Other Animals

Jean-Gaël “JG” Collomb, CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Network, was recently featured in an article from GW Magazine. This article focuses on one of JG’s crucial beliefs, and a core tenet of WCN, which is that while humanity is the greatest threat to wildlife and wild places, it’s humans—and to be more precise, the thoughtful

Webinar: Parrot Confiscations & Their Welfare Implications Date: Friday, July 19, 2024 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Anthony Pilny, DVM, DABVP (Avian),

Webinar: Ask the Vet with Tom Tully, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian) Date: Friday, July 12, 2024 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special

image by Photo by Gareth Davies on Unsplash When you see a grouping of birds, it’s called a flock. The practice of flocking serves two known purposes; to fly together during migratory periods, or to forage for food. It’s the whole safety in numbers thing. The visual appearance of a flock is an amazing view

Normally, I am not a great fan of “citizen science” when it involves companion animals—the situation in which scientists design an experiment and then ask members of the public to carry out the study The scientists then collate and analyze the data. I have good reason for being skeptical of such studies. Even with decades

The study focussed on the episodic memory capabilities of Eurasian jays.Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons We all enjoy memories of places we’ve been, things we’ve done, and people we’ve met. Science likes to call the more explicit memory events “episodic memory” as it more easily encapsulates specific information that we access more deeply

Today is World Parrot Day, when we celebrate some of the most incredible birds to grace the skies across our planet. Of this colorful variety of birds, the great green macaw is one of the most radiant, and unfortunately, also one of the most Critically Endangered. Less than 1,000 great green macaws remain across Colombia,

Griffin enjoys his “tickle.” In previous blog posts, I’ve written about our daily schedule with the parrots…how we try to balance meals, clean-up, playtime, exercise, and research tasks to ensure that everything gets done on a daily basis. Sometimes, however, good intentions are not enough, and occasionally life conspires to wreck our plans. At those

Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons An unsettling mystery is unfolding along California’s coastlines as a mass of Brown Pelicans are turning up on California coastlines, injured, ill due to malnutrition, and starving. All these pelicans are being picked up where they’re found and moved to facilities in San Pedro at the Los

Just last week, Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC) deployed the first GPS collars on two spectacled bears living in Peru’s Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. This marks a groundbreaking advancement in SBC’s work to safeguard this important bear habitat among the ancient ruins of this World Heritage Site. The SBC team collaring a female spectacled bear

Dr. Olah examines a cockatoo feather.Image by George Olah, PhD George Olah, PhD, of the Australian National University (ANU) College of Science has been on the cutting edge of conservation research, tropical ecology, and sequencing technology for many years. I have been following his work on behalf of wild parrots with awe for a long

Dr. Peter Lindsey, Director of the Lion Recovery Fund, recently wrote an opinion piece that was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle about the need for people to turn their attention away from consumerism and toward the natural treasures of our planet—wildlife. African lion Rather than purchasing the latest trick tech device, consumers can use

Webinar: The Grey Way: Designing a Bird Room for Maximum Enrichment Date: Friday, June 21, 2024 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Lisa

Webinar: Translating Parrot: Pet Bird Behavior Q&A Date: Friday, June 7, 2024 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest, Pamela Clark, is a well-known

A crow appears to be “anting” by spreading its wing feathers to allow ants to crawl over its body as it sits on the ground. Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons There are a variety of applicable ointments, salves, lotions, and powders that we use to ease or enhance parts of our

In March, Wisdom was photographed still dancing with potential mates, still seeking the perfect match. Photo by Jon Plissner USFWS 2023 Wisdom is a Laysan albatross that we have written about before. Back in 2021, Wisdom was 70 and still laying eggs. She was banded in 1956 as a young bird and is currently recognized

Dr. Aristide Takoukam Kamla, a former participant in the WCN Scholarship Program and Career Program, recently received a Whitley Award for his important work restoring Cameroon’s Lake Ossa for the African manatees and local communities who rely on the lake to survive. Dr. Aristide Takoukam Kamla In a world facing pressing environmental challenges, individuals like

Birds in the wild and their many species, all full of colors and shapes, are so much fun to watch. But it is often difficult to carve out the minutes from a busy day to dedicate to a bit of “watch time.” With technologies becoming more sophisticated by the day, it’s fun to discover that

African grey Griffin. Image courtesy Dr. Irene Pepperberg Last month, I wrote about how we were having issues with getting Griffin to work on a complicated 4-cup task because he didn’t like testing when Athena was at his back and how simply rotating the apparats 90° took care of the problem. Well, we then had

Webinar: A Look Back at the Phoenix Landing Wellness Retreat, Part 2 Date: Friday, May 17, 2024 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a free, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, the former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special

Photo by Pepe Manzanilla Costa Rica is a remarkable country with a growing national interest in preserving its land and life. It is home to several parrot species, one of which is the yellow-naped Amazon parrot (Amazona auropalliata). This species has a wide geographic distribution from Mexico down through most of Central America. However, while

WCN is excited to announce that we have recently welcomed three new local conservation organizations to join our ever-growing Network of Conservation Partners. These three organizations are no strangers to WCN; they have appeared at our Wildlife Conservation Expo in the past, and as we’ve come to know them over the years, it became to

Our spring Wildlife Conservation Expo just wrapped, a lively Saturday filled with sunshine, amazing presentations about wildlife, and a warm reunion between our community and visiting conservationists. It’s such a thrill to bring so many incredible people together to celebrate wildlife and our shared impact to better their future, and this year’s spring Expo was

Kyra Bestari leaned over the tank rim while clutching the sea snail. Dipping her hand beneath the water’s surface, she extended the offering toward the small shark pup slowly approaching. Gently, it snatched the snail and darted in a blur into a deeper corner of the tank. As a “shark nanny,” Kyra feeds and cares

In honor of Earth Day, let’s take a look at the many ways birds, including parrots, play vital roles in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Our avian counterparts contribute to the environment in several important ways: Seed Dispersal Lorikeets have a uniquely adapted “bottle brush” tongue designed for their primary diet of nectar and soft fruits. Photo

The sun sank beneath the tree line as a trio barely in their twenties stood outside the low-voltage electric fence surrounding their village. As their flashlight beams reached into the darkening brush, they heard the snapping of branches and thudding footsteps of the approaching herd. They asked the villagers behind the fence to move back

The staff looked up with growing concern at Arawi, who was perched on a narrow tree branch high in the canopy. From far below, they could see that she was going into labor. Witnessing spider monkey births is particularly rare because it typically happens in remote locations at night. In addition, at 25 years old,

Image by Mullerelles from Pixabay A recent study further explores tablet use in companion birds by creating a unique game that encouraged balloon-popping (displayed as a large single red dot) in a virtual setting. The parrot, intrigued by the appearing red dots on the screen, put their eyes close to the display, and used their

Among the rugged landscape of Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains, the old wolf emerged from the den, six fuzzy pups weaving between her paws. Despite the threads of gray woven into her fur, her vivid red-orange frame still burned brightly against the blue sky. This wolf, known as “Tarura 2,” is one of approximately 500 Ethiopian wolves

A red-tailed hawk chose a peculiar spot to build a nest; it’s on top of a 150-foot camera pole designed to monitor the highway SH114 and its Rochelle Blvd crossing in Irving, TX. The tales of specific birds and their exploits bring a sense of familiarity and warmth as they create memories to be told