Free Republic

In a particular part of Florida the White Ibis is known as the Chokoloskee Chicken. There is at least one FREEPER near Chokoloskee, they are a wild and rowdy bunch down there! North Florida FREEPERS, on the other hand, are genteel and cultivated! It's cloudy, wet and windy. Everything is hunkered down and waiting out the weather. The onshore wind has pushed the water way up in the marsh and the birds are hanging out on little islands.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A decade has passed since the federal government began releasing Mexican wolves into the wild in an effort to return the endangered animal to its historic range in the Southwest. It hasn't worked out — for the wolves, for ranchers, for conservationists or for federal biologists.

The Iditarod plans to test mushers for drugs and alcohol in March, a change many mushers have no problem with -- but one that three-time champion Lance Mackey scoffs at. "I think it's a little bit ridiculous," Mackey said Wednesday night from his home near Fairbanks after a training run. "It is a dog race, not a human race. It (using a drug) doesn't affect the outcome of the race." Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who has a medical marijuana card, admits to using marijuana on the trail and thinks his success has made some of his competitors jealous. "It...

A wayward beaver has met an untimely end, apparently run down by a car as it ambled on a Murrieta city street. The beaver, found on a densely populated stretch of Murrieta Hot Springs Road early Thursday morning, appears to have recently re-colonized Warm Springs Creek flood channel, which runs through nearby Pond Park. Time will tell if the large rodent was a lone ranger or is survived by others, but there were signs at the park that several small trees in the creek bed had been gnawed to the ground. Officer Jan Bratten, of Animal Friends of the Valleys,...

The victim told authorities she and her little brother were standing at a bus stop at South Upland Avenue and Newton Street in River Ridge about 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 when she noticed a "purple" car following them. The driver, a man, rolled down his window and asked the little boy for the girl's name, which the boy provided, the arrest report said. The girl, who got scared, got on the bus. The girl told authorities she noticed the car following the bus to her school, Hazel Park Elementary School, 8809 Jefferson Highway, in River Ridge, the arrest report...

MADISON — The rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be fueling more than climate change. It could also be making some trees grow like crazy. That is the finding of a new study of natural stands of quaking aspen, one of North America's most important and widespread deciduous trees. The study, by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota at Morris (UMM) and published today (Dec. 4) in the journal Global Change Biology, shows that elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the past 50 years have boosted aspen growth rates by an astonishing 50...

Tarboro, N.C. — A Tarboro woman was recovering on Thursday after being run over by a herd of deer over the weekend. Michelle Brewer said she was opening Brewer’s Fine Jewelry, 228 N. Main St., the store she co-owns with her husband, on Saturday morning when the incident occurred.

So I saw this scene, and I wondered -- can I find Ship Rock at this resolution? (Click the little picture to see the full-size 250m resolution image, which is about 5 MB, if that's a problem.) Turns out that I could. Can you? Here's Ship Rock from the ground; a place I'd like to visit someday. Likewise click for full-size. Now, here's another volcanic feature that's also in the image; on my last flight to the West Coast, I flew over it.

We didn't see the Sun until mid afternoon, it broke through pretty good them but still mostly cloudy. When the Sun gets really low the reflections on the water start to flame, and the Spartina grass turns golden. I barely caught the Little Blue Heron, they can be hard to see on a bright day. Their feathers aren't at all reflective

AN ancient bridge over the River Thames in England has sold for nearly $1.7 million at auction. The high price tag ... is down to a special act of Parliament which means the new owner can collect a tax free toll from those crossing the river. There is one drawback. Local people want to scrap the toll, saying it amounts to 'highway robbery'.

SYDNEY (AFP) – The rotting carcasses of thousands of wild camels who have died of thirst in Australia's desert Outback are polluting vital waterholes and sacred sites, according to a report. The Central Land Council, which administers Aboriginal land in the nation's arid centre, said the corpses were poisoning water supplies, describing scenes of mass carnage. "Some fall into waterholes and won't be able to get out so they'll rot within the water, others will chase the last remains of any water in these areas and start to compete with each other," the council's land management chief David Alexander told...

Just picked up a 1943 M1 Garand. What I'd like to know is...EVERYTHING about the Garand. 1. I need to know where to get ball ammo to feed it (it's a bit scarce, as far as I can tell); 2. I'd like to know the best data sheet/book on the Garand (breakdown, cleaning, greasing, etc.); 3. The best info I can get on making the weapon as accurate as possible (peep sights on the current configuration); 4. Where I'm most likely to pick up the best (and best valued!) accessories for it (slings, parts, etc). I know...I should Google all...

Tiger Woods car crash reenactment. Funny animation from Chinese TV station

A family that planned to spend winter in a woodstove-heated wall tent ...near Talkeetna with a dozen dogs gave up over the weekend, a few days after the mother was evacuated with severely frostbitten hands. The father and a teenager walked 7 miles out to civilization on Saturday, the son also suffering from frostbite. Then, authorities had to mount another difficult operation to rescue a dozen dogs ...

Maybe we could learn something from this? Did thinking like this make your enemies think twice?

SPANISH FORK, Utah – The Utah cave where a 26-year-old medical student died earlier in the week will be closed permanently and his body will not be removed. State and county officials made the announcement Friday afternoon, saying it was simply too dangerous to try to recover John Jones' body.

A Swedish man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife has been cleared, after police decided she was probably killed by an elk. Ingemar Westlund, aged 68, found the dead body of his wife Agneta, 63, by a lake close to the village of Loftahammer in September 2008. He was immediately arrested and held in police custody for 10 days. Now the case has been dropped after forensic analysis found elk hair and saliva on his wife's clothes. Mr Westlund told Expressen newspaper: "My family and I have been dragged through a nightmare." His wife had last been...

Man With Sexual Fetish For Slurry Jailed A man with a sexual fetish for slurry has been jailed after breaching a restraining order banning him from a farm 27 Nov 2009 David Truscott, 40, broke into a farm, covered himself in the waste and was seen masturbating, a court heard. He was caught just weeks after he was released from a previous prison sentence for a similar offence. Truscott was arrested in the early hours of November 9 when he was found by police sitting in manure at the same farm. He was charged with breaching the terms of a...

Pictured: Squirrel Mother Goes Nuts And Attacks Dog Trying To Eat Her Baby 25th November 2009 They have a bit of a reputation for a vicious streak, but this dog certainly got more than it bargained for after pouncing on a baby squirrel it found on the ground. Moments before the hapless baby would have been torn apart, these images show its mother appearing to leap off a nearby tree and attacking the surprised dog. Barking mad: The squirrel gets ready to leap off the tree and its terrified baby is pounced on by the dog [Pic in URL] Using...

A new amphibian species can survive on land with no nostrils, lungs, or legs, say researchers who discovered the bizarre beast. The creature, found in Guyana, is part of the wormlike group of amphibians known as caecilians. Only one other caecilian species is known to live without lungs.

Buggy Rollin

PORTLAND, Maine ― Beneath the cold ocean waters off the coast of Maine, the nation's lobster breadbasket, lie hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of old wire lobster "ghost traps." Lost over the years to storms, boats — even the knives of fishermen who've cut them from their buoys to settle scores — many of the traps continue catching lobsters. Marine biologists say lost and abandoned lobster, crab and other fish traps plague coastal waters around the globe, putting pressure on a number of already-stressed fish populations. In U.S. waters alone, millions of dollars' worth of marketable seafood is lost each...

Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies. The Northern Territory government announced its plan Wednesday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving daily for weeks because of drought conditions in the region. "The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels," local government minister Rob Knight said in Alice Springs, 310 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of Docker. "This is a very critical situation...

How are forest-thinning projects on Boulder County open space land affecting the tassel-eared Abert's squirrel? Which shorebirds and waterfowl are nesting at county ponds? How well have county wetland restoration projects really worked? These are the kinds of questions the Parks and Open Space Department hopes a new corps of volunteers will help answer when the county's new Natural Resource Monitor program begins next year. "We have a lot of acreage, and we have really diverse natural resources on our open space," said Michael Bauer, education and outreach specialist for the county's open space department... As the county designed the...

John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park died about 12:30 a.m., nearly 28 hours after he became stuck 700 feet into the cave known as Nutty Putty, Utah County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said.

The unsettled stomach of a 120-kilogram pig was to blame for a fumy false alarm ... Fifteen firefighters and two tankers rushed to respond to a report of a strong smell of gas... when the crews arrived at the house in Axedale 10 minutes later, the source of the offending smell was clear. "I don't know what they were feeding this thing but we certainly heard it." Mr Harkins said he had captained the rural fire brigade for "a number of years" and it was the first time it had been called to a "farting pig". "We did hose it...

RICHLAND, Wash. — Sarah Palin is taking a Thanksgiving break from her book tour to spend time with family members in Washington for a 5K run to benefit the Red Cross. Palin detailed her plans Wednesday on Twitter. Heather Filbin with the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the American Red Cross said about 25 Palin relatives had registered for the annual Turkey Trot at Kennewick's Columbia Park. Palin plans to have dinner at the home of her aunt Katie Johnson.

Russian Bride's Revealing Wedding Dress Is Web Sensation A bride’s startlingly revealing wedding dress has become an internet sensation. [Check URL] By Tom Chivers 25 Nov 2009 The bride wore...not a lot. Originally posted on Wedinator a site dedicated to showcasing wedding photo disasters from around the world, the image has now been reposted on hundreds of blogs across the web. The unnamed woman, believed to be Russian, is shown getting out of a limousine wearing a white dress, the top half of which consists of two small, strategically positioned semicircles over a dramatic embonpoint. Predictably the internet’s fashion commentators...

An Oz Outback community is battling to regain control of its town from a 6,000-strong feral camel invasion, which has seen the thirsty dromedaries cause "chaos" in their search for water. According to the Times, the drought-hit beasts have descended on the Northern Territory's Docker River en masse, "trampling through homes, breaking water tanks and even damaging the emergency airstrip".

Lovers Have Sex In Clock Tower Above Sydney Two lovers have been photographed having sex in broad daylight in a clock tower above a busy junction in Sydney, Australia. 24 Nov 2009 The lovers who had sex on the balcony have still not been traced Photo: REX FEATURES The couple astonished onlookers by getting down to business on the roof of one of the city's landmarks in the middle of the afternoon. Crowds gathered at the foot of the building – a former department store converted into university accommodation – and at least one member of the public thought fit...

There are blue/grey herons around the world, and there are 3 in the USA, plus the Reddish Heron which has a blue cast. I seldom see a Reddish Heron this far North.I got the main trio today in just a few minutes. Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea Tricolored heron Egretta tricolor Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

MOAB, Utah, A 48-year-old man who has not used money in nine years and resides in a desert cave in Moab, Utah, said he loves his simple existence. Daniel Suelo said while he shops for clothes by going through garbage, he is content with living an existence where he does not have to worry about a job, mortgage or other concerns that plague most U.S. residents, The Denver Post reported Sunday. "The understanding that, really, we all possess nothing is the cornerstone of all spiritual endeavors and religions," Suelo said. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Suelo said he also will...

This is a video arranged with a scenic autumn babbling brook, talking bullfrog and fish. Also arranged to give humor and inspiration!

Preface: Lake Placidena is a fictional place where women run the entire city sub rosa (clandestinely) through the non-profit PEF and Historical and Cultural Preservation Commission, men play all year at staging a national parade, all the children in public schools are designated in poverty, but all the schools must be above average. The permanent state of drought in Placidena is a local joke because groundwater comes from underneath "Laughing Waters (Ha-ha-monga) Park," The actual Lake Placidena was fittingly created by impounding waters behind Devil's Gate Dam and is known for its strange green color due to perchlorate contamination which...

SCOTLAND. It’s a long way from anywhere to this particular spot on the steep flank of the Hill of Bohuntine, gazing east across the great green heathery abyss of Glen Roy to where it admits the mouth of the more gently scooped-out Glen Glaster. Certainly if you’re coming from the States—from Petersburg, Kentucky, say, or Dayton, Tennessee, or any other of the thousand places where you would be safer lighting a Marlboro off a burning American flag than being caught with a copy of On the Origin of Species—you’re going to find it quite a hike. But you’ll be glad...

RESCUE: Snowmachiners come to aid of passengers, including infant twins. Without a word, with the plane at 4,500 feet, pilot Bradley Amos tapped something on the instrument panel. Seven passengers -- including twin 8-month-old girls -- were in the cabin. Soon came a loud popping sound. The plane's single propeller suddenly stopped turning and the smell of engine smoke filtered past the seats. The Cessna 207 glided without power above the tundra in Southwest Alaska. That was the low point of the Wednesday night flight. Here's the highlight: Within what felt like two minutes, the plane was on the ground....

MADRID — A New York court Thursday backed the staging of the next America's Cup in the Spanish port of Valencia in February, but doubt still remains over the venue for the duel between defender Alinghi and US challenger Oracle.The Supreme Court of the State of New York reached its decision after experts advised that the event can be "safely managed" at the site in mid-winter, when weather conditions can be unpredictable, according to a copy of the ruling.Both Alinghi and Oracle have stated they are ready to hold their best-of-three multihull showdown in February in Valencia, where the Swiss...

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult...

Maria Sanchez Lake is almost downtown St. Augustine, a residential area with older homes. The lake is a bird magnet and there are often some nice flowers in yards around the lake. If you don't see any birds near the water look up in the Oak trees. This Great Egret and the White Ibis were waiting for the tide to start in. This flower is a Lycoris, it was almost hidden by someone's garbage can.

HE has always been five miles from Gundagai [Australia] but now the nation's most famous dog and his tuckerbox are to be relocated to lure tourists to the town. Historians are outraged at the idea of moving the iconic statue from its spot of 77 years, just off the Hume Highway, to the far end of town to drag tourists through it. The town is split between those who want tourist dollars funnelled into their drought-stricken tills and those outraged at the changing of history. A consultant has been paid $20,000 by the Gundagai Shire Council to survey the community...

PERKASIE, Pennsylvania — Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop. Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal. Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two...

Kenton Rowe's fortune as a wildlife photographer would change in less than one second; the amount of time it takes for a shutter to open and close, the light burning a digital image onto a disk. And in that second, the mountain lion and her cub were forever captured, their likenesses then downloaded to a computer, printed to paper and presented to a panel of judges who would sift through 70,000 photographs at this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest.

People Say Animals Are Preying On Larger Livestock. People living in major Valley neighborhoods... that coyotes have all but overtaken their neighborhoods. Don Hoopes and his 7-year-old son Jordan have a new ritual every night. They need to make sure all their animals are tucked safely inside, now that they know what can happen if they don't. Neighbor Richard Tate said, "I saw one yesterday morning trying to attack dogs in broad daylight." Tate's had a couple sheep slaughtered by coyotes already. He said they even tried to go after his ram. Tate said , "My concern is that if...

Amazing collection of photos taken during the WW2 and nowadays. The WW2 photos were taken during the invasion of Normandy on and after D-Day.

Archers will take to tree stands in Colvin Run Mill Park and Colvin Run Stream Valley in coming weeks to reduce the area’s burgeoning deer population, which poses a threat to motorists, hikers, flora and fauna, Fairfax County officials said. The Fairfax County Police Department’s Animal Control Division, working in conjunction with the Fairfax County Park Authority, began allowing select hunting groups into the wooded park areas on Nov. 16. Archery hunts also will be held at Laurel Hill Park in Lorton. Officials estimate the county is home to about 25,000 deer, or 60 per square mile, which is roughly...

Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain goats think twice about their romantic partners. Big, heavy males mountain goats shove lightweight Romeos aside taking the eligible females for themselves. The larger males pass their physical attributes and mating success to their male heirs. But Coltman's data shows the daughters of the big, bruisers are routinely smaller and less fit than females produced by physically more modest fathers. Nature can be cruel...

WASILLA -- The story of Yukon Don Tanner and the four bears has a happy ending -- for Tanner, at least. A judge last week dismissed all wildlife charges filed against the well-known 59-year-old Talkeetna man who tells a wild story about the family of marauding grizzlies that visited his remote cabin north of Talkeetna last July. State prosecutors agreed to the dismissal, even though the wildlife authorities involved say they still don't quite believe Tanner's story. Here's the short version: Tanner shot a sow and her three male cubs in the space of a few minutes around 4 a.m....

With all the unsettling animal news that crosses our desks, we're always pleased to be able to share a bit of good news. Our colleague Jim Tankersley reports from New Orleans on the progress that's been made on behalf of the no-longer-endangered brown pelican. Here's an excerpt: Federal officials announced today that they are removing the brown pelican from the endangered species list, capping a century-long recovery that started under President Theodore Roosevelt. The brown pelican is an avian fixture in Southern California and along the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, where Roosevelt established the first national wildlife...

'Passionate response' at meeting leads to closure of park site Planned deer hunts in two Fairfax County public parks are riling animal-rights advocates and residents who say the county's new bow-and-arrow deer-culling program is inhumane and dangerous. Starting before dawn Monday, a handful of archers from Suburban Whitetail Deer Management of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit volunteer deer hunting group, went to the Colvin Run Stream Valley and Colvin Run Mill parks and hunted deer from 20- to 30-foot-high deer stands. It was unclear how many were killed, said Eric Huppert, a founder and president of the deer hunting group, but...