WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 102209

Pete Thomas of the Los Angeles Times provides our first wildlife article today about the continuing controversy over wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana; but a wolf preserve in Florida is having a 'Howl-O-Ween' fund-raising event to help open up more acreage for their preserve. A predatory hunter shot a rare albino coyote in Montana; and a letter to the editor of a Central California paper vents anger over a brazen coyote prowling their neighborhood. Radio tracking of two coyote packs in Rhode Island has provided some interesting new insights into urban coyotes, leading to adoption of a Coyote Coexistence and Management Plan there. One of two cougars spotted in Deadwood, South Dakota, has been killed, and a trap set for the other; and residents of Santa Rosa, California, have obtained a depredation permit and engaged the services of a tracker to hunt down a cougar that has been killing animals in the community. A South Dakota rancher blamed a predator, perhaps a cougar, for spooking his cattle, resulting in the death of nine of them on an interstate; but a deer hunter in Utah became the hunted when a cougar, evidently protecting nearby cubs, surprised him. A motorcyclist in Missouri suffered moderate injuries after collision with a deer in the road; and another biker from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, has been hospitalized after colliding with a deer in the road. Drivers in Missouri are once again being warned to slow down near areas frequented by deer as rutting season continues. A deer cull is being considered in a part of North Carolina that is being overrun by the ungulates; but a deer visited the lobby of a hotel in China, even pausing to get a drink at a water display. Wildlife officials in Reno, Nevada, are offering a reward for information on who has been poaching deer and antelope in the area. A falconer in Massachusetts was able to save a red-tailed hawk that had been shot; while the hunt is on for the owner of a hawk that barged into a chicken coop in Cheshire, UK. A bald eagle that was injured in a storm was released back into the wild in Delaware, as the next two articles show. Onlookers in Kyrgyzstan were stunned when an ice-skating bear killed the Russian circus director; and Alaska has filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the polar bear should not have federal protection. A wayward raccoon got across some power lines in Wenatchee, Washington, depriving nearly 3,000 customers of power; even as health officials in Allentown, Pennsylvania, were warning residents of a rabid skunk that was destroyed there. A caravan park in Western Australia is coming up with ways to save their peppermint trees while simultaneously providing a food source for their endangered western ringtail possum population. And finally, police in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suburb had an aggressive iguana to deal with who really didn't want to get sacked (but then, who does?)

Wolf hunts in Idaho, Montana still stirring up controversy

Howl with the wolves at weekend event

Hunter stalks, shoots albino coyote

Letters: Coyote kills another pet in Monte Sereno

Local scientist proposes ‘coyote coexistence’ animal feeding ordinance

Mountain lion killed in Deadwood city limits

Community Hunts Mountain Lion That Killed Pets

Wayward Cows Cause Chaos On Interstate

Syracuse deer hunter survives shocking encounter with angry mountain lion

Hannibal man hurt in collision with deer

Motorcycle Hits Deer

Active deer threat to drivers, patrol warns

As deer multiply, culling concerns rise

Deer hangs out in hotel lobby

Reward offered for info about Reno-area deer, antelope killings

Injured hawk let back into the wild in Hopkinton

Keep a hawk eye out for bird of prey’s owner

Bruised eagle takes flight

Photo gallery: Bald eagle release at Ingrams Pond

Ice-skating bear kills Russian circus director

Alaska Files Lawsuit Challenging Federal Polar Bear Protections

Power outage affects 2,800 customers

Rabid skunk found on Crest Avenue in Allentown

Caravan plan to save peppermint possums

East Vandergrift tangles with ornery iguana