Urban coyotes on the prowl

Don't let the high lonesome howl of a coyote in the middle of Boston unnerve you. January and February are active times for the area's populations.
"It is not uncommon for coyotes to pass through urban areas, including areas of Boston and Cambridge," said Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for the state's office of energy and environmental affairs. In fact, the state's 10,000 coyotes have been spotted in every city and town in Massachusetts except Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket over the years.
But Mark McCabe, director of animal control in Cambridge said that their numbers are on the rise, at least in his 20 years on the job.
"When I first started, coyotes weren't seen," he said.
Years of development have eaten away at coyote habitat, and years of adapting have made coyotes accustomed to the bustle of city life. In Cambridge, they like to lay low in the Cambridge Cemetery during the day and have been spotted near Antrim Street, Wendell Street and the Third Street areas so far this year.
This time of year is especially active because juvenile coyotes are leaving the pack for the first time, and all coyotes are about to breed, said Tom O'Shea, assistant director of wildlife for the Massachusetts division of fisheries and wildlife.

Spotlight On ... Alicia

First-year dancer Alicia said she could survive on her own in the wilderness (with a cell phone), talked about her various pets and about playing Oscar and Rosita on the Sesame Street Live Tour.MT: First of all, give us a bit of background info.Alicia: I was born in Coon Rapids, and lived there for a little while. Then I moved to Minneapolis and went to a Catholic school there ... So I'm a Catholic school girl. Then I moved to Blaine where I am right now and went to Centennial High School. Now I'm going to college.MT: There we have it. You said your favorite person in the world is your best friend Christine.Alicia: She is. Christine and I have been best friends, since, oh gosh, maybe fifth grade? We've danced together our whole lives. I've from Shoreview and she's from Blaine, so it's maybe five minutes away. Christine is the best. I love her.MT: You're a big nature person, listing fishing and camping as two of your favorite things. How long could you survive in the wilderness without and help or supplies? Alicia: As long as I had my cell phone, I'd be good. I need my cell phone.MT: You can't have your cell phone. That defeats the purpose.Alicia: True. I guess I'd be OK. I could eat the berries and plants. I don't hunt ... I'd fish, but no hunting.MT: What would you do if a Grizzly bear were chilling at your campsite while you were in your tent?Alicia: I'd probably start crying. Definitely hide and be quiet. But if I had my cell phone, I could call somebody...MT: Touché. You're studying to be a veterinary technician. What do you have against animals?Alicia: I started off going to school to be a nurse and then I decided I didn't want to do that. But I've always loved animals - they don't talk back. I decided to go to school, and one opened up right by my house, and they had veterinary technician there. I don't want to call it an animal nurse, but that's pretty much what we are, assisting the veterinarian.MT: Let's hear more about your pets.Alicia: I have three dogs, a cat, and a fish. I have two goldens: Sadie, the mom and Maggie, her daughter. Then I have a Yorkie Poodle, that's Zoey. It's a Yorkshire Terrier (mixed with) a poodle. She's tiny. Really little. Then I have a rag doll cat named Frankie. She's pure white, and supposed to just lie in your arms, but she's a brat.MT: Any of them fight each other?Alicia: Yeah. My cat and my Yorkie Poodle fight all the time. They chase each other around ... it's funny. The cat will bite the dog and the dog will run back ... it's really funny.MT: Changing over to entertainment news: On January 22, actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment in New York City. What was your reaction?Alicia: That was so sad. My mom just came in the room and told me and at first I was thinking, "Who's that?" She said, "10 Things I Hate About You," and I remembered. Oh, my god.MT: Real sad. Apparently, the Batman movie set to come out this summer, in which he played the Joker, is supposed to be terrific. Any other movies you're excited to see?Alicia: Yes, "Strange Wilderness" with the fat kid (Jonah Hill) from Superbad. It looks super funny. It's just them videotaping in the wilderness. There are so many good actors in that. I'm excited to see that. MT: What's been the best part of being a Timberwolves Dancer this year?Alicia: Dancing in front of thousands of people. That's the best thing.MT: Fair enough. It took us a while to get dancer Kristi to admit any pet peeves. Do you have any for us?Alicia: Bad drivers. I mean, I'm probably a bad driver too, but that's about it.MT: You used to dance with the "Sesame Street Live" tour. Is there a sought after character to play? Alicia: They just assigned us randomly. I was Rosita and Grover. I liked them both, and I got to speak Spanish with Rosita. It's a show for little kids where everyone dressed up as Sesame Street characters and we'd use a thing in our hand that we squeezed to opened our mouth up.MT: Why is Elmo so cool, anyway? Oscar, Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Grover all used to be much cooler.Alicia: Maybe because he's so cute. But I didn't get jealous.MT: You also danced on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Not a bad gig?Alicia: It was great. I auditioned one day and they called a couple weeks later and asked me to come. It was more like I was on vacation and not like I was working. It was just dancing on vacation. Really fun.

Dog day afternoon at the K9 2008 event

IT MAY have been hot enough to fry eggs on the pavement, but a day out is always something a pet looks forward to.
The Malaysia K9 Day 2008 drew more than 5, 000 dogs and dog owners to the Central Park at Bandar Utama on Sunday despite the blazing sun and the muddy field from the previous day's rain.
Dogs of all breeds and sizes were seen trotting obediently with their owners, resting in the shade, cooling off in the lake, or gamely participating in the various contests. According to Puppy.com.my manager K.K. Chong, the event was organised by the company for the fifth consecutive year.
“This is an opportunity for dogs, dog owners and dog lovers alike to spend a day out to have fun and mingle, as well as to promote responsible dog ownership in Malaysia,” said Chong.
The event was also held to herald the start of 2008 as well as to usher the Chinese New Year.
Various NGOs such as the SPCA and PAWS had also set up booths to raise funds for their animal preservation initiatives, creating a carnival-like atmosphere while a vet corner was set up to offer free medical check up for dogs.

There were many activities organised to give the dogs a fun time throughout the day, with the main attraction including the 5th annual Malaysia Dog Beauty Pageant, Dog Microchipping Campaign, and demonstration by the Police K9 Unit.
Entries in the beauty pageant were judged on the shine of their coats, costumes, as well as intelligence and performances.
Other fun games included the Dog Musical Chairs, Dog Ball Retrieve Contest and Dog Rally Run.
As always, there were new activities to add more excitement to the event, namely 'Simon Says', 'Dog Hurdle Race' and 'Dog Triathlon'.
Despite the many activities going on, there were also many noticeable 'sideliners' who preferred to watch the rather than participate in them.

Lo Fung Soo was one of them, preferring to sit in the shade with two of his beautiful six-year-old St Bernards - Roger and Andes - to watch the goings-on around them.
His dogs certainly attracted much attention, and Lo was seen fielding a host of questions from the many admirers.
Meanwhile, those who participated in the events for the first time also had a blast.
“It's a fun event because everyone, especially dogs and dog owners get to mingle together,” said Lee Tze Mei, 13 who entered Pug Jai, her pet Pug into the beauty contest.
Decked in a cute blue costume and headgear, Pug Jai certainly seemed at home on stage.
Daphne Chua, who had attended the dog carnival for two years in a row, finally decided that she and her pretty pooch Cookie were finally ready to take part in the activities.
“It's good that Puppy.com.my organises such events for dog lovers as it is an opportunity to create an awareness on animal cruelty and responsibility. Such events should be organised more often.