December 2012
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Surprising growth in wildlife populations as land and water naturalizes, though there are some mutations- Twenty six years ago, on April 26, 1986 reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the now-defunct Soviet Union melted down and an explosion blew open the reactor. It released a cloud of radioactive materials that contaminated…
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Hunt will probably end below quota; but many more wolves killed in state’s wolves-are-just-vermin-zone- Wyoming first wolf hunt ends Dec. 31. 2012. Wyoming opted for a much less ambitious/less-destructive-to-wolves hunt compared to neighboring Idaho and Montana. Unlike its neighbors, Wyoming has a wolf maximum kill quota and a relatively short hunt. However, Wyoming also has…
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2012 was a record year for Florida panther deaths- Twenty-six of the rare Florida panther were killed this year, a record, though one that should be set in perspective — the state’s population is 100-160 today compared to only 20-25 back in 1995 when eight female Texas pumas were imported to bolster the population of native…
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Release seemed to briefly stall, but now the goats are raising kids and expanding territory- In 2010 45 mountain goats were released on the east slopes of Mt. Jefferson, a tall volcano in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Soon 3 of them slipped to their death or were killed by predators. Most survived, however, and last July…
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Two cougar, a coyote and a bobcat caught in wolf traps- Whether this is a lot of “by-catch” or not depends on a person’s viewpoint, but some felines and one coyote have been caught in wolf traps so far in the Montana wolf trapping season. An additional cougar was caught in a “furbearer” trap (must…
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The arrival of the still lone-wolf has led to formation of the Pacific Wolf Coalition- The Pacific Wolf Coalition has issued its first news release. This new wolf advocacy group was formed when the long migration of wolf OR-7 from NE Oregon to Northern California raised interest in restoring wolves to the Cascade Range and…
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Lawsuit aims to take back majority of marsh land used to create the Refuge- A lawsuit by landowners who helped create the Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge in 1965, now threatens is dismemberment. One of the best known features of the obscure country between the eastern edge of the Snake River Plain and the Wyoming…
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The extinct giant piranha had most forceful fish bite in history of the planet- Move over sharks. The new scientific report “Mega-Bites: Extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas,” shows the incredible force of the bite of the piranha and tells how the not so big fish does it. The 3 foot long Megapiranha, which…