A newly passed bill in Massachusetts will help protect vulnerable wildlife from poachers. Massachusetts is one of the last states to join the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact, a national database of potential poachers and suspended hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses shared among member states, and was known as “poacher’s paradise” due to their meager fines […]
Tag: Massachusetts
USDA Dropping Fish-Flavored Vaccines From the Sky to Stop Spread of Rabies in Raccoons
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun its annual oral rabies vaccination distribution project to help prevent the spread of rabies in raccoons. However, this year they’re doing things a little differently. The project will focus on the spread of rabies in raccoons in the eastern United States, according to the USDA. This year, the […]
7 Stranded Dolphins Rescued by Dozens of People, Experts and Volunteers
Seven stranded dolphins are “doing great,” said International Fund for Animal Welfare after getting beached at low tide in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on May 18. Dozens of people, including IFAW, trained volunteers, and AmeriCorps members offered their help to get the Atlantic white-sided dolphins in Wellfleet back into the water, said ifaw. Footage released by […]
Massachusetts Bans Wildlife Hunting Contests!
Killing contests are cruel events that encourage children to kill innocent animals and teach them that animals’ lives are theirs to take. People who kill animals for fun or prizes do not respect animals. In South Dakota, the Nest Predator Bounty Program pays children 10 dollars for every tail of a raccoon, striped skunk, opossum, […]
Echoes of Jaws as Cape Cod learns to live with rise of the great white shark
When beachgoers arrive at Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod peninsula, the first thing they see is a large sign displaying a photo of a great white shark. It reads: “WARNING. Great white sharks hunt seals in the shallow water at this beach. People have been seriously injured or killed by sharks […]
Black-throated Blue Warbler
For two years now I have been writing about the beasts that share our wildlife habitat here in Western Massachusetts. One installment a month published over at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. This month, while most of these birds would be nearing their overwinter sites, I offer the twenty-fourth installment of ‘A Bestiary . . […]
Back To Cooler Garden Days of June ~ Roses, Mauves, Reds and Bluebird Broods
July has been a sultry mix so far with last night’s “humiture” becoming more bearable or wearable I might say. I find it amusing that a former weatherman and gardener of the nameGeorge Winterling developed what we know as the ‘heat index’ . . . where the temperature of the air and that of the […]
Flower Hill Farm Spring Butterflies ~ Part Two
Spring precipitates into summer and we can easily recognize the longest day of the year by how we measure time in our hurried lives. Spring or Summer Azure Celastrina ladon, Form violacea (and others)is another matter . . . as the butterflies are difficult to identify. The more experienced butterfly watchers of the invaluableMassachusetts Butterfly […]