The moose populations in New Hampshire and other northern states are dropping due to parasite infestations, according to a new study from New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Brain worm, a parasite that attacks the moose's brain and spinal cord, has historically been blamed for a high number of moose deaths around the country, but researchers in New Hampshire have found that an increasing number of moose are dying from another parasite - the winter tick.
A man who was born without arms is on the brink of qualifying for the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games … in archery.
Matt Stutzman, a 28-year-old from Iowa, taught himself how to shoot a bow with his feet just two years ago. He fell in love with bowhunting and shooting and his love quickly turned into an obsession. After attending shooting camps and practicing religiously for three hours a day he as become a bona fide sharp shooter.
Here's the video showing how Matt does it. You can see for yourself how accurate he is.
Last month Matt made the Para United States Archery Team and if he finishes in the top three in team trials next year he'll qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games. He might be the only competitive archer in the world who shoots with his feet (most para archers shoot with one arm or use prosthetics).
A 26-year-old Oregon man is headed to the slammer after being busted in what officials say is the largest deer poaching case in state history.
Last week Miguel Kennedy was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to counts of identity theft, second-degree forgery, unlawfully transferring hunting tags and racketeering, according to the Register Guard. His hunting privileges have been revoked for life.
Can there really be people that find keeping guppies offensive and inhumane? Apparently in San Francisco there are. Why don't I find this surprising?
Last week San Francisco's Animal Control and Welfare Commission pushed for a pet sale ban in the city that went so far as to include goldfish. According to commission member Philip Gerrie "Most fish in aquariums are either mass bred or taken from the wild." Oh the horror! The horror!
Fortunately there are some sane people still left in San Francisco, among them local pet shop owner Justin Hau who exhibited the right mentality when he told the San Francisco Chronicle, "The city is taking more and more control. They are very stupid."
Officials announced a massive fish die-off at the Jackson National Fish Hatchery in Wyoming on Wednesday after more than 150,000 cutthroat trout died when a power outage killed the facility's supply of oxygen-rich water. It's going to take years for local waters to recover from this sudden drop in fish stocks and businesses that rely on angling might not be able to endure the wait.
The fish from the hatchery were supposed to be stocked in the South Fork Snake River region, where fishing is $41 million a year business. The South Fork Snake River runs between northwest Wyoming and southeast Idaho, and its wild forests, clear waters and trophy trout attract thousands of anglers annually.
Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water ...
This week, state licensed nuisance alligator trappers removed a 12-foot, 650-pound American alligator from a residential area in northern St. Johns County Florida. The alligator had been living in the waters off Jason Smith dock and, according to Smith, began eyeing his dogs. Alligators are nothing new to the town of Julington Creek and as Smith detailed to KPLC- TV, "We see a lot of 4 footers and 6 footers. It's really no deal. This thing was 12 foot." Upon seeing the size of this leviathan Smith was concerned not only for his dogs but for himself and his neighbors. "We swim in the river so this gator has got to go," Smith said.
It didn't take long for the trappers to make contact with the monster and when they did what unfolded has been described in the media as a scene from Jaws. Trappers harpooned the gator with line attached to several boules. This infuriated the reptile, and it took off in a boil of water. Once the trappers did get the alligator at bay it took Smith and a few onlookers to help get it out of the water.
In what is arguably the most costly fine and restitution order ever handed down in a case involving illegal deer transportation and breeding, a 77-year-old Cherokee County, TX man has agreed to pay a $1 million fine, to be deposited into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lacy Act Reward Fund, as well as $500,000 in restitution to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Billy Powell yesterday pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the East Texas District to illegally transporting at least 37 whitetail deer into Texas from game farms in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, in violation of state and federal statutes.
Over the weekend Reuters reported that more than 2,500 antelope are stranded at Fort Peck Reservoir and are expected to die this summer. During the winter the antelope headed south across the frozen reservoir in search of shelter and food. Now that the ice has thawed, they're stuck between steep cliffs and a long stretch of high water.
The antelope are expected to run out of food well before the reservoir freezes again.
The death of a mountain lion in Connecticut last week has resulted in more questions than answers in the wake of new reported cougar sightings in Greenwich yesterday.
The posh suburb of Greenwich, located about 70 miles from New York City, was buzzing late last week after residents reported several sightings of a big cat roaming the woods. Scat, paw prints and photographs lead the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to confirm the cat's existence, but insisted that the mountain lion was most likely an animal that had been held in captivity and either escaped or was released.
The tales of mountain lion sightings seem to take on mythical status anywhere east of the Mississippi, but especially in the Northeast where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in March declared the eastern cougar extinct. Well it seems as if someone has some explaining to do. First, residents of the tony Fairfield County community of Greenwich reported a big cat roaming their woods late last week and now Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection officials report that a mountain lion was struck and killed by a car in Milford.
