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Kevin Richardson, animal behaviorist, works with some of the most dangerous animals known to man. He sleeps with lions, cuddles newborn hyenas and swims with them.

Tracey Payntar says she spotted a huge snake in the lake next to her Suffolk house as it was attacking a river otter. The mother of four says she had just gotten out of her car and the disturbance in the water got her attention. "I ran to the shoreline freaking out and tried to take some video with my phone. I was so scared I could not concentrate very well," said Payntar. Payntar and her husband contacted Suffolk Animal Control who referred a snake expert from a company called Zoo Pro. Based on her description, the professional wildlife workers...

National Park Service (NPS) rangers removed the handles from some 40 public water pumps and closed restrooms in the 184.5 mile- C&O Canal National Historical Park, but they haven’t been able to keep hikers and bikers off the popular trail known as a “cyclist’s dream.” “It’s full every day,” said Gail Hall, who runs Mountain Side Bikes at the trailhead in Cumberland, Md. “They’re bringing in their own water and utilizing the tree-lined areas [of the park] for restrooms. Some towns like Harper’s Ferry even brought in potties to accommodate them. As long as they can pedal, they don’t care.”

CANBERRA, Australia, - An Australian man who heard scratching noises from beneath the hood of his sport-utility vehicle said he was shocked to discover a platypus hitching a ride. Cameron Blaseotto, 18, said female platypus apparently became wedged under the engine's air intake Wednesday when he drove through the flooded Murrumbidgee River in Canberra and he didn't discover the animal until he arrived at a friend's house about 10 miles away, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday. The platypus, dubbed Hilux, was turned over to the Australian Capital Territory Parks and Conservation Service, which returned her to the river. "I'd...

A San Francisco man who was feared dead after going missing in Mendocino National Forest for nearly three weeks survived alone in the wilderness on a diet of squirrels, lizards, frogs and snakes, his family said. Gene Penaflor, 72, was found alive by a group of hunters Saturday morning at the bottom of a canyon about three miles from where he first disappeared while hunting. "Basically, he ate whatever he needed to survive," his son, Jeremey Penaflor, 31, said of the 18-day disappearance. The elderly hunter was reported missing on Sept. 24 when he didn't show up for a planned...

The body of my lawn mower broke. Totaled. I purchased a new lawn mower. But I now have a 6.25 HP Briggs & Stratton engine that runs as good as the day it was bought. So what do I do with the engine? (It seems such a waste to get rid of it)

Senate Democrats hosted Deadliest Catch Captain Keith Colburn on the Hill today to say that he can’t go fishing because of the government shutdown. Colburn was testifying at this afternoon’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the economic impacts of the government shutdown. “This is the first time in my 28 years of fishing that I haven’t been in the Bering Sea in October getting ready to go fish,” Colburn said “Many fishermen and coastal communities are already facing tough times. This unnecessary shutdown may be the tipping point if the situation isn’t resolved soon… I’m a small businessman in a...

So the zombies are at your door. Death is upon you, but the gun shop is just a block away. You make a run for it, and you make it to the most extensive armory for miles. Time to make a decision: Which guns do you grab? Contrary to popular belief, not every gun will do the job the same, so to help make up your mind on which guns will save your life, here are my eight best guns for the zombie apocalypse.

A woman from Melbourne, Florida learned that the law can be heartless. Violating a law that prohibits pets from wandering leashless, she received a ticket in excess of $200. One of her pets was a kitty cat in a specially designed wheelchair; Pooh Bear’s front legs are fine but his back legs are paralyzed.

Adventurers have stumbled across a cave so enormous that it has its own weather system, complete with wispy clouds and lingering fog inside vast caverns.

1941: Photograph of a 'time traveler' ... Young man (right side, third up) with sunglasses and contemporary-like clothing in this 1940s photograph. - From Wikipedia:  “A photograph from 1941 of the re-opening of the South Forks Bridge in Gold Bridge, Canada, was alleged to show a time traveler. It was claimed that his clothing and sunglasses were modern and not of the styles worn in the 1940s. “The modern appearance of the man may not have been so modern. The style of sunglasses first appeared in the 1920s. The sweater with a sewn-on emblem, is the kind of clothing...

Having gained international fame for stealing beer from campers and starting a fight with a cow, a feral pig in Australia is dead having been hit, most likely by a truck. Locals dubbed him "Swino" after he was featured in a write-up last month for guzzling 18 beers belonging to campers near Port Hedland and then proceeding to pick a fight with a cow.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is reminding residents to be aware that Halloween pumpkins, as well as fall decorations like gourds or squash, attract wildlife when displayed outdoors. “Javelina, coyotes, deer and even bears eat some of the vegetables that are part of traditional holiday displays,” said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. “When displayed outdoors, they may attract wildlife to homes, potentially creating conflicts with people.” The department recommends that decorated pumpkins and cornucopias be displayed indoors, on window sills to be seen from outside if desired, and then discarded securely to help prevent...

Kayaker Ben Marr rockets down a concrete drainage ditch into Lions Bay, British Columbia at 34 miles per hour

Word came down the USFS has shut down all operations

Are the season pass holders of the National Park system to be refunded?

How do I determine if the Selaway Bitterroot National Forest in Idaho is shut down for elk hunting? There are no answers at the offices. Campsites are closed, but that does not necessarily mean hunting is closed.

358-pound pumpkin swordfish snagged by a Delaware fishing boatA Delaware fishing boat reeled in a record when they snagged a huge swordfish during a recent trip out on the Atlantic Ocean. Candy's Reel Choice of Lewes, Del. was on an outing over Poor Man's Canyon, about 70 off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, on September 7 when they hooked a large pumpkin swordfish, Delaware fish and wildlife officials said. Fishing officials say the swordfish gets its name for its pink-orange flesh which comes from a diet of shrimp. Angler Kurt Lorenz and the boat's crew and passengers spent three...

Police say man had torch which attracted the fishA Saudi man died after ‘colliding’ with a pointed a fish resembling a swordfish while he was swimming in the Gulf sea, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Police said the fish had apparently been attracted by a searchlight carried by the victim while he was swimming in a banned area on the eastern coastline of the Gulf Kingdom. The incident took place on Thursday night and is reminiscent of the death of famous Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, who was killed six years ago by a stingray. Irwin, who died at the...

A Montana woman accused of killing her husband of eight days by pushing him off a cliff in a national park pleaded not guilty on Friday to first-degree murder and other charges in a federal grand jury indictment handed down one day earlier. Jordan Graham, 22, was charged in September with second-degree murder in the July 7 death of her husband, 25-year-old Cody Johnson of Kalispell, Montana. But a federal grand jury on Thursday found sufficient evidence to also charge her with first-degree murder, a charge that alleges premeditation and carries a life prison sentence.

Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was "closed" due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles of open ocean. Fishing is also prohibited at Biscayne National Park during the shutdown.

Accurately measuring the body temperature and heart rate of a sprinting Komodo dragon isn’t easy. Feeding it a thermometer is doable. Hide it in some meat and let the 9-foot, 200-pound lizard scarf it down. The issue is making it run in a controlled environment. “We would look at their running costs,” Hank Harlow said. “What is their cost of motion?” The answer could ultimately lead to the conservation of the world’s largest lizards by helping locals know what kind of habitat the dragons need to survive. Which is why Harlow, a University of Wyoming professor and researcher, needed to...

MONROE, La. (CBS Houston) — Popular A&E reality show “Duck Dynasty” continues to smash competition in the ratings on Wednesday nights, but one star has spoken out about how the show is portrayed. In an interview with Sports Spectrum TV earlier this year that’s only recently gone viral, Phil Robertson admitted that fake bleeps were inserted into the show even though there was no cursing happening. “The inserted fake bleeps … like somebody had used profanity, but no one had used profanity,” Robertson said. “I ask those guys that produce the show … ‘What’s the point of the fake bleeps?’”...

President Obama has been playing golf at a furious pace this year – already heading out more times than during any year of his presidency – but the government shutdown raises the prospect that his favorite leisure activity is about to be suspended. It’s unclear how a presidential golf outing could be justified as “essential,” which is the general standard for government activities that continue during the shutdown. When Obama is in Washington, he plays at one of two publicly funded courses – either the links at Andrews Air Force Base or at Fort Belvoir. His rounds are paid for...

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. (WCCO) – It’s 4 a.m. on a Tuesday and breakfast is sizzling on the griddle. The hunters are clad in blaze-orange and preparing for a day in the woods. But in this deer camp of sorts, hunters come in wheel chairs, braces and scooters. Their appetite is for little more than to get out into the woods. “It’s nice to come and have people help you do the things you need to do to hunt,” said Ed Ohmann. Vietnam cost Ohmann both of his legs and left him a double amputee. But the land mine that he...

In WWII, Japan's highest ranking naval officer was Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto. Although he was Japanese, and his loyalties were unquestionably with The Empire, he studied for many years in America, graduating from Harvard University. There is an oft-repeated (and sometimes disputed) quote attributed to him regarding the possibility of any nation taking a war to American soil: "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." Here is why he was correct: The state of Wisconsin recently completed an entire deer hunting season without someone getting killed. That's great, considering there were...

Now comes the latest gun-grabbing set of liars. Check-out their ridiculous website, which claims that ARPA is a "common sense set of hunters and target-shooters" who want to be "a third voice" in the gun debate. The web page asks you to sign-up. There is no article or link that actually tells you who they are or why they want your name and email. The site offers absolutely nothing. Noted in this month's "First Freedom."

Princeton officials are considering whether to use licensed hunters and trappers to reduce the growing population of coyotes and foxes in the Ivy league town. The number of complaints has been on the rise. Animal control officer Mark Johnson tells The Times of Trenton people have been chased and a dog and a couple of cats were killed by coyotes. Johnson says sharpshooters would likely be sent to certain wooded areas and fields to shoot and kill the coyotes. “We would not like to kill everything, but we definitely want to lessen the population,” Johnson told the paper. Princeton uses...

Adventurers have stumbled across a cave so enormous that it has its own weather system, complete with wispy clouds and lingering fog inside vast caverns. A team of expert cavers and photographers have been exploring the vast cave system in the Chongquing province of China and have taken the first-ever photographs of the natural wonder. They were amazed to discover the entrance to the hidden Er Wang Dong cave system and were stunned when they managed to climb inside to see a space so large that it can contain a cloud.

This month, National Geographic magazine celebrates its 125th anniversary in a special issue devoted to the power of photography. "The Photo Issue" features images spanning the organization's storied career. Here, The Picture Show features a selection of images from the anniversary issue, as well as a few highlights from the magazine's photographic history. Steve McCurry's iconic photograph of a young Afghan girl in a Pakistani refugee camp appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine's June 1985 issue and became the most famous cover image in the magazine's history.Enlarge image Steve McCurry's iconic photograph of a young Afghan girl in...

They didnt see it coming. Always best to scout out the trail before biking.

I have received hundreds of emails regarding my post Attack of the "Digger Bees". Many suggested getting an EpiPen® (epinephrine) Auto-Injector? for Liz and we will do that. Many pointed out that "digger bees" are not bees but rather wasps. That is something I knew but did not mention in my post. I responded to some individuals that I like bees, and even have a "humble bumble" home for bumblebees, and I put out nests for mason bees. With that backdrop, some of you may be interested in Giant Deadly Hornets Kill Dozens And Injure Hundreds In China. Deadly hornets...

Bradley the 4-pound wiener pooch fights off a 400-pound beast after it goes after two Michigan men in the woods. Sadly, he died from his wounds but he is being hailed as a hero by his owner.A tiny dachshund has been hailed a hero after he sacrificed his own life to save two Michigan men from a brutal black bear attack. Bradley the 4-pound wiener dog stood up to the 400-pound beast after it struck in Oscoda County woods on Saturday. Refusing to let the giant tear up the duo, the puny pup jumped off their golf cart and started...

Subbing for mylife'''

No LA Times excerpt. Just a link. --- I proudly hold NRA membership. I am not familiar with this NBC television show ("Under Wild Skies") nor its host, Tony Makris, who on the surface of it appears to have wantonly killed an elephant. Makris is said to be an NRA lobbyist and to have been instrumental in Charlton Heston's ascendancy in the NRA.

Full title: " 'No children, happy to go extinct', tweets weatherman after grim climate-change report made him cry (now he's considering a vasectomy)" A meteorologist who has covered weather for the Wall Street Journal tweeted that he has decided not to have children in order to leave a lighter carbon footprint, and is considering having a vasectomy. He also vowed to stop flying after the world's recent climate-change report made him cry. Eric Holthaus was reacting to the findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which released a report on Friday that found it was ‘extremely likely’ that humans...

Tough kitty!!

'Sexist' gorilla being kicked out of Dallas Zoo Patrick, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla who was born in the Bronx Zoo in 1990, has nipped at female apes he was to mate with and even bit one, and has belittled others. Patrick will be transferred to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, S.C. A "sexist" male gorilla at Dallas Zoo is being evicted and sent for therapy after he bit one female companion and belittled others. Patrick — a 430-pound Western lowland born at New York's Bronx Zoo in 1990 — will be moved to Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens...

Flash flood takes motorcyclist for a ride claims motorcycle in Boulder, CO. Occurred On: Sep-26-2013

Kentucky authorities believe that a woman was eaten by dozens of her pet wolf-dogs after she died. The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office told WFIE-TV that when they conducted a welfare check on 67-year-old Patricia Ritz, they found a human skull and jawbone as 50 hybrid wolf-dogs roamed her Fordsville property. Officials believe they are the remains of Ritz. WHAS-TV reports that neighbors called authorities after she wasn’t seen for more than a week. She reportedly told her neighbors that she wasn’t feeling well recently. Ohio County Animal Control came to Ritz’s property in an effort to gather up the dogs,...

A four pound dachshund named Bradley stood up to a four hundred pound black bear and fought it off so it wouldn't attack his human friends.

Long silky strands falling across North Texas signal the migration of a cluster of spiders. The silk acts similar to a parachute, allowing them to move their home from one spot to another. An Extension Program Specialist with Texas A&M said the process is called "ballooning." Typically, it's done by young spiders, but some adult spiders also use the process to move from location to location. In layman's terms, the spider simply climbs to a high point, sticks out its stomach to release the silk and uses the wind to send them high in the air. How far they travel...

I don't get NBC Sports on my cable. Anyone watching America's Cup? USA won 8 races in a row to tie it up. So, it's pretty miraculous. If we win today, we take the 162 year old cup.

Several sadomasochists eagerly responded to an advert posted by an Austrian woman farmer seeking clients. But they didn't get the punishment they had hoped for. Instead, they found themselves doing farm labor in fetish gear, while paying for the privilege. To sadomasochists keen on fresh air and the country life, it must have seemed like a dream come true. A 35-year-old woman advertizing herself as a dominatrix promised strict discipline to paying clients on her farm in the northeast of Austria. Some 15 men responded to the advert posted in the Internet, and two or three took up the offer....

Video of nature's beauty.

Former President George W. Bush says President Barack Obama should not be criticized for the amount of golf he plays. … “You know, I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don’t—I think he ought to play golf,” Bush says in the interview. “Because I know what it’s like to be in the bubble. And I know the pressures of the job. And to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet.” …

A camera trap set out for endangered Siberian (Amur) tigers in the Russian Far East photographed something far more rare: a golden eagle capturing a young sika deer. The three images only cover a two-second period, but show an adult golden eagle clinging to the deer's back. Its carcass was found two weeks later, just a few yards from the camera, initially puzzling researchers. "I saw the deer carcass first as I approached the trap on a routine check to switch out memory cards and change batteries, but something felt wrong about it. There were no large carnivore tracks in...

This crazy komodo dragon does not show a hint of camera shyness as it shows off its dance skills for a lucky photographer. The Rumbaing reptile was spotted in a park near amateur photographer Woe Hendrick Husin's home in Surabaya, Indonesia, while he was out searching for local wildlife. Although the lizard was busy hunting insects, it still had time to stop and perform a quick dance before dashing off into the bushes in search of its next meal.

A holidaymaker has caught captured the moment he came across a crocodile eating a shark. Peter Jones, 62, was on a river cruise on the aptly named East Alligator River in the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. The tour boat came across a bull shark being munched by a Saltwater crocodile, which then scurried back into the muddy water with its catch. Mr Jones, from Cambridge, told the Northern Territory News the tour boat had interrupted the feast but the croc continued after they left. ‘We tried to get closer but the croc was having none of...

Runner Michael Bowen has finished running over 58,000 miles- one for every US vet who lost his life during the Vietnam War. Bowen, 65 living in Michigan has been running since 1982 despite suffering from colon cancer and having three surgeries on his knees.