Chris Weeks / AP
Brent Bloom urges on his frog "Jumping Bob" at the Jumping Frog Jubilee on May 20, 2012 in Calaveras County, Calif.
The Jumping Frog Jubilee at the Calaveras County Fair was first held in 1928, inspired by a short story written by Mark Twain. The event is taken extremely seriously by the competitors, who have to adhere to a long list of rules and regulations.
Chris Weeks / AP
Daz Belt and his frog "Over the Edge" compete at the Jumping Frog Jubilee.
Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters
Boston University manager in Facilities Management and Planning and beekeeper William Murray removes a chair covered in a swarm of bees at the Boston University commencement 2012 in Boston, Mass., May 20.
From the University of Nebraska's Entomology Department:
Honey bee swarms are a favorite topic of people who make horror movies. Actually, they are one of the most beautiful and interesting phenomena in nature. A swarm starting to issue is a thrilling sight. A swarm may contain from 1,500 to 30,000 bees including, workers, drones, and a queen. Swarming is an instinctive part of the annual life cycle of a honey bee colony. It provides a mechanism for the colony to reproduce itself.
Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters
A swarm of bees covers a chair in the audience seating at the Boston University Commencement 2012 in Boston, Mass., May 20.
Submitted by Sarah Zullo / UGC
Rub-a-dub-dub, two pups in a tub! Rusty and Scout take a bath.
We asked you to show us your wet pets, and your response has been overwhelming! From dogs to horses, you sent us photos of your pets taking baths, dipping in pools, and enjoying (or not) a variety of activities involving good old H2O.
This will be the first of a few posts we'll publish featuring your wet pet photos, so stay tuned for more! As for now, try to fight the urge to grab your towel as you take a look at the photos below.
Submitted by Anna Wohlgemuth / UGC
What a view: Yukon in the lake.
Submitted by Crystal Walko / UGC
Ferreting out trouble: Barrell gets clean in the tub.
Submitted by Jennifer Tyner / UGC
Up close: Lucy at the beach.
Submitted by Julie Thimsen / UGC
A horse, of course! Surf gets a bubble bath.
Submitted by Adrienne Tanner / UGC
Why me? Rhea, unhappily, takes a bath.
Submitted by Krystal Sutterfield / UGC
Just keep swimming! Lexi goes for a swim.
Submitted by Megan Pritchard / UGC
Izzy and Boogs fresh out of the lake!
Submitted by Jennifer Paukner / UGC
Seeing double: Jersey and Gobo on a hot day.
Submitted by Shelley McGraw / UGC
Annie cools down in the pool.
Submitted by Kelly Mitchell / UGC
Porterhouse loves his kiddie pool!
Submitted by Christine Massaro / UGC
Living the good life! Giovanni gets a blueberry facial.
Submitted by Alison Markstone / UGC
Why are you doing this to me? Jixer is ready to get out of the bathtub.
Submitted by Allison Lynch / UGC
Look out! Porter shakes off after a swim.
Submitted by Andrea Lee / UGC
Mordecai (obviously planning revenge) isn't happy after this bath.
Submitted by Toni Lasoff / UGC
Brady is all clean after his bath.
Submitted by Jim Jennings / UGC
Comet takes a summer swim.
Submitted by Mallory Kerley / UGC
Bentley's all wet after running through the sprinklers.
Submitted by Kathleen Keala / UGC
Bobo's first bath. I sense skepticism...
Submitted by Kevin Herrmann / UGC
Jasper has fun swimming at the lake with Willie.
Submitted by Carrie Giao / UGC
I'm not sure about this bath thing...
Submitted by Kelly Evans / UGC
Wide-eyed and wet: Apple's first bath.
Submitted by Maylee Dumas / UGC
Lola loves swimming in lakes, pools and running through the sprinklers.
Submitted by Sarah Erdmann / UGC
The perfect size: Mack loves his kiddie pool!
Submitted by Corin Dorio / UGC
Kubrick looks regal after his bath.
Submitted by Lori Appleton / UGC
Charlie and Riley take a dip in a lake.
Submitted by Melissa Brode / UGC
Riley running on the beach.
Submitted by Luciana Boehl / UGC
Duck and cover! Mr. Phoo at bathtime.
Submitted by Emily Bloomfield / UGC
Is it over? Maverick's first bath.
Submitted by Misty Bencak / UGC
Catch me if you can! Bronco and Mack play keep-away.
Haven't sent us your wet pet photo yet? Submit it here!
More:
TODAY.com producer Lisa Granshaw is excited to show off more of your wet pets soon!
Julie Larsen Maher
Otterly adorable: The Prospect Park Zoo's new trio of North American river otters
For the first time since 1956, three North American river otters have been born in a New York City zoo. Just this past February, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn welcomed the arrival of the three pups above to doubtlessly proud parents Dixie and Oogie.
While the plight of the river otter in the wild involves an ongoing struggle against habitat loss, unregulated trapping and pollution, conservationist organizations like the WCS are making great strides in protecting the future of the species.
These three little pups, meanwhile, are coming along just fine, as can be witnessed in this video of them having a grand old time frolicking in their new surroundings.
More:
Otter pups debut at L.A. zoo
Wildlife rescues
Weird and wild pet Web videos
Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol
A search and rescue team save William, a 7-year-old Arabian show horse, after he swam nearly three miles into the ocean.
As the sun set over Loon Point near Santa Barbara on Tuesday evening, waves crashed onto the sand, apparently spooking an Arabian show horse named William.
William, a 7-year-old grey stallion, had been part of a photo shoot with other horses. Frightened, he bolted into the surf.
He started to swim. And swim. And swim until he was nearly three miles offshore, headed for oil rigs.
On land, a team of four from the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol, Carpenteria-Summerland Fire Water Rescue, and California State Parks set out to find the horse, whose official name is Air of Temptation. His owner, Mindy Peters, told Huffington Post that he had never been swimming in his life.
RAW VIDEO: William, an Arabian show horse whose official name is Air of Temptation, bolted into the surf Tuesday evening, swimming three miles offshore. A team of four search-and-rescuers saved him, slowly swimming him back to shore.Â
"Horses can swim, but not well,” she told HuffPo. Peters was driving when she learned about her sea horse and immediately bee-lined to the beach. She said William is worth about $100,000 to $150,000.
Ryan Kelly, a Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officer, was the first on site, heading out with a small motorboat. Overhead, a helicopter searched as well.
As the sun set further, the team worried they were losing light. But after a half hour search, they saw a nose and part of a face peaking above the water.
“It was a real needle-in-a-haystack kind of find,” Kelly told msnbc.com. “He looked like every other bird that was just sitting on the water.”
William was drifting with the current but still heading out to sea. When he saw the search and rescue team, he appeared startled but also exhausted.
They corralled the horse and used boathook to grab his reins. They made a makeshift harness to slip under his saddle and tie to the side of the rescue boat. They wanted to keep him buoyant so he wouldn’t sink and drown from exhaustion.
The return took two hours, because the horse moved at about a mile an hour. It was also occasionally scary for the rescue team.
“Some of the grunts and noises he was making along the way -- we weren’t sure how he was doing,” Kelly said. “We weren’t sure if he had other problems. He was making noise, thrashing around and other times he’d be completely still.”
One of the firefighters held his head above water and reassured him, Kelly said.
“It’s going to be all right,” the firefighter said, according to Kelly, petting the horse's head.
Once they hit the beach, the rescue team handed William off to a crew on paddle boats.
Waiting for William was a veterinarian who guided him to a trailer. William is now recuperating.
Peters, who has owned William for a little over a year, told HuffPo that her family was “scared to death we were going to lose him, that he was going to drown.”
“He is absolutely part of our family,” she said.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Andrey Smirnov / AFP - Getty Images
A woman looks at an elk standing on a lawn at a residential area in eastern Moscow, May 16. An elk family of bull, cow and calf wandered into a residential area in the eastern part of the Russian capital, close to Losiny Ostrov (Elk Island) National Park, Russian media reported.
Apparently the elk that live in nearby Losiny Ostrov National Park have been roaming beyond the park's borders and coming into close contact with Moscow residents. It looks like this woman had a very close encounter with one of them.
[note: if you live in North America, you likely know the Eurasian elk as a moose].
Matt Cardy / Getty Images
From cute cygnets and mini-monkeys to lemurs and a baby elephant, get your cuteness fix with irresistible photos of creatures great and small.
Want more cute animal photos? Follow us on Pinterest!
An eight-year-old cat enjoys a daily vacuuming after spending the morning chasing birds and mice in the garden. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
For the owner of this cat, grooming is a snap: "My cat loves getting attacked with the vacuum cleaner," she wrote on YouTube, where she posted this video Monday.
Hey, whatever you gotta do to keep a clean house!
More: A mother's love: Yorkie adopts five kittens
Hank, cat for senate, responds to attack ad
Baby aardvark drinks from a bottle, makes kangaroo friend
Video: Rare gorilla video deemed 'best images'
This feline feels the Force! Cat sits upright to watch 'Star Wars'
The World Conservation Society is sharing this glimpse of Cross River gorillas, the rarest of the great apes.
Researchers share a glimpse of one of the world's rarest animals called "Cross River gorillas" after setting up cameras in Africa. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
They seldom make a public appearance, even for the field researchers who study them. So when conservationists were startled to actually catch the gorillas on video when they set up remote cameras in Cameroon’s Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary.
Researchers recorded eight Cross River gorillas taking a casual walk in the woods. You can see a male silverback’s chest-beating display along with a gorilla with a missing hand. Though healed, the injury attests to the gorilla’s past encounter with a snare. The area is now a protected area with guard patrols to enforce efforts to save the endangered animals.
Conservationists believe there are fewer than 250 Cross River gorillas in the wild.
These dogs hadn't felt grass under their paws or the sun on their fur in seven years of laboratory life. But when the Beagle Freedom Project and Four Paws Coonhound Rescue and Friends let 20 lab research beagles loose on Thursday, it didn’t take long for them to leave their crates behind.
Brought to Los Angeles from San Diego, the 10 hounds are among 67 beagles the organization has rescued from labs. This particular rescue stands out, however, due to the age of the dogs. Seven is easily senior territory for a beagle, which makes it all the more important to find the right families to help them live out their golden years.
Beagle Freedom Project via twitter/BeagleFreedom
Freedom! These rescued beagles enjoy some time in the sun.
But first on the agenda: medical treatment and foster homes, which is handled on a case-by-case basis.
“We have to take into account their personalities," Shannon Keith, president and founder of the Beagle Freedom Project, told TODAY.com. "We have one who is so fearful of humans that he won’t let them near him, so he’s going to need more rehabilitation. Some of the dogs are already playing and enjoying being touched by humans — they’ll probably be ready for their 'forever-homes' in a week or so.”
Beagle Freedom Project via twitter/BeagleFreedom
Enjoying their third day of sunshine, these San Diego lab rescue beagles practice their first walks on a leash.
According to the organization's website, there's no information available about what the dogs experienced while being used for research, which can add additional challenges.
In the meantime, temporary, loving, foster homes are important.
Shannon Keith
Beagles are chosen for use in labs because of their loving and forgiving nature.
“These animals thrive in a home environment, especially one with another dog so they can learn how to be a dog,” Keith said
This is not the first beagle rescue the organization has facilitated. The second one, which happened last June, is the most well known — the touching YouTube video has over 3.5 million hits. But Keith recalls the first rescue as the one she holds closest to her heart.
“We rescued two beagles, and although I knew ... that beagles were often used in lab research, I’d never met one that had been released from a lab before,” she said. “When we put their crates down on the grass, on this beautiful, sunny day, you would have imagined they’d think, ‘Freedom!’ and gone running. But no, it took 15 or 20 minutes to get them out of their crates. And one of them, once out, fell over from lack of muscle tone.”
Shannon Keith
These rescued beagles will need some extra love and care since they are not accustomed to life in a home.
But that’s where this tale starts wagging.
“They started running. And running. And they just didn’t stop,” Keith said. They’ve since been placed in happy homes.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area and interested in fostering or adopting, you can find more information on the Beagle Freedom Project website. Keith acknowledged that adopting one of these special dogs isn’t for everybody — as you might guess, there are some challenges unique to dogs coming from this background. But, there are plenty of other ways to help. Donations to alleviate the often exorbitant medical costs associated with rescuing animals used in research labs are always in demand, and you can find an entire wishlist of items the organization needs.
More:
Just in time for Mother's Day Julie Scardina, Seaworld Busch Gardens Animal Ambassador, brought by some baby animals that only a mother could love. Like a seriously adorable six-week old baby aardvark, who was sweetly bottle-fed by Kathie Lee.
TODAY
TODAY
There was also a mama kangaroo with her baby sticking out of her pouch (!), a fuzzy little emu chick, and, just to delight Hoda, some mother-and-child scorpions.
TODAY
TODAY
TODAY
Julie pointed out that mama scorpions carry their babies on their backs for 7-9 months.
"And they'll never get a thank-you note," said KLG.
More: Give this kid an Oscar! Melodramatic toddler goes viral
Sara on new app: 'This is so easy, Kathie Lee can do it'
Adorable baby in car grooving to Gotye goes viral
Julieanne Smolinski is a TODAY.com contributor. Her all-girl punk band is called Emu Chick.
Kori Stanton
If your cat starts talking during an emergency, try to ignore it and concentrate on staying alive!
When a natural disaster occurs, your pet may not cry out like the cat in the photo above (and if it did, you'd probably be too shocked by your talking cat to care about the earthquake). But you'd still worry about their welfare.
These worries prompted Alex Close to create Save Your Pet Pack. Close, the owner of two cats, noticed a lack of products that seemed comprehensive enough to care for pets during an emergency, so she created her own.
"I love my animals like family, and I know that other people feel the same way about their pets," Close told TODAY.com. "The packs can be used for any type of anticipated or spontaneous disaster: earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods."
The photos of these packs in action caught our attention instantly. They look like they can be helpful and fashionable — for you and your pets!
Alex Close
The pet pack backpack can be worn by your dog so he can carry around his own supplies.
Kori Stanton
Items in the packs include water purifier tablets, pet first aid kit, emergency lightsticks, hypothermia blanket, waterproof document pouch and more that can be specialized for your dog or cat.
The line, which was launched just this spring, includes sling-bags of supplies: some for people to wear, some for pets to wear. According to Close, the bags are designed to free your hands so you can grab other important things, including your pet.
Jean Himebaugh
The pet pack will help you be prepared for an emergency while looking like you're carrying a regular bag.
"Our pets depend on us for everything. They cannot fend for themselves, so it’s up to pet parents to look out for the safety and well-being of their animals," Close said.
Wondering what else you can do to prepare for an emergency? Here are some of Close's top tips for how pet owners can plan ahead:
Alex Close
Pets and owners often get separated during emergencies. If your dog is wearing his pet pack, anyone who finds him will be able to use the supplies to take care of your pet.
Kori Stanton
The bag may be bigger than the dog, but in an emergency this little guy will need everything inside this pack.
Learn more about the Save Your Pet Pack and find more emergency tips here.
More:
Want more cute animal photos? Follow us on Pinterest!
Lisa Granshaw is a writer and producer for TODAY.com. When she gets a pet she is definitely going to teach it to yell out the names of natural disasters.
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