Skip to Navigation Skip to Content

Living things

Dolphins are latest mammal deaths in New England

Whether they got lost, sick or swam astray chasing food, 77 dolphins that beached on Cape Cod in recent weeks have died, the second time in three months New England has seen a mass of marine mammal deaths. Now, scientists are trying to figure out why. They're also researching whether there's any connection to a die-off this fall of 162 harbor seals, whose carcasses were found between northern Massachusetts and Maine. Read More

AZ animal advocates warn of fatal dog disease

Animal advocates are warning Arizona dog owners about an often fatal disease that's on the rise this year. The Arizona Humane Society has issued a health alert about distemper. Distemper is a highly contagious disease that is shed in secretions of infected animals and spread by breathing. The virus infects the lymph nodes and spreads to the blood and cell line of the respiratory, gastrointestinal and center nervous systems. Read More

Wash.: 8 sea lions found dead, apparently shot

Washington wildlife officials say eight sea lions have been found dead in the Puget Sound region in recent weeks — all apparently shot. KING-TV reports (http://is.gd/s1aYqA ) that both the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are investigating the deaths. The bodies of seven sea lions with bullet wounds were recently found on the Nisqually River. Read More

Tubby tabby gets revolutionary new knee joint

Because Cyrano weighs more than 20 pounds, amputating his cancer-weakened leg was out of the question. So the tubby tabby's owners turned to doctors and engineers at North Carolina State University to get him back into mice-catching trim. On Thursday, the 10-year-old cat from Upperville, Va., received what doctors believe is the first feline total knee replacement in the U.S. Read More

Cuba: Tough prison terms for mahogany tree thefts

Cuba convicted six people of cutting down African mahogany trees in the National Botanical Gardens and sentenced them to eight and 10 years in prison, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said Friday. Read More

Calif appeals court: Fleas are pests

A state appeals court has upheld a fine against an Oakland pet food chain, saying fleas are pests so a flea-prevention product the company sold should have been labeled a pesticide. State pesticide regulators fined Pet Food Express almost $213,000 for selling the product in 2002 and 2003 without branding them as a pesticide. Read More

Law school holding summit on marijuana laws

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law is holding a summit on federal and state marijuana laws. Those attending the gathering on Friday include marijuana providers, attorneys and experts. Colorado's booming medical marijuana industry is regulated like no other. Public officials say they are tracking, measuring and taxing pot from seed to sale after voters approved the use of medical marijuana. Read More

US judge denies bid to block NV mustang roundups

A federal judge in Nevada who handed horse protection advocates a rare victory last fall has rejected their latest request to block government roundups of free-roaming mustangs in the West, saying they'll have to go to Congress if they think the animals are being treated inhumanely and need more protection. Read More

US sets first catch limits in Caribbean fish

Jose Luis Morales
The U.S. government is imposing limits on the number of fish that commercial and recreational fishermen can catch in the waters it controls in the Caribbean, saying previous types of restrictions haven't protected dwindling populations of dozens of species. Read More

Farmers eager for right to kill attacking wolves

John Koski is itching to pick up his rifle after losing dozens of cows to hungry wolves on his farm in Michigan's Upper Peninsula — and it appears he'll soon get his chance. Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/topics/living-things