Free Republic

Like most moms, Mek needs a break. The mother of the four fast-growing Malayan tiger cubs at Fresno Chaffee Zoo has frayed nerves and needs some space. “You can tell Mek has had it,” says Lyn Myers, assistant curator for mammals at the zoo. “It’s like the end of summer, when kids have been home all the time, and mom wants school to come. They’re ready for them to go.” Born Jan. 5 at the zoo, the cubs are now 11 months old. They are in good health and are receiving training from zoo officials to become more independent. They...

He has been bitten on the nose by a leopard and had his shoulder separated after wrestling with a full-grown Bengal tiger.But Carl Bovard, who is blind in one eye, believes living with 14 big cats including two lions, six tigers and a desert lynx, is a risk worth taking to raise awareness about endangered species. They all spend time living in his Florida home before moving into the outside enclosure and are seen clambering over the pool table and cuddling up in his bed.   (edit)

A man in China survived an unsuccessful attempt to feed himself to a pair of Bengal tigers and is being treated for depression, a Chinese newspaper reported Tuesday. According to the Chengdu Business Daily, Yang Jinhai, 27, climbed a tree and jumped into the tigers' enclosure on Sunday at the Chengdu Zoo in southwest China's Sichuan province.

The 68-year-old man won’t dispute a suggestion that he likes cats more than he does people. He settled 23 years ago on 108 remote acres in Clay County, west of Bowling Green near Center Point. He built tall, fenced enclosures and took in three big cats. Taft’s venture has since evolved into a not-for-profit organization with a $700,000 annual budget that barely covers costs. He offers refuge, food, respect and affection to 225 exotic cats that were exploited, confiscated, abandoned or abused. The USDA criticizes Taft and his facility, but the federal agency also is engaged in business with him....

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A female Malayan tiger at the San Diego Zoo died during mating after the male tiger bit her neck and severely injured her spinal cord, zoo officials said. The two endangered Malayan tigers were involved in the mating process Saturday before guests arrived at the zoo, but it appeared as though the male tiger, Conner became a little too rough with the female, Tiga Tahun, U-T San Diego reported Monday.

An 'awwww'- inspiring video of a little boy in a plush tiger costume having a play date with a real-life tiger cub in a Washington state zoo has won over millions of web users in the past week. The heart-melting footage was taped by Heath and Jackie Shaffer on Halloween, when the couple took their 2-year-old son, Marshall, to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma.

The illegal cutting of timber and the poaching of elephants and rhinos are part of a “rapidly escalating environmental crime wave” that international governments must combat by increasing cooperation, police and environmental officials said Wednesday. Interpol and the United Nations Environmental Program are working together to stop environmental crimes that cost tens of billions of dollars a year, said Achim Steiner, the U.N. Environmental Program's Executive Director. … The demand for elephant ivory by China’s rising middle class is fueling the deaths of thousands of elephants across Africa, say wildlife experts. An estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in Africa...

Craig Kimbrel is supposedly the heir to Mariano Rivera. In his postseason career as closer, Rivera recorded 27 appearances of 2+ innings. Uribe bunted two balls foul, ... and then tomahawked a high fastball from David Carpenter into left-field stands for a shocking two-run homer .... Note that I wrote "David Carpenter" and not "Craig Kimbrel." The Braves had to win this game. Lose, and they go home. Somehow they lost -- in the late innings, no less -- without using the most dominant relief pitcher in the game. The sad thing is, Gonzalez apparently didn't even think of using...

Recently, Carlita's health deteriorated quickly and her quality of life was poor with no possibility of improving.Carlita, the 21-year-old white Bengal tiger who had been at Zoo Miami for almost two decades, was euthanized on Monday, the zoo said. In May 2012, Carlita was retired to a special enclosure in a secluded quarantine area because she was starting to show signs of her age, the zoo said. Recently, her health deteriorated quickly and her quality of life was poor with no possibility of improving. Carlita was born in captivity in July 1992 and came to the zoo two years later....

While we are still waiting on all the details to come in, the Red Sox are close to acquiring right-hander Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox. According to reports, Jose Iglesias (pitcured) will be sent to Detroit, and outfielder Avisail Garcia is going from Detroit to Chicago. Alex Speier of WEEI.com is reporting that 19-year-old Lowell infielder Cleuluis Rondon is one of three lower-level prospects who will be sent from Boston to Chicago to finalize the deal. We will have more information when this deal becomes final. UPDATE (12:02 AM): The Red Sox have announced the trade, including the...

Rescuers on Monday reached five men trapped in trees by several Sumatran tigers for five days after the angry animals mauled a sixth man to death, police said. First Lt. Surya Purba said three tamers managed to drive the tigers away before the men who were in weak condition were evacuated from trees in the protected Mount Leuser National Park in Tamiang, an Aceh district neighbouring with North Sumatra province. The men were looking for rare agarwood — used to make incense and perfume — and accidentally caught a tiger cub in a trap they were using to catch deer...

Coming off the first batting Triple Crown in 45 years, Miguel Cabrera ­is making a bid to be the first hitter to do so in consecutive seasons. He currently leads the American League in batting average (.391), RBI (55) and is one home run off the pace at 14. In a recent piece here at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan commented on Cabrera’s impressive all fields hitting and ability to cover the full strike zone with power. I have put together some imagery to highlight this ability and show a bit of why Cabrera is such a threat.

DETROIT -- Marco Scutaro singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Sunday night to complete a four-game sweep and win their second World Series title in three years. Ryan Theriot, who went hitless for St. Louis in Game 7 of last year's Series, singled softly into right field off Phil Coke opening the 10th. Brandon Crawford sacrificed, nearly bunting the ball past Coke. Angel Pagan struck out and Scutaro singled into short center field as Theriot slid home ahead of Austin Jackson's throw.

Political suicide? President Obama appeared on the Tonight Show last night where he admitted that he's leaning toward rooting for the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. And what a real slap in the face this is to San Francisco, which has practically bankrolled his 2012 presidential campaign. His words exactly: "I will say, I've spent a lot of time in Detroit lately, and I didn't want to let Detroit go bankrupt. So in this particular World Series, I might be a little partial," Obama said in comments taped before the Tigers lost the opening game of the series to...

I was thinking that it would be great if Native Michigan son, Mitt Romney, threw out the first pitch at the first Tigers home game of the World Series. Considering that it's a swing state, his Dad was a popular Governor there, and it's very close to the election, this seems like a no brainer. It would also send a message to the Obama campaign that "damn right we're contesting Michigan". It would also be best to do this at the first Tigers home game, since the crowd will be so revved up, regardless of what happens during the first...

A man was mauled to death by three tigers after breaking into their enclosure at a zoo in Copenhagen, police and staff at the zoo said on Wednesday. The victim, a 20-year-old Afghan who was given Danish nationality last month, was found lying on the floor ... "He was attacked by the three tigers... Police said they do not know why the man broke into the enclosure

Tigers outfielder Delmon Young was arrested for hate crime assault in New York City early Friday morning. The Associated Press reports that Young attacked a group of men while yelling anti-Semitic epithets. From the AP: Police say Young was standing outside of the Hilton New York, not far from Times Square. A group of about four Chicago tourists staying there were approached by a panhandler wearing a yarmulke. As the group walked up to the hotel doors, Young started yelling anti-Semitic epithets. Police say it's not clear who he was yelling at, but he got into a tussle with one...

A Paradise man says he is lucky to be alive after an attack by a mountain lion Monday morning. Robert Biggs, 69, often hikes in the Bean Soup Flat area, which is about a mile and a half above Whisky Flats. He came across a mother bear, a yearling and a newborn, which were about 40 feet from where he was standing. After watching the bear family for a few minutes he decided to leave them be and turned to walk back up the trail. As he turned, a mountain lion pounced on him grabbing hold of his backpack with...

Everything proves global warming to the true believers. If it floods, that proves global warming. If it doesn’t rain, that proves global warming. If it is warm, that proves global warming. If it is cold, that proves global warming. And if everything proves it — nothing does really. Now we have this nonsense from the Telegraph: Climate change means autumn levels of sea ice have dropped by almost 30 percent since 1979 – but this is likely to trigger more frequent cold snaps such as those that brought blizzards to the UK earlier this month. And Arctic sea ice could...