Animals

The U.S. hunting influencer at the center of the #WombatGate mess issued an apology -- but it fell on deaf ears when she went off on the Australian government, calling them hypocrites for letting thousands of animals get killed every year.

Samantha Strable -- AKA Sam Jones on IG -- left the hosts of Australia’s Channel 10 fuming when she bailed on a scheduled interview. Instead, she sent them a pre-recorded video statement, in which she said she regretted pulling the baby wombat away from its mother in the original video last week.

After briefly owning up to her actions, Sam directed people's attention to the government of the nation widely condemning her, claiming officials are funneling millions of Aussie tax dollars into the mass slaughter of native animals.

GRAPHIC WARNING!

New York City officials are springing into action to help the man caught on video eating a dead rat because they think his health might be in danger, TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for City Hall in Manhattan tells us ... they're reaching out to the Health Department to help locate the unidentified man, who was filmed noshing on the rodent while sitting on a sidewalk in The Bronx.

An eyewitness shot the footage Saturday and posted it on social media, which left everyone who saw it horrified, including the woman who filmed it. That woman could be heard gasping as the man bit into the rodent.

GRAPHIC WARNING! Do not watch while eating breakfast.

New York City is well known for its large rat population ... and most people who live there run away from them — but that's not the case with one man, who actually enjoys FEASTING on them.

Yep, you read it right ... check out this disgusting video of the dude — all bundled up — performing an amateur autopsy on the carcass of the dead rodent, while sitting on the sidewalk in The Bronx.

The dog found dead alongside Gene Hackman and his wife likely died from a lack of food and water ... according to an animal control agency in New Mexico.

Gene and Betsy Arakawa's kelpie mix, Zinna, likely died from dehydration and starvation ... according to a necropsy obtained by The Associated Press.

The report says the Santa Fe County animal control agency noted the dog's stomach was empty aside from small amounts of bile and hair.

A police officer in Florida added "deliver" to the whole "serve and protect" motto ... 'cause he took a pizza the last few hundred feet to a house after an alligator in the driveway terrified the delivery driver.

The incident went down in Bradenton -- a suburb of Sarasota -- earlier this week ... when someone called the cops about a huge 8-foot-long alligator hanging out under a parked car in a residential neighborhood.

The responding officer -- identified by the department as Officer Tolson -- calls the Florida Fish and Wildlife department to remove the gator ... but, before they arrive, a pizza deliverywoman comes up -- with an order for the house with the gator in the driveway.

Tourists hoping to marvel at a majestic black panther at a Chinese zoo may have thought they wandered into the hippo section ... because the predator's belly was dragging nearly down to the ground!!!

Superhero movies have given black panthers global notoriety in the past decade, but video from inside the Chengdu Zoo in Sichuan Province this week revealed a jungle cat more closely resembling Garfield.

The fat feline gingerly waddles around the enclosure ... each step appearing to be a calculated task to keep her stomach from scraping the dirt.

A 37-year-old surfer was tragically killed in a shark attack in Australia this week, authorities announced Tuesday.

The Western Australia Police Force said the incident occurred at around 12:10 PM on Monday at Wharton Beach.

Officials said they recovered the man's surfboard in the immediate aftermath of the encounter -- and it had bite marks on it. The surfer's body, though, has still not yet been recovered.

One pigeon had a feather-raising escape after panicking and beelining straight into a ceiling fan, just a split second after landing on a food influencer’s head ... and the incident was caught on video.

Content creator Shanise Lozzi was live-streaming a food review at Kedai Kopi, a coffee shop near the Geylang Serai Bazaar in Singapore Monday, when the pigeon swooped in and tried to land right on her head.

You can see Shanise immediately clutch her head in panic with one hand, ducking as she looks up ... only to find the pigeon heading straight for the ceiling fan.

Katherine Heigl says her efforts to save animals from death row are being sabotaged by a rogue rescue group that's spreading a whole lot of dog s*** about her foundation ... TMZ has learned.

Katherine and her mom, Nancy, run the Jason Heigl Foundation -- named after Katherine's late brother -- which supports animal rescue efforts, particularly saving animals from kill shelters. Awesome work, for sure.

Now, according to a new lawsuit, the Heigls' org signed a deal to support The Pitty Committee, which is a Santa Monica-based dog rescue. The deal was Katherine's foundation would give TPC $5,000 per month to rescue a minimum number of pups of Katherine and Nancy's choosing.

A$AP Rocky had to use a lil muscle in his latest photo shoot ... thanks to his furry model companions who gave him a workout!!!

The Harlem rap star was recently in his old neighborhood for a Vogue photo shoot, with a pair of excited Dalmatians ready to burst off their leashes!!!

Rocky channeled his inner Cruella de Vil with a long, spotted trench coat and flashed a smile -- but clearly struggled to keep Pongo and Perdita sitting still with just one arm.

Another celebrity power couple in Southern California just welcomed new offspring into their flock this week ... but you'll need to check out their webcam to get a closer look!

Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles living high up in a tree in Big Bear Valley -- about two hours east of L.A. -- welcomed two new eaglets late Monday night and Tuesday morning, and a camera captured the moment live as two of three eggs finally broke open after weeks of anticipation.

Jackie and Shadow have had eaglets before -- in 2019 and 2022 -- but they lost a pair of eggs in 2023 to a brutal encounter with ravens, and lost three more in March 2024 when snowy weather buried Jackie and the eggs.

Gene Hackman's two dogs that were found alive when authorities searched his home are safe and in the care of local officials.

According to a sheriff's press release, Santa Fe County Animal Control is reportedly working with Hackman’s family to “ensure the safety of the two dogs.”

Gene and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had three dogs -- one of which was found dead by deputies inside a bathroom closet. The German Shepherd was lying 10-15 feet away from Arakawa, who was also found deceased on the bathroom floor -- with prescription pills scattered nearby.

Legendary actor and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman has been found dead inside his Santa Fe, New Mexico home alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog, TMZ has confirmed.

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered Wednesday afternoon, with Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirming the news just after midnight on Thursday.

The sheriff's office reportedly told NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque a welfare check was conducted at his home after a concerned neighbor called the police.

Gene Hackman's death and the deaths of his wife and dog are puzzling authorities, who have labeled his passing "suspicious."

According to a search warrant, obtained by TMZ, a Santa Fe detective who sought a search warrant wrote in his affidavit, he believes "the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened."

The detective continues, "Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is mourning the loss of his beloved French Bulldog, Hobbs.

The heartbroken "Fast X" star announced on Instagram late Monday night his pup passed over the Rainbow Bridge ... vulnerably writing he feels "numb over this loss."

He added, "We're so grateful for every ounce of pure love he gave our entire family and we’re so grateful he didn’t suffer long as he quietly and bravely left in the night."

A plane in Brazil was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird smashed into its nose ... and, from the size of the damage, many might wonder if they're breeding pterodactyls in the country.

Photos of the Airbus A321 have been released ... with a massive hole marring the front of the aircraft. Alongside the dent is a huge hole exposing the interior of the aircraft -- all caused by one bird, according to officials.

According to reports ... the LATAM Airlines plane hit a bird shortly after taking off from Brazil's Galeao Airport in Rio de Janeiro, heading for São Paulo Thursday morning -- and, it was forced to immediately turn and land back at Galeao.