主题:【纪事】白宫周围,野狼出没 -- 西风陶陶
Coyotes Roam, Not Far from White House
Fri Nov 5, 2004 03:05 PM ET
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By Deborah Zabarenko
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Coyotes, the rangy animals associated with the American West, have been spotted in the U.S. capital for the first time, sparking gossip in precincts where talk usually turns on politics.
"On our way home from a party tonight, my son spotted a coyote trotting among the trees," one writer said in an e-mail group for one of Washington's tonier sections.
"One ran across Military (Road). No question, a healthy smallish coyote!" another wrote on Oct. 21, referring to a location about 5 miles from the White House.
Residents of the Washington area have reported seeing coyotes for months and The Washington Post warned last summer that household pets could fall prey to the omnivorous creatures.
But coyotes' presence inside the city limits was confirmed only in September by a naturalist on duty in the woods of Rock Creek Park.
"I suspect we've had coyotes close by for some time. We've just discovered them recently," Michael Bean, chairman of the wildlife program at the Environmental Defense group, said on Friday.
Coyotes originally roamed in what is now the northwestern corner of the United States, but have expanded their range over the last 200 years to include all of North America except the extreme northeast portions of Canada.
With its thick fur, pointed snout and bushy tail, the coyote appears similar to a domestic dog like a collie, but its adaptability has enabled it to survive where a household pet might not.
A typical coyote diet includes small mammals, insects, reptiles, fruit and carrion, but in areas like Washington where it shares its habitat with humans, kitchen garbage and pet food are likely menu additions.
It is not unusual to find coyotes in a city setting, naturalists say, and they have been spotted in cities in Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois, including in Chicago.
The real-life coyote should not be confused with the hapless cartoon Wile E. Coyote, eternal loser in his desert battle of wits with the Roadrunner, Bean said.
"Unlike the cartoon character, they're not dumb. They're quite capable of surviving in some inhospitable surroundings," he said. "If they were as dumb as the cartoon character, they would never have made it this far."
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熊口增长过快,地方政府现已开放猎熊啦,每年一次,但猎手数量大大超过熊口,怪怪。
还没和谁打招呼,就给人类给毙了;理由是小朋友快放学乐。
这人类也忒霸道乐。
你有没有动过吃大雁的念头?还有遍地的野鸽子海鸥等,我,我,不敢说了,
不知怎么着,俺对着松鼠有些想法。
尤其是在丫清晨在俺的屋顶上开PARTY的时候!
咱们这附近邻居家的猫来俺们院子串门的也不少,咋对松鼠没兴趣涅?
山狮到底什么样的,我想不出来,肯定跟狮子不一样吧,觉得至少应该小好多。
动物是人类的朋友,要爱护!
估计你弄错了,肯定是老轧。
吃上了天鹅肉的就不算那哈马乐,别不爱吱声啊。
别气急败坏,猛敲键盘啊。
吃不上的才是天鹅和青蛙的关系。
给鲜花施乐肥,自然就会开花结果的。
我猜是母的,雪个那个是公的,一般动物都是公的比母的好看
自行车手。人们发现了他的头盔,找到他的尸体的时候,他已经死了一天了。