The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

Cold-blooded: Abandoned alligator rescued from Brooklyn lake

February 20, 2023, 12:06pm Nation & World

It’s no urban legend: An alligator was found in a chilly New York City lake on Sunday, far from the subtropical and tropical climates where such creatures thrive. Read story

A young bull elk runs through a neighborhood in Boise, Idaho, in 2007.

Yard items pose risk to Idaho elk

February 19, 2023, 6:30am Northwest

Several elk have become entangled in household objects in the Wood River Valley over the last week, prompting the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to urge residents to remove any items that could pose a hazard to wildlife. Read story

Washington State University develops test for canine bleeding disorder

February 17, 2023, 11:08am Life

Washington State University researchers have developed a test that helps identify dogs at risk of a potentially fatal disorder that can result in excessive bleeding and bruising following canine surgery. Read story

In this photo provided by Robin Silver, a feral bull is seen along the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico, on July 25, 2020. U.S. forest managers in New Mexico are moving ahead with plans to kill feral cattle that they say have become a threat to public safety and natural resources in the nation's first designated wilderness, setting the stage for more legal challenges over how to handle wayward livestock as drought maintains its grip on the West.

U.S. officials issue kill order for New Mexico feral cows

February 17, 2023, 10:27am Life

A helicopter with a shooter will fly over a portion of the vast Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico next week, searching for feral cows to kill. Read story

Mehmet Gurkan, a member of the Turkish animal rights group HAYTAP, rescues a dog Sunday that was trapped for seven days inside a house affected by the earthquake in Antakya, southeastern Turkey.

Amid quake’s devastation, rescue efforts target pets

February 17, 2023, 6:34am Pets & Wildlife

Six days after the earthquake that flattened parts of Turkey and Syria, two survivors emerged from the rubble. They were dogs, the focus of a parallel rescue effort underway. Read story

Burmese pythons are believed to have arrived in South Florida as pets in the 1980s and then were released by frustrated owners who got tired of feeding them mice and other live meals.

Possums fitted with GPS aid in tracking pythons

February 17, 2023, 6:34am Pets & Wildlife

Wildlife researchers studying mammals in Key Largo have discovered a potentially groundbreaking — if not heartbreaking — way to locate and kill invasive Burmese pythons, especially the big ones. Read story

Gray squirrel may become endangered species in Washington. Its status is open for review, comment

February 15, 2023, 2:26pm Northwest

Squirrels seem to be a common mammal encountered throughout daily life. If they’re not in your yard, they’re perched on trees or scurrying across roadways. But one species of squirrel is in danger in Washington state: the western gray squirrel. Read story