If you’re a black-tailed deer on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington, you’re always surrounded by friends and family. You are free-range, with abundant food to forage in familiar woods and meadows. But you’re also vigilant because you’re a prey species and your ideal habitat is also home to your top predators: […]
Tag: mountain lions
California solar project threatens Mojave wildlife corridor, scientists say
The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved by the state of California […]
California wildlife officials quietly shift on killing a high-profile predator
In a move that reverses nearly a decade of practice, California wildlife officials have quietly begun to allow killing mountain lions in order to protect another iconic native — bighorn sheep. Though limited to the Eastern Sierra — the steep, rugged home of a rare type of the wild sheep — it marks a sea […]
It’s ‘whack-a-mole’: Alarming rise in pet trade fuels wildlife trafficking into California
In October, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at California’s Otay Mesa border crossing noticed an odd bulge inside a man’s pants. Jesse Agus Martinez, a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana, repeatedly claimed the bump was “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis. His history of smuggling birds into the U.S. prompted further examination, […]
Colorado has wolves again for the first time in 80 years. Why are they dying?
On a sunny morning two years ago, a group of state officials stood in the mountains of northwestern Colorado in front of a handful of large metal crates. With a small crowd watching them, the officials began to unlatch the crate doors one by one. Out of each came a gray wolf — arguably the […]
Can mountain lions make a comeback in the US north-east? One group hopes so
Last summer, a wildlife photographer saw, or believed he saw, a mountain lion in South Burlington, Vermont. While it’s possible, it is also remarkable: the apex predator was rendered extinct in northern New England in 1881 and the nearest confirmed breeding population is in North Dakota, 2,000 miles (3,200km) away. But there could be in […]
‘Numerous and Severe’ Illegal Hunting Practices Land Outfitter in Jail
Most hunting violations don’t lead to prison time. But in the case of one outfitter operating in Colorado and other states, the law-breaking was so “numerous and severe” that prosecutors said the stiff sentence was warranted. On July 31, Timothy Rawlings of Laveen, Ariz., was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for violations of […]
Missouri Deer Hunter Illegally Shoots Tagged Mountain Lion That Traveled 800 Miles From Nebraska
A Missouri deer hunter lost his hunting rifle, $2,000, and a year’s worth of hunting privileges after illegally shooting a mountain lion from his treestand during the 2024-25 hunting season. The big cat he shot had traveled nearly 800 miles from Nebraska, wearing double ear tags that identified it as part of a research project […]