WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 082209

The impact of wildlife on air travel, particularly at Los Angeles International Airport, is explored by LA Times reporter Dan Weikel in our first wildlife article today; but a young ferruginous hawk found emaciated outside of a Utah community has been released back into the wild after rehabilitation. A wildlife rescue operation in northern Illinois is showcased in our next story; followed by the recollections of a writer on her trip to Manitoba, Canada, in which she swam with the fishes (okay they're actually whales) and commiserated with other native wildlife. A wildlife park in Maine offers hikers glimpses of many forms of local wildlife. A resident of Georgia, trying to avoid a deer in the road, flipped her car and died in the resulting wreck; but three-legged deer and numerous road kills are the results of traffic collisions with deer in Nanaimo, British Columbia. An Op-Ed piece from New Mexico lambasts officials for planning to cull deer in one community due to a perceived overpopulation. A skunk which got into a fight with some dogs in Virginia turned out to have rabies; while a woman in the UK who lost a skunk found it nearby, but now he has to go on a diet after consuming excessive amounts of cat food! A Canadian cat was lucky to survive an attack by a cougar, startled by a passerby in North Vancouver, British Columbia; while a couple of small show dogs have disappeared from a California residence, but it's unclear as to whether the culprit is a coyote or a hawk. Our next article examines the fine line between dogs as pets and packs of dogs as predators, after the killing of a Georgia couple by a dog pack. The coyote situation in Santa Monica, California, is definitely getting ugly, with police reporting eight apparent coyote kills of pets since last month. Centennial, Colorado, is working with Humane Society of the US and others to provide coyote educational material to residents; but Yorba Linda, California, has decided to employ a trapper instead. A family's dog barely survived a coyote attack in Virginia. A writer from Washington DC comments on the pluses and minuses of keeping raccoons as pets. A writer from Utah provides a history of bears interacting with humans in that state; but the controversy over the shooting of a bear in a San Bernardino, California, community is still being discussed by residents and officials. Residents of Jacksonville, Florida, have been reporting a black bear in the neighborhood for the past week; while a spectacled bear at Washington DC's National Zoo lost 110 pounds on a diet, though it's doubtful that he will appear on Oprah to discuss this (his agent couldn't be reached for comment). Controversy is brewing in Mammoth, California, over what to do with a home-invasion bear that has been breaking into a house a day rummaging for food; however a black bear that made a visit to a Crestline, California, campground yesterday decided to just lounge around for a while. And finally, we take a look at a bear that could be used to help soldiers on the battlefield, among other things, and will never be accused of rummaging through anyone's trash!

LAX makes birds unwelcome

Hawk set free in Iron County

Mending wildlife

The Arctic warmth of Hudson Bay's belugas

Signs of Wildlife

Thomson woman dies trying to avoid deer on road

Deer paying the price for careless, uncaring drivers

Steve May: Public input sought on mule deer situation

Skunk killed by dogs found to have rabies

Lost skunk causes flap in Chippenham

Cat survives cougar fight in North Vancouver

Coyotes blamed for disappearing dogs

Ga. dog pack shows fine line between pet, predator

Coyote ugly

Coyote program education, awareness offered

Coyote trapping begins in Yorba Linda

Coyote Attacks Family Dog In Dinwiddie

Raccoons as pets

People have a way of turning bears into, well -- animals

Bear essentials provided at meeting

Bear sightings on the Westside

National Zoo Bear Loses 110 Pounds

Blonde bear keeps on raiding the Mammoth fridge

Bear makes itself comfy at campground

BEAR robot roars to the rescue