Free Republic

Five-year-old James Trinh was unaware of the headlines when leaving his preschool Thursday in Daly City, about 5 miles from the zoo, and exclaimed, “There’s a lemur! There’s a lemur!” Cynthia Huang, director of the Hope Lutheran Day School, Huang was skeptical at first. “I thought, Are you sure it’s not a raccoon?” she said. The children, parents and teachers watched as caretakers arrived and coaxed the lemur into a transport cage, Huang said. San Francisco Zoo director Tanya Peterson said Maki was “an aging wild animal who needed special care” for ailments including arthritis. “He’s still agitated, dehydrated and...

A peculiar, 220-million-year-old species of burrowing reptiles that evaded scientists has been found, fossilized. A team of National Park Service interns are credited with its discovery. Hidden in a once-vibrant part of Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park, the burgeoning paleontologists unearthed fossils of the Skybalonyx skapter, an "anteater-like reptile" that probably predates dinosaurs, according to findings published this month in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. It's a new species of a reptile previously thought to only live in trees. The unusual Skybalonyx skapter belongs to the group Drepanosaur, often considered the ugly duckling of reptiles (perhaps partly because they bore...

A viral video of a mountain lion has inspired headlines about the cat "stalking" the runner who recorded it. But that's not what the clip shows. By now, you've doubtless seen *that* viral mountain lion video. Shot in Utah, the six-minute clip shows a mountain lion advancing, snarling and batting at the air, as Kyle Burgess, the trail runner holding the camera, slowly backs away down the gravel path. Since first appearing online, the video, titled "Cougar Attack in Utah | Mountain Lion Stalks Me For 6 Minutes!" has appeared in publications from CNN to Newsweek, many of which have...

It's the lightest backpacking meal—and one of the easiest and tastiest Freshly caught trout tastes way better than a bag of freeze-dried slop. Backpacking food is often uninspiring. Because vegetables and meat are heavy and inconvenient, they often get left behind. And many easy-to-make, lightweight, dehydrated meals are bland or textureless. It’s a shame when you consider the wealth of free and delicious wild foods we’re surrounded by on so many backpacking trips. Plus, if you gather your meal at camp, it won’t weigh you down on the trail. If you want to go this route, your options are: get...

A shark attacked a seal close to the shore of Race Point Beach in Provincetown today.

A review of the Netflix film "My Octopus Teacher." BEST Horror Movie Ever! -- My Octopus Teacher Oh, just try it.

Witnesses captured a man on video throwing eels into Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn. The man got away, but wildlife experts are hoping many take away an important message from the illegal activity. “Yo, you’re not supposed to be dumping eels here, dude,” Dominick Pabon said as he approached the man on Sunday night. He said alerted the man that his actions were against the law. “That’s not legal,” Pabon says on a video he shot on his cellphone. “I save life,” the man responds. “No, you’re not. You’re killing other life in here,” Pabon responds. Pabon fishes often, as...

EHRENBERG, CA—In a miraculous sign, Ben Shapiro has parted the waters of the Colorado River for the millions of desperate Californian refugees trying to escape the failed state. After Gavin Newsom closed all the bridges over the river in a desperate attempt to prevent his people from going, the Editor Emeritus of The Daily Wire created a path through the middle of the river, allowing the children of California to cross on dry ground. Shapiro stretched out his hand over the waters and said, "Be still gang, and witness the salvation of the Lord! But first, let's talk about Policy...

While the cruise industry waits for a decision on when cruising can resume, the White House and CDC are being asked to elaborate on allegations they may have intervened in the Centers for Disease Control decision-making process. The Chair of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Sean Patrick Maloney, has now requested additional documentation from the CDC after it was reported that the White House had interfered with the CDC’s decision to extend the No Sail Order. According to widely publicized publications, the Trump administration intervened last month when Dr. Robert Redfield of the CDC wanted to...

One of the Brixham boats was under attack as 15 boats surrounded himFish wars have broken out in the English Channel as French scallopers confronted their Devon counterparts - firing flares and throwing FRYING PANS. Two Brixham boats, the Girl Macey, skippered by Scott Glover, and the Golden Promise, by Brian Whittington, were involved in the deep-sea skirmish last night. They were surrounded by around 20 French vessels and were pelted by objects including frying pans and rocks and a dangerous flare was fired into the wheelhouse of the Girl Macy. The hostile French crews also threw oil at the...

At just 19 feet long, it's used to deploy underwater fences. D'awww. ========================================================================== A little baby boat is making waves on Reddit. It may be the smallest ship in the U.S. Navy. The "Boomin Beaver" is a security tug that can tow small ships and deploy underwater fences. One of these boats fetched $100,000 in an auction, which sure seems like a lot for a boat this small. An adorable little tugboat as long as a Ford F-150 is making the rounds on social media, prompting many to call it the “smallest ship in the U.S. Navy.” At just 19...

Video on youtube or at link Twenty-six-year-old Kyle Burgess was on a 10-mile run on Saturday up Slate Canyon in Provo, Utah. He told the Deseret News that when he saw four cougar cubs on the trail, he took out his phone and started filming.But when Burgess saw the young animals' mother come along, he knew he was in trouble. For the next six minutes, he recorded their encounter.The mother cougar stalked him — hissing, growling and threatening — as Burgess backed away, keeping his eyes locked on her. Mostly, he alternated between yelling a stream of profanities at the...

(CNN) There has been a "staggering" rise in natural disasters over the past 20 years and the climate crisis is to blame, the United Nations said Monday. Researchers pointed to a failure of political and business leaders to take meaningful action to mitigate the impact of climatic change and stop the planet from turning into "an uninhabitable hell for millions of people." Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 1 million people and infected at least 37 million, has exposed the failure of "almost all nations" to prevent a "wave of death and illness" despite repeated warnings from...

She's either waving to a non-existent crowd, or practicing her 'HOW!' greeting................

Startup Xos trucks originally pitched itself as a custom electric chassis maker for Class 8 trucks. After pivoting to medium-duty trucks, the company is back on mission with a contract from Japan’s Hino Trucks. Xos, formerly Thor Trucks, will supply its X-Pack, a modular battery pack system, to the Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) subsidiary. The X-Pack is built from the cell-level up to operate as an intelligent standalone unit. After giving up its original name, Xos proceeded with deals to make electrified chassis for United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) and cash-hauling armored truck company Loomis US. Surprising timing The...

Puerto Ricans For Trump Car Rally Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 1:00 PM Meet at the ToysRUs parking lot in Carolina, Puerto Rico towards the Republican Movement office in San Juan. (Flyer at link. If someone would be so kind as to post here, I'd appreciate it. I no longer use Photobucket. Thanks!)

Park officials say the child ran off a trail Friday near Midway Geyser Basin on the park’s western side. The child slipped and fell into the small thermal feature. The child was flown to a burn unit at a hospital in Idaho Falls with second-degree burns to the lower body and back. Park officials say they’re investigating.

If you're young and hungry, the place to go is New York City - even if you weigh 25 tons and have a blowhole. Whale watch captains and scientists around America's most populous city say recent years have seen a tremendous surge in the number of whales observed in the waters around the Big Apple. Many of the whales are juvenile humpbacks, and scientists say they're drawn to New York by an abundance of the small fish they love to eat. There are numerous theories about why whales are suddenly flocking to the city, but one of the most widely...

Ahead of the weekend, most restrictions have been lifted for Pinnacles National Park. According to the park on Facebook, most hiking trails and climbing routes, including the park road to the Bear Gulch day-use area will re-open and vehicles are permitted to park at all trailheads. Park rangers recommend visitors arrive before 10 a.m. to ensure a parking spot as the park fills up quickly. The park released the following restrictions remain in place since predicted fire danger remains high. These restrictions include: All campfires or cooking fires (including charcoal fires) within the park are prohibited. Use of charcoal grills,...

It’s official. An invasive Burmese python captured in the Everglades over the weekend has broken the state record measuring 18.9 feet long. The previous record was 18.8 feet long. Ryan Ausburn, a contracted python hunter with the South Florida Water Management District and Kevin “Snakeaholic” Pavlidis, a contracted python hunter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, captured the monster sized python on Friday, Oct. 2 along the L-28 Tieback Canal about 35 miles west of Miami. On social media, Pavlidis wrote, “On Friday night, we pulled this BEAST of a snake out of waist-deep water in the middle of...