Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images
From a cat bath to peeping chicks and dozing pandas, get your cuteness fix with creatures great and small.
Seagulls fly over the skies of Rome in this slow-exposure photo taken on May 2.
Nelson Kepley / AP
Guilford County Animal Control officer E. Afari carries a pig to his truck after catching it in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, April 11, 2013. Citizens in the area called police after seeing the animal roaming around Thursday afternoon. Both animal control and a Greensboro Police officer who responded to the scene said they did not know where the pig came from.
Alexsey Druginyn / Kremlin Pool - RIA Novosti via EPA
The Kremlin today released a series of photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin gamboling in the snow with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his countryside residence outside Moscow.
Buffy, a Karakachan Bulgarian shepherd, was presented to Putin by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov in 2010. A 5-year-old boy was reported to have won a competition to find a name for the dog.
Yume, an Akita Inu, was gifted to Putin by Japan's Akita Prefecture as thanks for Russia's help during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Yume, whose name means "Dream" in Japanese, will be one year old on April 24, according to Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
Putin's love of dogs is well-documented, and it is even said that he has used his Labrador, Koni, to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel during negotiations.
Editor's note: This post has been corrected to reflect that these photos were taken on March 24, and not as previously stated on April 10. They were released by the Kremlin today.
Alexsey Druginyn / Kremlin Pool - RIA Novosti via EPA
Vladimir Putin walks with Buffy at his countryside residence, Novo-Ogariovo, on March 24, 2013.
Alexsey Druginyn / Kremlin Pool - RIA Novosti via Reuters
Related:
'Isolated' Medvedev mans the office as protests dog Putin's European trip
Putin takes to sky to lead flight of cranes
Vladimir Putin, your friendly local dentist
This story was originally published on Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:02 PM EDT
Carl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images
A Kenya Wildlife Services vet administers a drug to a tranquilized wild elephant in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The International Fund for Animal Welfare School of Field Studies and KWS partnered to fit tracking collars to elephants in and around the park. The exercise has cost $100,000 US and will monitor six elephants for 20 months to ascertain migratory routes and other data. There are currently 60 collared elephants in Kenya out of a total population of around 37,000.
Carl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images
A wild elephant mother tries to help her tranquilized juvenile offspring after it was darted by a Kenya Wildlife Services vet.
Carl De Souza / AFP - Getty Images
A Kenya Wildlife Services vet holds a tranquilizer gun as he views wild elephants from a helicopter in Amboseli National Park, Kenya on Thursday, March 14, 2013.
Wong Maye-E / AP
River Safari keepers struggle with a manatee named Pedro as they lead him onto a canvas sheet used to lift him out of the water to take him to a new enclosure on March 13, in Singapore.
More than 20 zookeepers and veterinarians moved seven manatees from their previous home at the Singapore Zoo to the larger 'Amazon Flooded Forest' exhibit, in Singapore on Wednesday, according to Wildlife Reserves Singapore. The sea cows' new chomping ground is four times larger than their previous home and is also the world's largest freshwater aquarium, according to the zoo.
Wong Maye-E / AP
A River Safari keeper holds an oxygen supply tube in front of Pedro, a manatee mid-way through being transported to a new enclosure on March 13, in Singapore.
Wong Maye-E / AP
A River Safari keeper collects blood samples from Pedro, a manatee mid-way through being transported from one enclosure to another on March 13, in Singapore.
Wong Maye-E / AP
River Safari keepers release Indy, an 8-year-old female Manatee into a holding pool on March 13, in Singapore.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Dustin Murley and Jessey Sisson race on their ostriches during the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz, March 10.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Dustin Murley falls off his ostrich as Jessey Sisson looks on during the ostrich race at the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Dustin Murley falls off his ostrich as Jessey Sisson looks on during the ostrich race at the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Dustin Murley is run over by his ostrich after falling off during the ostrich race at the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz. on March 10.
Chandler, Ariz. has more than a 100-year history with the world’s largest bird, the ostrich, but it wasn't until 1989 that the community decided to celebrate its feathered friend with the annual Ostrich Festival.
The three day event held in late winter or early spring offers your typical fun festival fare with one exception, ostrich racing.
“An ostrich is not really the most intelligent animal in the world,” said Steve Boger, whose Hambone Express brings ostrich racing to the event. “The only thing that’s less intelligent than an ostrich would be a person who would get on one and ride it.”
“It’s kind of like getting in the car with no steering wheel and no seat belt,” he told the Arizona Republic. “You’re definitely at their mercy.”
With no stirrups or reins and only a small pad to serve as a saddle, falls are common in this event, he said. Continue reading the Arizona Republic article.
Why ostriches? From the 1890s to the 1920s the desert community was home to 80 percent of the American population of ostriches. They were brought to Arizona, which had a similar climate to their native Africa, to harvest their feathers for use in women’s hats. However, with fashion being fickle, the fancy plumes were no longer a necessity and ranchers began unloading their ostriches in the 1920s.
The ostriches never returned to Arizona in any great number, but the festival was created as a community galvanizing event and to honor the history of the bird's contribution to the area's growth.
For the record, the Humane Society of the United States doesn't condone ostrich racing.
“At first glance it (ostrich racing) does appear to look fun, but it’s cruel,” said Kari Nienstedt, the Arizona director of the organization. “We don’t condone any event that torments captive wildlife causing undue stress and possible serious injury to an animal.”
Nienstedt further wishes that Chandler would celebrate the ostrich in a more humane way.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Dustin Murley raises his hand as he races his ostrich during the annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Spectators prepare to watch the ostrich race during the annual Ostrich Festival.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Jessey Sisson rides his ostrich during the ostrich race at the annual Ostrich Festival.
Tacoma News Tribune / Getty Images Contributor
Dr. Edmund Kwan performs a root canal as Dr. Tom Sullivan removed a growth from the eye lid of Boris, a Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Polar bear on Feb. 23 at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's animal health care hospital in Tacoma, Wash.
Dean J. Koepfler / Tacoma News Tribune
Head veterinarian, Dr. Karen Wolf, clips the massive claws of Boris the Polar bear during a physical at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash.
Dean J. Koepfler / Tacoma News Tribune
Carson Reed, 6, hugs his stuffed polar bear, Poley, after a physical for Boris the real Polar Bear is performed by his dad, Dr. Jim Reed, and other team members.
Dean J. Koepfler / Tacoma News Tribune
A pair of gloved hands are dwarfed by the furry paws of Boris the Polar Bear at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's animal health care hospital in Tacoma, Wash.
A sleeping giant, Boris the Polar bear underwent a full physical Saturday, at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's animal hospital in Tacoma, Wash., as a team of veterinarians, technicians and staff also performed a root canal and some minor eye surgery on the 27-year-old polar bear. Continue reading 'Root canal, eye work for Point Defiance polar bear' on The News Tribune.
Editor's note: Images shot by Tacoma News Tribune's Dean J. Koepfler on Feb. 23, but made available to NBC News today.
Related links:
Altaf Qadri / AP
A domesticated elephant halts at a traffic intersection in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday. There are an estimated 28,000 wild elephants in India, along with thousands of domesticated ones that do everything from performing in shows to carrying heavy loads in the country's big cities.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Juan Medina / Reuters
A priest blesses a dog outside San Anton church in Madrid on Jan. 17.
Pedro Armestre / AFP - Getty Images
A dog is blessed by a priest at the Church of San Anton in Madrid on Saint Anthony's Day.
Daniel Ochoa De Olza / AP
A dog looks over the back of a pew as people take part in a mass at San Anton Church in Madrid on Jan. 17.
Hundreds of pet owners bring their animals to the Church of San Anton in Madrid to be blessed every year on the day of Saint Anthony, Spain's patron saint of domestic animals.
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
A Belarussian military instructor trains her dog in a frontier guards' cynology center near the town of Smorgon, 87 miles northwest of Minsk on Jan. 11. The center prepares instructors with trained dogs for guarding Belarus's border and sells other puppies and dogs unfit for service to civilians in the country.
Australian Reptile Park via EPA
Zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park stand on scales as they weigh a 21-foot-long python named Atomic Betty, on Jan 9. Reports state that the 14-year-old python weighed in at over 304 pounds.
Viktor Drachev / AFP - Getty Images
A woman feeds ducks in the village of Pererov, central Belarus, on Jan. 8.
Follow @NBCNewsPictures
E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS