Items tagged with 'animals'
White Nose Syndrome continues to kill off bats
Bats with White Nose Syndrome in Hailes Cave in Albany County.
White Nose Syndrome -- the bat disease first identified in the Capital Region -- has killed as many as 6.7 million bats, according to recent estimates by biologists working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Since first being documented in 2006, the disease has now spread to 16 states -- and at many sites it's killed almost 100 percent of the bats. It has some biologists worried that some once-common varieties of bats could be facing extinction. [US FWS] [NYT]
The "white nose" in the syndrome's name refers to a fungus that grows on the face of the bats. Last fall researchers confirmed the fungus was responsible for the syndrome after 100 percent of the bats exposed to it in captivity developed the symptoms in a study. The fungus infects the bats' skin and causes lesions. [Nature News]
In 2010, New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation reported the White Nose Syndrome was likely in all bat caves in the state. The population of some species of bat had declined by 90 percent. [NYS DEC]
The disease was first identified in Howes Cave in Schoharie County -- it spread to other caves in the region and large bat die-offs followed.
Bats don't necessarily have the best reputation with a lot of humans, but they're an important part of the ecosystem because they eat huge numbers of insects -- including mosquitos.
photo: Nancy Heaslip, NYS DEC
Severed dog head found along Route 85
Weird/disturbing story of the day: Albany police say a severed dog head found along Route 85 near the Harriman State Office Campus Monday morning. From the press release:
The Animal Control Officer located a pit bull's head that had been severed. It was on the roadway just before the Washington Avenue overpass. A search of the immediate area initially did not locate the body of the dog. ...
It initially could not be determined whether it's had been intentionally severed or if it was struck by a car.
A search was conducted late this morning and the dog's body was found in between the eastbound and westbound lanes in between the cement supports of the Washington Avenue overpass.
The owner of the dog, who lives in Albany, was located today and she told police the dog was acting strange this past Friday and it got loose from her and took off. She had put out flyers and posters for her dog and called the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society to report her dog missing.
APD spokesman Jimmy Miller told the TU today that the DEC pathologist who examined the dog called the case "very unusual."
Full press release after the jump.
A fisher strikes a pose
Today's wildlife moment: a posing fisher.
During our email exchange earlier this week with scientist Roland Kays, he passed along two recent clips his wildlife cameras had captured in the Colonie. The first, embedded above, is of a fisher striking a pose in front of a camera just off Sand Creek Road (we're guessing this is the general area):
This camera was ... in a slim strip of forest that connects 2 larger wooded areas (aka core areas). Our GPS tracking of fishers suggested that they used this strip as a movement corridor to get between the larger fragments, we are now testing that by setting cameras out.
We've linked to it before, but here's Kays' "Scientist at Work" series at NYT about tracking fishers in Latham.
The second clip, of raccoons "jogging" over a footbridge near the Hilton Garden Inn at ALB, is after the jump.
Behold, the white squirrels at play
Not common, but easy to spot.
Today's Moment of Nature* comes via Amy Riddell at Emack and Bolio's, who noticed a pair of white squirrels playing (or whatever it is squirrels do) in the ice cream shop's yard.
Amy says the white squirrel has lived in the Delaware Ave neighborhood for a few years, and people have spotted two babies (one of them is in the photo with the mother). After much chasing, Bennett also spotted what could be the same white squirrel last year. (There have been white squirrel sightings in Troy, too.) [Photo This] [RPInsider]
A lot of people refer to white squirrels as albino, but most of the squirrels probably don't have that condition. They're actually just genetic color variants of regular gray squirrels, in which the genes for the white belly are active in other parts of the animal's coat (albinism is a different situation). Look for the eyes -- if they're not red/pink/blue, it's probably not an albino squirrel (and too bad -- because albino squirrels have their own preservation society). Some have argued the all-white fur could even be an adaptation to urban environments (we're skeptical -- but maybe it makes them easier to spot when they cross the street). [NYT] [Wikipedia] [Science Buzz] [The Wild Classroom]
Places with unusually large populations of white squirrels have taken the animals as claims to fame -- with fights over which place is actually the white squirrel capital of the country. Some of the claims include origin myths. There was even a white squirrel-related request for federal pork this year (in Tennessee). And, of course, the obligatory tribute video to the white squirrels from a town in North Carolina. [Roadside America] [NC Farm Bureau] [ABC News]
One more Delaware Ave white squirrel pic from Amy is after the jump.
* It's like that segment at the end of CBS Sunday Morning in which video of cranes standing in a wetland runs for a minute or two without voice over.
(Thanks, Amy!)
A good veterinarian for dogs?
Brian asks via Twitter:
Help! I need a vet in Albany / Troy area! My pup needs to see the doctor. Please recommend a good veterinarian.
This question has come up before for cats, but not dogs -- which is a little surprising given how many people seem to have dogs.
Got a suggestion? Please share! And please include why you like going to that vet.
Begun again the War on Crows has
And the beady eyes that stare right through your soul.
The city of Albany has announced that once again it will be engaging in the War on Crows. This winter's campaign will include the following tactics (emphasis added):
The non-lethal harassment methods used to disperse crows will include pyrotechnics, electronic guards, non-harmful lasers, and amplified, recorded crow distress calls. Several of these methods produce loud noises and flashing lights, (similar to sirens and fireworks) that frighten birds and may be heard or observed by local residents. Biologists will be wearing uniforms and a blaze orange vest marked "USDA Wildlife Services."
The first offensive will begin in the Center Square and Sheridan Hollow neighborhoods next Tuesday late afternoon and continue through Thursday. Full details in the press release after the jump.
Albany and other Capital Region municipalities and institutions have been taking up arms against roosting crows for the past several winters -- and yet victory remains elusive.
The crow is a formidable adversary. Researchers say the birds can use tools, recognize humans and hold grudges (even if you can't figure out what you did to them). They are highly intelligent animals (perhaps aided by secret government programs -- the TRUTH IS OUT THERE.) Earlier this year the mayor of Amsterdam revealed the crows had cracked the city's waste disposal codes. It's only a matter of time before they learn how to use Twitter and Facebook.
Thankfully, the humans have had a major weapon of their own in the form of Green Island mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan and her trusty pyrotechnic sidearm. But there's only one EMR -- and the crow hordes are vast.
Earlier on AOA: A dossier on our crow invaders
photo: Wikimedia Commons user mdf
Don't anger the butterfly
From a recent op/ed by the Karner Blue Butterfly in The Onion:
I think people always expected that when the time came for us to go extinct, we'd go down all quietlike--that just because we're small blue butterflies with a wingspan of an inch, we wouldn't put up a fight. Well, I can assure you that before my kind dies out there will be a reckoning. Blood will run in the streets. Human blood.
I swear to you on all that is good and holy that before the Karner blue goes extinct, myself and the last remaining members of my species will take out as much of the human race as we possibly can. There will be mayhem. Children will die. People will suffer.
You can take that to the bank.
So... tread lightly in the Pine Bush. There's nothing more dangerous than a butterfly with nothing left to lose.
(Thanks, Mathew!)
Earlier on AOA: The Karner Blue and its local history
photo: Hollingsworth, J & K/US FWS via Wikipedia
There's a turkey in the neighborhood
Where was this turkey going? Morning walk? Getting coffee? Walk of shame?
David emailed this pic this morning:
Was driving into work this morning traveling through the Melrose area in Albany and noticed that this turkey was casually grazing right in the middle of Belvidere Ave.! Had to stop and take a picture as I wasn't sure anyone would believe me. Well there it is!
Melrose is the neighborhood uptown, between Western and Washington, just to the east of the state office campus. While it's not super dense, it's full of closely-spaced single and multi-unit houses. We've seen turkeys at Capital Hills, the municipal golf course on the edge of Albany -- but never right in the middle of a neighborhood like this.
Until now. Gobble.
(Thanks, David!)
Duckling cuddle puddle
Nap time.
For no other reason than... CUDDLING DUCKLINGS!
It was a warm afternoon at Buckingham Pond in Albany, and the ducklings were very sleepy.
Are there more photos? Do you have to ask?
Albany chicken veto override vote
Councilman Dominick Calsolaro speaking ahead of the override vote.
The push to allow backyard chickens in Albany came to an end Monday as an override attempt of the Jerry Jennings' veto failed to get enough votes in the Common Council .
Mike Guidice, who along with his wife Jen Pursley has been leading the chicken coalition, was disappointed -- and talking about what's next.
The Karner Blue
Nabokov once described the a group of Karner Blues appearing like "blue snowflakes".
The first flight of Karner Blue butterflies should be appearing in their habitats around the Capital Region right about now.
The beautiful endangered butterflies hang around sandy pine barren habitats. Two such spots in the Capital Region: the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and the Wilton Wildlife Preserve. Drew was at the Wilton preserve this past week and said the butterflies were easy to spot.
Karner Blues congregate in these habitats because they're also the habitat for blue lupine. The butterflies lay their eggs on the plants.
There's some great history Capital Region history involving the Karner Blue. The common name of the butterflies is linked to a spot here -- and Vladimir Nabokov classified the butterflies. Yep, the author.
Any way the wind blows
Life can throw things at you that are unexpected and terrifying -- and yet, sometimes, it can still work out. Even if you're a dog.
Back in April, Blue -- a five-month-old puppy, that's him on the right -- was pulled from the rubble left behind by a tornado that swept through northern Georgia. His owners couldn't be found after a month-long search. So Blue was scheduled to be euthanized. That's when a rescue group picked him up from the shelter there.
Blue -- and 19 other "storm dogs" from Georgia -- are now at the Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society in Menands. They're looking for someone to adopt them.
Jennings to veto Albany chicken ordinance
Updated at 6:30 pm
Jerry Jennings announced today that he's vetoing the Albany backyard chicken ordinance.
The ordinance passed the Common Council by an 8-7 vote. It would take 10 votes to override the veto.
The mayor's office released a statement this afternoon explaining the veto. That -- and reaction -- is after the jump.
Albany backyard chicken ordinance passes
Someone was playing the chicken dance music in the chamber before Monday's meeting.
It's been six months since Jen Pursley and Mike Guidice had to give up their backyard chickens after someone complained to the city. And now they're on the verge of getting them back. Legally.
Monday night the Albany Common Council passed an ordinance that makes it legal to keep backyard hens in the city. But it was close.
Sheep eat the baaaaad
Sheep -- and dogs -- will be working to clear invasive plants from the Normanskill Farm.
There's a new (old) way to combat invasive plant species in upstate New York: small flocks of sheep.
Gary Kleppel, a professor of biological sciences at UAlbany and director of the Biodiversity Conservation and Policy Program there, is in the process of setting up a "targeted grazing" project using sheep at Albany's city-owned Normanskill Farm.
His sheep start arriving in a few weeks and then, with the help of students, dogs, and a fancy fence, the sheep get to work -- eating and gnawing at the plants that cause problems for our ecosystem.
Watch for turtles
We came across this sign while driving around Bethlehem the other day. It made us smile.
A picture flashed in our mind of a line of cars waiting for a turtle to cross the road.
Pecking at the Albany backyard chicken issue
Michael Guidice making his case for backyard chickens in Albany.
The proposal to allow backyard chickens in Albany is moving on to a vote before the full Common Council.
The council's law, buildings and code enforcement committee voted 3-1 Thursday night to pass along the ordinance to the full council without a recommendation. "[The result] was better than we expected," said Michael Guidice, who's been leading the backyard chicken effort with his wife Jen Pursley (remember, it was their backyard coop that got this issue buzzing).
The vote came after some spirited clucking back and forth on the issue.
Bears -- guilty until proven... dead?
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has set up a bear trap near the northern Greene County home of the woman who was knocked down by a bear Wednesday. A DEC spokesman tells the TU that the agency will kill the first large adult bear it catches in the trap -- even though they can't be sure they'll get the bear that attacked the woman. [AP/Fox23] [Daily Mail] [TU]
So, bears apparently do not enjoy due process. And the policy seems so blunt (and, you know, kind of vengeful) that we almost wonder if something got mixed up in its communication. Because what if DEC catches a bear, kills it, and then another bear (perhaps the bear) comes back and harasses someone again. Does DEC set another trap, and kill another bear (and so on and so on) until the bear encounters stop?
And get this: a 2002 survey conducted for DEC of New York State residents north of NYC reported that more than half of respondents disagreed that bears who repeatedly caused problems for people should be killed -- and the survey even noted that "identifying specific problem bears can be difficult." About 65 percent of respondents said they supported relocating problem bears after negative conditioning. (Here's more info from the DEC about black bear management.)
Bears that become habituated to humans are a serious problem. And it's a problem that humans often help cause (that's not to say that's what happened in this most recent case). As Roland Kays, the State Museum's curator of mammals, explained to us a few years back:
So please don't feed the animals. You're causing problems for all your neighbors. And by trying to help the animal, you could end up getting it killed. What happens is that a bear becomes a nuisance and it gets shot. And the person whose fault that was was the person who started feeding it.
It's illegal to feed bears in New York State -- even indirectly, if you've been given notice.
The DEC reported last month that black bear populations are "thriving" in the state and "represent a great resource for all New Yorkers."
Update: The woman was attacked told Fox23 that she thinks the bear should not be killed.
Earlier on AOA: Foxes and fishers and bears, oh my!
photo: Flickr user peupleloup
Bears. In the bag.
The DEC reports that 1,064 bears were "harvested" in New York State last year. That's down about 400 from 2009 (the second-highest total year on record), but it's just about the average number during the past 10 years.
There were eight reported bear kills in the core Capital Region last year. Five in Saratoga County -- four in Hadley, one in Edinburg. And the other three were in Albany County -- one each in Berne, Rensselaerville and Westerlo. There were 21 in the Capital Region in 2009, and 17 in 2008.
A little farther out in 2010: Greene County (49), Schoharie (14), Warren (34), Washington (1).
The DEC says black bears are "thriving" in the state and "represent a great resource for all New Yorkers." No word on how the bears feel about that, but sources within the ursa administration report they'd feel a lot better about it if they were also allowed to have guns.
Oh, deer: The DEC also reported today that more than 230,000 deer were killed by hunters in the state last year.
Earlier on AOA: Don't feed the bears
photo: Flickr user peupleloup
The Earl of Pearl
It all started at State and Pearl...
We're pulling out the AOA soap box each Sunday for people to praise, complain, suggest, joke, or make an observation about things they see going on in the Capital Region.
It's been a long, hard winter, but now that spring is getting a grip on the ice and snow, things are finally looking up. Some people are waiting for the crocuses to peep their heads out, others for the red winged blackbirds to hit town.
Me? I'm looking for a squirrel, known downtown as the Earl of Pearl.
Fox stalking
One of these days I'll get a good photo.
I've become a bit obsessed with staring at my backyard.
It all started when I noticed paw prints in the snow a few months ago. They were about the size of a dog's, but in an area of the yard where Henry, our 50-pound-mutt doesn't go.
Then a few weeks later I saw movement on the top of a brush-laiden hill near the house. I couldn't quite figure out what was moving until I caught a glimpse of its burnt orange fur.
It was a pair of red fox.
Since then I do my work near the window, plan my schedule so I'm home around noon (when the two fox are usually out) and keep my camera by me at all times.
I keep looking out the window wondering if they'll frolic with my dog, a la The Fox and The Hound.
As it turns out, they're no fisher but they're pretty fantastic, those fox. And while they probably won't play with my dog -- they're not likely to hurt him either.
Here are a few quick fox facts...
They dare anger the crows
From an Albany College of Pharmacy email that made its way to us this week:
The College is working with the US Department of Agriculture to address the volume of crows on campus and some of the issues that go along with their presence. Over the next week to ten days the USDA will be on campus, typically in the evening hours, and they will use techniques that include fireworks and "starter pistols."
We apologize for any disruptions and also want to inform you of this so that you are not startled or threatened by the noises.
Communities all over the Capital Region have joined the War on Crows each winter for the last few years. Among the tactics: the aforementioned fireworks and pistols, recorded crow distress calls and... lasers. And yet victory has remained elusive.
The crow is a formidable adversary. Researchers say the birds can use tools, recognize humans and hold grudges (even if you can't figure out what you did to them). The mayor of Amsterdam recently revealed the crows had cracked the city's waste disposal codes. It's only a matter of time before they learn how to use Twitter and Facebook.
The one ray of hope in this conflict: Ellen McNulty-Ryan, the mayor of Green Island, who told the Troy Record last year that her city hasn't had a roost in eight years, thanks to her skill with a pyrotechnic pistol. She may be the last bulwark against the inevitable crow uprising.
Earlier on AOA: A dossier on our crow invaders
photo: Wikimedia Commons user mdf
About our urban weasels...
Today on NYT's "Scientist at Work" blog: NYS Museum curator of mammals Roland Kays, talking about his research on fishers -- Albany's "urban weasels" -- in the Pine Bush:
You can't exactly go out to your backyard and watch fisher behavior. They do their best to avoid people, coming out at night and moving quickly and quietly through the forest. Furthermore, your presence would change their behavior, and also alert the prey they are trying to sneak up on. Over the next few weeks Scott and I will be opening the biologist's toolbox wide to peer into their lives without affecting their behavior. We are deploying small GPS tracking collars to see exactly where the animals go, and tiny three-axis accelerometers to characterize their behavior. We use motion-sensitive camera traps to document their prey populations and monitor key movement corridors. Finally, we follow their tracks in the snow to see for ourselves what they did the night before, what and how they hunt, where they sleep, and with whom. The fieldwork is challenging, but gives us a well-rounded view on how this weasel has adapted to urban forests.
Kays has been pursuing this research for a few years now. We talked with him about fishers two years ago -- it's still one of our favorite AOA interviews.
photo: Roland Kays
Don't feed the bears
Once just a bad idea, feeding bears in New York State is now against the law. From the DEC:
Specifically, the regulation bans intentional feeding of black bears, and, after previous written notice from DEC, also prohibits incidental or indirect feeding of black bears through food attractants such as garbage, refuse or bird seed. The regulation grants DEC the authority to require removal of these and other food attractants when bears become problematic.
The DEC reported last year that bear populations in the state are growing. And every year a few wander into parts of the Capital Region where you wouldn't necessarily expect them (hello, Troy and Delmar).
Feeding the bears -- or any wild animal -- sets up everyone up for problems. As Roland Kays, the curator of mammals at the State Museum, told us a few years back:
The other thing that can drive populations really high is feeding the animals. It's really important that people appreciate the animals and the rare glimpses they get, but not feed them because that causes numerous problems. You know, if you have a coyote that's used to coming into a backyard looking for food, then maybe it goes into your neighbor's backyard and they have a one-year-old kid or a dog or cat and you potentially have a problem. That hasn't been a big problem here, but it has in other regions with coyotes.
So please don't feed the animals. You're causing problems for all your neighbors. And by trying to help the animal, you could end up getting it killed. What happens is that a bear becomes a nuisance and it gets shot. And the person whose fault that was was the person who started feeding it.
And keep an eye on those picnic baskets -- we understand the smarter-than-average bears have a keen interest in them.
photo: Flickr user peupleloup
It's winter. Your dog has pooped. What now?
Now that the winter weather has gotten cranked up, we figured it would be a good time to address an issue that seems plop down around the end of each year: dog poop.
Uh, why are you bringing up dog poop? Good question! As the cold weather sets in each winter and the snow accumulates, we notice that piles of dog poop start gathering along streets in the Capital Region. (It's kind of hard to miss, given that it's a high-contrast item in the snow.) And these forlorn turds then freeze into unfortunate poopsicles -- which are a real treat come spring.
Well, we've thought a lot about this issue. And we finally came to the conclusion that winter somehow impairs the ability of some people to make good decisions about whether they should pick up their dog's poop.
So, we're here to help. We've constructed a flow chart to assist citizens of the Capital Region in their decision-making process on the all important question: "It's winter. My dog has pooped. What now?"
... said Jenna about The quintessential Capital Region food?