WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072909

An article from Kelly Burgess of Los Angeles Times Outposts about a marijuana bust that occurred in Vermont following investigation of some deer poaching leads off Wildlife News Of The Day today; followed by a warning by US Forest Service from California that informs the unwary that what smells like a skunk in the woods may actually be a marijuana farm! Deer that feed out of people's hands and try to mooch kid's lunches at school are becoming a problem in a town in Manitoba, Canada; but three Canadians were fined for deer poaching in Ontario province. Purdue University will be testing culled deer carcasses to see if they are carrying Bovine Tuberculosis. Another article from Cincinnati, Ohio, quotes an expert on the bad reputation given to coyotes; but livestock owners in Ontario, Canada, are on edge as more and more animals are being killed by coyotes. Another bear was killed in a Florida community when it wandered into traffic; but as bear-human encounters are on the rise, a tussle is bound to break out between animal-rights groups and residents of New Jersey over what to do. Residents (and police) are playing a waiting game with a treed black bear in a northwest Florida neighborhood; however, a contestant in a wheelchair race in Alaska felt that a black bear that eyed her thought that this was a 'meal-on-wheels'! An Oregon man came face-to-face with a bear in his house Saturday night with deadly consequences. The mystery of who was raiding the hummingbird feeders in a South Carolina neighborhood was solved, but the mystery of a lack of hummingbirds at the feeders remains. The dangers of urban wildlife are underscored by an article about how a New York City borough is on a rabies alert; but South Carolina, the last state to give $1,500 rabies shots for free, has had to quit due to budget constraints. An article from North Carolina tells about the battle between homeowners and some stinky, decidedly unwelcome visitors; while the next story shows that at least one Michigan policeman will touch a skunk with a ten-foot pole! A cougar munching on a cat in a British Columbia backyard was tracked down and killed by Canadian wildlife officers. And finally, another of Charles Darwin's theories (not evolution) has been proven by, of all things, jellyfish!

Deer poaching investigation leads to marijuana bust

What To Do If You Encounter A Marijuana Cultivation Site

'Tame' deer run wild in Manitoba town

3 fined for poaching deer in Lanark

Indiana Deer Cull Planned to Test for Bovine Tuberculosis

Expert: Coyotes get bad rap as pet killers

Wily coyotes wreak havoc on area livestock

Second bear killed on interstate

NewsTracker: To hunt or not to hunt as bear run-ins increase

Black bear spotted climbing tree in northwest Fla.

This race proved to be quite a bear

OR man grabs shotgun, kills bear in house

Hummingbirds scarce; in the meantime, wily bandit empties feeders

Queens Goes On Raccoon Alert

Recent rabies incidents reminder to be careful

Pungent pests plague neighborhood

Ironwood police free skunk from yogurt captivity

Cougar shot at Tsulquate

150 years later, Darwin vindicated... by jellyfish