Animals

A 37-year-old surfer was tragically killed in a shark attack in Australia this week, authorities announced Tuesday.

The Western Australia Police Force said the incident occurred at around 12:10 PM on Monday at Wharton Beach.

Officials said they recovered the man's surfboard in the immediate aftermath of the encounter -- and it had bite marks on it. The surfer's body, though, has still not yet been recovered.

One pigeon had a feather-raising escape after panicking and beelining straight into a ceiling fan, just a split second after landing on a food influencer’s head ... and the incident was caught on video.

Content creator Shanise Lozzi was live-streaming a food review at Kedai Kopi, a coffee shop near the Geylang Serai Bazaar in Singapore Monday, when the pigeon swooped in and tried to land right on her head.

You can see Shanise immediately clutch her head in panic with one hand, ducking as she looks up ... only to find the pigeon heading straight for the ceiling fan.

Katherine Heigl says her efforts to save animals from death row are being sabotaged by a rogue rescue group that's spreading a whole lot of dog s*** about her foundation ... TMZ has learned.

Katherine and her mom, Nancy, run the Jason Heigl Foundation -- named after Katherine's late brother -- which supports animal rescue efforts, particularly saving animals from kill shelters. Awesome work, for sure.

Now, according to a new lawsuit, the Heigls' org signed a deal to support The Pitty Committee, which is a Santa Monica-based dog rescue. The deal was Katherine's foundation would give TPC $5,000 per month to rescue a minimum number of pups of Katherine and Nancy's choosing.

A$AP Rocky had to use a lil muscle in his latest photo shoot ... thanks to his furry model companions who gave him a workout!!!

The Harlem rap star was recently in his old neighborhood for a Vogue photo shoot, with a pair of excited Dalmatians ready to burst off their leashes!!!

Rocky channeled his inner Cruella de Vil with a long, spotted trench coat and flashed a smile -- but clearly struggled to keep Pongo and Perdita sitting still with just one arm.

Another celebrity power couple in Southern California just welcomed new offspring into their flock this week ... but you'll need to check out their webcam to get a closer look!

Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles living high up in a tree in Big Bear Valley -- about two hours east of L.A. -- welcomed two new eaglets late Monday night and Tuesday morning, and a camera captured the moment live as two of three eggs finally broke open after weeks of anticipation.

Jackie and Shadow have had eaglets before -- in 2019 and 2022 -- but they lost a pair of eggs in 2023 to a brutal encounter with ravens, and lost three more in March 2024 when snowy weather buried Jackie and the eggs.

Gene Hackman's two dogs that were found alive when authorities searched his home are safe and in the care of local officials.

According to a sheriff's press release, Santa Fe County Animal Control is reportedly working with Hackman’s family to “ensure the safety of the two dogs.”

Gene and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, had three dogs -- one of which was found dead by deputies inside a bathroom closet. The German Shepherd was lying 10-15 feet away from Arakawa, who was also found deceased on the bathroom floor -- with prescription pills scattered nearby.

Legendary actor and two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman has been found dead inside his Santa Fe, New Mexico home alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog, TMZ has confirmed.

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were discovered Wednesday afternoon, with Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirming the news just after midnight on Thursday.

The sheriff's office reportedly told NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque a welfare check was conducted at his home after a concerned neighbor called the police.

Gene Hackman's death and the deaths of his wife and dog are puzzling authorities, who have labeled his passing "suspicious."

According to a search warrant, obtained by TMZ, a Santa Fe detective who sought a search warrant wrote in his affidavit, he believes "the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened."

The detective continues, "Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is mourning the loss of his beloved French Bulldog, Hobbs.

The heartbroken "Fast X" star announced on Instagram late Monday night his pup passed over the Rainbow Bridge ... vulnerably writing he feels "numb over this loss."

He added, "We're so grateful for every ounce of pure love he gave our entire family and we’re so grateful he didn’t suffer long as he quietly and bravely left in the night."

A plane in Brazil was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird smashed into its nose ... and, from the size of the damage, many might wonder if they're breeding pterodactyls in the country.

Photos of the Airbus A321 have been released ... with a massive hole marring the front of the aircraft. Alongside the dent is a huge hole exposing the interior of the aircraft -- all caused by one bird, according to officials.

According to reports ... the LATAM Airlines plane hit a bird shortly after taking off from Brazil's Galeao Airport in Rio de Janeiro, heading for São Paulo Thursday morning -- and, it was forced to immediately turn and land back at Galeao.

Hurricane -- the Secret Service dog that took down an intruder outside the White House in 2014 -- may be gone ... but, the Service honored his heroism one more time before he passed.

Marshall Mirarchi -- Hurricane's handler and close pal -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to talk about the heroic Belgian Malinois ... and, he got teary-eyed early remembering the dog he had for most of his adult life.

Marshall then lays out Hurricane's last day ... saying he took him back to Washington, D.C. so he could see his old workspace -- the White House -- one more time.

Hurricane -- a Special Operations Canine and the most decorated dog in U.S. history -- has died, according to a statement posted to the official White House account.

According to the post -- which calls Hurricane a "true American hero" -- Hurricane bravely defended the White House for years ... before he unfortunately had to be put down this week.

TMZ has obtained pictures of Hurricane's last day ... full of fun times with his handler Marshall Mirarchi and other members of the Secret Service.

An unsuspecting man got a not-so-sweet surprise when he was brutally bitten by a supposedly docile rescued crocodile -- and the terrifying encounter was caught on camera.

The elderly gentleman was just another tourist checking out the "lucky" croc at Indonesia’s Cimory Dairyland, after it was reportedly saved from a flood last week -- but as you can see, the resting croc ignores the man's food offering, and suddenly chomps down on his arm and yanks him into the water.

The footage is straight out of everyone's worst nightmare -- this poor grandpa was tossed around in the water like a rag doll, while onlookers screamed in pure panic.

5:50 PM PT -- The L.A. Department of Health tells TMZ ... "On February 11, 2025, an inspection was conducted at Center for Early Education Cafeteria. The Public Health Permit was suspended due to rodent infestation. The Center for Early Education was instructed to have their caterer provide cold, individually portioned, food items until the violations were corrected and their permit reinstated."

The statement continues ... "An inspection to determine compliance was conducted on February 13, 2025, which revealed no evidence of rodents. The Public Health Permit for the Center for Early Education Cafeteria was re-instated."

The Health Dept. also provided the above inspection reports.

This is gross ... a fancy private school in West Hollywood where celebs pay big bucks to educate their kids is dealing with a recent vermin infestation in its cafeteria.

The Center For Early Education was found to have pests in the areas where meals are prepared and served ... according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Former school of Beyoncé and Jay-Z kids  -- where tuition costs between $27,360 to $36,950 -- and other celeb parents include John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest, Michael Eisner, Jodie Foster ... and Magic Johnson and Denzel Washington's kids have gone there, too.

One kayaker made a lucky escape and now lives to tell the tale after being swallowed whole by a humpback whale -- and it was all caught on camera!

The video is absolutely wild -- Adrian Simancas was kayaking the choppy Strait of Magellan waters off Chilean Patagonia over the weekend when a humpback whale came out of nowhere and gulped him down like a snack.

No doubt it was a terrifying ordeal ... even though Adrian only had a brief stay in the whale’s mouth, before being spit out and left floating in the open ocean.

Shakira's a she-wolf ... and, she has been set free in a big way -- 'cause she's performing with the support of a giant metallic member of her pack.

The singer-songwriter closed out the first night of her new tour singing her latest big hit, "BZRP: Music Sessions, Vol. 53," with a huge wolf prop appearing onstage as the "Loba" delivered an epic stage comeback after 8 years away.

To add to the aura, the Canis lupus also doggy-paddled into the realm of science fiction ... with cool lasers shooting out of its eyes during the performance -- adding to its intimidation factor.