A mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) scaling a cliff in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.  

A weekly walkthrough of what has been going on and a look at what is coming up!

“Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.”
― Steve Irwin

Southern California Mountain Lion Project Update

A Long Awaited Return

On Thursday, April 04, I was checking a longstanding trail camera observation site that was the place of my first diurnal capture of a mountain lion. I was excited for this development, but since that capture, there has been no further activity of the large felid in this immediate location. I kept the camera active due to the abundance of deer use in hopes that the mountain lion would return for the prey. On Tuesday, April 03 at 1745 hours the long awaited return finally came! The capture wasn't the greatest, and failed to show the cat's full body, but the excitement that the individual returned and during daylight no less is reason to celebrate. The top video below failed to capture the full body of the mountain lion, but it is unmistakably the famous felid and the bottom video was the initial capture.

In the News Now

Two Popular Lakes in Minnesota See Changes in Walleye Bag Limits

 Mille Lacs and Upper Red Lake in Minnesota have had bag limit changes due to ecological changes. With increased water clarity and the introduction of zebra mussels and spiny water fleas less walleyes have been able to make it past their first year. The results being that Mille Lacs will be catch and release only for spring and early summer and Upper Red Lake will have a three walleye possession limit with one over 17" allowed.

https://b105country.com/walleye-mille-lacs-upper-red-lake/

REI Brings New Campground to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

 The REI Co-Op purchased 20 acres near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This parcel of land will be transformed into the fourth campground built by REI with the others in Bryce Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, and Zion National Parks.

https://www.12news.com/article/sports/outdoors/rei-20-acres-grand-canyon-camping/75-1dcd9a6a-e4c4-4e66-aeea-fd4f2b2d7501

David Attenborough's New Show Sheds Light on the Future for Desert Foxes

With an illustrious history of nature documentaries, David Attenborough's latest venture with "Mammals" shed light on the cruel world of fennec foxes in their first episode. These foxes are highly sought after in the pet trad, and even killed for their meat, however the cruelest fate for some of these foxes is killing for sport or fur. The crew following two fennec foxes during filming were struck with sadness as the skinned carcasses were found at an old hunting camp and their paws were discarded with litter.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/david-attenborough-mammals-cruel-fate-desert-foxes-120348924.html

The Miracle of Veterinarians

Easter Sunday was going to be a relaxing day for our family, as we got ready for the upcoming week. Unfortunately for our youngest dog, Petunia, her body had other plans.

My daughter found petunia in our room, unresponsive, and in a puddle of her own urine. We immediately got her into the VCA pet urgent care near us where they did imaging of her abdomen and found there to be a massive amount of fluid inside. After taking a sample of the fluid, it was confirmed to be blood. This prompted a quick transfer of Petunia to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of North County where further testing was completed to get a proper diagnosis. It became clear that she was going to need surgery for what they believed to be a mass that had ruptured.

The first real good news that we had gotten came the following day when we were informed that there was a non-profit pet hospital, Anicira, that could perform the surgery and we could then return Petunia for 24 hour monitoring and care to the Specialty Hospital. The surgery was completed with no complications and we were able to make the last transfer of Petunia to the Specialty Hospital before bringing here home.

Talking to the doctor after the surgery, the diagnosis of a ruptured mass was correct. It was twice the size of her spleen, which it was attached to. The reality was that our poor Petunia came very close to no longer being with us, but the remarkable work of the veterinary professionals saved her life.

Supporting Local Art, Small Business, and Conservation all in one!

There is a lot of time, effort and expense that goes into creating images and working towards conservation goals that protect the wild places we visit. It would be an honor to have my work displayed in your home as a way to keep doing this work!

Sessions at JABCECC

Sessions at the Judith A. Bassett Canid Education and Conservation Center are able to be booked year round! Contact information for any questions on booking and pricing can be found through the "book now" link.