Free Republic

We don't yet know if the hump disappeared after childhood. None of the previously discovered mummies had a hump. Image credit: Tiberio via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) For the first time ever, researchers have uncovered the mummified remains of a woolly rhinoceros with a big old hump on the back of its neck. Curiously absent in all other known specimens of the Ice Age megafauna, this fatty bulge attests to the remarkable accuracy of ancient cave paintings depicting rhinos with hunched backs. More than 35,000 years ago, prehistoric artists decorated the walls of the Chauvet Cave in France with stunningly...

In 1981, beachgoers at Marina Beach were surprised to spot hang glider Patty Butler soaring through the skies with her pet cat, Puddy. Originally from New Jersey, Butler, a professional ice skater turned glider, said Puddy was confused at first but soon settled in. "People are pretty amazed," she said. "They don’t notice him until I land." Butler crafted a custom papoose so Puddy could experience the thrill of flying safely right on her back. The sight of a cat gliding over the ocean with his owner was enough to make anyone do a double-take, proving that flying isn’t just...

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute community is mourning the loss of Kamala, beloved member of its Asian elephant herd and ambassador for her species. After a decade of managing and treating Kamala’s osteoarthritis, animal care staff recently noted her physical condition had irreversibly declined. They elected to humanely euthanize her Nov. 1. Born in the wild, Kamala was estimated to be around 50 years old, which is considered advanced age for this species. The elephant care team fondly remembers Kamala as a smart and inquisitive individual who held a dominant role within the herd. She built strong...

A squirrel was seen dashing across a Washington DC stage just moments before Kamala was set to make her concession speech, prompting comical claims it was the ghost of internet-famous Peanut. Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the 2024 presidential election on the campus of Howard University late Wednesday afternoon following Donald Trump's victory. But a bushy-tailed guest stole the stage just moments before Harris took the spotlight. In a video posted to X, the squirrel was seen running under American flags before scurrying across the empty stage and disappearing from eyesight. The post has accumulated more than 1,500 comments -...

I guess you can't fix stupid. Why would anyone vote for a hack, who publicly had a married boyfriend and paid him from taxpayer money? Something's very wrong with that.

Alligators are one of the most dangerous animals in the US. The states that have the most attacks are Louisiana and Florida given the population of alligators located there. However, as alligators have begun to migrate to places in Tennessee and have even been located in Lake Eerie, that may change. Even the biggest alligator ever found was located in a surprising state, not Louisiana and Florida, showing that states that may never have dealt with an alligator population may have no choice but to do so in the future. Louisiana and Florida each have more than one million alligators...

Viral baby hippo Moo Deng has made a shock prediction in the 2024 US presidential election. The zookeepers at Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo tested the four-month-old hippo by giving her two fruit-filled watermelons to choose from, emblazoned with either Donald Trump's name or Kamala Harris. They then let Moo Deng, whose name means 'bouncy pork' choose which melon she wanted to feast on, which would in turn reveal her presidential pick. The young mammal opted for Donald Trump. However, one of the zookeepers later revealed on social media that Trump's melon contained some larger pieces of fruit in it,...

Up to four separate NY State agencies, ten armed agents, with a warrant signed by a judge....for a squirrel? Are you f#$%ing kidding us? And then they execute the squirrel that had been living in this guy's home for seven years and was the mascot for the animal sanctuary he and his wife run for almost 300 animals. The squirrel, by the way, had an X/Twitter account with half-a-million followers. And the Gestapo questioned his German-immigrant wife for nearly five hours, something they wouldn't dare to do to an illegal Venezuelan.

In Latin American popular legend, the chupacabra is a monstrous creature with gray, scaly skin, spikes along its back, sharp fangs, and a taste for small livestock. Chupacabra sightings have been reported throughout the Americas and even as far north as the United States. The first report of chupacabras came from Puerto Rico in 1995. The creatures were blamed for attacks on goats, sheep, and other animals. Apparently, they left behind uneaten carcasses that were drained of blood. The name chupacabra translates from Spanish to mean “goat-sucker.” The mythical monster has inspired fear across some areas in the Americas for...

An upstate man whose beloved squirrel was cruelly killed by the state said he was treated like a “terrorist” when 10 government agents descended on his home during a five-hour raid. Mark Longo, whose pet Peanut captured the hearts of 3 million social media users, was stunned when a convoy of vehicles carrying officials from the state departments of Environmental Conservation and Health arrived at his Pine City home Wednesday. “They treated me like I was a terrorist. They treated this raid as if I was a drug dealer. They ransacked my house for five hours,” Longo told The Post...

Two Australian mathematicians have called into question an old adage, that if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare. Known as the "infinite monkey theorem", the thought-experiment has long been used to explain the principles of probability and randomness. However, a new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe. Which means that while...

The rats will be trained to operate a vest that emits a sound when a ball attached to a cord is pulledAPOPO Most of us are familiar with the vest-clad beagle that hunts for illegal fruits and plants in the travelers' luggage at airports. Now, a species of giant pouched rat has been trained to fulfill a similar role in finding illegal wildlife products. The rodents who underwent the training are African giant pouched rats and, despite their somewhat terrifying name, really only grow to be about 750 mm (about 2.5 ft) long from the tip of the nose to...

A new species of amphipod with a unique panda pattern was found in the intertidal zone of the Japanese coast. Credit: Ko Tomikawa/Hiroshima University ========================================================================================= The Melita panda, a newly classified amphipod species found in Japan, illustrates the critical role of taxonomy in biodiversity conservation. Identified by unique panda-like coloring and confirmed through molecular and morphological analyses, this species contributes to our understanding of coastal biodiversity. A crustacean species with distinctive black-and-white markings, reminiscent of a panda, has been confirmed as new to science decades after its initial discovery in Japan. Known as Melitid amphipods, these shrimp-like crustaceans are found...

A dog survived a vicious mountain lion attack in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was a harrowing experience for Bella's owner, Richard Baker. It all happened last week when Baker let Bella outside, nothing unusual for his dogs. However, moments later, she returned to the front door after being mauled by the animal, covering her body with deep wounds and bite marks. “She walked out, about 20 to 30 minutes later, she walked back in, totally ripped up,” said Baker. Baker rushed her from his home to the Pacific and Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists, a 24-hour emergency vet hospital. When...

VIDEO AT LINK.................. Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A seemingly orphaned or abandoned kitten brought to an animal shelter in Germany displayed unusually aggressive behavior that resulted in it being identified as a European wildcat. The Bergheim Animal Shelter said the small feline was brought in by a member of the public who found it alone on a country road and became concerned by the animal's aggressive behavior and refusal to eat. Shelter staff suspected the kitten wasn't a domestic cat at all, and contacted the Retscheider Hof wildlife center, which confirmed the animal was a European wildcat, a protected wild...

A heroic 13-year-old girl 'made every effort possible' to save a one-year-old boy from a pit bull but tragically was unable prevent his death. Jiryiah Johnson was supposed to be in the care of his babysitter, Heather Rodriguez, 36, when her pit bulls mauled him inside her Converse, Texas home on Monday. Rodriguez had left the child alone with her teenage daughter and the three violent dogs. When the dogs started to attack the baby, the teenager desperately tried to protect him but ended up in a 'tug-of-war for the baby' with one of the dogs, Bexar County Sheriff Javier...

A relaxing afternoon break at a Serangoon coffee shop was ruined for one man who found an unwelcome visitor in his pants. The incident occcured at about 2pm last Saturday (Oct 19) at a coffee shop at Block 3 Lorong Lew Lian, reported Shin Min Daily News. The diner surnamed Liang said he had felt something worm its way into the leg of his long pants. "My pant leg felt peculiar, then I realised that something had made its way up to my crotch area," he recounted. The frightened man immediately stood up, shaking his leg while frantically pulling on...

The camels at the start line growl and grunt before the gate goes up, then stretch out their long necks and gallop along the sandy track. "Yah! Yah! Yah!" shouts one camel owner from a car parked alongside the racetrack, banging on the car door to urge on animal and jockey alike. Welcome to the event that has been dubbed the Grand Prix of camel racing in Taif, south-western Saudi Arabia, where camels race some 250 laps for prizes worth $13 million. This camel festival, held in honour of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is now in its sixth year...

Scientists in Colombia say they have developed a novel food supplement that protects bees' brains from pesticides, keeping the insects safe from neurological damage caused by agricultural chemicals. Bees, as pollinators, are considered essential for the preservation of natural ecosystems and food production. The plant-based supplement developed at Colombia's private Rosario University in Bogota, in partnership with the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona and Colombian Universidad Javeriana, allows bees to cope with neurotoxins commonly used in agriculture and avoid having their motor system and memory harmed by the chemicals.