Animal Photos Of The Week

This week, the world learned more about what may be the first-ever liliger. Born last month at a zoo in Russia, Kiara is the offspring of a lion and a liger -- which is a cross between a lion and a tiger. Find images of Kiara the liliger in the slideshow below, and read more here.

This was also a good week for animal rescue news. In this video, a "hero" pigs saves a baby goat from drowning. Students in Australia rescued a koala from a mine shaft, twice. After climbing out on a branch, the animal fell back down and had to climb up again.

In Florida, a 66-year-old man rescued his pet dog by wrestling a 130-pound alligator. Steve Gustafson told the Orlando Sentinel, “For whatever reason, I don’t know, I just yelled, ‘You’re not going to get her!’ and just leaped on the gator… just like you do some silly belly flop in a pool. The only difference was I landed on top of a gator.”

Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, a field biologist helped recuse a rare white sea turtle hatchling that was too weak to swim on its own. Brought to the Marine Science Center in Volusia County, the turtle recuperated and was soon released into the wild.

Oscar nominated actor Casey Affleck recently teamed up with PETA to expose the "inhumane" practice of dehorning dairy cows. Watch the graphic video featuring Affleck here.

Below, find some of this week's cutest and most captivating animal photos: