WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 092509

Over 100 new species of wildlife have been found in Southeast Asia, including frogs, bats, lizards, and snakes, as told in our first wildlife story today; followed by the tale of a pensioner in Queensland, Australia, who is resisting official pressure to surrender his tiny pet possum. Another look at the great raptor migration south across Connecticut is provided by the next story. A Wisconsin town's attempts to cull the local deer herd is starting out slow; but a gruesome token of the coming deer cull in a Kansas Park was presented to city officials. A pit bull mortally injured a doe in Michigan before being captured by Sheriff's deputies; followed by a look at deer-auto collisions in South Carolina. A city official in an Ontario, Canada, community who initially advocated coexisting with coyotes, is now advocating extermination; but the backlash from coyote activists has delayed an intended hunt of these canines in an Indiana neighborhood indefinitely. The contentious issue of what to do about gray wolves in the northern parts of the US is examined in the next article. Wildlife officials in North Carolina are cautioning residents about a number of cougar-sighting hoaxes stirring up false fear about cougars in a state which reportedly has none; even as a cougar was spotted on a popular hiking trail in Colorado, forcing officials to close the trail until they find the cat. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have called off a controversial cougar study that involves killing a number of these felines to see if it had any impact on livestock losses or human complaints; but Canadian Mounties have a mystery on their hands: after a man told a passerby he'd been bitten by a cougar and was driving himself to the hospital, he never arrived! Officials in a Pennsylvania township are hoping that a growing skunk problem will drift away in time; but a councilman in an Illinois town is advocating sterner measures to remove skunks from his community. A variety of wildlife with rabies have pushed the number of cases in Nogales, Arizona, to nearly 3 dozen; and Newport News, Virginia, reported their 18th case of rabies in the area. A male black bear reappeared in a Nevada community, forcing officials to tranquilize him prior to relocating him in the wilderness a second time; but a South Carolina resident was badly scratched on her hand by a caged black bear. A resident of Wyoming decries a judge's ruling that will protect grizzlies, fearing that there will now be more human-grizzly encounters with deadly consequences; and arctic explorers recounted some of their more hair-raising tales, including a polar bear incursion into their tent, to Welsh schoolchildren in the UK. And finally, a docile bear went nose-to-nose with a homeowner's pig in Massachusetts before scurrying back into the woods!

Fanged frog, 162 other new species found in Mekong

Raoul's possum magic

Record crowds gawk at the hawks

Little Chute's destructive deer near Heesakker Park could be culled

Deer head delivered in protest to SM Park officials

Sheriff: Pit bull kills deer

Deer-Auto crashes rise in 2008, deaths & injuries drop

Councillor calls for coyote cull

Coyotes’ removal from Mishawaka neighborhood put on hold

States should take control of gray wolves

Wildlife commission: no mountain lions in WNC

Mountain Lion spotted on popular Monument trail, trail closed

Controversial cougar study comes to end

North Vancouver RCMP fear man attacked by cougar

Skunks go wild in Aston

Skunks a 'stinky issue' for city

County posts record-setting 34 cases of rabies

Raccoon in Newport News tests positive for rabies

Roaming black bear caught off Highway 50 East

Woman Mauled By Bear In Pumpkintown

Ruling means ‘more griz, more conflict’

Explorer’s close call as polar bear attacked camp

Visiting bear was like a 'curious kid'