Nice to see you, my deer friend! Tinsel the turkey survives being hurled from a moving lorry – and then falls in love

A true friend doesn't mind if you get into a flap or spout a load of gobbledegook. That's probably why Tinsel the turkey has made Bramble the roe deer her constant companion.

She follows him around their animal sanctuary home, squawking protectively if anyone comes near and even giving him an affectionate peck as they nod off together every night in the barn.

Tinsel was not expected to survive when she arrived at the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary as a chick nine months ago. 

Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008

The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary

She was thought to have been hurled from a lorry and was found on a motorway hard shoulder. But when she met Bramble, who had been at the sanctuary for two years, she thrived.

Thanks to their friendship, there is no chance of Tinsel ending up on a Christmas dinner plate this year – or ever. Staff say both are too tame to leave the sanctuary and will stay together for the rest of their lives.

Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock, 61, said: ‘They are completely inseparable.

‘Both of them live in the same barn and Tinsel always gives Bramble a little peck on the cheek before they go to sleep. It's very sweet.

‘We've grown very attached to Tinsel.

‘She must be one of the luckiest turkey's in Britain because she's not going anywhere near any dinner plate this Christmas.’

Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble

Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'

Tinsel was rescued by a driver nine months ago after she was hurled out of a lorry on the M6 motorway near Manchester.

Grandfather-of-one Geoff said: ‘We didn't think she was going to make it.

‘Her feathers were badly damaged and she was malnourished but we fed her up and looked after her.

‘She took an instant shine to Bramble and he seems to like the attention.

‘They walk around the animal sanctuary together, eat together and even have the odd tiff.

‘But Tinsel is very protective and squawks and flaps her wings if anyone goes anywhere near Bramble.’ 

Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008.

Geoff added: ‘Bramble was very poorly when he came to us but after three years he's back to full health.

‘He close bond with Tinsel has certainly helped his recovery.’

by dailymail.co.uk

Nice to see you, my deer friend! Tinsel the turkey survives being hurled from a moving lorry – and then falls in love

A true friend doesn't mind if you get into a flap or spout a load of gobbledegook. That's probably why Tinsel the turkey has made Bramble the roe deer her constant companion.

She follows him around their animal sanctuary home, squawking protectively if anyone comes near and even giving him an affectionate peck as they nod off together every night in the barn.

Tinsel was not expected to survive when she arrived at the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary as a chick nine months ago. 

Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008

The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary

She was thought to have been hurled from a lorry and was found on a motorway hard shoulder. But when she met Bramble, who had been at the sanctuary for two years, she thrived.

Thanks to their friendship, there is no chance of Tinsel ending up on a Christmas dinner plate this year – or ever. Staff say both are too tame to leave the sanctuary and will stay together for the rest of their lives.

Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock, 61, said: ‘They are completely inseparable.

‘Both of them live in the same barn and Tinsel always gives Bramble a little peck on the cheek before they go to sleep. It's very sweet.

‘We've grown very attached to Tinsel.

‘She must be one of the luckiest turkey's in Britain because she's not going anywhere near any dinner plate this Christmas.’

Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble

Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'

Tinsel was rescued by a driver nine months ago after she was hurled out of a lorry on the M6 motorway near Manchester.

Grandfather-of-one Geoff said: ‘We didn't think she was going to make it.

‘Her feathers were badly damaged and she was malnourished but we fed her up and looked after her.

‘She took an instant shine to Bramble and he seems to like the attention.

‘They walk around the animal sanctuary together, eat together and even have the odd tiff.

‘But Tinsel is very protective and squawks and flaps her wings if anyone goes anywhere near Bramble.’ 

Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008.

Geoff added: ‘Bramble was very poorly when he came to us but after three years he's back to full health.

‘He close bond with Tinsel has certainly helped his recovery.’

by dailymail.co.uk

I may be wrong but there is some irony in this. FIRSTLY, in the pics he looks more impressed than unimpressed, then spotted the cameras and changed the expression. SECONDLY, he called PETA after he was contacted by the Animal Activists. I hope I am wrong though.

*'Bullfights should be stopped!'  Matt Damon defends his attendance at Mexican arena

As an actor known for his humanitarian and charity work, eyebrows was raised when pictures emerged of Matt Damon at a bullfight earlier this week. 

However, the star has defended his attendance at the arena in Mexico, saying being at the event had only re-enforced his beliefs that 'bullfights should be stopped.'

According to Radar Online, the 41-year-old actor telephoned PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) himself after the animal activists contacted him. 

Cultural experience: Matt Damon watched a bullfight at Mexico's La Monumental Bullring Stadium last Sunday 

'We wrote to Matt Damon as soon as pictures of him at a Mexican bullfight surfaced - and within 24 hours, he personally telephoned PETA Vice President Lisa Lange to correct the false impression that he had given,' Jane Dollinger from PETA told the website. 

'Matt said that he went to the bullfight believing that bullfights should be stopped but felt that he should see the cruelty for himself while he was in Mexico,' the spokesman added.

'He said that seeing with his own eyes what these tormented animals go through only reinforced an already strongly held belief that bullfights should be relegated to the history books.'

A face in the crowd: A casual Matt Damon blended in as he watched the event

Where's Damon? Matt watched the action in the ring from his stadium seat

'He also said that he was upset to think that his attendance was in any way construed to be an endorsement of such a barbaric activity.'

The controversial spectacle, in which bulls are baited in a ring for entertainment, took place in La Monumental bullring stadium in Mexico City.

Damon was seen blending into the crowd in a casual outfit of black baseball cap, hooded top and jeans. 

The PETA website describes bullfighting as  'inaccurate term for events in which there is very little competition between a nimble, sword-wielding matador (Spanish for 'killer') and a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented, and physically debilitated animal.'

Unimpressed: Damon yawns and takes a sip of his drink as he watched the fight 

Matt-a-dor: Damon watched the action unfold in the ring, although animal activists regularly condemn the practice

Animal movie: Matt stars alongside Scarlett Johansson in new movie We Bought A Zoo

The star was taking a break from shooting his new movie Elysium in Mexico.

He is said by the Hollywood Reporter to be playing an ex-convict in the film which is set to be released in 2013.

The movie's plot has been kept closely under wraps but is said to be set on another planet and also stars Jodie Foster and Diego Luna.

Damon will next be seen alongside Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning in film We Bought A Zoo which is released in the U.S. on December 23. 

The film is based on a memoir by Benjamin Mee about how the author and his family used their life savings to buy Dartmoor Zoological Park, a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside.

Family role: Matt plays a grieving widower who uses his savings to buy a dilapidated zoo

THE BEAR LOOKS REALLY SAD :( That's one gutsy guard dog! Canines chase starving polar bear away from Siberian weather station

THE BEAR LOOKS REALLY SAD :(

When you live at one of the most isolated corners of the planet, a dog really is man's best friend.

And when a hungry polar bear lumbered ashore to forage for food among the rubbish bins at a weather station, the dogs of Bely Island off the tip of the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia risked their lives to prove their worth.

Without fear of their giant adversary, who could have killed them with a single swipe if it wanted to, they charged forward to protect the few human inhabitants of the remote spot from the powerful beast. First one, then two, and finally a third dog joined the fray, barking and growling at the polar bear.

Although the polar bear did not exactly beat a hasty retreat, it came no further inland after encountering the hostile 'welcoming' committee and shuffled off elsewhere.

Get off my land: One of the dogs approaches the polar bear at Bely Island weather station after he came ashore on one of the most remote islands in the world

Two's company: A second dog joins in the foray making the polar bear edge backwards as they carry on barking at the unwelcome visitor

Three's a crowd: Amateur photographer Sergey Anisimov captured the exchange as a third dog decided it wanted in on the action

The weather station at Bely Island has been there since 1934. The four workers at the station send weather information to Moscow every three hours and polar bears are fairly frequent visitors.

The man who took these remarkable photographs, Sergey Anisimov, 50, was invited to the weather station by the Government of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, whose officials were travelling there to examine a newly built trading station for deer-breeders.

On the island is a memorial stone there dedicated to soldiers and sailors killed during World War Two. There is a Northern Sea Route close to the island and during the war bodies of sailors from sunken ships would wash up on the shore and then be buried inland.

Several Russian Orthodox Priests had also travelled to the island to consecrate the memorial stone. Mr Anisimov said: 'We flew to the station by helicopter. And we noticed a bear when we flew closer to the station.

'The bear was digging into boxes of old things, probably rubbish, looking for some food. When we got out of the helicopter we noticed that the bear came closer until it was only about thirty metres from us.

Sorry: The hungry bear looks almost apologetic as it slinks away from the pack of dogs before heading back down to the sea

Sore paw: The bear looks fed up in in front of the bleak scenery after its confrontation with the dogs that were guarding the few inhabitants of Bely Island

'The dogs tried to protect us and we fired a signal pistol to try and scare it away. Eventually it gave up its advance and just lay down. There were also weather station workers near us and ready with the guns to scare the bear away.

'When we flew away the bear was still there and was watching us with sad eyes.' Bely Island is a relatively large island in the Kara Sea off the tip of the Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia.

It covers an area of 1,810 square kilometres. It is covered tundra but some dwarf shrubs also grow on the island. It is separated from the mainland by the Malygina Strait, an eight to ten kilometre wide sound which is frozen most of the year.

The island belongs to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug which is the northern part of the Tyumen Oblast administrative division of Russia.

Room for two more little ones? Four and 20 freezing swallows huddle up on a single brrrranch

Like the hilarious Pixar animation 'for the birds', these swallows huddle together to shelter from the cold.

But, instead of pecking the feet of a larger bird until the wire twangs, these little creatures are snuggling up against the harsh winter weather along the Yukon River in Canada.

Struggling to stay warm as temperatures plummet below freezing in a bitter snow storm, they clamour onto a single branch to conserve heat. And because of their ingenuity, every single one of them survived. 

Stay close: As they battle the elements of a Canadian snowstorm, these 24 swallows huddle to keep warm

They were pictured on a tree on the banks of the Yukon River as they fluffed up their feathers to stay warm

Photographer Keith Williams, 59, spotted the remarkable scenes while out walking his dog, Brandy.

He said: 'I noticed several hundreds of swallows taking cover in the trees during the storm and immediately recognized how rare it was to see so many clinging together.

'I was amazed because I had never seen them in such large numbers and at such close range.

'They coped by crowding together on branches to conserve body heat and forming a pile, something I have never heard any bird do before.

'They also created their own warm jackets by fluffing their feathers and tucked their heads under their wings to conserve heat.

'Perhaps one of the reasons why I was able to get so close may have been because they had lowered their metabolism to conserve precious calories, so were in slowed-state called torpor, similar to hibernation.

'Extreme cold and snowstorms don't allow for flying insects their main food, but they did seem to be trying to pick some sort of aquatic insect off the surface of the river.

Photographer Keith Williams captured the images while he was out taking a walk with his dog, Brandy

The scene was like something from the Pixar animation 'for the birds' but without a larger bird coming to disturb them

'I'm not sure how successful they were but I saw no dead birds.'

Mr Williams added: 'I returned early the following morning to check up on the birds, as I feared many might have died from cold, hunger and exhaustion. All seemed fine.

'They allowed me to take photos from close range, which is unusual for this species.

'I was wearing camouflage gear and had been standing still for a quite a while.

'I was blown-away by some of the photos, especially the colourful close-ups which revealed the blue, metallic plumage.

'Normally when I think of swallows, it's little brown and white birds swooping about in the sky at a distance, because that is all I usually get to see of them.'

 

Their son never came back from Iraq, the puppy he saved did: The amazing story of how bereaved parents rescued dog of war

Hero is no ordinary New Hampshire dog.

Hers is a tale that began in war-torn Samarra, Iraq, in early 2007.

Justin Rollins, of 82nd Airborne Division, had found the tiny puppy, one of a litter of eight, living underneath an abandoned portable toilet near his base.

One man and his dog: Justin Rollins befriended a tiny puppy on the night he was killed by an IED in Iraq

Smiling and enjoying the company of the young litter, he and his team-mates took some photos to send home. Just hours later, Justin was killed by an IED.

The happy pictures he had taken and emailed home that night were the last contact he'd have with his girlfriend and family - but the start of an unlikely tale of determination.

Just two weeks later, Justin was given a military funeral in the U.S. His grieving mother, Rhonda Rollins, was asked if there was anything the U.S. military could do to help. Well, yes, she answered.

She wanted to bring the brown and white spotted dog that Justin had befriended on the night of his death back to America.

Her request was certainly an unusual one, but, with the help of Brittney Murray, Justin's girlfriend, the ball started to roll.

Animal contact: Jason Wheeler, left, and Justin took photos of their new friends and sent them home to family. They were the last images Justin sent home

Happier times: Brittney Murray, Justin's girlfriend, helped his mother Rhonda Rollins with lobbying to bring the puppy to the U.S after Justin's death

The high-school sweetheart made six phonecalls and eventually piqued the attention of former New Hampshire Congressman Paul Hodes, who took up the challenge.

Skip Rollins, Justin's father, spoke about the million-to-one chance of finding the dog - and then getting the clearance to bring it back to the U.S.

The request had to go along 'the chain of command all the way to to the top and then all the way back to the bottom,' he told Animal Planet.

Rhonda told ABC News' 20/20 show: 'They said one in a million. And I had already said, because Justin was a hero, the dog, whether it was male or female, it going to be named Hero.'

An old friend ran the story in a local newspaper and soon Operation Hero had gained the momentum it needed. With the help of the Congressman, strings were pulled within the chain of command.

Puppy lottery: Jason describes the puppy whimpering and crying after they found him. They gave him a bath in a washing machine and prepared him for the long journey to his new home

Luckiest dog in Iraq: 'No one ever expected for it to actually work' said Jason of the unusual plan to bring the Iraqi dog to the U.S.

Jason Wheeler, one of Justin's friends from 82nd Airborne, had originally found the puppies with Justin.

'No one ever expected for it to actually work...' he said of the audacious plan. But one day, 'the call came down: "Hey, we have to get this dog,"' he recalls to Animal Planet.

Against the odds, he helped find the stray puppy months after that fateful night.

'It was crying and whimpering but we were like "You won the puppy lottery and you don't even know it."

'This dog had to think "What the heck just happened to me? I was living underneath the porta-potty, now I'm in a washing machine getting the dirtiest stuff washed off me,"' he told Animal Planet's Saved programme.

New family: Hero is united with Justin's father, Skip, left, girlfriend, Brittney Murray, centre, and Rhonda, right

United at last: After three long months of battling red tape, Hero was delivered to Congressman Hodes' office

Relieved: The perfect moment was only marred by Hero 'christening' the Congressman's office carpet

On May 25, 2007, after three months of logistical battles, needle-in-a-haystack searches and swathes of red tape, Hero arrived at Congressman Hodes' office.

Skip told the ABC: 'One of the biggest decisions for wanting to get Hero out of Iraq was to honor him by saying, this is the last life that he saved, so that's the importance and the love that we have for this dog.'

His wife echoed his sentiments, describing the joy Hero brought, albeit briefly, to her son. 'She gave him the last bit of happiness, by the smiles on his face, when he was holding her, it's just beautiful.'

'We were expecting a little tiny puppy and she'd gotten so big,' Brittney told Saved. Cramped into the small room, the Rollins family, Brittney and military representatives all greeted the animal to its new home town.

'It's the perfect moment,' Brittney remembers. 'She's finally here... and she squatted and peed on [the congressman's] floor.'

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by dailymail.co.uk