Colorado: Police rescue bear which broke into car, locked himself in, then honked horn for help

COLORADO -- Boulder County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook April 17 at 5:56am ·

Our deputies responded to a vehicle trespass with an....usual suspect. A bear broke into a car and locked himself in.

Car 0. Bear 1.

They were able to open the car door and safely let the bear out without anyone, including the bear, being harmed.

This is a good reminder that wildlife is out and about this time of year looking for food. Here are tips for living with bears. Trust us, you don’t want to have to deal with a “hangry” bear.

1) Don’t feed birds while bears are active. Attract birds with water feeders, plantings and nest boxes instead.
2) Store garbage in bear-resistant containers, enclosures or buildings.
3) Put trash out the morning of pick up, not the night before.
4) Keep bear-accessible windows and doors closed and locked at night.
5) Keep garage doors closed. Lock the door between the house and the garage.
6) Don’t leave anything inside your vehicle that could attract a bear. That includes sun tan lotion, hand crème and air fresheners, along with empty food wrappers and packaging.
7) Don’t leave pet food or empty pet food dishes outside. Store pet food in a secure enclosure.
8)Put chickens and small livestock in a secure pen at night or electric fence their enclosure.
9) Pick fruit and produce as soon as, or just before, it ripens.
10) Unwelcome mats and electric fencing are proven ways to keep bears out.

Florida: Man sues woman claiming her Bobcat attacked him; wildlife officer shows up and finds just a regular housecat

FLORIDA -- Christine Lee wants the world to know she does not own a bobcat.

She spent much of Thursday fending off phone calls from friends and news reporters who had learned of a lawsuit alleging she does.

The civil complaint claims a bobcat attacked a contractor who entered her home on the 18th floor of the Skypoint Condominiums in downtown Tampa.

That man, Marcos Hernandez, is suing Lee and the Skypoint Condominium Association for unspecified damages he says he suffered as a result of a creature clawing his arms, according to court and police records.

But the feline in question is not a bobcat, Lee demonstrated Thursday. Rather, Calli is a domestic long-haired cat with a fluffy mane of black, brown, blond and gray.

"How he could even think this was a bobcat, I don’t know," Lee said as she cuddled Calli. "He must not know cats."

Calli was a kitten when Lee rescued her from a salvage yard in Georgia about four years ago. She lives with Lee, her husband, Rex, and a black cat named Max.

*  *  *  *  *  *

The incident at the center of Hernandez’s civil complaint happened May 16. Hernandez visited the apartment to conduct a scheduled fire safety inspection, Lee said. He arrived about noon, earlier than she expected.

"All I know is he was in here alone and he must have startled her," Lee said.

Upon entering, Hernandez was scratched, he reported. Tampa police records state that he was bleeding and was taken to Tampa General Hospital.

Lee arrived home at 12:40 p.m., after Hernandez had left, she said.

Calli was near the front door. Max, who also looks nothing like a bobcat, was in a bedroom.

Condo rules require owners to be present when an inspection is conducted or cage their animals, Lee said. But she said she didn’t expect the inspection to occur until late afternoon. She was surprised upon her return to learn that Calli had attacked the man.

The next day, an employee with Hillsborough County’s Pet Resource Center visited and photographed Calli. Lee was cited for not having Calli’s rabies certification readily available, but she later produced it.

That was the end of it. Until the lawsuit.

A flurry of media reports Thursday brought Lee to tears. Calli hissed at a reporter who came to visit.

"I’m agitated, and she’s agitated," Lee said.

Among her visitors Thursday were officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A spokeswoman confirmed the agency was looking into the matter. Lee said they would put out a statement.

 

"They were like, ‘Really?’?" she said. "I said ‘You’re welcome to investigate the premises and see that I don’t have a bobcat.’"

Lee doesn’t know what to make of the lawsuit. She has yet to hire a lawyer.

"It’s not a wild animal," she said. "It’s just a cat."

She's lucky her cats didn't end up dead. This guy could've gotten mad, chased them around the condo, stomped them, beat them and killed them. 

If possible, never let anyone in your home when you're not home. And even when you're home, keep your pets closed off in a separate room until that person is gone. Of course, meter readers usually come during the day when everyone is at work so there's always a risk if your pets are where the meter is located... 



Texas: Homeowner calling for changes after Entergy worker pepper sprays her dogs



Iowa: Woman says repairman beat her small Poodle mix; prosecutors refuse to file animal cruelty charges




Texas: CenterPoint worker caught on tape taunting, then beating customers' dogs



North Carolina: Plumber is fired from PF Plumbing for viciously kicking client's dog in the face, but what about the coworker who saw it and never told his employer what this guy had done???



Texas: Entergy utilities employee caught on camera pepper spraying small dog


(Tampa Bay Times - January 4, 2018)

Washington: Couple sues wildlife officials for taking pet raccoon

WASHINGTON -- A West Seattle couple is suing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for seizing their pet raccoon.

"She's part of our family. She doesn't know any different. Since her eyes were open we have been her mom and dad," Kellie Greer said.

Kellie and her husband, Chris, started caring for Mae as a newborn. Kellie found her at a park with her eyes still closed, smaller than the size of her fist. She saw a dead adult raccoon nearby and assumed that was the baby's mother.

The couple tried calling all available wildlife rehab centers, but to no avail. No one would take Mae. According to the lawsuit, Wolftown on Vashon Island agreed to let the couple become a "sub-permitee" if they agreed to follow rules like keeping Mae on a leash when outside and building an outdoor enclosure.

However, Wolftown closed a few years ago and that means the permit is no longer valid.

It's been seven years, and Mae is now part of the family. She is potty-trained with a litter box, walks on leash, has a special hammock outside and even goes camping with the Greers. The couple has also been taking the raccoon to an exotic animal vet in Bothell for the last seven years, sometimes twice a year.

"You have to fill the bath tub so she can play with water and her toys. The cat won't jump in the bathtub. Mae needs that," Chris said.

The couple says they never knew they were doing anything wrong. They never tried to hide Mae who became a part of their neighborhood. They also crossed paths many times with law enforcement and never received any complaints, they say.

"For most every time the Greers went camping with Mae during white-tailed deer season in October/November from 2010 through 2016, inclusive, WDFW game wardens observed the Greers with Mae when asking them to produce tags for fish and wildlife taken during those trips.

Instead of citing, threatening to cite, warning, or otherwise admonishing the Greers against keeping her, the wardens fawned over her, took pictures with her, and, thus, encouraged the Greers to continue keeping the clearly tamed and human-friendly raccoon.

When at the campground, Mae was in a harness and always under control, never constituting a nuisance," the lawsuit reads.

A recent camping trip changed everything.

A WDFW officer spotted Mae and took information from the Greers. Then last Sunday, another officer showed up at their West Seattle home and took Mae.

"I thought he was there to investigate. I never thought he would take her," Kellie cried. "I'm supposed to work 10 to 5 and I've been working 9 to 8 because I don't want to be at home. She is so much a part of my life. I get up in the morning and kiss her and scratch her head."

 

 

WDFW found a rehab center in Quilcene to take Mae as an education animal, but the couple's attorney argues the Greers have a legal right to keep Mae. She's no longer wild, they say, and after seven years the Greers own her.

WDFW sent KING the following statement:

"On November 26th, a WDFW Enforcement officer seized a raccoon from Mr. and Mrs. Greer as it is illegal for the public to possess live wildlife in Washington without a valid permit. The raccoon was transported to a wildlife rehabilitation center where it received medical care and was held until today, when it was transported to another rehabilitation center and will be held under their permit for education purposes.

"While we understand that the family is upset by the loss, the department has no permit that would allow for the personal possession of wildlife as a pet, so we are therefore pleased that have been able to locate a rehabilitation center that is willing to hold the animal.

"An attorney for the Greer family has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive release against the state, seeking the return of the raccoon to the family. Because of the lawsuit, the department is unable to provide any further comment at this time."

The raccoon's seizure comes just a couple weeks after three fawns and an elk calf were taken from a Rochester wildlife rehab and killed, sparking a mass public outcry.

In that case, the animals were scheduled for release in the spring but WDFW said the animals were too habituated to humans. For the Greers, Mae belongs at home with them.

"I feel like I failed her. I've provided care her entire life," Kellie said.

"She's imprinted on us. She's part of our family and her pack is at home," Chris added.

The Greers have set up a fundraising page to help bring Mae home.

YouCaring: Bring Mae Home
For: Mae, Kellie, and Chris Greer
Seattle, WA
Organizer: Adam Karp
$3,000 of $5,000 goal. Raised by 87 donors

Kellie and Chris Greer of West Seattle filed suit against the State of Washington and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Thurston County Superior Court, No. 17-2-06464-34, seeking the return of Mae, an orphaned raccoon they saved in 2010 and with whom she has lived for over seven years only to be seized by WDFW on November 26, 2017. To read the Complaint and other filings as they unfold in the civil litigation, go to www.facebook.com/groups/bringmaehome.

To assist with the litigative efforts, donations are sought. However, they are not tax deductible, not refundable, and provide no right to information about, or to control, the case. Nor do they create an attorney-client relationship. However, the pleadings are public record and may be shared on the Bring Mae Home page.

Your donation will help the Greers in their legal efforts to bring Mae home. Funds will aid in paying litigation expenses, such as filing fees, service fees, depositions, expert fees, and attorney's fees. We are ever so grateful for your compassion.

Unused funds will be donated to a 501c3 animal-related nonprofit(s) in the discretion of Adam P. Karp.

(WTSP - Dec 9, 2017)

Related:

• Facebook group "Bring Mae Home"
• The lawsuit filed by the Greers

(November 2017) Washington: Wildlife officers doing what they seem to love doing -- seizing and killing orphaned wildlife

WASHINGTON -- A wildlife rehabilitation facility in Rochester was reeling Monday after the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife seized three baby deer and an elk.

The animals were euthanized, because officials say they'd gotten too used to humans.

One photo WDFW shared with KING 5 shows a fawn sucking on a person's ear. State officials call it a pattern at For Heaven's Sake Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation. Several young deer and an elk were all too comfortable around humans, they claim.

  Rescued only to be killed by WDFW

Rescued only to be killed by WDFW

In a press release sent Monday, WDFW wrote that "state regulations and national wildlife rehabilitation standards direct wildlife managers to euthanize habituated animals rather than release them into the wild."

"The situation at the Rochester facility could have been avoided if the rehabilitators had limited human contact with the animals, weaned them sooner, and released them into the wild in accordance with state guidelines," said WDFW Wildlife Program Assistant Director Eric Gardner, in the release.

But the allegations are not true, if you ask the woman who runs the facility.

"All the fencing covered with tarp so they can't see us," Claudia Supensky pointed out.

Supensky showed KING 5 the area where the deer and elk live, designed to reduce wildlife interaction with humans. No one is allowed to treat the animals like pets, she says.

WDFW coming to kill animals...

That's why she was shocked to learn a summer intern told the state exactly that, and after a few visits, state officials showed up with a trailer to seize the animals. They took three fawn and one elk.

"Just blew my mind. I couldn't believe they could just come in and take them," she said.

WDFW says wildlife is state property and the law requires any wildlife to be removed if it loses its fear of humans. They point to photos of the animals lingering around officers.

"What we saw were animals that were very used to humans, came up to the people that entered the pen, looking to be fed.The elk head-butted one of our staff," Gardner said.

WDFW killers pretending they love wildlife

Gardner called it a tough decision, but a necessary one. Deer and elk that grow accustomed to humans have a harder time surviving in the wild and can also be a danger to humans. He says they're normally released prior to winter, and the organization's plan to keep the animals until spring is atypical.

Supensky disagrees. She says some of the animals just needed more time to learn wild behaviors after weeks of being bottle fed. It's common practice for them, she says, to keep deer over winter to give them a better chance at survival and no one has yet to tell them it's bad practice. She also questions why the animals needed to be darted and tranquilized for loading onto WDFW's trailer if they trusted humans so much.

Left with little word about what would happen to her facility, Supensky didn't even know that the four animals seized were euthanized KILLED until KING5 told her Monday.

"They were? This is the most awful thing I've ever experienced in my life," she cried.

THE TRAILER OF DEATH:

Despicable WDFW officials using an apple to lead

these innocent animals to their death

WDFW is hoping to place some of the remaining deer in a research study at Washington State University.

They also hope to use this experience as a learning lesson for the public. Many young ungulates taken to rehab facilities are mistakenly removed from their mothers by people who assume the animals are abandoned. If found, wild animals should always be left alone while appropriate authorities are called.

"It's really unfortunate that something didn't go right this time. None of us like being where we're at. It's not a pleasant situation for any of us. We really hope we can continue to work with our rehabbers and provide the service we all want them to provide which is to recover these animals and get them released back to the wild," Gardner said.

WDFW won't let For Heaven's Sake take any more deer and elk, but the group decided to stop taking all new wildlife because they're so worried the state might seize more.

"We know for a fact that given the time, these animals could've been released. To take them and kill them, healthy animals we've put all the time and work into?" Supenksy said. "This is a matter of being killed before they were given the time to be released. My heart is so sick and so sad."

The Supenskys also told The Chronicle that the deer were so frightened by approaching WDFW officers that they fled to the nearby woods and eventually had to be lured with apples and then shot with tranquilizer darts in order to be rounded up. The Supenskys claim that in all their years working with animals they have never failed to successfully release a deer back into the wild.

"WDFW did not provide (For Heaven’s Sake) and these slain fawns and calf the opportunity to reach physical, behavioral, and psychological capability for release before seizing and euthanizing them,” Karp was quoted as saying in a press release from A Soft Place to Land.

Glaze says that the heavy-handed action at For Heaven’s Sake is not the first time that the WDFW has unfairly targeted animals at rehabilitation centers for lethal action despite other non-lethal options being available.

Glaze noted that Dan Boeholt, a property owner near Montesano, had previously offered WDFW the opportunity to relocate the deer onto 65 acres of his land and was disgusted when he found out the animals had instead been euthanized.

Others have taken notice too, including 19th District state Rep. Jim Walsh, who asked in a public Facebook post, "With all of the problems it has, WDFW makes a priority of killing Bambi?" 

(KING5 - Nov 14, 2017)

California: Scared rabbit running into flames saved by Good Samaritan

CALIFORNIA -- A terrified, wild rabbit got a hand from an animal lover evacuating from the fast spreading California wildfires Wednesday.

The amazing rescue was caught on camera.

The man struggled to chase down the bunny by the side of Highway 1 in Ventura County, but he isn't fast enough to grab the animal before it ran into the brush.

The man doesn't give up, moving in closer and finally snatching his new floppy-eared friend and carrying it to safety.

The Thomas fire has now burned more than 90,000 and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 homes.

VIDEO CLIP OF BUNNY BEING RESCUED:

*  *  *  *  *  *

Caleb Wadnan has been identified as the Good Samaritan who rescued the bunny. He took it to Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital, who confirmed that Wadnan brought in the burned bunny.

The female cottontail was recovering from burns and heat damage, and it was too soon to say when it would be fully healed.

 

 

Meanwhile, wildlife officials just gotta be the pickle in the punch bowl and claiming that he shouldn't have intervened. They claim this bunny had a den of babies she was trying to get back to and that humans shouldn't intervene.

OK well tell that to Smokey the Bear. Tell that to the Australian firefighter whose video went viral of him giving water to a burned, thirsty koala. According to fish & game and wildlife officials, all these wild animals that are rescued should just be left to suffer and slowly die.

Wildlife agencies suck. Want more proof? Here you go:


Vermont: Police perform CPR on newborn deer to save its life; VT Fish & Wildlife then kill it


Kansas family’s pet deer chased around the yard by game wardens, shot in the leg and then shot in the back four times, killing her


North Carolina: Couple Upset After Pet Raccoon Confiscated, Killed


Wisconsin: Armed agents raid animal shelter for baby deer, then kill it


Ohio: Archie the pet bear is euthanized


Plea to governor to return three illegal deer to Kingwood family met with silence


Former vet tech faces fine, jail for saving raccoons, deer


Rocky the pet squirrel is lassoed by red tape as officials say his host family is not allowed to keep him


Wildlife officials continue to do what they do best: KILL ANIMALS


Ohio wildlife officials shoot and kill friendly deer. Why? Follow the money trail. They want to protect the deer which then get chased by dogs, shot with arrows and shot to death by PAYING hunters


Pet coyote, which wasn't being aggressive towards anyone, killed after getting loose from owner

New Jersey: Howell woman who saved squirrels won't take plea deal


“It’s not the practice of the Missouri Department of Conservation to pass problem animals on to other people”: This is the excuse the MDC used for killing a young nuisance bear rather than offering to a sanctuary who insists they could've found a home for the bear 'within an hour'


Colorado: Colorado Parks and Wildlife tells Estes Park police officer to kill injured baby elk. He refuses and saves its life.


New York: Someone found a baby raccoon and brought it into a bar so the health department killed 12 more that hadn't been touched by humans

(KSDK - Dec 8, 2017)