The Columbian

Pets & Wildlife

SR3, a Pacific Northwest marine wildlife rehabilitation center, released a 3-month-old harbor seal pup back to the wild at Larrabee State Park in Whatcom County on Aug. 23, 2024. The pup was abandoned earlier this summer at a beach in Point Roberts, likely due to interference with the pup by members of the public. SR3 cared for the pup until it was healthy enough to be released into its natural habitat.

Video: See rehabilitated seal pup’s release at Larrabee State Park after weeks in care

August 26, 2024, 10:42am Life

A rehabilitated harbor seal pup that was rescued from Point Roberts was released back to the wild at Larrabee State Park on Friday after 75 days in care. Read story

This is Rotor and her offspring Dash who made a rare appearance on a Corolla beach Aug. 14, according to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

Some wild horses keep low profile on North Carolina’s Outer Banks

August 24, 2024, 5:59am Life

A ghost of sorts appeared on the northern end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks — a wild stallion that goes by the name Dash. Read story

A monarch butterfly drinks nectar from a flower Aug. 7 in the Pollinator Habitat bed near the Chicago Park District storehouse.

Upper Midwest seeing fewer monarch butterflies this year

August 24, 2024, 5:58am Life

An expert has confirmed what backyard gardeners and amateur naturalists have been saying for weeks: There are fewer monarch butterflies in Illinois this summer. Read story

Woman evicted over parrots wins $165K

August 23, 2024, 6:04am Life

A woman who faced eviction from her Manhattan apartment over her three emotional support parrots will be paid $165,000 in damages plus $585,000 for her apartment under a consent decree announced by federal prosecutors. Read story

Osceola County 4-H member Alison Smith tends to a heifer named Evergreen on Aug. 1 on a farm in Hersey Township, Mich.

4-H kids limited by bird flu rules, express heartache being unable to show off livestock at fairs

August 23, 2024, 6:04am Life

Alison Smith stared at the virtually empty dairy barn inside the Osceola County Fairgrounds, once bustling with teens and preteens preparing to show their prized animals but now eerily silent as an invisible virus once again interfered with a cherished summertime rite. Read story

Discovery means hope for dwindling toad species

August 23, 2024, 6:04am Life

A “potentially game-changing discovery” has been made in the Colorado high country — the culmination of years of hard work by a dedicated group of wildlife experts with the shared goal of helping a once-prolific Colorado species recover. Read story

A southern pudu fawn was born at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo on June 21 in the Queens borough of New York.

Queens Zoo in New York City debuts tiny South American deer

August 23, 2024, 5:59am Life

A tiny South American deer that will weigh only as much as a watermelon when fully grown is making its debut at the Queens Zoo in New York City. Read story

Willow, a subadult loggerhead sea turtle, makes her way past a crowd of onlookers, back into the ocean after being treated at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Juno Beach, Fla.

Subadult loggerhead sea turtle returns to Atlantic Ocean in Florida after rehabilitation

August 21, 2024, 1:10pm Life

A rehabilitated sea turtle was released back into the Atlantic Ocean from a Florida beach Wednesday morning. Read story

In this photo provided by the Charleston Animal Society, Jennifer Ravenel pets her cat, Sam, when the two were reunited after 11 years Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, at the Charleston Animal Society in Charleston, South Carolina.

Sam Sam the Kittycat Man ran away. Thanks to a microchip, he was found close by — 11 years later

August 21, 2024, 1:09pm Life

After Sam Sam the Kittycat Man disappeared 11 years ago, Jennifer Ravenel couldn’t hold another cat in her lap. Her heart never could overcome the loss of that feral kitten she had rescued from the crook of a tree on her South Carolina farm. Read story