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Four people were caught on video awkwardly bird-napping a massive swan in Queens — as activists fear the missing bird may have met its end as an animal sacrifice or because of a a senior prank. The four — including one minor — were busted after snatching the mute female swan Saturday at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park in Howard Beach, according to US Park Police. Authorities didn’t immediately release the names of the alleged bird-brained bandits, but local officials and activists speculate the bird could have met an unsavory fate as some of the birds have ended up on...

Among the most surprising finds is that the inhabitants of the earliest cities of the Bronze Age (3500–1200 b.c.) were enthusiastic pig eaters, and that even later Iron Age (1200–586 b.c.) residents of Jerusalem enjoyed the occasional pork feast. Yet despite a wealth of data and new techniques including ancient DNA analysis, archaeologists still wrestle with many porcine mysteries, including why the once plentiful animal gradually became scarce long before religious taboos were enacted...In the 1990s, at the site of Hallan Çemi in southeastern Anatolia, archaeologists unearthed 51,000 animal bones dating to about 10,000 b.c. Of these, boar bones made...

Though some people may call them "cute", Javelinas are arguably rather ugly animals and possess a rather unpleasant odor which is why some people refer to them as "musk hogs". They aren't wild pigs but are actually members of the "peccary" family that originated in South America. They have become accustomed to being in close proximity to humans and will generally ignore people. If you try and approach them. they will simply leave the area, but if provoked and threatened they've been known to defend themselves with their long, sharp tusks.The colorization of the Javelina is peppered black, gray and...

The co-leaders of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have circled the wagons against a stopgap spending bill that has drawn the ire of conservatives in Congress. "Unless @DOGE ends the careers of deceitful, pork-barrel politicians, the waste and corruption will never stop," Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X on Wednesday afternoon as Republican lawmakers mulled the best way forward for the CR to fund the government. "Therefore, there is no choice but to do so. I wish there was another way, but there is not." Former Republican presidential candidate and DOGE co-leader Vivek...

Hogzilla or Jaws? More humans are killed annually by wild pigs than by sharks, a startling new study reveals. By slice, puncture, hook, and gouge, the global number of fatalities from wild pig attacks is rising by the decade. Between 2014 and 2023, the average yearly number of fatal shark attacks worldwide was 5.8, while the average number of fatal wild pig attacks was 19.7. In 2024 alone, there have already been seven deaths from wild pig incidents. According to groundbreaking research published in 2023, the number of humans killed by wild pig attacks steadily climbed from 2000 to 2019,...

This is disgusting. Those cops should be tried for deprivation of rights under color of law. They deserve the rope.

The economy is experiencing a golden moment thanks to exports and tourism after cleaning up its accounts. But the country has paid a price in migration of qualified workers and reduction of public services. Ten years after the departure of the “men in black” — the international managers of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank who cleaned up Portugal’s accounts with a machete, the country has emerged as the most diligent student in southern Europe. In 2023, for the first time, public debt fell below 100% of GDP (it stood at 98.7%) and there was a...

New And Deadly Viruses Passed Through Sweet Food And Domestic Animals ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2008) — Nipah virus is a new and deadly brain and lung disease that emerged from Singapore and Malaysia ten years ago. It is now spreading into rural India and Bangladesh killing up to three-quarters of the people who become infected in some outbreaks, scientists heard April 3, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting. "People are catching this disease by drinking date palm juice or probably by eating fruit contaminated by the virus, or through contact with infected animals. We have seen nine...

The swamp is back in full force we have a thousand-page Bill of $1.2 trillion filled with all manners of spending priorities that are at odds with the American people. This bill is over a thousand pages long, contains hundreds of pages of report language, 1,400 ear marks, and we've had about 24 hours to review it. That is not the way to do business, and the American people and American families are the ones left holding the bag. This is business as usual in the swamp, and here's the deal to my Republican colleagues: You will own every single...

Around the world, scientists are now beginning to examine samples of the virus with a significant question in mind: Could this strain of the disease cause a global pandemic? This international network of scientists keeps constant watch for good reason. In 1918 and 1919, a flu pandemic killed between 20 million and 40 million people, more than the total death toll of World War I, more in a year than the Black Death of 1347 to 1351. More recently, an H1N1 swine flu pandemic was blamed for more than 284,500 human deaths worldwide between April 2009 and August 2010. So...

Police also wrongly cited him for "improper hand signal" after the man flipped them off.Last year, Delaware police prevented 54-year-old Jonathan Guessford from holding a sign warning drivers about a speed trap and wrongfully cited him for "improper hand signal" after he flipped off the officers who seized and tore up his sign. Police have now agreed to pay Guessford $50,000 as part of a settlement reached in a lawsuit alleging that police violated his civil rights. Following several run-ins with the police, Guessford decided to "stage protests whenever he saw police officers stopping unsuspected vehicles using a radar gun,"...

Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Cold winter rains lashed war-battered Gaza on Wednesday, compounding the suffering of Palestinians forced from their homes and now huddling in flooded tents. Aziza al-Shabrawi tried in vain to get the rainwater out of her family's tent, pointing to her two children living in such precarious conditions. "My son is sick because of the bitter cold and my daughter is barefoot. It's like we're beggars," said the 38-year-old. "No one cares, and no one helps." Rafah has become a vast camp for the displaced beside the Egyptian border, with hundreds of tents erected using wood...

A simple question

In the city of Madison, pigs won't be flying anywhere after the Common Council amended the city ordinance to allow them to be kept as pets. The council voted 11-8 on the change late Tuesday night, allowing one pig per dwelling unit in the city, as long as it's under 24 inches tall at the shoulder, weighs 300 pounds, is up to date on shots and is microchipped. The vote came after roughly 30 minutes of discussion. The swine that started it all was Rudi. He lives along the Southwest Commuter Bike Path. "I think he belongs here," Karen Peterson...

its seems Canadian farmers breeding to produce a hardier pig may have been a bad idea. Northern states may end up having the same issue southern states have with feral pigs. "In April 13, a farmer in Nelson Country, North Dakota, was attacked by a feral pig*but not just any old swine. The perpetrator was what authorities and wildlife experts are calling a *super pig,* or a hybrid between a European wild boar and a domestic pig. The beast made repeated attempts to maul the farmer until it was finally shot dead. This attack is just the latest development in...

[H/T grey_whiskers]On TwitterApr 1, 2023

Super hybrid pigs invading. Originally bred to tolerate the Canadian cold, they are now invading America. More at link.

A cross-bred “super pig” from Canada is poised to wreak havoc on the environment in the United States and must be dealt with aggressively and immediately, a wildlife expert told Fox News Digital. “These pigs are easily the worst invasive large mammal on the planet,” said Dr. Ryan Brook, an assistant professor in the department of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. These “super pigs” are actually a cross between a European wild boar and a domestic pig, Brook said. The pigs “cause crop damage, destroy natural environments, get into cities, destroy water quality and...

Wild pigs on the Central Coast continue to be a growing problem as they extend their range of damage and county park leaders now looking at hiring a private hunter to help eradicate the problem. “It gets very very frustrating. Our parks are the jewels of our community,” said Mike LeBarre, mayor of King City. LeBarre is referring to San Lorenzo Park in King City which was the latest target of the wild hogs. They ripped up the grass this week in search of grubs, insect larvae hidden beneath the grass. The damage is estimated to be thousands of dollars...

This is my promise to Arizona. This an experimental shot. Our Children are NOT guinea pigs. When I'm Governor, the Covid Vax will NEVER be mandatory for our precious children. NEVER. Video: https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1582816744363552768?cxt=HHwWgMCjhazcpfcrAAAA