These are the top animal stories on NPR in 2023, including snakes on planes

This year, animal encounters range from sad to creepy to adorable.

These are the most popular animal stories on NPR’s website in 2023.

A bison calf is euthanized

In May, a bison calf in Yellowstone National Park was euthanized after being touched by a tourist. The calf became separated from the herd while crossing the Lamar River. The National Park Service said a visitor pushed the calf from a river bank onto a road.

Park rangers made multiple attempts to reintegrate the calf into the herd, but were rebuffed. After some backlash, the National Park Service said “national parks protect natural processes.”

Hawaii resident Clifford Walters was charged with “one count of feeding, touching, teasing, intimidating or intentionally harassing a wild animal,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming. Waters paid a $1,000 fine.

Some birds will no longer have human names

The American Ornithological Society said in November last year that it would first remove human names from about 70 to 80 species of birds in the United States and Canada.

Some of the birds that have been renamed include Anna’s Hummingbird, Gambell’s Quail, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Bewick’s Wren and Bullock’s Yellow Harrier.

“We are increasingly recognizing that some names are offensive or derogatory and cause distress to people, so these names must be changed to remove barriers to their participation in the world of birds,” the organization said.

Longest Burmese python ever captured

Jake Waleri, 22, captured a 19-foot-long Burmese python on film, the longest python ever recorded and as tall as a giraffe.

The female snake was seen at Big Cypress National Preserve in July, swooping down on Valery before he taped her mouth shut and took her to the preserve.

Burmese pythons are considered an invasive species in Florida and, without any natural predators, have decimated the populations of other animal species. Therefore, no license is required to kill snakes in Florida, as long as one does so humanely.

A Portuguese dog beats death to become world’s oldest dog

Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo dog, broke the Guinness World Record in February as the oldest dog and possibly the oldest dog ever.

Bobby was 30 years old but was supposed to be buried as a newborn because a Portuguese couple had so many animals they didn’t know what to do with. But somehow, Bobby survived.

One of the couple’s sons, Leonel Costa, who owned Bobby, suspected that Bobby’s brown fur had gotten into the shed where he was kept, causing his father to neglect him on the day of Bobby’s final days Bobby.

A rare, spotless giraffe is born at a Tennessee zoo

In July, a spotless reticulated giraffe was born at the Blades Zoo in Tennessee.

The reticulated giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe. The zoo asked people to vote on a name for the calf, and ultimately settled on “Kipekee,” which means “unique” in Swahili.

Kipeki was thought to be the world’s only spotless reticulated giraffe at the time, but one was discovered in a reserve in Namibia last September.

According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, there are only about 16,000 reticulated giraffes left in the wild, a decrease of more than 50% from 35 years ago.

An otter in Santa Cruz is stealing surfboards

In Santa Cruz, California, multiple videos show southern sea otters hijacking surfboards.

The otter, dubbed “Otter 841,” reportedly had multiple interactions with humans over the summer. Although many people find this interaction cute or funny, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discourages this behavior and warns people to stay away from this animal.

The otter, who was born in captivity but was released in 2020, has been acting strangely since September 2022. The Monterey Bay Aquarium told NPR in July that if they were to capture her, she would spend the rest of her life there.

But last October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that otter 841 had given birth, a surge in hormones that could cause the otter to become aggressive. The agency said they had no plans to capture her or her puppies.

‘Hank the Tank’ broke into Lake Tahoe homes 21 times

A bear in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., has been nicknamed “Tank Hank,” with authorities saying the male was behind “152 reports of conflicting behavior.”

But it turns out that it was three separate adult bears that landed in the town, and the main perpetrator was actually a mother bear with her three cubs following her on her mission.

Despite this, “Hank”, also known as Bear 64F, was responsible for at least 21 break-ins. Normally, she would have been euthanized, but public resistance prevented that from happening.

Instead, she and her three cubs were moved to a shelter.

Watch a gray whale give birth on a whale watching trip

Visitors on a whale watching tour off the coast of Dana Point, California were lucky enough to spot a gray whale giving birth.

Visitors feared the whale had encountered a predator after seeing a pool of blood. But they soon saw a smaller tail fin, or tail, poking out of the water.

The mother whale and her calf, known as the “cow,” rub against each other as the mother lifts the whale. A newborn whale’s tail fin does not harden for about 24 hours, making it difficult to swim.

Whales also touch each other frequently to get to know each other because they don’t smell like land mammals.

There’s a snake in the cockpit

In April, a pilot was flying through South Africa when he felt a cold sensation under his shirt. He looked down and spotted a cobra, a snake whose bite could kill a man in less than an hour.

Fortunately, Rudolf Erasmus and his passengers remained calm and made an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

The snake did not attack anyone and was not spotted after the plane landed.

A bus designed for puppies

“Puppy Bus” has taken the internet by storm. Various TikTok photos show dogs waiting to be picked up by Mo Mountain Mutts, a dog walking and training service, outside in snowy Alaska.

Some videos show dogs walking up bus stairs and plopping themselves into seats, while a dog lying in the snow starts wagging its tail as the bus approaches.

“There’s a lot of different dogs on the bus, a lot of different breeds and ages, so there’s a lot of dogs on the bus that you can relate to,” said Mo Thompson, owner of the Moshan mutt. “So people will say, ‘Oh, I ‘s dog is like Lola,’ or ‘I’m just like Carl.'” They identify themselves just like dogs. “

Once picked up, the dogs go on walks, hikes and swims.