ForFoxSake

How Feeding Pets Outside Hurts Wildlife

Are you one of the people who tends to leave bowls of cat and dog food outdoors at all times? As strange as it sounds, this seemingly innocent act is one of the most harmful things that can happen to wild animals. Before leaving pet food outside, please consider this: Outdoor pet food spreads diseaseContinue reading “How Feeding Pets Outside Hurts Wildlife”

A Bird Hit My Window. What Now?

“A bird hit my window!” This is one of the most common wildlife emergencies people encounter. Windows strikes are a common cause of death and injury among native birds, but the good news is that they can sometimes be treated and can usually be prevented. You may notice a window-struck bird because you see itContinue reading “A Bird Hit My Window. What Now?”

Food Litter Kills Owls

Ever tossed a French fry, sandwich crust, or apple core out your car window? Please, please never do it again! Your food waste is actually causing many wild animals to die, and owls are among the most likely victims. That sandwich crust you threw in the road is likely going to stay there until evening,Continue reading “Food Litter Kills Owls”

Coyotes: Not Very Big!

Human perception is a funny thing. We can’t count the number of times that someone has brought us a “huge, twenty or thirty pound” fox that barely weighed seven pounds, or reported a coyote “the size of a German shepherd” that was actually smaller than a border collie. For whatever reason, people’s minds play tricksContinue reading “Coyotes: Not Very Big!”

Speak Up Against Turtle Poaching!

A typical Eastern box turtle will have only two surviving young in its fifty-year-long life. In many parts of their range, their numbers have fallen by 30-60% in recent decades. If their populations continue declining at this rate, they will become extinct quickly. Box turtles aren’t our only native turtle facing possible extinction. Bog turtlesContinue reading “Speak Up Against Turtle Poaching!”

Rice-Like Grains on Wild Animals are an Emergency

Ok, we know this is weird, but knowing this not-so-fun fact can save an animal’s life! If you ever see a wild animal and it has what appear to be grains of rice stuck on its body, that’s a do-not-pass-go, do-not-collect-$200 emergency in need of a rehabilitator. Get ready for some nightmare fuel: those rice-likeContinue reading “Rice-Like Grains on Wild Animals are an Emergency”

Tennessee Coyotes: Natural Mutts

Happy National Mutt Day! Did know that coyotes in Tennessee (and everywhere else east of the Mississippi River) are naturally-occurring mutts? After humans killed off most of the red wolves and gray wolves that once dominated North American forests, wolves were left with so few available mates that they had no choice but to cross-breedContinue reading “Tennessee Coyotes: Natural Mutts”

Oops! Opossums Don’t Actually Eat Ticks

We goofed. Like many organizations, we’ve spent several years claiming that opossums eat a large number of ticks, and that they help to combat the spread of tickborne illness. We had fact-checked our information— we always do!— and claims about opossums as tick-eaters were supported by credible sources like the Cary Institute of Ecosystem StudiesContinue reading “Oops! Opossums Don’t Actually Eat Ticks”

Snapping Turtles Aren’t Dangerous

Lots of people are terrified of snapping turtles. We get calls throughout the summer from people who want snapping turtles relocated, or even killed, because they’re afraid that these peaceful dinosaurs will eat their kids or pets. But a snapping turtle in your yard isn’t anything to worry about! Snapping turtles don’t eat kids orContinue reading “Snapping Turtles Aren’t Dangerous”

Native Bird Nests are Legally Protected

We received a frustrating— and all-too-common— call yesterday. After barn swallows chose an apartment complex in Red Bank to raise their young, management hired a crew to pressure-wash the nests away, resulting in the deaths of many innocent baby birds. The few survivors were picked up by a caring tenant, who we referred to aContinue reading “Native Bird Nests are Legally Protected”