Free Republic

RESCUE: Snowmachiners come to aid of passengers, including infant twins. Without a word, with the plane at 4,500 feet, pilot Bradley Amos tapped something on the instrument panel. Seven passengers -- including twin 8-month-old girls -- were in the cabin. Soon came a loud popping sound. The plane's single propeller suddenly stopped turning and the smell of engine smoke filtered past the seats. The Cessna 207 glided without power above the tundra in Southwest Alaska. That was the low point of the Wednesday night flight. Here's the highlight: Within what felt like two minutes, the plane was on the ground....

MADRID — A New York court Thursday backed the staging of the next America's Cup in the Spanish port of Valencia in February, but doubt still remains over the venue for the duel between defender Alinghi and US challenger Oracle.The Supreme Court of the State of New York reached its decision after experts advised that the event can be "safely managed" at the site in mid-winter, when weather conditions can be unpredictable, according to a copy of the ruling.Both Alinghi and Oracle have stated they are ready to hold their best-of-three multihull showdown in February in Valencia, where the Swiss...

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult...

Maria Sanchez Lake is almost downtown St. Augustine, a residential area with older homes. The lake is a bird magnet and there are often some nice flowers in yards around the lake. If you don't see any birds near the water look up in the Oak trees. This Great Egret and the White Ibis were waiting for the tide to start in. This flower is a Lycoris, it was almost hidden by someone's garbage can.

HE has always been five miles from Gundagai [Australia] but now the nation's most famous dog and his tuckerbox are to be relocated to lure tourists to the town. Historians are outraged at the idea of moving the iconic statue from its spot of 77 years, just off the Hume Highway, to the far end of town to drag tourists through it. The town is split between those who want tourist dollars funnelled into their drought-stricken tills and those outraged at the changing of history. A consultant has been paid $20,000 by the Gundagai Shire Council to survey the community...

PERKASIE, Pennsylvania — Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop. Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal. Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two...

Kenton Rowe's fortune as a wildlife photographer would change in less than one second; the amount of time it takes for a shutter to open and close, the light burning a digital image onto a disk. And in that second, the mountain lion and her cub were forever captured, their likenesses then downloaded to a computer, printed to paper and presented to a panel of judges who would sift through 70,000 photographs at this year's National Wildlife Federation photo contest.

People Say Animals Are Preying On Larger Livestock. People living in major Valley neighborhoods... that coyotes have all but overtaken their neighborhoods. Don Hoopes and his 7-year-old son Jordan have a new ritual every night. They need to make sure all their animals are tucked safely inside, now that they know what can happen if they don't. Neighbor Richard Tate said, "I saw one yesterday morning trying to attack dogs in broad daylight." Tate's had a couple sheep slaughtered by coyotes already. He said they even tried to go after his ram. Tate said , "My concern is that if...

Amazing collection of photos taken during the WW2 and nowadays. The WW2 photos were taken during the invasion of Normandy on and after D-Day.

Archers will take to tree stands in Colvin Run Mill Park and Colvin Run Stream Valley in coming weeks to reduce the area’s burgeoning deer population, which poses a threat to motorists, hikers, flora and fauna, Fairfax County officials said. The Fairfax County Police Department’s Animal Control Division, working in conjunction with the Fairfax County Park Authority, began allowing select hunting groups into the wooded park areas on Nov. 16. Archery hunts also will be held at Laurel Hill Park in Lorton. Officials estimate the county is home to about 25,000 deer, or 60 per square mile, which is roughly...

Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain goats think twice about their romantic partners. Big, heavy males mountain goats shove lightweight Romeos aside taking the eligible females for themselves. The larger males pass their physical attributes and mating success to their male heirs. But Coltman's data shows the daughters of the big, bruisers are routinely smaller and less fit than females produced by physically more modest fathers. Nature can be cruel...

WASILLA -- The story of Yukon Don Tanner and the four bears has a happy ending -- for Tanner, at least. A judge last week dismissed all wildlife charges filed against the well-known 59-year-old Talkeetna man who tells a wild story about the family of marauding grizzlies that visited his remote cabin north of Talkeetna last July. State prosecutors agreed to the dismissal, even though the wildlife authorities involved say they still don't quite believe Tanner's story. Here's the short version: Tanner shot a sow and her three male cubs in the space of a few minutes around 4 a.m....

With all the unsettling animal news that crosses our desks, we're always pleased to be able to share a bit of good news. Our colleague Jim Tankersley reports from New Orleans on the progress that's been made on behalf of the no-longer-endangered brown pelican. Here's an excerpt: Federal officials announced today that they are removing the brown pelican from the endangered species list, capping a century-long recovery that started under President Theodore Roosevelt. The brown pelican is an avian fixture in Southern California and along the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, where Roosevelt established the first national wildlife...

'Passionate response' at meeting leads to closure of park site Planned deer hunts in two Fairfax County public parks are riling animal-rights advocates and residents who say the county's new bow-and-arrow deer-culling program is inhumane and dangerous. Starting before dawn Monday, a handful of archers from Suburban Whitetail Deer Management of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit volunteer deer hunting group, went to the Colvin Run Stream Valley and Colvin Run Mill parks and hunted deer from 20- to 30-foot-high deer stands. It was unclear how many were killed, said Eric Huppert, a founder and president of the deer hunting group, but...

Man Contracted To Collect Dead Deer Trying To Dispose Of CarcassesBUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Rotting deer carcasses collected by an Armstrong County man contracted to remove them from southwestern Pennsylvania roadways have angered some neighbors. The man whose job it is to collect the dead deer left on roadways said there have been so many, he has been overwhelmed. Randy Good has a contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to pick up dead deer in five counties. He said he's been picking up 50 or more a day. "We've gotten over 900 deer in the last two weeks, and...

Here’s a video that’s going viral on YouTube. National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen traveled to Antarctica to photograph leopard seals in the water. After arriving, they came across one of the largest leopard seals his experienced guide had ever seen. What happened next you’ll have to see to believe: VIDEO LINK For more on this event, you can read this interview with Paul Nicklen, and check out the photographs that resulted in this gallery.

A PYGMY hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Northern Territory. The hippo is normally native to the swamps of west Africa, in particular Liberia. The Northern Territory News reports, Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlighting for pigs with his mate Rusty on a station in the Douglas Daly district 200km south of Darwin on Saturday night. "It was about 1am and running away from us - from the tail end it just looked like a big pig," Mr Courtney said. "We got out, had a look at it, and thought 'that's not a pig,...

OTTAWA — Canada’s newly armed border guards have claimed their first victim: a hapless moose. The creature was felled by the duty sidearm of a border officer in late August, newly disclosed documents show. The incident — marking the first time a border-guard sidearm has been discharged on duty — occurred about 25 kilometres west of Creston, B.C., as an unidentified intelligence officer with the Canada Border Services Agency was driving on official business to Nelson, B.C. The officer was behind an RCMP vehicle when both drivers spotted an injured moose struggling in the westbound lane of Highway 3. The...

Just take a look at this astonishing -- and, yes, creepy -- video, shot in Denmark, of a massive swarm of starlings. Details here . Follow the You Tube link below to view....Click on "here" above to read a report...

On a warm morning this past August, Scott Mason set off on what was supposed to be a day hike on New Hampshire's Mount Washington. The 17-year-old Eagle Scout packed a bivy sack and some extra clothes and consulted Forest Service rangers about his route. But well into the hike, he sprained his ankle, opted for a shortcut back to the trailhead on a path that was covered in snow, wandered off track, and promptly got lost. He spent three nights out before a rescue team found him. It was all fairly typical, until Mason got a bill from the...

This animated North Western Hawk called, Rough Leg, sings it song perched in a high branch being very watchful !

A neighbor's complaint has one lifelong hunter shaking his head after the police spoke with him about a deer hanging from a tree in his front lawn in Bow. Every year since he was 13, Henry Ladd Sr. has hunted deer, moose, bear and whatever else the forest provides. And each year, like clockwork, Ladd has hung the catch in front of his home, where it was gutted and drained of blood before the meat was cut.

The one that didn't get away     Nibble ... Sean and his massive catch GEOFF ROBINSON         By RICHARD MORIARTY Published: 12 Nov 2009     AN angler has netted a giant catch — a huge catfish weighing more than new heavyweight world boxing champion David Haye. Sean Kinnear, 27, was amazed when he felt a fierce tug on his fishing line and pulled in the 9ft monster, which weighs a whopping 17 STONE. He waged a 15-minute battle to land the beast, which hits the scales at an incredible 233lb 6oz — more than...

Subject: A Novel Idea Vermont State Rep. Fred Maslack has read the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Vermont 's own Constitution very carefully, and his strict interpretation of these documents is popping some eyeballs in New England and elsewhere. Maslack recently proposed a bill to register "non-gun-owners" and require them to pay a $500 fee to the state. Thus Vermont would become the first state to require a permit for the luxury of going about unarmed and assess a fee of $500 for the privilege of not owning a gun Maslack read the "militia" phrase of...

Red shoulder hawk animation singing a Christian song, This Little Light of Mine! Song sung by Revski - o7jimmy!

If there was a regret about today's events for the BMW ORACLE Racing team, it came from knowing that a good chunk of the squad was scattered in Valencia, Nice and Anacortes and couldn't be here in San Diego, in person, to see the team reach this incredible milestone with its wing sail. Fortunately, many had a chance to follow along via a local, live webcam that was streaming video of the day's events, taken from the roof of a shoreside hotel. We know many of you were able, in fact, to tune in, which is fantastic. And I can...

Sabi a sniffer dog who went missing in action after a battle in Afghanistan has miraculously been found safe and sound after more than a year in the desert reports the Associated Press .

Imagine your city is located next door to a valley water district with enough surplus water to meet your needs but instead your city imports about two-thirds of its water hundreds of miles from the Colorado River and the Sacramento Delta, and pays a premium price for it, resulting in environmental degradation in the process. Do you think this is wise policy for water rate payers in a city that praises itself for its Green City Action Plan? Moreover, as your city conserves more water due to a purported drought, municipal water rates go up because of a decline in...

For some people, hybrid wolf dogs are pets. For others, they're predators. Gary Schukantz said he last saw his three small dogs in his backyard ... "I didn't see any of my dogs, and I heard a yelp," . Schukantz said a hybrid wolf-dog came out of the woods and took off with his beloved pets. Shortly after the wolf ran off, Schukantz came across his youngest pet, a tiny Yorkshire terrier ..."We found his body and got him back," . Schukantz would have tried going after his pets, he said, but the wolf-dog turned on him and backed him...

LA MARQUE — The owner of one of the world’s fastest production automobiles accidentally drove his fine-tuned, French-built car into a saltwater lagoon Wednesday. The man, who police said was from Lufkin, was uninjured after escaping the partially submerged Bugatti Veyron as it came to rest in about 2 feet of saltwater. The two-seater, with 16 cylinders and four turbo chargers, can reach speeds of more than 250 mph. New models sell for about $2 million. The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston. About 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as...

On a few islands in western Canada, white 'spirit bears' walk the woods. Now scientists have discovered why these striking animals, a race of black bear, survive. White bears are less visible to fish than their black counterparts, making them 30% more efficient at capturing salmon in the islands' rivers. Elsewhere, similar white bears appear rarely, probably because those that do become vulnerable to predators such as grizzly bears and wolves. The researchers have published their findings in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. The spirit bear is a total oddball Dr Thomas Reimchen University of Victoria Most black...

The Night! Oxia – The Night

They eat human brains and eyeballs, turn snails into pulsating zombies, grow up to 25 feet long in people’s intestines and eat the tongues of fish. Symbiotic relationships may be common in nature, but that doesn’t mean that all parasites are beneficial – many are downright horrifying

LOVELAND, Ohio, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- An Ohio man landed a 95-pound blue catfish in Lake Isabella, a park district record and only one pound less than the state record holder, park officials said. Lake Isabella Harbor Manager Harry Scott said the massive catfish, which he weighed twice for accuracy, dwarfs the previous largest catch in Hamilton County Park District's history, a 50-pound blue catfish, and weighs in at only one pound under the 96-pound state record, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday. "I've never seen anything this big in my whole life, and I've seen lots of fish," Scott said....

Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. According to Stone’s paper, as the international community meets in Copenhagen in December to develop a new framework for responding to climate change, policymakers need to give serious consideration to broadening the range of management strategies beyond greenhouse gas reductions alone. “Across the U.S. as a whole, approximately 50 percent of the warming that has occurred since...

This presentation presents information obtained from a National Park Study and a Department of Interior Threat Assessment report about the devastating impacts of designated federal Wilderness on our country's southern border: http://www.peopleforwesternheritage.com/PFPOWH_WildernessOnTheBorder/Presentation_Files/index.html According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, "Law enforcement work in the National Park Service is the most dangerous in federal service. National Park Service officers are 12 times more likely to be killed or injured as a result of an assault than FBI agents. Overall, NPS law enforcement has a morbidity rate triple that of the next worst federal agency."

Bush pilots know that wildlife can be a hazard to your health. Aircraft have collided with giraffes and other large animals on various remote African airstrips, and there are numerous stories of downed pilots being hassled by predators after making forced landings out in the boonies. Lion and hyena are also know to be partial to certain aircraft components, tyres being a documented favourite of the big cats. My father was once left with the (hefty) bill after a gang of hyenas chewed his wingtip navigation lights and strobes (both wings) and then did a runner after dinner. These pictures...

In 1995 the federal government began transplanting Canadian gray wolves into Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. That program touched off a fierce range war that continues to rage, pitting farmers, ranchers, hunters, conservationists, outdoor recreationists, and rural folk against the major environmentalist lobbying organizations, government bureaucrats, the big-city media, and urban politicians. After being protected for 14 years, limited hunting seasons have finally been allowed for wolves this fall, and around 150 wolves have been taken thus far. Wolf advocates are howling that the permitted hunts are "barbaric" and that those who kill wolves are "murderers." A coalition of radical environmental...

Caught on film It is one of the rarest giants of the ocean, and it has been caught on film for the first time. An underwater camera crew filming for the BBC has recorded a smalleye stingray swimming off the coast of Mozambique. The smalleye stingray is the largest of all 70 species of stingray, attaining widths of more than 2m. The elusive creature, first discovered in 1908, has only ever been seen alive off Tofo in southern Mozambique. Rare sight Stingrays are cartilaginous fish that are related to sharks. They occur is marine, freshwater and estuarine habitats and vary...

I've been cooped up since last Tuesday, finally got out today. The weather is gray and dark, rain coming later from hurricane Ida. She is giving Ray Nagin ulcers now! The grackle girls saw me coming way down the beach, I had 15 or 20 on and around the car in a short time. I don't know if they recognize the car, or recognize me. I try not to attract them inside, they aren't housebroke, LOL! The gull with spots is a young Ring billed gull, the gray bird is a Laughing gull. It's common for them to flock together.

FORT WALTON BEACH – A 59-year-old Fort Walton Beach man was arrested for indecent exposure after a neighbor saw him Tuesday wearing only a G-string. A woman reported seeing her Tanager Road neighbor sunbathing, wearing only a pink G-string. She told deputies the man stood up two times and she clearly saw his exposed buttocks, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s report. The man’s yard also is not enclosed by any fence and is visible from the road, to neighbors and a school bus stop, the report said. The deputy pulled up to the man’s house. When the man saw...

Investigators, neighbors, friends and family of 14-year-old Justin Butler are trying to make sense of the tragic events which took his life. Adding another layer of heartbreak for his family, Monday night, Crook County Sheriff deputies arrested Justin's cousin, 21-year-old Brandon Hornseth. "Everybody's in shock, you know and he's such a young man, I mean these things happen in town, they don't happen out here," says Meloni Platt, who lives down the road from the Butler Ranch. Justin was found dead in an RV early Sunday morning, with a gunshot wound to the head. He was on an elk hunt...

I walked through the meadows, now overrun graciously with this season’s weeds. Various shades of beige in weed supply is an artist’s pleasure.

Just wondering if any Freepers have tried this jacket for concealed carry. Any feed back would be helpful. Thanks. http://licensed2carry.com/product_info.php?cPath=142&products_id=179&osCsid=fbc2eef5664ff1e742717af78b150727

<p>This really is going to be the most radical America's Cup in the regatta's 158-year history.</p>

VARIOUS SIZES HERE

A deer was fatally injured Sunday after jumping into a lion enclosure at the National Zoo, as visitors looked on.

They make it look so easy!

SHERIDAN, Wyo. – Retired orthopedic surgeon Chris Smith thought his hunt was over when he bagged a white tail deer with a bow and arrow near Sheridan. Because the light was fading, he decided to return the next day to recover the deer. But when he returned Wednesday morning, the carcass had been covered by grass and bush — which is what mountain lions typically do. Smith, who was unarmed, then saw the big cat about 25 yards away.....

> A new report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates sea lions ate 4,960 salmon and steelhead during the spring of 2009 — 2.4 percent of the fish passing the dam located near Cascade Locks, Ore. That compares to an adjusted estimate of 4,927, or 2.9 percent of the run, in 2008. And while the number of California sea lions was down — 54 this year compared to 82 in 2008 — the average number of salmon eaten by each one was up, along with the number of Stellar sea lions — 26 this year compared to 17...