Category Archives: Animals

Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws – CNN.com

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Mayor of Alaska village walks on four paws – CNN.com.

Stubbs the cat has been mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for 15 years, since he was a kitten.

Not many mayors in the United States enjoy belly rubs from their constituents. Then again, most mayors don’t prance around town naked and curl up for naps in front of local businesses.

For 15 years, Stubbs the cat has held the top office in Talkeetna, Alaska. And his approval ratings have never been higher.

“He doesn’t raise our taxes — we have no sales tax. He doesn’t interfere with business. He’s honest,” said Lauri Stec, manager of Nagley’s General Store, which doubles as the mayor’s office.

Stubbs may be the only mayor in the country who rose to office asan infant.

“He was in a box full of kittens in the front of the store, and (the owners) were giving them away,” Stec said. She picked “Stubbs” because he had no tail.

Soon afterward, residents weren’t happy with any of the human candidates in the upcoming mayoral election and voted for Stubbs as a write-in candidate. The kitten won.

Because Talkeetna is a “historical district,” the mayoral post is more symbolic than functional, said Andi Manning, president of the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce. So most residents are fine with a four-legged feline running the show.

Mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska, drinks water with catnip from a wine glass.
Mayor Stubbs of Talkeetna, Alaska, drinks water with catnip from a wine glass.

But the power, apparently, has gotten to Stubbs’ furry head.

“All throughout the day I have to take care of the mayor. He’s very demanding,” said Skye Farrar, a clerk at Nagley’s. “He meowed and meowed and meowed and demanded to be picked up and put on the counter. And he demanded to be taken away from the tourists. Then he had his long, afternoon nap.”

In addition, the mayor will only drink water from a wine glass that has catnip in it, Stec added.

But most everyone is willing to put up with the mayor’s high-maintenance lifestyle, especially because he’s a big tourist attraction for the community of about 800 human beings.

Manning said the mayor frequently draws dozens of tourists who are en route to other Alaska destinations such as Mount McKinley.

And as of late Monday night, the Mayor Stubbs Facebook page had well over 6,000 subscribers.

But Stubbs remains true to his community, often showing up in local businesses — albeit unexpectedly.

“When my building burned down in 2002, he was the last to come out of it,” said Todd Basilone, owner of Mountain High Pizza Pie in Talkeetna. “He’s always in the restaurant. Stubbs wanders into every place in town.”

Even though dogs run loose and outnumber people in Talkeetna, he said, the canines seem to respect Stubbs’ authority.

“I’ve never seen a dog mess with him,” Basilone said.

Though the mayor generally receives positive reviews for his laissez-faire politics, he is guilty of frequently sleeping on the job.

“His biggest political rivals would be other local businesses that would hate that he comes over and takes a nap and leaves fur everywhere. They aren’t big fans of him,” Farrar said.”We usually say, ‘You have to deal with it. He runs the town.’”

 

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Where’s a Yellowstone bear?

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Where’s a Yellowstone bear? – IOL Travel North America | IOL.co.za.

For wildlife enthusiasts hoping to catch a glimpse of wolves, grizzly bears and bison at Yellowstone National Park, the best place to be on the lookout may soon be a cellphone.

New smartphone apps enable people to pinpoint where they’ve recently seen critters in Yellowstone. People who drive to those locations can – at least in theory – improve their odds of seeing wildlife compared to the typical tourist’s dumb luck.

One app called Where’s a Bear promises “up to the second” animal sightings in Yellowstone. Recently a website called Yellowstone Wildlife began offering a similar app.

Websites long have kept track of animal sightings in Yellowstone. Already this spring the Yellowstone Wildlife site shows signs of life: Mule deer near park headquarters at Mammoth, bison in the area of a landmark petrified tree.

A message on the site warns of grizzlies feeding on a bison carcass near the Yellowstone River Trail. The statement relayed from the National Park Service could save a life. Grizzly attacks killed two tourists in Yellowstone last summer.

But not everybody thinks that making a lot of wildlife sighting information readily retrievable by phone is a hot idea. As it is, the crowds that stop to gawk at roadside wildlife in Yellowstone can grow to hundreds of people, pointed out Vicky Kraft, of Pine Mountain, California, who maintains a Facebook group for Yellowstone.

Grizzlies are especially challenging for park rangers who have to both direct traffic and keep people a safe distance away.

“It’s crazy. There’s no parking. People sideswipe each other because they’re looking at the bear,” Kraft said Monday.

Wildlife becoming too comfortable around people is another concern. A grizzly habituated to people is even more dangerous than your average bear.

“I think there’s a responsibility that a person should have if they really like Yellowstone to say, ‘Gee, is this going to be bad for the animals? Is it bad for the ranger? Is it bad for the park?’ And I think when you look at a situation with that app, the answer would have to be yes,” Kraft said.- Sapa-AP

Entry is free this week at national parks

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Entry is free this week at national parks; fire management officer also named | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register | visaliatimesdelta.com.

National Park Week, which offers free entrance to 397 parks throughout the United States, will continue until Sunday.

For 10 days each year, park visitors throughout the nation can enjoy everything the parks have to offer for free.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks spokeswoman Dana Dierkes said visitors should log on to the parks’ website or read the parks’ newspaper, which includes information about ranger-led programs.

ÔªøIn other news, David Allen has been named the parks’ fire management officer.

Allen, who has a degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, has worked as Sequoia National Park district fire management officer and aviation manager for last 12 years.

His previous experience includes working at Yellowstone National Park with a helitack crew, Yosemite National Park as the prescribed fire specialist and at Indiana Dunes National Park as the fire management officer.

“Dave brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to this position,” Chief Ranger Kevin Hendricks said.

“His performance here in the parks, as well as in a number of other prior jobs and assignments, has shown his ability to lead and direct a complex program,” he added.

Allen said he has grown to understand the issues of fire management in the Sierra Nevada during his tenure here.

“Managing a highly fire-adapted and fire-prone area such as these parks is a challenge I look forward to,” he said.

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