Is hazing wolves with drones the solution for western ranchers? 🚁

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

So, while we continue to slowly inch 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:

• It’s hazy - Could using drones to haze wolves be the solution to western conflicts? 🚁

• Junk turkey in the trunk - Pair of Cali men arrested for illegal road hunting 🚗

• Record turkey tally - Mizzou hunters have a record year 🦃

• Grizzly gaffe - Idaho hunter misidentifies black bear, accidentally kills a grizz 🥸

• A lesson in alligator avoidance - Florida man has been busy, this time he’s being followed by a big ol’ gator 🐊 

IT’S NO SILVER BULLET, BUT IT’S SOMETHING
IS HAZING WOLVES WITH DRONES THE SOLUTION FOR WESTERN RANCHERS?

As gray wolf populations rebound across the American West, conflicts with livestock ranchers have surged. As small communities and ranchers alike struggle with their newfound ranch inhabitants, pleas for help have come from local ranchers, sheriff’s departments and towns who, in some cases, are feeling overrun by transplanted wolves and are desperately looking for solutions.

With wolves protected under the Endangered Species Act in many areas, lethal control is often restricted, leaving researchers and ranchers to explore non-lethal solutions. A study, published in 2024, went ahead and investigated a new and innovative approach to dealing with wolves on expansive ranches. With the help of some high-tech equipment, researchers used specially-equipped drones to see whether they could effectively haze wolves and deter them from cattle. While the initial results seem promising, this high-tech method still faces questions regarding its practicality and long-term effectiveness, but could be an option for some ranchers moving forward…

🤦 Two Arrested in Paso Robles for Illegal Road Hunting Violations. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) arrested a 26-year-old driver and a passenger in Paso Robles following two separate illegal road hunting incidents. In the first case, a wildlife officer stopped a Honda Civic moving slowly through rural Paso Robles and found blood on the vehicle’s trunk, revealing a wounded turkey inside. The driver, previously cited for road hunting, faced charges of unlawful wildlife hunting and other violations, with felony animal cruelty charges recommended. Two weeks later, a similar incident involving a Chevy Malibu led to further arrests.

Both cases, with bail set at $20,000, are now with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office. CDFW emphasized that hunting from vehicles is illegal in California, except in limited cases, such as for hunters with disabilities.

🦃 Missouri Hunters Harvest Over 51,000 Turkeys in Record-Breaking 2025 Spring Season. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reported that hunters harvested 46,562 turkeys during the 2025 regular spring turkey season, spanning April 21 to May 11. Combined with the youth weekend harvest of 4,449 birds on April 12–13, the total spring harvest reached 51,011 turkeys, marking a significant increase from the 2024 total of 47,119. Franklin, Callaway, and Texas counties led the regular season with 956, 873, and 860 birds harvested, respectively. MDC Wild Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley attributed the robust harvest to a large population of adult gobblers resulting from strong production in 2023, highlighting favorable conditions for the season.

The 2025 harvest reflects a continued upward trend, with the youth weekend recording the second-highest harvest since 2001, just behind 2015’s 4,449 birds. Compared to 2024’s youth harvest of 3,739 turkeys, this year’s youth weekend saw an 18% increase, driven by excellent weather and abundant two-year-old gobblers.

🐻  Know Your Target Says Idaho F&G as Hunter Mistakenly Kills Grizzly Bear in Bonner County. On Friday, a hunter in Bonner County’s Priest Lake drainage in North Idaho shot and killed a young female grizzly bear, mistaking it for a black bear. The hunter, realizing the error, promptly self-reported the incident via the Citizens Against Poaching hotline and is cooperating with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) investigation. The incident underscores the challenges of bear identification, as grizzly bears, protected under state and federal law, are increasingly present in Idaho’s Panhandle. IDFG reported 51 human-grizzly conflicts in the region in 2024, with 2025 on track to exceed this, given the region’s growing bear populations. The hunter’s quick reporting was commended, but the loss of the grizzly has renewed focus on mandatory bear identification training, now required for black bear hunters in Idaho as of January 1, 2025.

Misidentification remains a recurring issue, with similar incidents in 2023 and 2024, including a case where IDFG staff misidentified a grizzly as a black bear, leading to its death. The mandatory test aims to reduce errors, but critics argue it may not prevent all mistakes, as evidenced by Montana’s similar requirement not eliminating misidentifications. IDFG urges hunters to use online resources to hone identification skills, but the incident raises questions about whether training and awareness can keep pace with expanding grizzly populations.

1. Cowboy boots have to be the most American type of footwear. You can’t run away like you can in sneakers. They force the user to carry a gun to protect themselves. Very America.

2. We’re all defined by what we’ve done.  The odd part about that is we don’t know what that is until we do it.

3. I knew things as a child that I so badly need to remember.

4. If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.

5. Prayer is intended to be paired with action. 🙏 

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

🐊 Sure, you may have been followed by a coyote, a wolf, a bear or maybe even a big cat, but you ain’t done sh*t in Florida unless a gator has put the stalk on you. Watch as this dude finds himself of a decent sized gator that he just can’t seem to shake.

What’s the protocol here? I haven’t been briefed on alligator avoidance…

Oh, and one more thing…