The Columbian

Members of SPARK Ministries take foster dogs for a walk March 14 at Millstone Park in Richmond, Ky. SPARK Ministries works to remove barriers for people who are recovering from addiction.

Pets find safe place with fosters

March 29, 2024, 6:02am Life

When Laura Helvey met Catherine Gabbard in her yard in the summer of 2023, she was sitting on the ground next to her dog, Bossy, crying. Read story

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 138th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Phil’s handlers said that the groundhog has forecast an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil and his wife had BABY GROUNDHOGS!

March 28, 2024, 8:04am Life

We’re pleased to bring you very serious and important breaking news regarding cute, furry, baby animals and Pennsylvania lore: Punxsutawney Phil and his wife, Phyllis, have babies. Read story

All hail Chainsaw: the big guy with the jagged dorsal fin who, together with his fellow Bigg’s killer whales, has already racked up a record number of sightings of the orcas for 2023.

These Puget Sound orcas could be designated as distinct species

March 27, 2024, 1:45pm Latest News

For more than a century, killer whales have been understood to be just one worldwide species, Orcinus orca, with many types. Read story

Chad Williams of Olathe, Kan., caught a world record 164-pound, 13-ounce paddlefish. Williams was on his first snagging trip March 17 when he reeled in the fish at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Fisherman nets 164-pound fish in Lake of Ozarks

March 25, 2024, 6:51am Pets & Wildlife

A fisherman on the Lake of the Ozarks brought ashore a world-record paddlefish March 17 that weighed more than 164 pounds — the biggest paddlefish ever caught and the largest fish of any kind in Missouri’s record books. Read story