Free Republic

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking answers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Anthony Fauci about funding that was provided for experiments on beagle puppies. Twenty-four members of the House of Representatives signed a letter to Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of NIH. The letter was prompted by the nonprofit group White Coat Waste which obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act that appear to show NIAID spent $1.68 million in taxpayer money for experiments on beagle puppies in a lab in Tunisia. Those...

Work has begun on an animated film depicting the true story of the cigarette smoking, beer drinking bear which 'fought' alongside soldiers in the Second World War. Adopted as an orphaned cub in 1942 by the 22nd Artillery Division of the Polish 2nd Corps, Wojtek, which in Polish means 'smiling warrior' or 'he who enjoys war', quickly became an adored mascot. He went on to be officially given the rank of Private and learnt to march alongside the troops, salute and even carry cases of ammunition.

Canines and humans hit the waves Saturday at the annual Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach. Competitors had 12 minutes to catch their top five waves and be judged on confidence level, length of ride and overall ability to ride. [photos at link]

With lemon and black plumage, the Scott’s oriole flashes in the desert like a flame. But the bird’s name holds a violent history that Stephen Hampton can’t forget. He used to see the orioles often, living in California. Now that he lives outside the bird’s range, “I’m kind of relieved,” he says. Hampton is a birder and registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Winfield Scott, a U.S. military commander and the bird’s namesake, drove Hampton’s ancestors and other Native Americans from their land in the 1800s during a series of forced marches now known as the Trail of Tears. The...

When you hear the word "shapeshifting" you probably think of a sci-fi or horror film, and not the climate. But that's what scientists say is happening to some animals in response to climate change. Warm-blooded species are evolving to have larger beaks, legs and ears to regulate body temperature as the planet warms up, a new study suggests. The scientists behind the study warn the physiological changes do not mean animals are coping with climate change. "A lot of the time when climate change is discussed, people are asking 'can humans overcome this?' or 'what technology can solve this?'" says...

Pudgy, ungainly tardigrades are among the smallest legged animals on Earth, and these microscopic water bears lumber around like chubby-thighed toddlers. But most creatures as small as tardigrades don’t even have legs, so scientists recently analyzed tardigrades in motion to better understand how they use their limbs.

51 U.S. Contract Military Dogs were left behind in Afghanistan Follow updates here as this story develops over the next 24 hours… Latest update 2 am eastern Tuesday morning… .@VetSheepdogsUS #kabul #Afghanistan #SemperFi pic.twitter.com/Gd3HBFl9PV — Joshua T. Hosler for American Veterans 🇺🇸 (@JoshuaHosler) August 31, 2021 There was room on the planes. They were released on the tarmac today. #CharlotteMaxwellJones and her service animals were LEFT in #Kabul. The SERVICE dogs were released on the tarmac. They were at the airport for SIX DAYS beforehand! There was room on those planes. I’m ashamed of you @POTUS @VP @SecDef #OperationHercules #NoAmerican...

On Thursday morning, a collared female mountain lion named P-54 was near Calabasas, California, with two of her cubs. Born in October, the two young mountain lions were at an age when they're learning to hunt on their own in preparation for taking care of themselves and becoming adults. On that morning, though, one of the young lions set its sights on a 5-year-old boy playing in his front yard, and it attacked. "On Aug 26, 2021, approximately 10:45 a.m., a 65-lb. mountain lion attacked the boy in his front yard, inflicting wounds to his head, neck and upper torso,"...

The giant tortoise, one of nature's vegetarians. Or is it? This video shows the astonishing moment an Aldabra giant tortoise hunts and kills a noddy tern chick.It's the first time this behaviour has ever been documented and changes what scientists thought they knew about the species. A study of the slow-speed hunt has been published in the scientific journal Current Biology."Everybody knows, or everybody thought they knew, that tortoises are vegetarians," he says.

Vancouver coyotes attack people in Stanley Park, bite their own tails, and biologists don’t understand why Vancouver coyote experts are using every tactic possible – not including catapults and dynamite – to try to solve the mystery of why these animals have attacked dozens of people in Stanley Park this year. There may not be more than a dozen coyotes living in a four-square-mile park in Vancouver, but they have provincial and city employees chasing their tails in search of answers as to why the animals are so aggressive. At the same time, the call to rid the park of...

I keep reading about all of the COVID test animals dying with 90 days after receiving the mRNA vaccine. What’s the source for this? About to have a chat with my MD brother-in-law…

The Oakland Zoo in California started this week with bears, mountain lions, tigers and ferrets, the first of about 100 animals that are set to receive an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus over the summer. Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, is donating 11,000 doses of the vaccine to about 70 zoos as well as sanctuaries, universities and other animal conservation sites in 27 U.S. states, and the Oakland Zoo is one of the first to benefit. The vaccine is solely for animals, goes through a different approval process than for people, and cannot be used to protect humans. “It means...

I missed Mutt Day due to the 4th of July part deux. To make up for that oversight I’ve decided to add another animal to the must-celebrate list; thus I hereby pronounce that Taco Tuesday shall henceforth serve as Chinchilla Day as well.Since chinchillas are so darned cute it does beg the question: “Are chinchillas even real?”Technically yes, they are rodents native to the Andes mountains of South America. They appear to be a cross between a rat, ground squirrels and rabbits.They purportedly make good pets…but unfortunately like all cute things south of the border one must be vigilant as...

A man fishing on an a New Brunswick, Canada, river noticed some unusual activity in the water and ended up rescuing a red squirrel struggling with some bass. Matt Myers said he was fishing for striped bass on the Miramichi River when he saw a group of bass splashing at the surface of the water. "I was watching some splashing and all of a sudden I looked to the side and I thought 'What is that in the middle of this spawning activity?'" Myers told CBC News. He said he initially thought the bass were attacking a stick, but he...

HOUSTON, TX – The two MS-13 gang members who killed a 15-year-old girl as a sacrifice to the Saint of Death in 2017, have been convicted of murder and each sentenced to 40 years in prison. “This is a tragic case of a runaway girl falling into the clutches of a dangerous and violent gang,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “We will not stop in our pursuit of violent criminals who band together to terrorize communities and murder innocents.” On Monday, just before jury selection was set to begin in his trial, Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 22, pleaded guilty to...

Screen capture from video of elephants at the Ramat Gan Safari responding during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, May 2021. (Facebook)A video released by the Ramat Gan Safari shows how a herd of elephants formed a protective circle around a young calf during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip last week. In the clip, published Friday, sirens warning of incoming rockets can be heard in the background. The elephants immediately cross their enclosure to stand around Pele, a 14-month-old calf. As the video continues, rockets from the Iron Dome air defense system can be heard whooshing into...

A 14-year-old girl was killed and 14 others were injured in a shooting that was carried out by multiple gunmen at an illegal neighborhood concert in South Carolina this weekend, which was marred by a dozen mass shootings across the country.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to US President Joe Biden, described his work fighting the novel coronavirus, his time working alongside former President Donald Trump and currently under Biden, in an interview with Channel 13 News on Wednesday night. "I would say consistently that my worst nightmare would be the appearance of a new virus that jumps species from an animal host to a human that would have two characteristics: one, that it would jump extraordinarily easy from person to person, and two, it had the capability of resulting in a considerable degree in morbidity and mortality, said Fauci....

Coping with the loss of a beloved pet can be tough. What makes it worse is when us paw-rents are unavailable in the animal's dying moments to provide it comfort and care. I'd read somewhere that owners often feel guilt and responsibility for their pet's death, largely due to how reliant these animals are on us for their survival. My pet rabbit died two years ago when he was six. Based on online resources I looked up, a house rabbit that's well taken care of can live for up to 12 years. That, of course, did nothing to make me...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A plain clothes NYPD officer stopped a racist attack in Chinatown on Tuesday. CBS2 News has learned exclusively that Sharon Williams was arrested Tuesday night. She’s accused of harassing the Asian staff inside a nail salon on Madison Street.