Tag: Crime

Baby rhino rescued via helicopter after poachers kill its mother

A rhinoceros calf that was left to fend for itself after poachers in South Africa killed its mother has been rescued via helicopter and taken to a rhino orphanage.

When poachers kill rhinos for their horns, calves that are left behind are almost certain to perish. But for one newly orphaned calf, there’s hope for recovery and, eventually, a return to the wild.

According to the nonprofit, African Wildlife Vets, a ranger and veterinarian for Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in South Africa spotted the de-horned rhino carcass this week while conducting an aerial search for buffalo.

Wandering nearby was the 6-week-old male rhino calf.

African Wildlife Vets described what happened next on Facebook:

“Dr. Rowan Leeming immobilized the small calf and they placed it on the back seat of the helicopter. The calf was rushed to the Zululand Rhino Orphanage where he was given a drip to rehydrate him and rhino plasma to strengthen his immune system.

“The experienced team at the orphanage will do everything they can to ensure his recovery and then his well being until he is old enough to be released back into the wild.”

Zululand Rhino Orphanage has shared photos and videos via Instagram showing the baby rhino, blindfolded to keep him calm, receiving care from staff.

Rhinos are poached for their keratin-rich horns, which are sold in Asian markets and used largely for medicinal purposes.

Rhinoceros populations have been decimated – about 27,000 wild rhinos exist globally, down from 70,000 in 1970 – and few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves.

The intentional removal of rhino horns by conservations inside reserves is now a common method designed to keep the animals safe from poachers.

Texas restaurant involved in shark fin possession case identified

A case involving the seizure last April of more than 400 shark fins at a Texas restaurant is still pending, but the restaurant’s name has been revealed.

A case involving the seizure last April of hundreds of shark fins at a Texas seafood restaurant is still pending, but the restaurant’s name has been revealed.

KSAT 12 on Thursday obtained a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department report identifying the establishment as Van’s Restaurant, which for decades has served Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine from its Broadway location in San Antonio.

The report identified Thanh Hein Nguyen, Nga To Van and Van To Van as individuals charged with purchase to transport of shark fins, possession of shark fins for sale, and unlawful sale of aquatic products – Class B misdemeanors.

The case, according to the report, was still pending.

In 2015, Texas became the 10th U.S. state to ban the sale and trade of shark fins as part of a global effort to protect sharks from an unsustainable fishing practice known as shark finning.

The seizure of 381 whole shark fins and 30 pounds of frozen shark fins from a freezer at what was then identified merely as “a local seafood restaurant in San Antonio” occurred April 13.

The fins were reported to be worth about $25,000.

Texas Game Wardens shared the accompanying image showing the “evidence” via Facebook, boasting about the work of Bexar County wardens and a K-9 Team during the compliance inspection.

KSAT 12 on Thursday reached Nguyen by telephone and reported that he has denied all allegations. Efforts to reach the other suspects were unsuccessful.

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Snook poacher nabbed after an attempt to ‘slip away’

A Florida wildlife officer acting on a tip and vehicle description located a poaching suspect who was found in possession of 35 out-of-season and undersized snook.

A Florida wildlife officer acting on a tip and vehicle description located a poaching suspect who was found in possession of 35 out-of-season and undersized snook.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated Monday that the unidentified suspect also was cited for the illegal use of a cast net.

If it were open season on snook, only hook-and-line fishing would be allowed, and the bag limit would be one snook per day.

The FWC stated that the officer who responded to a tip arrived at the unidentified Lee County location to find that “the snook stealer [had] slipped away.”

ALSO: Record size hammerhead shark released out of respect

But after receiving a description of the suspect and vehicle, the officer located the “wet and sandy” suspect and discovered a cast net and 35 snook, plus a mangrove snapper, in the truck’s bed.

Snook fishing in the region, from Sarasota Bay through Gordon Pass in Collier County, is catch-and-release only through Aug. 31.

Warden not buying angler’s odd excuse for illegal bass catch

A Missouri angler has been cited for catching an over-limit of mostly undersized largemouth bass, apparently, for the sake of a social-media photo.

A Missouri angler has been cited for catching an over-limit of mostly undersized largemouth bass, apparently, for the sake of a social-media photo.

The Missouri Department of Conservation stated Monday that the unidentified angler violated fishing regulations “just so he could take a picture of a stringer full of fish.”

St. Francois County MDC Agent Clayton Lewis cited the angler at Hager Lake in Farmington. The daily bag limit is six bass measuring at least 15 inches; the stringer contained eight small bass.

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The MDC stressed that fish placed on a stringer, although they might be kept alive and released later, “are counted towards daily and possession limits of the taker.”

The agency added: “MDC reminds anglers to check statewide and Conservation area regulations prior to fishing and to read area regulation signs. And please don’t boost your social media presence at the expense of our wildlife.”

Elk poachers nabbed after ‘suspicious’ photo appears online

Oregon officials say a “suspicious” image posted to social media, showing a trophy bull elk carcass on a trailer, helped officers nab three poachers.

Oregon officials say a “suspicious” image posted to social media, showing a trophy bull elk carcass on a trailer, helped officers nab three poachers.

Lionardo Munoz, of Mosier, has been ordered to pay $15,000 for illegally harvesting the buck in November 2021. He also received a three-year hunting ban.

Matt Wilkinson, also of Mosier, must pay $1,000 for helping to conceal the crime. He received a five-year hunting ban.

Wilkinson’s wife, Rachel Hallett, was cited for illegally harvesting a buck deer.

Photo that helped launch the investigation. Credit: ODFW

The investigation began last Nov. 9, after a hunter had texted the image of the trophy bull elk to the Oregon State Police, Fish and Wildlife Division.

“Something was just not right about the photo of a 6×6 bull elk on a trailer,” the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stated in a news release.

ALSO: Elk calf braves Yellowstone rapids to reunite with mom; video

Said Senior Trooper Brent Ocheskey: “It was a big elk on that trailer. An elk is a big animal, not easy to pack out without gutting and quartering it. That in itself was suspicious, especially in our patrol area.”

Ocheskey and fellow Trooper Matt Newby obtained the name of Munoz as the hunter said to have shot the elk. When they arrived at the residence, the spotted Munoz and Wilkinson driving in a truck. In the truck’s bed was a 6×6 bull elk head and hide.

Munoz possessed a license for spike elk so it seemed as though his violation was simply harvesting an oversized buck. However, he told the troopers that the elk belonged to Wilkinson, who said the elk was harvested by his wife, Rachel Hallett.

Hallett went along with the lie, but only briefly. On her behalf, Wilkinson told investigators that Munoz had shot the buck in an orchard in Mosier, and that Wilkinson helped Munoz load the carcass onto the trailer.

At sentencing, Munoz and Wilkinson pleaded guilty to Unlawful Take of a Six-Point Bull. Munoz was ordered to pay the bulk of the fine.

Hallett pleaded guilty to Unlawful Take of Buck Deer. She received 12 months probation and must serve 40 hours of community service.

Said Bernadette Graham-Hudson, ODFW Wildlife Administrator: “Oregon hunters, legislators and other conservationists work hard to pass strict sentencing guidelines to address poaching cases like this one.

“Not only did the subjects steal a wildlife resource that belongs to all Oregonians, but they broke hunting safety laws while doing so. Hopefully fines like this will serve as a warning to other who would behave so irresponsibly.”

Woman banned from Grand Teton for role in missing hiker case

A woman has been banned from Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park for five years and fined $17,600 for providing false information to authorities regarding a missing hiker.

A woman has been banned from Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park for five years and fined $17,600 for providing false information to authorities regarding a missing hiker.

The hiker, Cian McLaughlin, has been missing since June 8, 2021.

Heather Mycoskie, 40, a Utah resident formerly of Jackson, Wyo., is said to have provided a detailed but false account of McLaughlin’s presumed whereabouts in the hope that authorities would not abandon search efforts.

ALSO: Yellowstone wolves, bears not welcome at ‘bison funeral’; video

Mycoskie stated that she had seen and conversed with McLaughlin on the south portion of the Bradley-Taggart moraine on the late afternoon of his disappearance. She added that he had intended to jump from his favorite rock at Taggart Lake.

In a news release issued Thursday, the National Park Service said that an investigation, which involved witness interviews, concluded that Mycoskie fabricated her story and “never saw anyone matching McLaughlin’s description.”

Based on her information, more than 530 hours were spent searching and managing the search effort, conducting follow-up investigations, and writing reports.

“This wasted valuable time that could have been focused on searching areas of higher probability and it cost the Federal Government approximately $17,600,” the NPS stated.

The NPS added that all other potential sightings of McLaughlin involved the trail network leading to Garnet Canyon, Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes, and Delta Lake.

In September 2021, authorities discovered that McLaughlin had been searching “Delta Lake” on a computer.

The search for McLaughlin – focusing on Garnet Canyon, Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes, and Delta Lake – will continue through the summer.

McLaughlin was believed to have been in possession of a red Apple watch and a red iPhone 12 mini. He was wearing gold wire-rimmed sunglasses and a white T-shirt.

The NPS is asking backcountry users in the park to contact authorities if they find any of these items.

–Image via Wikimedia Commons

Anglers cited for catching 100-plus crappie over the legal limit

In the past two weeks, crappie anglers in Nebraska have been cited multiple times for grossly exceeding the daily bag limit.

For some Nebraska anglers, it seems, a daily bag limit of 15 crappie is not even close to being sufficient.

In the past two weeks, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, numerous anglers have been cited for grossly exceeding the limit at Standing Bear Lake.

RELATED: Light-tackle angler lands massive ‘freak of nature’ sunfish

During one visit, Conservation Officers cited three people for possessing more crappie than regulations allow. One angler possessed 119 crappie, or 104 crappie over the bag limit.

During another visit, an angler was found in possession of 121 crappie, or 106 crappie over the limit.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which addressed this issue Friday via Facebook, did not disclose possible penalties for those cited. The commission did state that the fish were seized as evidence.

The agency added: “It’s the job of our Conservation Officers to prevent poaching, which includes over-fishing. Overfishing can be detrimental to the ecosystem. There are reasons for limits and far-reaching consequences when people choose to poach and over-consume.”

Some in the comments section called on the commission to impose lifetime fishing bans on those who were cited for excessive over-limits.

Anglers fined thousands for ‘over bagging’ on trophy carp river

Three men were ordered to pay fines totaling more than $4,200 for glaring fishing violations that occurred this past weekend on the Connecticut River.

Three men were ordered to pay fines totaling more than $4,200 for glaring fishing violations that occurred this past weekend on the Connecticut River.

According to the Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police, an officer responding to a tip out of Cromwell found the men to be in possession of gross over limits.

Additionally, the men did not possess valid fishing licenses and exceeded the number of rods and reels allowed by law.

A photo released by the agency shows 32 carp laid out on a lawn. The Connecticut River is a designated “trophy carp body of water.” The daily creel limit is one carp per angler, measuring less than 26 inches.

In a news release issued Monday via social media, the CSECP stated that the officer was acting on a report of three males were “over bagging on carp.”

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“Upon arrival our Officer observed a large carp hanging out of a cooler in the area of the 3 men fishing,” the agency explained. “Upon further inspection another cooler was checked which was filled to capacity.”

The dead carp were donated to a nearby rehabilitation center for injured mammals and birds of prey.

Pizza Thieves: Another “Nobody’s Gonna Know” Meme

Of all the pizza memes online these days, none worried pizza lovers more than the “How would they know” videos. The premise is simple: There’s a simple, elegant, dare we say clever way that a pizza worker could, indeed, steal a slice from a pie …

Of all the pizza memes online these days, none worried pizza lovers more than the “How would they know” videos. The premise is simple: There’s a simple, elegant, dare we say clever way that a pizza worker could, indeed, steal a slice from a pie before serving and customers would have no clue. It’s a cruel, vicious hack, but so eeeeasy.

Here’s how it works: The large pie comes out of the oven, the person with the pizza cutter carves out either a huge triangular slice or a 2-inch rectangle from the center of the pie, and then pushes the two (now smaller) halves together before dividing the rest of the triangular slices.

This video, from Visa channel, shows the technique where a triangular slice is removed from a pie, followed by the simple recombining of the two halves.

 

This video, from @pizzasalvatore, demonstrates an alternative way to snatch pizza covertly. Specifically, via a rectangular slice.

@pizzasalvatore

Quand t’as un petit creux en travaillant 😅😋 #CestUneBlague #PizzaSalvatoré #Blague #Humour #Bouffe #Pizza #Yummy

♬ how would they know bad girls club – Chris Gleason

 

Other versions of the meme scrap the “Who’s gonna know?/Nobody’s gonna know” shtick and pair the hack technique with a song (in this case “Rockstar” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch, 1.4 billion streams on Spotify).

@michaelbakthomsen

Follow me for more lifehacks!#lifehack #pizza #foryoupage #explore #foodie #food

♬ ROCKSTAR – DaBaby, Roddy Ricch

The origin of the meme

According to Know Your Meme, the audio in these clips stem from an audio clip from the American television series Bad Girls Club containing the “Nobody’s gonna know, nobody’s gonna know,” and subsequent “They’re gonna know,” and ending with a “How would they know?”

If you peruse the content at the #GonnaKnow hashtag, you’ll see it means someone is doing something deceitful while lip-syncing to the clip. And praying they don’t get busted.

Cglaeason22, the original uploader of the audio clip, posted the video on March 25th, 2020. He was “debating myself on whether or not i should make a fake account just to post comments on my videos” and this clip saw more than 1.7 million views and 202 thousand likes in six months.

Other TikToks followed, including seanghedi posted a Gonna Know video captioned, “me getting my septum pierced against my parents wishes.” The video received over 496,000 views and 108,000 likes in five months.

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Former Yellowstone contractor imprisoned for assault in park

A man convicted of assault during an attempted kidnapping in Yellowstone National Park has been sentenced to 44 months in prison.

A man convicted of assault with intent to commit a felony in Yellowstone National Park has been sentenced to 44 months in prison.

Gregory Michael Samuel Toth, 40, also received three years of supervised release, to be served concurrently to a state sentence, and must pay $600 in fines and assessments.

According to a DOJ news release, Toth committed assault “with the intent to commit a kidnapping” on or about Oct. 1, 2021. At the time he was was employed as a Yellowstone contractor and residing in a trailer at the Fishing Bridge RV Park.

Toth was arrested Oct. 6 in Park County, Wyoming. He was sentenced Monday, April 18, during a hearing held before Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal.

Said United States Atty. Bob Murray: “Assault is a serious crime regardless of the location but when it occurs in a national park, it becomes a federal felony, This individual is now serving close to four years in federal prison due to an unnecessary assault on an innocent individual.”

Murray added: “This type of conviction would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of our prosecuting attorney and the investigative work of the National Park Service.”

Agents with the National Park Service and Yellowstone National Park assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Michael J. Elmore.