Have you ever looked at a mouse, raccoon, or seagull and thought of them as nothing more than pests? If so, you’re not alone. However, Bethany Brookshire’s new book, “Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains,” offers a refreshing and enlightening perspective on these creatures that might just change your mind. As Brookshire writes, these animals […]
Tag: rodents
How a Prairie Dog Plague Outbreak is Destroying Ecosystems and Challenging Livestock Management
When an outbreak of sylvatic plague decimated black-tailed prairie dog numbers in the Thunder Basin National Grassland in 2017, researchers saw an opportunity to explore the impact of the rodents’ die-off on the plants and other wildlife in that area of northeast Wyoming. The results were astounding, showing how a keystone species plays a critical […]
Farmers in England to be allowed to use ‘lethal force’ on beavers
Farmers in England will be allowed to shoot beavers if they threaten their crops, the government has revealed. Conservationists have opposed the move, saying the animals are an “ally to farmers”, helping conserve water in times of drought, and are an endangered species that should be treasured. The rodents became extinct in the UK 400 […]
Andean eagles have managed to adapt to fragmenting habitats — for now
Even the greatest, most mobile predators aren’t immune to the shrinking of South America’s forests. The endangered black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), one of the largest raptors on the continent, has been forced to change its behavior to survive in increasingly fragmented habitats and growing threats from humans. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation […]
The deaths of over 105 corellas are being investigated by the Victorian wildlife watchdog
The deaths of over 100 long-billed corellas discovered near the Murray River are being investigated by the Victorian wildlife watchdog. The birds were spotted by wildlife carer Kirsty Ramadan, who was dispatched by the Yorta Yorta facility to Barmah, near the Victorian/New South Wales boundary, on Wednesday to capture a sick long-billed corella. She discovered […]
Glue traps for rodents can also be deadly for birds and should be banned
The RSPCA has renewed its campaign for a ban on “vicious” glue traps after two blue tits and a mouse were caught in one on a West London street and died slowly and painfully. The three small animals were discovered by members of the public in a residential street in Southall, captured in a rodent […]
Feral cats are killing millions of birds each year. Should they be culled?
Cats have long held a special place in the life of ex-breeder and conservationist, Julie Boyd, providing colour and companionship, as well as being keen rodent hunters. On her sprawling rural New Zealand property in the upper North Island town of Kaipara Flats, the cats roam free. “I have an elderly cat- Padme – who […]
Nevada has no good reason to continue wildlife-killing contests
It looks like Nevada Department of Wildlife commission is squirming out of a decision on banning wildlife-killing contests in the state, as it signaled in a meeting last week when it polled attendees to see if there was room for compromise on the issue. Compromise? No way, not on this matter. These contests are slaughterfests […]