Fernie the dog helps kids to read

Fernie the dog is helping to give children the confidence to read at a school in Somerset in South West England.

He can understand words written on flash cards,

Fernie is shown words like sit, and turn around then he does the action.

Studies have shown that a school dog calms children down, improves skills and behaviour.

CBBC Newsround

Squirrel caught 'diving' in snow

Everyone's been enjoying the snow this weekend - including this little squirrel in Estonia, Eastern Europe.

Temperatures in the area reached around minus 12 this month. 

He was diving into the snow to find some food - watch this clip to see how he gets on.

So cute!

From CBBC Newsround

Fossils of Star Wars-like mammal found in Spain

Fossils of a mammal that looks like something out of the Star Wars films have been found in Spain.

Researchers discovered the fossils at the La Retama fossil site within the Loranca Basin in the Iberian Peninsula. 

The first palaeomerycids – which all have three horns - were originally described on the basis of fossils from Goergensmund, Germany.

Since then, others have been founds across Europe, with a diverse range found around the Iberian Peninsula and stretching to China.

To work out how the new find fits into the group, Israel M. Sánchez and his team paid particular attention to the creature's T-shaped horn, as well as cranial fragments and teeth. (MailOnline)

The giraffe-like animal has three horns on top of its head. One is much bigger than the rest.

The animal has been given the scientific name Xenokeryx amidalae, meaning strange horn of Amidala. (CBBC Newsround)

It is part of an extinct family of animals related to the giraffe living up to 16 million years ago and has been named in honour of Star Wars character Padme Amidala due to the similarity of its horn to the character's headwear in The Phantom Menace.  

Researchers paid particular attention to the creature's T-shaped horn, as well as cranial fragments and teeth. Cranial remains of Xenokeryx amidalae, including the strange T-shaped horn (A and C) are shown above (MailOnline)

Xenokeryx amidalae lived between 16 and 11.5 million years ago, during the middle Miocene, according to researchers from Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC in Madrid.

It is part of a group of animals called palaeomerycid - strange three horned Eurasian ruminants that have a specialised stomach designed to ferment food.(MailOnline) 

Queen Amidala from Star Wars

The giraffe-like animal has three horns on top of its head. One is much bigger than the rest.

The animal has been given the scientific name Xenokeryx amidalae, meaning strange horn of Amidala.(CBBC Newsround)

Police officer gives donkey a lift in his car

This police officer in Oklahoma, USA picked up an unusual furry character wandering the streets.

'Squishy' the miniature donkey escaped its enclosure and decided to go for a wander down the middle of a busy road.

Officer Kyle Canaan was called out to collect the poor lost fella, and eventually managed to get him safely into his police car, with the help of a few treats!

He then drove Squishy to a local donkey sanctuary, where it will stay while they look for its owner.

From CBBC Newsround

Skateboarding bulldog breaks Guinness World Record

A bulldog called Otto has broken the Guinness World Record for skateboarding through the "longest human tunnel" in Peru.

Otto passed through the legs of 30 people and was presented with an official certificate.(BBC News)

Pugs dress-up in costume for Halloween

Check out this special Halloween costume parade with a difference, it's just for pug-dogs.

Cute aren't they?

The parade was held in Ukraine, where about a hundred pugs showed off their finest costumes.

The devilish-doggies dressed up as spiders, angels, dragons and Halloween themed film characters.

It's simply pug-tastic! (CBBC Newsround)

Stray dogs on the rise in Greece

Animal charities are warning that there are now more than one million stray animals on the streets in Greece.

Greece has borrowed loads of money over the last 10 years or so - both from European banks and from other countries' governments.

Now the country owes billions of pounds, and has signed a deal to help try to get it out of debt.

Find out more about Greece's money problems here.

But this has had a knock on effect on the people living in Greece, and has meant that some of them don't have a lot of money.

Animal charities think this might be one of the reasons why there are more stray dogs and cats on the streets in Greece, as their owners can no longer afford to take care of them.

A group of vets from the UK has flown out to try to help rescue some of the stray animals.

From CBBC Newsround

Thirsty leopard gets head stuck in pot for six hours

An unlucky leopard got its head stuck in a metal pot after wandering into a village in India on Wednesday.

Local media reported that the leopard was thirsty and had become stuck after trying to drink water from the pot.

It took forest officials more than six hours to temporarily put the leopard to sleep and then free it from the pot.

The animal was later released back into the wild.(CBBC Newsround)

Vancouver black bear relaxes in hot tub in Canada

A family had to share their swimming pool with an unexpected visitor at their home in Vancouver, Canada

A black bear decided to take a dip in their pool then climbed into the adjoining hot tub where it seemed to relax for a while.

After around 15 minutes, the bear, which had been tagged by wildlife officials, strolled off, back through the hole it had made in the family's fence. 

 From CBBC Newsround

The animals who love cuddly toys

Doodlebug the orphaned baby kangaroo from Grafton, New South Wales in Australia has been a big hit on social media after getting snapped cuddling a teddy bear, who's his best friend.

So cuuute, all of them!

Doodlebug the baby kangaroo sleeps next to this teddy and gives it cuddles.

But Doodlebug isn't the only animal who has a favourite teddy...

Pudsey the dog from Who Let The Dogs Out prefers to hang out with a teddy bear with his own name - Pudsey the bear from Children in Need.

A zookeeper at ZSL London Zoo is hand-rearing this baby sloth with the help of a soft toy she bought in a gift shop. Now it's a firm favourite.

 Yooranah the koala joey, born at Edinburgh Zoo, likes to cuddle a stuffed toy koala whilst getting weighed.

Iggy the Blue Peter guide dog loves playing with cuddly toys when she hangs out back stage at CBBC.

From CBBC Newsround

Rare baby giraffe takes first steps

A rare breed of baby giraffe has taken its first steps into the outside world. Rotschild giraffes are really rare and must be preserved at any cost!

 

Kidepo was born at Chester Zoo and strode into the sunshine with mum Orla and dad Meru.

He's the most recent addition of rare Rothschilds' giraffes at the zoo, following on from the births of Zahra in December 2014 and Sanyu in June.

Their arrivals have given an important boost to the special breeding programme for the species, which is classed as endangered.

Sarah Roffe, team manager of the giraffes, said: "It'll take Kidepo a little bit of time to get used to his long legs but he already seems confident and full of personality and he's doing very well so far. We're really pleased with how he has taken to the rest of the herd and with how the herd has quickly taken to having him around." (CBBC newsround)

An airport terminal for animals is being built at JFK

A new luxury airport terminal for animals is being made at John F Kennedy airport in New York.

It will have a swimming pool, kennels, stables and even trees for cats to climb.

Around 70 thousand animals fly in and out of the airport every year, with many of them having to stay for a few days to make sure they're not carrying any diseases.

The building, named the Ark, is costing more than $48 million (£30 million) and is planned to open in 2016.

The ARK will have hay-lined stalls for up to 70 horses and 180 cattle, plus an aviary and holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep.

From CBBC newsround

How do pandas survive on bamboo?

Bamboo famously makes up about 99 percent of a panda's diet.

So how do the black-and-white bears from the misty mountains of central China survive on a diet almost exclusively of a low-nutrient food like bamboo?

Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology in Beijing have discovered an answer.

They found pandas have a particularly low metabolism, meaning their bodies burn energy from food very slowly.

A 90 kilogram panda burns less than half the energy of a human with the same weight, scientists have found.

Guzzling bamboo

However, pandas still have to eat a lot of bamboo - one needs up to 23kg a day.

The researchers also found wild pandas rested for more than half of any given day and travelled only about 20 meters per hour.

This is the way they save their energy and make up for their bad digestion.

Critically endangered

The critically endangered panda is the only one of the world's eight bear species with a vegetarian diet.

There are only about 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

From CBBC Newsround

Cat wins 'Hero Dog' award

Tara the cat has been given a National Hero Dog Award in America after saving her six-year-old owner Jeremy when he was attacked in 2014.

Jeremy was ok after and the video of the heroic kitty went viral, attracting over 24 million views.

It has been over a year since the attack happened in California, America, and now Tara has been honoured for her bravery.

The president of the organisation that gave the award said: 'We were so impressed by Tara's bravery and fast action that the selection committee decided that a cat this spectacular should be the National Hero Dog.'(BBC News)

Theropod-the first meat-eating dinosaur goes on show in Wales

This is an artist's impression of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur that was found on a south Wales beach in 2014.

The fossilised skeleton is only now being revealed to the public for the first time.It's a small theropod dinosaur.That's a distant cousin of the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex.It would have stood at about 50 cm high and about 2 metres long.

Nick and Rob Hanigan uncover the fossilised remains inch by inch

Fossil-hunting brothers Nick and Rob Hanigan found it at Lavernock, Vale of Glamorgan. There had been a cliff rock fall.

They have now donated it to the National Museum Wales.

Experts there believe the fossilised remains date back more than 200 million years to the very earliest part of the Jurassic Period.

The theropod is the first meat-eating dinosaur fossil to be found in Wales.

It's also one of the oldest finds from the Jurassic Period in the world.

The fossils show it had lots of small blade-like teeth. That suggests it lived on insects, small mammals and other reptiles.

One of the Dinosaur's fossilised claws

The brothers spent last year carefully preparing five stone blocks to uncover the full fossil, before getting in touch with museum experts.

Meat eating dinosaur on show

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime find," said Nick Hanigan. "Preparing the skull to seeing the teeth of a theropod for the first time in 200 million years was fantastic - you just can't beat that sort of thing."

'Hand' and claw bones

is brother Rob said, "It has always been our intention to donate our dinosaur to the museum for the public and scientists to see and research."

The hip and vertebrae of the Welsh dinosaur called a ''theropod''

-Theropod dinosaur Fact file-

• Location: Fossilised skeleton found on a beach near Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan
• Family: Distant cousin of Tyranossaurus rex
• Era: earliest part of the Jurassic Period 201 million years ago, possibly making it the oldest dinosaur in the world
• Diet: First ever meat eating dinosaur 

From CBBC News

Election 2015: Fox makes a bid for Downing Street

The general election campaign is under way, after Parliament was officially dissolved. Journalists waiting outside 10 Downing Street on Monday morning spotted a fox, apparently chasing a duck.( From BBC News)

We already know how smart and sly foxes are, but this one is much more than that. She revealds really  bold . Maybe this wasn't her first raid on the area and for some reason she didn't feel any kind of threat, so she wasn't afraid of being chased and there she was, right in front of the Prime Minister's official residence, chasin a duck, a delicacy for her sharp teeth enough to fill her belly for the day.

Spot on this video!

Baby hippo born in American zoo

A zoo in America has had a new arrival - a baby hippo!

So cuute!

The new-born calf arrived at the San Diego Zoo earlier this week and has yet to be given a name.

The new mum, Funani, is said to be bonding well with her baby.

But Funani is no stranger to parenthood because she's already given birth 11 times before!

The animal keepers are keeping a very close eye on the pair but say they are both doing well.

From CBBC Newsround

Sumatran tiger cub triplets in 'tip-top shape'

Three rare Sumatran tigers's health are in 'tip top shape' after being examined, weighed and vaccinated by specialist vets at Chester Zoo.

The three cubs together after their health check ups

 

The three-month old cubs, born in January to mum Kirana and dad Fabi, were found to be two males and one female.

"It's really important for us to make sure they're healthy and in good physical condition and we're happy to report that all three of the cubs have been given a clean bill of health," said vet Gabby Drake.

 

Vets and vet nurses from Chester Zoo carefully check over one of the Sumatran tiger cubs

 

Sumatran tigers are found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are the smallest of all tigers and have the narrowest stripes.

"We checked them over as quickly as we could before returning them to their mum Kirana. She's a very good mother and fiercely protective of her young charges, so we certainly didn't want to hang around for long."

 

 





The cubs get a lick from their mother, Kirana, after their check ups

 

Critically endangered in the wild, there are believed to be just 300-400 Sumatran tigers left as they are often targeted by poachers who use their body parts as traditional medicine.

Much of their jungle habitat has also been destroyed.

 

From CBBC Newsround

 



Scientists discover how chameleons change their colour

Scientists in Switzerland think they have discovered how chameleons change colour, and it's all down to crystals.

Chameleons are famous for being able to change colour to blend into their surroundings.A team from the University of Geneva have studied how they do it, and found that special crystals in their skin are responsible.The crystals act as a type of mirror to reflect the colours around the chameleon.These crystals are found in special skin cells chameleons have.

Scientists had thought chameleons change colour using pigment in their skin

And these cells don't just help them change colour, they could also help keep them cool by reflecting light.The study looked into panther chameleons.

It was thought that the colour change happened when the reptiles moved special colour pigment around their skin.

But this latest research thinks that isn't the case, and it's actually down to the special crystals.

From CBBC Newsround

Kai, the abandoned dog gets new owner

Kai, the male Shar-Pei crossbreed had been discovered tied to a rail outside Ayr station in Scotland last 2 January.  There was also a suitcase with its belongings including the dog's pillow,a toy, a food bowl and some food. Althought they tried to find its owner from its chip, it wasn't possible, so it remained in the SPCA wainting for adoption.

Now he has found a new owner

Kai became a superstar overnight - his picture was beamed all over the world and hundreds of people volunteered to take him in.

Offers came from as far away as America, France, Spain and even the Philippines.

Kai's owner revealed

Now Kai's new owner has been named as Ian Russell, an engineer from East Renfrewshire.