About a dozen elk were roped, lassoed and dragged to safety Friday morning after they fell through the ice into Palisades Reservoir.

 A group of more than 20 concerned citizens, law enforcement officers, wildlife biologists and others gathered between 7 and 8 a.m. after morning commuters outside Alpine noticed elk struggling in the reservoir, said Gary Fralick, a wildlife biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

"I was heading to work going to Jackson and saw a cop and one other truck pulled over," said Alpine resident Dusty Jones. "Then I saw them out there on the ice on the Palisades with a herd of elk."

The group of cows and calves were moving onto the Alpine Feedground early Friday morning when they walked across the edge of the reservoir where typically there would be dry ground. Calls began coming into the local Game and Fish and sheriff’s offices from people driving by.

“A number of people responded to it and proceeded to chip and chain saw and ice auger a pathway through the ice to the shoreline,” Fralick said.

But because the ice was 2 feet thick in places, people could not cut a line all the way to shore, which meant they had to rope and lasso the elk and pull them onto the ice and to safety. The extraction took about 45 minutes.

Cow elk weigh between 550 and 700 pounds. Wet, they weigh even more.

Two calves who did not immediately recover because of exhaustion were loaded into a backhoe and taken to the feedground. Fralick said they were standing shortly after.


While herds of elk have been known to fall through the ice — about 30 died two years ago on Palisades — this is the first time in more than 25 years working for the department that Fralick can remember that many elk being saved.


“Without that many people helping, many more elk would have died,” he said. “People were trying to pull elk out of the water while people were sawing through ice to make a pathway to the shoreline. It was a big team effort to try and get them out of the ice.”
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Amid the bitter cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Native American villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule. Some tribes called it the Full Snow Moon.

 The moon reaches fullness at 9:24 p.m. EST and will arrive at perigee (its closest point to Earth in its orbit) about 4.5 hours earlier, at 5:00 p.m. EST, at a distance of 221,559 miles (356,565 kilometers) from Earth. (A full moon that takes place during perigee is sometimes known as a supermoon.) Because the full moon coincides with perigee, it will appear to be the biggest full moon of 2018. In addition, very high ocean tides can be expected during the two or three days after peak fullness.

We have two supermoons this month, with the first falling on New Year’s Day – this is nicknamed the wolf moon.

Then, on January 31st, the so-called blue moon will arrive, which is also a supermoon.

The first full moon in 2018, which will be the biggest and closest supermoon of 2018, will occur on the night between January 1 and 2.

A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon reaching perigee, which is the point of the orbit where the moon is closest to Earth.


The point farthest from Earth is known as apogee.

Full moons appear around 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter when the phenomenon occurs, according to NASA.

The changes are hard to spot with the naked eye when the moon is high in the sky, but can cause dramatic impact as the moon rises or sets in the sky.


January Moon Names: Man Moon (Taos). Joyful Moon (Hopi). Avunniviayuk (Inuit). Quite Moon (Celtic). Ice Moon (San Juan). Cold Moon (Cherokee). Ice Moon (Neo-Pagan). Flying Ant Moon(Apache). Big Cold Moon (Mohawk). Cooking Moon (Choctaw). Strong Cold Moon (Sioux). Little Winter Moon (Creek). Her Cold Moon (Wishram). Cold Meal Moon (Natchez). Moon After Yule (Cherokee). Wolf Moon (Medieval English). Strong Cold Moon (Cheyenne). Quiet : Dark, Wolf : Full (Janic). Great Spirit Moon (Anishnaabe). Whirling Wind Moon (Passamaquoddy). Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Winter Moon, Yule Moon (Algonquin).

Prevent species from going extinct - Preserve the rainforests - Protect areas with high biodiversity - Curb water pollution (Water Is Sacred) - Consume less - Resolve to get trained up on making change- Protect What you love

2018 is here, and everyone is busy making (or already breaking) their New Year's resolutions. Mother Nature took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to share a few thoughts on how to improve the situation here on our planet with some New Year's resolutions that should be taken up by mankind.

 Here are the top seven resolutions for the Earth in the New Year. Take it away, Mother Nature:

1. Prevent species from going extinct Earth is in the midst of an enormous extinction crisis, the biggest spate of die-offs since the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, according to several studies. The world's level of biodiversity is also down by 30 percent since the 1970s, according to a report by the World Wildlife Fund, a conservation group.

The United Nations Environment Program estimates that 150 to 200 species go extinct every day, which is about 10 to 100 times the "background," or natural, rate of extinction. It's hard to focus on other animals and plants all the time. But humans are animals who come from a world replete with other creatures and forms of life. Even now, surrounded as many of you are by urban centers, devoid of forests and most wildlife, people depend on plants and animals for survival. Ultimately the loss of biodiversity will hurt you, as you, dear humans, are part of the web of life. Each species serves a specific function that can't be wholly replaced if one goes extinct, leading to a less productive ecosystem which ultimately provides fewer benefits for humans.

2. Preserve the rainforests Rainforests are vital reservoirs of plants, animals and microbes. Most terrestrial animals aren't the big, charismatic species like elephants and tigers often associated with the jungles, but rainforest-dwelling arthropods (a group that includes insects, arachnids and crustaceans, all of which have hard exoskeletons).


Arthropods are the most diverse group of animals in the world and perform all kinds of vital roles in their environments, from eating fecal matter to pollinating flowers. Rainforests also contain plants than can help humans; compounds derived from these plants have been used to create many medicines, including the anti-malarial drug quinine, originally found in the Amazon's cinchona tree. It'd be a shame to lose such wealth before even discovering it. The forests also supply the planet with an enormous supply of oxygen. Even so, from 2000 to 2010, for example, about 93,000 square miles of the Amazon rainforest were razed, covering an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom.


3. Protect areas with high biodiversity Not all areas are created equal. Certain places should be left alone, such as those that are home to endangered species, species found nowhere else, particularly high varieties of species and those that provide other important ecological benefits. Examples of areas that need your special attention include Madagascar, which is like no other place in the world — it is the only spot where lemurs and many other unique life-forms dwell. But forest and grassland habitat on this island off the coast of Africa is being destroyed rapidly; Madagascar has lost at least 90 percent of its original forest cover.


 Another jewel would be the Philippines, which has one of the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet, but is threatened by deforestation and development. A single recent expedition found more than 300 species that are likely new to science, including a deep-sea shark that can inflate itself when frightened. But these species are potentially in danger from human activities, while other species could go extinct there and in other spots before they are even discovered.


4. Reduce greenhouse gases and limit climate change Humans are a gassy bunch, burning fossil fuels and increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Many climate scientists have estimated that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere must be limited to 350 parts per million (ppm) to avoid the worst effects of a human-altered climate, such as warmer temperatures, more frequent heat waves and droughts, sea level rise and even more extinction of animals that can't quickly adapt to climate change. The current concentration is nearly 393 ppm and rising about 2 ppm annually, according to the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. To avert the worst effects of global warming, humans would need to quickly find alternative fuel sources — look back to what's been provided to you and harness the sun or the wind or heat from the Earth.


 The worst effects of warming can be seen in the Arctic and Antarctic, due to a phenomenon called polar amplification. Many areas throughout the Arctic have already warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 degrees Celsius) over the last 30 years, heating up much more quickly than the rest of the world and acting as harbingers of things to come. The poles are also home to magnificent animals like polar bears and penguins,which are sensitive to environmental changes. And that's not to mention the fact these areas store enough frozen water that, if melted, would put most of the world's current urban areas under water. And even if these areas don't completely melt, they could still cause significant sea-level rise.


5. Curb water pollution Humans are really shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Although big strides have been taken in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, it remains an enormous and growing problem throughout many parts of the world, including China, parts of south Asia and Africa. Besides the obvious detriments of polluting one's own drinking water, pollution from agricultural runoff, when it reaches the oceans, also creates so-called dead zones — algae blooms develop and consume all the oxygen in the area and other species that need oxygen die off. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has been steadily growing and recently covered an area roughly the size of New Jersey. Pollution also contributes to coral disease, which is a major unrecognized factor in the decline of coral reefs — top spots for biodiversity (see Resolution #3).


6. Consume less This one is pretty simple: consume less. Especially Americans, who could still survive using less energy and water; most of the world gets by on a fraction. Reuse of materials may be another good practice. This could mean simple changes like reusing shopping bags, alleviating the need for more plastic and paper.

Many items also needn't be thrown away merely because they are out of fashion. A recent study found that a large percentage of appliances that are thrown away still function properly.

In addition, boost energy efficiency by making and buying better cars, like hybrids or electric vehicles powered by renewable sources. You can also do simple things like turning off lights and appliances, using programmable thermostats and replacing air filters in HVAC systems.

Using less plastic would be another good place to start. Now, plastic is found in just about every corner of the globe, for example in thegreat Pacific garbage patch, known to scientists as the North Pacific Subtropial Gyreand even on the floor of the Arctic Ocean.

The Earth's resources are not unlimited, and if humans are not more careful, this will become increasingly obvious.

7- Resolve to get trained up on making change. Mobilising people around you and speaking up about issues you care about are valuable skills. For 2017, resolve to improve a skill that will help you build the world you want to see. Learn about how to start your own campaign and mobilise others around you. Explore creative ways people like you are taking action globally. Resolve to spread the word. Resolve to make space to enjoy the things you love. Creating a sustainable, just world takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. In order to be strong over the long haul, you need to give yourself space to recharge and keep rooted in the world you are fighting for. Make time to go to a favorite place, spend time with family and friends or simply to stop to take deep breaths.

A Huntsville woman is receiving praise on social media after rescuing a dog abandoned by its owner.

Jasmine McMahon found the young female dog inside a crate, left on top of a snowbank at the Freedom Dog Park in Huntsville.

“At first I wasn’t sure if there was anything even in the crate, but she started to cry as soon as I got close up, and I could tell she was shivering,” McMahon tells CTV News Barrie.

McMahon brought the dog to the shelter in Bracebridge, and the OSPCA launched an investigation.

“The crate contained the dog, and she was wearing this grey and black fleece jacket. And there were also some dog toys, and there was a note left in the crate with her as well that says "need a better forever home”, says Inspector Natalie Rizzuti from the Ontario SPCA.

The dog was not wearing a collar, nor did she have a micro-chip.


Rizzuti says the OSPCA is looking for information about where this dog came from, and why she was left at the park.

Authorities are looking to speak with anyone who may recognize the dog, or even the jacket that she was wearing.
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Valentina "Tina" Merdanian explains the significance of the Native American medicine wheel and shares the often untold side of Wounded Knee (Little Big Horn) massacre of the Lakota people by the U.S. Cavalry in 1890.

She is a community leader from the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota & a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe....

Pine Ridge is home to Wounded Knee, the site where an 1890 massacre of at least 150 Lakota by U.S.Cavalry marked the end of the country’s Indian Wars, as well as a famous 1972 American Indian Movement occupation that called to public attention the failure of U.S. governments to honor its treaties with Native peoples.

To many,Pine Ridge is a symbol of American governmental perfidy. But today, as Ms.Merdanian and her colleagues Father George Winzenburg,Tashina Banks,Robert Brave Heart and Colleen McCarthy explained, it can also be a symbol of hope.

Tina Merdanian, director of institutional relations at Red Cloud Indian School, feels that being Lakota and knowing your native language go hand-in-hand and that the language is at the heart of being a Lakota person.

As a child growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Tina Merdanian promised her grandmother she would share their people’s culture and beauty, which she heard about in her grandma’s stories.


“Grandparents raising you is a very special connection,” said Merdanian, a Lakota woman who directs institutional relations at Red Cloud Indian School.

Armed with a backpack full of cameras, film and a tape recorder, McKiernan documented much of the 71-day occupation from the inside.

 He filmed what he would later call “a whole cycle of life”—babies being born, couples getting married, protesters being shot at and killed. McKiernan had to bury that film before he was arrested and charged for his involvement in the standoff, but he returned later to retrieve it.

Now, 42 years after the occupation, McKiernan, a veteran foreign correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-nominated documentary filmmaker, wants the world to see the inside stories. Since 2012, he and Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler have shot 100 hours of footage on three reservations and conducted interviews in five states.

The film, “Wounded Knee: A Line in the Sand,” will include current commentary and perspectives along with footage that has never before been broadcast. It also will reveal McKiernan’s story as a white man—an outsider, a “privileged guest”—inside the compound.

“From Wounded Knee I learned where the truth is,” he said. “If you want to take the temperature in America, it’s on the low road, not the high road. I learned to be interested in the stories of people who are at the very bottom.”

Assistant Producer: Jack Norton


Jack Norton is is an enrolled member of the Yurok tribe and an Emeritus Professor of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University.

Professor Norton was the first California Indian to be appointed to the Rupert Costo chair in American Indian History at the University of California, Riverside.


He is the author of several seminal works on Native American history and culture, including Genocide in Northwestern California: When Our Worlds Cried (1979, 1997), A Teacher’s Source Book on Genocide (1998), Natasha Goes to the Brush Dance (2000), Brave from Thunders (2003), and Centering in Two Worlds: Essays on Native Northwestern California History, Culture and Spirituality (2007).

A stag was saved at the last moment by angry locals who confronted a team of hunters and their dogs after the defenseless beast was chased into a private garden in a village north of Paris.

 The stag ran into the garden in Bonneuil-en-Valois on Tuesday and was quickly surrounded by the dogs who were ready to bring it down and kill it as is the tradition in stag hunting with hounds in France.

A video posted by a local woman on Facebook shows the terrified animal, which had already been injured in the chase and whose tongue was covered in blood, standing in the corner of a garden with no way out as the yelping dogs got ready to attack.

But local residents quickly came out of their houses and confronted the hunters, informing them that hunting was banned within the perimeter of the village and telling them that they must withdraw their dogs.

“It was tense,” one resident told Le Parisien newspaper. “There must have been about thirty of us. The hunters were insulted and called all sorts of names. The owner (of the garden) wouldn’t let them onto his property.”

The heated exchange lasted for about two hours before the hunters finally conceded and left the village. The stag was eventually able to leave safely.


The standoff came just two months after there was an outcry in France after hunters and their hounds tracked a stag to the garden of a private house - in a village in the same region as Bonneuil-en-Valois - before shooting it at close range.


Such incidents have led French animal rights groups to step up their calls for hunting with hounds to be banned in France.
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Yes, this hairstyle is called the squash blossom whorl, and it is the traditional hairstyle for unmarried girls in the Hopi tribe.

 But what is it about that particular hairstyle - which only appeared in the first film - which has sparked so many imaginations over the years? And where did it come from?

According to Brandon Alinger, the author of Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy, the buns do not even appear in any of the concept artwork done for Leia in the preparation of the film.

In later interviews, Star Wars creator George Lucas said he looked to Mexico's female revolutionaries, or "soldaderas", who joined the uprising at the start of the 20th Century.

"I went with a kind of south-western Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico," Lucas told Time in 2002.

It makes sense to look to such a band of women when creating a character far removed from a traditional princess awaiting rescue.


"George didn't want a damsel in distress, didn't want your stereotypical princess - he wanted a fighter, he wanted someone who was independent," Fisher explained to the BBC in 1977.

There is only one problem with Lucas's claim. Female Mexican revolutionaries are not known for their hairstyles - or certainly not hairstyles of that sort.


"As much as I would like to say that Princess Leia's hairstyle was based on the 'soldaderas' from the Mexican Revolution, this was probably not the case," Tabea Linhard, author of Fearless women in the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Civil War, told the BBC.


"If you take a look at photos from the period, you see women with long braids, some wear hats, on occasion they cover their hair with a shawl.

"Conditions on the battlefields were harsh, and the women's task included carrying supplies, taking care of all the men's needs, serving as spies or smugglers; some also participated in battle.


"So a hairstyle like Leia's probably was not a convenient option."

However, the hairstyle does appear to have roots in North American history.

Kendra Van Cleave of Frock Flicks, a website which reviews the accuracy of costumes in historical dramas, told the BBC that while such buns had been fashionable in medieval Europe, the "most obvious" inspiration is the "squash blossom" style worn by women of the Hopi tribe in Arizona.


She said: "This consists of two side arrangements which aren't actually buns - they're more loops of hair.

"The hair is parted in the centre, then wrapped around a U-shaped 'hair bow' made of wood. The hair is wrapped in a figure of eight pattern, then tied at the middle and spread out to create the two semi-circles.


"This hairstyle became more widely known in the early 20th century due to photography," says Ms Van Cleave, who adds it saw a revival in the 1920s.

At the U.S. National Arboretum, both eagle parents settled on their nest to warm their eggs, and each other, through the cold, icy night.

Overnight Monday and all day Tuesday, Winter Storm Stella pelted the East Coast with snow, sleet, and hail. The wintry weather shut down much of the human world, with an estimated 18 million Americans snowed in under a blizzard warning.

Nesting birds, however, don’t get snow days, and so they must endure unfavorable conditions to shelter their young. Two years ago, we witnessed via webcam two Bald Eagles persist as falling snow buried their nest, and today, Winter Storm Stella gave another pair of Bald Eagles in Washington D.C. a chance to show off their own parental dedication.

Unlike that first pair, though, during this storm, both parents were filmed incubating the nest at the same time. Stacked on top of each other, the two eagles huddled close together, providing extra warmth and snow protection for their two eggs—and each other.

After hunkering down Monday evening with the snow starting to fall, the mother eagle didn't leave the nest almost all night. Her one brief respite came early Tuesday morning, during which her mate tried to take over incubating duties.

 But a few minutes later, she returned, as if to say, “Thanks, but I’ve got this," according to the American Eagle Foundation, which operates the webcam in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


The Bald Eagle duo is the pride and joy of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., where they’ve been nesting since 2014 in a tulip poplar tree. They laid two eggs in the middle of February, and many onlookers have closely followed their nurturing instincts over a webcam. With super parents like these, staff expect the eggs to hatch at the end of March.
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As part of its annual holiday message, the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA), the NICOA board of directors and Executive Director Randella Bluehorse shared holiday greetings in 42 different tribal languages. The greetings demonstrate the universal message of the season.

 Aleut: Kamgan Ukudigaa
 APALACHICOLA CREEK Nettv-Cako-Rakko
ALUTIIQ ALASKA Spraasnikam! [Happy Holidays]
Western Apache: Gozhqq Keshmish AYMARA Sooma Nawira-ra
Blackfoot I'Taamomohkatoyiiksistsikomi
CENTRAL AHTNA C'ehwggelnen Dzaen
Cherokee: Danistayohihv &Aliheli'sdi Itse Udetiyvasadisv
Cheyenne: Hoesenestotse & Aa'eEmona'e
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Creek: Afvcke Nettvcakorakko
 Dine/Navajo: Ya'at'eeh Keshmish


GITKSAN Hisgusgitxwsim Ha'niisgats Christ ganhl Ama Sii K'uuhl!
GUARANÍ ÑANDEVA Avyaitete ahï ko Tupa ray árape qyraï Yy Kapyryin rira
GUARAYU Imboeteipri tasecoi Tupa i vave!
Gwich'in: Drin tsal zhit shoh ohlii & Drin Choo zhit zhoh ohli
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka & Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Inupiaq: annaurri Aniruq & Paglaun Ukiutchiaq
Inupiatun: Quvianaq Agaayuniqpak


inupik Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson homungradon nagwutut & Ojenyunyat osrasay
KAQCHIKEL Dios tik'ujie' avik'in
KOYUKON Denaahuto' Hoolaahn Dedzaahn Sodeelts'eeyh
KUTCHIN Drin Tsal Neenjit Goozu'
Lakota: Wanikiya tonpi wowiyuskin & Omaka teca oiyokipi
Maya/Yucateco: Utzul mank'inal
METIS/MICHIF Gayayr Nwel


Ojibwe (Chippewa) - Niibaa' anami'egiizhigad & Aabita Biboo
Oneida - Wanto'wan amp; Hoyan
NASKAPI miywaaitaakun mikusaanor
Q'ANJOB'AL chi woche swatx'ilal hak'ul yet jun yalji Komami'
Quechua: Sumaj kausay kachun Navidad ch'sisipi & Mosoi Watapi sumaj kausay kachun
RETVARA Mamaka wejejerãka
SALCHA Dzeen chox teedle 'aay nayilkaa


Seneca: a:o'-e:sad yos-ha:-se:'
Tanaina: Natukda Nuuphaa
TEWA Hihchandi Núuphaa
Tlingit - Xristos Khuwdziti kax sh kaxtoolxetl
Tutchone/Northern - t'ohudinch'i Hulin Dzenu & Eyum nan ek'an nenatth'at danji te yesohuthin ch'e hadaatle
Yupik Eskimo, Alaska - Angliq Alussistuaq!
Yupik/Siberian - Quyanalghii Kuusma & Quyangalleq Nutaghamun Aymiqulleq
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Filmed in Norway, the animals are thought to be a month old. Out of more than a million moose across the Northern Hemisphere, two twin moose calves don’t quite look like the rest.

While taking a brief gander out of the woods, the two young, all-white moose were captured on video with their mother during a rare sighting in Norway.

Large moose populations are found throughout northern Europe, and thousands currently live in Norway.

The calves, which Maine’s state deer and moose biologist, Lee Kantar, said appear to be less than a month old due to their size and mobility, were likely born in mid-May—most calves are born around May 15 each year. Twin moose, although born at a smaller size, are also common.

Although it’s hard to tell for sure, Kantar said he thinks the moose calves might be albino: “If it’s true that they are, it’s extremely rare.”

They could also be piebald moose, he said, which are white with a few small brown specks. Still rare, they differ from albino animals that are pure white with pink or red eyes.


Both albino and piebald moose are protected animals and legislation prohibits hunters from taking a moose that is predominantly white in color. Kantar said he’s seen thousands of moose while working with wildlife in the Northeast United States, but he’s never come across any that are white.

Although they lack the typical brown coat, it’s unknown whether white and albino moose are at a disadvantage in the wild. The dark-colored coat makes them more difficult to see in a forest environment, Kantar said, but because there have also been sightings of adult moose with white coats, it may mean that cow moose—the mothers—have more responsibility when caring for young, white-coated offspring.



Most cow moose are highly protective of their newborn calves, and the probability of survival in the first month of life is dependent on how well the mother defends the calf from “anything that’s out there,” Kantar said.

A groomer had their own take on the traditional nativity scene when instead of using porcelain figurines, they posed dogs.

The display was the work of Jo Kingston, who owns Wags to Riches Pet Services of Leicestershire, England, as she posed six pups wearing towels as robes in a barn.

Inside the manger was the tiniest pup playing baby Jesus.

“I decided to stage the photo just for a bit of fun to bring Christmas cheer,” said Kingston, who owns the dog grooming business with her husband Toby.

She explained, from left to right, Bella, Daisy, Raffi, Barney, Buddy and Frankie only sat still for a couple of moments, and with the help of a couple treats.

“I [had] to take the picture quickly,” she said.


There are plenty of different takes on the Christmas nativity scene, but this might be the most adorable version yet!

The husband and wife team describe themselves as professionals in dog grooming, walking, home boarding and pet sitting and they created a similar scenario last year.


According to their Facebook page, Wags To Riches Pet Services is run by a husband and wife team, and they offer dog grooming, walking, home boarding and pet sitting services.