I had saved the following news items from October, not knowing quite what to do with them. I only had the feeling they were important, and, was struck by the juxtaposition of these items; all appeared in the local paper on the same day. October 27, 2017.
Nothing of a supernatural cryptid nature, but still interesting for the number of animal related items on the same day, as well as the content itself.
All are from the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, Register Guard newspaper.
First item:
Cougar Sightings on the rise near Oregon Coast.
An updated cougar management plan, approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in mid-October, found that the coast management zone has reported a rise in cougar sightings, as well as an increase in conflicts with the big cats.
Now, state biologists based in Newport are beginning the first-ever coastal effort to attach GPS collars to adult cougars and track their movements to see just how far these predators wander, what they eat and where they might be going next.
The coast management zone is a large area that includes the northern section of the Cascade Mountain Range, the Portland, Salem and Eugene metroplexes and the rural North Coast. For years these areas were written off, not considered good cougar habitat, said Derek Broman, carnivore-furbearer coordinator for the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department.
Next: Clusters of butterflies stuck up North (could not find a link for this item)
An AP news item about Monarch butterflies still in the PNW and Canada, when they should be on their way to Mexico. Overall, Monarch butterflies have been staying in the northern part of the U.S., as well as Canada, long past when they should be staying. The reason: "…unusually warm weather and strong winds" according to biologist Elizabeth Howard. (Register Guard, October 27, 2017.)
Then an item about wolves in
Oregon: Reward offered in killing of protected gray wolf.
Ending with
Sea Lion Alert: The outbreak killing the marine mammal also is a danger to pets:
A bacteria outbreak is making sea lions sick along the Oregon Coast, so state officials are warning people and their dogs to stay away from the animals.
The outbreak began in September and likely will last into December, said Jim Rice, a researcher at Oregon State University. He studies and helps sick or stuck animals along the entire Oregon Coast as stranding coordinator with the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Calls about distressed or dead sea lions have been coming in regularly.
“I’m getting at least one a day,” he said Thursday. “It’s sometimes four, maybe five.”OSU’s Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has confirmed at least eight cases of leptospirosis in dead sea lions since the outbreak began, Rice said. The most recent such outbreak in Oregon was in 2010
Twenty something years ago, in grad school, I told my mentor/professor that I was collecting news items about animals, and specifically, any strange animal behavior items. (my area was supernatural folklore.) He told me that my project sounded promising, but, he asked, what was the "why?" Why was I doing this? What was I wanting to show, to learn?
I didn't know. I still don't. The above items are not supernatural in any way, but , aside from any unexplained mystery aspect, any news about animals is interesting. We can learn from the signals. The relationships, predictive programing, seeming prophetic signs. Clues to not just the mundane -- which is proving to be anything but, given our global envirnomental context -- but the things that go bump in the night.
