AH TE ZIVOTINJICE

Birthday bear

05.12.2009

Polar bear Knut digs in to his birthday presents in his outdoor enclosure in the zoo in Berlin on Saturday, December 5, 2009. Knut, who captured global attention as a cute and cuddly cub, received an ice cake decorated with fish for his 3rd birthday. These days his handlers are hoping he'll mate with a female polar bear borrowed from another zoo, Gianna. While it's not love just yet, the two are getting along famously, the zoo says.

Did you miss me?

11.11.2009

Trainer Eva Chris making sure Caesar the lion has recovered from his unplanned excursion. The lion, one of the star performers with the Probst Circus, was taking a nap in a van when it was stolen and driven off. After a minor accident, the thieves left the vehicle standing with Caesar safe inside. It's not known whether he can help the police with their enquiries.

Knut's fiancée explores her future home

23.09.2009

She will meet Knut for the first time only next week, but, for now, Giovanna is testing the waters in what should be her future home in Berlin Zoo. Meanwhile Knut is having to stay locked up in the back room. We'll have to see if Giovanna can stand life with a real star like Knut.

Mutts strut their stuff

05.09.2009

Poodle Nico prepares to hit the dancefloor at the third Dresden Dog Fair on Saturday, September 5, 2009. Nico is just one of the contestants in the dog dancing competition at the fair this weekend. If mutts strutting their stuff gets a bit much for visitors, they can check out presentations on aromatherapy for hounds, the dog model casting show and many other canine related events. The fair ends on Sunday.

Germany's hottest day

20.08.2009

With Thursday set to go down in the record books as the hottest day in Germany this summer, beagle Sunny takes a welcome drink from a sprinkler in the Bavarian city of Straubing.

Leopard love

29.07.2009

Leopard mum Saia gives her hitherto unnamed cub a wash in Hanover zoo on July 29, 2009. Saia gave birth to a male and female cub at the end of May. After mating with Saia leopard dad Yallah was banished to a separate enclosure for safety reasons.

Mane in Motion

12.07.2009

A horse's mane in full flight during a race at the German national championships of the Icelandic horse in Osterbyholz, northern Germany, on Sunday, July 12, 2009.

"Whisper" fails doping test

24.06.2009

Five-time Olympic dressage champion Isabell Werth was suspended on Wednesday, June 24, after her horse "Whisper" tested positive for a banned substance. The German, who won gold in team dressage last year at the Beijing Olympics, has been ordered to appear before the International Equestrian Federation which has yet to confirm the suspension. The 29-year-old says she'll demand an analysis of a second sample. The German Olympic equestrian team was dramatically disbanded just weeks ago, after four-time jumping champion Ludger Beerbaum was also found to have doped his horse

Top Dog

04.06.2009

If he had really wanted to score brownie points with Angela Merkel, Barack Obama could have picked a German shepherd, or maybe a Dachshund, to be the new First Dog in the White House. But in the end he wound up with a very cute Portuguese Water Dog named Bo. OK, so he didn't have much choice in the matter, it was a gift from Edward Kennedy. No matter, Germany has apparently decided to forgive the Senator from Massachusetts and his boss. Just ahead of Obama's visit on June 5, a German company, Koesen, has issued "Bo by Koesen," a stuffed-toy version of the fluffy black purebred. Buy soon, only 500 have been produced.

Guest performance

13.05.2009

A Lipizzaner horse of the Spanish Riding School from Vienna perfoms during a rehearsal in Berlin on Wednesday. They are to perform in the German capital from Thursday until Saturday.

Lipizzans on tour

28.04.2009

Tuesday, April 28 marks the start of a tour by world famous Lipizzan stallions from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. They'll be demonstrating classical dressage in its purest form. Many years of training fuse horse and rider into a single unit. The breed dates back to the 16th century.

An arranged marriage

17.04.2009

Bill, right, and Lara met for the first meeting at the Zoom Erlebniswelt zoo, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Friday. Bill was sent over from the zoo in Brno in the Czech Republic to be Lara's new partner.

A centuries' old tradition

13.04.2009

These two women took part in the annual Easter Monday horseback ride to garner a blessing from the patron saint of St. George Church, near Traunstein, southern Germany. People have been doing it for around 300 years.

Easter Lamb

10.04.2009

A new born lamb enjoys the spring sun with its flock on a meadow in Altenesch, northern Germany, on Good Friday. The lamb was one of the earliest figures used in Christian symbolism, often found in art dating back to the first century. Today Germans of all religious denominations can spt sheep and lambs in fields and meadows across the country -- especially in springtime.

We're Here, We're Royal, Deal With It!

23.03.2009

King Penguins appeared tall and proud -- if somewhat lacking in a sense of direction -- during the opening of a new penguin enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, western Germany, on Monday, March 23.

Storks Deliver Weather, Too

19.03.2009

Storks prepare their nest in Holzen, southern Germany, on Thursday, March 19. More well-known for delivering babies than weather, meteorologists predict the large-billed birds will also bring an end to Germany's sunny weather.

Farmers Hope Baaa-d Times Mooo-ve Along

14.03.2009

Bavarian farmers assemble with their livestock in front of the St. Anna Church in the southern German town of Altoetting on Saturday, March 14. They are participating in a traditional peasants' pilgrimage to receive blessings for their animals and crops.

Living Large

12.03.2009

Karl van der Dach has a pretty nice life. On Thursday, March 12, the guinea pig spent the day hanging in a designer hammock. The guinea pig hammock could be the next fad for young Berlin hipsters. It was recently displayed at "Trendmafia," a monthly designer market in Berlin's trendy Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Mooove Over, Miss Universe

26.02.2009

With her long, black eyelashes and perfectly-formed udder, Sunshine is a real bovine beauty. The cow came away with top honors on Thursday, Feb. 26. "She looks like a cow should," a spokesperson said. Sunshine was competing against about 240 other cows in the beauty contest held near the northern German town of Verden. Just shy of five years old, the mother of two, Sunshine will be turning heads for years to come.