Is Florida ready to try this whole bear hunting thing again? 🐻

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. And let me tell you, this one’s juicy.

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• We ready - Florida is very likely going to have a bear hunt this fall 🐻

• Smile! - Couple caught on camera dumping headless deer at Calgary grocery store 🖕

• Absolutely tragic - A fire chief is gunned down after helping couple that hit a deer 🧑‍🚒

• 36 states - Georgia becomes the 36th state to confirm the presence of CWD in deer 🤮

• The cougar and the cat - spoiler it doesn’t end well for the cat 🐈

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I THINK WE’RE READY
AS BEAR-HUMN CONFLICTS CONTINUE TO RISE, FLORIDA IS EYEING A POSSIBLE BEAR HUNT AS EARLY AS THIS FALL

As Bear-Human Conflicts Continue to Rise, Florida is Eyeing a Possible Bear Hunt As Early As This Fall

Approaching the 10-year anniversary since the Sunshine State last sanctioned a full-fledged bear hunt, the state’s Wildlife Commission is once again toying with the idea.

As bear-human conflicts continue to rise in Florida, residents are calling on state officials, including the FWC, for solutions. Despite instituting stand your ground laws for bears last year, the problem has not surprisingly, solved itself yet. With over 4,000 black bears spread across Florida, population levels are a far cry from the lows of approximately 500 bears recorded back in the 1970s.

As population levels swell to nearly five times the required minimum objection levels in some bear units, officials remain calculated in their steps as it pertains to instituting another bear hunt…

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🚐 Headless deer dumping caught on camera in downtown Calgary. Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers are asking the public for information regarding a suspected poaching incident. The body of a beheaded mature whitetail buck was reportedly dumped behind a Cowtown grocery store last month. Responding officers soon recovered surveillance footage from the Monterey Square Plaza and watched as a middle-aged couple pulled up in a late model Toyota Sienna minivan and dumped the carcass into a commercial dumpster.

Anyone with information is asked to give the Calgary Fish and Wildlife office a call at (403) 297-6674, or tips can be given to the 24-hour Report a Poacher line at 1(800) 642-3800.

🧑‍🚒 Fire chief killed after helping a couple whose car struck a deer in Alabama. In a bizarre shooting incident, a Georgia fire chief is dead after attempting to help a couple after they plowed into a whitetail deer in Alabama. According to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, James Batholomew Cauthen, who was the battalion chief for the Coweta County Fire Department, stopped along the roadway to help a couple who had just struck a whitetail deer with their car. 

In an attempt to go find help, Cauthen and the driver approached the home of 34-year-old William Randall Franklin, as they were without cell service. As they approached the door of the home, police stated that Franklin opened fire on the two men, killing Cauthen and wounding the driver. Thankfully the driver was armed and was able to return fire and get back to his wife who was waiting safely still in the car. 

A warrant was issued for Franklin and he will be arrested upon release from Piedmont Medical Center, police said.

🤮 Georgia is the latest state to confirm its first case of chronic wasting disease. Georgia’s DNR made it official yesterday by announcing that they have confirmed the state's first-ever case of chronic wasting disease in wild deer. The positive sample was taken from a hunter-harvested buck that was killed in Lanier County in south-central Georgia. The case was confirmed through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories and officially puts Georgia on the map as the country’s 36th state to confirm the presence of the deadly disease.

“I want to assure hunters that deer hunting will continue to thrive in Georgia, despite this current discovery,” Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon said Thursday. “Working together with our hunters and all Georgians, we will manage CWD and maintain healthy deer herds.”

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🐈‍⬛ That moment when a mountain lion is in your garage munching on the family cat.  You hear a noise in the garage, you think it’s Mr. Moo (yes, seriously) the family cat messing around with something. As you peer over the window, you find that Mr. Moo, who is known for messing with mice, has been messing around with something a bit larger.

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LDWF agents rescue hunter in St. Mary Parish during blizzard: Agents received information around 2 p.m. about a stranded hunter on the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area (WMA). LDWF Agents and St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene and found the hunter.  Read the full story.

3 bison harvested in Indigenous-led ceremonial hunt in Banff National Park: The first ceremonial bison hunt in Banff National Park has been completed under an Indigenous-led pilot project. Parks Canada and the Indigenous Advisory Circle say three animals were harvested in a free-range hunt last year. Read the full story.

Muley Fanatics Foundation provides hunting experience, giving teen hope:  Hunting can give terminally ill children a reason to keep fighting. A teenager from a small town in Southwest Wyoming discovered this and isn’t letting a heart disorder hold him back. Read the full story.

White-tailed deer hunting season extended for some Mississippians: The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said for this season only, the hunting period will be extended to Sunday, Feb. 2, 30 minutes after sunset. Read the full story.

Montana lawmakers consider expanded wolf hunting to cut population in half:  Two bills, both brought by freshman legislators, aim to reduce the population of wolves in Montana closer to 450, a number established by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks that would sustain the population without risking the animals returning to the Endangered Species List.  Read the full story.

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Take me back to Walker’s in the 70s

📸 : @walkerscaybahamas

Oh, and one more thing…

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