Awesome Animals

Kevin Lieber of Vsauce2 looks at the complex connection between humans and animals, from the way we treat pets as family members, to the respect paid by ancient cultures to animals that were hunted for sustenance, to how we breed dogs to our liking.

Jim Campbell-Spickler is a wildlife biologist and forest canopy ecologist. Part of his job involves climbing into the nests of wild birds such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons to take blood samples from chicks and test them for toxins.

Photographer Henry “Lizardlover” Schifberg managed to coax a pair of iguanas (named Baby Love and Buddy Love) into an impressively chill pose, as they enjoy the Southern California sun from a pair of tiny fainting couches.

Artist Kelly Rene Jelinek creates wall trophies and sculptures of animals by taking foam taxidermy forms and covering them with upholstery, adding glass eyes, resin claws and other bits. Some pieces use cut up pieces of fabric or yarn to simulate animal fur.

Come at me bro, and I’ll cut you! We’re not sure what made this crab so angry, but he’s got his claw on a knife, and he’s not backing down. All we know is that he’s not going in the pot without a fight.

“I looked up to him, quite literally. He was massive, and always on the places of up.” ZeFrank’s latest Friskies ad is about a cat dispensing advice to his human’s new kitten, based on the things that he learned from his elder. RIP Maximillian.

A pair of monitor lizards duke it out in the middle of the road. Judging by the lack of reaction from the humans around them, we bet this isn’t their first round. We like to imagine they’re just the town drunks, trying to walk each other home after their usual night out.

Goats have been known to make some odd sounds, but this one takes the cake, as it seems to be speaking in some sort of gibberish as it demands snacks from visitors outside of its pen. We’re pretty sure this is how they came up with the voices for The Sims.

For his latest video, prankster Rémi Gaillard had all the animals and humans swap places at an shelter. Instead of his typical madcap humor, the video is a reminder that we need to treat all living creatures with respect.

If there’s one thing we don’t appreciate our dogs doing, it’s counter surfing. But we have huge mutts who can reach the surface. This little dog is way more endearing as he jumps up and down to get a whiff of the fresh baked cookies that are just out of his reach.

The man in this clip seems like a big guy, but he’s dwarfed by the size of the huge brown bear that seems to be thrilled to have human companionship. We saw this right after watching Roar, which shows why humans might not want to get so close to wild animals.

MeMe, a smart and skillful Australian shepherd dog demonstrates why us humans should stop wasting money on things that are designed to keep pets out, and just give them full access to our kitchens. In fact, just let them have the keys to the car and set the GPS for PetSmart.

Austrian animal sanctuary Gut Aiberbichl shares this touching moment when a cow named Bandit was freed from its tight quarters. After joyfully dancing inside his new home, Bandit showed his gratitude to the man who found him and helped set him free.

VFX wiz and pet owner Aaron’s Animals sends his cat Michael to school, where he encounters some of the more annoying things we all experienced in high school. The procrastination part is still with us though.

We know lively dogs end up wrecking furniture to let off steam, but this Husky takes the cake. Or should we say the couch. Apparently he was chasing a mouse, but he was the one that ended up getting trapped.

Floridian YouTuber gplnd likes to upload videos where he catches motorists behaving badly. He even cleaned up after one dude who had branches falling out of his SUV. Hence his excited indignation at the start of this video.

Not that long ago, we met Derby, a dog who generously received a pair of 3D-printed prosthetics to improve his mobility. Thanks to the fine folks at 3D Systems, Derby’s legs recently received a major upgrade, which help him walk in a more natural, upright position.

A clearly guilty dog had just performed a magical trick – making an entire sandwich disappear. Watch as his amused owner catches him red-handed. Or should we say red-mouthed. Watch him complete his act.

Under the Chinese zodiac, 2016 is the year of the monkey. So YouTuber 10Cats. welcomed the new year by having one of their cats wear a monkey costume. Where does one get these docile cats? If we tried this on our pets we’d end up wearing the costume – and the banana.

Muskoxen boast a resilience that’s been honed over millennia. But they are powerless against time and man. Wildlife cameraman Rolf Steinman traveled to the Arctic to shoot this powerful and heartbreaking film.

YouTuber Teodoulke’s Video’s adorable cat tries to guilt his master into giving him a piece of a sandwich. This is exactly how we looked like when we saw our friend’s PlayStation back when it just came out.

Jumpy the border collie mix shows why being a dog is pretty awesome, as he flies along the beach, through the air and over obstacles carrying a selfie stick in his mouth, capturing a unique and gleeful perspective on the life of an agility dog.

A little girl does her best impression of Ben-Hur, as she’s towed along at breakneck speeds by a trio of miniature dachshunds, who according to the video’s poster, possess “The combined stamina of an ox and speed of a Greyhound.”