Man Kills Mama Bear, Tries to Sell Cubs at Gas Station

A California man was stopped from trying to pawn off two adorable bear cubs at a gas station after he killed the mother.

Local authorities in Nevada County, California, fielded a number of calls from concerned passers-by reporting a man was trying to sell the bear cubs in the parking lot. Officials from the Department of Fish and Game arrived to find the man still in the lot, apparently unable to find anyone willing to buy the cubs, as most are probably aware that the cubs grow just a bit bigger over the months and years.

The man claimed that he was forced to shoot and kill the mother of the cubs on his property after she became aggressive and charged him. Feeling sorry for the cubs, he picked them up and tried to find a suitable home for the creatures by pawning them off in a gas station parking lot!

Fish and Wildlife officials are now trying to confirm the man's story about killing the mother bear. The two cubs have been taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Rancho Cordova, where they will spend the summer and fall. They will be tagged and released into a den to spend the winter months. Officials say that dozens of other orphaned cubs have gone through a similar process, and the majority of the bears survive to adulthood.

Prince Harry the Pygmy Hippo Dies

Photo: Facebook/Cango Wildlife Ranch

Prince Harry, the adorable pygmy hippopotamus rejected by its mother who became an internet sensation, has died suddenly.

The 3-month old cutie, who was being hand raised at the Cango Wildlife Ranch in Outdshoorn, South Africa, died suddenly from respiratory arrest and heart failure while having emergency surgery to repair an umbilical hernia. Despite repeated attempts by staff to revive the animal, he never regained consciousness and died on the operating table. 

The tiny hippo quickly became an internet sensation after photographs of him giving a care-giver a tender smooch on the nose were posted on the wildlife ranch's official website as well as their Facebook page. 

During his short life, Harry helped raise awareness of the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo in Africa, of which there are only an estimated 3,000 remaining in the wild. To view more photographs of tiny Harry or to leave a note of condolence, you may visit Prince Harry's Facebook page. 

Alaskan Seals Arriving on Beach Dying from Mystery Disease

Photo Credit: National Geographic

US environmental agencies are investigating the cause of a mystery illness that is killing seals in Alaska. Since July, over 107 ringed seals have been found dead, while countless others have been spotted suffering from loss of fur and skin lesions covering their mouths and flippers. Others have shown signs of intense lethargy and labored breathing before dying.

Similar cases of the mystery illness have been reported in Russia and Canada, as well as in some walruses in Alaska. Laboratory tests to discover the disease's origin have so-far proven "inconclusive," and officials said it is not known if the condition can be passed from the seals to human beings. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration in the US has advised local indigenous people as well as tourists not to eat or handle any sick animals until more is known about what is causing the deaths.