COVID-19 triggers sustained crackdown on illegal fishers, poachers, & traffickers BEIJING, China—Cracking down on wildlife-related crime in response to the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, China prosecuted more than 15,000 alleged perpetrators in the first nine months of 2020. About 7,000 prosecutions were for illegal fishing, 4,000 for poaching land animals and birds, and 3,000 for […]
“Cry Me A Cockroach”: Valentine’s Day sadism & the San Antonio Zoo
Cockroaches & rats named after ex-spouses to be fed to snakes SAN ANTONIO, Texas––San Antonio Zoo executive director Tim Morrow and staff appear to be going full speed ahead with a Valentine’s Day “Cry Me A Cockroach” event, despite complaints from around the world that it is mean-spirited, sadistic, and misleading, promotes a hostile […]
Fur sales, wildlife acts, & hiding dog bite history banned in California
Fur-bearing animals & adopters of shelter/rescue dogs win protections SACRAMENTO, California––The new animal-related law in California that Governor Gavin Newsom and mass media said least about, to help protect Californians against recklessly rehomed dogs with bite history, may in the end become the most emulated among the raft of bills sent to Newsom’s desk […]
What did the deer know before the deadly Carr Fire?
At least 17 fires in 170 years have swept the same canyons, but none before as big or fast-moving FRENCH GULCH, California––The Carr Fire, called a “wildfire tornado” by Cal Fire officials as it burned with enough intensity to create its own weather system, began about five miles where ANIMALS 24-7 social media editor Beth Clifton […]
Naming Nature: The clash between instinct & science
by Carol Kaesuk Yoon W.W. Norton & Co. (500 5th Ave., New York, NY 10110), 2009. 344 pages, hardcover. $27.95. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Though you may never have heard of either “taxonomy” or “cladistics,” the two central concepts in Carol Kaesuk Yoon’s 2009 opus Naming Nature, it remains a fascinating read for […]
Hurricane Harvey hits hunters & fishers harder than wildlife
Shrimp, sea turtles, “sport fish,” teal & doves all get a break HOUSTON, Texas––As hard as Hurricane Harvey hit humans, pets, livestock, and some of the most vulnerable wildlife along the Gulf Coast of Texas and adjacent part of Louisiana, especially big birds who could not escape from the wind, early damage assessments indicate that […]
Hurricane Irma: survival stories from 27 zoos & sanctuaries
No losses of zoo & sanctuary animals reported! (See also Hurricane Irma: first reports on animals in the Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irma: Hemingway cats & dolphin rescuer Rick Trout rode it out in the Keys , and Hurricane Irma: how wildlife endured) Current USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service licensing data indicates that at least 217 […]
Hurricane Irma: how wildlife endured
Any animals who could escape or hide did (See also Hurricane Irma: first reports on animals in the Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irma: Hemingway cats & dolphin rescuer Rick Trout rode it out in the Keys , and Hurricane Irma: survival stories from 24 zoos & sanctuaries .) Devastating as Hurricane Irma was to Caribbean habitat from Barbuda to the […]
Tropical Storm Harvey: helping animals caught in harm’s way
Harvey the Wallbanger busts some animals out of confinement, traps others in need of rescue (See also Hurricane Harvey: who is doing what for animals?, Brian Davies puts $49,562 toward Harvey animal rescue, challenges others to match it and Which Hurricane Harvey animal relief charity took the Labor Day weekend off? More updates will follow as quickly as possible.) […]
Snehal Bhatt, “The Cobra Girl of Gujarat,” dies at 55
Made famous by The Snake Wranglers Snehal Bhatt, 55, made famous worldwide as “The Cobra Girl of Gujarat” by the second episode of the National Geographic reality television series The Snake Wranglers, died in her sleep from a heart attack in the early morning hours of January 23, 2017 at her home in Vadodara, Gujarat, […]