WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 071509

In wildlife news today, a Massachusetts researcher has reported that dogs don't have a corner on the barking market; while a new study on the Australian perspective on bushtail possums shows a distinctly conflicted attitude is common. A Wisconsin county, dissatisfied with the verdict handed down in two animal cruelty cases over deer kills, will appeal the rulings; while Hanford, Washington, construction crews had a deviation from plans when a fawn was trapped in one of their excavations. Faced with overbrowsing of a wildlife park by deer, a deer hunt has been authorized in a New Jersey community. A plucky goat survived a bear attack in Aspen, Colorado; and a repeat offender bear was caught and relocated into the Wyoming wilderness. Alaskans have killed 13 bears in encounters so far this year, up from an average of 5 annually; but the antics of a friendly bear mooching off of picnickers in Forest Falls, California, has forced officials to close the campground. A pair of raccoons in a Minnesota suburb had to be rescued when the dumpster they were in got dumped into a trash truck. Fears that a baby raccoon that attended a Fourth of July party in Salem, Massachusetts, was rabid has prompted health authorities to issue a public warning; but Ontario, Canada, has announced that rabies incursions from the US have been halted and that the province has a rabies-free raccoon population. A New Jersey lab has confirmed that a raccoon killed over the weekend was indeed rabid; and a discussion of rabies in Louisiana follows. A look at grey wolves west of Michigan is undertaken by the next article. After a trio of cougars were shot within the past week for stalking humans, British Columbia officials are warning people to be wary of the big cats; and a park reopened in that province after a cougar attack last week, but authorities are keeping an eye out for the cougar. We finish up today with a couple of snake stories: Florida wildlife officials are trying to get a grip on their python problem as they send in trappers; while police in Quincy, Illinois, have issued an APB (apprehend pet boa) after an 8-footer escaped from its enclosure.

Not Only Dogs, But Deer, Monkeys And Birds Bark To Deal With Conflict

Aussies love/hate possums

State to appeal deer charges dismissal

Oh, deer! Hanford workers rescue fawn

Deer hunt in Jockey Hollow eyed

Touché the goat survives bear attack

Wyoming bear caught in Rozet had previous run-in

Bear encounters, deaths on the rise in Mat-Su

Bear Threat Closes Picnic Area

Salem issues raccoon alert; two begin rabies shots

Vaccination program stops raccoon rabies at border

Raccoon found, killed in Monroe yard tests positive for rabies

Spread of rabies growing concern in Louisiana

As Michigan's wolves bounce back, federal focus should move west

Princeton cops issue 'killer' cougar warning

Pinnacles reopened, cougar still missing

Florida ready to unleash 'python posse'

8-foot boa constrictor on the loose in Quincy