One of the Humane Stewardship Alliance’s newest members is the 264-acre Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve in Ojai, California. A bit northwest of LA and Lake Casitas, Ojai is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Topatopa Mountains. This hidden gem includes both exotic gardens and extensive natural...

Pop quiz: What’s the best way to help butterflies in your backyard? If you answered “Plant butterfly bush,” you’re in good company. A recent survey of my gardening friends elicited the same response from more than a few. It’s easy to understand why: Aside from its self-reinforcing moniker, the plant...

Many Marches ago, as I mindlessly contorted myself to pull a deep-rooted weed from the garden patch, my thoughts turned longingly to the smell of fresh basil that would eventually grace what I saw as a still-barren vegetable graveyard. This spot was not so lifeless as it appeared, I would soon learn...

We zigzag from tree to tree, seeking refuge under the leaf umbrellas. Drizzle turns to deluge as we dash beneath a tall canopy to plot our escape. The sky booms. My dad takes my hand, and I look up to see if he shares my sense of foreboding. But he’s smiling at me, his eyes twinkling. He says...

Undercover video footage from a recent visit by the Humane Society of the United States at Bill Meadows’ Tiger Safari in Tuttle, Oklahoma, led to a U.S. Department of Agriculture citation for causing animals trauma and stress. The inspection report was made public last week. In March 2021 an HSUS...

Hummingbirds are top contenders for many avian superlatives: Bee hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, as diminutive as their insect namesake. In proportion to their body sizes, rufous hummingbirds make one of the longest migrations and Anna’s hummingbirds fly faster than space shuttles...

NEW YORK CITY —The annual To the Rescue! Gala supporting the work of the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International took place on Nov. 11, 2022, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City and raised over $2 million to benefit the organizations’ work, including animal rescue...

When making travel decisions, choose what is safest and most comfortable for your pet. For instance, unless you'll be able to spend a lot of time with your dog, they'll probably be happier at home than tagging along on your trip. As a rule, cats are almost always better off in their own home. But if...

WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States released today the results of a disturbing undercover investigation into two wildlife killing contests in Frederick County and in Waldorf, Maryland. Investigators documented the judging portions of the events, with participants lining up rows of...

To experience the natural world, we often navigate congested highways to swim in the sea, fly over patchworked terrain to hike through preserved forests and climb distant mountaintops to catch rare views. Largely because of our ever-increasing mobility, the areas nearest to us are rarely the dearest...

Thanks to widespread pet vaccinations, effective post-exposure treatment and the relative rarity of undetected bites by rabid animals, the number of human deaths from rabies in the United States caused has declined to an average of only one or two per year—far less than the number of human...

You’d think it would be easy to persuade people to protect prairie dogs: Not only are they a keystone species, with nine other species directly dependent on them for survival, but they’re also irresistibly cute, with big eyes and big personalities. Yet the personable little rodents often find...

Leading a summer camp class about beavers, Tabby Fique hoped for a glimpse of her favorite furry hydrologists. But another wildlife sighting offered an even better teachable moment. “We were looking at the pool created by the beavers, and a muskrat swam by!” recalls Fique, the land manager for the...

In a quiet corner of Black Beauty Ranch, on a stone plinth beneath a maple tree, there’s an oval etching of a man and a burro. The man is Cleveland Amory, author and founder of the Fund for Animals, and the burro is Friendly, one of the first animals to call the sanctuary home. The two met in 1980...

The suspect creeping up near my front fence was a tough character—broad-leafed and thick-stemmed and threatening to invade my property and swallow it whole if I didn’t act fast. There was no hesitation that summer morning as I headed to work: Off with his head! It was a decision made all too easy by...

Wherever you are in the U.S., a coyote may be taking up residence less than a mile away. If you live in the city, you’re more likely than your rural cousins to encounter raccoons. And regardless of geography, you probably share your home with dozens of species of insects and spiders. These facts...

As monarch butterflies and hummingbirds headed south this fall, I dreamt of following my favorite snowbirds to Mexico and Central America. But I stayed home instead, where I have a window onto the spectacular world of winter wildlife: northern flickers tossing maple leaves with their beaks in search...

Anyone who knows chimney swifts, with their cigar-shaped bodies almost constantly aloft, chattering, sweeping insects out of the sky, will wonder why they need to be mentioned in a work on resolving animal conflicts. The reason for this is not because they cause any special problem for us, but...

Crows may be intelligent because, like us and other smart species, they are very social. The groups of crows in your backyard are extended families who share food and look out for each other. Some young crows help their parents care for younger siblings before breeding themselves. Crows work...

Foxes are omnivores, hunting very small animals and scavenging in cities and towns where freely available pet food and garbage can make life easier. It’s not unusual for a fox to be seen out and about during the day. Learn More About Foxes Foxes are afraid of people and will usually run away when...