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| APLNJ pic |
With their springtime departure from dens, NJ’s black bears have opened
2018’s “bear season” – this one, we pray, with no bear hunt! It’s wonderful
to contemplate a year when the moms, cubs
and males out there may live to hibernate again in the fall.
out in a state of “walking hibernation.” Their lethargy gradually lessens as habitats
start greening up and new grass, herbs and leaves become available. Only in June will they seriously start
fattening up for winter, as well as seeking to mate.
potential death sentence besides being logged (however inaccurately) as a bear
nuisance complaint. That in turn feeds
DFW’s “records” justifying the division’s bear “management” plans (think “hunt”).
visits for those wanting to know how to bear-proof their surroundings.
Above all, do not feed bears! That can happen
inadvertently, by leaving bird feeders outside, feeding pets outdoors, failing
to securely fasten garbage cans. In most
cases, just enjoy the moment of a bear sighting; black bears are shy and
retiring creatures, one source stresses, and “they will generally turn and
amble away when approached.” Otherwise, use
aversive conditioning techniques – like waving arms, shouting, using noise-makers.
Center for Health Statistics, for every person killed by a black bear in North
America, 60 are killed by domestic dogs, 180 by bees, and 350 by lightning.” Lately in New Jersey, bears have had much more
to fear from people than the opposite.
Brigantine seem to be disappearing: they’re being killed by NJ’s Division of Fish
and Wildlife (DFW) to help protect endangered shorebirds like the piping plover
and red knot.
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| DFW pic |
For the last four years, DFW has contracted with the
US Fish and Wildlife Service to “handle population control” by trapping and euthanizing
foxes “by a gun” – what the press officer described as “humane control.” Before
that, DFW did the same thing on its own — as well as sometimes trapping foxes
on municipal beaches with local officials’ OK.
protect the birds and kill the foxes? Can
a person or a state or federal agency do so unilaterally? Was there public notification when it started?
(That people reportedly wondered what’s
been happening to the foxes suggests not.) Finally, with DFW’s disclosure of what it’s
been up to, what, if anything, will happen now?
say what?
After all, we looked at pangolins months ago, so today it’s armadillos
– giant ones, at that. Until a recent Dodo story, I hadn’t given a thought to them
since Rango, a movie that featured one,
among other zany characters.
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| Giant Armadillo |
Native to South America, these big guys can weigh up
to 180 pounds and head to tail, occupy nearly five feet. Their name means “little armoured one” in
Spanish and together with their size and elusiveness, they’re definitely not cuddly
pets.
(“pink fairy armadillo”) to giant, with a wild looking “screaming hairy
armadillo” somewhere there. Great
diggers with sharp claws and characterized by long noses, armadillos are
related to sloths and anteaters. No
surprise there.
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