Category: Wildlife

Goldfinch

California: AHD Strikes Northern California Deer Herds

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed outbreaks of adenovirus hemorrhagic disease in deer in several northern California counties and is asking California residents to help curb the spread by not feeding wild animals, and report potential cases to the department.

“Providing attractants for deer – food, salt licks or even water – is against the law for good reason,” said Dr. Brandon Munk, senior wildlife veterinarian with CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory. “Because these artificial attractants can congregate animals and promote the spread of disease, it’s particularly imperative to leave wildlife alone during an outbreak. There is no cure or vaccine for this disease, so our best management strategies right now are to track it carefully, and to take preventative measures to limit the spread.” Read more

Wildlife

Preview the Summer Issue of NDA’s Quality Whitetails Magazine

The Summer 2021 issue of Quality Whitetails magazine is on the way to National Deer Association (NDA) members, featuring a cover photo by wildlife photographer Steve Gulledge. If you’re not a current member, you can join by July 20, 2021 and still receive this issue in a second mailing, plus a full year’s worth of great deer hunting and habitat management content. Here’s a preview of what NDA members are reading right now.

Free Decal: This issue included a free National Deer Association decal for members. If you become a supporting member by July 20, you’ll also get the free decal and a copy of this issue.

Bowhunting the ’Burbs. Bruce Ingram of Virginia has hunted his state’s urban bowhunting season for 15 years and has had extreme success gathering venison in small suburban woodlands. This is a great opportunity for new and veteran bowhunters, and Bruce has tips on gaining permission, patterning deer, and even using the suburbs as a place to mentor new hunters. Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Montana: FWP Kills Grizzly Bear Near Ovando

OVANDO – Wildlife officials shot and killed a grizzly bear early Friday morning less than two miles from Ovando, where a woman was killed in a grizzly bear attack early Tuesday morning.

The bear was killed at the scene of a second chicken coop raid that was very similar in nature to the one that happened in Ovando the night of the fatal attack.

Given the proximity to Tuesday’s attack, the evidence found at the scenes and the fact another chicken coop was raided, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials believe this is the same bear but confirming DNA analysis will take a few days.

The second chicken coop raid occurred Wednesday night, about 48 hours after the attack in Ovando. FWP specialists set a trap at the second coop on Thursday and USDA Wildlife Services specialists were monitoring the trap Thursday night when the bear approached and was shot. Wildlife Services specialists were assisting at the request of FWP officials, anticipating the bear would return to the coop. They used night vision technology to aid in shooting the bear.

DNA samples from the bear will be compared to samples taken from the scene of the fatal attack Tuesday to determine if this was the same bear. In the meantime, FWP staff will remain vigilant and keep at least one trap set near the first chicken coop on the outskirts of Ovando.

If people see a bear in the area of Ovando, please call FWP at 542-5500.

Wildlife

Wild Sheep Summit, Optimism and Concern

Bozeman, Montana – The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) recently concluded its 13th Chapter and Affiliate Summit in Lewistown, Idaho. The event was hosted by Idaho and Washington WSF, and Oregon FNAWS. On tap were discussions and scientific presentations on the present and future of wild sheep populations in North America. The result was a mix of celebration, optimism, concern, and action.

“Overall, our meeting was upbeat and positive,” said Gray N. Thornton, president, and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “We have a lot to be thankful for, especially when our collective efforts are paying dividends with new herds and many populations healthy and stable, yet there is more that needs to be done. We have herds still struggling with disease transmitted from domestics sheep, and it’s already shaping up to be a tough water year in our southern latitudes.”

More than 70 delegates attended from throughout WSF’s Chapter and Affiliate network, which encompasses North America, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia.

Thornton said, “It was great to see everyone again. Last year’s Summit was canceled due to Covid. Only our brothers and sisters from Canada couldn’t attend in person because of the border restrictions. They joined us via Zoom.”

The number one problem negatively impacting wild sheep populations is disease (M.ovi) passed from domestic sheep to wild populations. Presentations included and update on the Hells Canyon initiative (est. 1995) to study, monitor, trap, test, and remove disease infected individuals from contaminating entire herds; new findings and strategies for disease mitigation; the impact on bighorn sheep from open-pit coal mining; a new WSF program titled Women Hunt™; and the challenges being brought to wild sheep populations from exploding, non-native Aoudad populations. Read more

Wildlife

Montana: FWP Keeps Traps in Ovando Area After Bear Attack

OVANDO – After two days of searching by helicopter and on the ground, the grizzly bear that killed a woman Tuesday morning has not been found. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear specialists and wardens are continuing to monitor culvert traps set in the area.

The search even included the use of infrared technology from Two Bear Air Rescue out of Kalispell, but efforts to find the bear are now focusing on traps near Ovando.

Details surrounding the circumstances of the attack indicate the bear entered town Monday morning and came to an area near the post office at about 3 a.m., where the victim was sleeping in a tent. Another couple in her party were sleeping in a tent nearby.

The bear initially woke the campers but then ran away. The three campers removed food from their tents, secured it, and went back to bed.

The bear was captured by a video camera at a business less than a block away at about 3:15 a.m.

At about 3:30 a.m. the two people in the tent adjacent to the victim were awakened by sounds of the attack. They exited the tent and sprayed the bear with bear spray. It has not been seen since.

The bear pulled the victim from the tent during the fatal attack.

At some point during the night the bear also got into a chicken coop in town, killing and eating several chickens.

While the initial search for the bear was unsuccessful, FWP wardens and bear specialists will continue to monitor the area closely.

“At this point, our best chance for catching this bear will be culvert traps set in the area near the chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, FWP regional supervisor in Missoula.

FWP bear experts believe the bear was an approximately 400-pound male, judging by behavior and footprints. DNA from the bear was collected at the scene of the attack and will be analyzed. Should a bear be caught in a trap, DNA can quickly be compared to the DNA already collected to determine if it is the same animal.

Anyone who spots a grizzly bear near Ovando should call the FWP Missoula office at 542-5500.

Wildlife

Montana: Fatal Grizzly Bear Attack in Ovando

OVANDO – On the morning of July 6, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Wildlife Human Attack Response Team responded to a fatal bear attack in Ovando.

The incident happened early Tuesday morning.

FWP biologists, conflict specialists and game wardens are on the scene and searching for the bear.

A video camera from a local business caught footage of a grizzly bear Monday night, and a bear also got into a chicken coop.

Grizzly bears are common in the Blackfoot Valley where Ovando is located.

More details on the incident will be released as they are available.

Wildlife

Monitoring Buoy to Help Research Marine Mammals off Atlantic Coast

Photo by Mark Baumgartner, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Technology Provides Environmental Data for Offshore Wind

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have launched an ocean buoy that monitors and provides daily reports of whales detected off Maryland’s Atlantic coast.

A wide range of whales, dolphins, and porpoises call the ocean offshore Maryland home or visit during their annual migration along the Atlantic coast. The buoy supports the state’s ongoing efforts to expand our understanding of marine mammals and to support research that will aid environmental assessments such as those conducted for offshore wind development. This buoy will provide information about these species and the time of year they are present.

The buoy was deployed about 23 miles offshore and is sited within US Wind LLC’s MarWin lease. A U.S. Coast Guard notice to mariners was issued to alert ocean-going vessels and the boating community to its location.

The buoy system has an underwater listening device called a hydrophone that will record marine mammal calls. A detection algorithm will then analyze these calls and determine the presence of humpback, fin, sei, and the critically-endangered North Atlantic Right whale species. These data will be transmitted to shore, and the records will be verified by UMCES scientists and shared on a daily basis. Anyone interested in which species are detected off our coast can access the daily reports on the buoy website. Read more

Wildlife

Florida: New $10K Award Announced for Florida Python Challenge

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), South Florida Water Management District and the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida are pleased to announce a new $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize exclusive to the 2021 Florida Python Challenge® thanks to sponsor, Virtual Business Services. The award will be presented to the participant who removes the most pythons as part of the competition.

“This is a monumental contribution to the cause of removing Burmese pythons from the Everglades ecosystem. We are grateful to Virtual Business Services for their generous donation and hope this sparks more interest in this important effort. Working under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, we will continue to work with our partners to protect our natural resources from the threat of invasive species,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto.

“I want to thank the public and all of our corporate sponsors for making this challenge possible. The South Florida Water Management District, the FWC and our partners in this great endeavor are teaming up to take the fight to the pythons and we won’t stop until these invasive snakes are eliminated and the Everglades are protected,” said SFWMD Governing Board Member “Alligator Ron” Bergeron. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan: New DNR Land Strategy Sets Priorities, Guidelines for 4.6 Million Acres of Public Lands

The title – “The Power of Public Lands: Your resources. Our commitment. Michigan’s legacy.” – says it all.

A new strategy for the 4.6 million acres of state forests, parks, trails, game and wildlife areas, and other public lands the Michigan Department of Natural Resources takes care of has been submitted to the Legislature and is now available at Michigan.gov/PublicLands.

The strategy was developed over the past 18 months through a collaborative process that included multiple opportunities for the public and stakeholders statewide to get involved and help shape the final document. The new land strategy will be implemented between 2021 and 2027, following consideration and approval by the Legislature, and sets priorities and guides actions for the best use of this large DNR-managed public land base to benefit Michigan residents and visitors and the state’s natural resources.

Goals outlined in the public land strategy include: Read more

Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

Firminator’s G-3 ATV Unit

Milner, GA The original Firminator was a brilliant solution for land managers looking to maximize their time, energy and financial resources by incorporating all the necessary food plot implements into one unit. But as the popularity of food plots grew, so did the demand, from a broader and more diverse group.

There were those who realize the best hunting plots are designed less for agricultural efficiency and more to maximize “huntability” by taking advantage of natural cover, terrain, wind direction and deer movements. As a result, these plots are often irregularly shaped and sometimes well off the beaten path, down the narrow trails, in the bottoms or up on the smaller ridges – places not easily accessible by heavy equipment and implements. There were more than a few land owners/managers who simply did not have tractors or larger implements, even for larger or more accessible areas.

With the technology already in place, Firminator needed only to downsize. The Firminator G-3 ATV Model puts all the same features of their full-size G3 implement into a unit sized just right for an ATV (four-wheeler or side x side). Though light enough to be easily pulled by a 500cc or greater ATV, its 800 pounds proves ample weight for the 16-inch ground turning discs to break up and dig into hard ground that other ATV harrows would simply bounce across the surface of. Its 3-inch square tubing steel frame can withstand anything you’d expose your ATV to, and more. The seed box, constructed of the same steel as three point models, feeds the Firminator’s precision ACCU-Seed delivery system. When you’re done seeding you can finish with the true agricultural grade cast iron cultipacker. Read more

Wildlife
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