The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed over the past decade at its wind farms in eight states.

Wind energy company pleads guilty in deaths of 150 eagles

April 6, 2022, 7:19pm Business

A subsidiary of one of the largest U.S. providers of renewable energy pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was ordered to pay over $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Read story

Seattle loves dogs — but not picking up after them

April 6, 2022, 7:44am Northwest

With more than a million dog owners in Seattle, the city consistently ranks among the most pooch-friendly metropolises in the nation. But some irksome concerns come along with that love. Read story

Tourists in North Carolina make wild foal an orphan

April 5, 2022, 6:05am Life

A newborn wild horse on one of North Carolina’s barrier islands had to be permanently taken from its mother after well-meaning tourists ferried it off the Shackleford Banks, according to Cape Lookout National Seashore. Read story

Officials: gray whale found stranded on Camano Island

April 4, 2022, 7:18am Latest News

Officials are responding to a dead gray whale found beached on the west side of Camano Island. Read story

Adult male lion named Simba sits inside a cage at a zoo in Radauti, about 18 miles south of Romania's northern Siret border, on March 23. The lion and a wolf named Akyla have been evacuated from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine to safety in Romania in what an animal rights group says was a four-day mission "full of dangers" further hampered by bureaucracy at the border.

Lion, wolf rescued from Ukraine zoo

April 1, 2022, 6:04am Pets & Wildlife

Simba the lion and a wolf named Akyla have been evacuated from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine and brought to safety in Romania in what an animal rights group involved in the operation says was a four-day mission “full of dangers” further hampered by border entry bureaucracy. Read story

Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo giving animals COVID-19 vaccines

April 1, 2022, 6:00am Northwest

COVID-19 vaccines have at last landed in Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, which recently joined dozens of other zoos across the country in immunizing their highest-risk animals against the coronavirus. Read story

Lolita the killer whale, seen in January 2014, was the star attraction at Miami Seaquarium for decades.

Killer whale Lolita still puts on a daily show

April 1, 2022, 6:00am Nation & World

Lolita may have retired as Miami Seaquarium’s star attraction, but the 56-year-old killer whale still performs a daily routine of waves, kisses and other tricks to mostly empty stands. Read story

FILE - In this April 25, 2012, file photo, a herd of bison move through land controlled by the American Prairie Reserve south of Malta, Mont. U.S. officials on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, announced approved of the reserve's proposal to expand bison grazing on public lands in north-central Montana.

U.S. approves bison grazing on Montana prairie amid criticism

March 31, 2022, 8:37am Nation & World

U.S. officials on Wednesday announced approval of a conservation group’s proposal to expand bison grazing on prairies in north-central Montana as part of a vast nature reserve over objections from some ranchers and elected officials. Read story

A tattoo of Rose, an endangered Great Lakes piping plover, is inked on the leg of Dori Levine, a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as she observes Rose and her mate, Monty, with their four recently hatched chicks July 10, 2021, at Montrose Beach in Chicago. (Jose M.

Bird-banding season afoot for scientists

March 25, 2022, 6:04am Life

With spring migration picking up and warmer days ahead, researchers are preparing for another season of bird banding — an effort to understand how local birds are faring and future challenges they may face. Read story