Animals stuck in bizzare posotions

A horse had to be cut free with a chainsaw after it managed to get its head stuck in a tree. The young filly needed to be freed from the tree after curiosity got the better of it and it wedged its head between separate sections of the trunk. The horse, called Gracie (so am I), was unable to free itself and could have been in danger if not for a passer-by who was able to come to the rescue after he heard the horse whinnying .

Jason Harschbarger, a neighbour in the town of Pullman, West Virginia, USA, arrived at the scene which resembled the image of Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in the honey tree. Mr Harschbarger collected his tools and was able to carefully set the horse free by using a chainsaw to slowly cut the wood around its neck. (Link | Via)



Curiosity may have killed the cat, but fortunately for this inquisitive cow it only brought embarrassment. The unlucky heifer was exploring the drum of a fly-tipped washing machine when its head became trapped. The young cow was unable to free herself and it wasn't until a member of the public informed the RSPCA, who sent officers to free her, that she emerged unscathed from her ordeal. (Link | Via)



A hippopotamus in Alkmaar, South Africa, was desperate for a dip to escape the heat, and climbed over ten foot walls to bathe in a water tower! Once in, he couldn't get out on his own. A farm worker spotted him -or rather, spotted two big nostrils poking out of the water.
Equipped with a hydraulic crane and a cage, hippo hunter Chris Hobkirk and his team from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Association set to work. In a four-hour operation, they drained the tank and used poles to gently nudge the hippo into the 3m-long (10ft) steel cage before winching it to safety. (Link | Via)


They call him Rebel, but everyone's without a clue about why the 8-month-old German shepherd poked his head through a hole in a wall and got stuck. It took rescuers in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., about 30 minutes to free the forlorn-looking pup from the 18-inch hole. Riverside County Animal Services officers got on both sides of the wall and managed to extricate Rebel. The dog helped the officers by stiffening his hind legs as they pulled him out. (Link | Via)



Some might say it was a pipe dream. But it was definitely more of a nightmare for two-year-old stray dog Smokey. The hapless young dog found himself with his head firmly stuck inside the long tube of an old smudge pot. Animal rescuers believe that he had been chasing a mouse when the pesky rodent led him straight into an abandoned device. The oil-burning tools are used to remove frost from crops on fruit trees but Smokey was left with a bitter taste in his mouth from the rusty pot. He whimpered as he tried desperately to wriggle free himself from the pot but without luck, remaining with his head inside like a headless dog. Thankfully a passer-by spotted the trapped animal and called animal rescuers to the scene in Riverside County, California. Smokey emerged unscathed from the pot with the help of Animal Control Officer Amy Farrell who gently eased him out. (Link | Via)



This hapless sheep has become a real life 'ram-bo' after inadvertently abseiling down a hill when its horn became snagged on an electricity wire. The unfortunate sheep was spotted bleating for help more than 15 feet above the ground next to a telegraph pole. Luckily he did not catch the current from the wire.

The drama unraveled at the small town of Helgoysund on the Norwegian coast. Tourists at the scene mounted a rescue attempt and eventually roped him to pull him back to ground level in little over an hour. Spectators suggested the sheep may have been trying to reach a field of ewes at the bottom of the hill. After nearly an hour and some ingenious rope work, the German tourists managed to bring the sheep down unharmed. The sheep had been grazing on the hill. He had got his horn stuck on the zip wire and as he got more agitated, was pulled down the hill on the wire he was attached to and ended more than up five metres above the ground. (Link)



If Wally knew how to talk, the dog would probably admit to being embarrassed about how he got his name. The 4-year-old Shar-Pei mixed breed was rescued after he got stuck between two walls in the 33-200 block of Rancho Vista Drive in Cathedral City. He's now resting at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, but how he got stuck and for how long remains a mystery. It's likely Wally got stuck chasing a smaller animal that ran through the space.

Animal control officers received a call around 10 a.m. regarding a barking dog. Upon arrival, they found Wally stuck in a crawl space separating a home and a wall. District workers spent about 40 minutes pounding a hole into the wall and freed a weak and dehydrated Wally by 1:30 p.m. (Via)



Two goats proved to be real silly billies when they got stranded for two days on the ledge of a bridge in Montana. The poor bleeters were plucked to safety by a towering crane after going without food and drink for 48 hours. They are thought to have wandered onto the railroad ledge in southern Montana at night, then froze once the sun rose and they realised where they were.

The two young females occasionally stepped to the pillar to urinate then returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds, an eye-witness said. The goats are now said to be in a good condition. (Link)



A 14-man rescue team had to be called to a swimming pool in Hampshire after a horse - aptly named Mischief - got himself trapped after going off for a wander. The four-year-old animal, whose name caused some mirth for the pool owners once the initial shock of discovering a horse had worn off, had to be pulled free with a series of ropes and a lot of team-work.

Mischief, who lives in Godshill in the New Forest, had apparently wandered into a neighbour's garden - unaware of the pool because of a plastic tarpaulin sheet. The horse appeared distressed when it was unable to escape from it's icy bath - but a local vet was called to sedate the animal before the fire crew pulled it to safety. (Link)



Oooops!



Poor sheep. (Link)



Looks like this cow is having a bad day.