds and diamonds, its nose is made of of 24 caret gold and its fur is entwined with gold leaf. It also comes with an ink pot filled liquid gold. The bear is part of the stores first ever toy collection and is a limited edition. If you want one it is made to order and is available from August this year. I think its quite ugly.

Devon fishermen have caught a lobster which could be 100 years old. The lobster was so heavy that it broke the winch on their fishing boat. It weighs 12.9lbs and is 81cm long. The lobster has been saved from ending up on a dinner plate and will now live at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, Devon.

I came across this unusual article that shows pictures of a leopard attacking a crocodile. Apparently this sort of behaviour has never been captured on camera before. The leopard filmed in the Kruger National Park, stalked the crocodile before dragging it out of the water. Although the crocodile fought back the leopard managed to get the crocodile by the throat before suffocating it. Surprising, my money would have been on the crocodile.

A koala survived after being hit by a car and dragged several miles before getting stuck in the cars front grill. He was late found with his head stuck in the grill and was taken to a wildlife hospital in Queensland. He was not found to have any serious injuries and has been named Lucky.

This article suggests that children now spend so little time outdoors that they are unable to identify most of Britain's common wildlife. Apparently one in three cannot identify a magpie whilst half couldn't tell the difference between a bee and a wasp. However in contrast nine out of ten could identify the Daleks from Doctor Who. You can take the survey here. I got them all right.

This interesting looking slug has been found in a gardens in Cardiff and Caerphilly. It is thought to be a new species but is similar to slugs found in Turkey and Georgia. The difference with this slug is that it is carnivorous and eats mainly worms. It also lives underground and only comes out to hunt at night.

In an experiment to find out whether octopuses have a preferred arm out of the eight they use scientists have given them a Rubik's Cube. 25 octopuses have all been given one of the toys and the scientists will record their behaviour to see whether the creatures use a specific limb to pick up the toy. I have never managed to solve a Rubik's Cube, I wonder how long it will the octopuses to figure it out.

This article suggests that smaller dogs are more likely to be aggressive than bigger ones. A study on animal behaviour published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that smaller dogs were more likely to show aggressive behaviour. Dachshunds topped the list followed by the Chihuahua and the Jack Russell Terrier with a large dog the Akita only making number four in the list. I guess what the smaller dogs lack in size they make up for in attitude.

Insects really like to bite me and every time they do I seem to suffers quite bad reactions. I don't know when they got to me this time but today I have at least three insect bites on my thigh. The combination of the three bites has meant that my entire upper leg has swollen to about twice its normal size, and it really is painful and itchy but also numb in places. In fact I think this might be my worst insect bite so far, it looks so hideous that I'm not going to post a picture this time but if you check out the last time I got bitten and imagine this but much redder and four times as big, then you are nearly there. Needless to say I am in a really bad mood today.

This is Gus. He is this years winner of the World's Ugliest Dog competition. He certainly is ugly.

An elephant that lost its leg when it stepped on a land mine has been given a new prosthetic leg. Mosha lost her leg when she stepped on a landmine in 2006. Her leg was severed by the explosion and had to be amputated. She is now getting used to her new leg which is made from a sack packed with sawdust. So far she appears to be adapting well to the device.

A cane toad managed to survive despite being eaten by a dog. The dog ate the toad which can release a poison known to kill a dog within minutes. The dogs owner immediately called a vet who gave the dog an injection to induce vomiting. After 40 minutes the dog then vomited a live cane toad. Dog and toad are both doing well.

When a kitten became stuck in a drain it was rescued by firefighters using just a vacuum cleaner. They put a sock on the end of the nozzle and this little guy was soon freed from his hiding place.

We had to take Oscar to the vet the other day because he had a problem with his right eye. He had been unable to open his eye for most of the day and was obviously in quite a lot of pain because he was not his usual happy self. The vet said that he has a eye ulcer and has given us some drops which we need to use three times a day. Oscar is now starting to look a bit better, he can open his eye and is bouncing around as usual. We have to take him back for a checkup at the end of the week but hopefully it will have cleared up by then. As to what has caused the ulcer, apparently it is commonly caused by fighting so I'm guessing one of my other cats is responsible.

A man in Suffolk has found a baby tarantula in a bunch of grapes he brought from Asda. He caught the spider which was later rehomed at a local reptile centre. I hate stories like this, they always make me a little wary when buying fruit.

This is Ollie, fast asleep.

I took a picture of Willow today whilst she was using this large box as a new cat tent.  Isn't she cute?

This resourceful robin laid her eggs in a hard hat in an electrical firm's warehouse. Staff found the eggs when they were clearing out some old equipment and decided to leave it to see if any chicks would hatch. Four eggs hatched out of original six that were laid and the mother is now busy flying back and forth with offerings of worms for the babies. Unusually the robin also chose the only red hard hat out of a row of 14, the rest being white.

Naturalists have discovered that orangutans can not only swim but that they also know how to fish. The orangutans in Borneo were previously thought to be non swimmers but they have learnt how to swim across the river to get to the best fruits. They have also learnt how to use a tree branch as a spear in order to catch a fish after watching fishermen using rods. However, they have also worked out that it is less work to steal fish from unattended fishing lines rather than going to the effort of catching the fish themselves. At this rate they will quickly be overtaking some of the lesser intelligent human individuals among us.

Some rats are now becoming resistant to normal poisoning techniques and have been dubbed "super rats". The rats which have been found in the West Country have a mutant gene which helps them develop resistance to the poisons. If all else fails I guess they will have to resort to using an army of cats to counteract the problem.

According to this article pets are the latest victims of Britain's throwaway society. Figures from the RSPCA show that 7,347 animals were rescued from the street last year. Half of this figure were cats, a trend which the article describes as disturbing because cats are traditionally thought of as easy to care for. It appears that many people give up their pets for rather strange reasons with some examples being “My cat doesn’t match my new carpet.” Another said: “I’ve just bought a new leather sofa and I don’t want the cat to scratch it.” There is also a rise in people abandoning animals such as dogs and rabbits when they go on holiday and then not claiming them when they return. Tim Wass of the RSPCA says “It is an offence to abandon an animal and there is never any excuse for doing so. If people have pets they cannot care for, for any reason, then help and advice is always available from the RSPCA.” Reading this article I wonder why people get pets if they are unwilling to care for them.

Pierre the penguin had a problem with his feathers leaving him with bald patches. Unfortunately, penguins need their waterproof fathers to keep warm whilst in the water. This meant Pierre would sit on the side of the penguin tank shivering whilst the other penguins played in the water. Pierre now has a special penguin wetsuit which is designed to keep him warm but has openings for his flippers so he can still swim. It also allows his feathers to grow back at the same time and he can play happily with the other penguins.

According to this article we are likely to see fewer butterflies around this year because of last years wet summer. 2007 was the worst year for butterflies for more than a quarter of a century with numbers at a record low. This was mainly because butterflies do not fly in the rain and therefore they cannot reach plant nectar to feed or fly to breed. The charity Butterfly Conservation is hoping that we have a long hot summer this year so that numbers can recover. Unfortunately I think my cats are to blame for the lack of butterflies in my garden.

If you want a dog but don't have the space, then you might be interested in this rent a dog service. The service offers canine companions for rent at the cost of £279 for four days a month. It's an interesting idea but I think it would be hard to establish a relationship with a dog that you only see a few times a month. It has, also been criticised by the RSPCA who say that moving a dog from owner to owner makes the dog stressed and unhappy. Judging by the comments left at the bottom of the article the majority of people agree with this view.

Police in Texas were a little surprised when they came across this motorist with an alligator in the back of his car. The driver had found the alligator by the side of the road and decided to put it into his car. Reptile experts were called in to release the alligator into a wildlife reserve. The driver of the car was charged with illegal possession of an alligator.

This huge lobster was reportedly caught off the south coast of England. It is five times the size of a normal lobster and weighs over 4 kilograms. He certainly looks tasty.