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Washington (AFP) - Giant anteaters in Brazil have killed two hunters in separate incidents, raising concerns about the animals' loss of habitat and the growing risk of dangerous encounters with people, researchers said. The long-nosed, hairy mammals are not typically aggressive toward people and are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), largely due to deforestation and human settlements that encroach on their territory. [snip]

There are no ants in Angela Goodwin's pants... because she keeps a pair of anteaters in her washing machine. The 37-year-old bought Pua seven years ago and Aurora in 2011 to keep her company. And now the nocturnal pair are never happier than when they're curled up in her washer during the day or when they're roaming the house at night - keeping it free from pesky ants.

A Dan Brown-worthy mystery (forget about Dante, what about the zoo?) is as follows: Staffers at a zoological conservation center in Greenwich, Conn., are very confused — as are the rest of us — because their female giant anteater, Armani, has managed to conceive a baby, apparently without the presence of a male anteater. What? It all started in August, writes Lisa Chamoff for Greenwich Time. Armani, an anteater at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center, had given birth to anteater baby girl Alice. Alice's father, Alf, was kept away from Armani and Alice because male anteaters have a bad history...

GREENWICH, Conn.,- A giant anteater at a Connecticut conservation center gave birth even though she had been separated from her mate for several months, zoo officials said. Tenders at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center in Greenwich, Conn., said they were surprised to find giant anteater Armani had given birth to baby Archie one morning in April. They said she had been separated from her mate, Alf, since she gave birth to their daughter, Alice, in August. Male anteaters are known to commit infanticide, so keepers had moved Alf into a separate enclosure at the time, only reuniting the couple recently,...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For most little boys, circumcision is a decision for the parents to make. But the Missouri Supreme Court may make that decision for one local boy because his parents don't agree. Two-and-a-half-year-old Ethan Azar's mother does not want to have him circumcised. "There's no medical society in the world that recommends it, including the American Academy of Pediatrics," said Camille Azar. But Ethan's father was recently granted sole custody. He wants his son circumcised. While the boy's father and his attorney would not appear on camera, they did cite personal, social and health reasons for wanting...

A good report just came from a news gal on KFI radio. The prez (I think) of the University of California Irving has issued a directive to the professors to stop talking about the war in class unless it is appropriate to be part of the class discussions. Many students have complained about the antiwar statements in class, including a diatribe by a math professor. That scumbag had a girl in tears in his classroom. She has a loved one risking his life in Iraq. Freedom of speech, it seems to me, does not include propaganda in the classroom. Let...