The smiling shark whose 'Cheshire Cat' grin won an international photography award

This award winning image shows the extraordinary moment when a lemon shark gazed into a lens with an apparent cheeky grin.

Showing a close-up of a lemon shark's face on the surface at sunset, it was recently selected from more than 20,000 photos as winner of the Oceans division of the international Nature's Best Photography 2008 Windland Smith Rice Awards.

Amateur photographer Bruce Yates, snapped the aptly named 'Cheshire Cat Grin' photograph in July last year in the Bahamas.

54-year-old Mr Yates, from Seattle, said: 'My wife and I were on a boat trip to see and dive with sharks in the northwest part of the Bahamas, in an expansive area many miles from land with relatively shallow water

'The shark was roughly eight feet long and only a few inches from my camera,' describes Bruce, who snapped the creature on a 15mm 'fish-eye' lens.
'However, I was not actually in the water for that photo - it was taken between dives when I was sitting on the back swim-step of the boat holding my camera partly submerged.

'Dozens of lemon sharks were around the boat vying for small bits of fish.

'I pre-set my camera's shutter speed, aperture and strobe strength (so the sunset would be visible in the background), and as sharks came near my camera, I shot dozens of photos in a 'burst'.

'Although this particular photo makes it look like the shark is smiling, it is really just closing its mouth after trying to grab a bit of fish.

'It is an expression that I have never seen on a shark before, and I doubt I could get that shot again if I tried for the rest of my life.'

The lemon shark inhabits coastal inshore waters from around America, Brazil, America, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and other areas in the Atlantic.

Despite their large teeth, they represent a small threat to humans with only 10 unprovoked attacks recorded and no fatalities.

Bruce, who owns an investment management firm, first got into photography 15 years ago when he undertook a SCUBA diving course, and his passion for nature photography has led him to many remote parts of the world, from the Arctic Circle to the coral reefs of Indonesia.

The pet who runs his own paper shredder using an exercise wheel

An energetic hamster is powering an environmentally-friendly paper shredder by running on his wheel.

And he's certainly got his work cut out for him - as he has to run flat out for 45 minutes to shred one sheet of A4 paper.

Happily, he is able to enjoy the fruits of his labour as the paper falls onto the base of his cage, providing fresh bedding for the exhausted pet.
Tom Ballhatchet, 29, developed the product using a friend's hamster for his masters degree in industrial design.

The London-based design consultant said: 'I wanted to come up with a product that would capture people's imagination while addressing issues of topical concern such as climate change, recycling and identity fraud.

'The hamster shredder provides a solution to all of these things because it relies on the hamster to generate power, destroys confidential documents and turns paper into bedding.

'Owners can put their paper in the top before they go to bed and wake up to find the hamster has been on its wheel and shredded the paper in the process.

'The hamster just has to go about its normal life.'

Several companies have expressed an interest in turning the working prototype into a full scale production.

Strange & Weird Pics

5 Amazing Blue Holes [pics]

Have you ever swam out in the sea and not been able to see the bottom? All you can feel is the freezing cold water beneath your feet, all you see is dark blue water extending to infinity.

Imagine for one second descending into the blue, deeper and deeper with every kick and breath. The adrenaline kicks in and as the pressure builds, water compresses your chest - you’re scared, but there is something strangely inviting about the descent that makes it feel like you’re travelling to the center of the Earth. Looking ahead and all around you can see only a wall that drops for meters into the blackness below, and it is inviting, alluring. Welcome to the world of blue holes.

Effectively limestone sinkholes, or submarine caves, blue holes are given their name because of the contrasting deep blue of the hole and the lighter blue of the shallows around them. There are a number of blue holes across the globe but only a few are frequented by divers, each with its own unique biodiversity. Here we present five of the best in the world:

Great Blue Hole, Belize

great belize underwater sinkhole

First discovered by Jacques Cousteau, one of the world’s most famous divers and marine conservationists, the Great Blue Hole in Belize is the best of the bunch, and every diver’s dream. Measuring 305m (1,000 ft) across and 123 m (400 ft) deep, the Blue Hole is almost perfectly circular and can be found in Lighthouse Reef Atoll, about 60 miles from Belize City.

The Great Blue Hole in Belize is a Mecca for those wanting to dive among its giant stalactites and stalagmites that were formed during the last Ice Age. Starting at around 30-33 meters, the limestone formations become more intricate with depth, but few get to see what they look like as most divers are only qualified to go to a depth of around 30 meters, although, when it comes to diving in blue holes, many flout the rules.

The Blue Hole, Dahab

Until only about 25 years ago, Dahab was a tiny Bedouin fishing village on the Sinai coast, about 50 miles from Sharm el-Sheikh to the south. Now it’s known worldwide for having great windsurfing conditions and some of the best shore diving anywhere.
Only a short drive north of the main centre of Dahab is the notorious Blue Hole, known among diving circles as the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Dive Site’. It can be accessed from the shore and is around 130m deep, but with a tunnel at 52 m many divers are tempted to go beyond the recreational diving limit of 40 m to experience everything the Egyptian blue hole has to offer, including nitrogen narcosis for the unfortunate few. Because the entrance is hidden and difficult to spot, divers looking for a way in often go too low, increasing the risk of ‘the bends’ or nitrogen narcosis, some are never seen again.
Dean’s Blue Hole, Bahamas

One of the deepest blue holes at 663ft deep, Dean’s is quite different from the previous two in that it widens to a 100 m cavern at about 20 m down. It is named after the family who own the land nearby and is another popular dive spot.

The Vertical Blue 2008 free-diving competition was held here in April, when 25 national records and 5 world records were broken, and just the year before free-diver William Trubridge from New Zealand shattered the free-diving world record reaching lung-squishing depth of 84m, without the use of fins.
The Blue Hole, Gozo

Not clearly as visible from the surface, the mouth to Malta’s Blue Hole starts at 7 m deep, and is the most popular dive site on the islands
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Located within the blue hole is a cave at 15 m below where shoals of tuna, groupers and barracuda are often found hovering by the large boulders and rocks. Divers can swim through a short tunnel, or chimney, to get to a different area within the hole which has great coral gardens and reefs teeming with marine life, which is quite amazing considering how fished out many parts of the Mediterranean are.

The Blue Cave, Korcula

Just off the coast of Korcula, one of Croatia’s biggest islands you’ll find Modra Spilja (the Blue Cave). Accessible only by boat, the blue hole is entered at 9 m below the surface of the waves and reaches a depth of 35 m, a baby compared to some other blue holes. But this means it is more easily lit up buy the sun’s rays, making visibility easier and the dive all the more pleasant. Marine life, sponges and corals line the walls, along with giant red and yellow gorgonias, or sea fans, making it one of Croatia’s top dive spots.
Where’s your favourite blue hole?

Photo of angel takes mother in hospital as daughter on life- support makes miraculous recovery

A mother, whose daughter was fighting for her life, believes that a photograph taken in a hospital ward shows an angel.

Colleen Banton, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was facing the agonising decision of taking her daughter off a life-support machine when the 'miracle' occurred.

14-year-old Chelsea had been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, but a series of subsequent infections and a collapsed lung left the teenager breathing with the help of a ventilator.

As friends and family gathered to say their final goodbyes, Mrs Banton was alerted to an unusual bright light by a nurse.

'On the monitor, there was this bright light,' she said. 'And I looked at it and I said, "Oh my goodness! It looks like an angel!"'

A first attempt at capturing the image with a digital camera was unsuccessful: 'The first picture wouldn't take,' she said.

The second time she succeeded, and the mother-of-two sought solace in the image while her daughter's oxygen mask was removed.

Both family and staff were stunned when Chelsea began breathing for herself.

'When they took the mask off of her, her stats went as high as they've ever been,' said Mrs Banton. 'Her color was good, and the doctors and nurses were amazed. The nurse practitioner who saw the image in the monitor said, "I've worked here 15 years, and I've never seen anything like it.'''

Two weeks later, the teenager was sent home from hospital, in time for her 15th birthday on Christmas day.

'What was so ironic is it was a rainy day,' Mrs Banton said of her discovery. 'It had been overcast all day. And the sun only came out at that point.'

'If they doubt it, that's fine... But I know what I saw, and the picture's untouched. I didn't make it up. That's just something that I believe.

'I believe that more people have changed since this happened. I know I have. I look at things differently than I used to – because I know God is in control.'

Mrs Banton revealed that she and her older daughter had been 'praying for a miracle' since Chelsea was born five weeks prematurely, and was given 36 hours to live.

'She spent the first four months in a neonatal intensive care unit,' recalled her mother.

Against the odds, Chelsea - who has suffered from pneumonia, hydrocephalus, requiring a shunt in her skull, and life-threatening viruses throughout her childhood - is now at high school.

'I'm learning that every day she's alive is a miracle.' said Mrs Banton.

Snow wonder: The amazing giant ice sculptures at China's coolest Christmas festival

These impressive ice sculptures are part of a display for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.

The festival officially begins on January 5, when 800,000 tourists are expected to visit the freezing city in northern China.

As well as the colourful life-sized ice buildings, which reflect traditional Chinese architecture, there is also a 160m high Father Christmas sculpture, said by organisers to be the world's largest.

Harbin, which fringes Siberia, plays host to the festival each year, but organisers have revealed that the effects of global warming are taking a toll as the snow and ice now melt more rapidly than in the past.

Unseasonably warm temperatures have made the job especially challenging, said Tang Guangjun, one of the sculptors.

'The weather swings between warm and cold, so it becomes very wet and slippery on the ice. It is very dangerous for us,' he said.


The display is expected to boost local trade during the economic downturn.

'It can stimulate the economy and consumption. When people feel happier, they will want to spend more, so it will lift the economy of the city and even the country,' said Li Qingsheng, a tourist from Beijing.

Officials in Harbin remained optimistic about the tourist outlook for the winter.

Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province on the edge of Siberia, is one of China's coldest places. Winter temperatures can drop to below minus 35 degrees Celsius.

An estimated 800,000 tourists, 90 per cent of them Chinese, were expected to visit the ice festival, said Jia Yan, director of the local tourism bureau.

The festival traditionally runs from mid-December to early February.

What's up Doc? Meet Vincent the earless rabbit

They're known for their long ears, so imagine John Haigh's surprise when his pet rabbit gave birth to an earless bunny.

Vincent, in honour of the Dutch artist Van Gogh who famously cut off his ears, was born without those prominent characteristics.

In fact on first glance he resembles a guinea pig rather than a rabbit.
I've never seen one like that before,' said 16-year-old John from North Yorkshire.

'The rabbit is perfectly healthy, it's just got no ears.

'As soon as we saw him I knew I had to call him Vincent - Vinny for short - after Van Gogh. It made perfect sense,' added John.

John and his mother Carol usually sell the rabbits they breed, but have decided to keep the healthy, yet distinctive bunny.

'John didn't even know that Rosie was pregnant,' said Carol.

'He went out one day and came back to find she'd given birth to about 10 rabbits.

'They have to be left alone when they are newborn but after about three weeks they began to venture out of their nest.

'I was watching John from the kitchen window as he took a look at them for the first time and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

'I ran out and saw Vincent and couldn't believe it - we've never seen anything like it before,' she added.
The long ears of rabbits are most likely an adaptation for detecting predators, so not a necessity in domesticated animals.

While Vincent's missing ears could simply be down to a genetic birth defect, there is another theory that his mother's over-zealous licking could be responsible.

'A friend who has experience with rabbits said it could be that when Vincent was first born his mum licked his ears so much they fell off,' said Carol.

'But none of his brothers or sisters have the same problems so we're not sure. It's a mystery but we love him all the same.'

Pete the purple squirrel leaves animal lovers baffled

Baffled animal lovers are trying to explain why a PURPLE squirrel has turned up in the grounds of the school.

Teachers and pupils thought the rodent, who they have named Pete, may have fallen into purple paint or had a run-in with some purple dye.


But people who have seen the squirrel say they do not believe this explains its even colouring.

Dr Mike Edwards, an English teacher at Meoncross School in Stubbington, Hants, first spotted the squirrel outside his classroom window.

He said: 'I was sitting in my classroom and looked out the window and saw it sitting on the fence. I had to do a double take.

'Since then it's been a bit of a regular at the school - everyone's seen it.

'We thought it might have been paint or something but then when you look at it up close, it's an all-over coat, not in patches like you'd expect if it had been near some paint.

'Its fur actually looks purple all the way through. It's an absolute mystery.'

Since the squirrel made its first appearance, pupils, staff and parents have been trying to solve the riddle.
Bill Oddie



They have contacted vets and even emailed TV nature expert Bill Oddie to see if an explanation could be found.

Lorraine Orridge, the school's registrar, believes Pete's unusual-coloured fur looks like a school uniform.

She said: 'The squirrel has become a bit of a legend among staff and pupils at the school.

'He makes an appearance most days and we always look forward to seeing him.

'When we first spotted him he was more blue than purple, which we thought was great because it matches our school colours - it was like he was wearing his own uniform.

'He is a very shy character and only really comes out when pupils are in lessons. If anyone approaches he runs away.

'We don't think he is a mutant squirrel but he may have had a mishap around the school.

'The old building where we have seen him nipping in and out is a bit of a graveyard for computer printers. He may have found some printer toners in there.

'We haven't seen any purple baby squirrels yet.'

TV wildlife expert Chris Packham believes Pete will moult and lose his purple fur in time for spring.

He said: 'I have never seen anything like it before.

'Squirrels will chew anything even if it's obviously inedible. It is possible he has been chewing on a purple ink cartridge and then groomed that colouring into his fur.

'Alternatively he may have fallen into a bucket containing a weak colour solution that has stained his fur.

'He is unlikely to have fallen into paint because that would probably have killed him.

'The colouring does not seem to have done him any harm and I imagine he will return to his normal colour by spring when his fur moults.

'Underneath there's a normal grey squirrel who has just given himself an unusual hair colour - you would pay a fortune for that in some salons.'

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Woman gives birth to her 18th child and all their names begin with letter 'J'

Santa Claus will be busy trying to supply presents for this family.

An American woman has given birth to her eighteenth child - and her husband says the couple want still more children.

The fact that they are only giving their children names beginning with the letter 'J' has not slowed them up one bit.

Last night Michelle Duggar delivered the baby girl by Caesarean section at a hospital in Arkansas.


The baby, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces (3.26 kilograms) and was 20 inches (51 centimetres) long.

"The ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob Duggar, the father of the 18 children. "She's just absolutely beautiful, like her mom and her sisters."

The Duggars, who are evangelical Christians living in Bible-belt America, now have 10 sons and eight daughters.

Jim Bob Duggar said Michelle started having contractions Wednesday night.

She needed the Caesarean section, her third, because the baby was lying sideways.

Jim Bob said both baby and mother were doing well last night.

"We both would love to have more," he said.

The U.S. cable network TLC broadcasts a weekly show about the Duggars, called "Seventeen and Counting."

Chris Finnegan of TLC - which handles public relations for the Duggar family - said the show's name would be updated to account for the latest addition to the family.

He said TLC also will air a show Monday on the baby's delivery.

Jim Bob Duggar is 43, a year older than his wife. Their oldest child, Joshua, is 20.

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jordyn-Grace, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 8; James, 7; Justin, 6; Jackson, 4; Johannah, 3; and Jennifer, 1.

"Our whole family is excited about Jordyn's addition to our family," Jim Bob Duggar said. "She's just perfect in every way."

The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in north-west Arkansas in a 7,000 sq ft home, and the children are all home-educated.

Mrs Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life.

She and husband Jim Bob – evangelical Christians - said in a recent interview they would keep having children as long as God wills it.

"The success in a family is first off a love for God, and secondly treating each other like you want to be treated," Mr Duggar said.

"Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."

Doctor removes 'perfectly formed' FOOT growing inside baby's brain

A doctor has removed a brain tumour from a newborn baby which contained an almost perfectly formed foot and parts of another foot, a hand and a thigh.

The incredible discovery was made by pediatric neurosurgeon Dr Paul Grabb in Colorado, America, when he operated on three-day old Sam Esquibel after an MRI scan showed a microscopic tumour on his brain.

The finding in the otherwise healthy baby is so unheard of it could come straight out of Greek mythology in which king of the gods Zeus produced his daughter Athena fully-grown from his forehead.

Dr Grabb, who carried out the operation in Memorial Hospital for Children, Colorado Springs, says that while removing the growth, he discovered it contained a nearly perfect foot, complete with five toes, along with the formation of another foot, a hand and a thigh.

'It looked like the breach delivery of a baby, coming out of the brain,' Grabb said.

'To find a perfectly formed structure (like this) is extremely unique, unusual, borderline unheard of.'
Grabb is not sure what caused the growth but said it may have been a type of congenital brain tumour.

However, such tumors usually are less complex than a foot or hand, he said.
The growth may also have been a case of 'fetus in fetu' - in which a fetal twin begins to form within another - but such cases very rarely occur in the brain, Grabb said.

Sam's parents, Tiffnie and Manuel Esquibel, say their son is at home now but faces monthly blood tests to check for signs of cancer or regrowth, along with physical therapy to improve the use of his neck.

But they said the youngster had mostly recovered from the surgery on October 3.

'You'd never know if he didn't have a scar there,' Tiffnie Esquibel said.

The giant radio-controlled tank that's SO powerful it could pull your car

It's the ultimate boys' toy for Christmas - a giant radio-controlled tank that's so powerful it can actually pull a car.

The 6ft long monster is a 1/4 scale model of a King Tiger, the German weapon which wreaked havoc among allied tanks during World War Two.

Weighing a whopping 250kg, the camouflaged tank has a fully working turret and a 2ft long gun with a realistic recoil action.

And speakers are fitted inside to simulate the tank's distinctive rumbling noise.

The tank is powered by two, 500 watt 24 volt motors which are so powerful that it can pull a car on a level surface.

The tank is the meanest machine available at Mark 1 Tanks, based in Easton, near Winchester, Hampshire.

And it holds the title of being the biggest radio controlled tank available in the world.

With all the options fitted the tank costs almost £10,000 but smaller versions are available for as little as £100.

Other models of tank are also available including the famous World War Two Sherman, the German Tiger 1 and the Russian T34.

Company founder Mark Spencer said he began building the tanks himself after buying a less detailed version from a seller in Russia.

He said: 'It looked a bit like a cheap toy from a toy shop but when I got it working it was fantastic and I thought, "I wonder if anyone else would like one of these."

'I love history but in particular I love tanks - I think it's a lad thing.

'I sell to a really niche market but I think the people who buy the tanks are simply looking for the coolest toy they can find.

'The tanks are the ultimate boys' toys.'

The larger tanks in the range are all put together by Mark himself in his warehouse with only the smaller, 1/35 scale models coming in 'kit' form.

He said: 'Some parts are made in Russia and the motors are made in China but they all come to me here and I put the tanks together.

'It can take me two days or it can take two hours to build one.

'The larger tanks are made from one inch thick fibreglass but all the mechanical parts are metal.

'We have more than 20 models but my favourite is the German King Tiger - I think it's also our most popular model.

'I think it's the most recognisable and it was legendary in the war for being pretty indestructable and just destroying everything it shot at.'

The basic 1/4 scale King Tiger costs from £6,600 but can get up to almost £10,000 with extras such as the rotating turret, the gun elevation and the speakers.

A 1/6 version costs 3,600 pounds while a kit to build your own 1/35 scale tank costs 100 pounds.

A 1/6 scale American Sherman tank with a British Firefly gun costs £3,600.

The very heavy armour and powerful long-range gun gave the 69 ton King Tiger the advantage against virtually all opposing Allied and Soviet tanks.

This was especially true on the Western Front, where the British and US forces had almost no heavy tanks with which to oppose it.

The popular American Sherman was unable to penetrate its seven-inch-thick armour even at point blank range.

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