Courtesy of the Horvaths

​On Monday the New York Daily News reported the on the death of Lima, New York City celebrity hawk Pale Male's mate. Often when stories -- both happy and sad -- of New York's leash-less animals pop up, we hear from wildlife rehabilitators Bobby and Cathy Horvath. The two have been rehabilitators for 25 years, but they work as volunteers. They both hold down what you might call day jobs -- he as a fireman and she as a veterinary technician -- while living with a host of animals in need of care. Currently, Bobby told Runnin' Scared, they have 50 or so animals in their home. We called up the married couple to get their reaction to recent news about Lima and other high-profile New York birds, and to learn more about what it's like caring for the city's wild creatures.

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This Kissena Park duck is not dinner.

​A crew of Prospect Park squirrel and bird poachers was nabbed earlier this summer to much media fanfare about the city's hunter-gatherer "trend," pitting conservationists against urban foragers of all stripes. This particular band of hunters stirred a small debate among our commenters: Were the poachers victims of our harsh economic times, homeless and hungry and fending for themselves in this unforgiving city, Survivor-like? Or were they cruel hicks, with raw squirrel meat stuck in their fangs as they littered willy-nilly?

Writ large, to higher questions of the relationship between human and what passes for nature in New York: Why would you do this? As in, eat anything from a New York City pond or field that has been peed on by countless dogs, or hunt adorable animals, or help yourself to or destroy public property? On the other hand, why would you not? What could be more "sustainable" and locavorish than making a salad from young dandelion greens harvested from a nearby park?

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Steve Cannon's backyard

​It might be tempting to fork over $350 for the right to grill and party (but not imbibe) for four hours in an urban "backyard timeshare" like the one we wrote about earlier today. If, however, you're looking for more recession-friendly options in the neighborhood, we've compiled a few of our own local favorites in the $25 to $50 range.

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​Recall the summers when you were a child, blessedly free of school, living somewhere other than the Lower East Side of Manhattan, when you would wile away hours lying in the grass and watching butterflies pass overhead? You weren't in Tompkins Square Park, and you weren't tripping on acid. Remember? Perhaps you do, perhaps you don't. Maybe this didn't even happen. But the collective consciousness of New York City seems to feel that "backyards" are nice, probably because so many of us don't have them, and so, some entrepreneurial party people in the city are trying to make money off of that. It's true -- 3,200 square, grass-covered, feet at 145 Ludlow will be rented out for $50 an hour, starting August 11. This is being called a "backyard time share," and can be booked through we@theparticipationagency.us for barbecues, hammock-reclining, pogo-sticking, or whatever you want to do in a backyard.

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​In Queens, raccoons are invading homes, and local lawmakers have had enough. State Senator Tony Avella of Queens proposed a bill on Monday that would change the way New York City handles raccoons. At present, the city will only pick up a raccoon if it is sick, dangerous, or hurt, and Avella's bill would change that so that the city will pick up a raccoon if a resident requests it.

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​Like many an aspiring New Yorker, the mountain lion that was recently sighted wandering about Greenwich, Connecticut -- the lion that was later, sadly, killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway -- had headed east from far, far away. On Tuesday state officials reported that the animal had come all the way from the Black Hills of South Dakota, and, according to genetic testing, had also been in Wisconsin and Minnesota. It had traveled more than 1,500 miles to get to Connecticut. This, the New York Times reports, "is more than twice as far as the longest dispersal pattern ever recorded for a mountain lion."

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​• Leon Reid IV, the artist who'd wanted to dress Union Square's George Washington statue up like a New York tourist -- with camera, I Heart NY hat, and the like -- in a project called "Tourist-in-Chief," has been denied his request to do so by the New York City Parks Department. Reid had accrued more than $3,000 on Kickstarter for his project. [DNA Info]

• A new poll from Quinnipiac University reveals that 23% of city voters would pick Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as their choice for the next mayor of New York City. However, he has given no indication of running. [NYDN]

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Svadilfari

Herpes. O Rly?

​When an enormous great horned owl was found dead on the ground in Inwood Hill Park last month, the Department of Environmental Conservation promised to find out what laid the noble beast low. Today, the results of the autopsy were announced and -- there's really no way to sugarcoat this -- the owl died of herpes. Bird herpes.

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In response to a question that has long racked the world's collective brain -- how do animals stay cool at the zoo during a heat wave!? -- MSNBC has a long-awaited answer. Tigers eat popsicles made out of blood! "It's kind of gross, but they like it," said Diana Weinhardt, who supervises the Northern Trails exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo. Others get mouse popsicles! How adorable! Additionally, most zoos have some sort of air conditioned area for the animals, as well as outdoor pools. Zoo animals: Just like us, if we had really bad taste in food. [MSNBC/Video from Urlesque]

​Good news for the denizens of that Westchester hamlet known as Pleasantville, for now they can unlock their doors and windows again, and breathe easy, or easier, given that they live in a place called Pleasantville (we've been there! It's pleasant!). A rabid skunk that had been meandering about looking "disoriented and unhealthy" was captured in Rockefeller State Park. Those who may have been in contact with it -- you'd know it by the staggering and frothing at the mouth -- have been urged to seek treatment. Meanwhile, coyotes are roaming the streets of New Jersey suburbs, particularly in Hackensack and Maywood, boldly, right out in plain sight. Jersey residents have been told to turn the sprinklers on as "it'll chase them away--or hit them with the hose." Here in the five boroughs, be on the lookout for staggering, roaming, and frothing. Hey, it happens. [NBC NY/Gothamist]