Elephant seal in Cape Town finds its way into suburbia, stops traffic
A Southern elephant seal makes a surprise visit to the residential neighborhood of Gordon's Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, and triggers an almost nine-hour rescue effort to return him to the coast.
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Spooked by poachers, feds seek ESA support for ghost orchids
The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Endangered Species Act protections Wednesday for the ghost orchid, a swamp-dwelling plant put at risk by its own allure. Urged on by a petition followed by a lawsuit, the federal agency announced its determination that the species warrants designation as endangered. 'Illegal collection or poaching is one of the primary, ongoing threats to ghost orchid populations throughout its range,' FWS stated, adding that 'the ghost orchid is one of the most desirable species for collection due to its rarity, unusual growth form, and overall stunning appearance.' Advertisement The agency estimates the ghost orchid's U.S. population has fallen to fewer than 1,000 plants, found in eight isolated locations in southwestern Florida. The orchid also inhabits one part of a Cuban national park.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Boston man hailed a hero for rescuing blind woman from apartment fire
An early morning fire at an apartment building on Tremont Street in Roxbury could have had a tragic outcome if not for a quick-thinking neighbor being called a hero. It started in a second-floor apartment where 79-year-old Geneva Fuller woke to smell smoke. "She's blind, so she really didn't know what was going on. She had to go by her senses of hearing and smelling," said her son Keith Patterson. Fuller activated her Life Alert which brought crews to the scene who then saw the smoke and flames. Neighbor runs back upstairs By then neighbor Socrate Joseph knew his blind neighbor might be trapped. "I ran back upstairs on the third floor, grabbed my phone so I could use it as a flashlight. Then I went back downstairs, looked for her. I grabbed her hand, and she was pulling back," said Joseph. Socrate Joseph carried a blind woman out of an apartment building on fire in Roxbury. CBS Boston The frightened woman was combative in the face of danger, but Socrate Joseph says he had to take matters into his own hands. "In that moment I just yanked her, put her over my shoulders. So I was climbing down the steps with her," Joseph said. "That's when one of the firefighters came and then they took her from me." "A hero among us" Fuller was rescued out a side door to waiting EMS crews. Joseph's intuition is something Keith Patterson says he'll be ever grateful for. "He was literally a hero among us," Patterson said. "I would say if it wasn't for him, I don't think I would be having this conversation with you, nor would my mom be alive. I was just forever grateful, forever indebt to him." Fuller is a fixture in the Roxbury neighborhood having lived there for nearly 40 years. The building manager says he is also grateful for his tenant. "Ready to risk his own life to save another, to me that means the world," said Victor Luna. The units now boarded up are a total loss leaving Socrate Joseph homeless for now, but knowing everyone made it out. "If I did not, it would have been on my conscience. I don't know her, but it was the right thing to do," Joseph said. Geneva Fuller suffered smoke inhalation and will be monitored at the hospital for the next 24 hours. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
New York Times
5 hours ago
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Leopards on the Potomac! Trump Is Delighted by Deal With Saudis for Rare Cats.
Of all the splashy announcements that marked President Trump's trip to the Middle East last month, there was one that delighted him in a way that was different from the rest. It had nothing to do with money or military might. It had to do with cats. Big, rare, glamorous, killer cats. Perhaps you missed it; there was a lot going on. When the White House put out its 'fact sheet' highlighting the various investments it claimed to have secured in Saudi Arabia, there was one line, buried way down low, that stood out: the 'creation of a dedicated exhibit in Washington' for 'the endangered Arabian leopard.' The Smithsonian had spent months trying to get its paws on a pair of Arabian leopards, and now the Saudis are agreeing to send two of them to live at the National Zoo as part of a conservation program. A proper habitat will need to be constructed, and the exact pair of leopards has yet to be chosen, but if all goes according to plan, the cats will make it to the capital city while Mr. Trump is still in office. Brandie Smith, the director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo, spoke briefly with Mr. Trump about all this and said that he was 'very interested in the leopards as a species.' Most of all, she said, he wanted to learn about the leopards' 'personality.' Ms. Smith traveled to Saudi Arabia last month for the announcement. She was there at the royal palace in Riyadh when Mr. Trump arrived on the first day of his trip. Foreign dignitaries, business titans and muckety-mucks of various other stripes had lined up to shake hands with Mr. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom. When the two leaders reached the end of this very long line, they met the zookeeper. She explained to them why she was there. 'As soon as I said leopards, I saw both of them, their attention popped,' she recalled in a recent interview from her office back at the National Zoo. She said that Mr. Trump had many questions about the leopards: 'Like: 'How big are they? What do they eat? How dangerous are they?' That kind of stuff.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
