A fisherman in Uganda has hunted down and killed a large crocodile after it ate his wife who was collecting firewood close to the edge of Lake Kyoga in the eastern part of the country.

Mubalak Batambuze, 56, was so distraught following the loss of his wife, Demeteriya Nabwire, over the weekend that he armed himself with a spear and hunted down the beast before slaying it. Nabwire was eight months pregnant at the time she was killed by the animal, reports have confirmed. The shoes she was wearing, plus several toes and fingers, were found at the lakeside spot by locals.

Batambuze has been hailed a hero for killing the crocodile, which is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of six other people, as well as a number of severe injuries inflicted on five others in recent months. It measured in at 7.5 metres long and weighed 157 stone, the Uganda Wildlife Authority said.

Peter Ogwang, a spokesman for Uganda’s Wildlife Authority (UWA), said: “We believe this was the same animal that killed the woman.”

According to the UWA, around 30 Ugandans are killed by crocodiles each year.

For better or for woofs

There are few more precious things in this world than the sweet sanctity of marriage and now it seems the dreams of walking down the aisle extends beyond the human species.

Around 40 dogs in the Peruvian capital of Lima have tied the knot in a mass canine wedding ceremony. Wearing white wedding frocks and black tuxedos, the furry pets yapped their vows while their undoubtedly barking mad owners watched on with tears in their eyes.

The district of San Miguel even went as far as to issue wedding certificates to the owners which featured the paw prints of the happy couples. Engraved matching collars, a buffet of meat chunks covered in gelatine and a dance to Baha Men’s appropriately named hit single ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ all followed.

The video below from Sky News captured the magical moment, with some of the pooches seemingly (and understandably) overwhelmed by the gravity of the commitment they had just made.

Who’s a good boy? ….. Huh?!

Loyalty, companionship, the ability to retrieve a stick – these are just some of the fine and admirable qualities that dogs possess.

Intelligence, however, isn’t always that high up on the canine résumé; take everyone’s favourite animal investigator Scooby Doo out of the equation and you would have to admit that problem solving isn’t something that comes naturally to man’s best friend.

Well, a video has gone viral showing the Finnish magician Jose Ahonen giving himself a little ego boost by outwitting a series of hopeless pets. And their simple yet endearing reactions certainly make for great watching.

While these pooches might not be the sharpest tools in the shed, there is one dog out there that you can’t pull a fast one on. In the name of balance it seemed only fair to show this dog in Asia who dutifully stands on guard by his owner’s bike, only to then jump on board for a lift home when master returns.

Chubby hamster become Internet star after its determined under-the-door escape

There are few things quite so undignified as the women on the street who has attempted to defy the laws of physics by squeezing into some jeans that are quite clearly too small for her. We’ve all seen her; we’ve all judged her.

Well, in this video that’s taking YouTube by storm, a hamster shows the same wanton disregard for what onlookers might think as it attempts the impossible by trying to fit through a gap under a door that, at first glance, seems far too small for his chubby frame. What’s extraordinary is that the furry escapee manages it.

Sure to be dubbed the Houdini of hamsters, the video shows this latest animal star of the Internet diligently plotting his escape, sniffing out the widest point of exit before valiantly – if not particularly elegantly – spending a minute shoving its wide rodent behind under the door.

Top marks for effort and credit where it’s due, this hamSTAR defied all the odds to prove everyone wrong. He is now sure to be enjoying the sweet scent of free air.

The runaway animal’s whereabouts are currently unknown but he is thought to be relatively harmless.

OMG TORTOISE.

A tortoise in Hampshire is back on the move after it had its front legs replaced with wheels.

Darren Strand’s shell-wearing pet, Septimus, had his front legs gnawed by rats while it was hibernating in the garden over the winter. When he emerged from his slumber in the spring of 2013 his front feet were so badly injured that they had to be amputated.

The incident served to disprove the misconception popularised by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise, which suggested that rats and shelled reptiles are close allies. However, this is a story with a Hollywood ending all the same.

Following the amputation of its front legs, an innovative solution has seen the wheels from a model aeroplane attached to the reptile’s underbelly using putty, allowing it roam freely once again, albeit at a typically leisurely pace. It is the first time that wheels have ever been used to replace front legs, with similar such procedures only mounting wheels onto the rear of the tortoise.

Owner Strand, a property developer from Gosport, described his pet as “sprightly and sociable”. He added that with his new wheels, Septimus is “really fast” on freshly cut grass or paths, although Strand neglected to comment on any potential risks the 23-year-old reptile might face should he encounter a steep downward hill.

In his allegorical tale of how the tortoise beat the hare, Aesop never threw in the unexpected plot twist that the reptilian racer was actually on wheels. Nevertheless, this is a story that certainly still inspires the same hope with its similarly compelling and unlikely victory for the underdog.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Proving that the British take their pets extremely seriously, one firm has designed a high-vis jacket to be worn by chickens, so as to ensure that they will be able to cross roads safely over the dark winter months.

The ‘High-vis Chicken Jackets’ have been created by chicken coop and accessory firm Omlet, aimed at the increasing number of people who keep chickens as pets, especially in urban areas. The jackets are designed to allow motorists to see them as they cross roads, and to allow their owners to find them and install them safely in their hen houses during the dark winter evenings.

Omlet’s director, Johannes Paul, told The Telegraph: “We had people inquiring about this kind of thing so decided to look into it. Most people who have chickens as pets will have them out and about and we do hear about chickens who do cross the road.

“If you imagine you are in a built-up area and your chicken gets under the fence, they don’t care if there is a road there. They just go straight across it.”

Each high-vis jacket costs £12 and they are already proving to be extremely popular with chicken owners, with the company selling 200 of the items in just ten days. The breathable, showerproof jackets come in both pink and yellow, with the pink version currently proving twice as popular than the yellow for the fashion-conscious birds.

The jackets are fastened over the chicken’s wings with an adjustable Velcro fastening at the front, and also boast a quilted lining to keep the birds comfortable and warm.