HARWINTON, Conn. (AP) — Wildlife biologists in Connecticut had to rescue a bear cub that got its head stuck in a plastic container.

The misadventure happened on June 23 when a mother bear with three cubs knocked over a garbage can in the town of Harwinton.

One of the cubs stuck its head in a clear plastic jar that had spilled out.

Wildlife biologists waited for the cub to come down from a tree and then tranquilized it and removed the container.

The bear was unhurt and quickly found its mother waiting nearby.

Wildlife officials should make sure trash is properly disposed of and secured in containers to avoid bears getting into it.

HERRIMAN, Utah (KSTU) — A "friendly" deer is creating a lot of buzz in Utah's Herriman community.

“He liked hanging out with the kids," said Angelica Lujan. "He was playing on the hill with them."

The deer, which residents named "Cooper," has been seen in pictures videos online.

Lujan said she was amazed by the deer’s calm demeanor.

“When he first started coming around, some of the neighbors had talked about not being too friendly with him so he doesn’t get used to us, but it’s a little bit past that,” said Lujan.

Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources said despite the deer's gentle and friendly attitude, people should leave him alone.

"People don’t realize these beautiful, cute deer can be aggressive as they get older. We’ve had times in the past where these friendly deer, they do get aggressive," said Scott Root, conservation outreach manager of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "We’ve had kids hurt at bus stops. Bad things happen when we feed deer in a residential area."

Root says if the deer becomes too much of a regular in the neighborhood, they may have to euthanize him.

“We choose not to relocate because of disease considerations. If this deer stays in the community, it could get hit by a car,” said Root.
Root hopes people will leave the deer alone so it can return to its natural habitat.

“We hoping people don’t befriend it and it goes up in the foothills but if people do see it, leave it alone. Everyone loves that picture for Facebook or Instagram but you’re really doing that animal a disservice and maybe giving it a death sentence if it becomes too domesticated,” said Root.

This story was originally reported by Eliana Sheriff on fox13now.com.

MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. — Even with bare branches still anticipating winter snow, the landscape of New Hampshire’s lake region holds an estimable, eerie beauty.

Along with foliage, this time of year also sees an absence of one of New England's beloved waterfowl that is a haunting fixture along lakeshores.

This time of year, common loons leave their lake homes before they freeze to bob and fish in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. While they may be at their most elusive in the winter, there’s a group trying to prevent the beloved bird from disappearing altogether at the hands of an invisible enemy.

"These contaminants are ubiquitous and they're persistent and it makes one shudder to think what might all be out there that just hasn't been identified," said Tiffany Grade, a biologist at the Loon Preservation Committee.

Grade has been tracking a disturbing decline in the birds' population since the mid-2000s. Ever since, they’ve been testing no longer viable eggs in look nests on local lakes and what her team has discovered is a disastrous chemical cocktail lurking in the egg, including banned chemicals DDT and PCB.

"Here we are decades after the fact, and these are still showing up in these sediments. They're flushing into the lake and we're seeing them potentially impacting our loon population," said Grade.

DDT was a pesticide used heavily in the 1940s and 1950s in orchards. PCB was used in everything from electrical equipment to fluids for vehicles to sprays to keep the dust down in the summer on country roads. Both have been banned since the 1970s.

It’s not just the loon population in New Hampshire that these “legacy chemicals” have been found in, but in wildlife around the country and world – such as marine life up and down the east coast as well as waterfowl on the Great Lakes.

While the full extent of how these chemicals are impacting animals is still being studied, it’s been found that they can stunt growth, weaken eggshells, reduce reproduction and compromise immune function.

"This is not just the New Hampshire issue. This is a, this is a issue across the country," said Grade. "We just need more information to help us understand. You know where these areas of contaminants are both for the sake of protecting loons, other wildlife, but people as well."

The Loon Preservation Committee may be a small nonprofit, but they’re the one agency in the state who’s systematically testing species high up on the food chain measuring the impacts of these banned chemicals, which is an expensive endeavor. Grade hopes other organizations jump on board to figure out this issue not only for the sake of wildlife but for our sake, too.

"We need to make sure we understand. What the impacts potential impacts of these contaminants can be and that that's an open and transparent process," Grade said.

While this team works to figure out how to save these beautiful creatures, they also have a plea about watching what we release into our revered landscapes, because we may never be able to take it out.

"We know we can't plead ignorance anymore about what these chemicals can do, and we really need to be careful about it," said Grade.

For those who didn't learn what a perennial grain crop is as a kid, it's like the grass you see on the side of a road that comes back year after year, except it's capable of growing food humans can eat. 

The agriculture industry faces an immense challenge.

It needs to feed a growing population, but the process of providing that growing population tends to take an environmental toll on our planet. So scientists are using new technology and innovation to come up with solutions.

Kernza is essentially a cousin of wheat. It tastes sweet and nutty.

And its roots store carbon in the ground to help prevent soil erosion and water runoff. Unlike annual grain crops like wheat, oats, and corn, Kernza doesn't need to be tilled or replanted every year.

But Kernza wasn't born this way. Lee DeHaan and his team at The Land Institute in Kansas selectively bred it. And if there were an award for best plant parent, DeHaan would win gold.

"I grew up on a farm in Minnesota, and I heard about the idea of perennial crops when I was still a kid and wanted to develop a perennial grain crop," DeHaan said. "Every plant gets labeled and identified, and a couple of months ago, I took a small piece of leaf, and we essentially do '23andMe' for plants."

The process helps predict how each plant will perform, how tall it'll be, how much seed it'll grow, and how large its seeds will be.

"Wherever humans have gone and done agriculture, we've seen a massive loss of soil carbon and soil quality," DeHaan said. "That carbon is now in the atmosphere, and part of the solution to climate change is to get that carbon back in the soil."

DeHaan says it'll take decades to transform the developing crop from a specialty crop to a large-scale one, but for the plant parent whose devotion has sustained over 20 years, it's a dream DeHaan plans to see through.

Lauren Magarino at Newsy first reported this story.

Several birds are getting sick and dying in Kentucky, and at this point, it's unclear why.

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said in a Facebook post that it has received multiple reports of birds with similar symptoms — eye swelling, crusty discharge and neurological signs. They are not sure what is causing the illness.

The sick birds in Kentucky have specifically been reported in Boone and Kenton counties here in Northern Kentucky, as well as Jefferson County.

Those counties are being advised to stop feeding birds/remove bird feeders for the time being.

Wildlife officials are asking everyone across the state to do the following:

• Bird feeders and baths should be cleaned immediately with a 10% bleach solution, then weekly thereafter
• People should avoid handling birds (wear disposable gloves if handling is necessary)
• Keep pets away from sick or dead birds as a standard precaution.

Officials said other states have had similar reports. So far, the type of birds that have been affected are Blue Jays, Common Grackles and European starlings, but other species may be affected as well.

Click here to report a dead or sick bird.

The Biden administration has pledged to "address the climate crisis at home and abroad."

While some of the details have yet to be released, wildlife conservationists say it's a step in the right direction.

Scientists say polar bears, koalas, elephants, and butterflies are just some of the species directly impacted by climate change.

“We have huge drivers of rapid environmental change like climate change, and it’s impacting wildlife species," said Dr. Megan Owen, Senior Director of Wildlife Conservation Science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. "And wild places and the very planet we all share across the globe it’s a huge problem."

And while she says it's a "huge" problem, she also says it's a chance for humans to make a difference.

“I can tell you that in the most straightforward way that we have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, there’s no alternative," said Dr. Owen. "The faster we do it, the bet. It’s a commitment to being a part of a solution rather than continuing to behave as we always have, knowing that we’re degrading our own habitat in that process.”

The evidence, Dr. Owen said, is there.

She uses polar bears as an example.

“I don’t think any other species illustrates as well the real tangible impact of climate change the polar bear sea ice habitat is literally melting away.”

Butterflies are experiencing a 2% decline in population as temperatures are warmer and warmer for more extended periods.

“People don’t necessarily notice a catastrophic decline in the case of butterflies, for example," Dr. Owen said.

And then there are koalas, who we all quite literally watched disappear as fires raged through Australia in 2019 and 2020, killing thousands of koalas.

As for elephants, they are living with drought just like people.

“There are more wells dug for people because they need water to survive as well, and the wells that get dug are traps for baby elephants and are in no way intentional," Dr. Owen said.

As for what we can do about it, Dr. Owen said we should support regulatory action to support green energy policies.

She also added that we should support people in local governments, state governments, national governments that are climate forward and think about how we can move our energy sources into greener pastures.

Paul Baribault is President and CE of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, which operates the zoo, safari park, and 200 conservation scientists that support work at home and abroad.

“We have to think about collectively, as humanity, how do we best manage that balance?" Baribault said. "How do we keep wildlife in balance with our own balance and maintain our healthy ecosystem maintain healthy wildlife because that will have a direct result on our own health.”

The Biden administration announced that the U.S. would target reducing emissions by half by 2030.

Baribault says making that effort is a good step for the future co-existence of both animals and people.

"If we get everyone to focus on their own community and small things that they can do, simple things, like turning off lights, not running water while brushing teeth,” says Baribault.

It's little things that turn into big things for the greater good.