Animals

Photos: Beautiful Black-Crowned Night-Heron at Jamaica Pond

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Check out a rare sighting of a black-crowned night-heron that was photographed by a local resident at Jamaica Pond.  

Ben Achtenberg provided Jamaica Plain News with these photos of the black-crowned night-heron he recently spotted at the pond. Here are several facts about them from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

They are not on the national endangered birds list. All migratory birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan says they are a species of moderate concern
As their name indicates, they feed mostly at nighttime through dawn
They are the most widespread heron in the world

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Animals

Photos: Wow! Blue Heron Caught a Big Catfish at Jamaica Pond

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Nature abounds in Jamaica Plain. For example check out the amazing fishing expedition a local resident captured at Jamaica Pond. "My husband and I saw this blue heron eating a catfish. It took a long time but the heron did manage to swallow the whole thing," wrote Dianne MacPherson-Laffey on the Jamaica Pond: Sightings, Stories, & Snapshots from an Urban Oasis Facebook page. MacPherson-Laffey said the heron caught the catfish on the Perkins Street side of the pond.

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Animals

Jamaica Plain Dog Park on ‘Paws’ While New DCR Commish Evaluates Projects

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Sorry Jamaica Plain dog lovers -- you're going to have wait longer for an off-leash dog park. Back in 2018, DCR announced that a location by Oakdale Street, which is already used as a renegade dog park, would be the site of a large off-leash dog park. Since then no shovels have hit the ground, merely just renegade paws. That leads us to February 5, 2020, when Jim Montgomery was named the new commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Montgomery decided to pause numerous proposed projects, including the Jamaica Plain dog park within the Southwest Corridor Park.

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Animals

MSPCA-Angell ER Doctor on Providing Care During Public Health Crisis

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There is barely an industry that hasn't been affected by the Coronavirus, and that includes animal care. Dr. Kiko Bracker, and emergency veterinarian at the MSPCA’s Angell Animal Medical Center, spoke about what it's like working these days. Q: What is your role at the Angell Animal Medical Center? 

Bracker: I am a specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. I help take care of sick patients in our ICU and see emergencies in the ER. Q: How has your job changed since the public healthy emergency?

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Animals

$18M Bond Issued to Fund MSPCA’s New Critical Care Unit

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The MSPCA will use proceeds from a $18,417,298.61 tax-exempt bond issued by MassDevelopment to build a new two-story addition. The MSPCA will use bond proceeds to build and equip a two-story, 9,000-square-foot addition at its Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain. The organization will then relocate its ward operations from its existing facility to the addition, creating space for a new state-of-the-art Critical Care Unit, according to a press release from MassDevelopment. MassDevelopment said that TD Bank purchased the bond, which will also be used to refinance previously issued debt. MassDevelopment and TD Bank teamed up in 2016 to help the MSPCA by issuing a $7 million tax-exempt bond, purchased by the bank to help MSPCA renovate their facility.

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