Video Stardom Doesn’t Mean More Bears

dumpster bearIt may seem like there are more bears in Colorado because there seem to be more bear conflicts. Especially this week, when a video of a dumpster-pushing black bear seems to be all over the Internet.

But no, says an article in the Denver Post. The bear population in Colorado has remained steady. It’s technology and the ability to share the misdeeds of bears that has increased, the article says.

The article quotes Randy Hampton, spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, as saying that the recent spate of bear sightings in Colorado is due to a lack of seasonal crops and other reasons. Rain will allow berries to ripen, and provide wild food for bears, the article says.

The article goes on to list the various human-bear encounters that have occurred in Colorado recently.

Read the Denver Post article here.
Visit Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Living With Bear web page here.

Photo: Not “the” dumpster bear, but a bear and a dumpster. Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Be Bear Aware in May

The California Department of Fish and Game sent out a press release reminding people to act responsibly in bear country, and offered tips for bear-proofing a camp site. The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife is offering a free DVD of an hour-long documentary entitled “Living with New Jersey Black Bears.” Another press release was issued by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

May is “Be Bear Aware” Month. Other activities include Bear Awareness Week at the Detroit Zoo, which features polar bears and seems to be a little outside of the original theme for the month, which has a focus on safety.

The bear-themed month appears to be the brainchild of the Center for Wildlife Information. There was even a Congressional declaration about four years ago, proclaiming May as bear awareness month.

The state of Alaska declared its bear awareness week to be in April.

California Department of Fish and Game press release.
New Jersey Division of Fish & Game free bear DVD announcement.
Center for Wildlife Information’s Be Bear Aware info.
Detroit Daily Tribune story on the Detroit Zoo’s bear awareness week.
Connecticut DEEP press release.

Photo: Black bear, courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Game.

The State of the Turtle


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At the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, outreach coordinator Marion Larson was tipped off to Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation’s (PARC) Year of the Turtle by state turtle biologist Lori Erb, who is an active PARC member.

Larson thought the timing was excellent for a Year of the Turtle. The previous year, the state had teamed with the University of Massachusetts in a program to identify and monitor highway crossing sites that were difficult for turtles. The biologists wanted to provide more training, and to round up more volunteers.
In fact, says Larson, the state turtle biologists had plenty of fantastic information on the state’s turtles, and lots of already-scheduled events featuring turtles. The Year of the Turtle was a vehicle, Larson says, “for taking all the disparate pieces and putting them together into something bigger and more over-arching.”
In Connecticut, the Year of the Turtle also provided inspiration and a deadline for outreach biologist Kathy Herz. “I think it has been a really great effort for us. It’s nice to focus on a small animal that is often overlooked in favor of bigger animals like turkey and deer,” Herz says.
In Connecticut, the Year of the Turtle has meant a monthly press release on a different aspect of turtle conservation, a Year of the Turtle Web site, fact sheets on 12 Connecticut turtle species (including sea turtles), an children’s art contest, and an events calendar.
Both Herz and Larson say that the Year of the Turtle has been a success, with plenty of media interest, and other benefits as well. In Massachusetts, for example, 100 additional volunteers signed up for the turtle road-crossing monitoring project.
Herz is sold on the idea of turning the spotlight on an under-appreciated species or group of species. It focuses the public’s and the media’s attention on overlooked conservation issues, and inspires her to check projects off her to-do list that might otherwise be overwhelmed by more urgent issues or more popular creatures. She says, “I’m hoping we will do another species next year.”
Arizona was one of the first states to support the Year of the Turtle program. Find its turtle page here.
Finally, back at the mothership, PARC featured state efforts in its August newsletter. Find that article in a PDF here.
Tomorrow, in honor of the year of the turtle, we’ll take a look at several turtle research projects.
Photo: Red-bellied cooter and painted turtle. The red-bellied cooter (the larger turtle in the picture) is the focus of an annual event in Massachusetts that was included in the state’s Year of the Turtle festivities. Photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service.

2011: Year of the Turtle

You may think that 2011 is the year of the rabbit. And in the Chinese zodiac, it is. But 2011 is also the year of the turtle, as designated by Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC). The goal is to spread the word about the worldwide risk to turtle species. According to PARC information, 40 percent of turtle species worldwide are threatened with extinction.

The Year of the Turtle program provides participants with a cool logo; a monthly newsletter with education materials, a calendar, photos, and interviews with turtle experts; a national site for turtle-related events; links to a wealth of information; and, most recently, a t-shirt available for purchase.
Fifty partners have joined with PARC to support the Year of the Turtle. Many of these partner organizations are reptile societies and conservation organizations of various stripes, but four states have also joined in: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, and Arizona.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at how two of those states, Connecticut and Massachusetts, have woven the Year of the Turtle into their education and citizen science programs.

Illustration: PARC’s Year of the Turtle logo

Ct. Lion Came from Midwest

As reported in the New York Times yesterday, DNA from the mountain lion struck by an SUV in Connecticut last month matched the general profile of mountain lions from South Dakota and more specifically, DNA collected from fur, blood and scat collected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A necropsy did not find the usual signs of a captive animal, such as an implanted microchip or clipped claws.

Read the whole story in the New York Times, here.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection press release also notes that the animal spotted in Greenwich appears to be the same animal that was killed in Milford. Read the release here. 

And yes, you read that correctly: Connecticut combined its departments of energy regulation and environmental protection on July 1. Read that press release here.

Photo: Ironically, this is the same photo that illustrated the news that the US Fish and Wildlife Service had declared the Eastern mountain lion extinct. Clearly, it is not the Connecticut mountain lion.

Ct. Lion Came from Midwest

As reported in the New York Times yesterday, DNA from the mountain lion struck by an SUV in Connecticut last month matched the general profile of mountain lions from South Dakota and more specifically, DNA collected from fur, blood and scat collected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A necropsy did not find the usual signs of a captive animal, such as an implanted microchip or clipped claws.

Read the whole story in the New York Times, here.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection press release also notes that the animal spotted in Greenwich appears to be the same animal that was killed in Milford. Read the release here. 

And yes, you read that correctly: Connecticut combined its departments of energy regulation and environmental protection on July 1. Read that press release here.

Photo: Ironically, this is the same photo that illustrated the news that the US Fish and Wildlife Service had declared the Eastern mountain lion extinct. Clearly, it is not the Connecticut mountain lion.

Animals on the Move

Feral swine are moving into southern New York State, from scattered toe-holds in the northern part of the state. (Hopewell Evening Tribune)

Armadillos are heading north, perhaps because milder winters let them survive in unexpected places.(The Daily Climate)

Bears are returning to previously-burned regions of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish warns returning home-owners in bear-prone areas to throw away spoiled food at the landfill. This is probably a good idea for residents returning to flooded areas in other states as well.

While there have been plenty of black bear sightings in urban and suburban areas all over the country, bears are causing more than the usual ruckus in densely populated New Jersey. (Newark Star-Ledger) See this article (Nyack Patch) and these articles also.

And in Greenwich, Connecticut, people are still seeing mountain lions. (Hartford Courant) (See last week’s post.)

Photo: John and Karen Hollingsworth, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service

Rock snot found in Connecticut

Photo: Conn. DEP

Didymosphenia geminata, an invasive alga known as “didymo,” or rock snot, was found in the West Branch of the Farmington River in Connecticut on March 18. Several anglers reported the didymo sighting to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. A lab in Vermont confirmed that the alga is didymo, and the department announced the finding on March 29.


Didymo was found in several states in the northeastern U.S. in the summer of 2007, including New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This is the first time it has been found in Connecticut.


Didymo is considered an invasive species because it can grow in dense mats that carpet the stream bottom. It’s not clear where didymo originated. It’s been known in streams in northern Europe and northern North America for some time. It was first found in the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, in 2004. Researchers suspect it is being transported from place to place through recreational activities like fishing (on waders), and kayaking.


For more on the Connecticut situation, including prevention strategies and background on the algae, read the article in The Hartford Courant, or the Connecticut DEP press release.

Rock snot found in Connecticut

Photo: Conn. DEP

Didymosphenia geminata, an invasive alga known as “didymo,” or rock snot, was found in the West Branch of the Farmington River in Connecticut on March 18. Several anglers reported the didymo sighting to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. A lab in Vermont confirmed that the alga is didymo, and the department announced the finding on March 29.


Didymo was found in several states in the northeastern U.S. in the summer of 2007, including New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This is the first time it has been found in Connecticut.


Didymo is considered an invasive species because it can grow in dense mats that carpet the stream bottom. It’s not clear where didymo originated. It’s been known in streams in northern Europe and northern North America for some time. It was first found in the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand, in 2004. Researchers suspect it is being transported from place to place through recreational activities like fishing (on waders), and kayaking.


For more on the Connecticut situation, including prevention strategies and background on the algae, read the article in The Hartford Courant, or the Connecticut DEP press release.

Isolated populations further endanger NE cottontail

Photo: US Fish & Wildlife

Genetic analysis of the remaining New England cottontail populations show that five population clusters of rabbits are not mingling, which makes the survival of some of the populations even less likely than was already thought.

The University of New Hampshire based team of researchers found that New England cottontail rabbits in southern Maine, and central and southeastern New Hampshire formed one population cluster; Cape Cod, Massachusetts was home to another cluster; parts of eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island were home to a third cluster; and western Connecticut, southeastern New York and southwestern Massachusetts had a fourth cluster. One isolated population in eastern Connecticut was home to the fifth cluster, which was genetically isolated, even from the two other population clusters nearby.

The researchers say that immediate conservation efforts should focus on shoring up New England cottontail populations in Maine, New Hampshire, and on Cape Cod. Eventually, they say, the connectivity between the populations needs to be restored.

The New England cottontail is not a federally endangered species. It was found “warranted by precluded,” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Translated into English, that means they found that it probably deserves protection, but they just don’t have the resources to do it.

Read the article in the journal Conservation Genetics, here.

For more on the New England cottontail, and why it looks just like an eastern cottontail, but isn’t one, read more in the Outside Story nature column.