The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

Western tanagers visit Washington every summer and are easy to identify. Both adult male and females have flashy yellow feathers, but males draw quicker gazes with their bright red heads.

Vancouver strives to be ‘bird-friendly city’

April 1, 2023, 6:01am Clark County Life

At about this time of the year, Cindy McCormack frequently peeks from her condo overlooking Esther Short Park, searching for flashes of color that dart between tree branches. Read story

A foal named Dove has been discovered roaming Corolla on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She is the first foal of 2023, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund reports.

Tiny horse roaming Outer Banks is first wild foal of 2023

March 31, 2023, 6:59am Life

Fewer than 100 wild horses roam the northern end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, so finding a foal is a sign of hope for the fragile herd. Read story

Emily Carrollo, a black bear biologist for the Pennsylvania state Game Commission, tagged and examined black bear cubs near Promised Land State Park earlier this month. (Alejandro A.

Cuddling part of counting bear cubs

March 31, 2023, 6:00am Life

Deep in the woods, down in a hole, Emily Carrollo is rooting through a jumble of warm, dark fur, looking for baby bears to cuddle. Read story

Rare beetle named after Calif.’s Brown

March 31, 2023, 6:00am Pets & Wildlife

Scientists are naming a rare species of beetle in honor of former California Gov. Jerry Brown after finding one at his ranch. Read story

FILE - Trainer Marcia Hinton pets Lolita, a captive orca whale, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami, March 9, 1995. An unlikely coalition made up of a theme park owner, an animal rights group, a mayor and a philanthropist who owns an NFL team announced Thursday, March 30, 2023, that a plan is in place to return Lolita -- an orca that has lived in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium for more than 50 years -- to its home waters in the Pacific Northwest.

Agreement in place to return Lolita the orca to the Pacific

March 30, 2023, 1:29pm Latest News

An unlikely coalition of a theme park owner, animal rights group and NFL owner-philanthropist announced Thursday that a plan is in place to return Lolita — an orca that has lived in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium for more than 50 years — to her home waters in the Pacific… Read story

Pikas prefer the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.

Volunteers needed for pika patrol in the Columbia River Gorge

March 30, 2023, 10:30am Clark County Life

If vast views of sublime scenery don’t lure you to the Columbia River Gorge, how about a little dose of irresistible cuteness? With a dollop of environmental virtue for good measure? Read story

A police officer in Seaside Park N.J. rides a beach buggy near a dead whale on the beach on March 2, 2023. On Tuesday, March 28, Democratic U.S. Senators from four states called upon the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to address a spate of whale deaths on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The issue has rapidly become politicized, with mostly Republican lawmakers and their supporters blaming offshore wind farm preparation for the East Coast deaths despite assertions by NOAA and other federal and state agencies that the two are not related.

Dem senators from 4 states ask NOAA to address whale deaths

March 29, 2023, 9:05am Latest News

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Senators from four states want federal environmental officials to address a spate of whale deaths on both coasts, urging “transparency and timeliness” in releasing information about whale deaths and their causes. Read story