Little chance yet to assess the losses––but the Abaco parrot almost certainly survived CAPE FEAR, North Carolina––Hurricane Dorian, downgraded to Category 2, with peak gust speed dropping by half to a still dangerous 110 miles per hour, killed five people as it pushed north past the Carolinas, but as of midnight on September 5, […]
Hurricane Dorian helps to solve the mystery of the extinct Abaco wild horses
But Dorian destroys remnants of a 50-year effort to save the herd TREASURE CAY, Little Abaco, Bahamas––“This is like listening to a cosmic version of Ravel’s Bolero. Feeling nervous about when the brass kicks in,” wrote would-be wild horse savior and local dog rescuer Milanne “Mimi” Rehor, in her last posting to Facebook before […]
Finches found in hair curlers: trafficked to sing, or to fight?
Singing said to be behind smuggling busts, but the money may be in fights among caged finches NEW YORK, N.Y.––Circumstantial evidence hints that some or perhaps all of a parade of men caught in the act of allegedly bootlegging Guyanese seed finches into the U.S., purportedly to sell for use in high-stakes singing contests, might […]
Cockfighters “win” from delay of hurricane aid to Puerto Rico
Frustration at lack of help fuels defense of cockfighting against U.S. federal “meddling” SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico––Puerto Rican cockfighters and politicians who boast of standing beside them may have been the only winners when U.S. Representative Chip Roy on May 24, 2019 blocked more than $900 million in disaster relief funding for victims of […]
Florida: Bashing the brains out of iguanas as alleged illegal aliens
Iguanas were in Florida first––by 16 million years FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida––Bashing or shooting the brains out of iguanas essentially for the hell of it would be illegal almost anywhere if done to pets. Braining iguanas in the name of research, however, brought University of Florida wildlife biologist and research coordinator Jenny Ketterlin and 14 […]
Death of Florida 6-year-old reminds that bat rabies can strike anywhere
Humans & bats evolved to live in frequent proximity, yet rarely meet. That keeps us both safe. ORLANDO, Florida––The January 14, 2018 death of Ryker Roque, 6, at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, just 20 minutes from Disney World and half an hour from Walt Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom, came as […]
Leptospirosis: when a rescue goes to rat piss
Five of 10 puppies transported from Puerto Rico to Vermont fell ill NORWICH, Vermont––Posted Surfin’ Sato founder Aimee Porcaro Goodwin to Facebook two days before Thanksgiving 2017, “We just got the lepto PCR test results for Ollie. NEGATIVE!!! I’m so thankful!!” The “all clear” for Ollie, a puppy from Puerto Rico whom Surfin’ Sato […]
Flood & fire: global warming hits animal shelters from Puerto Rico to California
Disaster follows disaster GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico; SANTA ROSA, California––An October 16, 2017 flash flood forcing the Humane Society of Puerto Rico to evacuate all animals and personnel at a moment’s notice had much in common with wildfires impelling the evacuation of northern California animal shelters and sanctuaries a few days earlier. Despite the conflicting characteristics […]
What did we do during hurricanes Harvey, Irma, & Maria?
We were on the job! We knew longtime dolphin rescuer and advocate Rick Trout, of Tavernier in the Florida Keys, would be among our most valuable sources as Hurricane Irma roared in after devastating the Caribbean. Living in a house built as a storm shelter after the Category 5 hurricane of 1935, Trout sheltered neighbors […]
Hurricanes: most famous fatality was Molly the dolphin
Molly’s life was microcosm of marine mammal captivity history MARATHON, Florida––Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria killed more than 200-and-counting humans among them, from Barbuda to the southern end of the Coastal Bend region of Texas, but the best-known victim so far was apparently a dolphin, Molly, who was among the oldest dolphins on record. Molly […]