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Every day, more and more wildlife habitat is lost to the spread of development. Give a little back by building your own humane backyard! It doesn't matter whether you have a small apartment balcony, a townhouse with a sliver of ground, a suburban yard, a sprawling corporate property or a community...

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Hummingbird stopping at a flower to eat

The distant view from Kelly Brenner’s Seattle living room was enviable, a testament to the engineering marvels of modern human habitat. But much closer to home were sights even more spectacular than the Space Needle rising hundreds of feet in front of the Olympic Mountains. Against the backdrop of...

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BY NANCY LAWSON, AUTHOR OF THE HUMANE GARDENER
small mouse hiding in brush

The mountain lion known as P-47 survived fires, freeways and hostile ranchers. But in March, the 3-year-old big cat—tracked by California biologists since his kitten days—succumbed to a hidden hazard: an insidious form of food poisoning. Six anticoagulant compounds—chemicals used to kill rodents...

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BY NANCY LAWSON, AUTHOR OF THE HUMANE GARDENER
fat caterpillar curled on a leaf stalk

As my beloved seedlings languished untouched on the display table, I improved my sales pitch: “Would you like a late-flowering thoroughwort to help migrating butterflies refuel? What about an aster that’s the only pollen source for some bee species?” But unlike the animals who would devour these...

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By Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener
Monarch butterfly in a field of grass

Standing in the street and admiring each other’s gardens one day, Sherrie Pelsma and her neighbor made a discovery: They’d become hosts to a buzzing block party. “We could actually see the air traffic of bees and butterflies crossing the street between our two habitats,” recalls Pelsma. “I said,...

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BY NANCY LAWSON, AUTHOR OF THE HUMANE GARDENER
hummingbirds sipping nectar from bright red flowers

It’s a peculiar rite of modern homeownership: Plant a tulip bulb in autumn, cage or spray it to deter nibblers, admire its fleeting blooms a few months later, let it rot in soil ill-suited to its needs and repeat the whole cycle again the following year.

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By Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener
Illustration of a man carrying a dead coyote among other participants of a wildlife killing contest

WARNING: Content may be upsetting to readers. At first glance, the event held behind a restaurant in upstate New York looked like an ordinary community gathering. There were “people with strollers, families, people walking around with beers and coffee and whatnot—almost like a fair,” the Humane...

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By James Hettinger

With the right information and supplies, you may be able to solve some conflicts with wildlife by yourself. But when it’s time to call in a professional, here's how to find a humane, effective and ethical company. Ask for an inspection and written estimate It will be difficult for any company to...

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DENVER —A coalition of leading wildlife protection organizations (comprised of the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Welfare Institute, Project Coyote, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians and Sierra Club) is applauding the Colorado Parks and...

Press Release
woodpecker on persimmon tree

As my neighbors and I stood 10 feet apart and swapped tips for scavenging kitchen staples this spring, the wilder residents of our community shared no such concerns. Squirrels twirled maple seed clusters like bouquets to reach every tidbit. Bumblebees made a mockery of social distancing in their...

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BY NANCY LAWSON, AUTHOR OF THE HUMANE GARDENER
A frog jumps to safety out of a pool using a ramp to rejoin the other frogs on the safety of the grass

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Buy a house with a two-acre property, let our energetic herding dog have the run of the place and spend blissful summer days digging side by side in the dirt with her. And it was blissful, watching Mattie carve out her napping spots behind the ferns and tall...

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By Nancy Lawson, author of The Humane Gardener

Animals are forced to cross roads and highways in search of food, water, cover and mates—placing them in the path of our speeding vehicles. So what can you do? First and foremost, slow down! Keeping your speed in check gives you a better chance of stopping in time if an animal darts into the road...

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Beauty shot of a fox

WARNING: The following story contains graphic content. The pictures posted on social media did it: dozens or even hundreds of dead coyotes and foxes filling the backs of trucks, or laid out in rows on bloodied ground or hung by their hind legs in a celebratory display above piles of other dead...

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By Karen E. Lange

WARNING: This page contains graphic content. What are wildlife killing contests? While contests like dogfighting and cockfighting have been condemned in the U.S. as barbaric and cruel, wildlife killing contests still happen regularly in almost all of the 43 U.S. states they are legal in. Killing...

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Fawn sitting in the grass.

The woman on the phone was anxious but determined. She was calling City Wildlife, a rescue and rehabilitation center in Washington, D.C., because her dog had dug up a rabbit nest and killed three of the babies. There was one survivor. “I’m going to get some kitten formula and start feeding it...

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Kelly L. Williams

It's common to see baby wild animals outside during spring, as a new generation makes its way into the world. Baby wild animals might seem like they need our help, but unless the animal is truly orphaned or injured, there is no need to rescue them. These tips can help you decide whether to take...

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Neighbors working in a community garden
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By Bethany W. Adams

If you find a wild animal in distress while you're out for a hike, traveling or even in your own backyard, get them the help they need. Find a wildlife rehabilitator in the alphabetical list below. IMPORTANT! Before you "rescue" any wild animal, make sure the animal really needs your help. Determine...

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