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It has been described as a snake threaded through the body of a turtle, and some imaginative people think there's one living in Loch Ness. The plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived 160 million years ago, looked like nothing alive today, with a neck that was some 2 metres long, the length of the body and tail combined. Why it needed such a long neck has been a mystery, but now Leslie Noè of the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge, UK, has an answer. Plesiosaurs used their long necks to reach down and feed on soft-bodied animals living on the sea...

A teenager was shot Monday afternoon after he was arguing over tater tots with another teen, San Antonio Police said. The shooting happened close to 5 p.m. at the Spring Hill Apartments off Raybon on the northeast side. Neighbors told police the uncle of one of the boys told the teens to stop fighting. They were ready to stop, but investigators said a 20-year-old man would not let them. “Another person out here in this apartment complex, I think wanted to see the young boys continue fighting,” Sgt. Rudy Cran with SAPD said. The man then walked into a nearby...

A NESSIE hunt using a team of dolphins was planned by the Tory government, according to declassified secret documents. Within days of the 1979 election, officials in Margaret Thatcher's regime proposed importing the mammals from America and fitting them with hi-tech equipment to scour Loch Ness. Despite opposition from animal rights groups, it was argued that finding the monster would benefit local tourism. A letter from Environment Department civil servant David Waymouth to Stewart Walker at the Scottish Home and Health Department, showed the Government wanted a licence to initiate the plan. It stated: "This department is presently considering the...

A South African mugger fleeing the scene of his crime hides in a tiger enclosure. On the country's coast, a woman attempts to be a good Samaritan by pushing a young seal into the sea, believing the poor thing is stranded. Both people paid heavily for their stupidity, underscoring one of nature's truisms: humans do dumb things around wild animals. "I blame it on Walt Disney, where animals are given human qualities. People don't understand that a wild animal is not something that is nice to pat. It can seriously harm you," said James Cameron, a South African professional hunter....