
A VIP passenger will be onboard LÉ Niamh when she departs her base next week for a three-month migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea, writes Sean O’Riordan of the Irish Examiner.

A family of swans stopped the traffic as they tried to cross a busy dual carriageway.

There are fewer than 7,500 snow leopards left in Central Asia.

There’s no way this wouldn’t do well on the big screen.

You’ve got to look after your friends.

Of course, it’s adorable…

Britain's ambassador to Austria has said he was left shaken and lightly injured - after being chased by a wild boar in Vienna.

This rabbit is a fighter.

The stories make for emotional viewing.

It often takes the harshest of situations to bring out the kindness in humanity.

We address the pressing question as one may have been spotted in England.

You gotta love this fashionable amphibian.

A badger which fell down a 10ft-deep drain was hoisted to freedom by an RSPCA officer in England.

Top marks for creativity.

It sounds like it was a slow day at the office for this US police force.

A tiger escaped from a circus in Sicily, running along the road in a town near Palermo before being recaptured.

Turns out it takes a lot of firemen to lift an unconscious polar bear onto a dentist’s table.

Staff at a sea life centre held an underwater inauguration for a frogfish that looks like Donald Trump.

"That's like jail. They're not being naughty."

“Her saving grace was that she swallowed the handle-end first.”

Got any ideas?

The footage sheds light on the hunting habits of the bears and the relationships they share.

Harriet and Hazel are living the dream.

It’s been nicknamed Lou-Seal.

The troublemaker is on the run.

Monsters of the deep.

Why can't we get snow like that.

Nothing says Christmas like a rogue reptile.

Sports clubs in the UK have been urged not to leave netting out overnight after a young fox got its entire body entangled in a football goal net.

Cats in your favourite movie scenes is everything you need right now.

You herd me.

Say what?

Meow!

Warning: you will not be able to cope with how cute these puppies are.

It'll be a howl.

This is like the only time you won’t mind sharing food.

A stranded seal has been rescued to applause from the watching public in west London.

Poor cat.

Yikes.

This is probably not what they had in mind.

Well, this looks fun.

They could be used to sniff out explosives.

Our new hero.

Autumn is expected to make a full recovery after being found by Poppy and her owner.

The mega-bed is 14 feet long and seven feet wide.

Very familiar with…

A pleasing watch.

The moment happened at the Colchester Zoo in England.

How far would you go to save your goldfish?

It's the first time such footage has been taken.

It's very peaceful.

"It was an amazing and intense encounter — the seal is the survivor."

Vets operated on the six-month-old dog and were able to remove the 20cm serrated knife.

A team of SIX turned up to help.

They knew exactly what they were doing.

A fitting story for International Cat Day.

A bear hitched a lift on top of a rubbish truck in New Mexico.

Hop, splash, hop, splash.

Wedneday is hump day, after all.

It's very cute.

Somebody grab the popcorn for him.

Half Moon Bay is the place the be if you want to literally bump into whales.

The poor pup was found with the upper half of his muzzle missing.

Close enough to hear the "big gasping, grunting sound of it breathing".

Proof that not all beach bodies have to be svelte.

And the officers who released the poor animal caught it on video.

A koala rescued in Australia has been found to have two different coloured eyes thanks to a rare condition.

The incident happened during a wildlife show in the Alice Springs Desert Park.

Their faces…

The two-year-old Carpathian lynx was reported missing from Dartmoor Zoological Park on Thursday morning.

The poor thing was wrecked.

Everybody loves a good dog meme, or that video of cats terrified of cucumbers. How about a Craiglist advert for an enthusiastic tortoise-walker?

And photographer Richard Creagh captured some pics of the orca with the stunning Irish coastline as a backdrop.

Everyone knows you have to be careful in the great outdoors.

An ostrich sprinting down a motorway in Malaysia was caught on camera by an eagle-eyed commuter.

A turtle has been caught on camera making a break for it in Cork city.

First dogs at polling stations, now cats want in on the action too.

And he looks like the happiest dog in the world.

A dog for cat lovers and a kitten even a dog loves!

The charity, offering the service of the 12 comfort dogs, has travelled to Florida from Illnois.

WITCHCRAFT.

Black bear Takoda enjoys a soak in his tub on a hot day.

His owner is of course getting a bit tired of it.

Maybe he was counting them?

It's made of something more than just paint.

The Dingle dolphin has been spotted with a deep wound on his side but is expected to make a full recovery.

Anything is possible, even if you're a blind cat.

It's like a bloody dinosaur.

A Texas hospital has helped to grant a terminally ill patient’s dying wish.

And incredible close encounter.

She’s a kitten really!

Definitely not a fan.

How could you stay mad at them?

You might need a box of tissues for this!

It was a big'un.

It could be a Disney movie.

Still waters run deep. Deep enough for a whale it seems.

The wildlife, we mean.

They don’t just save cats from trees you know!

Yeah, that'll do the trick