Hippo Fight

Real-life angry hippos: Two males go head-to-head in brutal territory battle Photographer Tony Dilger captured these striking images in the Kruger National Park in South Africa Hippopotamuses are very violent and aggressive by nature and are often seen fighting between themselves The two males battled for ten minutes until the older bull defeated his younger challenger By Suzannah Hills These incredible images show two aggressive hippos going head-to-head in a violent confrontation to prove themselves in front of their female mates. The hippopotamuses can be seen locking jaws in battle as blood gushes out from their wounds. Hippos are by nature very aggressive and males will often battle each other to mark their territory and claim to female mates.  The striking snaps were taken by Tony Dilger in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Face off: A young male, pictured right, challenges an older bull over his territory at Kruger National Park in South Africa Tussle: The male hippos - which can weigh up to three tonnes - are the third largest land mammal in the world and are known for their aggressiveness. Here, the younger male can be seen pushing forward with an explosion of water towards his target  Mr Dilger, from Yorkshire, said: 'The two pink giant hippos met in a head-on collision. It was a spectacle so sudden and violent, it was painful to watch. 'If we thought this would be a lumbering, slow-motion drama we were in for a shock. It was explosive.' Mr Dilger then went on to describe how the two hippos battled for ten minutes until a winner could be decided. He continued: 'For ten minutes, water was thrown high into the air as they surged at each other, their foot-long tusks jabbing into pink flesh, each trying to turn or out-climb the other to deliver a decisive blow. 'The challenger, with slighter build, was more adept and his strategy of gravity-assisted plunge from above seemed to be winning the battle. Killer tactics: But as the younger male surges forward, the older bull lowers himself into the water and impales the young hippo on his tusks

Heavy Load Transport In China

Danger, VERY wide loads: Chinese drivers push their vehicles to the limit with hilariously huge cargoes By Olivia Williams It is surely a recipe for disaster, but many Chinese motorists cannot resist the urge to pile their tricycles and trucks as high as they possibly can while they move their goods - and families - across town. Seemingly relaxed, these pictures show drivers on Chinese roads going about their daily business with alarming volumes of precarious cargo tottering above their heads. Pictures from across China show ridiculously heavy trucks leaning at unusual angles, and tractors stacked 15-foot-high with recycled bottles and plastic negotiating roads full of traffic. These motorists give the term "wide load" a whole new meaning. Cushioned landing: This truck is clearly battling with its load as it veers along a national highway in Hai'an, China but it looks as though it would have a soft landing if it did keel over Steady as he goes: A truck driver keeps his precarious logs in place, but has to stop to explain to a traffic police officer in Nanchang, China Precious cargo: A fearless bike rider has his goods and family piled above his head as he pedals hard down the street

Paris Catacombs

Explore the ancient underground tomb that house over 6 million Parisian bodies — The Catacombs of Paris or Catacombes de Paris are an underground ossuary in Paris, France. Located south of the former city gate (the "Barrière d'Enfer" at today's Place Denfert-Rochereau), the ossuary holds the remains of about six million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris's stone mines. Opened in the late 18th century, the underground cemetery became a tourist attraction on a small scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular basis from 1874. Following an incident of vandalism, they were closed to the public in September 2009 and reopened 19 December of the same year.

The official name for the catacombs is l'Ossuaire Municipal. Although this cemetery covers only a small section of underground tunnels comprising "les carrières de Paris" ("the quarries of Paris"), Parisians today often refer to the entire tunnel network as "the catacombs".

History

Background: Paris cemeteries

Since Roman times, Paris has buried its dead on the outskirts of the city, but habits changed with the rise of Christianity and its practice of burying its faithful in the consecrated ground under and around its churches, no matter their location. By the 10th century, many of Paris's parish cemeteries were well within city limits, and eventually some, because of their central location in dense urban growth, were unable to expand and became overcrowded. An attempt to remedy this situation came in the early 12th century with the opening of a central mass burial ground for those not wealthy enough to pay for a church burial. Depending on the St. Opportune church near Paris's central Les Halles district, this cemetery had its own Saints Innocents church and parish appellation by the end of the same century. Eventually, Paris's other churches adopted the technique of mass inhumation as well. Once an excavation in one section of the cemetery was full, it would be covered over and another opened. Residues resulting from the decaying of organic matter, a process often chemically accelerated with the use of lime, entered directly into the earth, creating a situation unacceptable for a city whose then-principal source of water was wells.

By the 17th century, the sanitary conditions around Saints Innocents had become unbearable. As it was one of Paris's most sought-after cemeteries and a large source of revenue for the parish and church, the clergy had continued burials there even when its grounds were filled to overflowing. By then, the cemetery was lined on all four sides with "charniers" reserved for the bones of the dead exhumed from mass graves that had "lain" long enough for all the flesh they contained to decompose. Once emptied, a mass sepulchre would be used again, but even then, the earth was already filled beyond saturation with decomposing human remains.

A series of ineffective decrees limiting the use of the cemetery did little to remedy the situation, and it wasn't until the late 18th century that it was decided to create three new large-scale suburban burial grounds on the outskirts of the city, and to condemn all existing parish cemeteries within city limits. The new cemeteries were created outside the central area of the capital, in the early 19th century: Montmartre Cemetery in the north, Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, Passy Cemetery in the west. Later, Montparnasse Cemetery was added in the south.

Sleeping with Snakes

Photo ERIK DE CASTRO/REUTERS

Manila's zoo owner, Emmanuel Tangco, not only handles snakes for a living, he also sleeps with them on occasion. Zoo owner Emmanuel Tangco read a book to his snakes in his bedroom in Malabon, Metro Manila Feb 3- 2013. The Lunar New Year begins on february 10 this year and marks the strart of the year of the snake.

Photo ERIK DE CASTRO/REUTERS

Photo ERIK DE CASTRO/REUTERS

The World's Largest Cigar worth 200,000 Dollars

Juan Panesso has had a lot of strange requests over the years he's managed his online cigar store-- but a 20-foot long stogie with a $200,000 price tag was easily the strangest. And the most stressful.

'We try to cater to premium high end sm0kers,' Mr Panesso tells the Daily Mail. 'But we've never had something like this. It's really odd, and stressful and exciting at the same time.

'We thought it was a case of fraud,' he said. 'I mean, we didn't believe it. It was not just an odd request, it was also a large amount of money. We wouldn't just take a credit card on that order.' Mr Panesso, who manages the Florida-based CigarsDirect.com,  got a call from a customer two weeks ago with a laundry list of expensive requests. 'It was like he had just read the ratings and was picking the best cigars.'

The customer, who Mr Penesso said is a private collector who lives outside the United States, asked about a very rare, high-end cigar that costs $750. The man ordered 100. 'At that point I didn't believe him at all,' Mr Panesso said. 'It's like buying a 100 Ferraris. In my years here I have never sold one of these cigars.'

Then came the big request: find the world's biggest cigar.

Wonderful Friendship of Grandmother and Her Odd-eyed Cat

For over 13 years now, Japanese photographer Miyoko Ihara has been taking pictures of her grandmother Misao, in order to leave a living proof of the woman's life. Eight years ago, though, Misao found a wonderful companion – an odd-eyed kitten that found his way to the shed.

The 88-year-old woman named him Fukumaru, which translated from Japanese roughly means "a circle of good fortune". Misao and her odd-eyed feline friend have been doing everything together ever since. The woman still goes out into the fields every day, and Fukumaru follows her every step. They eat, rest, water the plants and do their chores together.

Seeing that the strong bond and love between the two shines out of every photo, Miyoko published a hard cover portrait album, called "Misao the Big Mama and Fukumaru the Cat".