Pigs can’t fly – but this pair of homesick Tamworth boar crosses can certainly swim.

They took to the water like pigs to mud after they were put out to pasture on the uninhabited island of Longa off the North West Scottish coast.

Named Mary and Truffle by their owner, James Cameron was startled to discover they had returned home the day after he left them and their swim across the sea was caught on camera.

Holidaymaker Jay Goss, 31, watched in amazement from his parents’ seaside cottage at Big Sands in Wester Ros.

At first he thought they were otters but soon realised they had snouts. He said: ‘The sea was a mill pond and the two wee chaps swam 1.5km to the mainland. It was incredible. They reached the shore and were shivering and nervous.’

He called Mr Cameron to tell him he had the two pigs but he thought it was a joke at first.

He said: ‘We have six piglets, or weaners, at the moment and we decided to put two of them out to Longa.

‘We normally put sheep over to the island and we thought the pigs would like it. There is plenty of rooting material and fresh water.

‘We put them out at 6pm on the Thursday evening and on Friday about 8pm I got a call to say "Your piglets have just swam back home".

‘I thought it was a joke at first and that somebody was pulling my leg because people had been thinking it was quite a story that the pigs were going to Longa. My initial reaction was ‘Aye, right’. But it was true.’

I went down to check for myself and they were just wandering about on the shore, quite happy and none the worse for their swim across the loch. I put them in the trailer and reunited them with the others.’

He added: ‘I’ve been talking to people about it and nobody has ever seen pigs swim.’

His wife, Marie said: ‘Holidaymakers at the campsite make a great fuss of the pigs and I think they just missed the company – and feeding time. People are always giving them food.

‘Mary and Truffle won’t be going back to Longa. They told us in no uncertain terms that they didn’t fancy island life so they’ll be staying here.’ (Daily Mail)

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A tortoise has been given a new lease of life – as docs replace lost leg with wheel.

When 12 year old African tortoise Gamera – named after the Japanese film monster – suffered a life-threatening injury to his leg, doctors at the Washington State University decided to amputate to save him.

Dr Courtney Watkins and Dr Nickol Finch at WSU went out on a limb to oversee the pet’s complicated surgery, and also fitted the animal with a swivelling wheel.

Gamera was soon happily out walking – and rolling – again, hardly batting an eyelid at his new prosthetic, which resembles a furniture wheel. (The Sun)

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Owners of a dalmation who gave birth to a rare, huge litter of 16 spotted pups have had to have a letter signed by vets to confirm the unusually large brood.

Bitch Milly, who was coincidentally one of 16, gave birth to the huge haul of puppies six weeks ago.

Owners Lisa and Terry Elvins, from Church Stretton, Shropshire, said registering the pups with the Kennel club had proved difficult because no-one believed Milly had had such a large litter.

Mum-of-three Mrs Elvins said veterinarians couldn’t believe the size of the haul of puppies when they performed a caesarian operation on Milly.

She said: ‘During the caesarian the vet pulled out eight puppies and gave a sigh, so we thought that was it – but there were still eight more to go. The vets were amazed.

‘It’s really unusual to have so many puppies in one litter and the Kennel Club actually don’t believe us

‘We have had to get a signed letter from the vet confirming it was 16 puppies in one letter so they can all be registered.’

It’s all the more amazing as the bitch Milly was one of 16 puppies herself.’

The family are all hard at work taking care of the pups which will be sold on to new homes, however Mrs Elvins said they have decided to keep one – named Maisie.

She said: ‘Everyone loves having the dogs around – my daughter Becky had her 21st birthday party recently and the puppies were a really big hit, everyone wanted to see them.

‘It is really hard work looking after 16 dogs in the house as someone always has to be around them at feed time and as they are puppies they eat quite often.

‘But at the same time it is lovely and rewarding.

‘We are keeping Milly and one of the puppies Maisie, but the rest are all available to loving homes.’ (Mail Online)

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A professional diver has captured the first images of a wild fish using a tool.

Scott Gardner was exploring Australia’s Great Barrier Reef when he heard a banging sound from the sea floor.

He swam down to take a look and was amazed to see a blackspot tuskfish – Choerodon schoenleinii – holding a clam in its mouth and hitting it against a rock.

After a short while, the shell broke and the fish ate the bivalve inside.

Fortunately, Mr Gardner managed to photograph this happening as there has never before been any evidence to prove tool use in fish.

Behavioural ecologist Culum Brown, of Macquarie University in Sydney, told Science Now: ‘The pictures provide fantastic proof of these intelligent fish at work using tools to access prey that they would otherwise miss out on.

‘It is apparent that this particular individual does this on a regular basis judging by the broken shells scattered around the anvil.’

Tool use had long been considered a sign of human intelligence. However, in recent decades an increasing number of animals have shown they too can work with tools and objects.

Primates, for instance, use rocks to smash nuts and sharpened sticks as spears, while elephants pick up tree branches using their trunks to scratch themselves and swat insects.

But it has never been documented with certainty in fish before.

Dr Brown said there have been reports of fish cracking open hard-shelled prey before, but never any photographic evidence.

He is particularly pleased with Mr Gardner’s images seem to prove that this isn’t a one-off event, but that the blackspot tuskfish is seasoned at opening shells in this manner.

Dr Brown described the fish’s actions as ‘landing absolutely pinpoint blows’.

Furthermore, he said, a small collection of crushed shells around the rock suggest the fish had been doing this for a while.

Some experts stand by a very rigid definition of tool use in animals, that the creature must carry the tool itself.

As fish don’t have any limbs to hold an object, Dr Brown hopes this definition can be loosened so that their own form of tool use can be recognised.

‘One of the problems with the definition of tool use as it currently stands is it’s totally written for primates,’ Dr Brown said.

‘You cannot swing a hammer effectively underwater.’ (Daily Mail)

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This happy little lizard – a web-footed gecko – looks rather delighted by the fact that he can lick his own eyeballs.

The cheeky web-footed gecko uses its tongue to collect water captured on its eye. The rare reptiles use the technique to drink moisture from coastal mist in Namibia, Africa.

It also needs to ensure its eyes are kept moist, as it doesn’t have any eyelids.

Web-footed geckos live in the Namib Desert, and use their webbed feet both to stay on top of the desert sands and to bury beneath it to shelter during the hot daylight hours. Unusually for lizards, they communicate with a wide variety of noises – squeaking, clicking and even croaking. (Metro)

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A rare ‘zonkey’ has been born in a China zoo, the result of a moment of passion between a female zebra and a donkey who shared an enclosure at Xiamen Haicang Zoo in the south-east of the country.

The zonkey/donkra came into the world on Sunday, sporting cute striped legs and pale lines down its brown body.

Staff at the zoo say the creature had a difficult birth as it choked on its mum’s amniotic fluid, causing it to asphyxiate.

‘We had to hold him upside down to remove and clean the fluid from his nose and mouth,’ revealed the zoo’s Lin Qiaoyong.

The zonkey weighed 30kg and was nearly a metre tall when it eventually arrived.

When a male zebra mates with a female donkey – the opposite scenario to our new stripey pal – it is known as a zebroid, a creature that’s apparently more common than a zonkey/donkra, according to people who know about these types of things. (Metro)

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The infectious Facebook ‘planking’ craze looks to be gathering pace, as even the animal kingdom’s now joining in – thanks to this cute little squirrel captured by a wildlife photographer.

Eagle-eyed snapper Joanne Williams set out to capture the quirky side of wildlife behaviour – and got more than she bargained for when the on-trend nut-gatherer showed he was right up to speed with social media.

The ‘plank’ would have gone unnoticed were it not for Ms Williams, who says she spontaneously hits the trigger of her camera hoping to catch the animals out.

‘Very often I shoot spontaneously and quickly with little fore-thought, as most of the time my subjects move at great speed and the action would be over if I stopped to think why or if I should I take it,’ the Florida-based photographer said.

‘But there is one common thread in a lot of my work, which is my deliberate act of ‘humanising’ much of what I see – usually with a great deal of humour associated with the whole scene.

‘I often recognise the conduct of some wildlife critter as similar to that of a relative, friend, or business associate – even a politician or movie star.’

Ms Williams’ other work includes a bird checking himself out in a car’s rear view mirror, a monkey making a rude gesture at the camera, and an owl looking mighty confused by turning its head upside down. (Metro)

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This cheeky monkey isn’t too fussed about being exposed – after grabbing an unattended camera and snapping away.

The primate was clearly seeking his 15 minutes of fame after nabbing snapper David Slater’s unattended camera.

The monkey playfully went to investigate the equipment and quickly became fascinated with his own reflection in the lens.

The crested black macaque then hijacked the camera and started snapping away sending David, from Gloucestershire, bananas.

The award-winning photographer was travelling on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when he met the friendly bunch. (The Sun)

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She may only weigh 2.5lb, but Nancy the Chihuahua makes quick work of showing five sheep who is boss, despite the animals being more than ten times her size.

Rescue dog Nancy’s potential for herding flocks was discovered after she was adopted by a sheep dog trainer.

Ali Taylor, who trains rescued border collies, said the tiny dog picked up herding straight away.

"I started in a very controlled environment but it quickly became evident that Nancy has natural ability and loves herding sheep," she said.

Nancy was hand-reared after being taken to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home at just three weeks old with a skin disease caused by parasitic mites.

"People sometimes under-estimate rescue dogs, but they really are fantastic and go on to do amazing things," Ms Taylor, who also works at the dogs home, said.

The charity stresses that no-one should try sheep herding without expert supervision. (Telegraph)

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Could this be the world’s worst sheepdog? Ci the Border Collie, who lives on Manor Farm in Langridge, near Bath, is scared of sheep.

The four-year-old mutt has been unable to do the job he was born for since he was a puppy, after developing ovinophobia.

His owner, Jane Lippington, says Ci suffers from a strange split personality where his instinct is to chase the sheep in order to round them up.

However, when he gets close to the flock – or they turn to face him – his fear kicks in and he backs off.

With the sheep given a rare feeling of superiority, Ci is more likely to be chased off by them than the other way around.

Crufts or One Man And His Dog, this is not.

‘If they run away from him, he will go after them and act like a proper sheepdog, but the moment they turn and face him he runs away,’ said Mrs Lippington, who runs the 200-acre farm with her husband Donald.

‘Sheep can be quite aggressive if they think they have the upper hand – they stamp their feet and gang up in numbers and act like an army.’

Despite his shortcomings – and the fact it means she does more herding than Ci – Mrs Lippington says she wouldn’t swap her pet for any other.

‘The only way to make it work is for me to get behind them first and shoo them so they run away and then Ci joins in,’ she explained.

‘He might be the worst sheepdog in Britain but there’s no way we would be without Ci, he’s part of the family.’ (wrapup)

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