- From senior lemurs and lobsters to potty-mouthed birds, you’re bound to love one of these critters.
Everybody loves a good story of animals doing something odd, funny, or impressive. We should know — we have a whole Cool Animals category dedicated to them.
Occasionally, though, we learn about animal stories that never become our regular posts. They might be just a bit too short, or perhaps there’s just something infinitely weirder going on that day.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t stories worth sharing, though. So, we decided to put some of our favorites into one package.
Here are eight strange and cute animal stories that will bring a smile to your face.
1. Pub-Going Mongoose
Gef the Mongoose is a resident of the Curraghs Wildlife Park on the Isle of Man. In early June, he suddenly disappeared from his enclosure.
The park staff suspected that Gef may have gotten amorous and gone “looking to find a female mongoose.” However, that’s not why he left.
Instead, he went out to grab a pint.
Gef was eventually caught on the grounds of the Heron and Brearley Brewery, nearly 15 miles away from Curraghs. He seemed to be in good health, but will undergo a precautionary quarantine period before returning home.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find out whether he ever got his beer. Considering he’s only nine months old, though, we doubt he was of drinking age.
2. Buffalo Wild Chicken
Here’s a chicken that crossed the road in the completely wrong direction. After all, you’d imagine hens would stay away from Buffalo Wild Wings.
Yet, this lost chicken on was spotted hanging around parking lot of a Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa. It was too late at night to call animal rescuers, so the restaurant staff decided to let the chicken find its own way home.
The following morning, however, the chicken was still there. That’s when the staff called the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, who came to pick up the “poor, confused hen.”
Currently, the ARL are looking for a safe home for the chicken. Props on the restaurant staff for not turning the chicken into some wild wings.
3. Diaper Monkey
Speaking of poor, confused animals, that’s what the San Antonio Animal Care Services (SAACS) found wandering through the Texan city. In mid-June, passersby alerted SAACS about a baby monkey that was looking lost in a city park.
The infant spider monkey was wearing a diaper that seriously needed changing when the animal rescuers found it. It’s now receiving good care from the experts at Primarily Primates.
San Antonio authorities also found out the person from whom the monkey had escaped. They received less TLC and are looking at several criminal charges for having an illegal animal as a pet.
4. World’s Oldest Lemur
On June 15, the Five Sisters Zoo in West Lothian, Scotland, celebrated a big birthday. On that date, Stumpy, one of the zoo’s ring-tailed lemurs, turned 39.
That makes him the certified world’s oldest living lemur in captivity. Stumpy was born in in 1986 in Surrey, England, and he’s still going strong, despite his ailing eyesight.
He has used his long life productively — or perhaps we should say reproductively. Stumpy has 11 children, who have in turn given him 25 grandchildren.
Stumpy’s age is particularly impressive, considering that its 14 years above the typical lifespan of a lemur. The venerable senior received a special cake made out of veggies and fruits for his special day.
5. Bear Stuck in a Lid
In 2023, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was made aware of a sorry sight. A young bear had managed to get his head stuck in a large container lid and was wandering around with his impromptu necklace.
DNR agents tried to find the bear to help him, but he proved to be a slippery one. For the next two years, the bear would show up every now and again before disappearing one more — always with the lid on his neck.
Finally, in late May, DNR was able to catch the bear and cut off the lid. The growing bear has some serious scarring as a memento of his unbearable ordeal, but is otherwise fine and was released back into the wild.
6. Old Lobster and the Sea
Lorenzo is one whopping lobster. This 110-year-old, 21-pound monster of a crustacean has lived for years at Peter’s Clam Bar, a seafood restaurant in New York’s Long Island.
No one’s quite certain where he came from and how he managed to avoid getting cooked, but Lorenzo was lucky to slip through the cracks. Over the years, he turned into a tourist attraction and the restaurant staff gave up any thought of serving him for dinner.
This past Fathers’ Day, the restaurant’s owner decided to give Lorenzo the greatest gift of all — his freedom. The town authorities secured the necessary permissions for the restaurant, and Peter’s returned Lorenzo to the sea.
“He’s gonna be missed, but I think it’s better like this. If he passed away here, it wouldn’t be a good thing, and I couldn’t have the heart to sell him,” Yamali told Pix11 News.
7. Vet-averse Cat
There’s probably no cat in the world that likes going to the vet. George, however, dislikes it more than most.
In early May, George’s owner, Bob Beasock, took him to a veterinary clinic in Lakeland, Florida, to get neutered. He, however, was not happy about losing his dangly bits.
As soon as he woke up from the surgery, George broke out of his crate and said, “Screw you, guys. I’m going home.” So, he promptly marched three miles back to his owner’s house.
Beasock found the still drugged-up cat lounging in his carport. We can only imagine what a wild walk the anesthesia-fueled journey must have been for George.
8. Foul-mouthed Parrot
Have you ever wished Samuel L. Jackson in his prime would comment on your every move? Well, sadly you’ve missed that chance.
In early June, the Forever Paws Animal Shelter of Fall River, Massachusetts, put up an adoption call for Hendrix, a decidedly unusual parrot. The 20-year-old bird is mostly featherless due to his rescue from a negligent owner.
It’s not his nakedness that’s weird, though, but his vocabulary. Hendrix is probably the most foul-mouthed avian to ever live.
His favorite word seems to be “mother***er,” which he will repeat on any given occasion, accompanied by a bunch of other curses and slurs. That said, he can be a sweetheart when he wants to, and always thanks you kindly when you give him a cracker — before telling you to shut up and go to hell.
Forever Paws was skeptical over whether anyone would want the R-rated parrot, but they got absolutely swamped with volunteers. They’ve now closed the adoption call as they comb through the applications to find the person who can stomach the endless filth Hendrix spouts.