Surf Dude

Alpaca on board

Surfing is a passion in many countries but have you ever heard of animals that surf? Meet Pisco, the Peruvian alpaca who catches the waves with owner Domingo Pianezzi. The alpaca is a domesticated Andean highland animal that resembles a small llama. And before Pisco, the 44-year-old avid surfer has also taught a dog, a cat, a parrot and a hamster to surf. A dog is understandable — in fact there are surfing competitions for dogs and their owners — but why an alpaca? The sight of people surfing with their koalas and kangaroos on his last trip to Australia inspired Pianezzi to teach the sport to an animal unique to Peru. Good thing we don’t have the sport in India; who’ll teach a tiger or an elephant to surf!

Hot dog

Wonder wings

A sniffer dog that is part of the Austrian special forces recently joined his human colleagues on a parachute jump during military exercises in Narvik, Norway. Strapped to his handler and with a muzzle to stop him damaging his mouth on landing, the Belgian Shepherd dog plunged 10,000ft. His handler says that this isn’t the first time he has done it; he seems to enjoy the jump and has a much cooler head than most recruits. The height doesn’t scare him at all but the roar of the plane engines does!