Smattering of topics that I gleaned from my most recent issue of “The Wildlife Professional”.

*Bet you didn’t know that horseshoe crabs are harvested for the main purpose of providing bait for conch and eel fisheries.  Delaware Bay has the world’s largest number of horseshoe crabs, and limits have been tightened to prevent overfishing of this unique crab species.

Ronnie Garrison, 2007

*The Burmese python invasion of the Florida Peninsula is bordering on epidemic.  With an estimated 30,000 constrictors in the wild, Florida FW&S officials are encouraging employees to get formal training in large reptile handling.

*Almost 10% of the world’s whooping crane population died in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas over this past winter.  Drought conditions dried up the marshes where the birds call home and their prey – blue crabs – can be hunted by the long legged birds.

Photo courtesy of FWS.gov

In a future post, probably early next week, I’ll address some pro- and anti- arguments for hunters going lead free in coming years.

Check out the Hog Blog in the meantime, one of Phillip’s hot ticket items is his perpetual discussion of the lead issue in ammunition.