Free Republic

Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region, with experts warning of an impending environmental catastrophe. Satellite images are giving an insight into destruction in the region, including to the fragile biodiversity of the Persian Gulf. Oil spilt there has the potential to affect the lives and livelihoods of people along the Gulf coastlines, as well as the region’s rich marine life...such as turtles, dolphins and whales that might ingest or become trapped in the oil. They could also potentially affect the filtering systems of desalination plants, on...

California's blustery San Francisco Bay is home to the Golden Gate Bridge, commercial ports, public marinas and ferry boats. But more recently, a new sight is attracting locals' attention: Eastern North Pacific gray whales.The whales have brought wonder, as residents and researchers now get to closely observe how they feed, breed and socially engage. They've also brought growing unease: why are so many of them undernourished and dying?In 2025, a record number of 21 dead gray whales were found in the broader San Francisco Bay. So far this year, seven have died due to a combination of dwindling prey availability,...

As herds of elk have overtaken a beach in a small Oregon coastal town, tourists have tried to put their children on them to ride and others attempt to feed them carrots. “We have visitors who don't know elk are wild animals,” said the local chamber. It’s a sight most in Wyoming would consider extremely odd: herds of elk lounging around the beach. That’s what’s happening in the small Oregon coastal town of Cannon Beach, where elk are taking over the beaches, looking completely out of context in the sand and surf. And as in Yellowstone National Park, Estes Park,...

Still trying to get rid of the gophers in my yard. I read there are scents they don't like, makes 'em leave so I'm making a natural pest repellent spray infused with peppermint to ward off the gophers. I thought I'd put it up here for anyone else with this problem to try. Not expensive, doesn't hurt pets. Hope it works. Surprisingly this recipe says to mix with distilled water and VODKA!? They will either leave or hang out at the patio trying to hook up with loose gopher chicks 🦫 If I hear them singing Muskrat Love tonight I'll...

One theory about defending against bear attacks is this: Defenders must be careful not to shoot a bear without immediately killing it, because wounded bears are more likely to attack. The theory has been put forward for many decades. One of those who put the theory up for consideration was Stephen Herrero in his book, “Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance“. On page 241 of the 1985 edition, Herrero writes: Of course, if an aggressive bear actually attacks you or a companion, a firearm may be a lifesaver, or it may cause a wounded bear to intensify its attack. Herrero...

PITTSBURG COUNTY, Okla. — A McAlester mother is clinging to life at a Tulsa hospital following a brutal attack by an unidentified animal that investigators said is unlike anything they've seen in over 30 years. Alicia Maxey was found severely injured on Sunday morning in a remote yard near Blanco. While the family initially believed a dog was responsible, the sheer scale of the injuries has prompted the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office to bring in wildlife experts to solve the mystery of what kind of animal attacked Alicia. According to investigators, Alicia had pulled into a nearby driveway. She was...

Public domain map showing area of the two bear attacks. On February 15, 2026, a Slovenian father and son used a handgun or handguns to defend against an attacking European brown bear, ursus arctos. From bernama.com:Environment state secretary Filip Kuffa said the father and son had been inspecting timber in a mountain forest with a hunting dog when the bear attacked unexpectedly.According to Mr Kuffa, the father fired several shots from his pistol in self-defence, but the bear knocked him to the ground and bit him repeatedly.His son then shot and killed the animal with a handgun.The incident has been...

"For decades, reintroducing grizzlies to California seemed unrealistic. Now, California lawmakers are considering a plan that could relocate Yellowstone grizzlies there. One skeptic says, "I don’t think it’s feasible. There’s 40 million people in California."

CDC Update: Tularemia Outbreak in Prairie Dogs in Texas Tuesday, August 06, 2002 4:15 PM Eastern US http://www.videonewswire.com/CDC/080602/event.html?id=7237

A petition to ban hunting in Oregon is picking up steam. Animal rights advocates are fighting to change the law in Oregon, including banning most hunting, fishing and animal research.One of the people leading the charge of getting this petition out there says they have been trying to get this on the ballot for years, getting more and more signatures each time, though he knows it won’t likely pass. Supporters call the proposal the PEACE Act, short for People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions.

During 2025, a saga unfolded where a dangerous, food-habituated grizzly bear swam across three miles of saltwater to Texada Island in British Columbia, Canada. The bear had been tagged in the left ear. It was a young boar about 4 years old that had been relocated twice due to conflicts with humans. The bear kept coming back. Just before the swim, the bear had been breaking into fishing boats and had stalked two teenagers on the beach. They had to take to the water to avoid the bear on May 22, 2025. COS is the acronym for the Conservation Officers...

A lone gray wolf padded quietly into Los Angeles County before dawn on Saturday — and made history. State biologists say the female wolf may be the first documented in Southern California in 100 years, after the apex predators were wiped out across the state by eradication campaigns aimed at protecting livestock. The last known wild wolf in California was shot on June 12, 1924, by federal trapper Frank W. Koehler in Lassen County. The three-year-old female, known as BEY03F, was spotted on a trail camera in the mountains north of Santa Clarita.

From a tender moment between a crane and her chick to a heartbreaking image of a polar bear cub’s final moments, the finalists for the Nuveen People’s Choice Award of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest stun. Photographers from 113 countries and territories submitted more than 60,000 images for consideration. A judging panel of photography, wildlife, conservation and science experts whittled the finalists list down to 24 photographs that are now competing for votes from the public. “No matter where you are in the world, it’s time to join the jury and vote in the Nuveen People’s Choice Award...

The pellet appears to be .177 caliber, using the knife bolt head to scale the pellet size. The bolt head is assumed to be .25 inches, the size of a bolt head on Outdoor Edge Razor-Lite knives. The knife seems to be a Outdoor Edge Razor-Lite variation, but the identification is not certain. The pellet could be distorted by impact forces, as well. On September 1, 2024, in Willits, Colorado, a resident shot a black bear sow with a pellet rifle. The man said he was attempting to harass the sow to have it move away from his neighborhood, because...

It’s raining reptiles! Iguanas left virtually paralyzed by Florida’s recent unseasonable cold snap are dropping like flies from trees, leaving people to scoop them up by the armload. When temperatures plummet, the cold-blooded creatures become immobile, and in Florida, where upwards of 1 million iguanas are estimated to typically laze in the treetops, that means torrents of reptiles falling. “They’re like little bags of ice,” said Jessica Kilgore of the “nuisance animal removal service” Iguana Solutions as she hefted a 10-pound iguana in her arms. Usually, Floridians are prohibited from handling the iguanas themselves, but this winter, the situation is...

After decades of mystery surrounding its existence, a rare animal once believed to be extinct has been confirmed on remote trail cameras in northern California, offering a thrilling sign of wildlife resilience. Scientists say the coastal marten — a small carnivorous mammal that nearly vanished from the state — was captured in recent footage and DNA samples collected via hair snares, validating that wild populations still persist in the region. The discovery has brought renewed hope for the species and underlines the value of modern conservation tools. Once targeted nearly to extinction during the 20th-century fur trade, coastal martens were...

Before the recent predatory killing of a woman in Colorado by a mountain lion, there were a number of warning events. Kristen Marie Kovatch was killed by a mountain lion on January 1 in Larimer County. According to the Denver Gazette, there were five confrontations with lions in the area from October 28 through December 23. Only one of the incidents involved the killing of a lion that was attacking a dog in the owner’s yard. The Denver Gazette article gleans three lessons from the series of events. The third is a set of recommendations about what to do if...

A female skier was mauled by a snow leopard after getting too close to try to take a photo, with a chilling video capturing her being led away with blood pouring from her face.The footage shows the victim lying prone in the snow wearing a purple ski suit after the animal mauled her on Friday evening in Fuyun County at the northern Chinese border with Mongolia.She is then seen being taken away from the scene with blood pouring from her face.

Researchers found that prohibited species may be sold under false labels.Key Points: -Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that critically endangered shark species may commonly be sold under false labels in U.S. grocery stores. -The scientists revealed that out of 29 samples, 93% were ambiguously labeled as just "shark" meat. -Through DNA testing they found that numerous samples sold in grocery stores came from endangered shark species such as the shortfin mako and great hammerhead. If you spot shark on a menu or grocery store shelves in the United States, the odds are high that...

A fearless muntjac deer weighing just 50 pounds went head-to-head with a nearly two-ton rhinoceros at a zoo in Poland in a caught-on-camera David and Goliath bout for the ages. A caretaker at Wroclaw Zoo in Poland captured the standoff between Maruska the rhino and Mundzak the Chinese muntjac deer in a video viewed millions of times on social media.