After 20 sheep and pygmy goats—all the mammals that comprised a southern Arizona petting zoo and u-pick farm—were killed by a mountain lion last month, the culprit has been dispatched by a houndman/hunter after obtaining a depredation permit from the state Game and Fish Department. In the Arizona Daily Star.
Fishing writer Bill Burton, probably the most recognized outdoors scribe in the Baltimore/Annapolis/DC area ever, has published his final column for The Capital and Maryland Gazette--after 61 continuous years in the business. In those years, he's fished with presidents and celebrities, but his biggest thrills have come from bringing the joys of angling to youngsters.
Bill Riley was reeling in a small flounder while surf fishing at North Carolina's North Topsail Beach when he tripped over a rock in the sand--one that turned out to be a 10-inch fossilized oyster experts say is up to 25 million years old. Riley released the flounder, but kept the oyster. Jacksonville Daily News.
Four Michigan walleye anglers ranging in age from 52 to 76 survived the elements for nearly 24 hours after their fishing boat capsized on Lake Erie Thursday evening. Since their successful rescue yesterday, the men have remained hospitalized to replenish fluids lost during their overnight ordeal. The Detroit Free Press.
When Tobermory, Ontario baker Wayne Hancock heard noises coming from his Little Tub Bakery at 1 a.m., he jumped from the bed in his apartment located above the shop and went to investigate. "Once I got downstairs I had a pretty good idea it was going to be a bear because I could hear the cookie packages and there he was, sitting on the freezer eating cookies," said Hadcock. The Owen Sound Sun-Times.
The U.S. angling community and media are buzzing with the news of an apparent 22.5-pound largemouth bass caught by an angler at Lake Biwa, Japan, on Thursday, July 2. If verified, the fish would tie the current IGFA record fish--that weighed 22.4 pounds--caught by George Perry in Georgia 77 years ago. Ed Zieralski in the San Diego Union-Tribune and Lynn Burkhead in the (Denison, TX) Herald Democrat.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is preparing to declare northeastern Minnesota's Pike Lake officially infested with invasive zebra mussels, marking the first confirmed outbreak in a regional waterway outside Lake Superior. In the Duluth News-Tribune.
The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission has approved an expanded mountain lion hunting season for the Black Hills, running Jan. 1 through March 31, with an increased quota of either 40 total cougars or 25 females. The state has held a mountain lion season since 2005, and each has ended early when quotas were reached. AP reports.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled a man who salvaged a road-killed deer without obtaining the proper state permit must surrender the head mount to the Department of Natural Resources "without further delay." John Longo found the dead deer in February 2008, butchered the carcass and had a taxidermist friend mount the head. The Journal Times.
Following the abrupt closure of its state parks at midnight July 1, Arizona has reopened its facilities in time for the upcoming holiday, despite the lack of a budget for the new fiscal year. An estimated 55,000 people are expected to visit the 30 sites within the parks system over the weekend, said State Parks Director Renee Bahl. Via AP.
Oklahoman Paul Newsom--TV personality, corporate spokesman, hunter, actor and host of the long-running Paul Newsom's Great Outdoors TV program--died Wednesday morning at his home in Bixby following a battle with cancer. News OK, News on 6 Tulsa, Bixby Public Schools.
Authorities in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia have killed a coyote that attacked a 2-year-old Monday at an elementary school playground. The girl is recovering from minor injuries. "She is quite lucky," said conservation officer Terry Myroniuk. "There were people that were there who intervened quite quickly." In the Tri-City News.
Arkansas authorities thought they had accounted for all the hogs that escaped when a tractor/trailer rig overturned on Interstate 40 June 22. That is, until an 800-pound fugitive porker showed up in LeAnn Baldy's North Little Rock backyard swimming pool this week. The escapee was taken to the sausage plant where it was originally destined, despite Baldy's request for a governor's reprieve. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Authorities in Sumter County, Fla. say a 12-foot pet Burmese python escaped confinement this morning and killed a 2-year-old child sleeping in a nearby bedroom. The snake's owner did not have a permit to keep the reptile, according to a spokesperson with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. In the Tampa Tribune.
Effective today, North Carolina residents who are active members of the military will not be required to purchase a license to hunt or fish. The Greensboro News-Record.
Henry Rouwendeal, 51, sustained cuts and bruises when he was knocked down and rolled over by a large black bear in his Sussex, NJ driveway Friday morning as he packed his car for a trip. In the melee, the bear--estimated to weigh between 300 and 400 pounds--pilfered a sandwich from Rouwendeal's open car trunk. The Herald- Record.
A man who makes a living trapping and removing nuisance animals from homes and property is credited with saving a woman who was being viciously attacked by a fox in Worcester, Mass. this morning. “He was rabid for sure,” said Robert Ford, 44. “This animal was tearing her up. I just ran up and punted it off of her.” The fox then attacked Ford, even as he sought safety atop a car roof. In the Worcester Telegram.
A Snohomish County (Wash.) woman is charged with identity theft and forgery for allegedly taking money from her ex-husband's bank account. Her defense? "Her dog got into her purse and ate all her personal checks," said police spokeswoman Kristin Banfield. She told the cops she had no choice but to take funds from her former husband's account. In The Everett Herald.
Harvest surveys compiled by the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department indicate hunters killed about 74,000 whitetail deer and 18,000 mule deer in 2008, a record total of more than 91,000 deer--reflecting an increase of more than 4,000 from 2007 and nearly double the 46,000 deer killed in 1999. GFP News.
An eastern Idaho black bear hunter was bitten and knocked down by a female grizzly bear Sunday after her cubs were pursued by his hounds. The bear retreated after the victim's brother fired one shot with his .44 Magnum handgun. Keith Klingler, 38 was treated for non-life threatening lacerations at a nearby hospital. More on my Slugs & Plugs blog.
A woman sustained minor injuries when she was knocked down by a black bear as she walked outside her home near Siren, Wisconsin Sunday night. Authorities with the Wisconsin DNR believe the same bear had been on the home's porch several nights earlier. The Duluth News-Tribune.
Controversial legislation aimed at allowing the Louisiana state legislature to review—and reject—hunting season dates, bag limits and restrictions set each year by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed out of committee but did not receive a full vote prior to the end of the session. Via AP.
A court-ordered settlement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the animal rights and anti-hunting organization Humane Society of the United States has returned the Great Lakes gray wolf management to the FWS and will make most shooting and trapping of the predator illegal. Duluth News Tribune.
