The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

Don’t call it a cage; it’s a catio

September 2, 2016, 6:02am Life

What, cynics may ask, distinguishes a “catio” from a “screened-in porch”? Read story

Darla Poole-Brescie is surrounded by her dogs and their crates and beds. The crate doors are always left open for easy access.

Older dogs find loving final sanctuary

September 2, 2016, 6:00am Pets & Wildlife

Eleven dogs greet visitors at the door of the lovely 115-year-old Victorian house. There’s a lot of slow-motion tail wagging but very little barking and no jumping up and down. Most of the dogs have a lot of white around their muzzles, several limp a bit, and some have the… Read story

Hunt complete to fill English town’s Hedgehog Officer position

September 2, 2016, 5:13am Life

On the eastern coast of Britain sits a place called Ipswich, which is well-known for being the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited town. Now it has another claim to fame: Home of the United Kingdom’s first Hedgehog Officer. Read story

A female wolf after it was fitted with a tracking collar. Wolf advocates are outraged that the Washington is preparing for the second time to exterminate an entire wolf pack for preying on livestock in the northeastern part of the state.

Newspaper: Killing of wolf pack leads to death threats

August 31, 2016, 1:42pm Northwest

The killing of a pack of wolves in northeastern Washington to protect cattle is producing death threats for people on both sides of the emotional issue, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday. Read story

Scientists with Great Elephant Census fly over Botswana, Africa during a survey of savanna elephants on the continent. The number of savanna elephants in Africa is rapidly declining and the animals are in danger of being wiped out as international and domestic ivory trades continue to drive poaching across the continent, according to a study released Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. (Great Elephant Census, Vulcan Inc.

Africa’s elephants rapidly declining as poaching thrives

August 31, 2016, 10:03am Life

The number of savanna elephants in Africa is rapidly declining and the animals are in danger of being wiped out as international and domestic ivory trades drive poaching across the continent, according to a study released Wednesday. Read story

FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2006, file photo, an alligator snapping turtle is shown in Peoria, Ill. The U.S. government will decide over the next several years if federal protections are needed for the alligator snapping turtle, Northern Rockies fisher and seven other species.

Settlement forces U.S. to decide whether nine species are endangered

August 31, 2016, 6:04am Life

The U.S. government agreed Tuesday to decide over the next several years if federal protections are needed to help a small, fanged predator of the Northern Rockies, massive alligator snapping turtles in the South and seven other troubled species that in some cases have awaited action for years. Read story