Wyoming’s bald eagle population has reached a new high of more than 185 breeding pairs.

The rebound has staggered ornithologists who predicted much lower recovery rates when the birds were first granted federal protection in 1967.

The bald eagle population is soaring nationally, as well, with the number of breeding pairs in the lower 48 states climbing from a low in 1963 of 417 to more than 9,700 today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday.

The strong recovery offers evidence to some scientists that federal protection of the birds under the Endangered Species Act should be lifted.

“They’re not facing extinction, and they are not threatened with moving into the endangered classification,” said Bob Oakleaf, who oversees nongame species for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “So we might as well reserve that act and the money and heartache and conflict that goes with it to the species that need it.”

The decline and resurgence of Wyoming’s bald eagles span more than a century.

It’s difficult to estimate eagle numbers before the arrival of Anglo-American settlers, because the settlers both helped and hurt the birds.

Eagles benefited from the creation of reservoirs for irrigation and the stocking of fish species not indigenous to the state.

Even more influential, however, were poisons including strychnine, introduced in the 1800s, to kill wolves and other predators known to feed on livestock. Eagles consumed baited meat or carcasses of dead predators and were unintentionally killed.

Trophy hunting and poisonous lead shotgun ammunition used until the 1980s to hunt waterfowl also contributed to eagle mortality.

By the time DDT, the infamous eggshell-weakening pesticide, arrived in Wyoming, the eagle decline was well under way.

“They used DDT in Wyoming fairly heavily in croplands in the ’40s,” Oakleaf said. “By then it was just icing on the cake.”

Despite the unwitting boost from early farmers and ranchers, Wyoming’s eagle population by 1978 had dropped to 35 breeding pairs.

Most of the remaining birds lived in the greater Yellowstone region, including 15 breeding pairs inside Yellowstone National Park. But severe weather in Yellowstone during the 1970s and 1980s limited the breeding productivity of those eagles. A handful that lived on private land around Jackson formed the nucleus from which most of the state’s recovered population eventually blossomed.

Small groups of eagles in the Sheridan area, possibly migrants from Montana, and in the Saratoga area probably also helped repopulate the state, Oakleaf said.

The population in the Jackson areas, far greater than anyone predicted when recovery efforts began, is so dense that scuffles and deaths between the highly territorial birds are frequent.

But those same birds face some of the most rapid habitat destruction and human encroachment because of development, Oakleaf said.

Fortunately, he said, conservation groups are working to protect open space from development, and bald eagles seem to be increasingly at ease in the presence of humans, possibly because more young birds are forced to live in developed areas.

“There are signs that they are showing increasing tolerance to human activity,” Oakleaf said.

The future of Wyoming’s bald eagle population is unclear, Oakleaf said, except that it’s probably here to stay.

The population growth seems to be slowing, but Oakleaf said he won’t say that the birds have reached their capacity.

In the meantime, the efforts to lift federal protection for bald eagles continues. The current debate centers on fine nuances in the rules that will guide management of the birds in the future.

Conservationists are concerned that the rules will be too flimsy to offer meaningful protection for the long term.

Oakleaf noted that numerous other laws will remain in place to protect bald eagles when federal protection is lifted. After all, he pointed out, they are the national symbol.

A mosquito count scheduled for later this month will decide the schedule for any spraying required to control the pest.

Although a tentative schedule has been scheduled for possible mosquito spraying throughout the community, it will not go into effect unless the count done by the county’s mosquito control department warrants it, said Kristi Connell, the association’s public relations director.

Cy Lesser, chief of the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control, said mosquito counts are a request-only service, with approximately 140 communities in the county having mosquito surveillance performed.

Lesser said the first stage of mosquito counts in the Pines began in early April.

“What happens is, a team goes in and looks for mosquito larvae in various locations like stormwater, undeveloped lots and undrained ditches. Then they will treat those areas with the larvae,” he said.

Lesser said that because Worcester County has had a cool and dry spring, counts for adult mosquitoes will be conducted at the end of May.

There are two methods for conducting adult mosquito counts and the primary way is through light traps, Lesser said. He said there are approximately five traps placed in various sections of the Pines that operate overnight. The next morning inspectors come in, get the light traps, identify and count the mosquitoes.

“In order for a treatment to be done, the mosquito count has to reach a certain level. If it’s below the level, no treatment will be done,” Lesser said. “On average, if 10 mosquitoes get caught each night in the trap and are counted, then treatment could be performed.”

He added that not all mosquitoes are attracted to light, therefore, a second method is used where the inspectors respond to private complaints at particular properties in the community.

“An inspector will go out into a person’s yard and use themselves as bait for one to two minutes,” Lesser said. “The inspectors will do a count of how many land on them in that period, and a treatment would most likely be performed in the area if at least five land within that two-minute interval.”

According to Lesser, the need for treatment and mosquito spraying varies in the Pines each year and depends on factors such as weather and in what section of the community a person lives.

“It used to be that three-quarters or more of the mosquitoes in Ocean Pines would be in sections 15 and 10, because they are the more southern sections in the community, and as we went more north there would be fewer and fewer, but that has changed,” he said.

According to Lesser, there are many factors that have caused the change, but primarily it is the introduction within the last 10 years of the tiger mosquito. He said the tiger mosquito is attracted to containers, puddles, flowerpots and anything in a person’s yard that will hold the smallest amount of water.

Unlike the Ocean Pines’ native mosquito, which is more attracted to wetlands and tends to stay away from humans, the tiger mosquito has become a large nuisance to many communities because it can closely associate with humans.

“Once it was introduced to any area, it just proliferated and is now the number-one problem species we answer complaints about,” Lesser said.

“Since Ocean Pines is a vacation getaway and retirement community, the tiger mosquito has begun to make more of an appearance during the last 10 years, because people are bringing them in with items that may have been stored somewhere the mosquito would be,” he said.

Mosquito spraying must be done carefully. Consideration must include the wind and its direction to avoid contaminating delicate environments.

The schedule, if the mosquito count reaches the required level for spraying, is as follows; on the Monday following the decision to conduct the spraying, the process would begin in sections 10, 15A, 15B, 16 and 17, that Tuesday would be sections 11, 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 18 and 19, on Wednesday would be sections 4, 9, 12 and 13, that Thursday would be sections 1, 2, 3 and 7 and the Friday would be sections 5, 6 and 8.

For more information, call the OPA at 410-641-7717.

IT has cost £500,000, has all the latest medical equipment and even a spa. . . but this hospital is for horses.

The equine sports injury centre is on an 80-acre site at Normans Hall Farm, Pott Shrigley, Macclesfield.

Specially designed stables will offer total care on site, with staff on 24-hour call.

Veterinary physiotherapist Gabrielle Kerfoot, who intends to open the centre in January, said: “There is nothing else like it in the north west.” The centre will have 29 stables but 12 will be designed for elite competition winners.

Mrs Kerfoot, the vice- chairman of the National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists, has treated an Ascot winner valued at £4 million, as well as horses on the professional show jumping circuit and contestants at Badminton.

She said: “Footballers have physio after treatment for injuries and it is just the same for horses.

“There will be a state-of-the-art spa, which is like a salt water Jacuzzi. The facilities will be top class, and provide a calm, efficient environment.”

Mrs Kerfoot, 37, who used to be a show jumper, said that it was difficult to treat horses properly in their yards because the facilities were not avail- able.

She said: “Some horses could have to stay for up to two months at the new centre, which would have the latest medical scanning equipment.

“With MRI scans we are diagnosing more and more problems with spines.

“Spinal work and postural work are something I am very keen on.”

The first planning application for the centre, which will cater for all types of horses from children’s pets to Group One race horses, was rejected last year, but modified plans have now been approved.

As well as therapy and treatment rooms, there will be on open-air exercise arena and a 40-metre diameter horse-walker.

Mrs Kerfoot said: “This has been two years in the planning.

“It is a big investment and I have had lots of sleepless nights.”

Firefighters perform all sorts of heroics, from putting out blazes, to helping the injured, to dealing with car wrecks.

But Sunday saw a first: Maggie, the Anchorage Zoo’s beloved African elephant, had lain down inside her indoor enclosure - and she wouldn’t get up. Zoo employees asked firefighters from Station 8 on O’Malley Road to help.

All told, the pachyderm was down for some 12 hours, said Young Suenram, an Anchorage Fire Department battalion chief. Firefighters worked with urgency to raise her up, he said. With animals Maggie’s size - about 7,500 pounds, says the zoo - the compressed weight of her own bulk can cause breathing and lung problems, and even kill her.

It was alarming to see “how badly she was looking,” Suenram said. “We worked at trying to get her up as soon as possible. We are just so ecstatic that she’s up now.”

Eileen Floyd, a zoo spokeswoman, said it’s not uncommon for Maggie to lie down.

“Usually what happens is when she lays down, and the keeper comes in, she gets right up,” Floyd said. “It’s highly unusual if she stays down. So that’s where all the worry and concern happens. If they stay down really long, they have a tough time breathing. So that was the fear - that if she didn’t get up, eventually, she could die.”

Maggie showed signs that she wanted to stand, but couldn’t, Floyd said. “She has a couple of little abrasions because when she was down and trying to get up and unable to she was thrashing around.”

Initially, eight firefighters were on the scene: Four from Engine 8 on O’Malley, and four from Engine 9, a team that specializes in “high angle rope rescue.” Not exactly elephant rescue, but the crew knows how to get people off mountain cliffs and building faces, Suenram said.

Later, they were joined by nine more firefighters, including the Urban Search and Rescue team that’s skilled in lifting collapsed buildings. “It was very appropriate, since we had an elephant,” Suenram said.

The firefighters went online for ideas on how to hoist the massive mammal. They found information about a similar case in Los Angeles, and used that elephant rescue as framework to use straps, a winch, and firefighter brawn to save Maggie.

The 17 firefighters worked for hours in Maggie’s pen.

“With human power and with mechanical power, we helped her up and got her legs underneath her,” said Suenram, speaking from the zoo on Sunday afternoon. “She’s up now and she’s standing up. She seems fine. She’s eating peanuts and having fun.”

Floyd said the day-long incident didn’t disrupt zoo business. Maggie’s area and others are closed right now because the snow leopard nearby is about the give birth and zookeepers want to keep the surroundings calm and quiet, Floyd said.

Maggie first left her South African herd as a baby more than 25 years ago, after her mother was killed. She spent a brief period in New York before coming to Alaska, and joining Asian elephant Annabelle at the zoo.

Maggie draws crowds - and controversy. Since Annabelle died in 1997, Maggie has lived alone. She spends the cold half of the year in a 1,600-square-foot concrete enclosure, and animal rights groups say this makes her more subject to health problems, even early death.

Throughout the debate, Maggie has remained popular with Anchorage residents and visitors, and one of the biggest draws at the zoo. The zoo’s board of directors is supposed to review the elephant’s status in August.

Every morning, Mr. Zi runs to the footstool where his leash is kept, drags it to the floor and sits there impatiently, making demanding noises, until owner Camilla Gresham puts his halter on. Then it’s out the door they go.

Just like a well-trained dog, Zi walks by her side, usually in the perfect heel position, and stops passers-by in their tracks: Is that a cat? On a leash? And look at those spots! Is he wild? A leopard?

Zi is a Bengal, an intelligent domestic breed of cat whose forefathers a few generations back were small wild Asian leopard cats and domestic felines. Like the rest of his breed, his back legs are a bit taller than his forelegs, giving him that stealthy, I-own-the-world walk. He is lithe and muscular, about 15 pounds, with soft, minklike, cinnamon fur with dark spots.

Walk this way

• Start as early as you can; it’s easier to train a kitten.

• Use an “8″-shaped cat harness, not a collar, for walking. But have a small collar with an ID on the cat, too.

• Get the cat used to the harness in the house without the leash. Put it on before you feed him so he associates the harness with something pleasant. Don’t leave it on very long.

• When he is comfortable with the halter, put the leash on and let him drag it around. Train when the cat is hungry.

• Use the cat’s name, followed by “heel,” as you would a dog. Move forward a couple steps at a time very slowly. When the cat follows, give praise and a treat.

• When the cat is comfortable with the leash, take him outside. Train on the grass and around bushes, which will interest the cat more than a sidewalk. Don’t train in a busy area that may scare it.

• Be sure the cat is up to date on vaccinations.

• Walk the cat in your yard only so it won’t get frightened by cars and dogs.

• Always carry the cat out the door so he doesn’t get used to running out the door anytime.

Gresham says Bengals are often called “doglike” because they love to play in water, fetch toys, talk (a lot), and demand more attention than most cats usually want. They make a good alternative for some people who are allergic to cats because their fur is peltlike, and they shed very little.

Gresham and her husband, Tom, got Zi from a neighbor’s relative who could no longer care for him. Zi was used to roaming the great outdoors, but the Greshams decided to keep him indoors for fear of wildlife. But Zi meowed pitifully to get outside, so Gresham finally decided to try a leash.

That he took to the leash so quickly is unusual, even for a Bengal. It usually takes training, says Laurie Clauss, veterinarian at Cattails Feline Health Center in Colorado Springs.

But any breed of cat can be trained to the leash at any age. It’s more a matter of intelligence and especially temperament, Clauss says. And it takes a certain kind of owner, too. “It’s a matter of patience. It usually takes a lot of training. You have to make the experience a privilege for the cat.”

Clauss says all cats should be indoor pets because of outdoor dangers and suggests walking a cat only in the yard for safety’s sake. Giving them a 10-minute leashed walk outside “is a neat way to get mental stimulation,” Clauss says.

Gresham doesn’t have any advice on how to train a cat to take to a leash, because Zi didn’t fight it or meow to have the halter taken off. “He took to it immediately. I think he knew that was the only way he was going to get some fresh air.”

A new blue-and-green-throated hummingbird species has been discovered in a cloud forest in Colombia, and already needs protection from human encroachment, the experts who found the bird said yesterday.

Called the gorgeted puffleg, the new species is easily twice as big as the thumb-sized hummingbirds found in the eastern United States, measuring between 3.5 inches and 4 inches in length, its discoverers said in answer to e-mailed questions.