DUGGER, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Lonnie Bedwell enjoys the warmth of an 80-plus degree day outside his home in Dugger.
“I’ll take this, yeah, big time,” Lonnie Bedwell laughed.
Lonnie Bedwell climbing Mt. Everest. Photo Courtesy: Bryan Hill
The blind Sullivan County veteran spent more than a month climbing to the top of the world’s tallest peak, Mt. Everest. Temperatures on Everest remain below freezing and often are in negative numbers. Just one of the potentially deadly encounters climbers face.
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“Here were these guys carrying this one lady,” Bedwell said. “She didn’t know where she was at. She was limp, incoherent.”Bedwell trains to climb Mt. Everest
And while Bedwell is an experienced climber, he says there were still times he wanted to turn around, but did not share those thoughts with…
Early morning hikers rest before walking down Piestewa Peak, a city park in Phoenix, Ariz. El Niño drives even hotter, drier weather in the Southwest United States, on top of growing heat risk from human-caused climate change.
Ryan Kellman/NPR
El Niño is officially here, and that means things are about to get even hotter. The natural climate phenomenon is marked by warmer ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, which drives hotter weather around the world.
“[El Niño] could lead to new records for temperatures,” says Michelle L’Heureux, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
The hottest years on recordtend to happen during El Niño. It’s one of the most obvious ways that El Niño, which is a natural climate pattern, exacerbates the effects of climate change, which is caused by humans burning fossil fuels…
Two people at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming harassed a bison calf, the National Park Service said Thursday.
They were seen approaching and touching the baby bison at the southern end of Elk Ranch Flats on Sunday around 1 p.m., officials said. Interaction with people can cause wildlife to reject their children.
“In this case, fortunately, the calf was successfully reunited with its herd, but often these interactions result in euthanizing the animal,” authorities said. “Approaching wildlife can drastically affect their well-being and survival.”
The National Park Service says two people harassed a bison calf at Grand Teton National Park. / Credit: National Park Service
In a recent incident at Yellowstone National Park, a bison calf needed to be euthanized after a man disturbed it. The bison had been separated from its mother on May 20 when a herd crossed a river. A park visitor spotted the struggling calf and pushed it onto the roadway. Park rangers failed to reunite the bison with the herd. Officials euthanized the calf because it had been abandoned and was causing a hazardous situation.
In another incident, tourists picked up a baby elk and put it in their car at Yellowstone over Memorial Day weekend. They drove the newborn elk to West Yellowstone, Montana, Police Department, park officials said. The calf “later ran off into the forest” and its condition was unknown.
The National Park Service has urged visitors to stay away from animals.
“It’s important to view wildlife safely, responsibly and ethically. Treat all wildlife with caution and respect as they are wild, unpredictable and can be dangerous,” officials said in a Thursday news release. “The safety of visitors and wildlife depends on everyone playing a critical role in being a steward for wildlife by giving them the space they need to thrive – their lives depend on it.”
Park officials have asked visitors to follow guidelines around animals to prevent future problems. They suggest all visitors stay at least 25 yards away from most wildlife, including bison, elk and deer. Visitors are required to remain at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.
It’s illegal to feed, touch, tease, frighten or intentionally disturb wildlife at National Parks. In the case of the bison that was euthanized, the park visitor pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife. The visitor was ordered to pay a $500 fine, along with a $500 community service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 special assessment and a $10 processing fee, the park service said.
Oregon’s snowpack has gone from above average to below average across most of the state
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Like water melting from a frozen peak and running into a stream, Oregon’s snowpack has been sliding downhill for the past several weeks.
The Willamette region had snowpack levels at or above 189% of median levels on April 10, 2023.The Umatilla/Walla Walla/Willow region was at 155% of median levels.
Ukrainian service members of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade fire a Caesar self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 31, 2023.Viacheslav Ratynskyi/ReutersCNN—
Ukrainian forces have suffered losses in heavy equipment and soldiers as they met greater than expected resistance from Russian forces in their first attempt to breach Russian lines in theeast of the countryin recent days, two senior US officials tell CNN.
One US official described the losses – which include US supplied MRAP armored personnel vehicles as “significant.”
Ukrainian forces managed to overrun some Russian forces in the east around Bakhmut. However, Russian forces, armed with anti-tank missiles, grenades and mortars, have put up “stiff resistance,” with their forces dug into defensive lines that are several…
In honor of May’s International Respect for Chickens Month, we began efforts to shut down a cruelly exploitative chick hatching event at Oberlin Public Library (OPL) in Oberlin, Ohio – a town known for its historic fight for abolition, equality, sensitivity, and inclusivity.
The OPL arranges this yearly event through Ohio State University’s (OSU’s) Extension Program and is made available to all public libraries in Lorain County, Ohio. Eggs for this program come from Meyer Hatchery, in Polk, Ohio. See meyerhatchery.com.
This year’s chick-hatching event at OPL began in late April, 2023. David Fausnaugh, the new Library Director, is the person responsible for deciding to have chick-hatching events at the library. These free public events are for the community’s entertainment (in the guise of “education”), in the hope of prompting monetary donations and/or new memberships from visitors who find the event appealing and thus worth continuing.
The chick-hatching event stretched into May 2023, and on May 4 (United Poultry Concerns’ International Respect for Chickens Day), a group of local activists protested outside the library. In response, the library covertly ended the event prematurely, trying to avoid further negative attention. By that time, it was known that one egg out of the eleven featured in the event “didn’t make it,” and at least two hatched chicks were visibly ill. Most disturbing was the fact that one tiny brown chick with splayed legs was separated from the others, trapped inside a makeshift room divider inside the comfortless metal cage. This weak, sickly chick was seen suffering in distress and misery and died not long after. It is suspected that the sick chicks were denied proper medical care, contrary to Mr. Fausnaugh’s claim when questioned about it.
The activists have continued their protests, calling the OPL’s chick hatching event CRUEL and SHAMEFUL based on the following:
At this year’s chick-hatching event, eleven eggs were placed inside of a comfortless styrofoam incubator machine. Those eleven eggs were from mother hens who were exploited for their egg producing capabilities, had their eggs stolen from them, and became stressed and frustrated when their strong brooding instincts were thwarted.
Newly hatched chicks peeped and searched about for their absent mothers, instinctively seeking their safety, nurturing, and guidance. The incubator they were trapped in bore no resemblance whatsoever to a welcoming, protective mother hen they so desperately needed.
While trapped inside the incubator and later when placed in a metal cage, the chicks trampled and pecked at each other, were handled by staff, and were poked at by visitors. The chicks were forced to endure bright lights, strange sounds/voices, and other intrusive conditions as both staff and visitors hovered over the unnatural spectacle throughout the library’s open hours. This constantly disrupted the chicks’ sleep, a crucial need for baby chicks. (These continuous interruptions could be seen on a livestream of the event on the OPL’s YouTube channel.)
The eggs came from “America’s industry-leading hatchery” – Meyer Hatchery in Polk, Ohio – a hatchery offering “more than 160 breeds of poultry including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas, and game birds.” Hatcheries are known to destroy male chicks as well as any sick or otherwise unwanted female chicks after hatching. Gruesome “standard practices” for murdering hatchery chicks include gassing, suffocation in plastic bags, or shredding chicks alive in macerators.
In 2022, the library had their first chick-hatching program. One of the librarians volunteered to take the chicks home with her once the event ended. She was permitted to do so, and off they went. But later, as the chicks grew a bit older, the librarian discovered that 5 out of the surviving 6 chicks turned out to be males who were growing into roosters. Not wanting “annoying” roosters, she tried finding homes for them but was unsuccessful. She then took the 5 male chicks to a farm that would “take care of them.” Upon learning this, an activist asked the librarian if that farm was a sanctuary and was told that the farm was “a place that processes roosters.” (Like so many others who “keep” chickens in order to steal their eggs, she felt that since the roosters wouldn’t be profitable they were unworthy of living.) Mr. Fausnaugh allowed this same librarian to take home all of the surviving chicks when this year’s (2023) chick-hatching event abruptly ended. Both Mr. Fausnaugh and the librarian refused to release the chicks to farm animal sanctuaries that activists had lined up.
Mr. Fausnaugh is claiming that he personally didn’t see any animal cruelty. Along with this, he’s made numerous mentions that the library received a greater amount of positive feedback from the community versus vocal protest from a small group. It is because of this overall positive feedback that Mr. Fausnaugh is unwilling to “definitively” say whether he’ll be renewing the chick-hatching event in the future. What we are asking is that he state in writing that he will NOT renew OSU’s chick-hatching program NOR decide to have other library programs featuring animals dead or alive.
Chick-hatching programs are CRUEL lessons, but thankfully, kind alternatives are available that do not exploit animals. United Poultry Concerns puts out a helpful 16-page booklet titled Hatching Good Lessons: Alternatives To School Hatching Projects. (NOTE: Mr. Fausnaugh and his staff have already been given copies of this booklet. As yet, there has been no response.)
PLEASE help us end Oberlin Public Library’s chick-hatching events once and for all by contacting Mr. Fausnaugh with a message of support for our efforts to shut down this program. Your action could help convince Mr. Fausnaugh that the program is not worth renewing.
You can phone David Fausnaugh (Oberlin Public Library’s new Director)
Konark: The forest department personnel today apprehended a poacher and seized the carcass of a spotted deer from Nadia Matha Reserve forest within Balukhand Sanctuary under Konark forest division on Thursday.
On the basis of reliable inputs and following the order of Konark Forest Officer Benudhar Behera, forester Ravindra Kumar and others raided the spot when four poachers were skinning the deer they had hunted by laying traps in the reserve forest of Balukhand Sanctuary.
The forest personnel managed to arrest Chandra Shekhar Pradhan of Chennua village from Nadia Math beat but other accused identified as Nanda Pradhan, Pankaj Pradhan and Duryodhan Naik of Nadia Math village managed to flee the spot.
“As few personnel of the local forest department were present during the raid, while arresting one, the others managed to give a slip,” said ranger…
According to the Ontario County Humane Society, 21-year old Mackenzie Clarke of Newark and her boyfriend Isiah Dishaw have been charged with Aggravated Cruelty to an Animal, a felony, and Animal Abandonment, a misdemeanor. Clarke was also charged with Falsely Reporting an Incident.
Clarke claimed that she and Dishaw tried to take her 1-year old Pitbull mix, named Ash, to the Humane Society last Thursday after becoming ill but they weren’t open. She then decided to leave Ash on the side of Styker Road and reported the abandoned dog to authorities.
Ash would die the next day.
Both Clarke and Dishaw will answer their charges at a later date in Phelps Town Court.
Sadie Odell with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicechecks and totals Caspian tern nests located at the northeastern end of Gravel Island offshore from the Door County peninsula on June 2, 2023. The white birds in the background are Herring Gulls, which also nest on the island. Photo courtesy of Sumner Matteson
Bird flu killed nearly two-thirds of the state’s population of Caspian terns
A state avian ecologist says a highly contagious bird flu that hit Wisconsin last year may have been the most deadly avian flu outbreak ever for wild birds in the Midwest.
Last year, highly pathogenic avian influenza killed almost two-thirds of the state’s breeding population ofCaspian terns. The white gull-sized tern with a black cap and coral-red bill is astate endangered bird. It’s only found at three sites in…
Exposing the Big Game 