Jack the donkey, Cocoa the pet goat, bulldog beauty contest, Dirk the penguin and more in animal views

Amazing creatures fromaround the world.

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April 5, 2012

Bobby Reynolds nuzzles his 7-year-old donkey, Jack, at his farm in Rossville, Ga. Jack has a sweet tooth, eating everything from peanut butter to marshmallows and candy corn.

Ashlee Culverhouse / AP

April 7, 2012

Cyrus Fakroddin and his pet goat Cocoa relax at their home in Summit, N.J. Cocoa is a 3-year-old Alpine pygmy mixed goat. They frequently take trips into Manhattan to enjoy the city. Fakroddin has raised Cocoa since she was 2 months old and treats her like a human. He says Cocoa can't sleep at night unless she has him in her sight. "Cocoa doesn't even know she is a goat and you see that in her, but she loves hanging out with people," Fakroddin said.

Allison Joyce / Reuters

April 7, 2012

Cyrus Fakroddin's pet goat, Cocoa, eats hay from a cabinet at their home in Summit, N.J.

Allison Joyce / Reuters

April 7, 2012

Cyrus Fakroddin, left, and his pet goat, Cocoa, ride the downtown C train in New York.

Allison Joyce / Reuters

April 5, 2012

Cyrus Fakroddin and his pet goat, Cocoa, take a taxi ride in New York.

Alliso Joyce / Reuters

April 15, 2012

Afghan hounds race at a dog track near Brands Hatch in Kent, England. Once a month in the spring and summer the racing track, less than half a mile from the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit and Paralympic cycling venue, hosts Afghan hound enthusiasts who race their dogs.

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

April 15, 2012

A 5-year-old English bulldog named Mason sits and watches the third annual Bulldog Beauty Contest in Allentown, Pa.

Matt Smith / AP

April 15, 2012

Dan Frank gets a high five from his Bulldog Barcelona, dressed in a New York Giants jersey, during the third annual Bulldog Beauty Contest in Allentown, Pa.

Matt Smith / AP

April 10, 2012

A litter of six puppies and their mother, an English bulldog mix, are seen at the Toledo Area Humane Society in Maumee, Ohio. A man tried to abandon the puppies by zipping them inside a suitcase and leaving it outside an Ohio business near a trash bin with their mother. The man was charged after authorities found he had left the luggage tag with his contact information attached.

Dave Zapotosky / AP

April 12, 2012

Trina, a 3-year-old Finnsheep, stands with her unusually large brood of seven 2 1/2-week-old lambs in a field at the home of their owner, Colleen Peck, in Snoqualmie, Wash. Finnsheep, a breed of domestic sheep, commonly give birth to as many as five lambs. Trina's healthy septuplets -- four males and three females -- are fed both by their mother and a supplemental formula hand-fed by Peck.

Elaine Thompson / AP

April 15, 2012

A mother tends to her newly-born lamb in a field in the northern German town of Westerhever.

Bodo Marks / AFP/Getty Images

April 16, 2012

Aurora, a 2-year-old female polar bear, plays with a plastic flask after the swimming pool was filled with water for the first time this spring at the Royev Ruchey Zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

April 11, 2012

Georgia Aquarium's pregnant beluga whale, Maris, swims in the aquarium's tank in Atlanta. Maris is expected to give birth by June. She is the first mammal to conceive at the downtown Atlanta attraction since it opened in 2005.

John Bazemore / AP

April 16, 2012

Dirk, a fairy penguin, is seen at Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia. Dirk was stolen from an Australian marine park before being found and returned a day later. Police say three young men broke into Sea World on Saturday, swam in the dolphin enclosure and then stole seven-year-old Dirk. The men allegedly told police they released Dirk into the Broadwater, a waterway known for its sharks.

Sea World Australia / AFP/Getty Images

April 10, 2012

A crab held with a length of twine walks along the turf as it is guided to the finish line during a crab race at the annual Buccoo Goat and Crab Race Festival in Bucco, Tobago island.

Andrea de Silva / Reuters

April 10, 2012

A crab guided by Georgina Kirk of Britain is seen at the finish line as it wins the international crab race during the annual Buccoo Goat and Crab Race Festival in Bucco, Tobago island.

Andrea de Silva / Reuters

April 17, 2012

Tortoises are pictured at the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladeshi customs authorities seized more than 400 tortoises at the country's main airport as the reptiles were being smuggled from India to Thailand, an official said.

/ AFP/Getty Images

April 13, 2012

A 2-week-old Eastern bongo calf walks beside her mother at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. Eastern (or Highlands) bongos are critically endangered, with as few as 75 remaining in their Kenyan upland range. Bongos are one of the largest species of antelope in the world and are recognized by their striking russet color and large antlers that extend over their backs.

William West / AFP/Getty Images

April 13, 2012

A golden takin takes care of her 1-day-old offspring in Liberec zoo in the Czech Republic. The Liberec zoo is the only one in Europe that breeds the species, a goat-antelope from Asia, in captivity, according to a spokesperson from the zoo.

Peter Josek / Reuters

April 13, 2012

A 1-day-old female golden takin is seen in Liberec zoo in the Czech Republic.

Petr Josek / Reuters

April 10, 2012

A 2-week-old red river hog takes a second to catch its breath after spending the morning running around a San Diego Zoo Safari Park exhibit it shares with its three litter mates. The two male and two female piglets were born March 27. The first baby was running around before the last one was delivered. The piglets' coloration helps young red river hogs blend into their habitat in sub-Saharan Africa. As the piglets grow older, a red, shaggy coat will grow in.

Ken Bohn / AFP/Getty Images

April 13, 2012

A 1-day-old female Asian elephant baby (Elephas maximus) keeps close to her mother, Lai Sinh, in their enclosure in the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany.

Philipp Guelland / AP

April 10, 2012

Bino, a 1-year-old Sumatran orangutan, peeks from behind his mother at the Singapore Zoo.

Wong Maye-E / AP

April 12, 2012

A very active Amur leopard looks for something to climb on while one of its two siblings relaxes in the background in its new exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. The three 11-month-old cats have not stopped pouncing, running and playing, except for cat naps, since they made their debut over the weekend. This is the first time the zoo has housed this critically endangered species. The trio arrived at the San Diego Zoo as part of an international conservation program aimed at saving one of the world's most endangered cats. Fewer than 40 Amur leopards have been documented in the wilds of the Primorye region of the Russian Far East. However, there are 300 Amur leopards in zoos in Europe, Russia and North America because of a collaborative conservation program.

Ken Bohn / AFP/Getty Images

April 11, 2012

A 3-day-old giraffe stands indoors with its mother in Madrid. Tatu, a Rothschildi giraffe, gave birth on April 8 at the Zoo Aquarium of Madrid.

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images

April 10, 2012

An American alligator swims in a pond at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo in Thurmont, Md. The zoo has more than 25 acres of land exhibiting several species of animals, including lions, tigers, wolves, camels and several species of venomous snakes.

Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post

April 11, 2012

A mother duck leads her ducklings along a rain-soaked driveway in Santa Clara, Calif.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

April 14, 2012

Two eagles have a dispute over a perch near the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The eagle on top wanted to sit on the pole that the lower eagle was already on.

Bruce Weaver / AFP/Getty Images

April 10, 2012

A stork lands on its nest on an electricity pole outside Orestiada, northern Greece.

Aris Messinis / AFP/Getty Images

April 16, 2012

A small bobcat is perched on a power pole in a residential neighborhood of Victorville, Calif. Victorville Animal Control and the California Department of Fish and Game were alerted, but they do not attempt to trap or contain wild animals unless they present a clear, imminent danger. Bobcats are frequently found in residential areas on the border with open desert land.

James Quigg / AP

April 16, 2012

Veterinarian Mark Wright examines a dog that was rescued from a breeding facility near Verona, Mo. Because of the matted hair, Wright could not tell if it was a small Labradoodle or standard poodle. Working in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force rescued 16 adults and two puppies. The dogs' owner was unable to meet the requirements of the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act for kennel space, flooring and unfettered access to the outside.

Emily Rasinski / AP

April 11, 2012

A black Labrador retriever stands by a yellow Labrador that was hit in La Puente, Calif.

April 11, 2012

Dogs are seen in a private animal shelter near the Yasnogorodka village, 38 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Gleb Garanich / Reuters

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask walks past razor wire outside a security perimeter of the G-8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Monday, June 17, 2013. The summit is taking place under heavy security, with some 7,000 police lining roads and checking vehicles. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Photos of the day

G-8 summit, massive protests rock Brazil, Britain’s Royal Ascot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Sandra Bullock, Jessica Sanchez, Snooki, Billy Porter, Billy Crystal, Sean Hayes, Gwen Stefani and other celebrities.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 16: Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Miss USA 2013

Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady is crowned Miss USA 2013 in Las Vegas.

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