Free Republic

...The reasons why big cats turn on humans are complex and can be specific to individuals. But they can no longer be explained outside the context of climate change. Biodiversity depletion, habitat loss, extreme weather events, and a greater struggle over natural resources are affecting how animals live...

10:28 p.m.-- BREAKING: House Speaker John Boehner outlined the parameters of a long-term funding deal, telling his members in a closed-door meeting, "This is the best deal we could get out of them," according to a lawmaker in the room who asked not to be identified.

San Francisco Zoo in new animal escape alert: reports 1 hour ago SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — A leopard and a polar bear came close to escaping from enclosures at San Francisco Zoo, reports said Friday, less than three weeks after a visitor was mauled to death by a tiger at the facility. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on its website that zookeepers told the paper a female polar bear climbed the wall of its enclosure on January 3 while a snow leopard chewed through a temporary enclosure on Thursday. The incidents come after the Christmas Day escape of a Siberian...