Pets

This koala photo is almost guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye.

The little guy wandered back to his home in New South Wales, Australia last week only to find it had been cut down and chipped to pieces by loggers.

A volunteer with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said the koala had been sitting on top of the wood pile for over an hour looking confused:

He was taken to a local veterinarian and released near an established koala colony, but the heartbreaking photo has become emblematic of their struggles.

Severe habitat destruction and a deadly koala chlamydia outbreak have decimated populations and may threaten the iconic species' survival.

The Australian government now lists them as threatened.

In the following video, a series of animals try to stay awake.

That's it. That's the entire video.

But have you ever seen a puppy with his or her eyelids heavy? Attempting as best he or she can to remain awake, alert and active? It's cuter than any Justin Bieber shirtless photo.

Seriously. See for yourself:

Animals Attempt to Stay Awake

Koalas are unique to Australia and have become symbols of the country, but their numbers are in sharp decline and the species' survival may be in peril.

One of the most common places to find a koala these days is in the hospital, and one of the reasons is the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia.

In people, chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease. A different strain infects koalas, but it too can be spread sexually, and it's causing an epidemic.

In some parts of Australia, koala infection rates are as high as 90 percent.

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Without a doubt, Red Pandas were already winning at life.

Acting all cute. Looking like an awesome fox-raccoon hybrid Dr. Seuss critter. Not overhyped like their giant panda brethren. Inspiring the web browser known as Firefox.

They are one cool ass species by any measure, but did you know they could do gymnastics too? Watch one do his thing at a panda preserve in Fuzhou, China.

How many pull-ups can you do, cross-fitters?

Red Panda Pull-Ups

Cats. They rule the Internet. Here's reason #385,201 why.

Our feline companions often amuse us in surprising ways. Like in this case, when an unnamed Russian kitty found the end of a vacuum cleaner hose quite irresistible.

The hose briefly attempts to engulf its face, but the orange cat is undeterred. In fact, he then proceeds to grip it like a bong and hit that piece over and over!

We know. It's a slow news day.

Cat Licks Vacuum Cleaner

Posted on Thursday of last week, this cat video is already approaching 3.5 million views. More than a few of whom have made bong-related comments.

Appropriate, with Saturday being 4/20 and all.

The web basically exists for two reasons: Kate Upton photos and cat videos.

We celebrate the former pretty much every day. But today, it's National Pet Owner's Day (apparently) so raise a glass to your four-legged friends - and yourselves!

Grumpy Cat in a Box

So for all those animals who've made their owners famous (and regular animals who just do their thing at home and not on YouTube), this day is for you.

And for you, owners who pick up filth. Who shell out HUGE $$ at the vet. Who make them part of your family even when they break stuff and bite you.

Bottom line: It's pretty clear who is in charge here. And it's not you.

But hopefully the cuteness and fun stories make up for it. At least you can tell yourselves that. Check out lots more of THG's favorite pets after the jump!

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Sox the cat clearly does not lack for self-esteem.

In the video below, the feline just can't get enough of his reflection, or how cute he looks from every angle. Paws up. Down. Profile. Straight on. FTD.

Perhaps he's a narcissist ... or simply mesmerized by the fact that his paws are reversed in the reflection. Either way, lookin' good Sox. Lookin'. Good.

"People be like 'damn, that's a cold ass kitty'" ...

Cat Poses in Mirror

And the award for Most Adorable Photo in the History of the Internet does NOT go to Justin Bieber!

In a viral photo that is melting hearts around the globe, Cindy Clark - a French Bulldog Breeder from Pennsylvania - has posted an image of a sleeping baby covered in puppies online.

Yes, a sleeping baby covered in puppies! What else needs to be said?

Spring has sprung, which means longer days, warmer temperatures, the occasional topless book club and flocks of birds migrating all over North America.

In the video below, an adorable little girl in British Columbia, Canada, experiences this for the first time as hundreds of honking birds descend on her subdivision.

Watch as the toddler exclaims inaccurately, "Look at all those chickens!"

Look at All Those Chickens!

NOTE: They are actually snow geese, passing through on their way back from wintering in the U.S. en route to their nesting grounds in the high arctic.

In sort of related news ... watch this Canadian goose chasing a gorilla!

And we have a new contender for Video of the Year!

In the following 27-second clip, a Canadian goose makes his way through the Sedgewick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.

What happens when he comes across a 450-pound, 20-year old gorilla named Barney? Like The Honey Badger, this goose just don't care.

But the gorilla certainly does! Click Play now and be taken by hilarious surprise when you see which animal causes the other to scurry away in fear:

Goose Attacks Gorilla