People love taking stories and photos out of context to vilify wildlife. We’re honestly not sure what the motive is, but it happens all the time. You’ve likely seen the top photo in warnings on social media about how coyotes are dangerous, brutal hunters who love to kill domestic dogs. Sometimes the photo includes anContinue reading “Missing Context in Picture of Coyote Grabbing Dog By Collar”
Tag Archives: pets
Newborn Foxes Don’t Look Like Foxes
Please be aware as we head into baby season: newborn foxes don’t look much like the adults you’re more familiar with. Every year, litters of kits get harmed because of mistaken identity. This litter was rehabilitated by The Fox Project in the UK. They were initially brought to an animal shelter by someone who thoughtContinue reading “Newborn Foxes Don’t Look Like Foxes”
Heard Coyotes Kill a Dog?
“I just heard a pack of coyotes kill a small dog.” Have you seen (or made) this statement in neighborhood groups on social media? It’s one of the most common sources of panic in the suburbs. And, in almost all cases, it’s actually not true. Coyotes live in small family groups of 2-8 individuals, usuallyContinue reading “Heard Coyotes Kill a Dog?”
Euthanized Pets Endanger Wildlife
If you’ve recently had to make the decision to send a beloved pet to the Rainbow Bridge, wild animals may be the last thing on your mind. But, if you’re not careful, your pet’s death could actually cause even more suffering. Sometimes, particularly among people who live in apartments and don’t have appropriate places toContinue reading “Euthanized Pets Endanger Wildlife”
Beware of Poaching for the Pet Trade
Spring is on its way, and that unfortunately means that we’re close to the time of year when our native wild animals are at the greatest risk for an under-recognized, under-reported, and under-enforced form of poaching: the illegal capture of wildlife for the pet trade. People tend to think of poaching as something from theContinue reading “Beware of Poaching for the Pet Trade”
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”
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!”
10 Reasons You Don’t Want a Pet Bobcat
We know, we know! You would die for T’challa and you’d give your right arm (literally— he would facilitate it) to have a T’challa of your own. But not so fast! Before you go out looking for a derpy bobkitten of your own, please consider this: T’challa is dangerous. He’s tame and he’s slow butContinue reading “10 Reasons You Don’t Want a Pet Bobcat”
Don’t Kill Coyotes to Protect Cats
Coyotes are frequently killed out of a cruel and misguided attempt to protect pet cats. This is unfair not only to the mother and father coyotes, but also to their pups who get left behind. How can any cat owner say they care about animals if they would sentence puppies to such a horrible, scaryContinue reading “Don’t Kill Coyotes to Protect Cats”
Songbird Fever in Cats: A Warning
Have you seen the warnings we’ve posted about the salmonella epidemic affecting songbirds? There’s another side of it too, and it’s one I have firsthand experience with. I hope that this warning might save both birds and cats. This is my daughter, and this is her best friend, Happy. As an advocate for both wildlifeContinue reading “Songbird Fever in Cats: A Warning”