Tiger at Wildcat Sanctuary Tests Positive for COVID-19 Virus
Sabrina, a 21-year-old Sumatran/Bengal tiger living at the Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone has tested positive for COVID-19.
The big cat was being treated for a respiratory infection when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories tested the animal for SARS-CoV-2 at a private lab with the results confirmed by the USDA.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says that Sabrina is only the second confirmed captive or domestic animal case of SARS-CoV-2 in the state of Minnesota. State Veterinarian, Dr. Beth Thompson says, It’s a good reminder that the virus can be transmitted from people to animals. We appreciate the veterinarians in the state who contact our office to discuss testing and surveillance of exposed and symptomatic animals, so we can investigate with our state and federal partners.
There won t be spectators and there won t be a lot of people on the route, but the John Beargrease website still lists volunteer opportunities.
John Beargrease was born to an Anishinabe Chief, Moquabimetem. The John Beargrease Race website says they mainly survived by hunting, fishing, and trapping in Beaver Bay. When he grew older he took a job delivering mail and used his sled dogs to deliver mail from Two Harbors to Grand Marais. The temperatures could be harsh but for 20 years he delivered the mail in those conditions.
The race is in honor of John Beargrease and his accomplishments, but it will look different this year. With COVID-19 making everything harder, the race officials have come up with a plan. There will be a limit of volunteers, and they will limit the volunteers in an area. Obviously, everyone has to wear a mask and social distance.
Last year the Lake Superior Zoo opened their Nature based all day pre-school and are back up and ready to accept students for the new school year and also summer session. They will be hosting a virtual open house on January 30, 2021 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Click here for more information and to sign up.
The mission for the Preschool is as follows:
To inspire the healthy social emotional, physical, creative, and cognitive development of young children through close-up experiences with animals and nature.
The Lake Superior Zoo School is open to children ages 33 months (fully potty trained) -5 years old located in the Twin Ports area. They will also accept families participating in the Child Care Assistance Program. These are full days Monday-Friday; 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. The School-year Session: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 – Thursday, June 9, 2022 with Summer Session Monday June 21, 2021 – Friday August 27, 2021.
On a year where we needed to get outside and enjoy the outdoors more than ever, mother nature really hasn t been kind to us. We had a mild start to the winter, with not much snow. We were hopeful that the storm before Christmas was going to be an indication for a good snow season, but so far that s been about it for the Duluth / Superior area. This last weekend we got a couple of inches, but it still hasn t been enough for local snowmobile trails in the Duluth / Superior area.
So with the lack of snow and the amount of money we put into our machines every off season, that left us with a search of where we could drive to and find ridable trails. The Douglas County snowmobile reports said that the trails were in fair condition, especially as you head a little further south in the county away from Lake Superior. That was an option for us. I also did see that there has been some friends of mine riding in certain sections of the U.P.
Whalefest Monterey Will Be Virtual For 2021
Even as restrictions loosen up and a vaccine is being rolled out, 2021 will still have many events done differently than we would hope. Virtual is still the safest way to still provide entertainment and education and it might be that way for some time. Thankfully, with our technology, it s easier than ever to participate in events.
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The 11th Annual Whalefest Monterey, which is an award-winning event, will be available in the form of a free virtual video. You can watch it from anywhere in the world and it s promising to provide entertaining education for people of all ages. It will take place ove four evenings, starting on Tuesday, January 26th, and running from 8:30-10:30PM each night through Friday, the 29th.