Animals

Not everyone was eating turkey on Thanksgiving ... 'cause rising star rookie receiver Xavier Legette revealed he chomped down on a raccoon for his holiday dinner!

The Carolina Panthers first round 2024 draft pick revealed the non-traditional Turkey Day meal on the St. Brown Podcast when Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown asked him about something he enjoys eating that others might find questionable.

"I eat raccoon," Legette admitted. "Like a raccoon that you see in the trash."

A pilot in Brazil is being applauded for his calm response to a vulture crashing through the windshield of his plane ... skillfully touching down on the ground, instead of letting the situation turn into a total cock-up.

Check it out ... the pilot calmly and coolly begins his descent into the Brazilian city of Eirunepe ... even though the carcass of a dead bird dangles in his face.

The bird, which appears to be a local vulture, is clearly deceased -- as it remains lifeless and bloody while hanging from the glass shards of the shattered windshield as wind gushes through.

If you thought Jake Paul was done taking on much older opponents, think again ... 'cause his next opponent was born long before the United States of freakin' America was founded -- a 392-year-old shark!!

El Gallo made the silly declaration on social media on Thursday ... joining in on the running joke about his knack for fighting people who have been around a lot longer than him.

In case you missed it, one X user shared a post about an alleged ancient shark that's been chilling in the Arctic Ocean since 1627 ... and everyone had the same response -- Jake Paul's got a new nemesis.

Kris Jenner might have met her match in the cougar department -- a real mountain lion is prowling around her and her daughter Khloe Kardashian's Hidden Hills neighborhood!

Folks in the community tell TMZ ... the big cat was hanging out in a tree Wednesday morning, just a few houses down from Kris' pad, and it casually weaved in and out of tree branches before scaling down in a split second.

Mountain lion, which are native to the nearby Santa Monica Mountains, can hit speeds of up to 50 mph -- and this one wasn't shy about showing off. After a quick hangout on a neighbor's lawn, we're told it darted right back up the tree.

The tragic news of the passing of Kirk Herbstreit's beloved dog, Ben, made its way to the Oval Office ... with President Joe Biden sending his condolences in an emotional letter to the football announcer and his family following the loss.

"Ben brought so much comfort and unconditional love to millions of Americans across our nation," POTUS wrote in the note. "In your most joyful moments and most grief-stricken days, he was there, sensitive to every unspoken feeling and emotion."

"I know what it is like to lose a beloved pet, and I hope you can find some comfort in cherishing the beautiful memories you shared with Ben. He was a good boy."

The American woman who killed and ate a cat -- sparking debunked claims by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance about Haitian immigrants dining on local pets in Ohio -- just got slapped with a year in prison.

Judge Frank Forchione didn’t hold back, calling 27-year-old Allexis Ferrell a "national embarrassment" as he sentenced her Monday ... and defense attorney Stephen J. Kandel tells TMZ she too felt some shame as soon as she came off her drug-fueled high and realized what she did.

Ferrell was arrested in Canton, Ohio in August. Kandel tells us Ferrell's actually a nice person who just majorly messed up after smoking weed laced with PCP, which led to the stomach-turning incident.

It's a big day for the short snout community ... 'cause the first pug in history just won the 2024 National Dog Show.

Vito the pug -- a happy-looking pup with the trademark smushed pug face -- was named best-in-show just minutes ago ... beating out a crowded field of more than 1,900 dogs consisting of more than 200 unique breeds.

Check out Vito's crowning moment ... Verde -- a Welsh terrier with long, luscious locks -- is named Reserve Best-in-Show, a second-place finish.

A woman in Australia got the shock of her life when her garage door opened and she was nearly attacked by a massive python, new surveillance video shows.

Check out the footage from Storyful ... the lady strolls up to her garage outside her home in Queensland as the automatic door raises — and everything seems just fine at first.

But then ... the gigantic snake drops down while attached to the ceiling inside the garage.

Peanut the Squirrel's owners are gearing up for an upcoming legal battle ... filing an official notice of their intention to sue the State of New York for the death of their beloved pet.

Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner filed a notice of their intention to make a claim against the government for the death of Peanut and their raccoon, Fred ... alleging unlawful search and seizure, violation of freedom of speech, and other due process violations.

Longo and Bittner say the incident was the result of negligence, carelessness, and recklessness by the state of NY and its agents ... saying they may have violated due process laws by not revealing to a judge their intention to kill the animals after raiding Longo and Bittner's home.

UConn's live goat gift to Geno Auriemma on Wednesday night has infuriated animal rights activists ... with PETA telling TMZ Sports it didn't think the scene was cool at all.

Officials for the organization said in a statement to us on Thursday it was apparent to them the goat was under duress as a handler brought it onto the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion court to celebrate Auriemma's 1,217th career victory.

PETA claimed the goat "was visibly anxious" -- and to make matters worse, it said the person leading it "either didn't notice or didn't care that his collar was digging into his neck."

Ice Spice took a fun-filled trip all the way to the zoo -- and not just any zoo -- but all the way over in Dubai!!!

The rap star made the long journey from the U.S. to the United Arab Emirates partly to come face-to-face with a bunch of exotic animals.

Check out the photos ... for starters, Spice looks like a goddess in her powder blue gown with her long, flowing red hair.

As you can see, she feeds a bear, plays with a lion and tiger cub, poses with a snake around her neck, messes around with monkeys, and more.

You'll have to take a look-see for yourself to examine all the pics. Trust us, you won't be disappointed.

UConn found the perfect way to honor Geno Auriemma as the G.O.A.T after becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history ... by surprising him with an actual goat!!

The celebration took place at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday evening ... after the UConn Huskies whooped FDU, 85-41.

The victory marked Auriemma's 1,217th win ... making him the only coach to secure that many victories in women's and men's college basketball.

Diddy performed a bird sacrifice hours before he was acquitted on all charges related to the infamous 1999 club shooting with Shyne ... at least according to Diddy's former bodyguard.

The story, as told in a new Hulu documentary about Shyne, goes like this ... Diddy was on his way to court to learn the verdict in his shooting case when he had his driver make a pit stop in Central Park.

A man was waiting for Diddy and when Diddy approached the guy, Diddy dropped to his knees ... and smoke started swirling around Diddy. The bodyguard, Gene Deal, thinks the burning substance was sage.

Josh Brolin's telling all about his relationship with his mother in his new memoir ... touching on her drinking -- and, mentioning one scary trick his mother used to pull on him.

The actor sat down for an interview with The Times -- published Saturday -- to talk about his book, "From Under the Truck," a reference to a night of heavy drinking that ended with his mother's boyfriend literally passed out underneath a vehicle.

In the article, the interviewier mentions a story Brolin relays in the book ... about how his mother Jane -- a wildlife conservationist -- would often yell at "Sic 'em" to any wild animals like courgars, coyotes, bobcats and the like nearby which would then usually take off after Josh and his brother Jess.

Peanut the Squirrel was on the minds of lots of folks Saturday night, from fighters to comedians.

The rodent that was suspiciously seized and killed by NY authorities earlier this month was part of a UFC victory speech by one Jim Miller, who told Joe Rogan, "I've got one thing to say first: we need justice for Peanut. It's not just the squirrel, it's all the kids that went hungry that night, and all the other things that the money and resources could've been put to."

Miller wasn't done ... he invoked DOGE, the Dept. of Government Efficiency, which Trump wants Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead. Elon and Vivek were there as Miller said, "Hopefully that DOGE cleans things up at the State level."

The alleged insurance fraudsters who cops say used a bear suit and damaged several vehicles should've gone to the pros ... 'cause the guy who played the bear that attacks Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant" has notes.

We spoke with Glenn Ennis -- the actor and stuntman in the extremely realistic bear costume (with a CGI assist) who absolutely mauled DiCaprio in the film -- and he tells us he finds the details of the alleged scheme hilarious.

ICYMI, some California guys allegedly tore up their high-end cars, wearing a cheap bear costume, and tried to get an insurance company to pay for the damages. Ennis says those guys needed to do more research on how bears move ... 'cause it was pretty clear to him that this wasn't a real bear ransacking the cars.