Perched atop the decks of custom boats and armed with specially rigged bow-and-arrow sets tipped with barbed arrows, participants in this weekend's Potomac Snakehead Tournament hoped to shoot—and eat—up to 800 pounds of the invasive fish while vying for the $1,500 top prize. "The goal of this is to eat the last fish, eat the last bite," said Baltimore chef Chad Wells, who served snakehead seviche. Washington Times.
June 03, 2012
June 02, 2012
Kodiak moment: Bear chews, buries corpse of convicted killer
A man whose body was partly eaten by a bear on a remote road near Kamloops, BC has been identified as convicted murderer Rory Nelson Wagner, 53. Hunters discovered Wagner's remains earlier this week after finding his abandoned Volkswagen Jetta on a logging road. The Coroner's Service said Friday an autopsy and toxicology tests will be conducted to determine cause of death. Edmonton Journal and Kamloops Daily News.
June 01, 2012
Former Tennessee pot land now public land
After years of planning and negotiation, nearly 1,000 acres in Middle Tennessee that was once the center of a clandestine marijuana growing and distribution operation has become public hunting and recreation land, managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The largest parcel of land will become part of the Pea Ridge management area, with the remainder known as the Headwaters Wildlife Management Area. The Tennessean.
Black bear attacks woman at Arizona campground
Auhorities in Arizona say a black bear attacked a 74-year-old woman as she slept inside a tent with her husband and dog at a Tonto National Forest campground Thursday near Payson. The victim was treated and released for non life-threatening injuries. The campground has been closed while Arizona Game and Fish Department personnel attempt to track the bear. Azfamily.com.
George Perry's bass record turns 80
June 2 will mark the 80th anniversary of the day George Washington Perry was sharing a fishing rod and single lure with a friend when he landed a 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass. Since that time long ago on Montgomery Lake, Perry's record has been challenged and tied, but remains the hold grail of bass fishing. Bill Baab of the Augusta Chronicle takes note.
May 31, 2012
Whirling disease parasite found at Arizona's Lees Ferry
The Arizona Game and Fish Department advises that the parasite known to cause whirling disease in trout has been confirmed at the renowned Lees Ferry fishery within Glen Canyon "Although the parasite has been confirmed in fish samples from Lees Ferry, to date no trout have displayed any disease symptoms such as the classic whirling motion," said Fisheries Chief Kirk Young. AGFD.
La-La-Land: SoCal animal advocates protest cougar killing
It should come as no surprise that Southern California animal rights groups have turned the killing of a mountain lion in downtown Santa Monica by authorities into a springboard to further their effort—it's what they do. "We have to coexist," said Jack Carone, communications director for In Defense of Animals. "A mountain lion doesn't expect to find a city. Trespassing should not be punishable by death." LA Times.
May 30, 2012
Like father, like son: Snake-handling preacher dies from bite
A West Virginia preacher known for his handling of poisonous snakes has died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake he was using during an outdoor religious service on Memorial Day. The Charleston Daily Mail reports that as a teenager, Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford, now 44, witnessed his father—also a snake-handling minister—die from a snakebite.
Colorado woman trampled by cow elk
A 60-year-old Estes Park, Colo. woman received injuries when she was trampled by a cow elk accompanied by a calf while walking near her apartment complex Tuesday. Residents were reminded to keep their distance from elk as calving season is underway. KMGH Denver.
Fashion meets customized DNA: Stingray skin sneakers
The Fashionista website claims this story will make the folks at PETA foam at the mouth. Normally, we'd say that's a good thing. But we're not sure what to think about Rayfish Footwear's new shoe designs made with the shagreen (skins) of genetically engineered stingrays. Customers can create their own design on an online template offering 29 skin patterns that will grow on stingrays using customized DNA. Prices start at $1,800.
Deer hoofs-in to Wisconsin manicure shop
The manager of Nails Only in Oshkosh, Wisc. may want to review her open door, walk-ins welcome policy after an injured and bleeding whitetail deer strolled into the busy shop yesterday, tried to leap through a window, and then sat on the floor until it was removed by authorities with Wisconsin DNR and the Oskosh PD. The Northwestern.
May 29, 2012
Minnesota angler found with 443 panfish over limit
A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer investigating Chien Van Tran, 39, on Pelican Lake in Wright County April 4 found 134 sunfish and 19 crappies on his boat, and more in a freezer in his home, for a total of 413 sunfish and 30 crappies over the legal limit. Tran faces a maximum $3,000 fine, a year in jail, $2,015 in restitution, plus the loss of his fishing privileges for three years. Elk River Star-News and MDNR.
Cats add an unnatural, lethal dimension to the outdoors
A provocative treatise from Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette outdoors writer Mark Blazis about the staggering toll that roaming, outdoors cats have on songbirds. Minimally, Blazis notes, feral and domestic cats annually kill 100 million to 300 million birds in the US, with some estimates closer to 1 billion. We especially appreciate Clay Thompson's analogy, that house cats are an invasive species, like kudzu, except that kudzu doesn't murder millions of songbirds.
Pennsylvania group says fight for Sunday hunting not over
Despite the failure of a measure to establish Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania to move out of committee, a grassroots coalition of hunters says it plans to take its fight to the state's highest court no later than July. "We seek to re-establish hunting as a constitutional right and abolish the Sunday hunting ban at the same time," said Kathy Davis of Hunters United for Sunday Hunting. Bob Frye in the Tribune-Review.
Wounded vet gets a special hand from Florida tarpon angler
It was a weekend of ups and downs for angler Jack Wiseman, who took part in the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series at Boca Grande (Fla.) Pass as one of eight Wounded Warrior participants. Wiseman was fighting a tarpon Saturday morning when his prosthetic arm broke and was dragged away with the rod and reel. Another angler later hooked the same fish, with the rod—and Wiseman's hand—still attached. WINK News.
May 28, 2012
Black bears in Missouri? More than you may think!
Biologists from the Missouri Department of Conservation are into their third year of a comprehensive Black Bear Project, using trailcams and snare traps to count bruins and accumulate data. In two years, 108 bears have been collared, weighed, measured and recorded. How many more bruins call The Show Me State home? Kansas City Star.
Mountain lions responsible for Montana wolf deaths
A gray wolf found dead in Montana's Bitterroot Valley last week was the second this year—a the fourth since 2011—to be killed by mountain lions, according to state Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists. "I haven't heard of it happening anywhere else," said FWP's Liz Bradley. We wonder where the hypocrites from Defenders of Wlildlife, who rake in millions by misleading the public about the plight of wolves, will stand on this one. Anti-lion? Great Falls Tribune.
May 26, 2012
Was privy bear victim scared sh**less? 'It was already gone!'
A recovering Gordon Shurvell, the Canadian 65-year-old who survived a black bear attack as he took care of business in a remote Ontario camp's outhouse last week, was asked by reporters if the attack scared the "you know what" out of him. "It was already gone! I'd already done my business," he added. "All the defense I had is a...piece of [toilet] paper." Next time he uses the camp's facilities, Shurvell says he'll "put up with the stench and shut the door." CBC News.
Lawmakers move to name bison 'national mammal'
The National Bison Legacy Act was introduced in the Senate this week by lawmakers from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Rhode Island. The largely symbolic measure would provide no added protections for an estimated 20,000 wild bison, but would declare it America's "national mammal." AP.
Pair responsible for 2011 SoCal wildfire get prison time
One of two men who started a fire that scorched 22 square miles of mountainous back-country between Warner Springs and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California last summer was sentenced Wednesday to six years in state prison. Jesse James Durbin pleaded guilty to an arson charge, as did co-defendant Jeremy Joseph Ortiz, who was sentenced earlier this month to a six-year term. North County Times.
May 25, 2012
Campfire kittycat turns out to be a fox, and rabid
Some friends in the Maple Park neighborhood of Hooversville, Pa. were enjoying libations around a bonfire Saturday night when a grey cat showed up. Except it wasn't a cat; it was a grey fox. And rabid. "I guess he went to push it out of the way so it wasn't rubbing against his leg," said Glenn Wisel. "The next thing somebody hollered they got bit. Then a bunch of people went and got guns and went after it and they finally did catch up with it." WJAC-TV.
New Zealand angler boats wild pig
Bob Monteith was trout fishing with friends on Northern New Zealand's 238-square mile Lake Taupo when they encountered a hunting dog in hot pursuit of a wild sow—more than 200 yards offshore. The fishermen managed to lasso the 80-pound hog, haul it aboard and quickly dispatch it, adding chops and roasts to a 3-day catch. Rotorua Daily Post.
Authorities: Gator shooting by angler not self defense
A fisherman who said he fatally shot an 11-foot alligator after being attacked could have to pay $5,300 after wardens concluded he was not threatened by the reptile. Patrick Miller and Keyon Ivory told authorities they were fishing in the Trinity River near the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge May 9 when the alligator came at their two-person boat, prompting both men to jump out and one of them to shoot it. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.
