Free Republic

A famous mine-clearing rat, who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has been commemorated with the world's first statue dedicated to a landmine-detecting rat. Magawa, who lived to eight years old, sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia during his five-year career that started in 2016. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career in 2016. Using his acute sense of smell and training to detect a chemical compound within explosives, Magawa would then alert human handlers of mines that could...

The world's oldest land animal, Jonathan the tortoise, is still alive after a viral hoax falsely claimed he'd died. The confusion began after a post on X falsely claimed the giant tortoise had died at age 193. The account, which impersonated Jonathan’s veterinarian, Joe Hollins, quickly gained traction and sparked concern among fans around the world. That claim, however, was not true. "Yes, he's still alive," the X user wrote hours later. "This was just an April Fools' prank." **SNIP** Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, continues to live on the island of St. Helena, a remote British territory in the...

A retired matador was killed by a bull on Friday as he prepared the animals for a bullfight at an arena in Málaga, in southern Spain, organizers said. Ricardo Ortiz was handling the bulls in their enclosures at La Malagueta, a historic bullring in Málaga, when one of the animals gored him, according to Lances de Futuro, the company organizing the bullfight. “We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much loved and respected person in the bullfighting world,” the company statement said. Ortiz’s death came a day before a Picasso-themed...

It varies a lot by nutrient, form, dose, and whether the person is deficient, but the short answer is: some synthetic vitamins/minerals are absorbed about as well as natural ones, while others are less well utilized unless the form is chosen carefully.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+2General ruleWater-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and many B vitamins are often absorbed well in synthetic form, and in human studies synthetic vitamin C has shown no meaningful difference from natural vitamin C at steady state.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nihMinerals can be absorbed anywhere from about 25% to 90%+, depending on the mineral and the chemical form; for example, calcium is often around...

A northern New Mexico family is thanking their 12-year-old half-blind dog for fighting off a bear and protecting dozens of animals including 60 chickens. The Martinez family said their dog Honey got hurt on the night of March 3 while tracking something on their family land in Cordova, where they raise chickens, horses and dogs. “She was tracking something at the time. We didn’t know what, but we knew she was tracking something,” said Denise Martinez. The family said they found Honey in the driveway the next morning with major injuries. They said they saw scratches on fences and trees,...

Wild video shows the moment the windsurfer crashes right into a gray whale as it surfaces directly into his path. The man topples off the board, and the sail collapses into the water, while the whale disappears back into the bay. The windsurfer appears stunned but unharmed by the incident.

NECEDAH, Wis. — A kangaroo who escaped from a Necedah farm earlier this week has been found. The Sunshine Farm announced on Saturday that Chesney the kangaroo was located after being reported missing. On Saturday morning, the farm's Facebook page shared that Chesney was spotted near the power lines on the north side of the street. He was last seen in the area of 23rd and 9th. The Juneau County Sheriff's Office previously stated on Thursday that Chesney's owners were using a drone to search for him. The sheriff's office also said the following: "Apparently his dramatic ‘I’m running away...

The surfer who had a frightening run-in with a great white shark at Newport Beach said she didn’t realize it was the feared predator circling her surfboard until it was too late. “Went to this beach my whole life with my friends,” Vivian Phongngo told KTLA. “I’ve never seen anything bigger than a stingray.” She at first thought the beast was “a really nice fish” before believing it was actually a dolphin.“And then like after three seconds, I was like no, that’s a shark,” she told the outlet.

An adorable owl was rescued late Thursday evening by the California Highway Patrol after crashing onto a busy Southern California roadway. The injured owl was found on a busy three-lane road in Stevenson Ranch at about 10:14 p.m., officer Luis Quintero from the California Highway Patrol told the California Post. Officers spotted the beige, wide-eyed owl stranded along The Old Road, just north of Stevenson Ranch Parkway in Santa Clarita. Lying helpless in the left lane, the owl struggled on its back, wings fluttering against the pavement.

“ Today at the Board of Supervisors, we recognized for the first time, Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan—a time observed by Muslims around the world through fasting, prayer, reflection, and acts of charity. It is a time that emphasizes compassion, gratitude, and a deep sense of community....”

The 53-second clip, titled 'One Vengeance for All,' was released by Iranian news outlet Fars News Agency, which is closely tied to the country's state broadcasting network. The video unfolds as a dark montage of historical and modern conflict imagery framed to portray American and Western actions as sources of global suffering. It opens with scenes referencing violence against Native American populations before shifting to the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Scenes resembling the Vietnam War follow, alongside footage referencing recent conflicts in Gaza, Yemen and an Iranian school reportedly struck by an American...

Seven stolen village dogs in northeastern China captured the hearts of millions online after breaking free from thieves working for a dog meat shop and embarking on a journey home together, igniting calls for stronger animal protection laws. On March 16, a netizen surnamed Lu recorded a video of seven dogs walking along a busy highway in Changchun, Jilin province. In the footage, a group of dogs carefully surrounded an injured German shepherd, while a Corgi at the front repeatedly looked back to ensure none were left behind. The group also included Golden Retrievers, Labradors and Pekinese dogs. Lu told...

A group of seven dogs that went missing in China have gone viral after a video emerged of them walking more than 17km (about 11 miles) back home to their village, reuniting with owners who had been searching for them for days. The video, first posted online on 15 March, shows the dogs – including a golden retriever, labrador, German shepherd and Pekinese – walking along the highway in Changchun, the capital of China’s north-east Jilin province, where temperatures are dropping below 0C overnight. Leading the pack is a corgi, later identified in Chinese media as Dapang, or “big fatty”.

A Vermont fire department came to the rescue of a raccoon that got its head stuck in a peanut butter jar before fleeing to a high branch in a tree. The Shelburne Fire Department said on social media that firefighters were tipped off to the raccoon's predicament by Shelburne Water Department personnel. "Upon arrival, crews located the raccoon approximately 25 feet in a tree. It appeared to have had a little too much luck finding the peanut butter, but not quite enough luck removing the container afterward," the post said. Firefighters used a ladder to reach the raccoon's position and...

In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom broke ground on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (WAWC), a project featuring an overpass for animals atop ten lanes of the 101 Freeway in Southern California. At the ceremony, Newsom boasted that the state had committed $54 million. He promised to “complete the job within another $10 million,” before seeming to hedge on whether that final sum would do the trick. Officials projected a 2025 completion date for the overpass, and estimated that the entire project — which includes the bridge and other ancillary developments — would cost $92 million, some of it coming...

Eight reported Bigfoot sightings were logged across Ohio in just four days, a surge experts say hasn't been seen in the region in nearly 50 years. An expert with the Bigfoot Society podcast, hosted by Jeremiah Byron, said a possible 'flap' - a sudden cluster of Sasquatch sightings within a short time span - may be unfolding across Ohio. Each witness, Byron said, is a local familiar with rural Ohio wildlife, and all described similar sightings: large, black-haired creatures with long arms, walking upright and making 'grunting noises.'

A red fox stowed away on a cargo ship that departed Southampton, England, and was found by customs officers at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo in New York, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the approximately 2-year-old male fox hiding among the ship's cargo when it arrived at the Port Authority. The 11-pound fox was brought to the Bronx Zoo on Feb. 19. "The fox is currently in the Animal Health Center at the Bronx Zoo, where it is under the care of the zoo's animal...

The non-profit White Coat Waste (WCW) has uncovered disturbing evidence of animal abuse at the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), where taxpayer dollars are funding barbaric procedures on cats, including former pets sourced from local shelters. According to records obtained by WCW, UMC maintained a colony of homeless cats acquired from Jefferson City, Missouri’s public animal shelter, using them as blood donors in ways that risked anemia and dangerously low blood levels. These cats, many likely lost or abandoned pets because they had microchips, could be confined for up to two years before potentially being euthanized if deemed “medically necessary” rather...

A Chinese national has been arrested in Kenya's main airport accused of attempting to smuggle more than 2,000 queen garden ants out of the country. Zhang Kequn was intercepted during a security check at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the capital Nairobi after authorities discovered a large consignment of live ants in his luggage bound for China. He has yet to respond to the accusation but investigators said in court that he was linked to an ant-trafficking network that was broken up in Kenya last year. The ants are protected by international bio-diversity treaties and their trade is highly...

A series of social media posts from a cryptid-focused podcast has ignited speculation about widespread Bigfoot sightings in northeast Ohio, with enthusiasts pointing to what they describe as a concentrated burst of activity. The Bigfoot Society, a podcast and online community dedicated to collecting eyewitness accounts of Sasquatch encounters, says it had received six separate reports between March 6 and March 10 in wooded areas near Mantua and Garrettsville, southeast of Cleveland. The group has described the cluster as a possible "flap," a term used in cryptozoology for multiple sightings within a short time span. "It’s normal for there to...