James Hyslop, a Scientific Specialist at Christie's auction house holds a complete sub-fossilised elephant bird egg on March 27, 2013 in London, England. The massive egg, from the now-extinct elephant bird sold for $101,813 at Christie's "Travel, Science and Natural History" sale, on April 24, 2013 in London. Elephant birds were wiped out several hundred years ago. The egg, laid on the island of Madagascar, is believed to date back before the 17th century. #

Chocolate, a miniature dachshund receives acupuncture therapy to help with lumbar disk herniation, at the Marina Street Okada animal hospital in Tokyo Japan, on April 12, 2013. The number of pet dogs in Japan has been increasing steadily to 11.5 million animals. One-tenth of Japanese families have at least one dog, according to a survey by Japan Pet Food Association. #

A child watches jellyfish swim in a large tank at the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 16, 2013. The tank contains around 2,000 spotted jellyfish and is part of a major display of 15 various species from around the world. #

Relatives embrace each other as they race on horses through a cheering crowd during the traditional Fiesta of San Joan (Saint John) in downtown Ciutadella, on the Spanish Balearic Island of Menorca, on June 24, 2013. The riders of the horses are the representatives of ancient Ciutadella society - nobility, clergy, craftsmen and farmers. #

A close-up view of a sedated elephant's eye, as it is secured on the back of a truck by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) wardens during a relocation exercise, aimed at relocating 10 elephants that were encroaching on community land to a national park, on the margins of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya, on June 19, 2013. #

A Yorkshire Terrier named Hope shows off her uni-wheel attached to a doggie vest in Longmont, Colorado April 21, 2013. Hope is missing one limb and is able to walk with the wheel attachment. #

A handler steadies his Teeswater sheep in the ring on the first day of the Balmoral Show in northern Ireland, on May 15, 2013. The show which runs from May 15 to May 17 is Ireland's biggest agricultural and food event, attracting over 80,000 visitors in the three days. #

A Key Deer, with its head stuck in a snack food bag, on June 8, 2013 in Florida. Joshua Gordon, a sheriff's deputy in Monroe County, encountered the distressed animal in the Keys and removed the bag. #

A European lobster (Hommarus gammarus), in a breeding station at the Alfred-Wegener institute on the German island of Heligoland, about 46 kilometers away from the German coastline, on April 30, 2013. Biologists at the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research are breeding 3,000 lobsters to be released next year into the Borkum Riffgat offshore wind farm near the island 70 km off the German-Dutch coast. #

A breeding bull stands under infrared lights, used to relax his muscles, at an artificial insemination center in the village of Hohenzell, Upper Austria April 9, 2013. The center exports cattle semen to more than 52 countries worldwide. #

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un strokes the head of a young goat, during a visit to the under-construction Breeding Station No. 621 of the Korean People's Army at an undisclosed location in this picture released by the North Korea's KCNA news agency, on May 21, 2013. #

A veterinary technician prepares a horse for castration at the Dueppel animal clinic in Berlin, Germany, on April 25, 2013. The Dueppel clinic belongs to the Freie Universitaet Berlin university and is one of five university veterinary clinics in Germany. #

Gophers line the city sidewalks after their homes were flooded in the East Village area of Calgary, Alberta, on June 22, 2013. The flooding Bow River shut down all of the center of Calgary earlier this week. The flood forced tens of thousands of residents to leave their soggy homes. #

A police dog reacts as protesters clash with law enforcement troops during a demonstration outside Mineirao stadium, where the Confederations Cup soccer match between Japan and Mexico is taking place, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on June 22, 2013. #

A traveler washes her horse at Appleby in Westmorland, northern England, on June 9, 2013. The horses are washed as part of the annual horse fair which has been held since the 1600's. #

Freshly shorn alpacas are pictured on a meadow in the village of Winklarn near Regensburg, Germany, on April 22, 2013. The alpacas are always shorn in spring, to make the animals more comfortable for the summer months and to collect the valuable wool. #

Snakes cover a wooden statue of Saint Domenico during a procession in Cocullo, central Italy, on May 1, 2013. Every year in May, snakes are placed onto the statue of St. Domenico and the statue is then carried in a procession around the town. St. Domenico is believed to be the patron saint for people who have been bitten by snakes. #

A tour guide holds a preserved Orangutan in a jar, as she speaks to students at Ancol Smart House in Jakarta, on May 16, 2013. Ancol Smart House has about 20 animals preserved as means to educate visitors about their life in the wild. #

Long-tailed mayflies (Palingenia longicauda) mate on the surface of the Tisza river near Tiszainoka, 135km (84 mi) southeast of Budapest, on June 23, 2013. Millions of these short-lived mayflies engage in a frantic rush to mate and reproduce before they perish in just a few hours during "Tiszaviragzas" or Tisza blooming season from late spring to early summer every year. #

A shopper checks a cat on sale for meat in a market in Yulin in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on June 23, 2013. Humane Society International works in Asia to bring about an end to the trade in dogs and cats for meat consumption, where possible, and will co-host later this month the 4th Annual China Companion Animal Protection Symposium to encourage Chinese society to confront the cruelty of the trade in dogs and cats for meat consumption. #

A horsewoman leads thousands of sheep through the Old Port during a simulation of a transhumance, the seasonal migration when herds are moved to grazing grounds, as part of festivities to mark Marseille-Provence being named the 2013 European Capital of Culture in Marseille, France, on June 9, 2013. #

Iranian mechanical engineer Azar poses for a picture with her Terrier dog Pony in her bedroom in Tehran, Iran, on May 28, 2013. For decades, pet dogs were rare and thus tolerated in Iran, where the Islamic beliefs cherished by the vast majority of traditional Iranians consider dogs as "najis," or unclean. But in recent years the soaring number of pet dogs -- owned by the middle class scattered across Iran with a keen interest on imitating Western culture -- has alarmed the authorities who have now criminalized walking dogs in public, or driving them around the city. The police warning seems to have effectively scared dog lovers, forcing some to walk their dogs in secluded areas and ask for home calls by vets. #

In this March 22, 2013 photo provided by the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, a striped beakfish swims in a water-filled well or bait box aboard a 20-foot-long Japanese boat that washed ashore recently at Long Beach, Washington. Biologists say five of the fish, plus other Japanese species of sea creatures, arrived alive, apparently hitching a ride across the Pacific Ocean on debris believed to have come from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami. #

A deer runs from flames as a raging wildfire pushes towards the coast in Camarillo, California, on May 2, 2013. The wind-driven brush fire raging along the California coast north of Los Angeles prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes and a university campus on Thursday as flames engulfed several farm buildings and recreational vehicles near threatened neighborhoods. #

Tourists take pictures with an injured, stranded dolphin at a beach in Sanya, Hainan province, June 16, 2013. Before animal rescuers arrived the dolphin was raised in and out of the water for tourists to have pictures taken with it, the animal died soon after, reported local media. Local wildlife experts blasted the tourists for "hampering the efforts of people trying to save the mammal." #

Biologist Alex Quati carries a stuffed maned wolf that was part of an exhibition of stuffed animals in CAIC public school, during a visit by the Brasilia Zoo as part of the "Zoo Goes to School" program, in Brasilia, on April 11, 2013. #

Smuggled bear paws, arranged on the ground at the China-Russia border in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 15, 2013. Two Russians were arrested for smuggling 213 bear paws into China at a China-Russia land border, according to the Chinese customs police's recent announcement. Bear paws reportedly are believed by some people in China to have high nutritional value. #

Maeghan Hadley, of One Day Ranch pet rescue, checks over a kitten pulled from under the rubble of a mobile home destroyed by a tornado in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park, near Shawnee, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013. #

Fisherman Ompong Vargas, 39, who wears a mask made of fabric to protect his skin from sun damage, holds a fish in his mouth as he searches a net at Laguna de Bay in Taguig City, Metro Manila, on May 24, 2013. During the dry season, fishermen earn $2-7 (70-300 pesos) per day. #