Tea Bird

Thousands flee fighting as Congo rebels seize gorilla park

This is awful news for gorilla conservation. The civil war raging in Congo has been terrible for Virunga National Park, but now rebels have taken over its headquarters.

The rebels also seized the headquarters of Virunga National Park in eastern Congo after intense fighting with the Congolese army, according to a statement by park [...]

What a Deer Sees and Doesn’t

From the New York Times on the latest efforts to perfect hunting camoflauge:

At Dr. Neitz’s laboratory, he tests some animals’ vision by training them to press touch screens, but the deer weren’t quite ready for the computer age. He and researchers at the University of Georgia showed them three cards at a time and [...]

Moose Hunting for Profit

From Ezra Klein:

The Alaskan Wildlife Department has a good introduction to hunting moose. For instance: “Floating silently down rivers and creeks in a raft or a canoe is a most pleasant way to hunt moose. The object is to float around a bend and see a bull eating willows on a gravel bar, drinking, [...]

Pennsylvania Dog law overhaul nearing a House vote

From AP:

A comprehensive overhaul of Pennsylvania’s state dog law neared a final vote in the state House yesterday, a month after the shooting of dozens of dogs gave new momentum to the effort.
By comfortable margins, lawmakers rejected efforts to loosen the bill’s lighting and cage-material standards, to remove limits on how far off the ground [...]

Pennsylvania Dog law overhaul nearing a House vote

From AP:

A comprehensive overhaul of Pennsylvania’s state dog law neared a final vote in the state House yesterday, a month after the shooting of dozens of dogs gave new momentum to the effort.
By comfortable margins, lawmakers rejected efforts to loosen the bill’s lighting and cage-material standards, to remove limits on how far off the [...]

Dogs Stuck In Storm Drain For Day Rescued

We’ve had a bunch of storm damage from Sunday’s Ike-related wind storms. From local
From WTAE-TV comes word that

Two dogs trapped in a storm drain for more than 24 hours are rescued and nursed back to health.

Palin and Aerial Hunting of Wolves and Bears

I find this appalling across party lines and have heard from folks in both parties surprised and upset by this. One explanation for this in her defense that I’ve heard is that there must be an overpopulation of carnivores in Alaska. This is absolute nonsense. Ask any wildlife biologist or ecologist whether there’s [...]

Hey Baby … Deep-Voiced Deer Lucky in Love (LiveScience.com)

From Live Science:

This new finding might do Barry White proud - deeper voices can help male deer get it on.

Wolves would rather eat salmon

From BMC Ecology:

Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. The study, published today in the open access journal BMC Ecology, shows that when salmon is available, wolves will reduce deer hunting activity and instead focus on seafood.

From [...]

Communing With Crows

From a letter to the Editor at the NY Times comes this gem that’s right up my alley:

I’m glad that researchers are documenting the interspecies social skills of crows. Our family lore tells of Klaus, the crow who befriended my great-uncle Jens. Uncle Jens boasted of Klaus’s intelligence, and tolerated his pilferage of small shiny [...]