A few days ago I did a post on Florida Panthers and the debate about re-opening trails in Floridas  Big Cypress National Preserve. It appears North Carolina may have a panther running loose now. This story comes out of Union County, NC.

None of the panther sightings have been confirmed, but the deputy director for animal control tells me they’re now considering the reports to be very credible.

From time to time we hear of a “Big Cat” sighting here in North Carolina. Most of them turn out to be escaped exotic pets. This report seems to be of a very aggressive cat because according to the article, there have been a few inured pets and a few even killed. Here is the rest of the article and I’ll keep everyone informed if the traps they set nearby turns up a panther.

 North Carolina has announced its 2006 Officer of the Year Award to Carteret Countys Wildlife Officer, Ryan Taylor. Originally from Lumberton, he has been with the division for six years now.

  Its hard to imagine the amount of time and effort these people go through to perform their jobs. With a limited number of officers in any given area at one time, this has got to be one of the most demanding jobs a person can work. I don’t personally know this officer, but, I do know a few others here in my part of the state and I can honestly say, each and everyone have treated me with respect and have been very helpful whenever I needed an answer to a question or problem. Here’s an article from the Winston Salem Journal describing some of Ryans other accomplishments as a Wildlife Officer here in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation has named Senior Officer Ryan Taylor, a native of Lumberton now based in Carteret County, as its Wildlife Enforcement officer of the year for 2006.

Taylor, a six-year veteran with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, accepted the award at the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards banquet, an occasion to recognize those who have exhibited an unwavering commitment to conservation and an uncommon determination to safeguard the state’s natural resources.

T. Edward Nickens, the chairman of the Wildlife Federation’s Awards Committee, said that Taylor is well known for his tireless efforts in enforcing boating, fish and game laws, as well as his professional and courteous manner.

Taylor was also cited for outstanding work in conservation and outdoor safety education, dealing with both the public and media. He conducts regular programs in boater safety certification, hunter safety programs and the annual Youth Hunter Safety Tournaments.

He is the son of Howard and Vickie Taylor, of Lumberton, and a graduate of Lumberton High School. He holds a B.S. degree in business management from UNC Pembroke. He and his wife, Jada, are the parents of a four-month-old son, Easton.

photo courtesy of Outdoors with Dave Richey

    After reading a post over at The Black Bear Blog, I found myself searching the web looking at different bucks that have been taken across this country, when I stumbled upon the above photo in the archives over at this very informative blog. For some reason, I don’t remember hearing or seeing this buck before. Hopefully, someone reading can shed some details about it.

     The individuality of each set of antlers is what amazes me. No two are the same, whether a massive 10 pointer, or a basket rack 8, each one has its own fingerprint so to speak. Heres a really great find by Rex over at The Deer Camp Blog. My understanding is, 10 pts on ONE SIDE!! I wont spoil it for you, I’ll let you read the story for yourself.

   If you’re looking to browse around and see a bunch of different sheds and stories from around the world concerning antlers. You should check out The Shed Antler for some awesome photos and great stories.

 

photo courtesy of The National Wildlife Federation

 Big Cypress National Preserve is home to many of the panthers still lurking around the woods and  swamps of Florida. The reopening of some trails that were previously closed to protect the panthers may spark some debate between hunters and enviromentalist.

The decision was a victory for hunters who say they need the rugged machines to penetrate the preserve’s swamps and forests. Environmentalists, who had successfully sued for limits on these vehicles, said Big Cypress’s managers were too eager to accommodate the vocal hunting community. They accused the preserve of reneging on obligations imposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study the impact of hunting and off-road vehicles on panthers before reopening the trails.

There is nothing worse than having tons of land and no access to reach most of it. Hopefully, the transition will go smoothly for hunters in this area and the trails can remain open for everyone to enjoy. Here are some more quotes from the article which I think some of you will enjoy.

“We feel real strongly about those trails being closed illegally a few years ago,” he said. “They were closed without due process. They were closed without it being scientifically established that they should be closed.”

With evidence such as this, it may turn out to be tough to convince people that the ORV’s are a threat to the panthers.

He said he doubted hunters or off-road vehicles did any harm to panthers, noting — in an example frequently cited by hunters and backed up by biologists — that a panther was documented to have raised cubs within a few dozen yards of an off-road vehicle trail during hunting season.

“The panther is just a lame excuse,” he said.

Read more about Florida Panthers here.

 

This is probably old news to some, but I just ran across an article about the 25lb 1oz Largemouth Bass that was caught last March by anglers Jed Dickerson and Mike Winn. I’m sure some remember that this fish was actually “snagged”, which spun some controversey as to whether or not it should be allowed as a world record. Turns out these fellas are still toying with the idea of entering it after finding out from the International Game Fish Association in Florida there is no time limit to apply for an all-tackle world record. This next part is where I get a little confused and maybe some readers out there can enlighten me on how do they know that this is/was the same fish? Was it tagged? Personally, whether its the same fish or not, snagged or hooked in the lip, its still a heck of a catch. However, I feel a hook in the lip should constitute a catch and a snag should be called “luck”. View article here.

What made the story interesting was that the fish was the same one caught in 2003 by Dickerson. At that time, the fish initially weighed 22 pounds, 9 ounces, but was “officially” certified by a California Department of Fish and Game Warden at 21-11 several hours later.

  Here in North Carolina hunting deer over bait is legal and practiced amongst many. However, visit any local blog or forum and you’ll soon realize that the feelings that come with discussing hunting over bait is very diverse even in a state where it is legal. You are bound to read a hundred different reasons why some approve as well as a hundred or so from the the ones against it. Seems Mississippi is in the same boat.

Mississippi allows hunters to hunt over grass patches - food plots - which, in my eyes, is just like hunting over a corn feeder. If hunting over corn will cause a greater chance of deer catching a disease, then having deer come to a grass patch is just the same as having a corn pile.

I agree, I dont find placing corn on the ground much different than hunting over a food plot. Corn is fed many ways in this state, some use feeders, whether a hanging type or the use of a tripod style. Others make homemade feeders out of PVC pipe attached to trees and as the deer feed the corn drops down at the base of a tree. Some just “scatter” corn in an area and replenish every so often as needed. All of the methods I mentioned work equally well in my opinion but the feeders on timers tend to save a little on corn cost. 

  This article is only the opinion of one person but the scary thing is there are many more out there viewing hunters that hunt over bait across this nation in the same way.

About a century ago, Teddy Roosevelt came to the Mississippi Delta to hunt bear. After a couple of days looking, he hadn’t seen a single one. His hosts, apparently believing, in their misguided way, that the object of the hunt was to shoot something, offered to tie a bear to a tree and give him a good shot; Roosevelt refused because he believed that the object of the hunt was the sport, and not the shooting.

Teddy seems to me, a non-hunter, a good example for lawmakers and hunters who want to approve a law allowing hunters to bait deer. Having never shot at a deer, I can still suspect that a moving target is a lot harder to hit than a still one; I know for a fact that it’s not sport if you arrange to win all the time. There are actually laws against fixing games, aren’t there?

But hunters who bait could preserve the fiction that they are still sportsmen by using a salt lick doused with some kind of deer-drug that would leave it free to wander - perhaps stagger - through the woods more slowly and without its natural instincts to avoid human beings with guns.

They would still be at least moving targets, and have some chance to outwit their pursuers. Better yet, why not simply farm the suckers, keep them in a pen the size of, say, a tennis court, with no trees or shrubs to hide behind?

Hunters could prop their guns on the top rail and blast away, and many of them be assured of killing something: fun and sport in that, for sure!

The law to allow baiting is, of course, a goofy one. One legislator even goofier argues that we ought to have this law because deer hunters are already baiting. By his logic, we should legalize burglary and murder and let convicted criminals out of prison.

Teddy would have sneered at such hunters, as should we all.

Noel Polk

Starkville

  
Coming from a state that allows baiting and having used corn myself, I cant help but think the legislator that was reffered to in this article was probably using common sense when he said hunters are already baiting. First thing that comes to mind is, foodplots, standing rows of corn, soybeans, etc. I dont like to make assumptions such as these but comparing that to legalizing burglary and murder based on his statements is ludacris. Here is a follow up article to the one above. This fella here seems to have some common sense.

Baited hunting is not ‘non-sporting’

Noel Polk wrote about the law to allow hunting over bait (”Law to allow hunting over bait not ’sporting,’ ” Feb. 25 letter). I’m an avid hunter, and I enjoy the outdoors. It’s always better to take a shot at an animal that is standing still, rather than one that is moving. With one moving, you could wound the animal and allow the animal to suffer.

Mr. Polk’s idea of “moving targets” may sound nice to non-hunters, but it is actually cruel.

Mississippi allows hunters to hunt over grass patches - food plots - which, in my eyes, is just like hunting over a corn feeder. If hunting over corn will cause a greater chance of deer catching a disease, then having deer come to a grass patch is just the same as having a corn pile.

Other states allow baiting. If officials at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are worried about the threat of disease, then make it a law to use a corn feeder that gets the corn off the ground.

Justin Horn

Decatur

photo courtesy of The Roanoke Times

   The above photo is Mackey May with his 28lb, 4 oz striper that landed him and his partner Dave Brown a win at the Smith Mountain Striper Club Tournament this past weekend. Smith Mountain Lake is an absolute beautiful lake tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Southwestern Virginia, and is known for its great striper fishing as well as other species.

   Back in the spring of 2003, Smith Mountain Lake experienced a major fish kill. According to data, mostly larger, older striped bass were affected. A parasitic infestation, (Achtheres), combined with a shad winterkill was to blame. I have heard reports that striper fishing isn’t what it “used to be” but it is rebounding. Hopefully Smith Mountain Lake striped bass can continue to recover and award other anglers with a great catch such as the one Mackey May was able to land.

photo courtesy of the NRA-ILA  

Drive past just about any subdivision that has been constructed overnight  in rural parts of this country and you are almost certain to see a deer or two browsing around under some trees in someones backyard or perhaps nibbling on some grass in a vacant lot that has yet to have a house built on it. This is a common site for most of our country as more and more land is lost to developments. I did a story last week on habitat destruction and discussed my concerns about what the future holds for hunters being faced with smaller tracts of land to hunt on.

   Here in my part of the country, its not uncommon to hear people, cars, kids playing, etc. from the deer stand. Depending on land access, some hunters Ive heard of are hunting 10 acre tracts, some even smaller, and they are taking their limit of deer each and every year simply by catching deer using “man made” funnels between houses, subdivisions, etc. After reading this article  ,  I found myself wondering, how much land is needed to ensure that hunting remains safe? Or would a little common sense amongst hunters be the fix to these problems? Putting some sort of acreage requirements would be absolutely bogus in my opinion, I know of some of 20 acre tracts with large fields that deer frequent every evening, shooting a deer out of these fields is dangerous as there are houses on the perimeter in just about every direction. On the other hand, I know some 10 acre tracts that are loaded with hardwoods and thickets and hunting from an elevated stand wouldnt hurt a thing.  Responsible hunters know when its safe and when its not.

   One other thing that concerned me a bit was this quote here…….

That’s not good enough for Pat Martin, 72, who lives off Providence Road in south Milton.

She said there’s a lake and creeks near her home and she gets nervous when her grandchildren visit for fear someone will be out there shooting. She said hunters frequent the lake and land behind her house.

“There are woods all around and the kids like to walk around in the woods,” she said. “I don’t feel like they’re safe. There are other places to hunt.”

I’m not fimiliar with the area, but by the statement made in this article, I cant help but believe one of two things is happening here. Either the hunters are on this land illegally, or the kids are being allowed to trespass onto someones land. If the hunters are there legally, then the grandparents need to keep the kids off that property, at the same time if these hunters are the ones trespassing then they should be cited for trespassing as well.   I have a feeling we’ll start hearing more stories like this in the coming years as hunting land is lost, and new residents try their best to make us find “other places to hunt”.

  

    

photo courtesy of Doug from Cumberland County, NC.

It seems here lately coyotes have been all over the news here in North Carolina. Dan over at Moose Droppings covered a story about a free “How to” class being held at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. A few days later Outdoors with Othmar posted a similiar topic and also offered some good advice and tips on coyote hunting.

Well it appears coyotes in North Carolina may now have a bounty on their head.

 After hearing numerous complaints about coyotes attacking livestock, the Johnston County Farm Bureau recently proposed giving the county $5,000 to set up a bounty program — rewards for hunters who kill coyotes.

The photo you see above is of a male yote I took from the deer stand late December. I took the shot with my Remington .270. Shortly after the shot, the rain started pouring and I was unable to retrieve him from the cutover. A few weeks later, I went back. This yote was following a female (Im assuming) and had a limp to him. Im starting to think he had been hit by car prior to me putting the bead on him. I saw this one and his mate 2 days prior but couldnt get a shot. I hope to have some photos of a local trapper here in NC that put a hurting on the coyotes this year. As soon as I get them, I’ll make a new post. Till then, check out the full article on the problems coyotes in one NC county are causing.

 

 Jerry Junkins and his dog Bandit. Photo courtesy of Rome News-Tribune.

    It seems we are hearing of wild or feral hogs coming into contact with humans more and more as the population of feral hogs tends to grow at an enormous rate across this country. These critters are utilizing our well manicured lawns and gardens as buffets, and the presence of humans or dogs is not stopping them. The state of Georgia has been in the news quite a bit here lately when talking about feral hogs, first there was the famous Hogzilla which made its way across news channels and the internet at the speed of the light, and eventually made its way to a documentary done by National Geographic. Then came Hogzilla II back in January which you can read more about over at The Hog Blog.

   Now its Bandit the neighborhood dogs turn to make the papers in Georgia. While his hog doesnt add up to anything comparable in size to Hogzilla, never let the size of a feral hog fool you. The smaller ones are fast on their feet and can do some serious damage to you, your dog, and your property. You can read more about Bandit and his owner Jerry Junkins here.