Thinking of Getting a Pet Turtle?

Consider the risks to your health, the earth and the animals

Turtles may seem like low-maintenance pets, but those about to rush out and bring one home should consider that they require years (sometimes decades) of specialized care. Turtles can also transmit disease. Like all wildlife, these reptiles belong in their natural habitats.

To read more on this story, click here: Thinking of Getting a Pet Turtle?



FOLLOW US!

A Young Two-Headed Eastern Copperhead Was Found in Northern Virginia

A young two-headed Eastern Copperhead was found in Northern Virginia. The finder emailed the Virginia Herpetological Society for identification; DGIF was then alerted and the state herpetologist picked up the snake. This week, he brought it to the Wildlife Center for radiographs. Dr. Ernesto [who is a big fan of venomous snakes] examined the baby copperhead.

It appears as though the left head is more dominant – it’s generally more active and responsive to stimulus. Radiographs revealed that the two-headed snake has two tracheas [the left one is more developed], two esophaguses [the right one is more developed], and the two heads share one heart and one set of lungs. Based on the anatomy, it would be better for the right head to eat, but it may be a challenge since the left head appears more dominant.

Wild two-headed snakes are extremely rare – they just don’t live that long. The herpetologist will continue monitoring the snake; if it survives, it will likely be placed in an educational facility.

Please note: This snake is not currently at the Wildlife Center of Virginia; it's in the care of the state herpetologist.

FOLLOW US!

National Park Service Researchers Discovered a Litter of Four Mountain Lion Kittens: Possibly Products of Inbreeding

Thousand Oaks, California - National Park Service researchers discovered a litter of four mountain lion kittens, but they are suspected to be products of inbreeding.

Two boys and two girls were found in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains. They are now P-70, P-71, P-72 and P-73.

It is the fourth litter of kittens for mother P-19. Researchers believe she mated with P-56, a 3-year-old male who is also her grandson. P-56 is also a product of inbreeding, as his mother mated with P-12, who is his father and grandfather.

Genetic testing is required to confirm the paternity for P-56, but researchers found that two mountain lions spent about 90 days together before the birth of a kitten and that's the gestation period for mountain lions.

National Park Service biologists took tissue samples, conducted a general health check and marked the kittens with ear tags.

Researchers have studied P-19 since she was four weeks old, and she is now 8 years old. Of the seven kittens from her previous litters, four died, two were never given GPS collars and one is confirmed to be alive.

Various entities, including Caltrans, are working on a plan to build a wildlife crossing bridge over the 101 Freeway in the Liberty Canyon area.


FOLLOW US!

The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms

Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia.

Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly.

The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe.

To read more on this story, click here: The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms



FOLLOW US!

The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms

Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia.

Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly.

The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms

FOLLOW US!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Five Conservation Groups Are Offering a $15,500 Reward for Information About the Killing of a Federally Protected Gray Wolf

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and five conservation groups are offering a $15,500 reward for information about the killing of a federally protected gray wolf.

The four-year-old male, known as OR-33, was found dead in late April in southwestern Oregon's Fremont-Winema National Forest, according to the agency. A necropsy confirmed that it was OR-33, which had a collar that had stopped working the previous year. The wolf died of gunshot wounds.

"This is a heartbreaking loss for Oregon's wolves," Amaroq Weiss, West Coast wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "Wolf recovery in Oregon depends on wolves like OR-33 making their way west and thriving, so his death is a major setback."

Gray wolves are listed as endangered in the western part of Oregon. "The federal offense is punishable by up to a $100,000 fine, a year in jail, or both. The maximum state penalty is a fine of $6,250 and a year in jail," according to The Associated Press.

OR-33 was a lone wolf, having left the Imnaha pack in northeastern Oregon in 2015, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.

Last year, "OR-33 roamed almost within Ashland city limits — a city of more than 20,000. From June 10-12, he attacked and killed two goats and one lamb at a small livestock operation northeast of Ashland," the Statesman Journal reported, citing the agency.

The animal was apparently not subtle. "This wolf is acting like David Lee Roth," Greg Roberts, a media personality in Southern Oregon, told the Statesman Journal last year. "I had eight people in Ashland say that they've seen him around their property."

Oregon had at least 112 wolves in 2016, according to state statistics. But the conservation groups contributing to the reward for information say that "since 2015 at least eight wolves have been poached or died under mysterious circumstances in Oregon."

Quinn Read, Northwest representative of Defenders of Wildlife, said poaching in Oregon is "a huge and growing problem." She added: "We need everyone's help to catch this killer."

If you have information about this case, you can call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (503) 682-6131, or Oregon State Police Tip Line at (800) 452-7888.

FOLLOW US!

In Puerto Rico, a Hopeful Sight: Endangered Parrot Spotted After Hurricane Maria

WASHINGTON — Since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico about one month ago, a team of scientists has trekked daily into El Yunque National Forest hoping to pick up signs or sounds of endangered Puerto Rican Parrots.

Their habitat stripped of foIiage by Hurricane Maria, the parrots, both wild and those released after being bred in captivity, went quiet.

“Hurricane Maria seems to be a major setback for recovery of the parrot,” said Jafet Veléz-Valentín, a wildlife biology/aviculturalist for the Iguaca Aviary, formerly the Luquillo Aviary.

On Wednesday, 28 days after Maria, there was “a new hope,” as Veléz-Valentín described it in a string of texts from the island. Someone spotted a cotorra, the Spanish word for parrot, with a radio collar and an orange leg band in Barrio Caguitas in Aguas Buenas.

The person notified the aviary through Facebook. The collar and band mean the parrot is part of a population bred during the 2016 season, Veléz-Valentín said.

“One of our biologists, Gabriel Benítez Soto, contacted the person who saw and photographed the parrot,” he said, adding that another search is on in the forest and vicinity for more parrots.

To read more on this story, click here: In Puerto Rico, a Hopeful Sight: Endangered Parrot Spotted After Hurricane Maria

FOLLOW US!

Three Decades After Being Pushed to the Brink of Extinction, the California Condor is Making a Comeback in the Wild

Big Sur, California - In a remote, rugged valley overlooking the Pacific Ocean, researchers closely monitor an endangered icon: the California condor.

The giant vultures flap their wings and circle the sky before perching on branches and observing their observers. Wildlife biologist Amy List uses a handheld antenna to track the birds, which wear radio transmitters and numbered tags.

"If we don't know what they're doing, we don't know what's going wrong," said List, who works for the Ventana Wildlife Society, which manages the condor sanctuary in Big Sur.

Three decades after being pushed to the brink of extinction, the California condor is making a comeback in the wild, but constant vigilance is needed to ensure the endangered bird doesn't reverse course.

One of the world's largest birds with a wingspan up to 10 feet, the condor once patrolled the sky from Mexico to British Columbia. But its population plummeted in the 20th century due to lead poisoning, hunting and habitat destruction.

In 1987, wildlife officials captured the last remaining 22 condors and took them to the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos to be protected and bred in captivity.

Those efforts have led to a slow but steady recovery for a species that reproduces slowly compared with other birds. There are now roughly 450 condors, including about 270 in the wild in California, Arizona, Utah and northeastern Mexico.

Plans also are underway to release some captive-bred condors in Redwood National Park in 2019 to establish a population near the California-Oregon border.

Federal officials said in August that for the first time in nearly 40 years, condors were roosting in the Blue Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, expanding to their historical range in the southern Sierra Nevada.

Another milestone was reached this summer: the first "third generation" condor was born in the wild in California since the 1980s.

"We're seeing very encouraging results that the condors can become self-sustaining again," said Kelly Sorenson, who heads the conservation group.

While condors still face threats from exposure to mercury and the pesticide DDT, biologists say the biggest danger is lead ammunition, which can poison the scavengers when they eat dead animals shot with lead bullets. California banned the use of lead ammunition near condor feeding grounds in 2008 and will be the first state to ban lead bullets in all hunting in 2019.

"We're already starting to see fewer lead deaths. The condors are surviving longer. Their blood-lead levels are coming down," Sorenson said.

Some gun owners complain that copper bullets are more expensive and less effective than lead and point to other possible sources of lead, such as paint and metal garbage.

"Condors are getting lead poisoning. The question is, are they getting it from lead ammunition?" said Chuck Michel, president of the California Pistol and Rifle Association.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Zoo celebrated the birth of its 200th condor this year.

"While we were caring for the birds, trying to protect them and provide sanctuary, we were literally writing the book how you propagate a species, how you genetically manage it and prepare it for release back in the wild," Michael Mace, the zoo's birds curator.

After up to a year at the zoo, chicks are taken to a release site such as the Big Sur sanctuary, where a flock has grown to about 90 condors that travel between Big Sur and Pinnacles National Park. They scavenge, breed and raise chicks on their own, under the close watch of List, the wildlife biologist, and her colleagues.

"I hope that I'm out of a job soon because condors don't need to be managed in the future," she said. "I hope that they're self-sustaining and wild and free, and nobody needs to trap or tag or monitor them at all."


FOLLOW US!

Appalachian Wildlife Refuge: Please Donate Your Old Mascara Wands to Help Injured Animals

The Appalachian Wildlife Refuge would like to help you clean out your make-up case.

The volunteer run organization is asking people to send them their used mascara wands instead of throwing them away.

The wands are used to help remove fly eggs and larva from animals that are injured or orphaned.

According the wildlife refuge's website, the wands are perfect because their bristles are close together.

People are asked to send in their "Wands for Wildlife" and to host "Wandraisers."

Before you send in your used brushes, they will need to be cleaned. You can do that by soaking them in soapy water and removing all the residual mascara.

After the wands have been washed, you will need to fill out a Wands for Wildlife form. That can be found on the refuge's website.

All donations must be mailed to P.O. Box 1211, Skyland, NC 28776.

If you do not have any used mascara wands but wish to help, the refuge asks that you DO NOT buy new wands, but instead buy food or supplies from their wishlist , or make a monetary donation.




FOLLOW US!

A Startling Discovery Was Made Inside a Home in Jupiter, Florida: 100 Dead Pythons

A woman who neighbors say lived alone and kept mostly to herself shared her home with many animals, and a lot of them were found dead.

Katie McGinness, a mother of two, has walked her dog past the home at 132 Timberline Drive many times.

She’s shocked to learn the lady living there had approximately 100 dead snakes in a bedroom.

“I was just amazed,” said McGinness.

“It was just chaotic. I mean we had cops, we had the fire department,” said Rob Long, who lives next door to 132 Timberline Drive.

On February 16, police were called out to do a welfare check and found deplorable conditions. They says the entire floor of the house was covered with animal feces, and in a bedroom there were numerous plastic bins containing dead pythons.

“I mean why would anyone have 100 snakes?” asked Long.

The dead snakes were ball pythons, which are not poisonous and grow to 3-4 feet long.

“I was stunned, saddened because I watched them take some of the animals out,” McGinness said.

“I feel sorry for her, ‘cause I guess, I don’t know if she doesn’t have anyone to ask for help or she just got over her head with what she was doing,” Long said.

A local wildlife expert says for one person, feeding and taking care of 100 snakes at home would be practically a full time job.

“It’s just a sad situation. I’m going to assume that she was an animal lover, as we all are around here. However it just kind of got away from her,” said Amy Kight, animal care director at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter.

Neighbors say they shudder to think what might’ve happened if the snakes got loose in the neighborhood.

“That’s crazy. But it’s scary too, because if one of them escapes it’s scary,” said Sophia Simpson, 10, a neighbor.

Besides 100 dead snakes, authorities also removed some live animals, including two dogs, a couple of tortoises and parakeets and two snakes and an African gray parrot.

A Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control official said Thursday night as far as he knows, all of the animals have been adopted out.

The woman who had the dead snakes in her home, Jennifer Morrison, 59, was cited for confining animals without sufficient food and water.





FOLLOW US!

A Bear Was Shot and Killed Thursday Morning After a Woman in Frederick, Maryland Was Attacked

Frederick, Maryland - A bear was shot and killed Thursday morning after a woman in Frederick, Maryland was attacked the evening before, the Department of Natural Resources confirmed.

According to officials, around 9:30 p.m. 63-year-old Karen Osborne was walking to her son-in-law's house next door to check on their dog that was barking when she was attacked by the bear on Irongate Lane, in between Baltimore National Pike and Shookstown Road. It appears the woman got in between the bear her cubs. The bear weighed 200 pounds.

"It was not a bear that was sort of laying in wait for the homeowner. The best we can tell is she went down a dark driveway with a dog. There was another dog in the driveway off leash and the sow had her cubs there and she reacted to what she believed was a threat."

Police reported, Osborne suffered a broken arm, cuts to her head, and puncture wounds to both arms.

,

FOLLOW US!

A Tiny Male Deer Fawn Weighing 1-Pound Was Born at the Queens Zoo

A tiny male deer fawn weighing just 1lb (450g) and measuring 6 by 6 in (15.24 x 15.24cm) was born on May 12 at Queens Zoo, NYC. Pudu are the world’s smallest deer species and the Zoo now has 3 on display. The tiny creature is still nursing but will soon be eating leaves, grain, kale, carrots, and hay.

Pudu are a subspecies of the South American deer and are generally solitary animals. They bark when frightened, shiver when angered, and do not interact socially other than to mate. Pudu are so small that they count the horned owl as one of their predators, and there is a popular rumor that the deer can die from fear-induced cardiac complications.

FOLLOW US!

The Promise This Photographer Made to Endangered Elephants Will Give You Chills

Even the biggest animal lovers are somewhat disconnected from the rampant abuse happening to animals around the world. Powerful images and videos allow us a glimpse into some of the heartbreaking situations animals have to deal with around the world, but activists, conservationists, photojournalists, and videographers get a first-hand look and have the chance to interact with those affected. These people are in sub-Saharan Africa witnessing poachers sneak onto parks to kill African lions. They are there to see baby orangutans stand on the ashes of their formerly lush forest home that has been cleared out for palm oil. And in Sumatra, they are watching elephants in the area dwindle as more and more of these animals are pushed off their lands, killed when they step back onto it, and kidnapped in the flurry of it all.

To read more on this story, click here: The Promise This Photographer Made to Endangered Elephants Will Give You Chills




FOLLOW US!

A Conservation Officer in Canada Has Been Put on Suspension for Heroically Saving the Lives of Two Helpless Animals His Higher-Ups Wanted Killed

A conservation officer in Canada has been put on suspension — not for violating his duty to protect wildlife, but rather for heroically saving the lives of two helpless animals his higher-ups wanted killed.

Following reports of a female black bear who had broken into a home in rural British Columbia in the company of her two young cubs, Officer Bryce Casavant and local firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Unfortunately, the responders decided to put the mother bear down, though when it came to dealing with her now-orphaned offspring, the conservation officer took a more sympathetic approach.

Defying orders to euthanize the 8-week-old bear cubs, Casavant instead collected the frightened youngsters and had them sent to local animal hospital, the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. That simple show of kindness has now put his job in jeopardy, reports Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Meanwhile, conservation services released a statement saying that Casavant's actions are now under investigation, but supporters say the officer should be lauded, not suspended. A petition on Care.org has garnered more than 150,000 signatures calling for Casavant to be reinstated.

Given the bears' age, staff at North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre are optimistic the cubs will eventually be released back into the wild — all thanks to the sympathy shown by Casavant, who defends his actions on their behalf, telling the Vancouver Mirror:
"I think it is important for the community to know that I am here to do the right thing."

UPDATE: Officer Casavant was originally suspended without pay, but in light of the overwhelming public response to his case, he has since been placed back on they payroll, CVT News reports. He is currently still under suspension.



FOLLOW US!

Animal Activist: Pedals the Walking Bear Has Been Killed During a Bear Hunt in New Jersey

New Jersey - A bear seen walking on its hind legs in New Jersey over the past several years was killed during a bear hunt on Monday, according to the Facebook page devoted to 'Pedals.'

The announcement on Friday read in part: "For the hundreds and thousands of animals lovers who were following his story, I am sorry that we have this sad news to bring to you... The hunter who has wanted him dead for nearly 3 years had the satisfaction of putting an arrow through him, bragging at the station."

The bear believed to be 'Pedals' was brought to the weigh station in Rockaway.  State Wildlife officials have not confirmed its death.

Photos and videos of 'Pedals' were often posted on social media. In one of its most recent sightings, witnesses including residents of Oak Ridge said the bear appeared to be severely underweight and injured.

A nonprofit group called Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York, offered to take in 'Pedals.'

Wildlife experts said the black hear had some sort of leg or paw injury that didn't allow it to spend much time on all fours.

Last November, activists dropped off petitions supporting relocation of the bear, and staged a small rally to raise awareness of 'Pedals' status. More than 290,000 people signed the petition at the time.

You may be interested in reading: Pedals, the Walking Bear Spotted in West Milford, New Jersey on December 21

FOLLOW US!

Feds Want to Shrink the Range of Endangered Red Wolves in N.C.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed dramatic changes Monday to its 29-year effort in North Carolina to save endangered red wolves, including dramatically shrinking their range.

An estimated 45 to 60 wolves – down from more than 100 in recent years – now roam five counties of northeastern North Carolina, much of it private land. Under the proposal, they would be limited to federal land in Dare County, in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Dare County Bombing Range.

The change would take effect by the end of 2017 after further studies and public comment. Conservation groups quickly condemned the proposal Monday.

Wolves on private property would be removed and made part of a captive wolf population, which now numbers about 200 animals. The captive wolves include only 29 breeding pairs, which is not enough to sustain the population, the agency says.

The service will identify potential new sites to release wolves into the wild by October 2017. Coastal North Carolina is now the only place where they run wild.

The wolf recovery program has been hailed as ground-breaking for saving animals that were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. But wolves in recent years have faced a backlash, including growing numbers shot to death and mounting pressure from landowners to keep them off private property.

To read more on this story, click here: Feds Want to Shrink the Range of Endangered Red Wolves in N.C.


FOLLOW US!

Over 300 Wild Reindeer Have Been Killed by Lightning in Southern Norway

More than 300 wild reindeer have been killed by lightning in southern Norway, officials said Monday, in the largest such incident known to date.

The 323 reindeer, including 70 young, were found on Friday by a gamekeeper on the Hardangervidda plateau, a national park where Europe's largest herd of some 10,000 wild reindeer roam freely.

Television footage showed the animals' dead bodies lying close together on the ground.

"There were very strong storms in the area on Friday. The animals stay close together in bad weather and these ones were hit by lightning," an official from the Norwegian Environment Agency, Kjartan Knutsen, told AFP.

Reindeer are social creatures and usually move in packs.

"It's unusual. We've never seen anything like this on this scale," Knutsen said.

Norwegian authorities have yet to decide what to do with the animals.

"We're going to decide soon whether to let nature run its own course or whether we will do something," he said.

Of the 323 reindeer killed, five had to be put down due to their injuries.

Thee are some 25,000 wild tundra reindeer in Norway, located in the southern mountain ranges, according to experts.

FOLLOW US!

Village Enthralled by 7-Year-Old Who Naps, Cuddles with 16-Foot Python

Setbo Village, Cambodia - Being responsible parents, rice farmer Khuorn Sam Ol and his wife might not be expected to be keen on having their child play with a 16-foot-long, 220-pound snake.

Yet they are unflustered that their 7-year-old son, Uorn Sambath, regularly sleeps in the massive coil of the female python, rides the reptile, kisses it and even pats it down with baby powder.

"There is a special bond between them," Khuorn Sam Ol said. "My son played with the snake when he was still learning to crawl. They used to sleep together in a cradle."

The boy and his snake have become a tourist attraction in Setbo village, about 12 miles south of the capital Phnom Penh, as well as a source of wonder to the locals.

"People sometimes call the boy and the snake husband and wife," said Cheng Raem, a 48-year-old neighbor. "Maybe they were a couple from a previous life."

Boy and snake grew up together, ever since the python slithered into the family home when Uorn Sambath was 3 months old. His 39-year-old mother, Kim Kannara, discovered the reptile, then about the size of a thumb, coiled beneath a woven mat on their bed.

Khuorn Sam Ol took the snake away, releasing it into some bushes by a river, but one morning two weeks later, he found it back inside the house. He decided to keep it and named it Chamroeun — meaning "progress," in English.

He came to believe the snake possesses a magical spirit that understands what he says and protects the family from illness. The snake has its own 7-by-10-foot room with a spirit house at which Khuorn Sam Ol prays for the python to keep his family happy and healthy. The snake is so familiar with his son — one of four children — that it would never hurt him, he said.

According to Nikolai Doroshenko, a Russian snake expert living in Cambodia, it's true that pythons rarely attack humans unless provoked.

But there is still an element of danger in allowing any young child to play with a large python with a grip powerful enough to break bones, said Doroshenko, who runs the Snake House guesthouse in the southwestern city of Sihanoukville, with its own collection of snakes and other reptiles.

Chamroeun — whom it takes three adults to carry — eats about 22 pounds of chicken meat every week, posing a heavy financial burden on the family, said Khuorn Sam Ol.

His meals used to be a spiritual burden as well, when they fed him live rats and chickens. Uneasy that they were breaking the Buddhist injunction against killing living things, Khuorn Sam Ol said the snake eventually answered his prayers for it to stop eating live animals.

Wildlife and police officials used to come by to try to take the snake away and put it in a zoo. But they relented after seeing Uorn Sambath lovingly cuddling the reptile. They left with some pictures they took of the boy and the snake together, Khuorn Sam Ol said.

"I will not let anyone take her away from me, either. I love her very much," declared his son, Uorn Sambath, kissing his pet on the head.

FOLLOW US!

Town of Collecchio, Italy: Made a Law that Fireworks Must be Silent

If you’re a dog owner, there’s probably one thing you dread about holidays like New Year’s Eve or the Fourth of July. Fireworks scare dogs. Imagine you have no idea what fireworks are. Suddenly you see bright lights and hear explosions coming from the sky. You’d be pretty terrified, too. Fireworks wreak havoc on animals, and vet visits skyrocket around holidays where fireworks are common. Dogs, with their sensitive hearing, are especially vulnerable, and many hurt themselves trying to escape or hide. They can run and risk getting lost hit by cars.

There’s no doubt that a stunning fireworks show can be the highlight of anyone’s night. The bright lights and explosions are mesmerizing, causing us to forget the negative effects of the fireworks themselves. Many pet parents understand the anxiety and stress loud fireworks have on animals, but these details are usually overlooked by event planners. However, one little town in Italy is finally putting a stop to the noise.

Collecchio, a small town of 14,000 people located in the province of Parma, is making headlines in the pet parent community. Recently, a bill has been passed to make the use of loud fireworks illegal, in hopes of reducing stress on household animals and livestock. The people of Collecchio were recognizing some of the more severe side effects of fireworks on animals, such as anxiety, disorientation, and in extreme cases, burns or eye damage. Chickens are also less likely to produce eggs after the stress of a fireworks, causing issues in the farming community.

Legislation in Collecchio now states that silent fireworks must be used for events, in replacement of noise making ones. The government is hopeful that this will reduce “acoustic stress” on the animals, without eliminating fireworks from events completely.



FOLLOW US!

Fairfax County, VA - Police Received Two Reports of Black Bear Sightings in the Vienna/Oakton Area

Fairfax County, Virginia - Police received two reports of black bear sightings in the Vienna/Oakton area between Wednesday and Thursday morning, the Fairfax County Police Department said. This follows an earlier sighting of a black bear and a cub in Vienna on Sunday, March 20. 

According to police, a black bear and a cub (possibly a yearling) were spotted in the 2700 block of Bowling Green Dr., Vienna Thursday morning. Police say a residence in the area reported the spotting. In a press release sent out Thursday police said, "The bears were reported to have taken down a bird-feeder and plastic cabinet on the resident's patio. The bears also took a bag of birdseed from the cabinet before heading into the wooded easement along Interstate-66."

On Wednesday morning police also received reports of two small black bears seen crossing Oakton Road. Police say the bears were spotted near Waples Mill Meadow, Difficult Run Stream Valley Park and Tattersall Park.

Police said in the release, "Bears typically avoid humans, but in their search for food it is not uncommon to see one. Residents should not panic or feel alarmed when they see one. Bears are attracted by bird feeders, garbage, outdoor pet food, compost piles, fruit trees, and berry-producing shrubs. If addressed quickly, situations can be resolved almost immediately by removing the food source. Sometimes, the bear may return searching for food, but after a few failed attempts to find it, will leave the property. Most often, bears will keep moving through an area once they fail in their attempts to find food."

The Fairfax County Wildlife management Specialist and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries give the following suggestions as precautions if encountered by a black bear:

• Keep a respectful distance! In most cases, the bear will move on quickly.

• If a bear is up a tree on or near your property, give it space. Do not approach, and bring your pets inside to provide the bear a clear path to leave your property.

• If you see a very small cub, do not try to remove it from the area or "save it."

• The best way to encourage the bear not to return is to remove food sources.

• Do not store household trash, or anything that smells like food, in vehicles, on porches or decks.

• Keep your full or empty trash containers secured in a garage, shed or basement.

• Take your garbage to the dump frequently.

• If you have a trash collection service, put your trash out the morning of the pickup, not the night before.

• Take down your birdfeeder for 3-4 weeks after the bear visits.

• Encourage your neighbors to take similar precautions.

• Unless the animal is sick or injured, or poses a threat to public safety, Animal Control Officers do not take actions to attempt to remove bears from a neighborhood.

Police say bear sightings should be reported to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries through the Virginia Wildlife Conflict Helpline at (855) 571-9003.

For more information on bear sightings and how to respond safely click HERE. 

FOLLOW US!