NEW JERSEY’S WILDLIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 – PART 3

by David Wheeler, Executive Director

COVID-19 has changed our lives in virtually every possible way over the last few months. Our relationship to wildlife is no different. This three-part series explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown on wildlife in New Jersey and across the world. Read Part 1 and Part 2 and check out our podcast on COVID-19 and wildlife.

Part 3 The Threat of COVID-19

No discussion of COVID-19’s impact on wildlife would be complete with its fated beginning and its long-term threats posed by the global economic shutdown. As a zoonotic disease, COVID-19 likely was triggered by a virus in bats that got into a pangolin in a wet market that was then consumed by people, chance encounters made much more likely by a number of destructive human activities.

Clearing primal forests bring people into contact with remote wildlife for the first time, while also changing wildlife behaviors to increase the likelihood of their interaction with humans. Live animal markets offer ideal opportunities for viruses like COVID-19 to emerge. Illegal trafficking incentivizes further habitat clearing and poaching. Trading in exotic wildlife creates a host of problems both to the species themselves and to their ecosystems. (Though underexplored in the popular Tiger King series, the impacts of the exotic wildlife trade could make a fascinating series in its own right).

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New Jersey’s Wildlife in the Time of COVID-19 – Part 1

by David Wheeler

COVID-19 has changed our lives in virtually every possible way over the last few months. Our relationship to wildlife is no different. This three-part series will explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown on wildlife in New Jersey and across the world. Be sure to also check out our podcast on COVID-19 and wildlife.

From my car window, I observed as many red foxes in a recent week as I had seen in the previous year combined. And it wasn’t just fox I was seeing more of. Wild turkeys, raccoons, migratory songbirds – I was seeing them all in greater abundance since the COVID-19 pandemic restricted most of us to our homes for nearly all of our waking hours.

A red fox kit with his mother.
Photo from www.johnentwistlephotography.com
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Summer Series: Join Us for Virtual Wildlife Events

Wildlife takes center stage this summer in a series of virtual presentations.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Mercer County Park Commission will present four one-hour webinars this summer, focusing on wildlife that affects our lives, even in an urbanized environment.

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Celebrate Endangered Species Day

Each year on the third Friday in May, the United States celebrates National Endangered Species Day. It is a chance for people of all ages to celebrate and learn about endangered species and how to protect them. Here are 5 ways you can celebrate New Jersey’s wildlife virtually, individually, and locally to stay safe during the corona virus crisis. Without the Endangered Species Act there wouldn’t be as many species in New Jersey to celebrate.

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Virtual Eyes on Eagles

Get a little wild while being safe at home! Join Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Mercer County Park Commission to get your eyes on eagles – virtually.

We’re co-hosting hour-long webinars on May 10 and June 7 with Mercer County Park Commission. Each virtual event will feature current footage collected safely from one of the bald eagle nests in the County Park system, along with bald eagle history and interpretation provided by Park naturalists and David Wheeler, Executive Director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

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Wildlife Experts on your Screen: Speakers Bureau Goes Virtual

You can still get a little wild while staying safe at home by hosting a Conserve Wildlife Foundation virtual event.

Connecting the public with the incredible wildlife and nature all around us is a vital part of our mission. While social distancing prevents in-person talks for the foreseeable future, our educators, naturalists and biologists can still share the inspiring stories of at-risk wildlife through virtual presentations on Zoom, Google Meet, or other online platforms.

Choose from a variety of topics such as wildlife in New Jersey, raptors, shorebirds, reptiles and amphibians, pollinators, wildlife art, climate change and more! 

Speakers include CWF’s biologists and executive director David Wheeler, as well as special guest presenters such as ecologist Blaine Rothauser and artist James Fiorentino. 

Presentations are generally one hour long and can be customized to your audience. We’ll present engaging information and offer plenty of opportunities for questions. A combination of photographs, videos and even live streams of eagles, falcons or osprey may accompany each talk. 

For more information on scheduling and pricing, see www.conservewildlifenj.org/education/speakers/ or contact info@conservewildlifenj.org.

The Bat’s Misunderstood Identity, State of Change Podcast, Episode 5

Bats are one of nature’s most misunderstood species. They strike fear in the hearts of many people but in reality they are incredibly beneficial to us. Bats face a multitude of threats and it is up to us to learn to understand and coexist with them if they are to have a future in our state.

The fifth episode of our podcast, State of Change, “The Bat’s Misunderstood Identity” features MacKenzie Hall, biologist at the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and Ethan Gilardi, assistant biologist with Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF).

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Meet the 2020 Species on the Edge 2.0 Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners of Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Species on the Edge 2.0 social media contest for New Jersey high school students.

Students from all over the state took part in the contest by creating a series of social media posts focusing on one of New Jersey’s vulnerable species. The contest gives students the chance to use their social media skills, and knowledge of wildlife biology, to help imperiled species.

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Social Media Contest for High School Students

New Jersey High School Students Invited to Speak Up for Wildlife – and win prizes – in the Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest

High school students from across the state are invited to put their meme making skills and social media savvy to work for wildlife. 

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Duke Farms Guest Post: Real Eagle Wives of New Jersey

by Nora DiChiara, Duke Farms Director of Programs and Strategic Planning

There is a new female Bald Eagle in the Duke Farms nest. If you’ve been counting, this is the third female to occupy the nest at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Our nearly 20-year-old male, resident serial monogamist Bald Eagle has sired over 25 bald eagle chicks since the nest creation in 2004.

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