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Loosely based on Pamplona, Spain's Running of the Bulls, nearly 1,000 participated in the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous "Running of the Reindeer" this weekend. The Anchorage Daily News reports that one reindeer interviewed after the quirky event said, "Sorry, PETA, I didn't feel exploited or abused at all. It was a blast for us, too." (They made that up.)
An Austrian lawyer and diving enthusiast died after being bitten by a bull shark about 50 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., while with a commercial scuba crew. The death has drawn attention to the dive company and its practice of shark feeding, a common procedure in which tour operators dump bloody fish parts into the water to attract sharks.Via AP and the S. Florida Sun-Sentinel.
A spectacular photograph allegedly depicting a herd of Tibetan antelope running adjacent to a high-speed train that won a Top 10 "photo of the year" award from CCTV, China's state-run television network, has been exposed as a Photoshopped scam. We bet you'll soon find the photo in your e-mail, purported to have originated outside Lander, Wyoming. In the Wall Street Journal.
What would we do without scientists? A new study cited in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences contends that when fishermen keep larger, more aggressive fish, they encourage their replacement with slower growing, "more timid" varieties. The report concludes that "differences in 'boldness,' which are positively correlated with grow rate, render bold fish more vulnerable to harvest, thereby adding an important effect to the known indirect effect" of fishing. Uh, right. In the Washington Post.
A New Zealand fishing writer and Fish and Game manager remains in a serious condition at Christchurch Hospital with a rare flesh-eating infection, necrotising fasciitis--apparently transmitted from the bite of a fish. Doctors say Ross Millichamp may have been bitten while fishing for barracuda and blue cod off the coast of Stewart Island last week. NZPA via Yahoo!
The Outdoor Pressroom has reported that the Noble High School Band's fund-raising effort featuring a Maine black bear hunt raffle has drawn fire from some hunting foes in the Berwick, ME area. Now the raffle, which was originally scheduled to end this month, has been extended to the end of April. In addition, hunting supporters from around the globe can now purchase tickets online. An editorial in the Sanford News called the raffle "an innovative way to raise funds for a worthy cause while promoting responsible wildlife management and a greater appreciation of Maine's vast wilderness." We couldn't agree more.
In October, a radio signal led Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Kevin White to a black bear wearing a GPS collar north of Juneau. That was fine, except that White placed the collar on a Rocky Mountain goat in 2006. "Bears...are really curious about foreign objects in their environment," said researcher LaVern Beier. "He didn't really put on the collar--it's not like he was trying on clothing." In the Juneau Empire.
A special election this week to decide a critical New York state Senate seat may be swayed by anglers who believe one candidate's family unjustly profits from charging fishing fees on a stretch of the Salmon River. Democratic candidate Darrel Aubertine recently pulled controversial TV ads claiming his opponent, Will Barclay and his family are fleecing anglers and fishing guides. In the NY Daily News.
Nobody believed Kevin Blackford when he told the gang down at Reel & Sons Feed Store in Worthington, Ind. that he'd seen a big orange raccoon on his rural Greene County porch. But when the critter with orange fur and eyes to match was trapped this week, the celebrity drew folks to the feed store just to see the oddity of nature. "We got him right away, with just a little dab of strawberry preserves. Raccoons love strawberry preserves," said triumphant trapper Craig Reel. In the Green County Daily World.
The 200 or so black vultures that have invaded Bartow, Fla. have city officials in a conundrum. The birds are damaging cars and picking shingles off roofs, while defecating and vomiting freely. "The city's code is problematic," said Interim City Attorney Sean Parker. "The entire city of Bartow is a bird sanctuary, and we're trying to find a way to work around that." Reported in the Lakeland Ledger.
An Azusa, Calif. man reported his pickup stolen this week after he came out of a mini-mart and found it missing. Responding officers discovered the truck across the street, with the owner's 80-pound boxer at the wheel. A security video showed the truck rolling out of the store lot, across the street, through traffic and out of view. Truck and dog were unscratched. Via AP.
Legislation that would extend a pilot program allowing limited hound hunting for cougars in certain Washington counties passed the state House Tuesday and now moves to the Senate for approval. Despite the fact that the original wording of House Bill 2438 would have made hunting cougars with dogs permanent in counties where human encounters with the big cats warrant, animal rights groups have pledged to lobby against the amended bill's passage. In the Wenatchee World.
Boo Weekley, the camo-wearing PGA Tour golfer who takes every opportunity to talk about his love for hunting and fishing, was asked by a reporter yesterday at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson if he hunted "for kill or thrill." Weekley explained that he always eats what he kills, a lesson he learned when his great-grandfather told him he had to eat a blackbird he'd shot as a youngster. “It (blackbird) ain't very good, I can tell you that,” Weekley said. In the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Illinois residents are accustomed to outlandish stories about political shenanigans. That's why they shouldn't be surprised to find out that the acting head of the DNR is being paid $10,000 annually in travel reimbursements (on top of his $120K salary and state car) for the time he spends away from home in the state capital of Springfield. IDNR budget and funding shortfalls have led to hundreds of job cuts and program cutbacks at the department in recent years. Read the whole story in the Decatur Herald & Review.
Acting on a tip Monday, Alaska State Troopers stopped and arrested Choong Il Park, 68, who was in possession of 288 salmon and 70 rainbow trout above the limit. Park's fishing gear was seized and he was issued a citation for $7,270. In the Anchorage Daily News.
