Animals

A golden retriever named Kilian is part of a Swedish rescue team in Morocco after the earthquake. He's a veteran of past disaster rescue missions and his handlers say he helped find 18 people alive under the rubble in Turkey earlier this year. Carol Guzy for NPR hide caption

A baby giraffe was discovered in Namibia, Africa, without any spots. The only other known living spotless giraffe was born at a zoo in Tennessee in late July. Eckart Demasius/Giraffe Conservation Foundation hide caption

A livestream set up by Explore.org in the Katmai National Park for bear enthusiasts captured a missing hiker pleading for help on Sept. 5. Screenshot by NPR/Explore.org hide caption

A feral cat hides in a wooded area near a beach parking lot at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, N.Y. The American Bird Conservancy sued the state parks department in 2016 to have the cats removed because they were a threat to the endangered piping plover and the cat colony was relocated to cat sanctuaries. Frank Eltman/AP hide caption

Paula Rodriguez and her dog, Maia, were separated while on their way from the Dominican Republic to San Francisco on Aug. 18. Rodriguez was turned away by border agents and forced to catch a flight home without Maia, who was lost by Delta Air Lines staff. @ATLairport/Twitter hide caption

Two American flamingos seen at a Zoo in Miami, in July 2016. Flamingos are native to Florida, but less than 1% of the world's population resides there after the birds were hunted to near extinction at the turn of the 20th century. Wilfredo Lee/AP hide caption

Kipekee, pictured at the Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tenn., is believed to be the only one of her kind on the planet. Brights Zoo Facebook hide caption

Back in March, four or five goats scrambled along the streets of San Francisco and became instantly famous as videos of their runabout were posted on social media. What became of the runaway ruminants? screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit hide caption

Beekeeper Mike Osborne uses his hand to look for the queen bee as he removes bees from a car after a truck carrying bee hives swerved, causing the hives to fall and release bees in Burlington, Ontario, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Carlos Osorio/AP hide caption

Students from the Yupiit School District learn how to prepare freshly caught salmon. MaryCait Dolan/KYUK hide caption

Mohammad Saud (left) is one of two bird-saving brothers profiled in the documentary All The Breathes. Above, he and his employee and friend Salik Rehman tend to an injured kite. Courtesy of HBO hide caption

A reticulated giraffe was born without spots at Brights Zoo in northeastern Tennessee at the end of July. The zoo is asking the public to cast their vote on what to name her. Tony Bright/Brights Zoo via AP hide caption