In the News

Authors

Joe N. Caudell, Purdue University

Date of this Version

Spring 2010

Document Type

Article

Citation

Human–Wildlife Interactions (Spring 2010) 4(1): article 2

doi: 10.26077/gtxb-na83

Comments

United States government work. Public domain

Abstract

Coyotes kill hiker in Nova Scotia. ABC News reported that two coyotes attacked and killed a lone female hiker on the popular Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in October 2009. The animals must have been very habituated to people, probably because they were used to being fed by hikers, said wildlife biologist Robert Crabtree.

Out of bounds. In October, the Columbus Dispatch reported that a child playing football near his home in Ohio was attacked by a deer. The football rolled into the adjacent wood, and the young boy followed the ball, encountered a buck, and was flipped and gouged by the animal.

Utah looks to wildlife crossings to help reduce deer fatalities. Utah transportation and wildlife officials are working together to include more wildlife crossings in future highway construction plans, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Officials have identified numerous hotspots on Utah highways for installing wildlife crossings as funds become available. Deer-vehicle collision news around the country. About 220 people nationwide are killed annually by encounters with wildlife, including collisions with vehicles, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Deer-aircraft collisions have airports scrambling. At the Hazleton Municipal Airport, according to the Standard Speaker (Pennsylvania), deer can be a problem for landing aircraft. One airline owner reported 4 separate strikes to his planes during landings recently.

Military applies nonlethal solution to deer on runway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) in Elwood, Kansas, planned to enhance a 1,000-acre area south of Elwood for deer and waterfowl, according to the New Press and St. Joe Now. But the wildlife area would have caused problems for the nearby Air National Guard (ANG) Base and the airport for the city of St. Joseph. The COE was able to revise its plan to include trees and grasses that are less attractive to waterfowl.

Florida mobilizes to halt python invasion. The Nature Conservancy reported that thousands of Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) have infested Everglades National Park, Florida. To meet the challenge, over 60 individuals, including postal carriers, police, meter readers, and delivery drivers, in Key West, Florida, have been trained to spot Burmese pythons on their routes and handle them properly for capture. The local sheriff ’s office has set up a python hotline.

Invasive species bill loved by some, not others. H.R. 669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, was introduced on January 26, 2009, in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Greenville News reported. The proposed law would make it illegal to buy, sell, and breed most exotic animals for pets.