Head of European Prints, Severine Nackers holds a celestial Map of the Southern Sky by Albrecht Durer, at Sotheby's Auction House on March 25, 2011 in London, England. The two woodcut maps depicting the Northern and Southern skies circa 1515, are the earliest printed star charts of their kind ever published in Europe, and are expected to fetch between Ј120,000-180,000 GBP when they go on sale at the “London sale of Old Master, Modern and Contemporary prints” at Sotheby's Auction house on March 30, 2011. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

“The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa (the specific name liberiensis means “of Liberia”, as this is where the vast majority live). The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the Hippopotamidae family, the other being its much larger cousin the common hippopotamus”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Monifa, a one month old baby Pygmy Hippopotamus takes a morning bath at Taronga Zoo on November 7, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Monifa is the first Pygmy Hippopotamus to be born at Taronga Zoo in the past twenty three years. (Photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)

The Angel Oak Tree is a Southern live oak located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The Angel Oak Tree is estimated to be at least 400 years old[citation needed]. It stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2). Its longest branch distance is 187 ft. in length. Angel Oak was the 210th tree to be registered with the Live Oak Society.

Yulin, a city in southern China, celebrates the summer solstice by throwing a festival that involves the slaughter and consumption of as many as 10,000 dogs. Not everyone in China supports such practices, however; 65-year-old Yang Xiaoyun, a retired teacher who runs an animal shelter in Tianjin, traveled more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and spent more than 7,000 yuan ($1,100 or €990) to save 100 dogs from certain death.

Mah Chan, a Long Neck Padaung hill tribe woman weaves a scraf for sale to tourists in a small village where 30 familes live July 13, 2006 in Chiang Dao, Thailand. All the Long Neck villages are set up for tourists and just over a year ago the hill tribe members were hand picked to move closer to Chiang Mai from more remote communities so that they could be more accessible. The Padaung women famously wear brass rings around their necks, beginning at five-years-old, to distort the growth of their collarbones and making them look like they have long necks. They are originally from eastern Burma near the Thailand border. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

In this photo distributed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) May 23, 2005, woman soldiers wear branches in their helmets as their infantry instructors' course learns about camouflage during the field craft week of their training May 19, 2005 at an army base near Beersheva in Israel's southern desert. It takes the IDF more than 2 months to teach these 18-year-old female recruits the basic arts of warfare before they assigned to pass on their newly-acquired skills to the army's male and female draftees. (Photo by Abir Sultan/IDF via Getty Images)

Men help remove messages and prayers written by thousands of people addressed to God from the cracks in the Western Wall in preparation for the up coming Jewish Passover holiday on March 28, 2012 in Jerusalem's old city, Israel. All the notes once collected will be buried in a special place at the Mount of Olives.according tro Jewish law. Passover begins in the evening of Friday, April 6 and commemorates the story of the Exodus where the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)