Barry Bland

Alligator Motorbike

This custom-made bike, which was crafted from the skin and skull of a real alligator that was culled by authorities to keep their numbers down, has been created to raise funds for a wildlife charity.

 

Jim Jablon, owner of the Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando (WROH) in Florida, devised the GatorBike to raise funds for his centre. WROH rescues exotic pets that have been neglected or abused by their owners and either releases them back into the wild, re-homes them or cares for them on site.

He said: 'All those skins from culled gators usually get pinned up in people's yards so I thought why not put one to good use.' 

The GatorBike was made by Swedish craftsman and leather expert Benny Ohrman, 60, who spent a year perfecting its scaly contours. The skin is detachable but the head is fixed permanently into the handlebars and has the speedometer and other gauges implanted into the back of the skull. The custom-made bike has a powerful Ultima engine and cost Jim £51,000 of his own money to build. 

 'We even gave the lower parts a slick, alligator skin paint job,' said Jim.  'It's quite a work of art. You can't ride anywhere on that thing without being stopped by people. It turns a lot of heads.'  Tickets for the raffle cost $100 (£75) and can be bought at Jim's website. Only 1000 tickets are being sold and anyone from any country can enter.

Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando (WROH) website - www.wrohflorida.com

 

Suryia and Roscoe

Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe a Blue Tick hound became friends when they crossed paths at a South Carolina preserve for endangered animals. Now they swim together, play together and Suryia even takes the dog for his walks.

View the story, more images and video at www.SuryiaAndRoscoe.com

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Swimming with Tigers

A zoo in America is pioneering an unusual form of exercise for its animals and their trainers. Going for a swim. Together.

Tigers at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (Tigers), in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, are taught to swim with their trainers from an early age in a specially designed pool.

see more of these images at

Barcroft Media

Base Jumping

The worlds biggest BASE jumping event, where over 400 people turned up to jump from the 867ft high New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia.

Anjana the Chimpanzee helps care for 2 White Tiger Cubs

When two white tiger cubs were born during a hurricane they had to be separated from their mother after their sanctuary flooded.

However they have since found an unlikely surrogate mother in chimpanzee Anjana, who has taken on the role of caring for the cubs

The two-year-old chimp has been helping keeper China York care for the 21-day-old cubs at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, T.I.G.E.R.S., in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

see more of these images at

Barcroft Media 

Rescue Ink

A bunch of bikers who got together to form a charity which rescues abused animals.....

Chihuahua's on Wheels

These 4 Chihuahua's where born missing their front legs as the result of a birth defect, thought to be due to irresponsible inbreeding. They have each been made a set of wheels to help them get around!

Surfing at Cocoa Beach courtesy of Hurricane Hanna

More surfing pictures....

Gator....

You don't scare me!

Thien Nhan

Thien Nhan was abandoned when he was only 72 day's old by his teenage mother who left him to die in the forest after giving birth in a small town in central Vietnam. Nhan was discovered 3 day's later, his body covered in blood after being attacked by wild animals. He was rushed to hospital were doctors managed to save his live but had to amputate his right leg.

Nhan is now 2 years old and has been adopted by a Vietnamese couple from Hanoi. He has just arrived in the USA for surgery on his damaged groin and while in the states will also get a new prosthetic leg.

Check out Thein Nhan's Blog for updates on his progress.

see more pictures HERE