Pets shouldn’t roam where coyotes do

Our 5-year-old cat, Sully, had survived two years in the near-wilds of Montana, where mountain lions also roam, but he couldn’t make it six months in the northwest Denver suburbs. This fat feline disappeared one night in early December, and we knew he was a goner.

Two weeks after his disappearance, we learned that a neighbor had seen three coyotes supping on our Sully one snowy evening. So fat that people always asked if he was pregnant, Sully didn’t have a chance against three lean, ravenous coyotes.

Sadly, family pets frequently disappear from back yards. It’s not just coyotes stalking them: Foxes, mountain lions, wolves, bears, hawks and alligators also make a dent in the pet population. But few predators are as ubiquitous as the coyote. And hawks and foxes can’t carry off a 30-pound dog.

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Species loss ‘bad for our health’

A new generation of medical treatments could be lost forever unless the current rate of biodiversity loss is reversed, conservationists have warned.

They say species are being lost before researchers have had the chance to examine and understand their potential health benefits.

The findings appear in Sustaining Life, a book involving more than 100 experts.

It is being published ahead of a global summit in May that will look at ways to stem biodiversity loss by 2010.

“While extinction is alarming in its own right, the book demonstrates that many species can help human lives,” said co-author Jeffrey McNeely, chief scientist at IUCN (formerly known as the World Conservation Union).

“If we needed more justification for action to conserve species, it offers dozens of dramatic examples of both why and how citizens can act in ways that will conserve, rather than destroy, the species that enrich our lives.”

Click here for the full article.

Mule slaughters cougar, hunting party looks on? Maybe?

I first read this story in an email from my dad, who received it from a high school classmate, who received it from someone else, etc. This mule v. cougar story is one of the craziest I’ve heard in a while, so I decided that it deserved some investigation.

After researching on the web, we found out that the first version is slightly inaccurate, and dug up what is supposed to be the true details about mule and cougar battle. You’ll find both versions below.

In the first story, the cougar is portrayed as the “bad guy,” stalking a hunting party. From my understanding of the original story, “that [is] not the case.” According to the first-person account, the mule is highly aggressive toward cougars, and when the hunting party found the cougar, the mule attacked it of its own accord.

Edit: Wait, maybe I read it wrong.  Maybe the cougar was already shot, then mauled by the sadistic mule?  I’m not sure.  The author of the “official account” isn’t very clear.

-Kitty Mowmow

Version 1:

These pics came from a guy in AZ. Yes, the mule killed the mountain lion.

The lion had been stalking them for the better part of the morning, on the way out to a hunt. They were pretty sure it was after one of the dogs.

The cat ambushed them, and the mule pictured tossed its rider and went into attack (defense) mode, the horses scattered and shots were fired but no one was sure if they hit the cat or not. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until it was almost over that one of the guys started snapping pics.

The mule finally stomped the cougar to death after biting and throwing it around like a rag doll. The dogs wouldn’t even come close until the mule settled down.

The cat was still alive here and trying to fight back.

Profile: Official Roadkill Scraper a Wild Animal Caretaker

Scraping roadkill off the asphalt is a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.

That someone is Bill Miller.

For the last eight months, Miller has served as supervisor for the Redlands Animal Shelter, where he has had to clean up roadkill and take care of the wild and stray animals within the city limits.

…Though the job has its sad moments, Miller said the rewards make the job worth doing. He said he enjoys animal rescues the most.

“Saving the little kittens stuck in the walls or the dog that’s hanging himself on his chain and you get there in time to rescue him – that’s very rewarding,” Miller said. “It’s like what happens on Animal Planet.”

Miller also has to deal with the wild animals around Redlands. He takes on wild cats, skunks, raccoons, mountain lions, snakes and any other wild critter that might be lurking around the city.

Click here for the full article.