Cute, funny or heartbreaking, animals have helped provide some light relief throughout the mad news year of 2011.
One deft monkey took self portraits with a skill replicated only on MySpace, while a chimp in Thailand learnt how to nurse tiger cubs with bottled milk.
Patient pooches have become internet stars with owner's creative costumes, while Boo the Pomeranian was unofficially named the "world's cutest dog."
A nod has to be given to the BBC's Frozen Planet for providing some of the best animal stories of the year, from podgy penguins to rutting musk ox. Fantastic footage showed fluffy baby polar bears emerging from ice nests and slippery seals sliding into the black depths of the Arctic ocean.
The antics of criminal penguins and blundering bison became hits on YouTube as well as impressing viewers at home. The final episode of Frozen Planet, focusing on climate change, is a warning to all animal lovers to look after our furry or feathered friends,
Smokey the cat made headlines in February with what is thought to be the loudest purr ever recorded.
At over 80 decibels, Smokey’s feline vibrations are equivalent to the noise of a lawnmower, hair dryer or even a Boeing 737 coming in to land.
Northampton owners Ruth and Mark Adams struggle to hear the TV or have a conversation over the din of their musical mogg, who often makes herself cough with the louds purrs, her throat becoming dry after making all that noise.
Smokey's purr is so loud it is starting to reach dangerous levels of sound.
An unattended camera proved irresistible for a crested black macaque monkey in a national park in Indonesia, who snapped a host of grinning self portraits with wildlife photographer David Slater’s camera.
After such picture-perfect shots Slater told the Guardian: "They were quite mischievous, jumping all over my equipment.
"One hit the button. The sound got his attention and he kept pressing it. At first it scared the rest of them away but they soon came back – it was amazing to watch."
An eel that slipped up a man’s penis resulted in emergency surgery after a spa treatment gone wrong in Honghu, Hubei province, China.
The pampering spa-bath is similar to the popular fish pedicures to remove dead skin, but Zhang Nan was in intense pain after the six inch eel swam up his urethra, its slippery body acting as a lubricant. After a three-hour operation the eel was found dead inside the man's body and removed by surgeons. Grim.
Man’s best friend was faithful to his description at a village in China after the grave of unmarried Lao Pan, 68 was guarded by his pet dog for more than a week after he died.
The loyal love of the dog for his owner was so strong that the pet went without food in order to remain close to his master even in death. Villagers brought the pup food and water and planned to build a kennel for the devoted dog next to his owner's grave.
The sight of a chimp feeding two tiger cubs milk thrilled zoo keepers in Thailand, who wanted to challenge Dodo the monkey as he had no fear of the tiny cubs.
Dodo only fails to keep up with the feeds when he spends too much time playing with the cubs, reported keepers at the zoo in south east Bangkok.
However the adorable sight will soon be no longer, as the tiger cubs will be separated from their surrogate mum after growing too big to stay in the same enclosure.
Dog costumes became even more sophisticated in 2011 with Halloween and fancy dress competitions lighting the creative spark in dog owners throughout the world.
The ridiculous, rumbuctious and hilarious outfits that paraded down streets became viral sensations (think tank dog: the little chihuahua dressed as a tank), and no doubt Christmas will bring a whole host of doggy elves, reindeers and flashing festive hats.
This Santa-hatted pug looks in need of an injection of Christmas spirit
Animal lovers got a lump in their throat after watching the antics of Oskar the blind kitten.
Born without eyeballs, the tiny fur ball was scared and still until owners helped him play using his other senses. Given a ball with a bell, the baby tabby bounced about like a normal kitten, tussling with the hot air of a hairdryer as if it was a tangible plaything.
And as rutting season saw the Beast of Bushy Park boink visitors with their horns, a young American buck tried to get a bit too friendly with a blonde girl on the other side of the Atlantic. After she tentatively approaches the deer in order to stroke it, its clear the testosterone laden buck has more 'robust' plans.
Boo the pomerian made his debut in 2011, and was dubbed the 'cutest dog in the world' after amassing millions of fans on facebook. Boo now plans to publish his own book: Boo: the life of the world's cutest dog.
A happy accident was apparently was the key to his popularity, his hair getting so knotted that it had to be cut off. His owner told the Mail:
"The groomer said they wouldn't even be able to get a brush through him.
"I was really upset when I heard that. But when I picked him up, I found he was actually really cute that way."
Is this the cutest dog in the world?
A featherless baby penguin rejected by its parents and left on the icy ground to die was nursed back to health by keepers and finally brought back into its families fold.
Spokeswoman for the LHT Pole Aquarium in China’s Wang Dan said: "In the beginning we tried to send it back to its parents, hoping they would still take care of it and help it grow stronger, but they neglected it and even kicked it out. We then decided to feed it by ourselves".
A round-the-clock penguin feeding group was set up to help the poor penguin gain nourishment and finally the chick grew feathers.
Do you agree that these are the best animal stories of the year? Check out ITN's animal round up below