Mary Cummins Wildlife Rehabilitation Animal Advocates News Los Angeles California: mary cummins

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Saturday, July 26, 2025

Greenland Wildlife Overpass vs Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. Which is bigger? Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

Greenland Wildlife Overpass

Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

I just heard that the Greenland Wildlife Overpass will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world. They broke ground January 2025 and expect to finish December 2025. The overpass will go over six lanes of the I-25 in Colorado. The cost is $15,000,000. I was wondering how that compares to the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. Here are the numbers below.

Greenland Wildlife Overpass
Size: 209' x 200' wide, 41,800 sf area, six lanes
Cost: $15M
Location: I-25, Monument, Douglas, Colorado
Time to build: one year

https://www.codot.gov/projects/i25greenlandwildlifeoverpass

Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

Size: 210' x 165' 34,650 sf area, ten lanes
Cost: $90M
Location: 101 fwy in Agoura Hills, Los Angeles, California
Time to build: April 2022 ground breaking, expected completion June 2026, four years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_Annenberg_Wildlife_Crossing

Colorado crossing is larger, costs less and will be built more quickly. There are of course some major differences. The Colorado one is on flat ground and only goes over one freeway. Annenberg crossing is on sloped hilly ground and goes over one freeway and a two lane street. Things cost a lot more in Los Angeles, California especially construction, materials and labor. I've been a real estate appraiser, broker over 42 years and appraise construction projects. We also have seismic, soils issues and requirements besides CEQA and other regulations. I don't know if they are including the cost of buying the land. California crossing had to purchase some land for access. It wasn't all county land.

Nice to see other states building wildlife crossings. I'm sure the cost of the crossings will go down with the sharing of plans, research and technology.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

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Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

IWRC Works with Research Commons by Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council IWRC is now working with the Research Commons. This is a great idea. Wildlife rehabilitators are on the front lines of wildlife issues. We are the first to see the results of oil spills, mass die offs and the spread of new diseases. I remember when we first got West Nile Virus in squirrels around 2002 or 2003. It happened around the same time it affected crows here in Los Angeles, California. Would have been great to be able to share our findings, necropsies with researchers to better understand the disease and the threat it posed to humans and other animals.

"The IWRC is so happy to announce a new member benefit - the Research Commons! Wildlife Rehabilitation facilities represent a vastly underutilized resource for wildlife health research and monitoring. Wildlife rehabilitators stand at the intersection between public health and wildlife health; with access to hundreds of thousands of living and dead wild animals annually around the world, as well as a direct line of communication with invested stakeholders in their communities through volunteer programs, wildlife education and conservation efforts, and compelling media stories.

Despite a growing recognition by both wildlife rehabilitators and researchers that there is a great need for partnership and a wealth of data to be mined, the road to collaboration can sometimes be unnecessarily bumpy. To help with that, the Research Commons offer a shared space to put out the call for collaborators from both sides of the equation - researchers who are looking for partners and access to data or samples, and rehabilitators who are facing emerging issues and need help investigating. Add your project today!"

Link to the Research Commons via IWRC
https://theiwrc.org/?page_id=238&awpcp_category_id=568%2Fresearch-commons

Mary Cummins

Monday, July 21, 2025

Annenberg Foundation Gave FireAid Money as Promised by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Recently a few people falsely stated that the Annenberg Foundation was not giving FireAid money to the January wildfire victims. That is absolutely false. Annenberg Foundation, FireAid distributed $75,000,000 so far to wildfire victim support. The first $50,000,000 was in February 2025 right after the concert. Then they gave out $25,000,000 more in June. The third round of funds is upcoming. From the FireAid website,

"The first round of grants, distributed in February, provided $50 million in immediate relief to more than 120 nonprofit organizations, reaching over 150,000 Angelenos. These grants supported families, displaced homeowners, foster youth, seniors, small business owners, first responders, artists, and others with emergency housing, food assistance, trauma counseling, direct financial relief, childcare, and animal welfare services."

The next $25,000,000 grant money was handed out in June 2025. "The Round Two grants are divided into four categories: Continued Relief for Wildfire Victims and Communities ($5,950,000), Wildfire Recovery ($16,975,000), Critical Information for Fire Victims ($700,000), Symbols of Hope ($500,000), and an another $1,000,000 to fund a FireAid project with the LA County Fire Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation to provide a much needed special firefighting vehicle for Altadena and an additional wildfire preparedness vehicle for the Palisades, in advance of the upcoming fire season." Press release https://www.fireaidla.org/press-releases/fireaid-announces-additional-25-million-in-grants There will be a third round of grants by the end of the year.

Another very important point is the promised recipients of the money. Wildfire victims are receiving the money through nonprofit organizations. That is what was promised since the very beginning. See the press release linked above which lists all recipients and dollar amounts. Checks were given to the wildfire victims from the nonprofits besides services and products. People should read the FireAid and Annenberg websites before attacking them. It's easier to have nonprofits vet the wildfire recipients and give them the money. FireAid, Annenberg would have had to hire, train and pay people to run the programs to give out the money. Makes more sense to have experienced local targeted nonprofits do it so more money goes to the victims.

Next people said that people were keeping part of the funds. Another lie. "Each grant is distributed by FireAid’s DAF with 100% of the money raised from the FireAid benefit concert going directly to fire relief for impacted communities and wildfire victims." This means the philanthropists are spending their own money to administer the grants, funds and programs. There were also sponsors who donated the arena and many other services for free. None of the musicians were paid a penny either. There probably were some costs and fees involved putting on such a huge event.

They also falsely stated that the family foundation the Annenberg Foundation is run out of Pennsylvania. The founder and board members live, lived right here in Los Angeles, California. This includes Wallis Annenberg, Lauren Bon and her other children. Most of the main programs are here in Los Angeles such as the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, Annenberg GenSpace, Metabolic Studios, PledgeLA, Annenberg Lerner, Annenberg Petspace, Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Annenberg USC College of Communication to name but a few. In 1989 they had over a billion in assets. They are not a small foundation as cited in the false media articles. The FireAid DAF are also in Los Angeles. "The FireAid Grants Advisory Committee, composed of longtime LA-region philanthropic leaders with deep relationships in the non-profit community, have been working to identify key areas of need, for maximum impact."

Lastly they stated that some of the CEOs, GMs, Directors of the nonprofits make $100,000 a year in salary so only a tiny amount goes to wildfire victims. That's the going rate to run a small to average sized nonprofit. Do you expect employees of an organization to work for free? I doubt the people asking for the donations work for free. I also believe that some of them already received FireAid, Annenberg funds via the many nonprofits who handed out checks, gift cards and free services and products. They just didn't realize where the money came from. I saw people handing out the gift cards. I also didn't realize that money came from FireAid and Annenberg. The grants aren't going to pay the CEO's salaries. They're going to the wildfire victims.

This happens after every natural disaster. We have a natural disaster such as the Maui Fires, Eaton Fires, Palisades fires. Everyone offers to have a event and do fundraising to raise funds for the victims. A large nonprofit and well known respected philanthropists offer to help. They raise a lot of money and give it all to support the cause. Then a few mean people start shitting on them while asking for money and not getting an instant check. Nobody bothers to do any research and they start trashing the philanthropists. Media picks up the rants because it causes a controversy which gives them more traffic to make money off ads. It's absolutely shameful to attack the people who are out there actually helping.

*We received no funds from the disaster fund or FireAid donations even though our organization was in the fire zones rescuing animals and fostering the pets of wildfire victims, see previous posts. We didn't get anything and we didn't even ask for anything. We helped animals because that is our mission and what we do.

Mary Cummins

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Should be Finished by 2026 by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Visited the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing today. It should be finished by 2026. It may be the largest wildlife crossing. #wallisannenbergwildlifecrossing #annenbergwildlifecrossing #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california

Mary Cummins

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Audit of Los Angeles Animal Services by Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates

December 4, 2024 LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia ordered an independent audit of Los Angeles Animal Services. Mejia ordered the audit because of increasing intake and euthanasia rates at Los Angeles city animal shelters noted by outside animal rescue organization Best Friends. Mejia stated "Our audit aims to give L.A. Animal Services, the public, and policymakers a detailed understanding of LAAS' struggle to provide adequate care, and the audit will identify ways the system can be improved, both at current funding levels and with additional funding."

A part of that audit included a Request for Proposals (RFP) titled “Evaluation of LA City Animal Shelters and Care” by an independent consultant. The proposal may have been about to be awarded to past LA Animal Services Chief veterinarian Dr Dena Mangiamele. Mangiamele was allegedly notified by the City Controller that the contract was cancelled due to conflict of interest. I tried to confirm with the City Controller and Dena Mangiamele but neither returned my email. As far as I know the City Controller is still doing an audit. Maybe they just chose a different consultant or no consultant to save funds.

In light of all of this I decided to do my own quick audit. I was asked to be a commissioner for LA Animal Services around 2006. I was on the Prop F Committee around 2006. I used to attend all the meetings and publicly post my minutes before they started audio recordings. I've been following the Department closely since 2000 and have written a few mini audits and articles if you search this blog. I link two mini audits I did below from 2015 and another in 2011. I probably did a few much earlier.

I took a look at the Department animal statistics since 2017. I'm sure I have stats from 1990's if not earlier in my records. Intake and euthanasia rates had been going down while spay neuter was going up since the 1970's. Below is a summary of the statistics.

Intake was going down, live save was going up then Covid hit March 2020 with lockdown. Some probably relinquished animals early in the pandemic as they couldn't afford to keep them without working. Later 2020, 2021 fewer animals came in and more were adopted during Covid as people had more time for pets. Number of spay neuters went down because of Covid lockdown so population increased. After Covid lockdown people went back to work and dumped adopted animals and fosters. Intake went up as did euth rate. Intake is still below 2017 to 2019 levels. Euth is back up above 2017 levels. During this time the Dept budget increased until 2025 when it decreased because of LA City budget issues. A good thing is live save rate is about stable to a little less which is amazing considering increase in intake. Another good thing is spay neuter is now back up to pre Covid levels. (See statistics below with links)

The biggest complaint today is overcrowding in the shelter. The shelter is actually limiting animal intake by refusing some animals. The shelter is overcrowded because the only other immediate alternative is euthanasia. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. If the Dept euthanizes, people will complain even louder about the euth rate. If they don't, they'll complain about over crowding. Pick your poison.

Another issue to consider is the addition of the new larger shelters starting in 2006. I was on the Prop F Committee to build the new shelters. I asked how the Department will pay for more employees to take care of a larger shelter which can house more animals. I was told Prop F funds can only be used to build the shelters and not staff or support them. This has caused some field employees to spend more time in the shelter. The animal per employee ratio is also higher than previously.

A recent issue is the economy. Tariffs, rising interest rates, rising rents, uncertain economy have caused people to tighten their budgets. If we go into a recession, it'll get even worse as this generally leads to more animals being dumped and fewer adopted. Another issue is immigrants being deported or self deporting. It costs $350 for a vet visit and airline certificate besides $200 to fly pets back home. Many can't afford it and are leaving pets behind.

What is the solution to this problem? The Department has been increasing spay neuter post Covid above pre Covid rates. It will take time to get the intake back down. Things will be more difficult now that the budget has been cut 4% compared to 2024. The shelter is working with many different rescue groups with spay neuter, adoptions, foster, grants... Our organization Animal Advocates has worked with the shelter since 2000 so we know all their programs.

Sadly we are seeing more pleas from the shelters begging us to take animals within the last two months. End of July and August historically is generally the time they have to euthanize animals for space. It's post puppy, kitten season and people dump animals to go on vacation. The shelter has no other options. If anyone would like to help, adopt an animal. Tell people to adopt instead of buying one. Support a rescue group that takes animals from the shelters. Help people so they don't have to dump their animal. This is not the shelter's problem. They are just the dumping ground. It's everyone's problem. Attacking the Department only makes the problem worse. Please, be part of the solution instead and try to help.

STATISTICS

https://www.laanimalservices.com/woof-report

YEAR, cat/dog intake, save rate, euth, spayneuter partners shelter animals only*

Dec 2024, 39763 84% 5588 18405

Dec 2023, 38606 86% 4731 15772

Dec 2022, 35653 88% 3580 (missing 2022 stats and not all included in 2023 stats)

Dec 2021, 28683 89% 2741 11184

Dec 2020, 30977 90% 2019 11114 March 2020 Covid lockdown

Dec 2019, 46825 88% 4886 (missing)

Dec 2018, 44392 -89% 3960 17225

Dec 2017, 44794 86% 5382 (missing)

I found some older intake rates from a past article I wrote in 2015. https://animaladvocatesmarycummins.blogspot.com/2015/06/some-animal-activists-are-protesting.html

2014/15 44,734 -9% from previous year at this rate

2013/14 50,239 -8% from previous year
2012/13 54,825

Older euthanasia numbers. We're doing so much better today.

2014/2015 11,579 at this rate -9% from previous year, 23% euth rate
2013/2014 12,683 -25% from previous year, 25% euth rate
2012/2013 17,069 -21% from previous year, 31% euth rate
2011/2012 21,620 37% euth rate (euth/intake)

Here's an article I wrote in 2011 about the statistics.
https://animaladvocatesmarycummins.blogspot.com/2011/02/brenda-barnette-first-six-months-by.html

This old stat page is still up in the web archive. https://web.archive.org/web/20170427194024/www.sheltertrak.com/stat_laas002.php

Chart. I should have started the graph at zero intake so the dip wouldn't look so drastic.

*There were more spays from other programs but this is the one program that existed during all the time periods so I could use it for comparison

BUDGET

https://openbudget.lacity.org/#!/year/2023/operating/0/department_name/Animal+Services/0/program_name?vis=barChart

2025 30.31 million

2024 31.70

2023 26.94

2022 25.73

2021 23.21

2020 27.16

2019 24.91

2018 23.51

2017 23.98

2016 23.06

Mary Cummins

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

RIP Mikayla Raines. Bullying of Animal Rescuers Must Stop by Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Wildlife rehabilitator Mikayla Raines of Save a Fox committed suicide June 20, 2025 at the age of 29. Mikayla leaves behind a loving husband, daughter and an animal rescue organization. Her husband stated in a video that other rescuers had been stalking, harassing and attacking her viciously which caused Mikayla to kill herself. Such a sad preventable situation.

Bullying is a common theme in the animal rescue world. I've been stalked by a certain bully and her crew since 2010. I got a restraining order which they violated over 150 times within two weeks. My bully even emailed me telling me I should kill myself saying she was my mother. My bully likes to call me fat, old, ugly, wrinkly, warty piggy nose, bald, toothless...and much, much worse. They like to falsely accuse me of disgusting crimes against children and animals. They post photos of nude morbidly obese women or a roach with my face photoshopped on top. They accuse me of having STDs, AIDs... They even like to turn it around and pretend they are the victim. I can only imagine what Mikayla was going through. I'm sure it was the same evil.

I spoke with the Los Angeles County expert on stalkers at the time. The woman wrote a book on stalking. They told me my stalker was jealous and mentally ill. They told me to get a civil restraining order which didn't help at all. My stalker relished the attention.

Part of the Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation talks about this issue specifically. Warden Joe Baima of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife used to start off each District 5 meeting by reading this section of the code of ethics.

Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation, 4th edition, 2012, NWRA & IWRC, Code of Ethics, pg V, Item 6. "A wildlife rehabilitator should respect other rehabilitators and persons in related fields,

sharing skills and knowledge in the spirit of cooperation for the welfare of the animals."

Joe Baima would then tell the rehabbers that he doesn't want to see or hear any complaints against other rehabbers. I was told it all came out of jealousy and envy. Some are jealous another rehabber got in a rarer boutique species. Some are jealous that someone's rescue video is going viral. Some are jealous that another groups gets lots of donations. Some are just jealous over looks, age and weight. There are also some rehabbers who want to be the gate keeper of certain species. One lady wants to be in charge of all bobcats. Another wants to be in charge of all bats. It doesn't make any sense as there are many more animals than all the rehabbers can possibly handle. Killing off a rehabber only makes your workload larger.

Other times one rehabber is upset that they can't rehab skunks in their condo. They decide to try to make it impossible for anyone to rehab skunks by filing bizarre and false reports about skunk rehabbers. All the while they are illegally rehabbing skunks in their condo while their neighbors object.

There need to be better laws and regulations to deal with bullies. Restraining orders don't help. Lawsuits are complex and expensive. People are allowed to harass, defame, file false reports against people as much as they want no matter the laws. Based on what happened to Mikayla it's clearly legal to bully someone to death. While the husband could legally file a lawsuit it'd be pointless. Mikayla is never coming back. Justice is also rarely possible unless you have a lot of money and contacts.

Obituary

https://jmmcbeathfuneralhome.com/news/mikayla-raines

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit * Disclaimer https://animaladvocatesmarycummins.blogspot.com/p/mary-cummins-disclaimer-freedom-of.html

Mary Cummins

Sunday, June 15, 2025

5th Annual Bat Roost Count with National History Museum LA County by Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

5th annual bat roost count with Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. There were 28 volunteers in South El Monte counting bats under the 60 freeway bridge over the LA River. Bats in my area started coming out at 8:08 pm. I counted 15 out and 74 in. Mexican free-tail and Yuma myotis bats. Beautiful night! #marycummins Mary Cummins #bats #mexicanfreetailbats #yumamyotis #crevicebats #losangeles #california #animaladvocates #batrescue #wildliferescue Animal Advocates

Mary Cummins

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Resume Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Cummins is a bilingual Latina who grew up in a wildlife area of Los Angeles, California rescuing baby bunnies, squirrels and even a fawn by the age of six. She continued to rescue all types of animals on her own, with other organizations and for local animal shelters.

Cummins founded Animal Advocates an IRS recognized 501 3c non-profit organization in 2002. Animal Advocates is a registered California Corporation and legal charity with the California Attorney General. Cummins is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator specializing in small mammals including but not limited to coyotes, bobcats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, opossums, squirrels and bats.

Animal Advocates is the only wildlife rehabilitation facility in the city of Los Angeles which is home to over 5,000,000 people spread over 500 square miles. To date (2021) we have rescued and rehabilitated 8,368 wild animals and 1,254 domestic for a grand total of 9,622 animals. We provide wildlife education in English and Spanish in the community and through our work with the local, state and federal government. 2022 was our 20 year anniversary.

Education

• 1982 Beverly Hills High School, Dean's list, Swim team, Water Polo

• 1984 University of Southern California, Dean's list, Swim Team, Marks International Hall, Scholarship

Professional Education

• 1982 Emergency Medical Technician I

• 2001 Wildlife Paramedic I Basic training for wildlife emergency response

• 2003 IWRC Basic rehabilitation skills seminar, two day course, 13 hours

• 2004 Opossum Society, Opossum rehabilitation

• 2004 HSUS Animal Care two day seminar in Reno, Nevada

• 2005 Rio Hondo Police Academy PAC 43.76 PC 832 Arrest - Modules 1 & III

• 2005 Rio Hondo Police Academy PAC 43.77 PC 832 Firearms - Module II

• 2005 Animal Law Enforcement Academy, San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. 80 hours of approved credit by CVMA, sponsored by the State Humane Association of California to become a Humane Officer

• 2005 American Humane Association, Euthanasia by Injection Certificate, Pasadena Shelter

• 2005 American Humane Association - TV & Film, “No animals were harmed” one week training program. Employed in 2005.

• 2006 Pasadena Police Department Certificate of training Tazer X26

• 2005 LA Animal Services, Mitigating animal related injuries in the shelter environment

• 2005 LA Animal Services, Reptile care and handling

• 2005 LA Animal Services, Horse care and handling

• 2005 LA Animal Services, Wildlife care and handling

• 2010 Desert Studies Center, Southwestern bats, research techniques, Dr. Patricia Brown-Berry, 42 years of experience with bats

• 2011 Humane Society University, Animal First Aid for Disaster Responders, 8 hours live

• 2017 Animal Legal Defense Fund's Animal Law Summer School - Ag-Gag, Professor Alan Chen, University of Denver Sturm College of Law

• 2017 Animal Legal Defense Fund's Animal Law Summer School - Captive Wildlife, Matthew Liebman, Director of Litigation for the Animal Legal Defense Fund

• 2018 Big Cats in the City: Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of Mountain Lions around Los Angeles. Seth Riley.

• 2018 Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Animal Law School “Case Study: Elephants at the LA Zoo" presented by lawyer David Casselman.

• 2018 Wild Futures “Living with Mountain Lions in the Bay Area & Greater California.”

• 2019 Animal Legal Defense Fund’s “The Link between Violence against Humans and Animals.”

• 2020 IWRC, Coffee & Tea discussion on Cultivating anti-racism in wildlife rehabilitation

• 2021 New York City AAZK, Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and the Zoological Field

• 2021 Beneath the Surface: Examining Triggers of Harmful Algal Blooms, Marine Mammal Care

• 2021 Prairie Dogs in Peril Zoom, James Trever of Prairie Dog Pals

• 2022 Groundbreaking of Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

• 2022 Post Human Infrastructure, Lauren Bon, Metabolic Studios

• 2022 Wildlife 2 Watts Educational Event

• 2022 Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Open House

• 2023 Latino Conservation Week programs

• 2023 Celebration of Life Event P22

• 2023 Natural History Museum P22 Museum Educational Visit

• 2023 IWRC Pinniped Control-Meeting Community Needs in a Time of Crisis

• 2023 Cougar Conservancy National Wildlife Federation Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Tour

• 2024 IWRC Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation in Rwanda

• 2024 IWRC Connections U Networking in Latin America, Spanish/English

• 2024 Animal Tracks Wildlife Sanctuary Educational Visit

• 2024 Recognizing and Understanding Bias for the Animal Welfare Professional

• 2024 IWRC International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Coffee & Tea: A big problem with little animals: how insect declines may affect wildlife

Professional licenses, permits past and present

• 2001 Los Angeles City Gun Permit

• 2003 Los Angeles City Wildlife Permit

• 2003 USDA Class C Exhibitor Permit for Sanctuary animals

• 2004 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife trapping permit

• 2004 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation permit, Educational Animals and later exhibit permit

Awards and acknowledgments

• 2003 EARS, Certificate of appreciation for assisting in the wildfires

• 2003 City of Los Angeles, Certificate of appreciation

• 2009 LA Animal Services, Certificate of appreciation

• 2010 Classy, Nonprofit Award

• 2013 Great Nonprofits, Top-Rated Nonprofit Award 3

• 2013 Los Angeles Business Journal, Corporate Citizen and Nonprofit

Selected media, publications, articles

• 2002 "What to do when you find a baby squirrel"

• 2002 "What to do when you find an injured squirrel"

• 2003 "How to reunite squirrels babies with their mothers"

• 2003 "How to trim trees with wildlife in mind"

• 2003 "How to properly care for un-releasable squirrels"

• 2003 "How to build proper caging for wildlife"

• 2003 Cat Fancy Magazine, "Mama Mia"

• 2003 "How to humanely deal with coyotes"

• 2004 "Rehabilitation of tree squirrels" manual.

• 2004 "Rehabilitation of ground squirrels" manual.

• 2004 "Rehabilitation of skunks" manual.

• 2004 "Treatment of Malocclusion in Squirrels," Co-author Dr. Bill Ridgeway

• 2004 "How to trim rodent teeth"

• 2004 "How to make pet squirrels wild again"

• 2004 "How to set up a wildlife referral system in animal shelters"

• 2005 IWRC, "Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation," "Raising baby tree squirrels from weaning to release"

• 2000-2024 Over 500 wildlife, animal articles written for blogs, newspapers, online media and others Selected media

• 2003 Animal Planet "Beverly Hills Vet, Squirrel Rehabilitation"

• 2003 CADFG "Scrawl of the Wild"

• 2003 LA Times "Rodent poisoning project angers animal activists"

• 2004 Cable television show "Wildlife Rescue," six episodes, Doggy TV

• 2004 Gardena Valley News "Helping furry friends survive urban jungle"

• 2004 KROQ radio interview with Scott Mason

• 2005 Discovery Channel "The Undetectables, Squirrel Care"

• 2005 LA Weekly "A Billionaire's Bark"

• 2005 KROQ radio interview with Scott Mason

• 2005 Thousand Oaks Acorn “Public outcry over slain tiger loud—but not universal”

• 2005 LA Times "Urban remedies: Dealing with new arrivals"

• 2005 Thousand Oaks Acorn "Public outcry over slain tiger loud-but not universal"

• 2005 LA City Beat "Welcome to the jungle"

• 2006 Daily News "Stuckey stays on as $50,000 City consultant"

• 2006 Book "Squirrels: The Animal Answer Guide"

• 2006 Daily News "County relaxes restrictions on llamas, animal rehab"

• 2006 Daily News "Council hears Stuckey critics"

• 2006 LA Times "Fired City Official's appeal in limbo"

• 2007 LA Times "Opossums: your garden's evening clean-up crew"

• 2009 LA Times "Your morning adorable, baby skunks and the handstand dance"

• 2010 Martha Stewart "A gopher named Charlie"

• 2010 Martha Stewart "A second chance for Charlie"

• 2010 LA Times "Your morning adorable: rescued rabbit enjoys a meal"

• 2010 LA Times "Your morning adorable: rub a dub dub, raccoons in a tub"

• 2010 Top YouTube pets video channel in March

• 2011 Ventura County Star “City says bats remain at Moorpark home”

• 2011 CBS Los Angeles “Moorpark Says Homeowners Not Doing Enough To Fight Bats”

• 2011 NBC “WeHo one step closer to fur ban”

• 2012 Santa Monica Patch “Wild Animal in Town? Call on Us, Vet Says”

• 2012 Santa Monica Daily Press “Groups want policy change after mountain lion death”

• 2012 ABC “IDA Rally held in Santa Monica in protest of fatal shooting of mountain lion”

• 2012 NBC “Animal-Rights Group Protests Santa Monica Mountain Lion Shooting”

• 2012 Member of Santa Monica City after incident report in regard to mountain lion shooting

Social Media

• Over 78,000 Facebook fans

• Over 8,000 YouTube subscribers

• Over 12,000,000 YouTube video views

• Over 99,000 YouTube watch hours

• Approved Member Facebook/Meta Nonprofit Growth Program

Experience

• 2001- Present Wildlife rehabilitation. Rescued over 8,000 wild animals with a release rate over 90%

• 2001- Present Wildlife education, presentations to Oasis, Crossroads school, LA Animal Services, Best Friends super adoption, Temple Beth El private school and many others

• 2001- 2006 LA Animal Services, animal shelter volunteer

• 2003 Dept of Fish & Wildlife cleanup of Tiger Rescue, Chuck Traisi, volunteer

• 2003 City of Buena Ventura no-feed plan for wildlife

• 2004 New wildlife policy approved in Los Angeles City

• 2005 American Humane Association - TV & Film, “No animals were harmed” team

• 2006 Amendment to LA County zoning which allows wildlife rehabilitation

• 2006 Redid the LA Animal Services website, added "Adopt a Pet" feature

• 2006 Birth control program for squirrels in Santa Monica

• 2006 Assistant to Director of Found Animals Foundation

• 2010 HSUS NDART team cockfight raid Nipomo, CA

• 2011 HSUS NDART team 150 dog rescue Lucerne Valley, CA

• 2012 City of Santa Monica Mountain Lion Task Force with IDA

• 2013 Expert Opossum Witness for PETA for opossum lawsuit

• 2013 Expert Animal Cruelty Presentation for Animal Defense League Animal Law School

• 2013 Presentation for California Attorney General “We Love Wildlife!” Campaign

• 2020 A Critical Evaluation of Legal and Illegal Killing of Native Predators, Dr. Adrian Treves

• 2024 Bat Roost Count Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

• 2024 International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council IWRC Connections and Networking in Latin America and the Caribbean

• 2024 72nd Annual Wildlife Disease Association conference by WDA Australia

• 2025 Howliday Clinic for Pets Experiencing Homelessness with K9 Connection, Pets Laneding, Street Dog Coalition

• 2025 Rescued and Sheltered Animals Displaced by Los Angeles Fires

• 2025 Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve

• 2025 Blessing of the Animals Los Angeles

Committees/Task forces

• 2004 LA Animal Services Spanish language Committee, Spay and Neuter Committee, Wildlife Committee, Adopt-a-thon Committee, New Hope Partner

• 2005 LA City, Councilman Zine Coyote Task Force

• 2005 Approved by Mayor to be a commissioner for LA Animal Services

• 2006 LA City Proposition F Committee

• 2008 Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) National Disaster Animal Response Team (NDART)
• 2012 Santa Monica Police, Animal Control, Fish & Wildlife After Mountain Lion Killing Incident Task Force

Professional memberships

• California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators

• National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association

• International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-advocates

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@MaryCummins

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/animaladvocatesusa/

Blog https://animaladvocatesmarycummins.blogspot.com/

#marycummins #animaladvocates #curriculumvitae #resume #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #wildliferescue #squirrels #skunks #opossums #raccoons #bats #bobcats #coyotes #gophers #chipmunks #losangeles #california #animaladvocatesus

Mary Cummins

Saturday, May 17, 2025

California Ground Squirrels in Santa Monica by Mary Cummins Animal Advocates

Every year the California ground squirrels at Ocean Park on Ocean Park Blvd at Broadway in Santa Monica give birth to a litter of pups. By mid May the babies are outside of the burrow hole. By June the city starts killing them because they feel there are "too many." The issue is the city's fear of bubonic plague affecting tourism. The plague is carried by the fleas on some ground squirrels generally at higher elevation. FTR there has never been bubonic plague at this park. The city should be trapping and monitoring the squirrel fleas for the plague if that is really their concern.

Years ago in 2006 we offered to help humanely reduce the population and treat the ground squirrels and park for fleas. City said yes. We were successful reducing the population in 90% of the park but not right at Broadway. The problem is they sell food there which the tourists feed to the animals. This causes the population to explode. They will have more babies and more babies will survive to adulthood. There are no feed signs but people ignore them or destroy them. We lost all our of signs in just the first week. These were thick metal signs tightly screwed to posts. The homeless and locals also feed the ground squirrels. Even if people didn't feed them, there are plants and grass for them to eat. Before the food vendors they used to feed the homeless there who fed the squirrels. The squirrels have probably been there thousands of years.

We also tried to treat the park for fleas. The city and groundskeeper would only allow us to use an herbal spray which was almost as effective as salad dressing. They wouldn't allow us to set up hidden tubes with flea meds to treat the squirrels directly either for same reason. Their excuse was they didn't want anything that could be toxic to pets or humans. Obviously it would not have been toxic to ground squirrels, pets or humans. We use regular dog, cat flea meds on squirrels. They are proven safe.

We were using humane traps to trap, examine the squirrels and test the fleas of the ground squirrels. Homeless people destroyed our traps even though they were well hidden in the cactus. I was almost attacked a few times trying to get the homeless to stop feeding them. Some homeless are mentally ill or on substances which make them unpredictable. One tried to throw me off the bluff. Needless to say we didn't work with the city again because our hands were tied. We couldn't be effective without using our proven tools.

I wrote this article just so current people understand the situation. The city will either poison or gas them. Once they used humane traps to trap them. Then they were more humanely gassed and bodies fed to wildlife. We weren't involved in that program. If they really wanted to get rid of the ground squirrels there, they'd have to cement off the area. Ground squirrels won't stray more than 75 feet from their dirt burrow hole. They may have to cement off the area turning it into a huge deck due to erosion eventually.

The ground squirrels do not cause the erosion of the palisades bluffs. They are attracted to that type of softer soil for their burrows. The palisades have been eroding for millions of years. It happens all over the world even where they have no ground squirrels.

Some cute videos from today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeXti_a9-Ag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D6IrMvxe3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfpx8yK4qnU