City officials are tight-lipped today about a crisis at the Los Angeles Animal Services department, where General Manager Staycee Dains is on an unexplained two-month leave of absence and the recently named president of the department’s board has left his position after chairing just one meeting.
Annette Ramirez, who led the department on an interim basis for a year and a half before Mayor Karen Bass tapped Dains for the GM position last year, has taken the reins once again while Dains is on leave.
“I am writing today to share updates about our Department’s leadership. General Manager Staycee Dains is currently on leave and in her absence, I will be serving as Acting General Manager,” Ramirez wrote in a letter to staff on Friday. “You should know that our Department will continue operating at full capacity and serving all of its general functions. I have spoken with supervisors and team leaders and I feel confident that we will keep moving forward.”
Los Angeles Animal Services General Manager, Staycee Dains, speaks for the first time on the state of the shelters after volunteers and rescue groups accused the organization of not prioritizing the well-being of animals or the safety of people at their shelters. Tracey Leong reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 17, 2024.
LAAS officials have not replied to questions about Dains’ leave of absence, and it was not clear when or even if she would return.
The Mayor’s Office referred questions about Dains’ status to Ramirez’s memo. Dains, who formerly led Long Beach’s animal services department, has not responded to attempts to reach her for a comment.
The Board of Animal Services Commissioners, which sets policy and conducts oversight of the city’s six animal shelters, is dealing with its own major shakeup.
The board’s scheduled Aug. 13 meeting was canceled, and James Johnson, who was named to replace Larry Gross as board president in July, is now out, leaving two of the panel’s five seats vacant.
Johnson was appointed to the board by Bass in 2023 and was elected its president by the board July 9 after Gross announced his voluntary departure. The first meeting chaired by Johnson on July 23 was rocky, as Johnson clashed with a member of the public who criticized Dains, and made a failed attempt to pass a $25,000 contract for “safety and engagement” services, then offered to raise the funds himself after commissioners opposed the effort.
The next scheduled LAAS commissioners meeting is Aug. 27 at City Hall.
The shakeups come as the shelters continue to suffer a worsening overpopulation crisis, with too many unwanted animals and not enough space, staff members, volunteers or adopters.
According to the LAAS website, 1,450 dogs were in the city’s six shelters as of Saturday, far over the department’s capacity of 737.
Urban ducks and crows might offer us a connection to nature, but scientists have found wild birds that live near humans are more likely to harbor bacteria resistant to important antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is largely caused by the overuse of drugs such as antibiotics among humans and livestock.
The issue is of serious concern: According to data for 2019, about 4.95 million deaths globally were associated with bacterial AMR, including 1.27 million directly caused by such resistance.
Researchers say species of wild birds that tend to turn up in urban settings are reservoirs for bacteria with the hallmarks of resistance to a host of drugs.
“Basically what we’re seeing are genes that confer resistance to antimicrobials that would be used to treat human infections,” said Samuel Sheppard, coauthor of the research from the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research.
The team say their findings are important as wild birds have the capacity to travel over considerable distances. Sheppard said a key concern was that these birds could pass antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to captive birds destined to be eaten by humans—such as those kept in poultry farms.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, Sheppard and colleagues report how they analyzed the genomes of bacteria found in 700 samples of bird poo from 30 wild bird species in Canada, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Japan, Sweden, the UK, and the US.
The team looked specifically at the presence of different strains of Campylobacter jejuni—a type of bacteria that are ubiquitous in birds as a natural part of their gut microbiome. Such bacteria are a leading cause of human gastroenteritis, although antibiotics are generally only used in severe cases.
Sheppard added that, in general, each wild bird would be expected to harbor a single strain of C. jejuni, specific to that species.
However, the team found wild birds that turn up in urban settings contain many more strains of C. jejuni than those that live away from humans.
What’s more, the strains found in urban-dwelling species contained about three times as many genes known to result in antimicrobial resistance, with these genes also associated with resistance to a broader range of antimicrobials.
The authors suggest that wild birds may pick up antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in a number of ways: Gulls and crows, for example, are known to lurk at landfill sites, while ducks and geese may pick them up in rivers and lakes that are contaminated with human wastewater.
Thomas Van Boeckel, an expert in antimicrobial resistance at ETH Zurich who was not involved in the work, said the research was unusual as it focused on the impact of antimicrobial use by humans on animals.
“What are the consequences of that for the birds? We don’t really know but it seems like we humans are responsible for this change,” he said.
Danna Gifford from the University of Manchester added the findings could have implications for human health.
“While alarming, the risk of direct transmission of resistance from urban birds to humans is unclear. Poultry-to-human transmission, however, is well documented,” she said. “With urban development encroaching on agricultural land, increasing contact between urban birds and poultry raises significant concerns about indirect transmission through the food chain.”
Andrew Singer, of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said more samples were needed to ensure the results stood up, but that precautions could be taken.
“The most obvious place to start is to ensure birds do not congregate in our landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and animal muck piles, where both pathogens and AMR are abundant,” he said. “Moreover, we must also eliminate the discharge of untreated sewage into our rivers, which exposes all river-using wildlife—and humans—to human-associated pathogens and AMR.”
RED LODGE, Mont. (AP) — A black bear mauled and injured a 3-year-old girl in a tent at a private campground in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend, state wildlife officials said.
The girl was attacked about 10 p.m. Sunday at a campground south of Red Lodge and taken to the hospital in Billings. Fish, Wildlife and Parks didn’t have any information on her condition on Tuesday, game warden Randy Hutzenbiler said.
The campground was evacuated, and traps were placed in the area. A bear believed to have been involved was captured and shot on Monday afternoon, Hutzenbiler said.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigators found garbage, a cooler and human food around and inside the tent where the attack occurred, the agency said.
The black bear involved in the incident had no history of conflicts with people. However, it had likely become accustomed to human food and unafraid of people after accessing food and garbage in the area, the agency said.
The wildlife agency recommends keeping food, garbage and anything with a scent out of tents and stored in bear-resistant containers or vehicles.
A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office K-9 bit a child and the child’s father after escaping from his handler’s backyard in Castle Rock on Sunday.
Around 4 p.m. Sunday, the dog escaped its outdoor enclosure at his handler’s home in Castle Rock and jumped over a 5-foot fence separating the backyard from a neighboring yard.
The dog bit a child and the child’s father who tried to intervene, the sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday. The handler “gained control” of the dog after realizing he had escaped.
Both the child and his father were treated at a hospital and are recovering at home, according to the sheriff’s office.
The agency is cooperating with an investigation by the Castle Rock Police Department as well as conducting an internal investigation.
The handler, who was not named in the news release, is on paid administrative leave. The dog is in a 10-day quarantine and barred from contact with humans other than the handler and all animals.
Sheriff’s officials are reviewing the dog’s future as a member of the K-9 unit, agency officials said Wednesday.
“We are devastated by this incident and are fully committed to supporting the family during their recovery,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
BERLIN — The Berlin Zoo has much anticipated news: Meng Meng the panda is pregnant again, months after the first giant pandas born in Germany were sent to China
The zoo said Tuesday that ultrasound scans over the weekend showed Meng Meng is expecting two cubs. They still have plenty of growing to do but the zoo expects the birth at the end of August, if all goes well, it said.
Meng Meng and male panda Jiao Qing arrived in Berlin in 2017. In August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to Pit and Paule, also known by the Chinese names Meng Xiang und Meng Yuan, the first giant pandas born in Germany.
The twins were a star attraction in Berlin, but they were flown to China in December — a trip that was contractually agreed from the start but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. China gifted friendly nations with its unofficial mascot for decades as part of a “panda diplomacy″ policy. The country now loans pandas to zoos on commercial terms.
Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide.
Meng Meng was artificially inseminated in March. The zoo noted that female pandas are only capable of reproducing for about 72 hours per year.
TORRANCE — A Fin whale roughly 35 to 40 feet in length was found inside the surf line near Torrance Beach on Saturday night and died before rescuers arrived.
Lifeguards discovered the whale around 6 p.m. inside the surf line near the beach between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove, according to a Los Angeles County Lifeguards post on X.
A Fin whale roughly 35 to 40 feet in length was found inside the surf line near Torrance Beach on Saturday night and died before rescuers arrived. (Photo by OnScene.TV)
The Marine Mammal Care Center and National Marine Fisheries Service responded and the experts determined the whale had died, lifeguards said.
“Due to its size & location it is expected that the whale will remain on the beach while responders create a plan to remove it,” the statement said. “If you are in the area please give the animal & responders plenty of space to work!”
MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The county’s animal welfare facilities are awash in stray pets, days after Debby left its mark in the county and beyond.
In a news release, the county said 129 stray animals have been brought to the Manatee County Animal Welfare facilities this month.
The shelter is currently waiving all fees associated with reclaims and adoptions. Staff is also extending stray holds for a few of the flood affected areas.
If your pet went missing during the storm, please visit the MCAW Bishop location (5718 21st Ave. W., Bradenton) to inquire about your pet.
The county said posting lost dog information on social media may also help reunite pet and owner more quickly.
While some of the 129 animals are on “hurricane hold” for a two-week period at the Bishop shelter, there are dozens of other dogs, kittens and rabbits currently there for adoption.
For more information on Manatee County Government, visit mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501.
ROME (AP) — Fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has launched a new alcohol-free perfume for dogs called ‘Fefé’ in honor of Domenico Dolce ’s poodle, but not all vets and pet owners agree it’s safe or appropriate.
The perfume costs 99 euros ($108) for 100 milliliters (3.4 ounces) and has been certified suitable for animal use. It follows a Safe Pet Cosmetics protocol designed to ensure a degree of safety of cosmetic products for animals comparable to that required for humans, Dolce & Gabbana said.
“Through a compliance recognition to this protocol granted by Bureau Veritas Italia, participating companies demonstrate their sensitivity in creating products that ensure the safety and respect of the animal, in accordance with established standards,” the company said in the statement issued for the launch of the perfume.
The new Dolce and Gabbana dog perfume called “Fefe” in honour of Domenico Dolce’s dog and released earlier this month is displayed on the shop window of the fashion brand boutique in Rome, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Bureau Veritas Italia is a publicly held company that provides inspection, laboratory verification and certification services.
All of the dog owners consulted agree that the fragrance is “gentle and well accepted by their pets,” and veterinarians approve of the product, according to the company web page dedicated to ‘Fefé’, which cites performance reviews by veterinarians and customers.
But not all veterinarians agree on the use of perfumes for dogs, as they may interfere with the animal’s sense of smell and cover up bad odors that could be a symptom of diseases.
“Dogs recognize themselves by smells, they recognize a person by a smell,” said Federico Coccía, a veterinarian in Rome who holds a doctorate from the University of Teramo.
“When the dog arrives, he sees you, wags his tail, but first smells you and then recognizes you because you are stored in one of his ‘smell drawers.’ Therefore, this world of smells should not be changed,” Coccia added.
Coccia said becoming aware of an ongoing dermatological disease can be problematic if dogs’ natural odors are covered up. “In the case of sebaceous dermatitis, for instance, the smell somehow completes my diagnosis.”
“The smell of breath, the smell of earwax are disguised by the perfume. So, it could be a problem even for us vets,” Coccia said.
Among the enthusiastic users of pet fragrances are groomers who take care of the hair and aesthetics of dogs.
Aliof Rilova Tano, a dog groomer at Morgana Carpentieri’s La Boutique delle Birbe parlor in Rome, said that in general he is in favor of using fragrances for pets.
“Our dogs live with us, so a little dog at home on the couch next to us with a perfume is always pleasant,” he said.
Grooming customers often feel the same way, so much so that customer Mariarita Ricciardi said she is in favor of “anything that has to do with a natural scenting … and that can also help the quality of the hair.”
However, there are also pet owners who would never use perfumes on their animals.
“Especially brand perfumes, it seems to be a very exaggerated process of humanization,” said Francesca Castelli, a dog-owner strolling in Rome’s Villa Borghese.
Beachgoers were met with an unexpected swimming companion when a small shark appeared in the waters Monday afternoon in Cape May Point.
The shark appeared to be about six feet in size and was briefly caught on video. The Cape May Point beach patrol said the shark was in “knee-deep water” and within five yards of shore, the Inquirer reported. The beach was cleared of swimmers for about an hour until the shark swam out to a deeper waters.
Last week, the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center spotted a basking shark about five miles off the coast. Basking sharks are the second-largest type of shark in the ocean, but they’re largely harmless to humans and eat mostly plankton and tiny crustaceans that they filter out of the water with their large mouths.
🚨Rare Sighting Alert! 🚨A SECOND BASKING SHARK sighting just off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey! This individual was estimated to be 15-20ft in length cruising along at the surface about 5 miles offshore. They are the second largest shark species alive today! We know this is a different individual from the one we had last week because the notches do not match on this dorsal fin. 📸: Naturalist Melissa
It was the second basking shark that the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center had sighted in the past few weeks. The first was a 15 to 20-foot shark in the waters near Wildwood. Scientists said it was different from the one seen Aug. 1, noting it had different notches on its dorsal fins.
On July 14, the Pearson’s Pursuit Inshore Fishing team also spotted a large shark off the coast of Sea Isle City. Three days later, a great white shark named Scot pinged, meaning he surfaced briefly, on the OCEARCH app about 32 miles off the coast of Wildwood.
WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) — A swarm of dragonflies stunned and surprised beachgoers over the weekend in Rhode Island.
Thousands of the dragonflies, relatively large and often beautifully colored insects, descended on Misquamicut beach Saturday. Video of the dragonflies shows beachgoers running for cover and hiding under blankets. People could be heard screaming.
It’s unclear what prompted the cloud of insects to visit the beach for several minutes and then largely disappear.
“One minute everything was calm. The next minute I saw the most dragonflies I’ve ever seen in my life,” Nicole Taylor told WFSB-TV. “It lasted for like 3 minutes, and then they were gone. It was a very strange experience.”
Christina Vangel, who works at Alfie’s Beach Store, said workers had to shoo the dragonflies out. “As the day went on there were tons of them everywhere. We had to close the doors,” she said.
Chris Fiore, whose family owns Alfie’s, across the street from the beach, marveled at the unique onslaught of dragonflies. “It was fascinating. There were big clouds of them,” he said.
Dragonflies feed mostly on insects like mosquitos and midges, relying on a swiveling head and huge eyes to catch their prey. Some species breed in July and August including the common green darner dragonfly found in Rhode Island. They don’t normally sting or bite humans.
If you’re looking for a new experience for your family, your school, your scout troop, or just want to hug an alpaca, Lucky Acres Farm in Townville is just the place. We sent Kristina down there to play with the fluffy animals and here’s what happened.
It took me no more than one day to arrange a visit to Lucky Acres Farm after hearing about them and seeing a photo of the fluffiest alpacas ever. Their curious faces staring back at the camera, ears perked, all fluffy and cute and cuddly. I had to go. I picked up my daughter after school and headed straight down 85 for a little after-school adventure – and I really didn’t want to leave once we arrived!
Alpacas are Really Cool
Alpacas are actually relatives of camels, Gloria told me as we started our farm tour. Gloria is probably one of the sweetest individuals I’ve ever met. She is laid back, happy, all smiles, and stands not much taller than my eight-year-old, which leads me to believe she was made to care for alpacas since she can look them right in the eye at that height.
Camel relatives? Mind blown. Alpacas are also curious, can be quite moody and playful with each other, but are not aggressive. They don’t like wind or getting wet, chew like a cow, and only have bottom teeth.
Alpaca getting some love
Originally from South America, alpacas weren’t imported into the United States until the mid-1980s. They produce super soft fiber, which is as soft as cashmere yet warmer and lighter than wool. The alpacas are sheared every April and their fluffy fleeces are made into hats, scarves, sweaters, blankets, and other creations by Gloria herself on the farm. She is very talented and has a small gift shop where people can purchase her soft creations.
One thing I loved about this aspect of Lucky Acres Farm is that when the fleece is shorn from the alpaca, it’s put in a bag with the name of the animal on it. After it’s spun, it’s sent back in the same bag and Gloria works her magic, creating mittens or a hat from the fiber of that specific alpaca. She has customers who ask for creations from specific alpacas and Gloria happily obliges. I think this is a unique and beautiful way to tie the farm and their animals into the community and customers.
Alpaca yarn
Alpacas live around 15-20 years and are smaller than llamas, weighing only about 150 pounds as adults. The poor mama alpacas have to carry their babies for an astounding 11 and a half months before they give birth. That is a crazy long time.
More Animals at Lucky Acres Farms
Lucky Acres Farms has been in business since 1996 when Gloria and her husband moved down from upstate New York after he retired. Gloria just loves animals and was smitten with alpacas, so she ended up learning all she could about them before getting several of her own.
But the farm also has goats, a couple of horses, a little white bunny, and lots of chickens on the farm for the kids to see and touch. The goats are miniature silky fainting goats. I’ve seen videos of fainting goats and, well, it did take some willpower to not try to make them faint. I wanted to be invited back to the farm, after all.
Gloria and the fainting goat
My kids fed the chickens and searched for eggs in the hen house. They really came away with new experiences and knowledge that none of us had before.
Lucky Acres isn’t far from Greenville at all. Even with traffic we made it in an hour, as the farm is just a few miles off 85. It’s easily a day trip or less. There are picnic tables in the shade and a small playground to have lunch and relax before heading home.
Tours & Field Trips at Lucky Acres Farm
Lucky Acres Farms is open to the public and Gloria invites anyone to come over and see the animals. School groups, homeschoolers, and anyone else is welcome. While she doesn’t charge anyone to come to the farm, donations are appreciated to help with the upkeep and running of the place.
The farm is open 10 am – 4 pm most days but just give Gloria a call before you come to make sure she’s there. She is more than happy to give tours and just wants her guests to have a good experience when they visit.
Since it is a farm, it’s wise to wear sneakers or boots, not any kind of sandal or flip-flops. Parents should keep an eye on their kids, making sure they aren’t running into spots where they shouldn’t be. Everyone is welcome to bring a picnic or snack to enjoy at the picnic tables in the shade as well.
Charlie, the youngest alpaca on the farm
Lucky Acres Farms has participated in the Upstate Farm Tour in the beginning of the summer so bookmark that event if you’d like to go see them then. Gloria also sells her hats, scarves, mittens, and other items made from alpaca fleece at area craft fairs or you can order online. And if you’re in the market for goats or alpacas, Lucky Acres Farm does sell them at certain times during the year.
Stay Overnight at the Farm
Not long ago, Gloria and her husband decided that maybe people would really like to stay at the farm and play with the alpacas while seeing a Clemson game or hiking in the nearby mountains or enjoying Lake Hartwell. Hence the Airbnb on the property came about.
The spot is perfect for families, couples, or people just traveling through the area. It’s pet-friendly, can sleep four guests, and of course, Gloria is an outstanding host.
My kids and I all immensely enjoyed our time at Lucky Acres Farm and the excellent tour by Gloria. It was hard to say goodbye to the fluffy alpacas because they are just so adorable and friendly and I just wanted to cuddle with them. You will too when you go, promise.
But he always knows something’s up when he sees reports of farmers complaining in the press. And they have been complaining.
“There are more this year, for sure,” he said, confidently.
Frank Krell, senior curator of entomology with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, in the institution’s basement archive space. July 30, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Some bugs do something called “estivating,” the opposite of hibernation. They burrow underground to wait out the summer’s hottest months.
But scorchers don’t really get to grasshoppers, Krell told us. That means they do really well when temperatures hit a certain threshold and everyone else goes down under for the season.
“They can cope with drier conditions. Other insect groups cannot. So they take over when other insect groups just go into the soil and try to survive the summer in a more cooler environment,” he told us. “They come out and eat like crazy when it’s hot.”
It means grasshoppers could be a winner in a warming world, at least for a while.
Grasshoppers collected in Colorado, now pinned and part of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s permanent collection. July 30, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“Well, if it’s too hot, of course then they die again. So if global warming heats up another 20 degrees, then they probably will have problems,” he said. (So will we all.)
This year’s infestation, Krell added, may be the result of two years of correct climate conditions.
While the heat this year probably is helping them live, last year’s more temperate weather probably helped them get born. Most grasshoppers lay eggs in soil. The eggs then lie dormant through the winter until they’re ready to hatch.
It’s one reason why predicting grasshopper populations is nigh impossible, he said. Everything needs to happen in just the right way for a proper bug boom.
Unfortunately, there are too many kinds of grasshoppers for one perfect solution.
The big issue, Krell said, is there are just so many grasshopper species in Colorado.
“We have over a hundred species in Colorado,” he told us.
Their numbers are so diverse that Krell could only give me the genus of one I captured and photographed in my backyard. It was a Melanoplus, a spur-throated grasshopper; getting to the species usually requires dissection.
Spur-throated grasshoppers found and photographed in a Denver backyard on July 30, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
That abundance of species means silver-bullet solutions are hard to come by.
“You can try a garlic spray, or a hot pepper spray, on your plants. And lots of grasshoppers probably are deterred, or just go away because they hate it — and others don’t. So you can be lucky or not with these,” Krell said. “You might discover something about the species in your backyard.”
The same goes for pesticides, he said. You’d need something that will kill every grasshopper species, which means the carnage would not stop with these annoying jumpers.
“When you use insecticide, you kill all the insects,” he said, adding that poisoned insects could also impact birds and other predators in the area. “I would not use poisons, but that’s a personal thing. I have three kids and I would like to live healthy as long as possible.”
A grasshopper collected in Colorado, now pinned and part of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s permanent collection. July 30, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
But what about my garden?
To dig in a little more, we visited Colorado Master Gardener Kevin Ritter at his post at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
The topical solutions — pepper spray and the like — are kind of old wives’ tales, he said. Good for you if that works, but he doesn’t usually offer solutions that aren’t backed by research.
Kevin Ritter, a Colorado Master Gardener, at his post in the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Helen Fowler Library, where he answers questions about plants for free. Aug. 1, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“We try to answer everything from the science-based background and try to get the bigger picture to better educate folks,” he said.
Row covers might be a more likely suggestion, he said, even if all that fabric messes with your garden’s visual aesthetic.
The Colorado Master Gardeners’ official info sheet on grasshoppers suggests using pesticides near breeding sites. If you don’t want to use chemicals, you might try leaving grass uncut, especially near eggs, to keep them occupied and away from plants you care about.
Ritter said Master Gardeners like him inform people about the pros and cons of every approach, then let them make their own decisions.
You might just let them hop in peace — or hire some help.
“Live with it,” is a piece of advice that Ritter says he gives out all the time, particularly when people ask him about conquering very resilient bindweed.
Our expectations of what we think we should be able to control aren’t always realistic. He’s kept that in mind as he deals with grasshoppers in his own garden.
“Luckily, I’ve had just kind of the normal amount, and I just live with them. They do damage. I’m just like, ‘Okay, that’s your thing,’” he told us. “We can share.”
Or you could try employing some predators, though that’s also not something Ritter usually offers people.
Grasshoppers collected in the Pacific Northwest, now pinned and part of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s permanent collection. July 30, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“There’s been some talk around Japanese beetles, that ducks tend to favor them and things like that. We haven’t necessarily recommended that as a primary solution, just it’s not as practical,” he said.
But Krell said there’s historical precedent to guide you, should you try to complete your war on grasshoppers.
“Hire a flock of turkeys,” he told us during our day at the museum. “I dunno, that’s what they did actually in the 1930s. 1937, we had a plague here of grasshoppers in Colorado. They sent out just flocks of turkeys, lots of turkeys, and they ate them like crazy.”
You can pose questions to Colorado Master Gardeners at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Helen Fowler Library on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through October. You don’t need to pay for admission.
IPSWICH — An endangered species of turtle was caught and released back into the Ipswich River last week after being spotted sitting on the rocks directly below the Ipswich Mills Dam.
Ipswich River Watershed Association staff and MassWildlife investigated the reported sighting to discover a male Northern red-bellied cooter. The seemingly lonesome turtle was then brought into MassWildlife for further assessment and to be microchipped with a VHF radio transmitter so its movements can be monitored over the remainder of the summer.
There was no data to suggest the turtle came from known populations in southeastern Massachusetts. So, MassWildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife decided to release him back into the Ipswich River — above the dam, as its behavior suggested it was attempting to move upstream, and it is a freshwater species that’s less suitable for tidal habitats.
“We could not conclusively determine that the male from the dam had originated in southeastern Massachusetts, so it was not clearly the best management decision to release the turtle in that area,” MassWildlife Herpetologist Mike Jones said.
“And because the animal found near Peatfield landing and reported last year was clearly different from the male found at the dam, we would like to better understand the extent and size of this occurrence.”
The cooter sighting was the second ever recorded in the Ipswich River, and the first to be microchipped.
Last year, as the Ipswich Mills Dam removal pursued permitting approval, the Ipswich River Watershed Association submitted photos for review, which happened to capture images of another red-bellied cooter. The discovery is not expected to delay the planned dam removal.
Although the nearest known population of the species is far away in Plymouth, archaeological evidence suggests they inhabited the Ipswich River 1,000 years ago, making this the first confirmed sighting in modern times.
“We’re very excited to be working with MassWildlife to learn more about the red-bellied cooter and what their place in the Ipswich River might be,” IRWA Restoration Program Director Neil Shea said.
“The opportunity to track this animal and learn more about its behavior is very unique and speaks to the incredible biodiversity that we have throughout the Ipswich River.”
Northern red-bellied cooters are listed as endangered on both the Massachusetts and Federal Endangered Species Lists. In the 1980s, the estimated total population of cooters in Massachusetts was about 300, with the next-nearest population being 200 miles away in New Jersey.
Cooters resemble the common Eastern painted turtle, but are significantly larger, weighing up to 12 pounds. The basking turtles have a black to brown upper shell with faint reddish markings, which become more pronounced in males and darker with age.
MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program have released 5,000 “head-started” hatchlings into southeastern Massachusetts’ ponds and waterways since the program began 40 years ago.
Through the program, turtle hatchlings are removed from the wild and placed in a warm aquarium environment at educational and scientific facilities across the state for eight to nine months before being released back into the wild, accelerating their growth and protecting them from predators during their first year of life when they are most vulnerable.
MassWildlife and the IRWA will continue to monitor the movements of the released cooter to help determine if there are more than two of the species present in the Ipswich River.
Paddlers are encouraged to keep an eye out for the species along the river, especially in Topsfield and Ipswich, and share photos by email at nheritage@mass.gov
IPSWICH — An endangered species of turtle was caught and released back into the Ipswich River last week after being spotted sitting on the rocks directly below the Ipswich Mills Dam.
Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) staff and MassWildlife investigated the reported sighting to discover a male Northern red-bellied cooter. The seemingly lonesome turtle was then brought into MassWildlife for further assessment and to be microchipped with a VHF radio transmitter so its movements can be monitored over the remainder of the summer.
There was no data to suggest the turtle came from known populations in southeastern Massachusetts. So, MassWildlife and US Fish and Wildlife decided to release him back into the Ipswich River — above the dam, as its behavior suggested it was attempting to move upstream, and it is a freshwater species that’s less suitable for tidal habitats.
“We could not conclusively determine that the male from the dam had originated in southeastern Massachusetts, so it was not clearly the best management decision to release the turtle in that area,” MassWildlife Herpetologist Mike Jones said.
“And because the animal found near Peatfield landing and reported last year was clearly different from the male found at the dam, we would like to better understand the extent and size of this occurrence.”
The cooter sighting was the second ever recorded in the Ipswich River, and the first to be microchipped.
Last year, as the Ipswich Mills Dam removal pursued permitting approval, the Ipswich River Watershed Association submitted photos for review, which happened to capture images of another red-bellied cooter. The discovery is not expected to delay the planned dam removal.
Although the nearest known population of the species is far away in Plymouth, archaeological evidence suggests they inhabited the Ipswich River 1,000 years ago, making this the first confirmed sighting in modern times.
“We’re very excited to be working with MassWildlife to learn more about the red-bellied cooter and what their place in the Ipswich River might be,” IRWA Restoration Program Director Neil Shea said.
“The opportunity to track this animal and learn more about its behavior is very unique and speaks to the incredible biodiversity that we have throughout the Ipswich River.”
Northern red-bellied cooters are listed as endangered on both the Massachusetts and Federal Endangered Species Lists. In the 1980s, the estimated total population of cooters in Massachusetts was about 300, with the next-nearest population being 200 miles away in New Jersey.
Cooters resemble the common Eastern painted turtle, but are significantly larger, weighing up to 12 pounds. The basking turtles have a black to brown upper shell with faint reddish markings, which become more pronounced in males and darker with age.
MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program have released 5,000 “head-started” hatchlings into southeastern Massachusetts’ ponds and waterways since the program began 40 years ago.
Through the program, turtle hatchlings are removed from the wild and placed in a warm aquarium environment at educational and scientific facilities across the state for eight to nine months before being released back into the wild, accelerating their growth and protecting them from predators during their first year of life when they are most vulnerable.
MassWildlife and the IRWA will continue to monitor the movements of the released cooter to help determine if there are more than two of the species currently present in the Ipswich River.
Paddlers are encouraged to keep an eye out for the species along the river, especially in Topsfield and Ipswich, and share photos by email at nheritage@mass.gov
Ongoing outbreaks ofavian influenza have decimated poultry flocks and wild birds across the United States and worldwide. The virus, known as H5N1, is also increasingly adapting to mammals and has been found in cats, goats, and raccoons. In the US, it has spread to at least 170 dairy herds across 13 states. And in April, health officials confirmed that a dairy worker had caught the virus from an infected cow. This was the first time the virus made the jump from a mammal to a human.
Now, the number of people becoming infected with bird flu is ticking upward. On July 25, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an additional three human cases, bringing the total number of US cases to 13 since April. The infections occurred in people who were working directly with infected poultry at an egg farm in Colorado that had reported an outbreak of H5N1 among its birds. All three people have mild symptoms and have been offered Tamiflu, an antiviral drug. The CDC says the risk of H5N1 infection in the general public remains low.
“These cases are not entirely surprising given that these people were working with infected poultry,” says Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in New York. “The good news is that so far, there’s no evidence that this has spread from person to person. At that point, we’d really have to ramp up the concern to the level of red alert.”
The CDC is looking into whether the workers in Colorado were wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as gloves, coveralls, footwear, masks, and goggles. Historically, most human cases of bird flu infection have happened in people who were not wearing recommended PPE, according to the agency.
The new cases come shortly after another cluster of human infections was identified this month. On July 19, the CDC confirmed six human cases of bird flu among poultry workers at a different facility in Colorado. Those cases were in workers who were involved in the culling of birds infected with H5N1. Once the virus is found on a farm, poultry producers must cull entire flocks. With the latest three infections, Colorado now has nine confirmed cases of bird flu.
The other four cases—one in Texas, two in Michigan, and one in Colorado—have been linked to exposure to infected dairy cows. The virus likely spread to the workers through raw milk. A study published in May found that the virus can remain stable on milking equipment for at least an hour, increasing its potential to infect people and other animals. Pasteurizing milk, however, kills the H5N1 virus.
So far, all the US cases this year have resulted in mild symptoms, but in the past, H5N1 has had a lethality rate of around 50 percent. From 2003 to 2023, a total of 878 people tested positive for the virus, and 458 deaths were reported.
The last time H5N1 caused a major outbreak among US poultry flocks was in 2015, when it wiped out 50.5 million birds. It wasn’t until April 2022 that the US saw its first reported human case of bird flu, in a poultry worker in Colorado. No further cases were reported until this year. “Something has changed,” says Anice Lowen, a flu researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “Whether it’s due to changes in the virus or changes in the circumstances of exposure is hard to know without more information.”
It’s a tail as old as time. You’re in the right place at the right moment and the next thing you know, you’re living in the White House.
That’s what happened to a stray, gray, green-eyed cat named Willow, who turned up at a Joe Biden rally in Pennsylvania in 2020, jumped onstage and left with soon-to-be first lady Jill, who later wrote a book about her.
Plenty of other four-pawed wonders have landed on their padded feet in famous and fortuitous places.
And it works both ways: Cats bring value to the venues they inhabit, whether it’s simply adding a cute factor or ratting on rodents. Sometimes, they even come to define the place.
Take Lilibet, for example.
She’s a Siberian Forest cat who spends one of her nine lives stretching her toe beans and snoozing by the fire at the five-star Lanesborough Hotel in London. Plenty of people check in just to check out the resident cat, who is named after Queen Elizabeth II, says managing director Stuart Geddes.
And Lilibet, who has hypoallergenic fur, isn’t the only cat living in a grand British building.
Hodge sits inside the sacristy at Southwark Cathedral, founded in 1106 on the south bank of the Thames River. He roams around delighting visitors and popping into the shop for treats, where fans can also buy their own plush version of him.
Not far away, across the Thames, is Larry, the famous cat of 10 Downing St., where he has stayed longer than most prime ministers — Kier Starmer is his sixth.
Employed as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, Larry pays his way by keeping the official office and residence of the PM more cat than mouse. He outlasted his rival Palmerston, a previous Foreign Office puss who retired to the British countryside in 2020.
It’s a similar situation at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
About 80 cats get to call Catherine the Great’s Baroque palace home in return for keeping the pest population down. They have their own press officer and staff of volunteers, who keep them publicized, fed and watered while they pad around Russia’s state museum.
Another museum delighted to play host to a colony of cats is The Hemingway Homes and Museum, in Key West, Florida. Fifty-nine cats roam freely through the estate, half of them descendants of Hemingway’s own six-toed cat, Snow White.
Visitors are kept away from the original furniture, but the animals lounge on the writer’s desk. A large “Cat Bible” helps track the lineage of the resident felines.
Alexa Morgan of the Hemingway museum says they are an extra draw.
“We have visitors that come here for Hemingway, and then once they see the cats and they love them, then it’s like they visit again so they can come back and see the cats,” she said.
And then there are those moggies without an impressive family tree or breed.
In Puerto Rico ‘s Cuartel de Ballajá one Tuesday, a cat arrived at the Don Ruiz Coffee Shop in San Juan. She spent her time napping and permitting patrons to pet her (when in the mood ). They named her Tuesday, and she became a regular.
In Venezuela, under a banner of Hugo Chavez, an unnamed cat has become well-known to the journalists of Caracas. Often found snaking between the tripods of TV crews at the National Electoral Council, this mysterious animal keeps reporters company as they wait for updates, playing with the occasional audio cable and generally strutting around like it runs the place.
Meanwhile, Lule is so beloved at the Dit’ e Nat (Day and Night) bar in Pristina, Kosovo, that her feline face has become its symbol, even on the sugar sachets. Owner Genc Salihu says she’s part of the family, and people turn up just to see and pet Lule.
“She is very much the soul of the place.”
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Adam Egan in London, Kirill Zarubin in St Petersburg, Freida Frisaro in Florida, Florent Bajrami in Pristina, Alejandro Granadillo in San Juan, and Juan Arraez in Caracas contributed to this report.
Steven Murawski, a professor in the College of Marine Science at University of South Florida, says there’s likely no singular cause as to what perpetuated this toxic bloom.
“It’s a plant, and if you have a rush of nutrients into the water — it’s been very rainy as of late and the rainy season is upon us — so if you have a lot of rain flushing out nutrients from the land, it can be like fertilizer,” he said.
Possible symptoms of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning include e numbness and tingling of the mouth or hands, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, respiratory distress, drowsiness, loss of body movement control, headache, tingling sensations in the face and/or extremities, muscle weakness and incoherent speech.
The waters off Pasco County are still open to boating, swimming and fishing.
“Because this is a plant, you’re not likely to be consuming high enough levels of that even by swallowing a little bit of seawater as opposed to a mollusk like the scallop is concentrating all those,” Murawski explained. “This is their food, so they concentrate and pump a lot of water, so it becomes a source of relatively high levels of this.”
Pasco County will reopen for scallop harvesting once FWC tests show levels have decreased to safe limits. As of right now, the season lasts until Aug. 18.
WASHINGTON — China’s panda diplomacy may have one true winner: the pandas themselves.
Decades after Beijing began working with zoos in the U.S. and Europe to protect the species, the number of giant pandas in the wild has risen to 1,900, up from about 1,100 in the 1980s, and they are no longer considered “at risk” of extinction but have been given the safer status of “vulnerable.”
Americans can take some credit for this accomplishment, because conserving the species is not purely a Chinese undertaking but a global effort where U.S. scientists and researchers have played a critical role.
“We carry out scientific and research cooperation with San Diego Zoo and the zoo in Washington in the U.S., as well as European countries. They are more advanced in aspects such as veterinary medicine, genetics and vaccination, and we learn from them,” said Zhang Hemin, chief expert at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the southwestern Chinese city of Ya’an.
Zhang spoke to journalists during a recent government-organized media tour at the Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base, home to 66 pandas that lolled about and chomped on stalks of bamboo in a tranquil setting rich with vegetation.
China’s giant panda loan program has long been known as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy, but its conservation significance could have been an important reason Beijing is renewing its cooperation with U.S. zoos and sending new pairs of pandas at a time of otherwise sour relations.
Their arrivals herald a new round of giant panda conservation cooperation, after the agreements from the first round — which began around 1998 — ended in recent years. The ongoing difficulties in the U.S.-China relationship fueled worries Beijing was retreating from sending pandas abroad, but President Xi Jinping in November dispelled the worries with an announcement during a U.S. visit last year.
It is a brilliant move to soften China’s image among Americans but is unlikely to change U.S. policy, said Barbara K. Bodine, a former ambassador who is now a professor in the practice of diplomacy at Georgetown University.
“If they are to project China not as a big, threatening country, they send several pairs of overstuffed plush toys,” she said. “Pandas are cute, fat and fluffy. They sit all day and eat bamboos, then China is kind of this cuddly and fluffy country. It’s the best signaling.”
But “it doesn’t change the political discussion one whit,” Bodine said. “Public diplomacy can do only so much. It does not change the geopolitical, economic calculations. People don’t go home after the zoo to be OK for the U.S. to be flooded with cheap EVs (electric vehicles) from the panda land.”
Conservation, however, is keeping the two sides working together.
Zhang said there are benefits from sending pandas overseas.
“Pandas temporarily living abroad raises humans’ awareness of preservation, and promotes attention to our planet and the protection of biodiversity,” Zhang said. “Why isn’t it good?”
Zhang said pandas sent overseas have been selected for their good genes. “They have very high hereditary values. If they bear offspring, the cubs also will have very high hereditary values,” he said.
While Western research leads in genetic studies, China excels at feeding and behavioral training, he said. “It’s mutually complementary,” Zhang said. The ultimate goal, researchers say, is to help the bears return to the wild and survive, and a larger captive-bred panda population is the foundation for that effort.
The first giant pandas sent abroad were more gestures of goodwill than conservation pioneers from a Chinese communist government seeking to normalize its relations with the West. Beijing gave a pair of pandas — Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing — to the U.S. following President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 and then other pandas to other countries, including Japan, France, Britain and Germany, over the next decade.
When the panda population dwindled in the 1980s, Beijing stopped gifting pandas but turned to more lucrative short-term leasing then longer-term collaboration with foreign zoos on research and breeding.
Under this kind of new arrangement, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived at the National Zoo in 2000, with the ultimate goal of saving giant pandas in the wild. Over the 23 years Mei Xiang lived in the U.S. capital, she gave birth to four living cubs: Tai Shan in 2005, Bao Bao in 2013, Bei Bei in 2015, and Xiao Qi Ji in 2020. All have been returned to China.
Bei Bei, sent to China in 2019, walked over to a row of lined-up bamboo shoots last month, picked one up with his teeth and sat down to eat it as a cluster of visitors looked on at the Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base. Staff described the nearly 9-year-old male as sociable.
Smithsonian scientists have been working to “unravel the mysteries of panda biology and behavior, gaining crucial insights into their nutritional needs, reproductive habits and genetic diversity,” the National Zoo says in its literature on the panda program.
Its ecologists have been working with Chinese partners to restore natural habitats for the giant panda, the zoo said.
Over the years, it has raised tens of millions of dollars to run the zoo’s panda conservation program, including an annual fee of $1 million to the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
“The purpose of the fund is stated very clearly — it’s scientific and research funds for the preservation of wild giant pandas and their habitats,” Zhang said. “They are very clear about this. It’s not an income of the Chinese government.”
Pandas born overseas can face a language barrier when they are sent to China, said Li Xiaoyan, the keeper for Bei Bei and two other bears from abroad.
“Some pandas may adapt very quickly and easily upon return, while others need a long time to adjust to a new environment, especially human factors such as language,” Li said. “Overseas, foreign languages are spoken. In China it’s Chinese that’s used, and even Sichuanese and the Ya’an dialect.”
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AP video producer Caroline Chen contributed to this report from Ya’an, China.
