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<p>QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — Call it a playground for Bambi and G-Men, where imaginary criminals are hunted and deer are the spectators.</p> <p>The 547-acre FBI Academy, where some of the nation's best marksmen fire off more than 1 million bullets every month, happens to be one of the safest places for deer during hunting season.</p>

Plans to build a high speed railway line from London to Birmingham could be threatened by a small colony of bats, the Government’s environmental advisers have warned... the bats could be a “show-stopper” ...

Under the snow, insulated from the wind and cold, is a network of tunnels inhabited by mice and voles. This red fox can’t see them, but he can hear them moving. Diving nose first through the snow’s surface, the fox searches out a meal.

Calculations by the British Federation of Herpetologists (BFH) indicate that there are now as many as eight million reptiles and amphibians being kept as pets in the UK. This compares to an estimated dog population of 6.5 million. The growth in reptile numbers is so rapid that within years they will overtake the country's nine million cats to become Britain's most popular pets. Chris Newman, chairman of the Federation, said: "There are now, without question, more pet reptiles than pet dogs in the UK. You only have to look at the way the market has grown. I have no doubt...

SOUTH BRUCE PENINSULA — In the 21 years they’ve lived on a rural property near Sauble Beach, Alice and Harry Hilliard have seen their share of curious critters. There are lots of raccoons and skunks, for sure, and a black bear paid a visit one year. And there was Henrietta, the friendly wild turkey that once hung around. But it’s a squirrel that’s turning heads these days. A black and white squirrel that looks as though it tangled with a skunk. Or a Holstein. Or Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. “It really threw us off when we saw him,”...

'Beaver’ gets all the blame British driver pins Grand Prix loss on wrong rodent Randy Boswell CanWest News Service Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Davidson blamed the wrong rodent for ruining his race when it wandered into the path of his car. It turns out a poor groundhog got in the way of the car. What, exactly, was that buck-toothed blur? The final, unfortunate act in the life of an unwitting Canadian rodent has grabbed headlines around the world after British Formula One driver Anthony Davidson blamed a "beaver" for wandering into the path of his car and ruining his race...

Congress is unlikely to approve a bill giving President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program legal status and new restrictions before the November midterm elections, dealing a significant blow to one of the White House's top wartime priorities. House and Senate versions of the legislation differ too much to bridge the gap by week's end, when Congress recesses until after the Nov. 7 elections, according to two GOP leadership aides who demanded anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced. House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday that his chamber would bring up a bill by Rep. Heather Wilson...

       

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. SALT LAKE CITY - It's tiny, with a long tail, two sets of whiskers and powerful jaws. And it may just be the newest species of mouse, found on a Philippine island by a group of researchers that included a Utah man. Eric Rickart, the Utah Museum of Natural History's curator of vertebrates, said the 15-gram rodent with a 4-inch tail and strong, sharp toes is unlike any other mouse found on any Philippine island. "We were lucky to catch it," he said. After a month of study from late April...

<p>Personnel at a Westmoreland County wildlife rehabilitation center plan to report to state game officials that an Arnold man beat an opossum to death with a shovel when it wandered into his yard on Mother's Day.</p> <p>Mel Schake, information and education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission's 10-county Southwest Region, said he hadn't yet heard about the Arnold incident but, speaking generally, said people need to realize that wildlife are protected by law.</p>

<p>She has scissor-sharp teeth, bear-like claws, thick black fur, seal-worthy whiskers, a long tail and a mean streak.</p> <p>Which just leaves one question: What the heck is she?</p> <p>This snarling stranger showed up yesterday morning on the front doorstep of an Economy couple.</p>