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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Wednesday, February 19, 2020:
Massive wild hog killed in north Liberty County: A feral hog weighing a whopping 488 pounds was killed on Saturday in The Preserve, formerly known as Cypress Lakes. A pair of hunters with Nuisance Wildlife Removal shot the hog, as well as six others that each topped the scales at 250 pounds. Joel Dudley, owner of Nuisance Wildlife Removal, was hunting the hogs with his friend, Mike Huckabay, when they came across a group of hogs clustered around one of the community’s ponds. “We were in there doing hog eradication because they have become so overpopulated,” Dudley said. “They have been tearing up the whole dang subdivision.” Instead of hunting with dogs or using traps, Dudley and Huckabay hunt using thermal-imaging, nighttime vision scopes that allow them to see into the darkness when the hogs are most active.
Adult punches mountain lion in ribs to save little girl in California park: A mountain lion attacked a 6-year-old girl Sunday while she was walking in a California park, wildlife officials say. The girl was walking on a trail at the Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve in Cupertino, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said. She was about 2 miles from the main parking lot when a mountain lion attacked, Fish and Wildlife said. An adult punched the mountain lion, estimated to weigh 160 pounds, in the ribs, KGO reported. “Right about when it grabbed ahold of the girl, there was an adult there that pushed the lion away into the bushes, and it ran off,” Brad Pennington, a ranger with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, told KGO. “She has minor injuries, a couple puncture wounds on her calf, and she was treated for minor first aid. Then, her parents took her to the hospital.”
Lubbock man catches 14 pound largemouth bass at Lake Alan Henry: Just days after being blanketed in snow, West Texas lake Alan Henry Reservoir produced the first Legacy Class largemouth bass entry of the 2020 Toyota ShareLunker season Feb. 9. Angler Blake Cockrell of Lubbock caught the 14.36 pound, 26.25 inch largemouth bass on a crankbait in 5-10 feet of water while targeting spotted bass on the lake. “When I put my hands on her to lift her out of the water and land her in the boat, I was in disbelief,” Cockrell said. “I said out loud, ‘you’re something special.’ At that moment I knew this fish was bigger than anything I’ve ever caught.” Although East Texas typically produces the Toyota ShareLunker program’s first and biggest entries most years, TPWD fisheries biologists urge anglers not to sleep on West Texas as a bass fishing destination. In 2019, O.H. Ivie Reservoir near San Angelo was among the top five ShareLunker producing lakes for the year, and Alan Henry Reservoir has produced 28 ShareLunker entries ranging from 13 to 15 pounds since 2000.
He was fishing for catfish, but this Texas teen reeled in a 190-pound alligator gar: A Texas teenager hauled in an impressive alligator gar earlier this month, and it wasn’t his first imposing catch. Jack Pytel, an 18-year-old from Needville, told McClatchy News he was at a friend’s ranch on the Brazos River on Feb. 1 fishing for catfish, when he hooked a giant alligator gar. This one gave him a 30-minute fight and he pulled it onto land with the help of his friends, he said. The alligator gar was 7 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed a massive 190 pounds, Pytel added. Pytel previously caught a 90-pounder and a 150-pound gar in 2018, according to the Houston Chronicle. He told McClatchy News it’s a combination of using the right gear, including big hooks and the right bait, that has allowed him to haul in the large gars.
Florida men banned from hunting in Colorado after illegal kills: The Colorado hunting licenses of two Florida men were revoked after an anonymous tip led to them pleading guilty to illegally killing mule deer and pronghorns, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The suspensions of their hunting privileges came after their 2018 guilty pleas to participating in a poaching operation that claimed at least three mule deer and six pronghorn in Elbert and Lincoln counties. Timothy C. Draper, 33, of Bunnell, Fla., pleaded guilty in 2018 in Lincoln County Court to a misdemeanor charge of illegal possession of three or more big game animals. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission hearing examiner ruled on Feb. 11 that a 20-year suspension was warranted for Draper. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised probation and forfeited all weapons and equipment used in his crime. He paid a $2,100 game penalty and a total of $4,213 in fines and court costs. Lawrence J. Cowart, 30, also of Bunnell, Fla. was issued a lifetime ban by the CPW Commission hearing examiner after he pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2018, in Lincoln County Court to willful destruction of wildlife, a class 5 felony.
A game of ‘Gotcha?’ Pa. court shoots down archery hunter’s Catch-22 conviction for hunting over bait: Saying the Pennsylvania Game Commission violated the man’s rights along with simple common sense, a state appeals court panel has shot down an archery hunter’s conviction for hunting over bait. For starters, Judge Patricia A. McCullough noted in the Commonwealth Court’s opinion, a game warden cited hunter Joshua Redovan after Redovan himself called in a complaint that someone else was using corn as bait near his tree stand. The warden didn’t tape off the area where the corn was found to warn hunters that it was off limits, as required by state law, McCullough added. Nor, she wrote, did prosecutors prove Redovan actually was violating the law because his tree stand was 70 yards away from the previously baited area. The whole case had a Catch-22 vibe. State law bars hunting in areas where bait — such as corn or salt — has been placed within 30 days of the opening of a hunting season.
Fish and Wildlife Commission tightens wolf, elk hunting rules: The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission tightened wolf hunting rules near Yellowstone National Park and reduced elk shoulder seasons in west-central Montana. The subject of elk and wolves together took up the bulk of the rule-making body’s daylong meeting in Helena, which was streamed to Fish, Wildlife and Parks Regional Offices around the state. By the time the agency’s wolf proposals came up towards the end, the commission limited commenters to 3 minutes each. Wolf management has drawn intense debate since the state took over management of them in 2011, and commenters had plenty to share about the state’s latest proposals. In December, Fish, Wildlife and Parks had suggested reducing the hunting quotas in Wolf Management Units 313 and 316, just north of Yellowstone, from two each to one each. Then, earlier this month, it changed course and proposed keeping them at two.
Missouri adds a $3.6 million chopper to help monitor wildlife, flooding: Missouri is poised to receive a $3.6 million tool to help it manage its wetlands and wildlife. State bidding documents show the Missouri Department of Conservation inked a contract to purchase a new helicopter this month. The Airbus H125 is expected to be delivered to wildlife officials from a dealer in Texas no later than mid-June. Once deployed, the department is planning to use the chopper to monitor the state’s growing bear population and generate wildlife population estimates, said Conservation spokeswoman Candice Davis. In November, it was reported the agency would use the helicopter to hunt feral hogs. Davis said that task will be left to federal wildlife officials, who have a helicopter that is specially equipped for eradication efforts.
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