Michael O'Neill, a Pennsylvania insurance agent talked of mounting his bear in  a standing position as the centerpiece of his grand slam collection of black, brown, grizzly and polar bears.  He was proud to be one of less than 100 hunters worldwide who had achieved the bear grand slam.

The bear he killed turned out to be a female, however, so it is not certain CITES will issue a permit because hunters are supposed to kill males to enhance population growth.  As it turned out, three of the
four bears killed were females.

All four hunters rejected the polar bear roast that was prepared for them at the end of the hunt and discussed ways of hiding this fact
from CITES.

April 27, 1998
ARMADILLOS THREATEN SEA TURTLE EGGS
Biologists at Mote Marine's Sea Turtle Program are trying out new methods to protect sea turtle nests from armadillo raids.  In contrast, officials at the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge contemplate  shooting the armadillos to preserve the turtles - unless the new nest protection devices prove to be effective.

As late as 1995, armadillos accounted for 16% of the destroyed nests on the refuge, but their portion of the blame was put at 50% last year.
Armadillos do more damage than raccoons because they really open up the nest causing it to attract other egg predators.  Also, they are not foiled by wire cages as raccoons are.  They simply back up and tunnel underneath.  They have also been smart enough to resist all sorts of bait in traps set for them.

More effective nest caging is still a possibility.   Mote Marine is also considering having volunteer beach patrollers capture the armadillos with nets and transport them to other locations.  Trapped raccoons
are killed because they carry rabies and there are no places left to release them.

Depredation of the eggs of endangered sea turtles are even more of a threat to their survival than entrapment in shrimp nets because so many future turtles can be destroyed at once.  The danger of drowning in shrimp nets has been greatly reduced provided the shrimp boats used TEDS (turtle excluding devices, which provide an escape hatch for entrapped turtles) as required by law.

April 27, 1998
CIVITAS SANCTUARY HOPES TO ATTRACT BEAR
The bear population in Allegany County is not well established.  Until recently, it has consisted almost entirely of young bears leaving their home in Pennsylvania for new territory.  Not surprisingly, they are all legally shot by deer hunters in the autumn.

This year, however, a good-sized adult bear has been spotted on the far side of the sanctuary around the hamlet of Swain.  We are hoping he will choose to stay well within the sanctuary before deer season comes around.

Jess Griffith, town highway supervisor, came upon this bear unexpectedly and prudently made tracks back in the direction from whence
he'd come.  Looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't be followed, Jess spotted the bear making tracks in the opposite direction and looking over HIS shoulder to make sure HE wasn't being followed.


April 27, 1998
"BAIT" FISH ENDANGER ECOSYSTEMS
Besides killing fish (or injuring and releasing them) human fishers
leave litter that is harmful to other wildlife.  Most of us are familiar with the problem of birds getting hooked and entangled in discarded
monofilament fishing line and six-pack rings, but not enough of us are aware of the problems caused by liberating leftover "bait" fish that were fortunate enough to escape being impaled on hooks to lure
larger fish to their fate.

It's okay if the "bait" fish are indigenous to the stream or lake where
they are released.  The problem lies when exotic species are released and survive and multiply to compete for food and prey upon the young of the anglers' favorite catches. 

The worst scenario is when the fish and game departments drain lakes and ponds to kill all the fish living there so that they can start over again and stock the lake with the anglers' preferred species.

April 19, 1998  from The Arizona Republic
HIGH WATER LEVELS PUT EVERGLADES BIRDS AT RISK
"Water levels finally aredropping in the rain-drenched Everglades--
but it may be too late to help the few wading birds that remain,
scientists say.  The latest federal bird count found 9,540 herons,
egrets, ibises and wood storks last month in protected marshes north
of Everglades National Park.  That's 83 percent BELOW (emphasis
added) the numbers found a year earlier."

January 29, 1998
THREE MEXICAN WOLVES BEING READIED
FOR FINAL RELEASE IN ARIZONA                                 
A pair Mexican gray wolves, also called lobos, and their 9-month old pup were released from their kennels into a one-third-of-an-acre fenced enclosure in Apache National Forest in Arizona.  The enclosure is not very big its area being the equivalent of a 130 foot square.  The male was reluctant to leave his kennel and had difficulty avoiding eye contact with observers. 

Ranchers quoted in the AP article by Kate Hunger were not pleased and expressed concern for their cows, sheep and dogs.  Nor was the President of the Alpine, Arizona Chamber of Commerce who said, "I'd like to see the wolves in the environmentalists' backyards."  The government has promised to compensate ranchers for animals lost to wolves.

Poisoned, shot and trapped virtually to the point of total extinction, the last wild lobo in the U.S. was found dead in 1976.  A very small number are thought to have survived in Mexico.  Plans call for releasing three families of captive-raised survivors into the public lands of Apache and Gila National Forests in Arizona and Mexico.