WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 062209

Commentary from Maine about how caring folks can sometimes do a disservice to wildlife by taking them in is provided by our first wildlife article today; followed by one on how the bad economy is forcing a North Carolina wildlife rehabilitation center to close. A Louisiana firefighter got a painful greeting from a cottonmouth in his fire station; and scientists doing studies of Great White Sharks off South Africa feel that these animals pre-plan their attacks on fur seals. A surplus of berries and other bear staples has reduced the number of dangerous encounters with humans in California's Sierras; but officials have closed access to a trail in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park due to bears. There has been an increase in hungry bears around Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center; and bird feeders beware - a hungry bear is on the prowl in an Atlanta suburb! South Floridians are being warned about a bear foraging through some neighborhoods; while New Mexico Game & Fish officials trapped and released a bear that had killed a sheep over the weekend. A bear that had wandered into Hartford, Connecticut, was tranquilized and returned to the wild on Sunday. A Connecticut writer reflects on his war of nerves with a persistent raccoon; and a North Carolina resident is now under treatment for rabies after tests of a raccoon who attacked him came back positive for the disease. Texas naturalists are keeping an eagle-eye on a nest at Lake Waco; but a bald eagle discovered in an Ohio neighborhood last September looks to be grounded for life. A Native American raptor center in Oklahoma is the new home of a golden eagle; and a pair of peregrine falcons nesting at a Virginia power plant has been tagged for future study of this endangered species. The debate over protecting gray wolves in Michigan is the topic of the next item; followed by a letter from a resident of Wyoming that fires back at ranchers in defense of wolves in that state. Coyotes are having an impact on deer in Virginia; while the fate of a fawn whose mother was killed with an arrow is on the minds of residents of a community in Georgia. A unique perspective on forests and deer is provided by an article from ESPN; but a Kansas woman is recovering in a Missouri hospital from an encounter with a deer and her ATV. Three judges presiding over three criminal cases involving deer deliberately run down by snowmobilers in Wisconsin are receiving copious mail on the cases. Concerns of a Maryland motorist over the burgeoning deer population are voiced in this next article; followed by one about a deer-auto altercation in Illinois that ended up sending two people to the hospital. An Ohio motorcyclist was killed when a deer ran into traffic on an Ohio highway. And finally, a wayward deer decided to visit a pet store in Grand Forks, North Dakota!

Wildlife officials: Life can be tough for illegal pets

Piedmont Wildlife Center closes rehabilitation

Firefighter Hospitalized for Snake Bite: UPDATE

Great whites 'plan' seal attacks

Wet weather eases Sierra human-bear conflicts

Bear activity closes Abrams Falls Trail in Smokies

Juneau Bear Problem

Bear Spotted in Kennesaw Neighborhood

Wellington residents spot bear

NM officials capture bear that killed sheep

Stuck In A Tree: Bear Captured In Hartford, Returned To Wild

A worthy opponent gets the last laugh

Hertford man treated for rabies

Naturalists hope Lake Waco baby bald eagle will fly soon

Injured eagle will never fly again

Eagle finds a new home

Biologists tag, track threatened peregrine falcons

Michigan says its management plan protects wolves

Wolves aren't terrorists

OUTDOORS COLUMN: Oh deer, beware of coyotes

Deer Shot With Bow and Arrow Dies In Gwinnett Yard

Kill a tree, help a deer

Driver Injured When Deer Jumps Onto ATV

Letters to Waupaca judges passionate in deer-killing case involving Weyauwega-area men Rory Kuenzi, Robby Kuenzi and Nicholas Hermes

Deer run amok on Eastern Shore

Two Complain of Injuries Following Car-Deer Accident

Deer starts chain reaction accident that kills motorcyclist in Lorain County

Deer romps through GF mall