Fish and Amphibians

Evanston city staff has proposed a $867,000 expansion in initiatives to address the youth violence that has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, including incentives for businesses to provide more workplace development opportunities for youths and their families. It also includes expanding the age range of the group to be served by programs and adds stipends for family members scarred by violence to take special parenting classes. Audrey Thompson, the city's Community Services Manager, outlined the programs at a special City Council meeting Dec. 20 that was conducted virtually. Mayor Daniel Biss joined NAACP leaders and others last month, calling for workforce development opportunities and other programs after a Nov. 28 shooting that left one young person dead and four other teenagers wounded. Audrey Thompson, Evanston's Community Services Manager. (City of Evanston photo) Beginning her presentation at the Dec. 20 council meeting, Th...

Okay, early winter. Hopefully, the Garden State's southern tier counties will get a sustained blast of subfreezing temperatures (read: twenties and teens to maybe single digits) long enough to encase ponds, lakes, and river coves in ice thick enough for a rare, and albeit brief, ice fishing "season". But I digress. The Christmas season is for wishing, but no wishing is needed right now as the fishing for the likes of white and yellow perch, sunfish, and crappies is in hot mode. Despite being considered a spring-through-autumn quarries, these bite well even during cold water times when you find them. These schoolers will be concentrated in the deeper holes and channel edges, moving up into shallower reaches to chow. Should you locate a spot holding them, it's a simple matter of dropping a small jig or baited hook down into the zone or slow reeling a downsized crankbait or spoon along the perimeter. A spate of moderating temperatures will see them move up into skinnier ...

For Immediate Release: May 4, 2021 Contact: Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382 Los Angeles – Holding a sign that proclaims, "Shed Cruelty! Stop Selling Animals," PETA's body-painted "snake" will cram herself into a Plexiglas "tank" outside Petco on Wednesday. When:    Wednesday, May 5, 12 noon Where:    Outside Petco, 5507 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles Petco is notorious for selling reptiles and other small animals to shoppers who aren't properly prepared to care for them. According to one study, 75% of "pet" reptiles, including snakes, die within one year—many from stress related to captivity . Petco even sells tanks by Zoo Med Laboratories, which PETA sued for falsely telling customers that snakes—who need to stretch out, bask, burrow, and explore—only need tanks at least "half the length" of their bodies. "No animal deserves to live and die in a cramped glass box, unable even to extend their b...

Relentless Beats is bringing one of the biggest NYE parties back for another two-night long session of bangin' beats in the desert. Like many years in the past, the lineup brings nothing but heat with artists like Excision, Dj Snake, Marshmello, Chris Lake and more. As of now the venue still has tickets for sale, but we have heard from a multitude of sources that this year is likely to be a sold-out event. While the lineup attracts many attendees, Relentless Beats has been focusing on enhancing their festival experience. With the implementation of the Weird and Wonderful a few years back, Relentless is looking to make the festival more than just music with a few stages. This year they've added even more action with an entire GA Hydration Lounge curated by 3 big brands in the festival space, GenZ Outdoor, Moon Lvnding and Raveraide. The space looks to be perfect for hanging out and getting warm with your crew. The 20 x 40-foot area will include 4 space heaters, a ton of se...

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Show Caption Hide Caption Endangered ferrets get boost with 21 births at zoo The Arizona Center for Nature Conservation at the Phoenix Zoo is overrun with baby black-footed ferrets. Twenty-one of the endangered animals have been born to four mothers in the current breeding season. (May 25) AP PROVIDENCE — The eastern spadefoot toad is a state-endangered animal in Rhode Island that is known to populate only a handful of sites around the state.  But a newly-employed detection technique is shedding light on the population of Rhode Island's rarest toad while also upending historically-accepted notions of the behavior of what was thought to be a secretive species.  The confoundingly simple method of spotlighting at night has a...

Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, of Lancaster County, welcomed some new reptilian additions to its family, and there's more on the way. The reptile rescue and education organization livestreamed the hatching of baby corn snakes on YouTube "for educational enlightenment" on July 21. "We have around 40 corn snake eggs expected to hatch this month," the organization said in a press release. Some of the baby snakes began hatching on Tuesday, July 20, while the rest are expected to hatch over the course of the next one to two weeks. "Look for tiny heads poking out of the eggs," the press release said. "This stage is called 'pipping' and snakes may remain in the pipping stage for several hours or longer." In the "pipping" stage, snakes may reportedly still hold on to the security of their eggs. Though, it's also where they begin to take on what the organization called "the brave new world outside of the egg." ...