Summit County Rescue Group / Facebook screen shot Warning Issued after Dog Trampled to Death During 'Freak Occurrence' Moose Encounter When the dog noticed them, he didn't bark, he didn't go after the moose, he simply tried to get back to his family, with devastating results. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal November 3, 2021
Marc Cherniak / Facebook screen shot Video: Chihuahua Survives Backyard Attack by Coyote in Broad Daylight, Carried Off as Owners Scream Little Chico had some puncture wounds and a broken rib, but he healed up just fine and is back home now, enjoying supervised outside time. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal October 23, 2021
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden / Facebook Cincinnati Zoo Gives Huge Honor to Family After Unexpectedly Losing 1-Year-Old Despite their loss, the zoo workers hadn't forgotten about Oliver and on the following day, they announced the plan they'd had all along. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal October 14, 2021
John Hamilton / Facebook Artifacts Believed to Be Thousands of Years Old Discovered Inside Massive 750-Pound Alligator Of course, the million-dollar question now is how did these ancient artifacts make their way into the stomach of a giant reptile? By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal October 14, 2021
Pixabay / Pexels North Dakota Man Gets Nasty 182-Pound Surprise From Squirrel It took this North Dakota man about seven hours to clean up the massive 182-pound surpise the squirrel had left him. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal October 7, 2021
Jeremy Yoder / Flickr & Wupatki National Monument / Facebook screen shot After Disappearing For Years, Hundreds of 3-Eyed Animals Emerge Reports of "tadpoles" kept coming in, so Carter decided to check it out. What she discovered was something much more interesting than toads. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal October 6, 2021
@kerethp / Twitter screen shot Armed with a Trash Can, Brave Veteran Dad Captures and Relocates 6-Foot Alligator A gaggle of onlookers shrieked as he advanced, pushing the gator back. It writhed and whipped its body around, resisting. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 30, 2021
Bill Desloges / Facebook Men Spot Moose Stuck in Mud Up to Its Head, Tie Straps Around Antlers to Pull Animal to Safety The men knew quite well how powerful the moose was, so they tried to contact the proper authorities for help. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 30, 2021
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Officials Urge Public to Kill This Colorful Bug on Sight and Then Report It Wildlife officials are warning that a species of bug being spotted across the country might be beautiful, but should be killed on sight. By Kipp Jones, The Western Journal September 25, 2021
SWNS / YouTube screen shot Man's Best Friend Now Has Wings: Wild Bird Befriends Man After Chance Encounter He made scrambled eggs for the bird, kept it safe and warm and ensured the creature made a full return to health. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 18, 2021
Anu Ranganath / Facebook Caught on Camera: Adorable Moment Ducklings Redirected After Waddling Into Library Viewers chimed in with a range of responses, from sharing duck-related stories to taking the opportunity to quack their own jokes. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 14, 2021
Ben Stansall / AFP Getty Images Fin-Tastic: Dolphins Miraculously Help Save Swimmer Stranded for Hours Rescuers had been searching for him for hours, but they had a big area to cover and a single person swimming was not going to be easy to spot. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 11, 2021
Maxi Jonas FOTOS / Facebook Paddle Boarder Gets Nudge from Whale Below the Surface, 'Didn't Feel Fear' The shots were captured by photographer Maxi Jonas, who used a drone to snag the awesome moments and share them with a larger community. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 11, 2021
Out & About / Facebook 15 Years After Steve Irwin's Traumatic and Untimely Death, His Daughter Makes Beautiful Tribute Grace's middle names were chosen as a direct tribute to her late grandfather, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 7, 2021
KVUE / YouTube screen shot Hiker Thinks He's Brushing Yellow Jackets off Feet, Looks Down to See 'Very Large Copperhead' Middleton eventually recovered, but it took three weeks until he was able to put a shoe back on his swollen foot. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal September 4, 2021
Colorado Parks & Wildlife via KRAI & 55 Country / Facebook Colorado Wildlife Officer Rescues Moose Calf That Had Plummeted 4 Feet Into Burned Basement Neighbors spotted the mom and baby in distress. They attempted to fashion a ramp so the baby could get out, but it didn't work. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal August 29, 2021
News 4 San Antonio / Facebook South Carolina Man Wrenches Dog Out of Alligator's Death Grip, Then Runs for His Life The alligator spotted the easy meal and chomped down on Hanna's backside, biting off her tail and cutting up her back end. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal August 22, 2021
Action & Adventure on the Appalachian Trail / Facebook 'Little Man' Becomes One of the Youngest to Ever Hike the Appalachian Trail at 5 Years Old Not many other kindergarteners can boast that they've completed the Appalachian Trail, but Little Man can. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal August 21, 2021
@LNPDigital / Twitter screen shot Woman Allegedly Provokes Grizzly Into a Charge with Photo Op; Now She's Set to Appear in Court After Officers See the Video This Chicago-area woman allegedly tried to take a picture of these bears with her phone. It could end up costing her in court. By C. Douglas Golden, The Western Journal August 7, 2021
Grand Prarie Police / Facebook Police Warn Residents of Texas Town: Watch Out for Venomous Snake on the Loose While the cobra's owner believes it has died, authorities are still warning people to keep their eyes peeled. By Amanda Thomason, The Western Journal August 7, 2021
Toomas Tartes / Unsplash Nature Is Now Racist: Lib Magazine Says Systemic Racism Keeps Black People from the Outdoors At this point, it seems that 'anti-racists' are the only ones who go hiking and count the number of black people on the trail with them. By Kevin Catapano, The Western Journal July 31, 2021