Great White Shark Turns Up in Greenwich — First Known Siting There, Ever

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It sounded like another sequel to Jaws, yet this time it is fact, not fiction. Ocearch.org, a marine life organization that has tagged and tracked a great white shark named after the explorer John Cabot, issued an advisory on Monday that the 9-foot-8-inch, 533-pound shark was spotted in the waters off the Greenwich coast. — This article originally was published by GreenwichFreePress.com. OCearch studies marine life in the U.S. and worldwide. At approximately 10:50 am Monday, OCearch tweeted that Cabot had triggered their tracking system in Long Island Sound, in the water between Tod’s Point and Great Captains Island.

Warning lime green coyote at waveny 2019

Leashed Dog Bit by Coyote at Waveny Park: Police Suggest Keeping Dogs Away from Pond Area

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Visitors to Waveny Park, just over the border from Darien in New Canaan, should be be especially vigilant in the area of the pond New Canaan Police are warning, after a coyote bit a leashed dog there last week. Visitors with dogs should avoid the area of Waveny Pond entirely for now, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Section. — This article originally was published by NewCanaanite.com. Halm said police had two calls Wednesday, about coyote sightings in the part of Waveny that includes the pond at the foot of the sledding hill, and that a witness to the biting incident on Thursday, April 25 reported it to authorities. The coyotes likely have established a den near the pond, Halm said, and are protecting the territory.

Tagging Horseshoe Crabs Maritime Aquarium 2019

Volunteers Needed to Tag Horseshoe Crabs: Register for Maritime Aquarium How-to Classes

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A beach mating ritual that is millions of years old is about to occur again on Connecticut’s shorelines, and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk needs help documenting it. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Volunteers are needed this spring to help the Aquarium tag horseshoe crabs when the unique creatures come out of Long Island Sound to spawn in the sand. This mass event is a bonanza time to gather data for an ongoing horseshoe-crab census — so much so that help is needed from “citizen scientists.”

“These tagging trainings reach capacity every spring, which thrills and amuses us,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. “Horseshoe crabs are hardly cute and cuddly. But a lot of people find it fun to go mucking around the beach in the middle of the night with us — all on the crabs’ behalf.

Volunteer Maritime Aquarium

Expand Your Horizons While Giving Back: Volunteer at the Maritime Aquarium

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Pursue your interest in marine animals and share your knowledge and enthusiasm with others by becoming a member of the volunteer staff at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Everyone from 15-year-olds to seniors is invited. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Interviews for potential volunteers — with details provided about a training course in March — will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and Thursday, Feb. 21, on both days at 5 p.m. You need attend only one.

Sandi Schaefer-Padgett feeds sand tiger sharks

Something Romantic For Valentine’s Day: Feed the Creatures at the Maritime Aquarium

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On the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, give your sweetie what he or she really wants: the chance to hand-feed a cow-nose ray. And a horseshoe crab. And a diamondback terrapin. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is making the magic possible by putting a special twist on its popular behind-the-scenes “Feeding Time” program. On Sat., Feb.

Tiny leopard tortoise newborn

Birth Announcement: A 10-Gram Leopard Tortoise at Maritime Aquarium

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The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk announces its first-ever hatching of a tortoise: a leopard tortoise on Jan. 6. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

The tiny tortoise is the first member of the turtle and tortoise family (Testudines) to ever hatch at the aquarium. The egg was the result of a pairing among six leopard tortoises added in a new display last summer. “We are extremely proud of our biologists for broadening their range of animal-husbandry expertise,” said Barrett L. Christie, director of animal husbandry.

Bee suit person Darien Pollinator Pathway event

About 50 People Learned More About the Darien Pollinator Pathway at Event

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The Darien Pollinator Pathway held its first event on Wednesday, Jan. 23, where over 50 people enjoyed an evening of wine and cheese while learning about the background of the Pathway. — an announcement, slightly adapted, from the Darien Pollinator Pathway organizers

They also learned about the need to help save our pollinator population which is in drastic decline because of pollution, climate change and loss of habitat. The evening was hosted by the Gardener’s Center and Florist, one of the collaborators in the Pathway. The Pollinator Pathway is seeking to restore the balance by encouraging people to landscape without using synthetic chemicals and to include native plants in their yards.

Darien Cops Website Coyote

Letter from Friends of Animals: Fencing, Not a Kill Permit, Is What’s Needed to Protect Pets from Coyotes

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To the editor:
The incident involving an attack on two dogs in Tokeneke is a most unfortunate event, but there is no reason why Darien residents should react by applying for kill permits from DEEP [the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection]. First, an invisible fence is not sufficient to keep dogs on one’s property protected because that electric fence won’t prevent other dogs, foxes or coyotes from entering one’s yard. There is fencing that will protect dogs and prevent wildlife from entering one’s property — but it’s five-foot woven-wire stationery fencing with extenders facing outward at the top of each post, not invisible fencing. Fencing needs to extend at least 8 inches below the surface, or have a galvanized-wire apron that extends out from the fence at least 15 inches. Prevention is the best strategy for minimizing encounters and conflicts with coyotes, foxes and other indigenous wildlife who shouldn’t be persecuted.

Eastern Coyote 03-23-17 via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coyote-face-snow_-_Virginia_-_ForestWander.jpg

One Dog Killed in Possible Coyote Attack, Another Injured in Tokeneke

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A dachshund belonging to a resident of Coves End Road in the Tokeneke section of Darien died from injuries after a fight with another animal, thought to be a large coyote in the area, according to the Tokeneke Association. In an email sent to members of the Tokeneke Association on Sunday (full text below), two dachshunds were let out by their owner at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 18. One returned later with four-inch cuts on both sides of her body, which required surgery at a veterinary hospital. Family members searched for the other dog, but couldn’t find him.

Heidi Lueders mug shot arrest photo Fairfield P.D.

Fairfield Police Charge New Canaan Woman Who Had Remains of Dogs in Crates in Her Apartment

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Two months after finding the remains of dogs in crates inside the Fairfield home where she had been living, Fairfield police on Tuesday arrested a 31-year-old New Canaan woman by warrant and charged her with five counts of animal cruelty. Heidi Lueders, now of Marshall Ridge Road in New Canaan, also was charged with first-degree criminal damage to a landlord’s property by a tenant, Fairfield police announced on Wednesday. — This article previously was published by NewCanaanite.com. Bully Breed Rescue, the organization Lueders headed, has had adoption events in Darien in the past. Police launched an investigation on Nov.

Monarch butterfly Darien pollinator path

Darien Pollinator Pathway Event with Wine, Cheese, Classes on Native Seeds and Floral Design

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Mark your calendars! The Darien Pollinator Pathway will be hosting a wine and cheese evening at the Gardener’s Center and Florist on Jan, 23. The event is free and open to everyone. It will feature two classes by the Gardener’s Center: a native seed planting class presented by Kris Barker, and a class in floral design using native flowers presented by Kate O’Keefe. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first class starts at 6.30 p.m. There will also be a raffle, with prizes including a magnificent bottle of wine donated by Sipstirs and a landscaping consultation with Kate O’Keefe.

Darien Police Officer Amanda Hinkley and the K-9 she handles, Argo, a German shepard

Darien Police K-9 Team — Argo and Handler, Officer Hinkley — Now Certified to Catch Fleeing Suspects

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Criminals beware: Argo, one of two Darien Police Department canines, already trained and certified both to sniff out narcotics and track suspects, now has a new crime-fighting skill. Now the dog and his handler, K-9 Officer Amanda Hinkley, have been certified in “apprehension work” as well, Police Chief Ray Osborne recently told the Police Commission. “And when you say ‘apprehension work’ you mean going after the, ah —” Commission Chairman J. Paul Johnson began to ask. “That means he can tackle the bad guy,” Osborne said. Osborne explained that Argo was young when he became a police K-9 in the department (back in 2016), “so we needed to put a little bit of experience and get a little age on him before we were comfortable certifying him in apprehension work, as well.”

Pollinator Pathway group starts

Darien Organizations Get Together to Create a ‘Pollinator Pathway’ to Protect Animals that Spread Pollen

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A collaboration of Darien residents and groups in town have joined a movement in other places to create a “Pollinator Pathway” through town to protect and encourage bees and other pollinators from the many threats they face. “It is well-documented that our pollinator population faces many threats,” says a news release from the group. Those threats include climate change and the use of pesticides as well as loss and fragmentation of natural habitat from development, particularly in the Northeast. The collaborators include Darien residents from various groups in town, starting with the Darien Nature Center, the Garden Club of Darien, the Gardener’s Center and Florist and Darien Library. The entire town is considered to be in Darien’s pathway, which allows it to “link” easily with the pathways starting up in Norwalk, Stamford and New Canaan as well as Weston, Wilton and Ridgefield.

Horse-drawn carriage rides Greenwich Holiday Stroll

Greenwich Holiday Stroll Perambulates This Weekend, Dec 1 and 2

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This weekend’s Greenwich Holiday Stroll will feature a live nativity scene, horse drawn carriage rides, professional ice sculpture demos, music and entertainment, children’s activities and a food truck village. Now in its 10th year, Greenwich Holiday Stroll Weekend will take place on Saturday, Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 from 12 to 5 p.m.

Participating retailers and activities and the non-profit organizations can be found on an interactive map accessed online at www.GreenwichReindeerFestival.com and by mobile devices. Parking is free on Sundays.

Heidi Leuders by Leslie Yager Bully Breed Rescue

Arrest Warrant Issued for President of Animal Rescue Group in Connection With Deaths of Five Dogs

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Fairfield Police have obtained an arrest warrant for Heidi Lueders, 31, the president of a New Canaan dog rescue organization, two weeks after the remains of five dogs in cages were found in her Fairfield apartment, police announced Thursday afternoon. Lueders, president of Bully Breed Rescue, which focuses on rescuing mostly pit bull dogs, is charged with five counts of animal cruelty and one count of first-degree criminal damage to landlord’s property. Her bond was set at $50,000 by a judge in state Superior Court in Bridgeport. “The Fairfield Police Detective Bureau is currently coordinating the terms of her surrender,” the town police department said in the announcement. The announcement also said:

On on Nov.