Pets & Wildlife

A captured merlin is held near Lake Michigan on June 27, 2022, near Glen Arbor, Mich., where it will be fitted with a leg band and tracking device. The mission will enhance knowledge of a species still recovering from a significant drop-off caused by pesticides and help wildlife managers determine how to prevent merlins from attacking endangered piping plovers at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

As species recover, some threaten others in more dire shape

August 1, 2022, 5:36pm Nation & World

Concealed behind trees near Lake Michigan, two scientists remotely manipulated a robotic owl on the forest floor. As the intruder flapped its wings and hooted, a merlin guarding its nest in a nearby pine darted overhead, sounding high-pitched, rapid-fire distress calls. Read story

A deer looks out from foliage in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state, USA

Preliminary findings from Washington Predator-Prey Project indicate whitetail population is ‘neither increasing nor decreasing’

August 1, 2022, 6:00am Northwest

It was a hot and cloudless day when Taylor Ganz found the dead deer, its fly-ridden corpse already pungent in the August heat. Neither fact discouraged Ganz, a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington who was there, much like a detective in a homicide case, to figure out the… Read story

Two cougar sightings confirmed in Cowlitz County in last 30 days

July 29, 2022, 7:31am Northwest

At least two cougars have been spotted near Cowlitz County neighborhoods this month, according to the state department of fish and wildlife. Read story

Dog food is shown in a pet store in Westfield, Ind., Tuesday, July 19, 2022. In 2018, the FDA began investigating whether the increasing popularity of grain-free dog foods had led to a sudden rise in a potentially fatal heart disease in dogs. Four years later, the FDA has reached no conclusion, but the publicity surrounding the issue has shrunk the once-promising market for grain-free dog foods.

Grain-free dog food debated

July 29, 2022, 6:55am Pets & Wildlife

In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, acting on input from a group of veterinary researchers, began investigating whether the increasing popularity of grain-free dog foods had led to a sudden rise in a potentially fatal heart disease in dogs, dilated cardiomyopathy. Read story

Richelle Kelly's pet rats spend time every day outside their cages, exploring hidey-holes, solving food puzzles and scurrying up and down cat trees.

Ridgefield woman says her pet rodents are easy to love, social media followers agree

July 24, 2022, 6:03am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

Soft fur, a sensitive nose, a wagging tail and a propensity for snuggling. Curious, loyal and always up for snacks and head-scratches, they’ll sometimes lick your hand in greeting. That’s a dog, right? For Richelle Kelly of Ridgefield, that describes her seven rats: Larry, Curly, Shemp, Basil, Wally, Bill and… Read story

Hitchhiking hen finds way home

A Vermont family’s chicken is back home after hitching a ride in the undercarriage of their pickup truck and ending up 13 miles away in the state’s largest city late last month — a journey that included speeds of 65 miles per hour on an interstate. Read story

Adopting a dog? Here’s what to know

Washington is the fourth most expensive state to own a dog in, according to a recent study by Pettable, an emotional support animal website that connects individuals with mental health professionals who are able to prescribe emotional support animal letters. Read story