WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 021409

First up in wildlife news today, an animal-rights group is advocating against deadly force to handle Colorado's suburban coyote problems, and a series of letters to the editor about the coyote problem in Kansas City follows. A 9-year-old girl in South Carolina had a frightening run-in with a rabid coyote, but the next two articles (one from Ontario, Canada, the second from Ohio) wax philosophic on the place of coyotes in everyday life. An update from South Dakota on the mountain lion hunts being conducted in that region (does anyone check to see if a female cougar killed by hunters was caring for a litter?), and a story about Russian politicians and businessmen hunting bears in Siberia, hereagain showing little regard for the offspring who may be orphaned. A fox in Alabama was discovered to have rabies, the fourth animal in the area so diagnosed recently, and two cows on a Vermont farm contracted rabies from a raccoon, causing a bit of a public health scare there. An unexpected warning about the health hazard created by a brain parasite residing in raccoon droppings appears next. Two stories about rabid skunks appear follow: one from Georgia and another from Texas. And speaking of rabies, a compendium of wildlife rabies cases from Connecticut is provided in the next article. Thousands of raccoon baits have been dispersed in Florida, not to poison them, but to inoculate them against rabies. In a nice change for bushfire-hit Australia, the public outpouring of humanitarian aid for farm animals is overwhelming local police, and the firefighter who offered a drink to an injured Koala was given a 'Hero to Animals Award' by PETA. And finally, residents of Roseville, California, are having a bit of a stink over skunk mating season with advice on an effective (though embarrassing) skunk spray treatment - kids, don't try this at home!

Group questions deadly force to control coyotes

Suburban coyotes

Rabid coyote attacks girl waiting for school bus

Columnist says nature rules coyotes not people

Coyotes: Smart, adaptable survivors

14th female cougar is shot

Thousands of cubs left to starve as Russian elite kill mother bears

Fox was diagnosed with rabies; officials warn people to vaccinate pets

2 cows from Charlotte farm die of rabies

Raccoon droppings pose danger

Second rabies case of 2009 confirmed

Rabid Skunk Found in College Station

Easton raccoon tests positive for rabies

Rabies Vaccination Pellets Placed For Raccoons

Police need bushfire volunteers

Firefighter recognised for aiding koala

Skunks invade local homes