An octopus (octopus vulgaris)

An octopus (octopus vulgaris) lifts one of its tentacles in his bassin at the zoo in Basel, Switzerland.

Black and White Ruffed Lemurs

New crab species (Neoliomera Pubescens)

A marine biologist said he has discovered a new crab species off the coast of southern Taiwan that looks like a strawberry with small white bumps on its red shell.

Siberian maral

A female Siberian maral looks at a camera in its open-air cage at the Roev Ruchey zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

A meerkat

A meerkat hunts for a treat hidden inside a Christmas cracker in its enclosure at the London Zoo.

Watch the cult hamster ad

ARE these jazz-tooting hamsters for real?

Transparent sea cucumber ( Enypniastes )

A couple of sea otters

A couple of sea otters sit on a float in the Cordova, Alaska boat harbor.

A llama

A llama walks near the summit of Pike's Peak. Southwest Llama Rescue is coordinating efforts to capture the llama before it falls prey to mountain lions, coyotes or the coming winter.

A Cat Ba leopard gecko ( Goniurosaurus catbaensis )

A Cat Ba leopard gecko, known by its scientific name Goniurosaurus catbaensis, is seen in Cat Ba Island National Park in northern Vietnam. This species was among 163 new species discovered last year in Greater Mekong region.

Green bombers (Swima bombiviridis)

Several green bombs are visible near the animal's long coiled head palps. Thousands of feet beneath the sea live worms that can cast off green glowing body parts, a move scientists think may be a defensive effort to confuse attackers. Researchers have dubbed the newly found critters 'green bombers.'

Seal pup (phoca vitulina)

Seal pup 'Kalli' peers out of a basket in Norddeich, Germany. A total of 71 abandoned young common seals (Phoca vitulina) are reared at the seal station. Five seal pups will be reintroduced to their natural habitat later Thursday.

9-year-old beaver

Buckley, the 9-year-old beaver at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, nibbles on a fruit, veggie, and juice popsicle to cool down during the 100 plus degree Fahrenheit hot weather Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

A chameleon

A chameleon clings to a tree stump during rains on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Cloned buffalo

Cloned buffalo calf 'Garima,' seen here at an undisclosed location in India. Scientists in the Indian state of Haryana have reportedly cloned a buffalo using foetal tissue in order to boost the species' population.

Ring-tailed Lemur Cattas

A family of Ring-tailed Lemur Cattas is seen at the Olmense zoo in Olmen.

King penguins

Two king penguins seen in the Zoo Wuppertal, in Germany.

American pika

This photo released by the U.S. Geological Survey, shows a mountain-dwelling American pika.

A sea lion

A sea lion swims near the Palomino islands. The island houses about 8,000 sea lions, making it one of the biggest colonies of these animals on the shores of Peru.

Malayan Tapir

A one-month-old Malayan Tapir named Victoria is seen at the Singapore Zoo. The Malayan Tapir is a native to Southeast Asia and to date, there are eight Malayan Tapirs at the zoo.