A juvenile bald eagle is recovering from injuries it sustained after it swooped into the path of a golfer's drive at the Sandridge Golf Course in Wabasso, Florida on Tuesday. Indian River Animal Control Director Jason Ogilvie arrived at the scene soon after the incident and took the raptor to a local wildlife rehabilitator, where it remains. Palm Beach Post.
Near the halfway point in a six-year study of mountain lions in suburban regions, researchers with the Colorado Division of Wildlife say only 18 of the 40 animals first collared in the study remain alive. "We have an incredibly low survival rate," said biologist Mat Alldredge. The Denver Post.
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C. has ruled against Defenders of Wildlife and four other groups that sued last year to stop the supplemental feeding of elk and bison on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Judge Richard Leon also had some words for the groups behind the suit. Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Houston billionaire and energy magnate Dan Duncan, who died Monday at 77, was also known as one of the modern world's most prolific big game hunters, taking 360 species on six continents and having 550 entries in the Safari Club International record book. Though usually low-key, Duncan made news in 2002 when it was reported he illegally killed moose and sheep from a helicopter in Siberia. A grand jury declined to indict Duncan, though charges were brought against his guide. The Houston Chronicle.
A Port Ludlow, Wash. homeowner who said he left his front door open for his own domestic cats to come and go said a 35-pound wild bobcat took advantage of his open door policy last week and hunkered down in the home's loft. Sheriff's deputies, state police and fish and wildlife officers successfully captured the animal and released it to the wild. KING 5 News.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that the largest male African Rock Python ever found in Florida was nabbed in the Everglades this past January. The 14-foot, 140-pound reptile was found in Bird Drive Basin in West Miami-Dade County. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. See more photos here.
After passage in the state Senate yesterday by a vote of 22-8, the Arizona Firearms Freedom Act now heads to the desk of Gov. Jan Brewer, where it is expected to be signed. House Bill 2307 would exempt any personal firearm, firearm accessory or ammunition made in Arizona and kept in Arizona from federal regulation as of Oct. 1. The Arizona Republic and Tenth Amendment Center.
In what the Lemhi County Prosecuting Attorney called "one of the most egregious poaching cases I've ever seen," an Idaho Falls man has been stripped of his hunting privileges for life and will spend 60 days in jail. Jerry G. Ferguson, 54, who pleaded guilty to illegally killing five cow elk in 2008, was also fined $7,500 and is prohibited from being in hunting camps or possessing a firearm in the field for 10 years. Via AP.
Claiming the move will save "almost 200 trees" and eliminate nearly "8,300 pounds of solid waste," outdoor gear and apparel maker Patagonia has announced it is scrapping its traditional printed fishing catalog in favor of an online, interactive 52-page Fish e-Catalog. “We’re a catalog company at our core, so a non-traditional e-Catalog is a huge move for us-–but a step in the right direction environmentally,” said Casey Sheahan, Patagonia’s angling CEO. Angling Trade.
Thanks to New York City's gun laws, a Brooklyn couple and their son have been arrested for keeping a collection of hunting guns left to them by a late grandfather and uncle. Thomas and Kathleen Siano, and their son, Vincent, have been charged with criminal possession of weapons. "They were heirlooms. He put them up in the attic because he didn't know what else to do with them," said Siano's tenant, Michael Poole. NY Daily News and Gothamist.
Wolves killed 202 sheep in Montana last year—almost double the number killed in 2008—and 97 cattle, up from 77 a year earlier. As a result, the Montana Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation Board compensated livestock operations in 21 of the state's 56 counties, paying $142,000 for a record 369 animal losses to wolves. The Great Falls Tribune.
A new Montana State University study has found what elk hunters have espoused for years: that the presence of wolves alone adversely impacts elk populations through decreased calf numbers. Ecology professor Scott Creel and his associates concluded that wolves made elk more vigilant and skittish, affecting pregnancy and calf numbers in the elk herds—indicating that wolves affect elk populations far beyond direct kills. Spokane Spokesman-Review.
A knife-wielding vegetarian who claimed he wanted "to save young girls from beef" was arrested last week for slicing containers of meat and scattering them on the floor at a central Indiana supermarket. Police in Edinburgh, Ind., charged Anthony Coffman, 28, with criminal mischief and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. WETV Indianapolis and Fox.
In Missouri, where the Humane Society of the United States hopes to place an initiative on the November ballot to regulate dog-breeding operations, agriculture interests say the effort reflects the organization's intent to further regulate the cattle and livestock industry. "The dog-breeder issue is simply the beginning, we feel, of what can happen in the future with a broader agenda relating to agriculture," said Estil Fretwell of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Kansas City Star.
Marlin Firearms Co., a Connecticut gun manufacturer founded in 1870, has announced it will close its North Haven plant in mid-2011 and lay off 265 employees. Amid much speculation, Freedom Group, Inc., which owns the company, has indicated that the manufacturing of Marlin Firearms will be moved to another location. The Hartford Courant.
