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- Animal lovers are known for doting on their pets but you won’t believe the lengths these humans go to for their furry and feathered friends
- From wildlife conservation to dog rescues meet the people working working hard to keep animal species safe
- Read on to find out where you can follow their journeys!
Living the wild life
Wildlife conservationist Freya Aspinall has lived with beautiful creatures her whole life – from gorillas to giraffes.
Growing up in the UK, her father Damian set up the Aspinall Foundation and the family have committed their lives to their work to rescue wild animals and return them to their natural habitat.
‘I grew up and still live at an animal sanctuary, but it really has become my sanctuary,’ Freya, now 21, told Mission.
Some of the animals she’s lived with are even older than her! Two of her gorgeous gorilla siblings, Silverback Kifu and Tambabi, are both in their late thirties.
And the devoted animal activist has also hand-reared many of her fur friends. She’ll sleep with lion cubs, such as sweet Zemo and Zala, and will set alarms throughout the night to feed the little bubs.
‘If anyone says the lions are humanised or domesticated, no. If anything, they lionise me. I literally become a lion – I speak lion. Hand-rearing is the last option possible, but I am their mother figure’
Freya told The Times.
Amassing hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, people from all over the world can see Freya’s life behind the scenes and be educated on the correct way to deal with precious wildlife.
And her answer is the zoo.
‘How would you like it? We all hated [the Covid] lockdown, we thought it was outrageous, and these animals are in permanent lockdown. We’ve imprisoned them,’ she told ABC News , adding that zoos are ‘one of the biggest cons on earth’.
Pawfect Pad
Dog lover Paige has a tiny house for her pooches. As someone who rescues dogs with a multitude of different needs, her tiny house for pups has everything they need to live a wonderful and happy life.
There’s a disability-friendly ramp that leads onto the verandah for the paralysed pups who require wheelchair assistance.
When you open the door, there is a stack of shelves with leashes, poo bags and place mats for doggy bowls.
There’s also a loft to store doggy carriers and more wheelchairs.
And it wouldn’t be the perfect dog house without a backyard for the pups to play in.
It also gives Paige a chance to clean the tiny house while the dogs run around outside – although sweet pup Richard loves to hang out inside with Paige while she mops and scrubs!
‘Last but not least, no tiny house would be complete without plenty of comfortable bedding for the animals,’ Paige explained on TikTok.
Birdy’s bounty
It might be hard to believe a sweet little bird is raking in more cash than most people do in a year, but this is the reality for Bernard Henry’s quail Finn.
Bernard runs Fat Hen Farms, a family owned egg and flower farm. He told WTNH that he’d raised chickens for about 10 years, before he began adopting emus, a peafowl and quails.
Bernard was studying to be a doctor when he decided to devote his life to animals instead.
And he and gorgeous quail Finn have a particularly special bond.
They are like two peas in a pod, wearing matching outfits – especially adorably quirky hats.
And after making funny videos together for social media, the pair are earning up to tens of thousands of dollars every month.
I just like posting my passion for raising birds. Who knew it would become a full time job, Bernard wrote on Instagram.
Now Finn stars in his very own children’s book that Bernard and his husband Michael co-wrote – The Imaginary Adventures of Finn: The Missing Sunflower Seeds.
What a tremendous birdy!
