Free Republic

A South African conservationist has been killed by lions he hand-reared, the family said on Thursday. West Mathewson, 69, was walking two white lionesses on Wednesday when one of the animals attacked and killed him without warning. A lioness became aggressive towards the other and then turned her attention to Mathewson, reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko from Johannesburg. His relatives have said that the attack could have been the result of very rough play. The incident took place on the premises of the family-owned Lion Tree Top Lodge, in South Africa's northern Limpopo province.

Two rare white lion cubs have been unveiled by a conservation charity in north-western France. Nala and Simba's parents were rescued from the circus by Caresse de Tigre. White lions are native to South Africa, but only a handful remain in the wild.

AUTHOR Eric C Bartholomew has photographed lots of animals – elephants, tigers, wild boar – but none were as tricky to capture as Thanet's albino squirrel. The 67-year-old scribbler, of St Lawrence Chase, Ramsgate, spotted the white wonder in a park close to Ramsgate's Royal Esplanade on Monday, April 16. Wildlife experts estimate that the odds of a pure white squirrel being born are one in 100,000. Mr Bartholomew, a safari lover, chased the rare rodent around the park for 20 minutes before he got his shot at about 7am. He said: "I was in the right place at the...

RICHMOND Nearly nine years after 17 sailors were killed in a terrorist attack on the USS Cole, a judge has ordered New York banks to release $13.4 million in frozen Sudanese accounts to family members of the victims. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood issued the order last week, ending a six-year quest by 59 spouses, parents and children of the victims to hold the Sudanese government accountable for the deaths. “I’m so excited,” said Lorrie Triplett of Suffolk, whose 31-year-old husband, Andrew, was killed in the Oct. 12, 2000 attack. “I just know Andrew was saying halleluiah for me and...