Cali residents kill a mountain lion with a dog in its mouth 🐈

Welcome to 4th best day of the week besides Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

While we’re slowly inching back towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Like a good neighbor - Cali neighbors dispatch of attacking cat 🐈

• Charges dropped - Pa. drone operator gets away with tracking deer 🚁

• 70% of the time, it works every time - Michigan elk hunters have great success 👏

• More neighborly love - Kentucky town bands together to find poachers 💪

• Lying in wait - Get up close and personal with this ambush 🐿️

OPEN FIRE!
CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN LION SHOT AND KILLED IN RESIDENTIAL AREA WITH A DOG IN ITS MOUTH

True community is coming to the aid of your neighbors when they need it most, even if it’s to shoot an attacking mountain lion. That is the basis of this story line coming out of a small northeastern California town that involved a couple of dogs, a big old cat and some trustworthy neighbors.

According to reports, it was around 3am when a Downieville resident was letting her dogs out for some late night early morning relief. It was then that she noticed a pair of eyes glaring down at her and her pups from the hillside. She immediately attempted to gather her dogs, but when she called, only one of the two canines returned. 

With her husband out of town and unsure as to what to do about her missing pooch, the woman placed a call to her husband, pleading with him to do something to bring her dog back. After he hung up with his wife, the husband placed a call to his neighbor, who promptly responded with just enough firepower to take down whatever it was that supposedly snatched her dog…

🚁 Charges dropped against a Pennsylvania hunter that used a drone to recover a deer. After being found guilty of using a drone to recover game, a Pennsylvania man is in the clear after his charges were dismissed last week. During an appeal trial on Thursday, Joshua Wingenroth and his attorney argued that the Game Commission was in violation of the Brady Rule after they withheld possible exculpatory evidence against him in court.

Wingenroth was charged last December while operating a drone business that specialized in the recovery of downed or injured deer. At the time, he was charged with two counts of unlawful devices and methods and one count each of disturbance of game and wildlife and restrictions on recreational spotlighting. The charges combined carry a maximum of $2,500 in fines and up to three months in jail.

Despite being in direct breach of Pennsylvania law that prohibits the use of drones in any way shape or form as it pertains to hunting, the oversight has cost the Game Commission a conviction.

“While the Game Commission values the Court and its ruling, we strongly disagree with the assertion that any procedural rules were violated. To the contrary, the Game Commission’s investigation in this matter, as well as the Commonwealth’s representation of the facts in court, were consistent with the rules applicable to summary proceedings. Drones remain unlawful for hunting use, including for tracking, based on the law’s broad prohibition on electronic devices.”

👏 Michigan’s elk hunters enjoyed a near 70% success rate last season. In a state that is not-so-synonymous with elk hunting, the results of last season’s hunt are promising to say the least. While things were slow to start, once the weather began to cooperate, late season hunters made up for the losses experienced during the initial period of the hunt. 

Last year, Michigan issued 250 licenses statewide and hunters ended up with 180 elk on the ground. With a success rate of 69%, the bulk of hunter success came in the late-period of the hunt which took place during December where 75% of hunters ended up punching their tags. 

The early period accounted for just 59% of the overall take and was the lowest ever documented for the early hunt period which takes place between August and September. Of the 180 elk that were killed, 70 were bulls and 110 were antlerless elk, including 10 calves, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“Overall, the 2024 elk season showcased the dedication of our hunters and their important contribution to maintaining a healthy and sustainable elk population in Michigan,” Angela Kujawa, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist said.

🕵️‍♂️ Kentucky residents banding together to find poachers that illegally shot a buck in their neighborhood. Residents in the Poplar Level neighborhood are looking for justice for a deer that was illegally baited and killed in the nearby Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve. According to residents and officials, a nice-sized buck was shot over a baitpile at the preserve and ran about 100 yards and collapsed on the grass at the Woodcreek Condominiums. 

It was here that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officers kicked off their investigation that would include interviewing residents and reviewing any and all doorbell camera footage they could recover. According to a number of residents, witnesses stated that they watched a gray or silver pick-up truck pull up to the deer, load it in the back and disappear. 

The pictures of what looks to be a Toyota Tacoma have been released, but residents also made mention of another black pick-up truck many said had previously made slow passes by the bait pile ahead of the shooting. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Kentucky State Police or Fish and Wildlife.

1. I remember when I was a kid and pizza was delivered to my house in under 30 minutes and the driver didn’t have GPS.

2. The worst evils of the world are committed by cruel or incompetent people with power.

3. They ought to put lids on both ends of peanut butter jars.

4. Endless hope > Hopeless end 🙏

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

🐈‍⬛ Up close and personal for this ambush.  What as a Colorado man gets an insanely close view to a bobcat hunting its next meal. Spoiler alert: he doesn’t catch it right away - watch till the end!

Oh, and one more thing…