Forget the plastic icicles, brightly colored balls and tinsel. ...more

December 18, 2009

Surging demand for turtle meat in southeast Asia has prompted a huge jump in turtle harvesting, leading to concerns that populations of the reptiles could suffer permanent damage. ...more

March 27, 2009

Today's green movement uses certain buzzwords - organic, locavore, renewable - to the wry amusement of 15 million to 20 million of us who've actually lived the eco-friendly lifestyle that these words describe. ...more

September 17, 2008

Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores. ...more

August 17, 2008

A 42-year-old chimpanzee who is toilet-trained and can eat with a knife and fork - and whose owner was nearly killed in 2005 by fellow apes - is believed to be at large in a Southern California forest after escaping his cage. ...more

July 1, 2008

An overflow crowd jammed the Memorial United Methodist Church Sanctuary last Wednesday to pay respects to Mason Smoak, who died in an airplane crash June 20. There were so many people there that the Lake Placid church had to use its Fellowship Hall to accommodate all of them. According to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office, a 1989 fixed wing, single engine, two-seater Piper Cub was returning to the Placid Lakes Airport and crashed near the south end of the runway. Smoak, who was the pilot of the airplane at the time of crash, and his passenger, Dave Maehr, died at the scene. Smoak and Maehr were conducting aerial surveys of black bears in Highlands County. Maehr was a visiting scientist at Archold Biological Station while on sabbatical from the University of Kentucky. ...more

June 29, 2008

After reading recent media coverage of Safari Wild, and largely being unavailable for personal comment due to many pressing matters, I would like to offer the following explanation: ...more

June 4, 2008

Six people were rescued today after their boat capsized Monday off Hernando Beach. ...more

October 9, 2007