Free Republic

IQALUIT, Nunavut (CP) - A mysterious skull discovered on the edge of the Arctic Circle has sparked interest in what creatures roamed Baffin Island in the distant past, and what life a warming climate may support in the future. Andrew Dialla, a resident of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, says he found the skull protruding from the frozen tundra during a walk near the shore with his daughter about a month ago. The horned skull is about the size of a man's fist. It resembles a baby caribou skull, except at that age, a caribou wouldn't have antlers, researchers and elders have pointed...

Scientists are analyzing the perfectly preserved remains of a prehistoric horse in a bid to clone the now-extinct animal. Recently discovered in permafrost in the Siberian region of Yakutia, the skin, hair, hooves and tail of the carcass are all preserved. The remains are estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old. Experts believe that the foal was about 2 months old when it died. Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, was surprised to see the perfect state of the find. He noted it's the best-preserved ancient foal found to date. The Siberian...

© North-Eastern Federal University ==================================================================== A three-month-old horse that lived up to 40,000 years ago has been discovered in the mysterious Batagai depression in Russia’s Yakutia region, nicknamed the ‘Gateway to the Underworld.’ The North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk published the first photo of the “unique” discovery, which was made together with scientists from Kindai University in Japan along with a crew from Fuji TV. The horse was unearthed in perfect condition with its mane, tail and hair well preserved, as it was trapped in the permafrost for 30,000-40,000 years, scientists say. The discovery can help scientists to learn...

As we all know by now, auto sales are down, dropping by around 18% in 2008. Pick-ups actually fared worse, posting a decline of 26.5% over the same period. Still, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado maintained their positions as the two best selling vehicles in the United States, and these two manufacturers managed to post incremental increases in total pick-up truck market share after all was said and done. Those increases came directly from the competition, especially Dodge. The full-size Ram truck managed to see its piece of the pie dwindle by almost one full percentage point. Dodge's drop...

Here are ptarmigan video clips, mostly in their winter plumage. Ptarmigan Video Clip

The 217,000 acres of windblown water and mottled tundra here on the North Slope of Alaska, separating Teshekpuk Lake from the Beaufort Sea, are home in summer to 50,000 to 90,000 migratory birds. This corner of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve is also thought to be brimming with oil. From the presidencies of Ronald Reagan through Bill Clinton, federal officials put the bird habitat off limits to oil development. But after federal geologists in 2002 quadrupled their estimate of the oil available here in the northeast quadrant of the reserve, the Bush administration proposed putting the whole area up for lease...

Ptarmigan Photo GalleryCity Dwelling PtarmiganMan Hold Ptarmigan ChickAnother Cute Ptarmigan ChickPtarmigan In Winter Plumage

<p>Red states have their media preoccupations too, and last week it wasn't Martha Stewart or the ousting of the New York Times editorial management. It was Dodge's lawsuit against Bill Davis Racing.</p> <p>The casus belli seems to have been the following: Mr. Davis, a journeyman team owner, had detailed a few of his people to help Toyota, the first Japanese entrant ever, prepare for its coming debut in Nascar's Craftsman racing series, in which race cars pretending to be pickup trucks run in circles at high speeds.</p>

Congress plans ANWR hearing in KaktovikBy SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington BureauArticle Published: Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 3:06:27 AM AKST WASHINGTON--Congress will hold a hearing next month on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil drilling issues in the closest place to the refuge with a roof and a microphone: the village of Kaktovik. Rep. Richard Pombo, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, plans to hold the hearing on April 5. The military will provide a jet to deliver members of Congress, according to Pombo's spokesman, Doug Heye. The committee will consider two pieces of legislation: Alaska Rep. Don Young's...