The Outdoor Pressroom

Wyoming trophy wolf hunt to open Oct. 1

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has set a total “harvest quota” of 25 gray wolves for 4 hunt areas in the northwest part of the state, with a suggested opening day of Oct. 1, 2008. The Sublette Examiner.

Bear takes dip in Orlando's Hard Rock Hotel pool

A security guard monitoring video screens at Orlando's Hard Rock Hotel contacted authorities early this morning after he spotted a bear taking a swim in the pool there. Although the bear was not found, Tom Schroder of Universal Studios said it is business as usual at the hotel and theme parks. "We got the OK from the Fish and Wildlife officials to go about with our regular operations," Schroder said. In the Orlando Sentinel.

Girl stung by scorpion in WVa. Wal-Mart

A 12-year-old Barboursville, WV girl was stung by an inch-long scorpion while picking out a watermelon in a Wal-Mart produce department for a holiday cookout yesterday. Megan Templeton was transported to a nearby hospital where she was evaluated and released. A sticker on the melons indicated the shipment originated in Mexico. In the Charleston Daily Mail.

Penn. deer processor pleads guilty to violations

Following up the story linked here Feb. 28, Pennsylvania deer processor William Kielty has been fined $9,500 and may lose his hunting privileges up to 57 years after pleading guilty to 19 game law violations, including selling venison that was knowingly poached and meat designated for the needy. The AP reports.

Bear strolls down street in Raleigh neighborhood

Authorities in northwest Raleigh, NC remained on the lookout Monday for the bear or bears that traipsed through suburban neighborhoods Sunday. "He wasn't in a hurry, just walking through like he had somewhere to be," said Tom McKemie, who called 911 after seeing the bruin. "We see deer like crazy around here, but never a bear." In the News & Observer.

WSJ: Fishing the Big Apple

Today's Wall Street Journal features an article about fishing, New York City style. There are 119 fishing spots--piers, parks, seawalls, and street-ends--along the five boroughs' 500 miles of shoreline listed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. For New Yorkers, the water is never far away, but "it's hard to get your hands wet," notes John Waldman, a biology professor at Queens College and a lifelong city fisherman.

Elderly Wisconsin angler struck by runaway boat

89-year-old angler, Youa K. Vang, sustained non-life-threatening injuries Monday after a boater lost control, ran ashore and struck him near the Oshkosh Pier on the Fox River. The Appleton Post-Crescent.

Probing question: Is painted roadkill real?

Greeley (Colo.) Tribune Action Line writer Andrew Villegas enters uncharted ombudsman territory in today's column when he attempts to determine if a photo taken of a dead squirrel that apparently received a yellow-line paint-job from a CDOT roadcrew is authentic, fake or staged by pranksters. His conclusion--on all counts--is a definite maybe.

More rattler victims experiencing extreme symptoms

Toxicologists in Arizona, Colorado and California say they have documented an "extreme symptom" increase in victims of rattlesnake bites, but they're not sure why. At least five people have died from rattlesnake bites in Arizona since 2002—three or four of them from the extreme symptoms--the same number of fatalities experienced during the 20 previous years. "This is a brand-new phenomenon," said Jeffrey Brent, clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. AP reports.

Fowl play: B&E investigation turns up turkey

A Kalamazoo, Mich. police officer investigating an apparent breaking and entering at a business Sunday morning discovered a smashed window and an expired wild turkey hen lying dead on a conference table. In The Kalamazoo Gazette.

Alaska report: Hornets heading northward

While researching a spike in the number of yellow jackets in the Fairbanks area during 2006, University of Alaska entomologist Derek Sikes has determined that the notorious stinging wasps are spreading northward. Reviewing a database of the state's Medicaid patients, Sikes and his associate found a seven-fold increase in insect stings in northern Alaska within the past decade--from an average of 16 people (per 100,000) per year between 1999 and 2001 to 119 people a year from 2004 to 2006. In the Fairbanks News-Miner.

New Florida circle hook requirement effective June 1

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is reminding anglers that beginning June 1, Gulf anglers fishing from a vessel for any reef fish species must carry and use circle hooks, dehooking devices and venting tools. The new rules are intended to increase the survival rate of released fish when they are not legal to harvest. N. Florida News Daily.

Fat fox squirrel mistaken for fugitive Florida monkey

The Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Dept. responded to a report that one of the monkeys missing from a Florida wildlife facility since April 22 was seen in a tree near Lakeland Sunday. The animal turned out to be a large fox squirrel. "When I spoke to the deputy, who is an avid hunter, he said it was the biggest fox squirrel he had ever seen," said sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood. "It was huge." The Lakeland Ledger.

First Suwannee sturgeon strike of 2008 reported

A 4- to 5-foot, 100-pound Gulf sturgeon leapt out of Florida's Suwannee River, striking and slightly injuring a passing boater Friday, marking the first such incident of the season. In The Lakeland Ledger.

Country stars, pro anglers join Porter Wagoner Tournament

Country music stars will join famous pro fishing anglers including Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Jimmy Houston for a fishing tournament in honor of the late Porter Wagoner, an avid angler, June 3 at J. Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, Tenn. Proceeds will be donated in Wagoner's memory to the Grand Ole Opry Trust Fund. CMT News.