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The other day I found the tail and one leg of a gray squirrel in my backyard in Black Rock.  What could have done this ? !  I put the word out in my neighborhood thinking it was most likely done by a coyote which have been seen once and awhile.  Black Rockers responded to tell me of hearing and seeing fishers in their yards.  I do think that a fisher was most likely the culprit.

These creatures are sometimes referred to as “fisher cats” even though they seldom eat fish, and are not cats – they are actually weasels. Fishers are one of the largest members of the Mustelid family, which includes species like the mink, weasel, otter and skunk. The name may have been derived from “fitch,” the European polecat, a species familiar to early settlers who may have mistaken the fisher for the polecat. Continue reading →

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Everyone loves the circus, right ? Not any more.  Since the late 1990s protests against circuses and their use of wild animals for entertainment have gained momentum. Protesters talk about actual physical abuse of the animals and also protest the very concept of restraining and training wild animals for the sole purpose of entertaining us. Performing animals should have long since gone the way of the circus freak show! The animal most focused upon are the Asian elephants, the symbol of the cirucus.

Every fall the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to Bridgeport  at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The CT Post, Bridgeport’s hometown newspaper, came out with an editorial against the circus. And every year protesters will be at the Arena. Details are published here every October.

If you were to strike your dog with a bullhook, or keep it chained by a front and back leg, you would be charged with animal abuse. Elephants in traveling shows endure lives of intense confinement, regular beatings with bullhooks, and the inability to satisfy physical and social needs. Continue reading →

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Controlling and Destroying Those Bloodsuckers

I hate mosquitoes!  They seem to be everywhere this summer! What in the world are mosquitoes good for anyway?

Mosquitoes are eaten by lots of other animals.  Mosquitoes really contol human populations by killing 3 million people a year, making them the most dangerous animal in the world. And they provide lots of jobs for lots of people!

There are 49 different species of mosquitoes found in Connecticut !  We all know they are very annoying and the itching and scratching can cause welts and bleeding, but they can cause various illnesses found in the US including West Nile Virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and Jamestown Canyon Virus. The State of Connecticut monitors mosquitoes for diseases. So far this year’s testing of 60,000 skeeters in 70 towns has found West Nile carrying mosquitoes in 2 towns, but the summer is young.  In past years West Nile virus mosquitoes have been found in over 20 Connecticut towns, so no town is immune.

I am tired of getting bitten this summer. I can’t even enjoy my yard. So what can we do to control and destroy those bloodsuckers? What really works ?

Controlling the Skeeters

One of the best ways to stop mosquitoes from biting is to understand a little about their biology and behavior.  I was surprised to learn mosquitoes don’t need your blood for food. They get their food from flower nectar.  But the female needs  your blood for protein that her eggs need for development, so it’s only the females that bite.

She doesn’t bite exactly she saws into your skin and she siphons off your blood.  Both males and females  make a buzzing sound caused by the beating of their wings.  But you don’t often hear the male  because he is not coming around you to bite.   Continue reading →

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Baby grey squirrel

Each year in spring and early summer, people find baby birds or mammals in their backyard or in a local park. The babies are often cute, helpless, and seem friendly.  People usually think the animal needs their help and want to bring it in.  These well meaning individuals usually assume the babies are orphans.

Don’t kidnap baby animals! If you see a baby, don’t just assume it’s an orphan. If you find a quietly resting baby that appears healthy, it’s best to leave it alone. Many of the baby animals brought to nature centers and wildlife rehabilitators didn’t need to be “rescued”. I have worked at various nature centers, and I cannot tell you how often people show up with a baby animal in a cardboard box.  My adivce the them is always “Don’t kidnap that baby. Take it back where you found it.”  Continue reading →

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I was going to write all about April being National Frog Month, but now that Earth Day is upon us I changed my plan. I can’t believe it is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.    Here is a link to a good video overview of how it all started  and how far we have (or have not) come since 1971.   And tonight April 19th on PBS American Experience there is an excellent documentary entitled “Earth Days” about the history of the environmental movement. I’ll be sure to check that out.

Here below is my list of easy things you can do to help the environment. None of those far-fetched impossible things you know you would never do. I mean are you really going to ride the bus or put a clothes line in your yard, car pool or not eat a barbecued steak ? ! Let’s be practical. These ideas below are quick and easy. Most are self-explanatory, but I’ve given a short explanation for others.

I do most of them.  How many do you do?  I hope I give you some ideas of ones you never thought of too.

At The Store

Use biodegradable and environmentally friendly cleaning products. I see more every day in the store.  I particularly like the Recycled Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil.

Choose items that come in less packaging. Continue reading →

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Who knew that by wearing condoms you could protect the world !

The Center for Biological Diversity believes that the major reason that dozens of animals, birds, and plants face extinction is the vast overpopulation of the human race. The Center points out that humans are destroying habitat and creating greenhouse gases that are drastically changing our climate to the detriment of many endangered species.

To raise awareness of the human overpopulation problem, the Center has started the Endangered Species Condom Project. To help people understand the impact of overpopulation on other species, and to give them a chance to take action in their own life, 3,000 Center volunteers are distributing 100,000 free packets of Endangered Species Condoms. Continue reading →

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Quick before the Vancouver Winter Olympics are over, I wanted to write this blog…

In 2008, Beijing tried very hard to make the Summer Olympics as environmentally-friendly as possible. Now the Vancouver Winter Olympics are being compared to those efforts. And in terms of sustainability and  greenness, Vancouver is pretty impressive. For a good overview of all the Vancouver green initiatives, click here for all the details on the Olympics web site.

The Vancouver Olympics are the first to incorporate sustainability into their mission statement and fully embed sustainability into their operations, everything from green transortation, to buildings and green sponsors. The Vancouver Olympics organizers have used energy-efficient technology, clean energy and carbon offsets. And it all started very green on day one when  Wayne Gretsky clutched a recyclable torch as he rode in a hybrid pickup en route to ignite the natural gas Olympic flame.

The Olympic Village buildings were all LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects adhere to a strict set of building standards to improve energy efficiency and sustainability) and will be turned into mixed-use mixed-income housing. The buildings were also fitted with solar panels and “green-roofs” that will use a rainwater collection system to become self-sustaining. Many buildings used local wood from trees that were destroyed by storms. The Richmond Oval, where the speed skating took take place, was constructed using wood from trees that had been destroyed by a beetle infestation.  Continue reading →

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Windmills are a wonderful clean safe source of green energy… right? Not everyone thinks so, especially some environmentalists and biologists. The spinning blades of wind mills can be fatal to flying birds and also can act as giant scarecrows discouraging birds from nesting in an area.

Birds, of course, collide with all sorts of human structures. Cars kill millions of birds each year in the US. Almost a billion collide with tall building and windows. Birds are killed by utility lines and lighted towers. Then of course there are the bird deaths due to non-collision causes such as pesticides. habitat loss, toxic emissions from power plants and being killed by domestic cats. So the bottom line is nothing is totally safe for birds, Continue reading →