Wildlife authorities rescued an endangered Malayan tiger from a wire snare that sliced the big cat’s paw to the bone.

WWF’s Wildlife Protection Unit made the sad discovery of a male tiger writhing in agony as he tried to pull free of a cruel wire snare set by poachers in the Belum-Temengor forest complex.

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A female pangolin was rescued after straying into an urbanized area of coastal Neelankarai and making her way into a garden.

Unfortunately, the rapid development of the Neelankarai area is crowding into the surrounding wildlife habitat, and has required the recent rescue of many small animals by forest department officials. However, this was the first time a pangolin had been rescued from someone’s home, according the the Times of India.

The pangolin apparently climbed up a compound wall in order to get into the home’s garden. Officials from the animal rescue and rehabilitation center in Velachery were called, and were surprised to find the pangolin in such a populated area. One of the wildlife officers told TOI that there is a population of pangolins at nearby Guindy National Park.

The pangolin was taken to the animal rescue center and is to be released, presumably at Guindy National Park.

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Tourists at a Chinese aquarium were witness to a dramatic and highly unusual rescue bid, after a beluga whale rescued a drowning diver by pushing her out of the water.

The diver, called Yan Yung, had been taking part in a breath-holding competition in a 6-metre deep pool when she was struck with painful cramps in her legs at the aquarium at Harbin Polar Land in the country’s north-east Heilongjiang province.

“Maybe I was too nervous, and my legs had sudden cramps,” explained Yung. “I never dive into the water so deep and so cold. I was so nervous then. When I was choking with water and plummeting to the bottom, a sudden force pushed me out of the water.”

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A New Zealand woman was rescued freezing and exhausted from the sea yesterday after a playful dolphin prevented her return to shore.

Eyewitnesses at the town of Mahia noticed the woman was at sea with the dolphin, known locally as Moko, for some time late yesterday afternoon, before she began screaming for help.

Speaking about the incident, Juanita Symes the manager of a local bar said, “My uncle Ian was down at the beach getting some salt water and he heard her screaming. He came running into the restaurant and said to me ‘there’s a girl stuck on the buoy and Moko won’t let her come back in.”

“At first I thought he was joking. Then another guy ran in from the beach and said we needed to get help.”

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A French bus driver working in Germany has been suspended from work after she stopped her double-decker bus to save a frog from being flattened under the wheels.

Passengers, already hopping mad because of a 20-minute delay, were incensed when Christina Pommerel, 46, jumped from her seat, rescued the frog, put it in a box and set it free on the side of the road.

Ms Pommerel, who has been driving buses for 13 years in the southern German city of Regensburg, told German daily Die Welt, “I couldn’t just squash it. I did my job and saved a life.”

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This grim development is being monitored by wildlife conservation and rescue groups including WildRescue, operated by Rebecca Dmytryk.

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Officials in Palm Beach County, Florida arrested Heather K. Southworth for felony fraud after exposing her big cat rescue charity as a complete fabrication.

Her non-existent organization, called Rescue: Big Cat Organization, complete with a fictional website, location, staff, and convenient donation link, was outed by The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when they attempted to visit the site and found that no such rescue exists.

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Do you dream of working with animals? Find out how you can volunteer at your local zoo or wildlife rehabilitation center and gain the experience of a lifetime. It’s easy to become involved and easier still to fall in love with this rewarding volunteer activity.

Now you may be asking why anyone in his or her right mind would give up a relaxing Sunday at home to shovel poop, and it’s a fair question. But just imagine yourself bottle-feeding baby sea otters, teaching visitors about habitat conservation, or helping a wounded eagle to learn how to fly. If you admire animals and wish to contribute to their welfare, this is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Volunteering at your nearest zoo is easy, and most zoos offer many ways to get involved. Visit your zoo’s website and follow the links to learn about volunteer programs, or you can contact the zoo directly and ask what opportunities are available. Volunteer duties can range from visitor outreach to animal care giving.

You can also learn about the important role that zoos play in conservation. For example, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle works collaboratively with villages and researchers in Tanzania to reduce conflict between humans and African elephants. In Ohio, the Columbus Zoo plays a key role in repopulating a local, endangered species of mussel. Some zoos may even offer qualified volunteers the chance to become directly involved in exciting conservation programs such as these.

Wildlife rehabilitation centers are another excellent place to get hands-on experience helping animals. Rehabilitation centers focus on treating sick or wounded animals and returning them to the wild. Many centers also offer outreach and education opportunities. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, consider volunteering with the Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito, where you can work directly with baby seals, sea lions, otters, and other local marine mammals. To find a wildlife rehabilitation center in your area, you can search for “wildlife rehabilitation center” and your city at Goodsearch.com, or visit AnimalHelp.com and search for a rehabilitator. To learn more about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, visit The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory.

Amazing hands-on work with animals is a reward in itself, but there are other benefits of taking action to help animals. Each October, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) presents its Animal Action Award to recognize individuals of all ages for contributions to animal welfare. Begin volunteering today with a zoo or wildlife rehabilitation center and by October you may qualify—or you may know somebody who qualifies—for this award.

The Woodland Park Zoo, Elephant Conservation

The Columbus Zoo, Mussel Conservation

The Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito, Volunteer Opportunities

Goodsearch

Animal Help, Rehabilitator Search

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory

IFAW, Animal Action Award Nomination

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jojo79/534619156/