288. Piglet Saved by Farm Dog
290.
Koalas in Heat Wave
This mouse diced with death when it tucked into the lunch of a hungry
leopard.
Seemingly unaware of the beast towering over it, the
mischievous rodent grabbed at scraps of meat thrown into the African
Leopard's enclosure.
But instead of pouncing on the the tiny
intruder the 12-year-old leopard, called Sheena, appeared to be afraid of
the daring mouse and kept her distance.
At one stage she tried to
nudge the mouse away with her nose, but the determined little chap carried
on chewing away until he was full

The extraordinary scene was captured by photography student Casey
Gutteridge at the Santago Rare Leopard Project in Hertfordshire.
The
19-year-old, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, who was photographing the
leopard for a course project, was astounded by the mouse's behaviour.
He said: 'I have no idea where the mouse came from - he just appeared in
the enclosure after the keeper had dropped in the meat for the leopard.
'He didn't take any notice of the leopard, just went straight over to
the meat and started feeding himself.
'But the leopard was pretty
surprised - she bent down and sniffed the mouse and flinched a bit like she
was scared.
'In the meantime the mouse just carried on eating like
nothing had happened.

...but even a gentle shove does not deter the little creature from
getting his fill....
'It was amazing, even the keeper who had thrown
the meat into the enclosure was shocked - he said he'd never seen anything
like it before.'
Project owner Jackie James added: 'It
was so funny to see - Sheena batted the mouse a couple of times to try to
get it away from her food.
'But the determined little thing took no
notice and just carried on.'
Sheena was brought in to
the Santago Rare Leopard Project from a UK zoo when she was just four months
old.
She is one of 14 big cats in the private collection started by
Jackie's late husband Peter in 1989.
The African Leopard can be
found in the continent's forests, grasslands, savannas, and rainforests.
...so the mouse continued to eat the leopard's lunch and show the
leopard who was boss !