Airport Hires 'Bird Collie'

150 haven't taken required steps

(NEWSER) - A third of US airports haven't completed a mandated study of their bird-strike risk, USA Today reports. "This problem has been ignored and shuffled to the side by the aviation community," said an airport wildlife-control expert. The 150 airports won't be named until the FAA has contacted each one. The study is the first step in the process of creating a plan to safeguard an airport's planes from wildlife. More»

Agency compelled to release statistics after Flight 1549

(NEWSER) - Collisions between airplanes and birds have increased dramatically since 2000, with the number of instances at 13 major US airports doubling. New York’s JFK topped the list with the most avian accidents—30—since 2000, with California’s Sacramento International the runner-up at 28, the AP reports. Both are in areas—wetlands at JFK, farmland around Sacramento—that attract birds. More»

(NEWSER) - The FAA wants bird strike information kept confidential to encourage accurate reporting by airlines, ABC News reports. “There is a serious potential that information related to bird strikes will not be submitted because of fear that the disclosure of raw data could unfairly cast unfounded aspersions on the submitter,” the agency wrote in a notice. More»

Works tail off running with pack

(NEWSER) - One little Chinese dog will run for food—and run and run. In fact, the short-legged fluffy white stray ran 1,100 miles with a pack of bikers after one of the athletes shared some of his munchies with the pooch. The crew climbed 12 mountains in less than 25 days, and many dropped out before the trek was over. The little pup, nicknamed Xiaosa or Little Sa by the group, has become a national hero after fans followed the odyssey on a blog started by one of the cyclists, reports the BBC . "She was lying, tired, on the street" in a town in Sichuan province, one cyclist told the China Daily . "So we fed her, and then she followed our team" all the way to Tibet. "That dog showed very strong will power," he added. "I don't think we could have made it without that enthusiasm." The cyclist is adopting the dog—once they make it back home. More»

Canine friend walks golden retriever on leash

(NEWSER) - Tanner was a golden retriever who suffered from blindness and seizures; Blair was a homeless pup who had been shot. Now, the two are best buddies—and they're helping each other cope, the New York Daily News reports. The two were playing together at an Oklahoma animal hospital when "Blair all of a sudden seemed to realize that Tanner was blind and just started to help him around," a veterinarian tells Tulsa's KTUL . More»