Free Republic

Zoo Won’t Let de Blasio Hold Groundhog After He Killed One Last Year The NYPD isn't the only city organization that has lost complete confidence in the esteemed Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio. After he dropped the groundhog during last year's Groundhog Day celebrations, the Staten Island Zoo has unequivocally banned De Blasio from holding or handling any more of their animals in a celebratory setting. - Mayor de Blasio won’t be killing any more groundhogs — zoo handlers are forbidding the butter-fingered mayor from holding the critter at the annual shadow-sighting ceremony on Feb. 2, The...

The recent news that a Colorado man was diagnosed with the plague may have left some wondering: Does that still happen here?The answer, somewhat surprisingly, is yes.While the last plague epidemic in the United States was back in 1924, when 37 people died in Los Angeles, the much-feared disease still surfaces in humans from time to time, though it's very infrequent — and fully treatable with antibiotics if it's caught in time."Plague... spread from urban rats to rural rodent species, and became entrenched in many areas of the western United States," the CDC explains. "Since that time, plague has...

RICHMOND, VA - The Richmond Flying Squirrels, Double-A affiliate of the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, have announced their plans for Salute to Scandal Night on Thursday, August 1st. Headlining the night will be $1 hot dogs available at all of the Flying Squirrels concession stands. Related Content Promo Preview "Scandal night is meant to be a fun, tongue in cheek night and what hotter of a scandal right now than Anthony Weiner," said Flying Squirrels Vice President and COO Todd "Parney" Parnell. "His scandal just couldn't have come at a better time in regards to the Flying...

Epigenetic changes affect neurotransmitters that lead to pair-bond formation. Love really does change your brain — at least, if you’re a prairie vole. Researchers have shown for the first time that the act of mating induces permanent chemical modifications in the chromosomes, affecting the expression of genes that regulate sexual and monogamous behaviour. The study is published today in Nature Neuroscience1. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) have long been of interest to neuroscientists and endocrinologists who study the social behaviour of animals, in part because this species forms monogamous pair bonds — essentially mating for life. The voles' pair bonding, sharing...

X-rays may not heal broken bones, but low doses of ionizing radiation may spark other health benefits, a new study of mice suggests. Radiation in high doses has well-known harmful effects. Scientists had thought low doses would do less extensive damage but could add up to big problems later. But radiation acts differently at low doses, producing health benefits for mice with an unusual genetic makeup, Randy Jirtle of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and colleagues report online November 1 in the FASEB Journal. Antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamins C and E, erased those health gains. “What goes on at high...

Enlarge Image Young at heart. Cross-sections of mouse ventricles show the visible change in size when old hearts are immersed in young blood. Credit: Francesco Loffredo It's time to turn back the clock on an aging ticker. Drawing on an odd experimental technique invented more than a century ago but rarely done now, researchers have found that a blood-borne protein makes old mouse hearts appear young and healthy again. It's not clear yet whether humans would react the same way, but scientists are hopeful that this discovery may help treat one of the heart's most frustrating ailments. "This is probably...

A US ambassador in Syria was bloodily murdered on September 11, 2012. In the immediate aftermath, the Obama Administration knowingly put forward erroneous talking points and intelligence, likely in the hopes that their mishandling of terrorism would not hurt the President's reelection campaign. The IRS, starting as early as 2010, scrutinized and targeted Tea Party groups. The Administration dismissed these claims for three years; yet, as the Tea Party has been vindicated, President Obama is scrambling to save face, saying that only lower-level employees knew about this partisanship. Today, it was also revealed that the Obama Administration is secretly wiretapping...

Matt Miller, an Idaho-based science writer with The Nature Conservancy, says rodents and other small livestock represent a low-impact meat alternative to carbon-costly beef. Miller, who is writing a book about the ecological benefits of eating unconventional meats, visited Colombia several years ago. At the time, he says, conservation groups were expressing concern about local ranchers clearing forest to provide pasture for their cattle — activity that was causing erosion and water pollution. "They were encouraging people to switch from cattle to guinea pigs," Miller says. "Guinea pigs don't require the land that cattle do. They can be kept in...

Cats' Family Tree Rooted In Fertile Crescent, Study ConfirmsCats, with their penchant for hunting mice, rats and other rodents, became useful companions as people domesticated, grew and stored wild grains and grasses. Eventually, cats also became pets but were never fully domesticated. Even today, most domestic cats remain self-sufficient, if necessary, and continue to be efficient hunters, even when provided with food. (Credit: Michele Hogan) ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2008) — The Fertile Crescent of the Middle East has long been identified as a "cradle of civilization" for humans. In a new genetic study, researchers at the University of California, Davis,...

Ice Age warmth wiped out lemmings, study findsBy Michelle Warwicker BBC Nature 26 November 2012 Last updated at 22:07 Lemmings became "regionally extinct" five times due to rapid climate change during the last Ice Age, scientists have found. **SNIP** Instead the tests revealed that genetically distinct populations of lemmings were "present at different points in time" during the Late Pleistocene, 11,700 to around 126,000 years ago, meaning that the lemming population had been wiped out multiple times and then re-colonised some time after, possibly from populations in eastern Europe or Russia. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the...

State inspectors say a New Mexico school district's food warehouse is infested with rodent droppings, food hazards and improperly placed rat poison, and district officials refused to discard the food in question. The state Environment Department says officials cited last week five "high risk violations" at the food warehouse of Gallup-McKinley County Schools. State inspector Andrew Wilson wrote in a memo that the warehouse was littered with rodent droppings throughout, contained rat poison in a walk-in refrigerator and had cases of food with ice accumulation on top.

For the uninitiated, Pinky and the Brain are characters from the Warner Bros. cartoon Animaniacs (I watched it a lot when I was a kid) They're lab mice. Pinky is just a complete moron. Brain is a supposed genius bent on world domination, but fails at everything he sets out to accomplish.

A wayward mouse forced the grounding of a US-bound SAS flight on Tuesday, leaving 250 travellers stranded at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport as crews tried in vain to capture the rogue rodent. Police return stolen bike after 15 years (23 Aug 11) McDonald's advert fakes 'Swedish' farmland (23 Aug 11) Sweden fears swimming Danish raccoon invasion (23 Aug 11) Shortly before the scheduled 10.30am take off of the Chicago-bound Airbus 330, a security guard spotted the mischievous mouse scurrying across the floor of the aircraft. “Unfortunately the mouse has not been found and caught, despite an extensive search onboard and numerous...

The teeming trillions of bacteria in the digestive tracts of mice have been shown to affect the animals' brain development and behaviour.Mice bred in sterile environments without these "gut flora" were seen to be more adventurous and less anxious than mice with normal gut flora. The research adds weight to the idea that gut bacteria are a critical part of the overall development of mammals.

odents get a bad rap as vermin and pests because they seem to thrive everywhere. They have been one of the most common mammals in Africa for the past 50 million years. From deserts to rainforests, rodents flourished in prehistoric Africa, making them a stable and plentiful source of food, says paleontologist Alisa J. Winkler, an expert on rodent and rabbit fossils... Rodents can corroborate evidence from geology and plant and animal fossils about the ancient environments of our human ancestors and other prehistoric mammals, says Winkler, a research professor at Southern Methodist University... Rodents -- rats, mice, squirrels, porcupines,...

Rat infestation forces students out of classroom. The rodent frequently visiting several South Florida kindergarten classrooms isn't quite as cuddly and cute as Mickey Mouse and doesn't have teachers smiling like Chuck E. Cheese. Broward County School officials have been forced to evacuate eight classrooms at Tamarac Elementary because of a severe rat problem, reports the Sun-Sentinel. The rodents have overrun the kindergarten area of the school, forcing the students to a cleaner learning environment in another area. Luckily, students are about to be released for winter break, which gives school officials a couple of weeks to get the rats...

(CNN) -- Niko Mushi hated rats, as did most people in his village near Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro -- until he learned the critters had a nose for land mines. Mushi, 32, has been working with giant African pouched rats for almost seven years. He now enjoys their company -- "They're just like my friend," he says -- but he concedes he was skeptical when the man who conceived the idea for HeroRats first told him they could sniff out live ordnance. "I thought maybe he was making some jokes," Mushi said. "I was amazed that rats could do such a...

What's up with President Obama and his bizarre ability to attract insects like flies, bees and rodents? The latest was his press conference yesterday, when a fly landed just above his mouth. Previously, the president had to swat a fly away during an interview, and a similar instance occurred during a planned photo op in Iowa. Then he was swarmed by bees, and even had a rodent come running towards him during a presser in the Rose Garden. http://www.glennbeck.com/content/show/2010-06-23/

Kelis is known for going at animal rights organization PETA. In just revealed album artwork however, the "Acapella" singer gives new meaning to the word associated with "female dog". In the photo pictured above, Kelis appears as half dog/half woman, perhaps embracing change, PETA or simply those who have called her a B**tch in years past. Whatever it is, the look is not something you see everyday. Earlier this year, Kelis penned an open letter to PETA, addressing their concerns over her decision to wear fur on a regular basis. "If I started wearing endangered animals then talk to me....

Clemson University is fighting back against an invasion of squirrels on its South Carolina campus. The Anderson Independent-Mail reports workers spent much of December trapping Eastern gray squirrels, catching and euthanizing the 200 rodents allowed under federal law. The squirrels have caused problems in recent years, killing about 100 mature trees by chewing on the bark for food and making their territory. About 10 percent of the campus' trees have been damaged in some way, likely costing the school about $1 million in the past decade. Clemson officials tried a squirrel birth control program, but it didn't do enough to...

Two stars of the reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" have been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly killing and cooking a rat to eat during filming. Chef Gino D'Acampo who won the viewer-feedback contest series, and actor Stuart Manning were charged after animal welfare activists lodged a complaint about a segment for the British TV program, which was filmed in Australia, the activists and British media reported Sunday. In a statement to The Associated Press, New South Wales state police said Sunday that two men, aged 33 and 30, were charged with animal...

Red-eye flights, all-night study sessions, and extra-inning playoff games all deprive us of sleep and can leave us forgetful the next day. Now scientists have discovered that lost sleep disrupts a specific molecule in the brain's memory circuitry, possibly leading to treatments for tired brains. Neuroscientists studying rodents and humans have found that sleep deprivation interrupts the storage of episodic memories: information about who, what, when, and where. To lay down these memories, neurons in our brains form new connections with other neurons or strengthen old ones. This rewiring process, which occurs over a period of hours, requires a rat's...

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scientists have discovered a new species of giant rat in a remote rainforest in Papua New Guinea. Measuring 82 centimeters (32.2 inches) from nose to tail and weighing around 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds), the species is thought to be one of the largest rats ever to be found. The discovery was made by a team from the BBC Natural History Unit inside the crater of Mount Bosavi -- an extinct volcano in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. "This is one of the world's largest rats. It's a true rat, the same kind you...

A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea. A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never...

A new species of giant rat has been discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. The rat, which has no fear of humans, measures 82cm long, placing it among the largest species of rat known anywhere in the world.

WESTWEGO, La. – Blood loss due to an attack by a rat or rats was determined to be the cause of death of the three-month-old girl who died last week in a Westwego home, according to a statement by Jefferson Parish Forensic Pathologist Susan M. Garcia. Also Online Photos of home The official cause of death of Natalie Hill on the statement was "exsanguination due to destruction of soft tissue secondary to murine activity." Authorities had been trying to determine whether bites occurred while the child was alive or dead. Hill was found in her crib, covered in blood and...

Rats across Britain are evolving a resistance to poison that makes them almost impossible to kill, scientists have warned. Genetic mutations have produced a new breed of "super rat" with DNA that protects the vermin from standard toxins, according to Professor Robert Smith at the University of Huddersfield. Ratcatchers in Berkshire and Hampshire were the first to report that their poisons were no longer effective, which experts put down to increased immunity among the pests.

SPOKANE - Spokane is having a problem with too many ground squirrels at the Finch Arboretum So the Parks and Recreation department is going to use a special machine to detonate some of the 100 to 150 rodents that are tearing up the grounds. The machine is called the Rodenator Pro. It pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels. The parks department says the Rodenator is a humane way to kill the squirrels. But it warns area residents that...

On the rat-walk: Rodent strikes a pose for budding fashion photographer Rats are not exactly known for looking adorable, but this one is doing a pretty good job. These pictures were taken by 18-year-old Jessica Florence, and have made pet rat 'Bug' into an internet sensation. The images of Bug have become almost as searched for as those of any movie heart-throb, winning over even the sceptical with what one blogger calls their 'disgustingly cute' poses, and Jessica has been deluged with emails from fellow rat fanciers and fans.

A 2.7kg rat bearing 2.5cm-long teeth has been caught in China.The nightmarish creature, which has a 30cm tail, was trapped last weekend in Fuzhou, a city along China's south coast, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports. The rat catcher, known only as Mr Xian, said he pounced on the creature after spotting a crowd gathering around it. He said he had to muster up the courage before grabbing its tail and picking it up by the neck. Mr Xian said he thought the rat may be a rare species or a valuable specimen. He is believed to still be in possession of...

Lawmakers and administration officials divulged Wednesday that the $789 billion economic stimulus bill being finalized behind closed doors in Congress includes $30 million for wetlands restoration that the Obama administration intends to spend in the San Francisco Bay Area to protect, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi represents the city of San Francisco and has previously championed preserving the mouse's habitat in the Bay Area. The revelation immediately became a political football, as Republicans accused Democrats of reneging on a promise to keep so-called earmarks that fund lawmakers' favorite projects out of the...

Cost of efforts could top $380,000. Boulder officials have finalized plans to relocate hundreds of prairie dogs inhabiting four city-owned sites, and to euthanize hundreds more. The plans call for spending as much as $388,400 on removing the rodents, capturing and euthanizing others, fumigating those left behind in their burrows and installing metal barriers so they don’t return. According to the 19-page document on the issue, prepared by interim City Manager Stephanie Grainger, about 500 prairie dogs need to be relocated ... “I’m not sure how we’ll end up doing it,” said Bev Johnson, a city planner familiar with the...

The Palestinian Authority's official news agency Wafa says Israel is using rats to drive Arab families out of their homes in the Old City of Jerusalem. Has the Palestinian Authority smelled a rat in east Jerusalem? Photo: Courtesy/Joanna Servaes Slideshow: Pictures of the week In the past the news agency, which is controlled and funded by PA President Mahmoud Abbas's office, has accused Israel of using wild pigs to drive Palestinians out of their homes and fields in the West Bank. In the reports, Palestinians were quoted by the agency as saying that they had seen Israelis release herds of...

MYFOXNY.COM -- The NYPD's Harbor Unit, patrolling the East River near the United Nations as a part of security operations for the Pope's visit, rescued an apparently sick beaver from the water. The ever-vigilant harbor cops spotted the animal, which appeared to be having trouble breathing and struggled to swim, not far from the U.N., where the Pope was speaking. >>VIDEO: SCUBA COPS BRING BEAVER ASHORE >>VIDEO: OFFICER DESCRIBES BEAVER RESCUE Police Officer John Angus caught the beaver in a safety noose, pulled it aboard, and placed it in a bucket with water. Officers brought the beaver to shore for...

MACCLENNY, Fla. (AP) — State wildlife officials say an animal sneaking around Baker County is not an orangutan as originally thought but likely a fox squirrel. Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission laid doughnuts at a base of a tree after residents reported seeing a — quote — “big orange ball of fur.” Fish and Wildlife investigator Ken Holmes says the animal was probably an orange phase fox squirrel. The Florida Times-Union reports the red-orange animals can grow to be about two feet tall and can climb in trees. (Copyright 2007 by

Whispers started with the first few gunshots. Neighborhood rumors had it that a cotton farmer who leases land from the Chickasaw Basin Authority near the Wolf River was shooting deer on the property. So when residents discovered nearly 40 of the animals had been killed and left to rot in the surrounding woods, they reacted with horror. "I don't like to see (deer) slaughtered, and that's what happened down there in these cotton fields," said Brenda Flanagan, a nearby resident. "To me it's inhumane. ... What's gone is gone, and I would hate to see that ever happen again." Angry...

Click the following link: Two Billion Rats of Lake Dongting

Iranian intelligence operatives recently detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation's borders, claiming the rodents were serving as spies for Western powers determined to undermine the Islamic Republic. "In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders," state-sponsored news agency IRNA reported. "The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services." Iranian police commander Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqadam confirmed the report, saying that a number of squirrels had been caught bearing foreign spy gear within Iran's borders. "I heard of this but...

GRASSY KEY — The U.S. Department of Agriculture returned to Grassy Key this week to conduct the next phase of its Gambian rat extermination project. The agency's Wildlife Control team is back in town to determine how the population fared after more than 1,000 poison bait stations were spread throughout the area. While wildlife officials are on the ground gathering data, hidden cameras will provide a look at where the remaining rat population is moving. The results from those pictures will help dictate the agency's next move. "Based on what we take pictures of ... we may go into some...

BEIJING - People living in communities surrounding a large shallow lake have been overrun by field mice after floodwaters drove the rodents out of islands on the lake, state media reported Monday. The mouse invasion began on June 23 when the Yangtze River flooded, raising the water level in central China's Dongting Lake and submerging mouse holes on lake islands, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Now, an estimated 2 billion mice are ravaging crops in 22 counties around the lake, and authorities were rushing to construct walls and ditches to keep the rodents out. Residents have killed more than...

Deep in the heart of the Florida Keys, wildlife officials are laying bait laced with poison to try to wipe out a colony of enormous African rats that could threaten crops and other animals. U.S. federal and state officials are beginning the final phase of a two-year project to eradicate the Gambian pouched rats, which can grow to the size of a cat and began reproducing in the remote area about eight years ago. "This is the only place in the United States where this is occurring," said Gary Witmer, a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife...

New Orleans, La. -- Today, after learning that New Orleans plans to poison rats living in the city as part of its "Rat Busters" program, PETA fired off a letter to Mayor Ray Nagin urging him to work with PETA to develop a humane, effective program to permanently reduce the rat population instead. PETA points out that poisoning rats is not only cruel but also ineffective. Rats from surrounding areas will simply move in to fill the void left by those who were killed, and as long as habitats such as abandoned buildings and food sources such as garbage are...

SAN FERNANDO DE APURE, Venezuela ? As dusk fell on the tropical wetland crawling with iguanas and small crocodilian caimans, Jos? Ismael Jim?nez pointed his harpoon at a rodent about the size of a Labrador retriever. With aim that comes from years of practice, he landed his spear on the back of its head. Farmhands turned hunters stalking the wild capybara, reputedly the world?s largest rodent, on Saturday on Hato Santa Luisa. One of them hurled a harpoon at a wounded capybara. The meat is then salted and dried. But this hunt was not about ridding the country?s southern plains...

Ferrets, rejoice. Or at least, breathe what may be a short-lived sigh of relief. The New York City Council voted 26 to 13 yesterday, with 7 abstentions, to end the bandit status of the small, furry cousin of the weasel, mink and skunk. But the bill legalizing ferrets as pets failed to pass by a veto-proof margin, and Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has not been shy about the fact that he is no ferret lover. ''The fight isn't over,'' said Carol Rainey, a Chelsea filmmaker who owns two ferrets. The ferret legalization bill caused an unusually emotional, party-fracturing and, at...

Here's a nasty thought: Your home may have mice. Or worse. And we're not talking about Mickey. How would you know? Short of actually seeing the furry culprits, look for these telltale signs: Rodent droppings (see examples here). Evidence of gnawing on hard surfaces, such as chair legs. Nests, possibly in drawers or inside upholstered furniture. Food and food packages that have been nibbled. If it's any consolation, you're hardly alone. In North America, the roof rat, Norway rat and house mouse are the big three, making their homes right beneath the feet and above the heads of millions of...

Announcing his candidacy to the yawns of the assembled, Biden said of rival Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.), that he was, "[T]he first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." The Rev -- Al Sharpton this time, not Jesse Jackson though both are ever eager for a sound bite -- apparently called Biden and assured him that, "I take a bath every day." Which is more than we needed to know. Accompanying the merriment at Biden's expense was Hillary's Iowa meltdown. Ms. Clinton -- panicked into a premature declaration by Sen. Obama's earlier formation of...

The rodent rampage that caused havoc in 1999 seems to be back, and experts aren't sure why. A strange and unexplained invasion of mice around the Apopka area in 1999 appears poised for a repeat. Health authorities, plant-nursery owners and state agricultural experts said Monday that mice are infiltrating homes, storage areas and offices along U.S. Highway 441 and the northeast shore of Lake Apopka. "One drowned in a secretary's coffee cup," said Tom Stutzman, site manager at Twyford International plant nursery on Fudge Road. "Every day it seems like it's getting worse. Here we go again." Authorities are just...

As city expands into their space, prairie dogs find backyard homes Meet the Neighbors BY ROBIN BRISCOE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL A prairie dog peeks his head from his home while hundreds of his friends and family are cozy within a dirt mound below the earth. "We have got hundreds of them right now," Jim Gerlt, executive pastor at Bacon Heights Baptist Church, said, referring to the prairie dog town spanning 33 acres on the land reserved for the church's new building at 110th Street and Slide Road. "Any time you buy land you're going to have prairie dogs," Gerlt said. "That's just...

For decades, in thousands of laboratories across the country, biomedical researchers have relied on laboratory rats and mice to devise treatments for cancer, heart disease, inflammation and a host of other human afflictions. But what if, despite all the rigorous procedures to ensure valuable test results, many of those studies have been skewed by the most seemingly mundane of factors: what the animals are routinely fed? The concern is that researchers have unwittingly administered hormones present in some rodent chow. A small but growing number of scientists are warning that these hormones are a hidden element in millions of laboratory...

Big Rodents Overrun Washington Seniors "The marmots are coming, the marmots are coming." Seniors living in Wine Country Villa probably wish they had gotten such a warning.