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Source: Scientific American A new preprint field study reveals that New York City’s rats are not only resilient survivors but also highly social animals with a hidden nightlife. Using wireless ultrasonic recorders and thermal cameras at parks, sidewalks, and subway platforms, researchers tracked their movements and vocalizations, uncovering a complex “language” inaudible to humans. Surprisingly, rats adjusted […]

Source: Dispatch Ohio’s deer herd is facing two major disease threats: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). EHD, a viral illness spread by tiny biting midges, causes fever, facial swelling, disorientation, and respiratory distress, often killing deer within days. Outbreaks typically subside with the arrival of cold weather, which kills the insects that transmit it. […]

Source: The Conversation Brain worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) is a parasitic nematode that infects white-tailed deer without symptoms but devastates moose, elk, and other ungulates. Once in the nervous system, it causes neurological disorders such as circling, paralysis, and disorientation, often leading to death. Detecting infection in live animals is difficult, since only deer shed larvae in […]

Source: The Ithaca Voice Cornell University has proposed building a new Wildlife Rehabilitation Aviary next to the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital on Hungerford Hill Road in Ithaca. The 6,816-square-foot facility would focus on rehabilitating eagles, raptors, and other large birds, preparing them for release back into the wild. Plans include five individual mews, a shared flight area, stormwater management […]

Source: Newsweek Fourteen employees at Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, Montana, fell ill after being exposed to methamphetamine-laced smoke when FBI agents incinerated two pounds of drugs in the facility’s crematorium. The incinerator, located in a shared building with animal control, experienced a negative pressure issue that pushed fumes into the shelter, forcing a full evacuation […]

Source: AP News Ghost, a giant Pacific octopus at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, is nearing the end of her natural life cycle and has received an outpouring of affection from visitors and social media fans. After laying unfertilized eggs that will never hatch, Ghost has entered senescence, a final stage in […]

Source: Island News Hawaii Police Department K9 Archer, a six-and-a-half-year-old narcotics detection dog, tragically died after being left in a police vehicle for an “unacceptable” amount of time while his handler was on duty at the station. Interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna called the incident a “preventable mistake,” emphasizing that canines depend on their handlers for care. […]

Source: DVM 360 The Healthy Trade Initiative (HTI), in partnership with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM), has launched the Herp Adoption Program, a national initiative providing humane surrender options for reptiles and amphibians. With reptile ownership present in about 6 million U.S. households, the program addresses a growing need for responsible rehoming and prevention […]

Source: NBC News The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported six rabies-related deaths in the U.S. over the past year—the highest in years—amid a rise in outbreaks among wild animals such as bats, foxes, skunks, and raccoons. At least 15 likely outbreaks are being tracked across states including New York, Arizona, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and […]

Source: National Geographic Each summer in Vestmannaeyjabær, Iceland—a town neighboring the world’s largest puffin colony—the annual ritual of rescuing misguided puffin chicks, known as pufflings, unfolds. At night, these six-week-old fledglings emerge from dark cliffside burrows and, confused by the town’s bright lights, stray into streets and rooftops rather than heading toward the sea. Locals, sometimes […]