Possums are the latest species of wildlife to torment New Yorkers and are reportedly responsible for “destroying Brooklynites’ gardens, threatening small dogs and terrifying teenage girls.”
There’s been a lot of nonhuman activity in the city lately and the good ship Gothamist has been all over it. The latest: a dolphin in Brooklyn, a coyote in Manhattan, and a seal in Staten Island. Sadly, when marine animals start swimming in our waterways it’s usually cause their sick and the high pollution they encounter doesn’t help them any. But good news for the coyote, the NYPD gave chase and it escaped!
Photo: Ann Fraioli/Gothamist
And so the movement begins. All across the internet, people are calling on Sea World to free Tilikum, the killer whale involved in this week’s tragic death of a trainer in Orlando, who was dragged into the water by her ponytail. From PETA and Facebook to Twitter and op-eds on CNN, there’s a growing consensus that the male orca, kidnapped when he was only 2-years-old, should be released back into the wild, a move some say would guarantee his death since he’s been in captivity for so long. Read more »
NYC’s Department of Health says a rabid raccoon was captured and euthanized in Brooklyn. According to officials, this is the first time a raccoon has ever been infected by the deadly virus in the borough. But don’t panic, yet, as the Post reports, the agency “is planning to enhance its raccoon surveillance” to determine if this is an isolated incident or if there’s populations of rabid Cujo-like creatures ready to start attacking. |NYP|
The NYC man whose been caring for approximately 75 wild chickens in the Bronx says he can’t afford the $180 a month he spends on cracked corn to feed them and wants to find a shelter for them, but it’s not looking good. A national farm rescue group said they’re “inundated” with live poultry at the moment and the birds will have to be tested for diseases before anyone considers taking them. |1010Wins|
Things are rough right now in Kenya for the lions and hyenas thanks to an unprecedented drought and to help quell their hunger, wildlife officials have rounded up a bunch of zebras for them to feast upon.
With hawks swooping on the Lower East Side and coyotes running around the streets of Harlem, it was inevitable that a flock of wild chickens in the Highbridge section of the Bronx would get their 15 minutes: literally! The Daily News profiled the urban fowl and now that word’s out, their demise by way of animal control or hungry people is inevitable. |NYDN|
Photo: Sabo/News
In addition to a recent sighting in Central Park, coyotes have also been spotted roaming the streets of Manhattan, in front of Columbia University in particular. Three of the animals were reportedly seen on campus according to the Columbia Spectator and responding NYPD units confirmed the existence of at least one of the dog-like beasts. Read more »
Upstaging even Borat’s fowl antics aboard NYC transit, a strange video of a man playing with a chicken on the floor of an uptown 6 surfaced. |Gothamist|
Here’s some news that should piss of creationists: researchers now believe that animals may have migrated to the isolated island of Madagascar by way of “natural rafts.” |DNAIndia|
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