Free Republic

You may think your dog has an irrational hatred of cats, but their instinct to chase felines out of their territory might be more reasonable than you think. Fossils have revealed the two species have a rocky past after the introduction of cats to the Americas had a devastating effect on the continent's species of wild dogs. In fact, it is thought that competition from cats caused up to 40 species of dog to become extinct in the region millions of years ago.

A group of young fishermen have captured an incredible selfie with a whale after it swam up and seemed to ask them for help removing plastic bags caught in its mouth. The friendly whale nudged their boat as it made a surprise appearance in Middle Harbour, north of Sydney. The men soon noticed the whale, which circled the boat and swam underneath it, was asking for help and pulled out rubbish bags and fishing lines stuck in its mouth. Michael Riggio,17, took selfie snaps while his friend, Ivan Iskenderian, stretched over the boat to help the whale.

MELBOURNE, An Australian videographer shooting footage with an aerial drone recorded the moment the device was knocked out of the sky by a "punch" from an eagle. The video, uploaded to YouTube by Melbourne Aerial Video, features the drone shooting aerial footage in a wooded area when a wedge-tailed eagle quickly appears and knocks the drone out of the sky. The drone crashes to the ground while the camera remains functional, shooting dizzying footage of the plummet before resting on a tranquil scene of leaves on the ground. The video's description said the bird of prey was "fine" after using...

Bulldog can't see with a cardboard box in his mouth. Bumps into everything.

Officials at the Alipore zoo in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) say their attempts to mate a young tiger have been unsuccessful with the big cat showing little interest in mating. Vishal, the 10-year-old white tiger, has so far spurned the advances of tigress Rupa, living in the adjoining enclosure, an official told the BBC. Libido enhancers have also failed to spur him into action, he said.

I know Freepers are a big help in these hobby areas so I thought this would be a good place to ask. I've been fishing here in central Florida lately. Mostly in the smaller lakes and ponds that dot the landscape. I've been catching some decent fish but for the life of me can't figure out what I've caught. First I thought a small bass but the more I look online the less that seems to be the case. Is there anyone here I could email a couple of pictures to and get their input? I don't have anywhere online...

Pupils' shape and size can reveal whether your kitten is a hunter or the hunted, research shows, Zee News reports. The study also said that species with pupils that are vertical slits are more likely to be ambush predators that are active both day and night. "For species that are active both night and day, like domestic cats, slit pupils provide the dynamic range needed to help them see in dim light yet not get blinded by the midday sun," said lead researcher Martin Banks, professor of optometry at University of California-Berkeley. The vertical slits of domestic cats and...

The major hurdle in treating addiction is enabling a person to not return to the abused drug or substance. This has proved extremely difficult for researchers and patients alike, as even with the best rehabilitation therapy and the most supportive friends and families, many addicts of psychostimulant drugs--methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA--relapse soon after therapy ends, often because the memory of the drug’s effect is too strong for that person to resist. But researchers are the University of Florida have come up with a way to in essence, “erase” the memory of the drug’s effect from the brain and thus help...

Initially seen as the Army's answer to how to settle the frontier, the camels eventually became a literal beast of burden, with no home on the range. In the 1880s, a wild menace haunted the Arizona territory. It was known as the Red Ghost, and its legend grew as it roamed the high country. It trampled a woman to death in 1883. It was rumored to stand 30 feet tall. A cowboy once tried to rope the Ghost, but it turned and charged his mount, nearly killing them both. One man chased it, then claimed it disappeared right before his...

In a darkened Iraqi suburb, Christmas Eve, 2006, a team of Navy SEALs moved quietly into position outside the home of a man known for training suicide bombers. The operation that night wasn’t unlike hundreds of others carried out by Naval Special Warfare Development Group during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it’s one Jimmy Hatch won’t ever forget. He’d later learn that no amount of alcohol could erase the memory. It was chilly, not quite cold enough to see your breath. As the operators prepared to raid the home, a husky man popped his head out of an...

Tibetan Mastiffs: From Guard Dogs to Status Symbols to Hot Pot by Steve Lambert on Saturday, May 2, 2015 Foreign Media: Chinese Anti-Corruption Campaign Continues, Once High-Priced Tibetan Mastiffs Now Being Used for Hot Pot Not long ago, Chinese people had gone crazy for Tibetan Mastiffs, where dogs like Nibble here, with drooping eyes and drooling mouths on their big heads, fetched prices upwards of 200,000 USD, roaming around the suburban houses of coal bosses. But at the beginning of 2015, Nibble and 20 other Tibetan Mastiffs down on their luck found themselves locked in cages, with 150 other dogs,...

Las Brisas del Pacífico barista Álvaro Sandoval rinses off a turtle egg until only the yolk is left. After that he puts the yolk in a shot glass to pour sangrita mix into it. Jesús Barrera/The Tico Times Part of a series by students of the University of Arizona School of Journalism’s study abroad program in Costa Rica. PLAYA OSTIONAL, Guanacaste – Gallo pinto, casados, and corn tamales are some of the most common dishes served in Costa Rica. But there’s another food in which many Ticos also indulge: sea turtle eggs. “Here in the Guanacaste area many people prepare...

Preliminary results of the investigation into the recent death of a hiker in Yellowstone National Park show that the man was attacked by a grizzly bear. While the exact cause of death has not been determined, investigators have identified what appear to be defensive wounds on the victim’s forearms. The victim’s body was found partially consumed and cached, or covered, in the vicinity of the Elephant Back Loop Trail near Lake Village on Friday afternoon. Based on partial tracks found at the scene, it appears that an adult female grizzly and at least one cub-of-the-year were present and likely involved...

Kimberley Chambers burst into tears as soon as she laid a hand on her crew's boat. The physical contact signaled the end of a record-breaking 30-mile swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge. Chambers, a New Zealander who calls San Francisco home, made history Saturday as the first woman to complete the swim. Chambers, 38, spent 17 hours and 12 minutes in a stretch of water notorious for its great white shark population -- but didn't encounter any. "I guess they don't like Kiwis," she quipped, adding that she "slipped off the boat" instead of jumping into...

Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: ‘No, no, not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.’ Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk. It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk...

South Florida is full of exotic animal invaders who have found a home in our hot, humid climate. Iguanas, pythons, tegu lizards and now giant African land snails can all be found here. The snails showed up in Miami in 2011, and have now spread as far north as Davie. Despite their slow speed, these snails spread quickly because they can lay as many as 300 eggs per month, they have no natural predators here, and they eat just about everything that grows in this environment. "That includes everything we grow as food," said Mark Fagan of the Florida Department...

A man who claimed to be Tarzan has been arrested after he allegedly climbed a tree and tried to get into the monkey exhibit at a Southern California zoo. A zookeeper called 911 Tuesday morning to report that a shirtless man plastered in mud had climbed about 20 feet into a tree at the bird exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo

“There are more cats…than there are Republican presidential candidates,” Neighbors fed up with cat colonyOne Norman neighborhood is reportedly the cat’s meow, with resident’s claiming wild felines are running amok. “There’s a lot of cats now,” said Nathan Hobbs. “There are more cats in this neighborhood, than there are Republican presidential candidates.” It’s a problem Nathan says has really heated up this summer. While Santa Claus has Donner, Dancer, and Prancer…Nathan has his own team. “There’s big gray, there’s little gray, there’s TFC,” said Hobbs. “You’ve got ring tail one, ring tail two, ring tail three…couple tabbies, and that giant...

The leader of the extremist anti-assimilation group Lehava allegedly called for churches to be torched, at a panel held this week for yeshiva students. Benzi Gopstein said he is prepared to spend 50 years in jail for doing so, according to a report by the Haredi website Kikar Shabbat. During the yeshiva intercession, known as bein hazmanim, many yeshivas hold summer camps for their students. These combine Torah study with other activities, like trips and panels to discuss current events. Kikar Shabbat obtained and posted a recording of such a panel at the Wolfson Yeshiva camp, at which Gopstein appeared...

Up to 70 rotting crocodile heads have been found in an old freezer dumped at a remote Australian town, police said yesterday, with the culprits facing large fines and jail time if convicted of the killings. Several teenagers made the grisly find behind a row of shops at Humpty Doo, 40 kilometers outside Darwin on Sunday and contacted authorities. Police said at least 50 saltwater crocodile heads, and as many as 70, were stuffed inside. “(We saw) a deep freezer in a sad state of affairs,” senior wildlife ranger Tommy Nichols