 Add three more dead bodies to hunters’ have a long history of shooting endangered whooping cranes. Imagine if Palin had posted a map with cross-hairs on animal research labs. And a tour of other animal news. Keep reading Hunters shoot 3 more whooping cranes; picture Palin targeting animal research lab workers  A controversial grazing deal has the federal government paying $3.3 million to graze on land that it should be able to buy outright for $4-8 million. Keep reading Why are the feds paying $3.3 million to graze for 30 years on land worth only about $4 million?  Arizona became the first state to reject the NRA campaign to make hunting a right, enshrined in the state constitution. (Arizona voted 56% no, despite Republicans winning across the state.) Keep reading Dogs and Wolves Win in State Initiatives  Most Americans don’t realize that their wildlife is already effectively managed for and by hunters. Arizona is voting on formally giving the 5% of its citizens who hunt priority over the 31% who prefer just to watch wildlife. The measure is also dumb financially. Wildlife watchers spend $789 million in Arizona each year, while hunters only spend $322 million. Keep reading Should the 3% of Arizona that Hunts Control 100% of the Wildlife?  For the first two years they’re going to just kill as many deer as they can, regardless of gender. Then they’ll switch to killing 3 does to every 2 bucks. Killing bucks doesn’t really do anything to the population; one buck will mate with many does. They could kill a lot fewer animals if they would lean more heavily on the does–and right from the start. Keep reading Coyotes Couldn’t Control Valley Forge Wolves, Critics Say. Tell that to Yellowstone Elk  You know how Americans are appalled every time there’s a story out of China or Iraq about the government thugs primitively rounding up dogs and shooting them? Well, we do that, too. On purpose. Federal agents are out there killing dogs, more than one a day. They shot 157 dogs to death. And it’s not just in the yahoo states out west, either. (Although Texas and Arizona are the top states of dog-killing.) The USDA somehow insinuated itself into dog situations in 32 states. They went out and shot two dogs in Ohio and 30 in California. And it wasn’t because they feared they were rabid, either. They only tested 14 dogs for rabies. Keep reading USDA Kills Another 4 million animals, including 477 dogs and 1,991 feral cats 
You can congratulate me now: I just received an antlering permit from Utah after passing the 2010 Antler Gathering Ethics Course. I only got 95%, but they let me redo the question I missed. As gathering antlers shed in the winter by moose, elk and deer gets more popular among both hunters and wildife watchers, states are regulating the hobby so we don’t stress out the ungulates when they’re practically starving. It’s gotten so bad, even libertarian Wyoming has rules this year. Utah’s online “class” is really to teach you not to follow or harass the animals. They don’t want people stalking deer and elk in the winter and spring, when they could be stressed and starving. Even in a good year 40% of yearling deer and 20% of adults die, I learned. The stress of winter–low food, temperatures and light–can kill them off even into the spring. Expending energy to run away from somebody looking for antlers is the last thing they need. In a podcast, Anis Aoude, Utah’s Big Game Coordinator, says he’s caught people chasing animals around, waiting for their antlers. The various species can loose antlers November through March. Aoude says shedding the antlers every year might help the animals survive because predators know that males are weak after the rut. The Utah rules say you have to have a permit to hunt for antlers in the spring; Wyoming, home of the National Elk Refuge, just bans horn hunters from December through April. Keep reading Antlering: Hunters and Wildlife Watchers Both Love Collecting Antlers Get a Glimpse of Native Illinois Wildlife on their Winter Break–Join the Wildlife Prairie State Park Mother Bison directing traffic,originally uploaded by Todd Ryburn. Just a couple hours west of Chicago a herd of bison is taking the winter off from delighting kids. Wildlife Prairie State Park–a unique combination of wildlife center, praire re-enactment and park–closes for the winter. The animals in big herds, the elk and bison, are taken off public display to give their summer pastures a rest, says park spokesperson Kelly Stickelmaier. The enclosures (80 acres for the elk) are big enough to approximate a natural setting, but not so huge you can’t see them. (Just check the park’s very active flickr group and you can see how much of the animals visitors can see.) The park’s 18 bison are especially cooperative, coming up to the viewing stand, where they’re fed at 1 o’clock. “The elk are a little more persnickety, especially the boys,” Stickelmaier says. Because the bison herd reproduces, the park sells off however many are born each year to keep the total at 18. Badger at WPSP,originally uploaded by Mark Koonce. I don’t think I’ve seen another wildlife park that has badgers–and, believe me, I’ve looked. They’ve also have otters, eagles that came in through wildlife rehabilitation, skunks, bobcats and cougars. Philantrhopist Will Rutherford started the park in 1978 mainly as a kind of rehab area for animals from the Brookfield Zoo. The park eventually shifted to native animals, then Rutherford gave the park to the state in 2000. Rutherford’s family’s Forest Park Foundation still supports the park, the Peoria Journal-Star says, but it can’t make Keep reading Get a Glimpse of Native Illinois Wildlife on their Winter Break–Join the Wildlife Prairie State Park  Elk Herd of Benezette, PA The largest elk herd in the east, about 552 as of the last count in 2003, roams wild in western Pennsylvania. There are elk viewing areas around Moore Hill in Cameron County and Benezette in Elk County. The NE PA Great Outdoors provides a driving map and a brochure they’ll mail you. For travellers, the great thing is the easy access. Western Pennsylvania is where you’d want to stop overnight on the way to the midwest–it’s roughly halfway and it’s easily the most gorgeous area you’ll see on the way. The place to see elk are less than an hour off Route 80. Probably the easiest thing is to head to Benezette. When we visited in Jan., 2006, we toured the local official viewing areas. Some you just pull off the road and watch from your car, others have elaborate blinds or seated viewing areas. We got the consolation prize of tracks, but saw no elk. The woman at the Elk View Diner told us to check out the churchyard in town. Didn’t see any, but when we stopped at the Benezette Store and Restaurant, the man casually told us there were two bulls across the street. (He also said they can usually be found in town.) Sure enough two massive elk were chewing on a lawn. The owner came out and shooed them away. That’s somewhat unusual. Most are very into the elk. There are elk decorations everywhere and endless elk-themed businesses. (Wapati Keep reading Elk Shun Official Viewing Spots for Benezette, PA, Yards |
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