The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

FILE - In this April 20, 2013 file photo, male Greater Sage Grouse perform their mating ritual on a lake near Walden, Colo. The Biden administration is considering new measures to protect the ground-dwelling bird that was once found across much of the U.S. West. It has lost vast areas of habitat in recent decades due to oil and gas drilling, grazing, wildfires and other pressures.

Biden mulls reversing Trump rules on western grouse species

November 19, 2021, 10:10am Northwest

The Biden administration on Friday said it will consider new measures to protect greater sage grouse, a bird species once found across much of the U.S. West that has suffered drastic declines in recent decades due to oil and gas drilling, grazing, wildfires and other pressures. Read story

Veterans, dogs a perfect match

November 19, 2021, 6:02am Life

Eddie Broom got a new dog and plenty of advice last week. Read story

FILE - Winter the dolphin swims Aug. 3, 2011, at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Fla. Winter starred in the "Dolphin Tale" movies has died at a Florida aquarium despite life-saving efforts by animal care experts. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said the 16-year-old female bottlenose dolphin died Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, while being treated for a gastrointestinal abnormality.

Winter and her tail had impact

November 19, 2021, 5:25am Pets & Wildlife

Winter is gone, but her impact at Clearwater Marine Aquarium is forever. Just look around. Read story

FILE - A manatee comes up for air is it swims in the Stranahan River, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 2, 2020. More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida so far in 2021, eclipsing a previous record as the threatened marine mammals struggle with starvation due to polluted waters.

Florida tops 1,000 manatee deaths in grim single-year record

November 17, 2021, 9:40am Nation & World

More than 1,000 manatees have died in Florida so far this year, eclipsing a previous annual record as the threatened marine mammals struggle with starvation due to pollution in the water. Read story

San Diego Zoo ‘smiling hippo’ named Otis is dead at age 45

November 16, 2021, 8:39am Life

A 45-year-old male river hippopotamus named Otis and nicknamed the “smiling hippo” has died at the San Diego Zoo. Read story

FILE - A North Atlantic right whale appears at the surface on March 28, 2018, off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. A federal court is allowing a team of environmental groups to continue with a lawsuit against the U.S. government that seeks to create stronger rules to protect rare whales from collisions with ships. Environmental groups want to protect North Atlantic right whales, which are vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

Environmentalists can continue with suit to protect whales

November 12, 2021, 10:51am Nation & World

A federal court is allowing a team of environmental groups to continue with a lawsuit against the U.S. government that seeks to create stronger rules to protect rare whales from collisions with ships. Read story

Thousands of bats fly out from a bat house at dusk, at the University of Florida. Bats pose the biggest rabies threat in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bats are rabies threat; make sure they don’t roost in your home

November 12, 2021, 6:09am Pets & Wildlife

Bats pose the biggest rabies threat in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most bats are not rabid. However, because rabies can only be determined by laboratory testing, there is concern about possible exposure. Read story

Male alligator snapping turtles can weigh 249 pounds.

Alligator snapping turtle could get threatened status

November 12, 2021, 6:08am Pets & Wildlife

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday that it is proposing threatened status for alligator snapping turtles — huge, spike-shelled reptiles that lurk at the bottom of lakes and slow waterways, luring prey to their mouths by sticking out a wormlike lure. Read story

Kibo is one of two of the Denver Zoo's hyenas that has tested positive for the coronavirus.

2 hyenas at Denver Zoo positive for COVID

November 12, 2021, 6:07am Pets & Wildlife

Two hyenas at the Denver Zoo have tested positive for the coronavirus, the first confirmed cases among the animals worldwide, a national veterinary lab announced. Read story