WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 092909

First up today in wildlife news, Sam Gowen, of the Orange County Register, sent along an article that summarizes pet owners' comments on coyotes in Orange County, California; but in a bit of a mystery, two dogs hunting coyotes in Michigan were shot by someone. Although US Forest Service scientists agree the Angeles National Forest is sick after the recent wildfires, they feel that the foliage will come back quicker than expected, but the animals suffered terrible losses due to the fires. In another link to birds, a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen was apparently killed by trichomonosis, a common avian ailment. Some video footage of yesterday's story about a bear breaking into a Mount Baldy Village, California, home is provided in the next item; but one of Canada's northernmost provinces is faced with a dilemma: reduce polar bear hunts to avoid sanctions, or reduce a lucrative business in hosted hunts. Incursions by humans into koala territories, along with bushfires devastating the groves where they live, is stressing out the little animals, opening the door for a deadly disease that is decimating the population; however, a Washington state school bus driver is in trouble with the district after dropping a middle school student off near where a bear was standing! About 75 countries took part in a World Rabies Day event yesterday that sought to inform the public of the threat from rabies; as a family in North Carolina is waiting nervously to see whether their puppy contracted rabies from an encounter with a rabid skunk; a skunk examined in a Virginia community turned out to also have rabies; and rabid skunks in a Colorado county are suspected of having transmitted the disease to a cougar and a cow. The hilarious misadventures of a writer from Central California whose dog was "skunked" is up next. Customers and employees of a high-end beauty salon in Pennsylvania were stunned when a deer crashed through the front window unexpectedly; while deer hunters in Minnesota are assisting wildlife officials in measuring the health of the deer herd by allowing them to take tissue samples of their kills. A truck plummeted off an embankment in central California while trying to avoid a deer in the road; Michigan claimed the dubious honor of second-place in the number of deer-auto collisions in the US; but unlike residents of many towns where urban deer hunting is taking place, citizens of a town in Connecticut are supportive of the effort. A study just published in Conservation Genetics Magazine revealed that extermination of wolves on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, has led to a new breed of "monster" wolves; while an update on wolf hunting in Idaho is provided by the next item. A cougar was sighted near a garden party in Palo Alto, California; but a cougar that jumped out of a ditch yesterday was struck by a motorist near an Alberta, Canada, community. And finally, a photo from Colorado shows a case of David versus Goliath, or in this instance, kingbird versus red-tailed hawk!

Readers share sightings and wildlife attacks on pets

DNR Investigating Dog Shooting In Kalkaska County

With care, the forest will live

Did lowly parasite kill famous T. rex?

Video: Bear breaks into California home

Northern hearing told limit on polar bear hunt crucial to Nunavut economy

Stress disease kills Australia's koalas

Bus driver drops middle school student off near bear

Day stresses rabies awareness

16th rabies case reported in Rockwell

Skunk tests positive for rabies in eastern Henrico

Mountain lion, cow latest rabies victims in eastern El Paso County

After skunk encounter, house goes to the dogs

Deer Makes Unexpected Visit To Pa. Hair Salon

MN Deer Hunters Encouraged To Take Part In Disease Surveillance Testing

Deer Blamed For Highway 49 Crash

Michigan ranks 2nd in car-deer collisions

How will engaging a deer hunter help restore health and safety?

Cull led to hybrid 'monster' wolves: Study

15 wolves killed so far in Idaho

Mountain lion spotted near Highway 101 in Palo Alto

Cougar put down after being hit

Pictured: The tiny kingbird that took a piggyback on a predatory hawk and lived to tell the tale