Archive for October, 2006

The Endangered Food Chain of the California Current

Troubling evidence that something is not right in the waters off the California coast has been found among seabirds who depend on krill for food.
As reported in Hungry Seabirds on the Farallon Islands from the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Cassin’s Auklets abandoned their nests because of the lack of food during the 2005 and [...]

Clicker Training

Have you heard about “clicker training”?
Clicker training is a fascinating method of training based on positive reinforcement. The difference is the clicker…a little device that makes a sound to mark the correct behavior. First you “charge” the clicker, which teaches the animal that the click means they get a treat. Then you [...]

Memphis Manatee

Manatees are usually found in warm waters of the Carribean sea or Gulf of Mexico, but one has found its way to Memphis, Tennessee, presumably coming up the Mississippi River. This is not unheard of; one was found off the shores of New York City last year. Via Good Magazine.

Get your dog to shake

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could give your dog a bath and then get her to shake before leaving the tub? You probably can!
Try blowing gently on her ear…this triggers a shake reflex in most dogs. You’ll probably get one good shake…in my experience, if you try to do it over and [...]

Jaguars moving across borders

Jaguars have been photographed moving across the Mexico/US border, but researchers aren’t sure if they’re establishing breeding territories in the US yet. The jaguar was once native in the Southwest, but was driven out of the US by development.
The New York Times article Gone for Decades, Jaguars Steal Back to the Southwest has a [...]

Easy Bird Feeder Hangers

Winter is a good time to feed birds, but finding a place to hang bird feeders where they’ll be safe from predators but easy to see can be a challenge. Using flag-holder brackets and a piece of conduit, you can make an easy feeder hanger that will work in a variety of places. [...]

Horse Dentistry

I never realized that horses have their own dentists until my friends over at Spotty Horse News posted this interesting article about a visit from the equine dentist.
If going to the dentist isn’t bad enough, think about holding your 1200-pound pet through the process of getting their own teeth worked on!
Photo by Jessica [...]

When Snakes Shed

As a California King Snake grows, it needs to shed its skin. The time between sheddings depends on how fast the snake is growing.
During the week before they shed, the snakes become cranky and irritable. They don’t like to be handled during this time, and they are more likely to bite than at [...]

The Culture Clash

Many of the things that dogs do and we commonly call “bad behavior” is simply being a dog…this is the culture clash that Jean Donaldson illuminates in this classic book on dog behavior.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your dog is working from an assumption that they’re like miniature human beings. [...]

The Hawk Who Ate Chicken

One of the things I’ve done as a Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO) volunteer is called “telemetry”. The telemetry team studies raptor migration in an attempt to learn what the birds are doing. (I’ve written more about telemetry here.) Red-tailed hawks in particular are a interesting because some of them stay in our [...]