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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Monday, July 22, 2019:
The following item is from a recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement report: At about 11:30 p.m. June 21, a Government Canyon State Park police officer received a missing persons call from the San Antonio Police Department. It seems the missing person called 911 from somewhere in the park reporting that an animal had been following and growling at her, so she had taken refuge by climbing a tree. The park police officer searched her last reported location to no avail, but was able to make contact on her cell phone to reassure her help was on the way. She urged him to please hurry because an animal she believed to be a wild pig was nearby and growling. He informed her he would turn on his truck siren and asked her to listen. She was unable to hear his siren, so the officer told her to use her iPhone to send him her location by text message, which she did. The officer then hiked to that location and found her and a male subject in a tree. She warned the officer that the pig was still close by and she heard it just a few minutes before he arrived. Shortly after that, the officer heard a car drive over the rumble strips nearby on Galm Road and watched as the woman’s body language immediately changed. The officer asked if they believed the noise they just heard was a pig and both nodded. He explained it was only cars crossing rumble strips on the road nearby. Embarrassed by the misperceived threat, the lost hikers were reassured by the officer that the unknown can be scary and their reaction surprisingly common.
Former hunting show host from Peoria pleads guilty to poaching deer: The former host of “Fear No Evil,” a hunting show that aired on the Outdoor Channel, has pleaded guilty to poaching deer. Christopher Brackett, 41, from East Peoria, Illinois, admitted to killing two bucks in Indiana while filming an episode of his cable TV show in December, 2013. Per season, Indiana state law permitted hunters to kill only one buck. Brackett nicknamed the second buck the “Unicorn Buck” for its unique antlers and, under the Lacy Act, a U.S. Conservation Law, illegally transported it back to his home in East Peoria.
Man dies of Vibrio infection contracted while fishing near Palacios, family says: At first, physicians thought the Vibrio infection that would claim Jerry Sebek’s life was sunburn or heat exhaustion. Sebek, a 78-year-old San Marcos man, likely contracted the disease while fishing near Palacios, said his daughter, Kim Sebek, of Temple. About two weeks after his unexpected death, she wondered whether his life might have been spared if the infection had been diagnosed sooner. “I’m still in a lot of disbelief and shock and trying to figure out what happened,” she said.
iSnapper app helps extend red snapper season to 90 days, possibly more: In the past, red snapper season has only lasted a handful of days, but this year it may last up to 90 days or more. Researchers at the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi said it is thanks to conservation efforts and help from the public. In fact, if you are an angler and want to help with that research and potentially extend red snapper season, there’s an app for that.
Shark population dramatically increasing along Texas Gulf Coast: According to scientists, sharks are quickly increasing in numbers along the Texas coast. “If you’re in the water, you’re likely near a shark,” said Dr. Greg Stunz, a professor of marine biology. According to Dr. Stunz, the shark population along the Texas coast is larger than it has been in years. The professor credits the increase in shark numbers to new U.S. government regulations, and education.
Listen to the facts: Licensed, regulated hunting is key to wildlife conservation in Africa: Late last month, U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16) decided to use Congress’ budget process as a vessel for his own legislative agenda by attaching an appropriations rider to H.R 3055, which would prohibit the import of sport-hunted elephant and lion from Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the U.S. Sadly, this is only the most recent effort by misinformed legislators to try to manage wildlife populations that they are neither responsible for, nor know enough about. As the former Deputy Director of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, I have not only seen the bigger threats facing animals such as elephants and lions, but I have also seen the solutions to these threats that big game hunting has helped to create.
New Belgium Brewing creates ‘Finding Common Ground’ campaign to help support public lands: If you spend any amount of time enjoying our great country’s public lands, join us in tipping our caps (or raising a pint) to New Belgium Brewing Company’s ‘Finding Common Ground’ campaign. In an effort to support organizations dedicated to protecting public lands, New Belgium’s Fat Tire brand is donating up to $250,000 to the cause.
Lyme disease expert champions investigation into Pentagon weaponizing ticks: ‘It’s a courageous move’ Kris Newby, author of “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons,” discussed how ticks can be weaponized during an interview with “Fox & Friends Sunday” and supported an investigation into whether or not the Pentagon attempted this feat during the Cold War. She was responding to a call from House lawmakers for an investigation into the Pentagon to find out if it contributed to the outbreak of Lyme disease that’s currently ravaging the country. “I think it’s a courageous move and I’m really excited about it because a lot of those Cold War experiments … right out of Dr. Strangelove, are classified,” she said.
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