The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

FILE - A crew cleans and tests the fountains at the Bellagio Casino and Hotel resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 14, 2004.

Las Vegas’ Bellagio pauses fountain show when rare bird visits

March 6, 2024, 8:16am Life

A visit from a rare, fine-feathered tourist has interrupted one of Las Vegas’ prominent shows. Read story

A bull elephant seal rests on the sand Dec. 13, 2019, at Drakes Beach in Inverness, Calif.

Once nearly extinct, Elephant seals staking claims

March 5, 2024, 6:02am Life

Wildlife is vanishing around the world, plummeting at rates unprecedented in human history. Read story

Colorado Parks and Wildlife released five gray wolves onto public land in Grand County, Colo., on Dec. 18.

Colo. wolves cross Continental Divide

March 2, 2024, 5:17am Nation & World

Wolves from Colorado’s new pack expanded their roaming range over the past 35 days to the state’s northwesternmost county and across the Continental Divide, according to a map state officials released Wednesday. Read story

Today, there are an estimated 20 to 22 red wolves in the wild around North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, with a handful in the nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Can a small number of wolves have impact?

March 1, 2024, 6:02am Life

As Ron Sutherland guides his Subaru along the roads of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, he keeps his eyes peeled. Read story

A Eurasian eagle owl named Flaco sits in a tree Feb. 6, 2023, in New York City’s Central Park. Flaco, who escaped from the city’s Central Park Zoo and became one of New York’s most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan, has died, zoo officials announced Feb. 23.

Owl who became a NYC celebrity has died

March 1, 2024, 5:59am Pets & Wildlife

At Flaco the Owl’s oak tree in Central Park on Saturday, New Yorkers fondly remembered the Eurasian owl who flew his coop a year ago and became a treat to Manhattan bird watchers. Read story

In this remote camera image released by Friends of Big Bear Valley, are a pair of bald eagles standing over eggs in a nest atop a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern Calif., Thursday Feb. 29, 2024. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in the nest. A nest camera set up by Friends of Big Bear Valley monitors the eagles and draws lots of views from eagle enthusiasts.

Hatch watch is underway at a California bald eagle nest monitored by a popular online camera feed

February 29, 2024, 10:55am Life

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Hatch watch is underway in Southern California mountains. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in a nest monitored by nature lovers via a popular online camera feed. Read story

A humpback whale and her calf in Papeete, French Polynesia in September 2022. Humpbacks are known to compose elaborate songs that travel across oceans and whale pods.

How do whales sing? New study details unique features in some species’ voice boxes

February 27, 2024, 6:03am Life

Whales sing loud enough that their songs travel through the ocean, but knowing the mechanics behind that has been a mystery. Read story

This recent image provided by the Brookfield Zoo shows a male grey seal pup and his mother at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. Zoo officials say a grey seal found stranded and blind more than a decade ago on an island in Maine has given birth at the Chicago-area zoo and is now “a very attentive mother” to her newborn.

Blind seal gives birth and nurtures the pup at an Illinois zoo

February 23, 2024, 2:15pm Nation & World

A gray seal found stranded and blind more than a decade ago on an island in Maine has given birth at a Chicago-area zoo and is now “a very attentive mother” to her newborn, zoo officials said Friday. Read story

For many dogs, cats and other animals, flying isn’t fun — it’s frightening. That’s why, if your post-pandemic plans include air travel with your animal companions, it’s vital to take every precaution to ensure that you can do so as safely as possible.

How to travel with your pet responsibly

February 23, 2024, 6:18am Life

As recently as a decade or so ago, it was the norm for people to kennel their pets or, ideally, find a pet-sitter when they went away on vacation. Nowadays, I see Instagram reels of adventuresome cats hiking the backcountry with their owners unabashedly. Read story