Many people love animals, but some animals were loved so much by their owners or did such extraordinary things that they are remembered fondly long after their death. Here is a selection of the ten most famous animals in history.
1. Chimpanzee Ham
Ham the chimpanzee was the first hominid in space and, fortunately, his story is happier than that of the first astronaut dog, which we will talk about a little later. Named after Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, Ham was one of six monkeys trained to pull levers in response to flashing lights while the spacecraft was in flight.
Ham was selected by NASA and launched into space in the Mercury capsule; he made his short journey on January 31, 1961 - he managed to cover 250 km in 16.5 minutes. The flight had to be aborted due to oxygen problems, but Ham recovered three hours after the end of the journey - he even ate an apple and half an orange immediately after leaving the capsule. Ham then lived for more than 17 years at the National Zoo in Washington.
2. Lioness Elsa
Elsa the lioness came to public attention after the publication of naturalist Joy Adamson's book Born Free. The little lion cub's life was hard: his mother was killed by a huntsman, and Joy's husband, George, because she attacked him. Fortunately, George took Elsa and the other lion cubs, her brothers and sisters, with him, and went out to send them to zoos.
The young lioness Elsa lived with the Joy family as a pet, but people gradually prepared her to return to her natural habitat. Elsa gave birth to three lion cubs, who fully adapted to life in the wild, but Elsa herself, unfortunately, died at the age of five from a tick-borne disease. George Adamson and his assistants buried Elsa and staged a farewell fireworks display at her grave - 20 gun salvos.
3. Jonathan the Turtle
Jonathan the turtle is at least 179 years old and is the oldest known animal in the world. This is difficult to verify, but there is photographic evidence: the photo was taken during the Boer War in 1900 on the island of St. Helena, where Jonathan still lives. He was at least 50 years old at the time, and possibly as old as 70, so the turtle is now at least 179 years old.
Jonathan enjoys life in the company of five female turtles, and although he is blind in one eye, age does not seem to be a hindrance for him: he loves attention and is still aggressive enough to protect his young compared to him wives from sexy harassment of other males.
4. Mongoose Mr. Magoo
On November 15, 1962, a snake hunter, a mongoose named Mr. Magoo, was taken from the Duluth Zoo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was sentenced to death or deportation to his homeland of India. The story caused a national scandal. A foreign sailor turned him in to the zoo, but the Service decided that mongooses had no place in the United States.
Ultimately, Mister Magic was given a reprieve. Over one weekend, thousands of people visited the unlucky predator, and many wrote to the authorities, saying that they needed to get rid of the beast: the mongoose could escape and live in a region where it has no natural enemies. In the end, they decided not to kill the mongoose, and he lived the rest of his life in the zoo, eating bird eggs. The mongoose died in 1968.
5. Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog
The world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, also known by his full name Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages and Greatest Weather Forecaster, has traditionally predicted the weather every year on February 2, Groundhog Day, since 1886. Surprisingly, some people believe that the same groundhog is still doing this to this day. Since these animals live on average only ten years, a groundhog would have to take regular doses of the elixir of life to live for more than a century.
The groundhog is looked after by a mysterious group of people called the "Inner Circle", and at the beginning of the prediction ceremony they bring the groundhog a top hat and tuxedo. Weather forecasting by the groundhog probably comes from a German superstition: if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2nd and sees its shadow, winter will last another six weeks.
6. Sam the Cat
Unsinkable Sam was a wonderful cat who survived three shipwrecks during World War II. The first sinking ship from which Sam (at that time his name was Oscar) managed to escape was the Bismarck, sunk during a naval battle on May 27, 1941. Sam survived, although 2,000 crew members died.
Then the cat ended up on the British battleship Cossack, which was hit by a torpedo and exploded that same year. All 159 crew members died, but the cat survived, swam across Gibraltar and crawled ashore. The cat received the name Unsinkable Sam (fortunately, for cats it does not matter what their names are) and went to the ship Ark Royal, which was also eventually hit by a torpedo, but all the crew members except one were saved. Sam was found “angry but safe”, drifting in the middle of the ocean on a piece of wood. Fortunately, after this the cat was no longer taken on ships, and he lived to old age in a sailor's house in Belfast, where he died of natural causes in 1955.
7. Dove Cher Ami
The US Army owes a lot to the carrier pigeon Cher Ami, who did a lot for the war effort in France during the First World War. During bloody battles, British troops kept carrier pigeons to exchange important information - there were 600 of these birds in total, and Cher Ami was one of them. It delivered 12 important messages over several months in 1918, and made its last flight on the afternoon of October 4, 1918, during the Battle of Argonne.
The corps of troops was under fire and Major Whittlesey sent Cher Ami with a small note tied to his paw. Seriously wounded in the chest, blind in one eye and with one leg shot off, the bird managed to fly to its destination and thereby save the lives of 200 people. After this flight, the pigeon was cured and even given a wooden prosthesis to replace the lost paw, but he died less than a year later.
8. Horse of Morocco
The Dancing Horse of Morocco was so famous in 1591 in the United Kingdom that it was immortalized by Shakespeare in Love's Labour's Lost, in which the playwright referenced the dancing horse. The horse could do many things, including counting coins by stomping its hooves, dancing on two or four legs, and bowing to the queen when needed. The horse was also believed to be psychic because it moved its legs in a special way in response to certain questions.
This skill, however, nearly cost the horse and its owner, William Banks, their lives when they were accused of witchcraft, found guilty, and sentenced to death. But, apparently, the judge changed his mind when the horse knelt before him, asking for the life of its owner, and pardoned both. Little is known about their future lives, but, apparently, they lived comfortably on the income received from previous performances.
9. Jumbo the Elephant
Jumbo was born in 1861. While still a baby elephant, he was taken from French Sudan to the Paris Zoo, and at four years old he was transported from there to the London Zoo. When he became grumpy and uncontrollable, Jumbo was sold to R. T. Barnum's circus for $10,000, to the horror of the British public. Queen Victoria received more than 100 thousand letters asking her to be involved in the incident. But the elephant seemed quite happy at Barnum's circus until he died from a horrific injury sustained in a train explosion three years later.
10. Laika the dog
A young stray dog named Laika, a stray from the streets of Moscow, was destined to become the first cosmonaut dog. Unfortunately, Sputnik 2, in which Laika was sent into orbit, did not pass all the necessary tests, since USSR President Nikita Khrushchev wanted to launch the satellite on the day of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution - November 7, 1957.
According to the official version, Laika died from lack of oxygen six days after the start of the journey, but in 2002 it became known that the poor thing lasted only six or seven hours, after which she died from overheating and stress, but a monument to the little dog was erected in Star City .
The history of mankind is written not only by brilliant scientists, politicians and military leaders. “Our little brothers” sometimes take an equally active part in it, and who knows how it would have ended if, for example, Alexander the Great had not had Bucephalus, and Richard Nixon had not had Checkers the dog.
1. Lin Wang
“Grandfather Lin,” as he is also called, is perhaps the most famous elephant in human history. During the Sino-Japanese War, which then became part of World War II, Lin Wang “fought” for some time on the side of the Japanese invaders who invaded Burma: the elephant transported cargo and carried artillery pieces. In 1943, he, along with 12 other elephants, was captured by the Chinese Expeditionary Force and continued to serve there as a draft and “cargo” animal. There he was awarded the name A-Mei (translated from Chinese as “Beautiful”).
After the end of the war, Wang and his corps arrived in China, where he remained for the rest of his life. In 1952, the “veteran” was retired, and he became one of the main attractions of the Taipei Zoo. The zoo director felt that A-Mei's name was too feminine and renamed him Lin Wang. For many years, the elephant became a real favorite of the townspeople and their children, and after his death in 2003, he was even awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city.
By the way, according to the Guinness Book of Records, Lin Wang, who died at the age of 86, was the oldest elephant to ever live.
2. Bucephalus
Without his faithful horse Bucephalus, Alexander the Great probably would not have received the honorary nickname “The Great”: the famous horse played an important role in his life. The life of Bucephalus is shrouded in legends and speculation, but historians agree that this horse really existed.
According to legend, the first meeting of Alexander and the “Bullhead” (lat. Bucephalius) occurred when the future famous commander was 10 years old. His father, King Philip, was offered to purchase Bucephalus for 13 talents (about 340 kg of silver - fabulous money at that time). But since no one was able to pacify the wild temper of the animal, the king was thinking of abandoning the deal.
Alexander intervened and declared that if he failed to bridle the horse, he would pay for it himself. The little sly one noticed that Bucephalus was afraid of his own shadow and, bucking, threw off all the riders. Jumping into the saddle, Alexander forced the horse to turn its head towards the sun so that he could not see the shadows - only then was the animal finally able to calm down.
There are different assumptions regarding the death of the legendary horse: some historians write that he died in battle, while others believe that the cause of death was old age. Be that as it may, Alexander loved his horse very much and in his honor even founded the city of Bucephala, located on the territory of modern Pakistan - in our time it is called Jalalpur.
3. Surus
Scientists believe that Surus (surus in translation from Phoenician - “Syrian”) is the only elephant that survived the famous campaign of the Carthaginian commander Hannibal through the Alps.
According to some reports, the “Syrian” was the military leader’s favorite war elephant: Hannibal rode it most often. According to the testimony of contemporaries of the famous commander, almost all the elephants in his army were of African origin, but many report that at least one was from India - most likely we are talking about Surus.
Perhaps it was the Asian roots that allowed the elephant to survive all the hardships of Hannibal’s Alpine campaign, the main ones of which were hunger, cold, disease and fierce battles with mountain tribes.
4. Digit
Prominent ethologist (animal behavior specialist) Dian Fossey has worked with a huge number of gorillas throughout her scientific career, but her favorite has always been the male named Digit. A real affection arose between Diane and the gorilla: they spent a lot of time together and Digit did not trust any of the people as much as she did.
In 1977, Digit died at the hands of poachers, and his hands and head, intended for making exotic ashtrays, were sold by the killers for just $20. In memory of her deceased friend, Fossey created the Digit Foundation, whose mission was to save mountain gorillas.
Dian Fossey
After Digit's death, Diane lived only eight years: in 1985, she was hacked to death by an unknown assailant near her bungalow not far from the Karisok research center she founded. Most likely, the killer was hired by a commercial organization that exterminated gorillas for profit. Since then, the gorilla rescue fund has been renamed the Dian Fossey Foundation, in honor of the woman who dedicated her life to the study and conservation of primates so similar to humans.
5. Balto
The Siberian Husky Balto was at one time probably the most famous dog in the United States - his outstanding tenacity and scent made him a true national hero.
In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic broke out in the village of Nome, Alaska. Delivery of the medicinal serum by plane was impossible due to the onset of a storm, and the only transport capable of covering 1085 km in conditions of almost zero visibility and piercing icy winds was sled dog sleds.
On the last, most difficult section of the route, about 83 km long, the vital cargo was carried by a team led by Balto. The dogs almost died while crossing the river, overturned the sledges, almost losing a box of ampoules, and more than once risked going astray, but thanks to Balto’s instincts and tenacity, the medicine was delivered safe and sound.
The epidemic was stopped in five days, and Balto and the other dogs of the team became famous overnight. Less than a year has passed since a monument to Balto was erected in Central Park in New York, with words carved on it that could well be the animal’s motto: “Endurance, devotion, intelligence.”
6. Checkers
Dwight Eisenhower
Richard Nixon owes the rise of his political career to the dog Checkers - perhaps it was thanks to him that Nixon became the 37th President of the United States.
In 1952, when Nixon was running for vice president, he was accused of using illegally donated funds for the election campaign. The seriousness of the charges almost forced then-US President Dwight Eisenhower to abandon such a partner, but Nixon saved the day with a televised address that became known in history as the “Checkers Speech.”
In it, Nixon denied all accusations, saying that the only gift he would accept was a cocker spaniel puppy, Checkers. It must be said that Richard really had an affection for him, and this helped create his image as a “man of the people” and an animal lover. Public opinion swung in Nixon's favor, and he received the long-awaited post, which allowed him to continue climbing the political ladder a few years later and become president. Unfortunately, Checkers did not live to see his master's main triumph: he died four years before Nixon's inauguration.
7. Keiko
There are probably few animals in the world who have become movie stars, and there have never been any like the male killer whale Keiko. Keiko played one of the main roles in the film Free Willy and its sequels. The film epic, which tells the story of the friendship between a boy and a killer whale, was so loved by the audience that they transferred huge sums for the maintenance and treatment of Keiko (during the filming of the film he suffered from a serious skin disease).
After the release of the film, Keiko, as they say, woke up famous: it turned out that thousands of people were concerned about his fate, who even organized a special fund to raise funds for the needs of the seriously ill “artist.” Two more films with his participation were released, after which Keiko was placed in the Newport Aquarium (Oregon). After a couple of years of intensive medical procedures, the orca returned to her homeland of Iceland, where she was being prepared for release.
Some doubted the advisability of such a step, believing that the animal would not be able to adapt to the conditions of the wild again, and, unfortunately, the skeptics were right. In 2002, Keiko was released into the wild, and, after swimming about 1,400 km, he settled in the Taknes fjord on the west coast of Norway, but in 2003, the famous “actor” died of pneumonia.
8. Elsa
Elsa became the first lioness in history to grow up in captivity and successfully adapt to life in the wild. She was raised by a married couple, George and Joy Adamson, who worked in Kenya's Meru National Park.
In 1956, George had to shoot an angry lioness who was about to attack him, and her three adorable cubs were left without a mother. One of the orphaned cubs was Elsa.
The couple fed and raised the lioness, and when she grew older, they gradually began to accustom her to freedom, taking her away from the camp and setting her on wounded animals in order to awaken her hunter instinct. Gradually, Elsa got used to independence, but from time to time she returned to the Adamsons.
One day the lioness was taken away by a young male, and her “adoptive parents” breathed a sigh of relief and a bit of sadness: they realized that the predator had finally been able to establish communication with her relatives and would now forget the way home, but after a while Elsa came to them again with three newborn lion cubs.
Joy Adamson dedicated the book “Born Free” to Elsa, based on which a film of the same name was made in 1966.
9. David Greybeard
David went down in history as the chimpanzee with whom the famous British ethologist and primatologist Jane Goodall began her more than 45 years of observing apes in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
Jane actually lived side by side with Greybeard, studying his behavior. Thanks to David (and, of course, Jane), the whole world learned that humans are not the only ones who can create tools, and after seeing him hunting and fishing, Goodall concluded that chimpanzees do not only eat fruits and leaves, as previously thought.
Perhaps the most important merit of Greybeard is that other chimpanzees, looking at the interaction between the scientist and their relative, stopped shying away from Jane and allowed her to establish close contact. Based on her observations, Goodall created a detailed description of the life of chimpanzees, and her works remain unsurpassed classics in the study of apes. We can say that David, who became the first object of observation of the great scientist, did more for science than some researchers.
10. Lonesome George
The only known member of the Abingdon elephant tortoise (a subspecies of the Galapagos tortoise) was often called the world's most famous bachelor. Scientists tried for many years to get offspring from him, but even after George mated with a genetically close partner, the miracle of reviving the species did not happen - the embryos in the eggs laid by the female were not viable.
A huge male, one and a half meters long and weighing about 80 kg, was discovered in 1972 on the island of Abingdon (also known as Pinta) by the Hungarian scientist József Vágvöldi. Not a single animal like George could be found on the island, so after his death on June 24, 2012, Abingdon tortoises are considered extinct. The most famous bachelor, according to some estimates, was about a hundred years old.
11. Dolly
This sheep was destined to change history: born on July 5, 1996, as a result of an experiment by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell, Dolly became the world's first successfully cloned mammal.
Dolly's birth ended the debate about whether cloning complex living beings was even possible, and the technology used in her conception was subsequently widely used to clone mice, dogs, cats and even horses. Thus, Dolly gave a powerful impetus to the development of medicine and biology, determining their development for many years to come.
Keith Campbell
The sheep lived for 6.5 years, and all this time the attention of the entire world community was riveted on it: in the newspaper headlines of that time, its name appears almost more often than the names of music and cinema stars. In 2003, Dolly was euthanized and her stuffed animal is on display at the Royal Museum of Scotland. By the way, Dolly also became the first cloned mother in history - she gave birth to six lambs.
12. Punxsutawney Phil
Surely many of you have heard about Groundhog Day (February 2): it is believed that by the behavior of groundhogs on this day one can predict the proximity of the onset of spring. When marmots calmly leave their burrows, this indicates that winter is on its last legs, and if the animals, timidly looking around, hide back, don’t expect warmer weather before six weeks.
The most famous groundhog predictor of all time is Phil, who lives in Punxsutawney (Pennsylvania). Residents of the city claim that only Phil can predict the weather, and all the other groundhogs are wrong. According to legend, the marmot is given a special elixir of longevity, so in 2013 he turned 172 years old (despite the fact that the usual life expectancy of marmots is up to ten years).
Of course, Phil's "longevity" is nothing more than a tourist attraction, but the Punxsutawney people's loyalty to their traditions is respectable. True, once the “long-liver” was almost sentenced to death: a lawyer from Ohio accused the groundhog of “promising” the Americans an early spring, but after Phil left the hole the temperature dropped to -30 °C. American climatologists have calculated that the famous groundhog's forecasts are 39% correct, but many Phil fans give other figures - from 75% to 90%.
13. Whip
The little polar bear cub, born on December 5, 2006, at the Berlin Zoo, was abandoned by its mother immediately after birth, but this family tragedy turned out to be a real gift for the zoo. The news of the “abandoned baby Knut” quickly spread throughout Germany, and crowds of compassionate Germans flocked to Berlin, eager to see the “orphan” with their own eyes and take part in his fate. Children were even named after the bear cub: more than half of the boys born in March 2007 in Berlin are named Knut.
Zoo employees raised Knut, and for several years he became a “gold mine” for them: books were written about the famous polar bear, films were made, and toys and souvenirs depicting the bear are still sold in Berlin, although he himself died in 2011 year. After Knut’s death, a monument was erected at the zoo, which immediately became a place of pilgrimage for numerous fans of the animal.
14. Laika
The names of Belka and Strelka are known, without exaggeration, to the whole world. Returning from orbit, they forever entered the history of astronautics, but do not forget that their flight was preceded by several other launches, which were not so successful, but allowed scientists to “work on mistakes” and thus ensured the success of the expedition of the famous couple.
Laika's flight took place on November 3, 1957, almost three years before the launch of Belka and Strelka. The experimental program did not include Laika's return to Earth, so the scientists knew that the dog was doomed, and in addition to the thirst for space exploration that they felt when preparing the dog to be sent into space, the researchers probably felt something similar to compassion.
The design of the module was designed for Laika to stay in orbit for a week, but as a result of miscalculations, she died after completing four orbits around the Earth. The Soviet Union hushed up the details of the incident for a long time, and scientists even reported to the whole world about observations of the dog’s physiological indicators, although Laika was already dead by that time.
15. Bubbles
Bubbles (translated from English - “Bubble”) is a chimpanzee who was born in one of the medical laboratories, and for some time served as a scientific experimental animal, but thanks to a happy accident, Michael Jackson learned about him, who bought the animal, and For several years they practically did not separate.
The primate knows firsthand about life with the King of Pop: he took an active part in Jackson’s concerts, accompanied him to parties, where he met the bohemia of the 1980s, and was, according to Michael, one of his few true friends. The singer even intended to transplant human ligaments into the chimpanzee so that he could speak, but he was dissuaded from the idea by scientists who believed that Bubbles would not survive the operation. This unusual friendship was immortalized in 1988 by sculptor Jeff Koons, who created a gilded statue that depicts the King of Pop and his life-size monkey.
When Bubbles grew up and became too aggressive, Michael sent him to the Ape Center in Florida, but called the ape regularly so he could hear his voice. After Jackson's death, his chimpanzee was in the public spotlight for some time, but gradually interest in him subsided. Now Bubbles still lives in Florida and, according to the Center’s staff, really misses his “star” friend.
Many people love animals, but some animals were loved so much by their owners or did such extraordinary things that they are remembered fondly long after their death. Here is a selection of the ten most famous animals in history.
1. Chimpanzee Ham
Ham the chimpanzee was the first hominid in space and, fortunately, his story is happier than that of the first astronaut dog, which we will talk about a little later. Named after Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, Ham was one of six monkeys trained to pull levers in response to flashing lights while the spacecraft was in flight.
Ham was selected by NASA and launched into space in the Mercury capsule; he made his short journey on January 31, 1961 - he managed to cover 250 km in 16.5 minutes. The flight had to be aborted due to oxygen problems, but Ham recovered three hours after the end of the journey - he even ate an apple and half an orange immediately after leaving the capsule. Ham then lived for more than 17 years at the National Zoo in Washington.
2. Lioness Elsa 
Elsa the lioness came to public attention after the publication of naturalist Joy Adamson's book Born Free. The little lion cub's life was hard: his mother was killed by a huntsman, and Joy's husband, George, because she attacked him. Fortunately, George took Elsa and the other lion cubs, her brothers and sisters, with him, and went out to send them to zoos.
The young lioness Elsa lived with the Joy family as a pet, but people gradually prepared her to return to her natural habitat. Elsa gave birth to three lion cubs, who fully adapted to life in the wild, but Elsa herself, unfortunately, died at the age of five from a tick-borne disease. George Adamson and his assistants buried Elsa and staged a farewell fireworks display at her grave - 20 gun salvos.
3. Jonathan the Turtle 
Jonathan the turtle is at least 179 years old and is the oldest known animal in the world. This is difficult to verify, but there is photographic evidence: the photo was taken during the Boer War in 1900 on the island of St. Helena, where Jonathan still lives. He was at least 50 years old at the time, and possibly as old as 70, so the turtle is now at least 179 years old.
Jonathan enjoys life in the company of five female turtles, and although he is blind in one eye, age does not seem to be a hindrance for him: he loves attention and is still aggressive enough to protect his young compared to him wives from sexy harassment of other males.
4. Mongoose Mr. Magoo 
On November 15, 1962, a snake hunter, a mongoose named Mr. Magoo, was taken from the Duluth Zoo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was sentenced to death or deportation to his homeland of India. The story caused a national scandal. A foreign sailor turned him in to the zoo, but the Service decided that mongooses had no place in the United States.
Ultimately, Mister Magic was given a reprieve. Over one weekend, thousands of people visited the unlucky predator, and many wrote to the authorities, saying that they needed to get rid of the beast: the mongoose could escape and live in a region where it has no natural enemies. In the end, they decided not to kill the mongoose, and he lived the rest of his life in the zoo, eating bird eggs. The mongoose died in 1968.
5. Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog 
The world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, also known by his full name Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages and Greatest Weather Forecaster, has traditionally predicted the weather every year on February 2, Groundhog Day, since 1886. Surprisingly, some people believe that the same groundhog is still doing this to this day. Since these animals live on average only ten years, a groundhog would have to take regular doses of the elixir of life to live for more than a century.
The groundhog is looked after by a mysterious group of people called the "Inner Circle", and at the beginning of the prediction ceremony they bring the groundhog a top hat and tuxedo. Weather forecasting by the groundhog probably comes from a German superstition: if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2nd and sees its shadow, winter will last another six weeks.
6. Sam the Cat 
Unsinkable Sam was a wonderful cat who survived three shipwrecks during World War II. The first sinking ship from which Sam (at that time his name was Oscar) managed to escape was the Bismarck, sunk during a naval battle on May 27, 1941. Sam survived, although 2,000 crew members died.
Then the cat ended up on the British battleship Cossack, which was hit by a torpedo and exploded that same year. All 159 crew members died, but the cat survived, swam across Gibraltar and crawled ashore. The cat received the name Unsinkable Sam (fortunately, for cats it does not matter what their names are) and went to the ship Ark Royal, which was also eventually hit by a torpedo, but all the crew members except one were saved. Sam was found “angry but safe”, drifting in the middle of the ocean on a piece of wood. Fortunately, after this the cat was no longer taken on ships, and he lived to old age in a sailor's house in Belfast, where he died of natural causes in 1955.
7. Dove Cher Ami 
The US Army owes a lot to the carrier pigeon Cher Ami, who did a lot for the war effort in France during the First World War. During bloody battles, British troops kept carrier pigeons to exchange important information - there were 600 of these birds in total, and Cher Ami was one of them. It delivered 12 important messages over several months in 1918, and made its last flight on the afternoon of October 4, 1918, during the Battle of Argonne.
The corps of troops was under fire and Major Whittlesey sent Cher Ami with a small note tied to his paw. Seriously wounded in the chest, blind in one eye and with one leg shot off, the bird managed to fly to its destination and thereby save the lives of 200 people. After this flight, the pigeon was cured and even given a wooden prosthesis to replace the lost paw, but he died less than a year later.
8. Horse of Morocco 
The Dancing Horse of Morocco was so famous in 1591 in the United Kingdom that it was immortalized by Shakespeare in Love's Labour's Lost, in which the playwright referenced the dancing horse. The horse could do many things, including counting coins by stomping its hooves, dancing on two or four legs, and bowing to the queen when needed. The horse was also believed to be psychic because it moved its legs in a special way in response to certain questions.
This skill, however, nearly cost the horse and its owner, William Banks, their lives when they were accused of witchcraft, found guilty, and sentenced to death. But, apparently, the judge changed his mind when the horse knelt before him, asking for the life of its owner, and pardoned both. Little is known about their future lives, but, apparently, they lived comfortably on the income received from previous performances.
9. Jumbo the Elephant 
Jumbo was born in 1861. While still a baby elephant, he was taken from French Sudan to the Paris Zoo, and at four years old he was transported from there to the London Zoo. When he became grumpy and uncontrollable, Jumbo was sold to R. T. Barnum's circus for $10,000, to the horror of the British public. Queen Victoria received more than 100 thousand letters asking her to be involved in the incident. But the elephant seemed quite happy at Barnum's circus until he died from a horrific injury sustained in a train explosion three years later.
10. Laika the dog 
A young stray dog named Laika, a stray from the streets of Moscow, was destined to become the first cosmonaut dog. Unfortunately, Sputnik 2, in which Laika was sent into orbit, did not pass all the necessary tests, since USSR President Nikita Khrushchev wanted to launch the satellite on the day of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution - November 7, 1957.
According to the official version, Laika died from lack of oxygen six days after the start of the journey, but in 2002 it became known that the poor thing lasted only six or seven hours, after which she died from overheating and stress, but a monument to the little dog was erected in Star City .
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- Great gift. Animals and plants. Includes: - Puzzle map. Animal and plant world of the Earth. Format 33*47. 260 parts. - World Atlas with stickers. Animals and plants. Format 21*29, 7. 70 stickers. - A set of game cards...
- Great gift. Animals and plants. Puzzle 260 pieces + Atlas with stickers + Game cards, . The set includes: - Puzzle map. Animal and plant world of the Earth. Format 33 x 47 cm, 260 parts. - World Atlas with stickers. Animals and plants. Format 21 x 29.7 cm, 70 stickers. - Kit…
Unfortunately, even the most beloved, kindest, most pampered animals leave us “over the rainbow.” In their fragility, the lives of animals are no different from people, but in addition, their life span is several times shorter than that of a human. We decided to celebrate the most famous animals that left us in 2014.
Camel fortune teller Princess. January 20
The female Bactrian camel, Princess, lived for 10 years at the New Jersey Zoo and died at the age of 26. Known for that. which successfully predicted the outcomes of sports competitions. The predictions were made like this: the zookeeper brought the camel cookies made from wholemeal flour with the names of the competing teams. The team that the Princess chose to "eat" was declared the potential winner - and in the vast majority of cases, it was!
R.I.P. dear Princess!
The fluffiest cat in the world Colonel Meow - January 29
The famous cat from the Guinness Book of Records, on the occasion of the longest fur in the world (23 cm), who had his own Instagram account and Facebook profile, died at the age of just two years. The fact is that the cat became seriously ill, underwent a complex operation, and even a blood transfusion, but, unfortunately, it was not possible to save him.
The colonel's record for fur length was broken - the length of her fur was 26 cm.
However, the angry face of Colonel Meow will forever remain in our hearts!
The world's oldest cat, Poppy - June 6
Poppy was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-lived cat, and died at the age of 24 years. Poppy was awarded this title after the death of the previous record holder, who lived for 38 years! (Cream Puff from Texas).
All her life, Poppy was in excellent health, and only in old age did she become blind and deaf, and in the last days of her life she began to have problems with her hind legs and a water infection. The cat led an active lifestyle, loved long walks and rich food (mainly cat biscuits and canned food). The owners, who believe that Poppy's longevity is due to her activity and good nutrition, buried her in the garden near their house.
Sleep well, dear Poppy!
Loukanikos (Sausage) - “symbol of protest” - dog demonstrator - October 9
The world-famous Athenian demonstrator dog Sausage (as translated from Greek “lukanikos”) died of old age in his hometown. Unfortunately, no one knows the exact age of Loukanikos.
In 2010, Sausage was first spotted at demonstrations in Athens, and since then the dog has repeatedly acted on the side of protesters, becoming a real symbol of protest. Loukanikos even participated in clashes with the Greek police. In 2012, the dog was forced to stop his political activities due to a significant deterioration in his health.
In 2011, this amazing dog included in TIME magazine's list of 100 personalities of the year. In addition, Loukanikos was included in the collective image of the “protester”, who was awarded the title “Person of the Year 2011”!
Eternal memory to you, Loukanikos-Sausage - a fighter for a just cause!
The Last African Polar Bears - Wang - October 15 and his wife GB
At the age of 2 8 years, Wang had to be euthanized. The decision to euthanize was not easy to make because the bear, living in Africa, in the central zoo, suffered greatly from liver disease and chronic arthritis. Wang's health problems began back in November 2010, and in 2014 his condition worsened greatly after the death of his companion GB, after all, they lived together for 27 years!
Wang was born in Japan and came to South Africa at the age of one. The employees and management of the zoo for so many years, of course. became very attached to bears. After GB's death, for several months, everyone tried very hard to please Wang, pampered him in every possible way, organized holidays, entertainment, fed him treats, but the long-awaited remission, unfortunately, never came.
Forever together, and in our hearts, GB and Wang!
The oldest brown bear in the world - Varvara - October 22
35-year-old bear Varvara died in the St. Petersburg zoo. This age is a record for a bear. Typically, brown bears live no more than 15-20 years. Of course, the conditions of the zoo - regular food and veterinary supervision - helped prolong the bear's life.
The zoo emphasized: “At the moment, no bear of a more respectable age than our Varvara was known in zoos around the world!”
Dear Varvara, may you rest in peace!
Long-lived double-faced cat Frank-i-Louis - December 6
Frank-and-Louis was born with two heads, two mouths, two noses and three blue eyes. He was nicknamed the "Janus Cat", after the name of the ancient Roman god with two faces. Frank-and-Louis became the only “Janus cat” to survive after birth, for which he was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Martha Stevens, the owner of the unusual kitten, adopted Frank-and-Louis in 1999. The breeders warned her that the kitten was unlikely to live more than a few days. But with the help of care and attention, Martha brought out the baby. Until he was three months old, she fed him through a tube.
Frank-and-Louis died of cancer at the age of 15.
Sleep well, Frank-and-Louis!
