Ambitious, young males leading hummingbirds in early migration

Macho hummingbirds are leading the migration north weeks early this year. Most ruby-throated hummingbirds are still hanging back down south.

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Hummingbirds arrive a month--sometimes two--early this year; some never left

In the last week hummingbirds flew into IL, NY, PA, OH, MD and even Ontario, way ahead of schedule. Freakishly, many fragile hummingbirds spent all winter up north.

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Toronto snubs "Raccoon Capital of the World" title

raccoon looms large on the Toronto skyline

A “Nature” documentary salutes Toronto’s high density of urban wildlife, but tourism officials want to hide their light under a bushel.

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Brooklyn geese protectors strategize for next year

To stop USDA Wildlife Services agents from killing geese unnecessarily, Brooklyn volunteers contemplate citizen arresting agents for animal cruelty.

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Young NE state senator aims to rid state of horse rescue groups to promote horsemeat and slaughterrescue groups to promote slaughter

white horse

Neb. state senator Tyson Larson wants to force the state’s 2 horse rescue groups to take any horse and divert grain inspection funds to horsemeat inspection.

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3 Guys Vie for title of “Buffalo Whisperer” in Canada, US and S Africa

Bailey Rides

Canada’s Buffalo Whisperer takes Bailey for a ride in a convertible. The US and South Africa have their very own Buffalo Whisperers, too. Here are each of their cases to be the real Buffalo Whisperer.

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Canadians Appalled “Fair Chase” Hunting Policies Allow Texans to Brag of Shooting Wolves Using Bait and Snowmobiles

wolf carcasses

“Fair chase” is a popular hunting buzzword for a hunt where the animal has a chance and the hunter doesn’t rely too heavily on technology and tricks. But what does it really mean? Even the group that promotes fair chase refused to define it.

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Feds Gas 400 Prospect Park Geese Instead of Chasing Them Away

doomed geese

The whole technique is crude and clumsy; even for wildlife-hating Agriculture Department, which almost always just scares away Canada geese and only kills them 4% of the time.

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Visit Baby Harp Seals; Give Hunters a New Job and a New Attitude

More than 20 years ago, Ben Bressler first got the idea of taking tourists to see the whitecoats, the adorable white baby harp seals, which are famous for their brutal slaughter the on Canadian ice floes. Bressler, along with IFAW, figured if he could find a way to make more money off showing off seals than killing them, he could change their thinking.

“It’s a much bigger issue there than the actual revenue,” Bressler says. “The rest of Canada has nothing to do with hunting, but feels that Americans shouldn’t be sticking their nose into their business.”

So, he started bringing tourists. Decades later, both tourists and hunters still visit the baby seals. But Bressler’s tours have gradually eroded the defiant enthusiasm for the seal hunt. In a world increasingly covered with identical suburban sprawl, the Magdelan Islands profit by drawing people to a place that looks completely different and has something no one can copy. No corporation can open up a franchise of its seal pup nursery in Times Square. The seal tours were just the first of Bressler’s animal journeys: now he runs Natural Habitat Adventures, which takes tiny groups to secluded areas where animals live in the wild.

But to get there, Bressler first had to tackle all of the logistics and politics of the seal hunt. About 70% of the the hunting happens on “the Front,” the wildly inacessable sea off Newfoundland and Labrador. But the pictures and protest focus on the Gulf

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New Brunswick Moose Cruise

I’ve heard about going with hunting guides on wildlife watching tours, but never done it. A guy I know who gives bear viewing (and not hunting) tours says the hunters mock the watchers. But the wildlife watching business isn’t nearly as developed as the hunting guide one. So where do you go if you want someone that really knows animals?

Staying in Fundy National Park I saw a brochure for nearby Adair’s Wilderness Lodge and their “wildlife tours.” Another couple in the park said everyone who went there loved it. I called and talked to Ida Adair, who said we might see deer or moose, but nothing’s guaranteed. Wildlife watchers know that’s part of the deal. The only ones who say you’re going to see an animal for sure either are lying or have some place staked out where habituated animals visit regular. The Adairs are neither. Also, they said taking our dog was fine. Larry Adair takes his shepherd with on trips, too.

We cruised around in Larry’s white van, pounding over dusty clay roads, looking in every field. A good part of the fun of the trip with Larry Adair is hearing his stories about his past adventures in the wild, with animals and with people. He may have been holding back any hunting stories that would’ve turned me off, but I think of him more as an enthusiastic outdoorsman. When I took a class for a hunting license for research, the instructor talked about the true

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