Farm Animals (15)

Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

A trio of hogs no longer needs to worry about someone huffing and puffing and blowing their house in!

The three female pigs made their debut this month at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo. They're mulefoot hogs, which have single noncloven hooves that resemble those of a mule.

The domestic breed is considered critically rare by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy because they aren't commonly bred by farmers, the zoo says.

Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Sorry, all other species names. Thanks for playing, but you've been beat. These are babydoll lambs.

The Prospect Park Zoo, part of the Wildlife Conservation Society system in New York, recently welcomed a brother and sister pair to its babydoll lamb family. Arthur and Brooklyn were born to mother Ginger last month, and are growing a little every day.

Arthur, who weighed eight pounds at birth, will grow to be about 175 pounds. Brooklyn was only six pounds when she was born, but her expected adult size is 120 pounds.

WCS says the babydoll lamb, also called the miniature Southdown, is the oldest known purebred sheep in the world.

We don’t know about you, but the Super Bowl can quickly force a cheering, happy adult into a bawling baby. We were already getting a little emotional after Beyoncé’s reunion with Destiny’s Child, then the Superdome had a power failure that seemed to last for hours and finally, to top it all off: Budweiser aired the sob-inducing Clydesdale foal commercial.

Tears started flowing as soon as we heard Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” and saw that adorable little foal grow up and go off to the Budweiser Clydesdale stables. The heartwarming reunion at the end made it a no-brainer: This is our favorite ad from Super Bowl 2013.

Of course, this wasn’t the only animal-related commercial from the big game. Over at Vetstreet, we picked out four other ads starring our furry friends that are sure to make you laugh (if you're not still crying about the Clydesdale foal).

Think all sheep are docile little farm animals that happily spend their days grazing in idyllic meadows under rainbow skies with nary a baa or bleat? Think again. These two fleeced friends have some serious ‘tudes.

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Every Tuesday we'll share a few fun animal facts with you from experts all over the country. In honor of Election Day, today’s facts are about two political animals — donkeys and elephants.

Donkeys

Today’s expert: Dr. Jessica Vogelsang (better known as Dr. V), a veterinarian and writer. Dr. V. volunteers regularly with international veterinary aid organization World Vets. She spent a week in Arusha, Tanzania, on a donkey aid project learning firsthand just how much a donkey kick can hurt. For more about her adventures, visit pawcurious.com.

• Donkeys can kick some butt. Although considered affable and placid, donkeys are also known for their stubborn streak and can deliver a forceful sideways kick when provoked.
• Donkeys have great hearing abilities. Their large ears allow them to hear the call of another donkey from three kilometers away. Plus, their ears help them cool down by dissipating heat from the desert.
• Donkeys and zebras can mate. Thanks to their close genetic ties, if these two animals mate, they can produce a "zedonk."

Richard Austin/Rex/Rex USA

This is one full-service sheepdog.

Jess the English Springer Spaniel lives on a 180-acre farm in Devon, England, where she happily helps her owner care for her flock of 270 sheep — even holding bottles in her mouth to feed four orphaned lambs, reports Today.

"I taught her to hold the milk bottle in her mouth, and she did the rest,” says Louise Moorhouse, owner of the 10-year-old dog. “It's very funny when she runs across the field gripping the bottle."

Moorhouse says Jess, who learned to hold the bottle when she was just a puppy, also helps out on the farm by carrying feed and farm equipment — and gets rewarded with affection from the sheep.

We’ve seen our fair share of unlikely animal pairings but this one is definitely a contender for the top spot in terms of cuteness. A Dalmatian on a farm in Australia took in an orphaned black and white spotted lamb, reports the Associated Press.

According the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the adorable lamb's unique coat is a result of its purebred white Dorper father and cross-bred Dorper and Van Rooy mother. We're not too familiar with the various sheep breeds, but one thing is certain; that mix sure results in one adorable lamb!

So, what should this spotted animal be called? Owner John Bolton suggests "Sheep-matian" or  "Dal-dorper. We sort of like "Lamb-ation" or maybe something simple (and totally cliché) like "Spot."

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When you walk down the streets of Paris, the Poodle prancing in the promenade doesn’t say “Woof! Woof!” She barks, “Oauf! Ouaf!”

It's the same idea with the rooster waking everyone up in Madrid — his "cock-a-doodle-doo!" is "¡quiquiriquí!"

A recent article from Care2.com, "What Does a Cat Say In Japanese? In French? In Greek?" got us thinking: The words we use to describe what animals say are usually onomatopoeic, but not every language interprets these sounds the same way. Take pigs for example, they make vastly different noises around the world. In English, pigs oink, but in Japanese, they say, "Būbū."  

So, if you’re planning any international trips, or even if you're just a lover of languages, we've got a handy guide to what our furry and feathered friends are saying across the world. We’ve employed Google Translator and, of course, a few online language dictionaries to help determine the sounds.

And yes, we highly encourage you to practice saying these sounds out loud at the top of your lungs.

Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman — you’ve got some gold-medal worthy competition.

Buttermilk the Nigerian dwarf goat leaps, bounces and flips over her fellow barnyard friends with the poise, grace and talent of an Olympic gymnast.