Reward – Syndication Server

Montana boosts reward in wolverine poaching case

Montana authorities are hoping that an increased reward will help them catch the person who killed one of the state’s rarest animals.

Montana authorities are hoping that an increased reward will lead to the identification of the person who killed a protected wolverine – one of the state’s rare animals.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced last week that the wolverine carcass was discovered Nov. 10 on a U.S. Forest Service Road northwest of Wisdom.

The animal had been shot, skinned, and left to waste.

On Monday the Center for Biodiversity announced that it had helped the state increase the reward “for information leading to a successful prosecution” from $1,000 to $11,000.

“The wolverine was shot dead and skinned along a closed U.S. Forest Service road on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest,” the Center for Biodiversity stated via social media. “Scientists estimate wolverine populations in the lower 48 may be fewer than 300 animals, making this death significant.”

The elusive mammals inhabit mostly remote, high-altitude terrain and encounters with humans are rare.

Reward offered after video shows boater speeding over sea lions

A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered in the hope of identifying and prosecuting a boater who was caught on video speeding over sea lions earlier this month in the Columbia River.

A $20,000 reward is being offered as federal authorities seek to identify and prosecute a boater who was caught on video speeding over sea lions earlier this month in the Columbia River.

NOAA launched an investigation after the footage, captured April 3 by a Portland resident, began to circulate via social media. (The footage is posted below.)

It shows the boater plowing over groups of sea lions, in apparent violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as the animals rested on the surface near Hayden Island.

Oregon Live reported Friday that NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is offering the reward for information that leads to a “civic penalty or criminal conviction.”

The Marine Mammal Protection Act, passed in 1972, prohibits the hunting or harassment of marine mammals. Harassment is any act that significantly alters the mammals’ behavior.

The number of California sea lions – the same animals that inhabit the Columbia River – has increased steadily since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Recent estimates place the West Coast population at about 280,000.

Fishermen often express frustration regarding sea lions, which possess a seemingly insatiable appetite for salmon and other fishes. But blatant acts of aggression toward sea lions rarely occur in open public settings.

According to Oregon Live, the vessel in question is an aluminum Hewescraft Pro-V Sea Runner with a dark blue stripe, measuring perhaps 20 feet.

Authorities are asking anyone who might recognize the boat or be able to identify the boater reach out to NOAA at 360-310-0259, or via its hotline at 800-853-1964.

Is there a serial grizzly bear poacher on the loose in Idaho?

Authorities in Idaho are seeking help in locating the person who illegally shot and killed a grizzly bear last month, leaving its cub to die.

According to Idaho Fish and Game the bear was shot multiple times near the Pole Bridge Campground in Island Park between March 15-23.

It was the third killing of a grizzly bear in the same general area during the past eight months, and all three cases remain under investigation.

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Grizzly bears are protected in Idaho by state and federal law.

A reward of $40,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and a conviction in the most recent case.

“The loss of a reproductive female grizzly is a real tragedy,” Conservation Officer Doug Peterson said in a news release issued Monday. “Someone out there knows what happened to this bear and we are asking them to come forward and share that information with us.”

Idaho Fish and Game located the carcass after receiving a mortality signal from the bear’s GPS collar. Biologists visited momma bear’s den and found a 6- to 8-week-old cub “that also perished as a result of her death.”

The $40,000 reward is being offered by Citizens Against Poaching ($5,000), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ($5,000), and various NGOs ($30,000).

Idaho Fish and Game is asking anyone with information that might prove helpful in solving these cases to call its Upper Snake Regional Office 208-525-7290, the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999, or to submit details online. Callers can remain anonymous.

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service