Monster quest: finding the giant snapping turtle of Prospect Park

giant turtle on grass by pond

Enormous snapping turtles lurk in Brooklyn lakes but emerge this time of year to lay eggs. Oddly, NY state is about to allow trapping, hooking and clubbing them to death.

Keep reading Monster quest: finding the giant snapping turtle of Prospect Park–before NY legalizes trapping them

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Turtles already hatching in Prospect Park

Red-eared slider hatchlings, nesting snapping turtles and sunning logs abound in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

Keep reading Prospect Park overfloweth with turtles

Yellowstone Sanctuary, home to bears, cougar, Ted Turner's magpie, may close

Mountain lion peers out from lair.

MT’s only wildlife sanctuary may close because it’s not meeting federal regulations, but it won’t say which ones.

Keep reading Closing MT’s only wildlife rehab center, home to bear, lynx, Ted Turner’s magpie?

Brooklyn's biggest turtle?

A snapping turtle a couple feet across may live in the lullwater of Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

Keep reading A garbage can lid sized snapping turtle in Prospect Park?

Can outdoor education work in a New York City park?

Europeans have embraced outdoor classes for little kids to reconnect them to the natural world. West coast parents have swarmed outdoor pre-K where toddlers stomp through rain, snow and mud. Now a teacher is bringing the Forest School philosophy to Brooklyn’s big park. What will the kids find in the urban woods?

Keep reading Can outdoor education work in a New York City park?

Tell the feds you want a Chicagoland NWR

Tell the FWS that Chicago and Milwaukee would like Hackmatack, a new wildlife refuge they could drive to. You might see whooping cranes, river otter, cougars, blandings turtles and all kinds of birds there. They take comments until April 27 and are set to decide this fall.

Keep reading Tell the USFWS you want a Chicagoland wildlife refuge

Atlantic City seal hospital gears up for busy season

January is slow season for beach tourists, but busy for the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to get calls for beached seals.

Keep reading Atlantic City seal hospital gears up for busy season

I'll have a rare crocodile with my Mexican-themed kitsch, please

alligator mississippiensis at South of the Border's Reptile Lagoon

South of the Border now lures I-95 travelers with a roadside reptile lagoon full of alligators, turtles and snakes and endangered crocs.

Keep reading I’ll have a rare crocodile with my Mexican-themed kitsch, please

USDA Kills Another 4 million animals, including 477 dogs and 1,991 feral cats

Coyote

You know how Americans are appalled every time there’s a story out of China or Iraq about the government thugs primitively rounding up dogs and shooting them? Well, we do that, too. On purpose. Federal agents are out there killing dogs, more than one a day. They shot 157 dogs to death. And it’s not just in the yahoo states out west, either. (Although Texas and Arizona are the top states of dog-killing.) The USDA somehow insinuated itself into dog situations in 32 states. They went out and shot two dogs in Ohio and 30 in California. And it wasn’t because they feared they were rabid, either. They only tested 14 dogs for rabies.

Keep reading USDA Kills Another 4 million animals, including 477 dogs and 1,991 feral cats

How is the Money BP Pledged to Help Turtles Being Spent?

BP is funding recovery of the endangered sea turtles “I think the consensus in the turtle community is that there’s no harm keeping healthy animals safe. That was the emphasis of our request for funding. I think that was by far the most important thing in our mind,” says George.

Keep reading How is the Money BP Pledged to Help Turtles Being Spent?