Animateca

The six-year-old male Bengal regularly dives into a large glass-fronted tank to gobble up chunks of meat in front of amazed crowds at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Zoo in Vallejo, near San Francisco. He is about 10ft long from nose to tail, and is an excellent swimmer. White tigers - the colour is caused by an unusual genetic combination - are rare in the wild, although there are several dozen in zoos. Odin was hand-raised at the zoo. And after he was weaned, his British trainer Lee Munro discovered his remarkable skill: when a lump of meat was thrown into a pool of water, Odin would happily dive in after it. In fact, although Big Cats generally do not like water, tigers of all types have been spotted taking to the water to hunt and even to bathe for pleasure. Odin can now be observed in action - a large pool with glass walls has been constructed at the zoo to allow visitors to watch him gliding through the water with all the grace of a polar bear. Tragically, within our lifetimes, zo...

Tina Burch / AP Dockweiler State Beach, Los Angeles

© AP Newborn tiger cubs with their mother in Harbin city Zoo, China. © Elmer Martinez / AFP Jaguair Moncho. Zoo in Honduras. © China Daily / Reuters Lion-cubs in Boju, China Zoo. © Yuriko Nakao / Reuters Snow owl in japan zoo. © Tom Uhlman / AP Rhinocero in Cincinnati Zoo. © Joe Klamar / AFP Two Shar Peis (sisters Betsy and Dotty) on the dog show in Slovakia © Yuriko Nakao / Reuters Mother bulldog feeds leopard cat. Japan © Susan Biddle / The Washington Post On Batterfly show in Brookside Gardens, Wheatons, USA. © Nancy Chan / AP Camel Dacar in Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, California. © China Daily / Reuters Cocks soccer. These cocks are training more them 3 months. China. © Ann Heisenfelt / AP Flamingoes St.Pol city Zoo, Minnesota, USA.

See more: Wet cats