'Do not feed the wildlife' signs installed in Griffith Park following coyote attacks and subsequent coyote cull

When wildlife officials responded to two incidents of coyote-on-human violence at Griffith Park by killing eight of the park's coyotes in September, many Angelenos were outraged. 

Adding insult to injury was the acknowledgment by officials that they had no way of knowing whether any of the coyotes killed in the name of public safety had actually been behind the attacks -- one in August and one in September -- because, in both incidents, too much time had elapsed between the time of the bite and the time it was reported for DNA evidence to be collected from the victim. (Such DNA evidence could potentially have identified the coyote attacker or attackers while letting innocent animals off the hook.)

Many who opposed killing the coyotes argued that not enough had been done to prevent the attacks in the first place.  Since Griffith Park's coyote population lives in close proximity to humans, many of the animals don't have the healthy fear of people that their less-urban cousins do.  Worse, regular visitors to the park said, well-meaning but ill-advised people regularly feed the coyotes, despite the fact that doing so is punishable by jail time and a fine of up to $1,000.

Palin protest: San Francisco bookseller will donate profits from 'Going Rogue' to Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue," may have struck a chord with the former Alaska governor's many fans, but there don't seem to be many wildlife advocates among that group.  (We'd imagine Palin doesn't have too many fans among the vegan community, either, owing to her comments in the book that "If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?")

Shortly after the book's release, independent bookstore owner Don Muller (himself an Alaska resident, but decidedly opposed to Palin's often controversial positions on that state's wildlife management) decided that he'd donate the profits from "Going Rogue" sales to the group Defenders of Wildlife, which has gone head-to-head with Palin in the past.  (By using Palin's book sales as a way to support the group, Muller said, he was able to "carry the book and do something positive.")  Now, Ecorazzi reports, Muller's not the only one.

6,000 wild camels slated for death in Australia after animals run roughshod over Northern Territory town

Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies.

The Northern Territory government announced its plan Wednesday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving daily for weeks because of drought conditions in the region.

"The community of Docker River is under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels," local government minister Rob Knight said in Alice Springs, 310 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of Docker. "This is a very critical situation out there, it's very unusual and it needs urgent action."

The camels, which are not native to Australia but were introduced in the 1840s, have smashed water tanks, approached houses to try to take water from air conditioning units, and knocked down fencing at the small airport runway, Knight said.

District Court judge: Yellowstone's grizzly bears must stay on endangered species list

Billings, Mont. — A judge says the government must keep Yellowstone-area grizzly bears on the list of threatened and endangered species, denying an attempt by federal officials to reverse an earlier court ruling.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service two years ago said grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park had recovered from near-extermination and no longer needed protections under the Endangered Species Act.

But in September, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said climate change and lax regulations threatened to undermine the bears' recovery. After Molloy ordered the animals back onto the threatened list, government attorneys asked that he reconsider, saying the bear would thrive without sweeping federal protections.

In an order Tuesday, Molloy rejected the government's argument and confirmed his earlier ruling.

-- Associated Press

Photo: A family of grizzly bears in the Cougar Flats area of Yellowstone National Park. Photo credit: Steve Ard / Associated Press

How do you solve a problem like burgeoning bison? Birth control

For Catalina's storied bison herd, a smaller population means more food and better health for all. Toward that end, the Catalina Island Conservancy has a new tactic for keeping the bison birth rate low: birth control.  (Even animal-rights group In Defense of Animals supports the idea, donating $50,000 toward the program.)  Our colleague Louis Sahagun has the story; here's an excerpt:

Half a dozen men with walkie-talkies and cattle prods set out on foot at sunrise Thursday to coax a herd of 10 feral bison into a corral a mile away at the bottom of a Santa Catalina Island valley.

It wasn't easy. In the final days of the mating season, a massive bull kept one beady eye on his cows, all of them pregnant, and the other on his human pursuers, who followed close behind shouting and waving their arms as the animals lumbered up steep slopes and into plunging ravines.

It was one of several herding operations that will culminate today with the inoculation of female bison older than 2 years, part of an experimental program designed to limit the population through contraception. The goal: reduce herd size -- which increases by 15% or more each calving season -- to a manageable, healthier, less environmentally damaging and constant 150 or so.

The vaccine is non-hormonal and will not harm the animals or change their social structures, said Carlos de la Rosa, the conservancy's chief conservation and education officer. It is also reversible after about a year.

"Bison will continue to be bison," De la Rosa said. "Males will continue to compete for females, and females will continue to go into heat. The only difference is that we can control how many calves they have.  

"For bison in love," he added with a laugh, "this means romance without responsibilities."

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: Biologist Carlos de la Rosa holds a test dart that will be used to inject the contraceptive vaccine Porcine Zona Pellucida into female bison. Photo credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Alaska bookseller will donate profits from Sarah Palin's book, 'Going Rogue,' to Defenders of Wildlife

Now, this is mavericky.

An independent bookseller in Sarah Palin's home state is donating the proceeds he makes off her book to a group that is among the biggest critics of the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

Don Muller owns Old Harbor Books in Sitka. He's selling Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue," for $28.99, and says he will donate profits to Defenders of Wildlife.

The wildlife conservation group often butted heads with Palin over her support of the state's predator control program, in which bears and wolves are shot from aircraft.

Muller says he's not a fan of Palin. He tells the Daily Sitka Sentinel that donating proceeds to Defenders of Wildlife is a way to "carry the book and do something positive."

-- Associated Press

Photo: Palin listens as John McCain addresses supporters during his election-night rally Nov. 4, 2008.  Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

Citing harassment of wildlife, Wyoming officials consider a ban on 'antler hunting'

Wildlife officials in Wyoming are considering implementing a ban on the practice of "antler hunting" from January to April. Antler hunting doesn't involve killing wildlife; instead, "hunters" just gather the antlers the animals shed naturally. Even so, officials say the practice can amount to harassment of wildlife and be detrimental to the animals' welfare. Our colleague DeeDee Correll has the story; here's an excerpt:

As a boy, Terry Reach used to traipse the land around his Pinedale, Wyo., home, searching for antlers shed by deer and elk.

It was a solitary pastime; he never saw anyone else, and he always found plenty of antlers, which he'd drag home and pile in the yard.

But now, each winter, western Wyoming is thick with people intent on snatching up as many antlers as they can find. They follow the bucks, waiting for them to shed their impressive headgear. Sometimes people chase the animals in all-terrain vehicles or on snowmobiles, believing the exertion will force them to drop their antlers.

"They run the wildlife off," said Reach, 53.

Such tactics, say Wyoming officials, can be destructive for deer and elk struggling to survive the lean winter months. Already starving, they can use up their reserves pushing through deep snow to avoid humans.

Now Wyoming is considering a ban on the popular activity from January through April, the months when the herds are most vulnerable.

THERE'S MORE; READ THE REST.

Photo: A chandelier made from antlers in Cheyenne, Wyo.  Credit: Mead Gruver / Associated Press

Injured sea lion seen near Sacramento River on Wednesday is still missing

A sea lion with an eye injury has been eluding rescuers since it was sighted near the Sacramento River on Wednesday. Rescuers haven't seen the animal since, says an article from the Sacramento Bee.

The sea lion was sighted on a dock near Old Sacramento's Tower Bridge, but slipped into the river after volunteers gauged that the dock was too small to safely net the animal.

Based on photographs that observers took, Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, guessed that the injured sea lion is a male weighing between 350 and 500 pounds.

Oswald and other volunteers traveled to Sacramento on Wednesday hoping to help the marine animal, which appeared to be injured near its right eye. According to the article, the Marine Mammal Center's volunteers have helped many sea lions during 1,500 marine animal rescues this year.

Despite the sea lion’s disappearance, Oswald remains optimistic about the animal's wounds.

Your morning adorable: Deer uses the pet door

We've heard of wildlife -- raccoons, mostly -- entering private homes using pet doors intended for dogs or cats.  (Clearly, these are homes equipped with plain old pet doors rather than the considerably more high-tech Plexidor Pet Door.)  But a deer using a pet door?  Now that's a new one.

We're not sure what impresses us the most about this talented fawn: Its chutzpah or its flexibility! 

-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: Pettubedotcom via YouTube

West Africa's last giraffes make surprise comeback

Koure, Niger — A crisp African dawn is breaking overhead, and Zibo Mounkaila is on the back of a pickup truck bounding across a sparse landscape of rocky orange soil.

The tallest animals on earth are here, the guide says, somewhere amid the scant green bush on one side, and the thatched dome villages on the other.

They're here, but by all accounts, they shouldn't be.

A hundred years ago, West Africa's last giraffes numbered in the thousands and their habitat stretched from Senegal's Atlantic Ocean coast to Chad, in the heart of the continent. By the dawn of the 21st century, their world had shrunk to a tiny zone southeast of the capital, Niamey, stretching barely 150 miles (240 kilometers) long.

The numbers of the Western subspecies dwindled so low that in 1996, they numbered a mere 50.

Instead of disappearing as many feared, though, the giraffes have bounced miraculously back from the brink of extinction, swelling to more than 200 today.

It's an unlikely boon experts credit to a combination of concerned conservationists, a government keen for revenue, and a rare harmony with villagers who have accepted their presence - for now.