Wildlife – Syndication Server

Endangered gray wolf poached in Oregon, reward set at $10,000

The radio-collared wolf, known to researchers as OR 159, was found dead in an area where the animals are federally protected.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a case involving the illegal killing of a protected gray wolf.

The agency explained in a news release that the incident occurred in Morrow County west of Highway 395, where gray wolves are federally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The radio-collared male wolf, known to researchers as OR 159, was found dead Nov. 8 on private property about 20 miles south of the county seat of Heppner.

The USFWS and the Oregon State Police are conducting a joint investigation.

The USFWS asks that anyone with potentially helpful information should call the Service at (503) 682-6131, or OSP Dispatch at (800) 452-7888, text *OSP (*677), or email TIP@osp.oregon.gov. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Missouri deer hunter charged after shooting cougar from tree stand

Mountain lions are protected in Missouri and the animal was walking away from the elevated stand when it was shot.

A Missouri deer hunter who shot and killed a mountain lion as it passed beneath his tree stand last month has been charged with a misdemeanor.

According to KY3 News, Joseph Licklider of Desloge, Mo., informed the Iron County Sheriff’s Department on Nov. 16 that he had shot the mountain lion, or cougar, while in the tree stand with his partner.

Missouri does not have an established cougar population, but a handful of sightings are reported each year. The protected animals can only be killed in self-defense or to protect pets or livestock.

The cougar that Licklider killed was wearing research tags from the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, and walking away from the elevated stand when it was shot.

The charge for illegally killing protected wildlife was leveled after an investigation determined that Licklider’s action was unjustified. He’s scheduled to appear in court in February 2025.

Footage of strikingly ‘awesome’ grizzly bear inspires witty reaction

The hulking bear with a plush, reddish-brown coat is shown inspecting the camera and later revealing its massive paws.

Trail-cam footage captured in 2021, showing a massive and beautifully colored grizzly bear in Canada’s Yukon Territory, has been re-posted to reflect a comment that stood out to the camera operator.

“ ‘If I’m going to get eaten by a bear, I want it to be this one’ – my favorite comment ever in relation to this awesome bear,” recalled David Troup of Yukon Wildlife Cams.

The new Facebook post by Troup inspired further commentary regarding the hulking bear and its plush, reddish-brown coat.

“How awesome to know that this magnificent animal is roaming free on earth!” one viewer remarked.

“He looks like a movie bear!” another viewer chimed in.

The footage, which shows the bear inspecting the camera before walking away and revealing its massive paws, is posted below. (Please click here if the video player does not appear.)

https://www.facebook.com/yukonwildlifecams/posts/1102377181678101

Ferocious leopard fight broken up, emphatically, by third leopard

Dramatic footage shows a dominant male leopard bolting in to end a fight between a female leopard and her adult daughter.

A fierce battle between leopards, apparently a mother and adult daughter, was forcefully declared over recently by a third leopard that bolted in to separate the combatants.

The accompanying footage was shared by Safari Travel Ideas, which stated:

“The mother entered the daughter’s territory in pursuit of the area’s dominant male, who at the time was with the daughter. Daughter was not happy about that as you can see.”

The wild confrontation played out in front of tourists in Sabi Sands Nature Reserve in South Africa. The footage, best viewed with audio, shows the male leopard knocking both female leopards into apparent submission.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDkCI-GtRjg/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D

Yellowstone landscape is pretty, but can you spot the bear?

During the summer bears roamed the Yellowstone landscape, but weren’t always easy to see. Image will test your spotting skills.

*Editor’s note: A version of this post was published by ForTheWin earlier this year.

Bears in Yellowstone National Park are hibernating, but during the summer they were spread across the landscape and often visible from roads and trails.

But they weren’t always easy to see, and one Montana-based hiking guide used an image he captured from above the Lamar River to test his social-media followers’ spotting skills.

“I’ve been told my more recent ‘Find the Animal Friday’ posts have been way too easy,” Douglas Scott stated via X. “This one is a little more challenging.”

Can you spot the black bear? Photo: Douglas Scott

Scott allowed the use of his image for this post, so we’re also challenging readers: Can you spot the black bear in the images posted above? (Answer below.)

Hint: It’s a difficult quiz and there are several shadows that might be mistaken for the bear.

Scott, who runs The Outdoor Society, told me that he captured the image June 21 “on a perfectly clear day” in the park’s northern range.

“It was definitely a fun spot as my client was amazed I saw it so easily from so far away,” Scott recalled.

His X followers offered several guesses but in the hours after his post only one had pinpointed the bear’s location.

When I guessed, Scott informed me that I had found “the shadow of a tree.”

Another guess was met with the reply: “Unfortunately, you are incorrect. You most definitely found a non-animal shadow though!”

Yellowstone is remarkable in that visitors often see bears up close or in the distance, especially if they’re patient and use binoculars or spotting scopes.

They might also capture a landscape image and later realize that a critter is visible in the image.

In 2023, for example, I was watching bears on one side of a highway and turned to snap an image of a coyote in transit on the other side of the highway.

When I got back to my hotel room and began to inspect my images, I discovered that a smaller animal was visible, paying close attention to the coyote.

As for the black bear photographed by Scott, it’s much easier to spot in a zoomed-in version posted immediately below.

Zoomed-in version shows black bear’s location. Photo: Douglas Scott

Immediately below is an image with the bear pinpointed with an arrow.

Black bear location. Photo: Douglas Scott

As for Yellowstone bears, they’ll begin to emerge from hibernation as early as late March.

Can you spot the lion out in the open staring at tourists?

Lions have an amazing ability to blend in with the terrain of the African savanna. This trait allows them to easily sneak up on prey.

Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published on Aug. 8, 2023.

Lions possess the ability to blend in with the dry, low-lying grasses of the African savanna, a trait that allows them to easily sneak up on prey.

In this case, however, tourists at Kruger National Park in South Africa managed to spot a lone lion because it was walking through the grass.

“Whilst driving along slowly, we noticed a movement that caught our eye as she [the lion] was walking along through the grass,” Peter Hall explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors.

“We stopped there and I took that photo once she had stopped walking for a while and was just sitting there watching us. With a long lens, I could get a decent pic. She was at least 50 meters [165 feet] away. But I liked the way she blended so perfectly into the surrounding landscape of the Central Kruger Park, near Tshokwane.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Can you spot the leopard with the ‘good disguise’?

Hall is a professional artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He often incorporates wildlife into his beautiful work.

Hall posted the image on the private Facebook page called SANParks – Kruger National Park, asking “can you see her?”

One commenter said she saw a lion face made by the rocks.

“It felt a bit like a ‘Where’s Wally’ page, but I finally spotted her,” another wrote.

Others wrote:

“It took a little while to spot her. Well done, amazing photo.”

“So well camouflaged.”

In case you needed help:

Image captured by Peter Hall — Photo credit: Peter Hall

Check out Hall’s work at Peter Hall Artist on Facebook.

Photo used by permission from Peter Hall.

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Angry hippo tries to take a bite out of a safari vehicle

An experienced safari guide put his vehicle in reverse and skillfully fled a charging hippo in an unforgettable encounter.

Safari tourists experienced some tense moments when they encountered an angry hippo in the middle of the road at the Manyoni Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

Driver and guide Sandiso recognized the hippo as one of the larger bulls in the area that is “known to be on the grumpier side,” and the assessment proved accurate.

“Sandiso could…tell by the hippo’s behavior that it was in no mood for company!” Latest Sightings wrote in its post on YouTube.

So Sandiso put the vehicle in reverse and began slowly backing up until the hippo broke into a “full-blown charge” toward the vehicle.

When the hippo lunged at the vehicle, Sandiso hit the gas, and managed to make a turn onto a dirt road, leaving the hippo in the dust.

“The reaction from everyone in the vehicle in the aftermath said it all: a brief moment of silence, followed by lots of nervous giggles and a very quiet Sandiso in the driver’s seat,” Latest Sightings reported.

“It’s safe to say that no one there will ever be forgetting this encounter. Thanks to experience and composure, everything ended in what probably is the best way possible. The hippo moved on safely, the vehicle was unharmed, and most importantly, everyone in the vehicle was completely all right.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Lions think they can take down a rhino; boy, where they wrong (video)

“At a time when many of us will be traveling to the bush for our end-of-year holidays, this serves as a reminder of just how cautious we need to be. The wild is truly wild!”

Photos courtesy of Latest Sightings.

Lying poacher to pay record amount for illegal take of trophy buck

Offender illegally harvested an 18-point trophy buck on private property he claimed to be his sister’s. Accomplices were also sentenced.

A poacher illegally harvested a trophy white-tailed deer buck on private property he falsely claimed belonged to his sister, resulting in the largest restitution value for a single white-tailed deer in Ohio history.

Christopher J. Alexander, 28, pleaded guilty to 14 counts related to the incident and was sentenced Thursday to pay the maximum restitution for the 18-point trophy buck amounting to $35,071.73, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. The illegal take was in November 2023.

Restitution increased to $39,696.73 when $4,625 was added for a second unlawfully taken buck during the 2023 hunting season.

In addition, Alexander, of Wilmington, must pay $1,000 in fines, $1,000 to the Turn In a Poacher program, $2,000 in restitution to media outlets, and all court costs.

Alexander was also sentenced to complete five years of community control (probation) and serve six months at STAR Community Justice Center, a locked-down community-based correctional facility.

His hunting license was revoked for 10 years and he forfeited all the property seized as evidence, including the antlers.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Poacher doesn’t care to be ethical hunter, claims addiction to venison

One accomplice was Alexander’s sister, Kristina M. Alexander, who wrote a false letter of permission to hunt on her property that Alexander presented to wildlife officers after the deer was killed to mislead them, as reported by WHIO.

Kristina, 37, of Blanchester was charged for obstructing official business and aiding a wildlife offender. She was ordered to pay $500 in fines, $500 to the TIP program and court costs, and to serve 60 days in jail, suspended, and complete one year of monitored time supervision.

Other accomplices and sentences, as stated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources:

“Corey P. Haunert, 29, of Hillsboro, was charged for attempted tampering with evidence, aiding a wildlife offender in taking or possessing deer (three counts), hunting without permission, and falsification. He was ordered to pay $500 in fines; pay $500 to the TIP program; pay additional court costs; serve 90 days in jail, suspended; complete 200 hours of community service; and complete three years of community control. In addition, his hunting license was revoked for three years and he forfeited a tree stand and crossbow.

“Zachary R. Haunert, 31, of Lebanon, was charged for aiding a wildlife offender. He was ordered to pay $250 in fines; pay $250 to the TIP program; pay additional court costs; serve 60 days in jail, suspended; and complete one year of monitored time supervision.”

Among the counts Alexander pleaded guilty to were illegal taking or possession of deer (two), hunting without a license, hunting without a deer permit, selling illegally taken or possessed deer antlers, spotlighting, hunting without permission (four), tampering with evidence, theft, misdemeanor theft, and falsification.

Photo courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Snowboarder barely avoids catastrophic collision with bear

Video shows the alarming encounter the snowboarder experienced with a running bear at Heavenly ski resort in Tahoe.

A bear and snowboarder appeared to be on a collision course on the slopes of Heavenly ski resort on Sunday until evasive action was taken.

Ekalak Lakshana was snowboarding in front of his friend taking video footage when the running bear appeared on the slope. Lakshana kept the camera focused on the bear and captured the moment of the close encounter his friend, Hunter Martinez, experienced.

Seeing the approaching bear, Martinez appeared to have slammed on the brakes. The bear looked as if it went behind the snowboard as they came together and disappeared in a cloud of snow.

If there was a collision, it was a minor one, with Martinez quickly popping up and continuing his ride, and the bear running off. As it was, Martinez barely avoided a catastrophic collision.

Lakshana posted video of the encounter on his Instagram page. (Note: On some servers, you might have to click the link to view.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDWMsuAxbin/

“When I saw the bear coming at me, all I could think was, ‘Today is not the day—you’re not catching me,” Lakshana told Snowboarder magazine. “I’ve seen bears near the slopes before, but never one running right in the middle like this.”

As for Martinez, he rode past Lakshana and gave him a fist pump. “So all ended well,” Lakshana told Snowboarder.

Watch: Hibernate? Yellowstone grizzly bear would rather make snow angels

Footage shows a grizzly bear playing in the snow, albeit wearily, during hibernation season in Yellowstone National Park.

By now, almost all grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park are denned up for the winter. But that doesn’t mean some won’t venture outside their dens between now and spring.

The accompanying footage, captured by Trent Sizemore, shows a grizzly bear happily – but wearily – rolling on fresh snow in January 2021.

The footage was shared by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which joked: “Are you having trouble losing those unwanted, extra holiday pounds? Then ask your doctor if hibernation is right for you.”

The agency added: “Winter is the time of year in Yellowstone National Park when bears hibernate, although, it’s possible to see one any time of year.”

With another holiday season upon us, and with Yellowstone aficionados wishing the bears a restful winter’s sleep, we’re sharing Sizemore’s timeless clip as a moment of seasonal joy. (Click here if video doesn’t appear below.)

https://www.facebook.com/USInterior/videos/251214426379835