Slovak attack - the bear that terrorized a small town brought to justice 🐻

If you’re lucky enough to have the day off today, well, you’re lucky enough, I suppose.

While the weekend may have came one day early, your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors remains right on time.

I want to wish each and every one of our readers a very Happy Easter. I am thankful for every open and every click y’all afford me with.

I’m also hopeful that we’ll all take a moment to remember what makes this particular Friday so Good. 🙏

So, without further ado, let’s grab that coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past few days. 

-Ryan

Here's what caught our eye this week...

• Slovak attack - Officials track down the bear that ran amok in a small Slovak town 🐻

• It’s all in the poop - BC First Nation takes to deer poop to test cortisol levels of local herd 💩

• New dwarf deer species- These little orange deer can even climb trees 🌳

• Bravery on display - College wrestler receives award for fending off grizzly bear 🎖️

• Pushback in Vermont - New bill is revised thanks to pushback from hunters 🎉

IS IT TIME FOR BETTER BEAR MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE?
SLOVAK HUNTERS AND POLICE TAKE TO THE SKIES TO KILL BEAR THAT ATTACKED 5 PEOPLE

St. Patrick’s Day disturbances are nothing new, but in the case of one small Slovak town, the perpetrator wasn’t a whiskey-fueled Irishman. It was a large brown bear.

Videos surfaced earlier this week of the rampage that took place in the town of Liptovský Mikuláš. In the video, a brown bear is seen running through the pedestrian-filled streets, in broad daylight, terrorizing people along the way. The bear attacked a total of five people, including a 10-year-old girl, and sent many others fleeing for safety.

The incident came on the heels of another bear attack just two days earlier in the nearby Low Tatras Mountains that saw a brown bear claim the life of a 31-year-old hiker. The incident marked the first fatal bear attack in Slovakia since 2021 and sent shockwaves through the small European country…

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💩 A sh*tty study - A British Columbia First Nations group is taking their deer study to a whole new level. After wildfires ravaged their countryside through 2021 and 2023, the Skeetchestn First Nation led a study to evaluate the stress levels of their local deer populations. The study, which analyzed deer fecal samples (their poop), was used, primarily, to measure cortisol levels in deer. What they found was that in 2021, the peak of cortisol in deer fecal matter contained an average of roughly 120 nanograms. Just two years later in 2023, cortisol levels in deer had reduced to about 50 nanograms of cortisol. With new data illustrating the range between baseline and peak cortisol, researchers are now analyzing environmental factors, such as wildfires and development, to see how it affects the stress levels in their local herds.

🧬 Dwarf deer that can climb trees? - Yes, according to scientists in Peru. After spotting the peculiar creature on a roadway, researchers kicked off an investigation into the strange little creature. Operating under the assumption that it was a Northern Puda - a species of dwarf deer found in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador - they quickly found some attributes that simply were not adding up. Upon further investigation, they noted glaring differences in their new-found deer and eventually announced that it was an entirely different species. Noting its distinctly burnt-orange textured fur, it was later named the Peruvian Yungas Pudu. Standing at about 17 inches in height, these small deer have been known to climb  “inclined tree trunks to reach higher leaves and probably fruits.”

🔫 No guns on Sunday - In Maine, at least. This week a Maine judge upheld the state’s Sunday hunting ban, ruling against a local couple. Virginia and Joel Parker argued that the rule contradicted the ‘right to food’ amendment to the state’s constitution. But the Maine Supreme Judicial Court vehemently disagreed. Stating that the Sunday ban is, in fact, constitutional, the justices wrote: “We hold that the right to hunt for food created by the amendment does not extend to illegal hunting, and therefore Maine’s longstanding Sunday hunting ban does not conflict with the Maine Constitution.” 

🎖️ Bravery in bear attack - The moment these young men first met a grizzly bear is one they’ll never forget. While shed-hunting in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, Kendall Cummings and his wrestling teammate Brad Lowry got separated from their group. Moments after realizing they were on their own, a grizzly bear lunged at Lowry. Without giving it a thought, Cummings jumped on the bear’s back to defend his friend and teammate. The bear finally retreated, but not without leaving both of the young men with serious injuries. The pair miraculously recovered and were back on the mats within six months of the encounter, with Lowry eventually becoming an All-American. In appreciation of his heroics, Cummings was given an award for his bravery last week. Regarded as the highest civilian honor for heroism on the continent, he was presented with the Carnegie Hero Fund which recognizes those who risk their own lives in an attempt to save another.

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🪶 Messin’ with emu: I always thought it was funny that my daughter was terrified of emus. This video helped me understand why.

🥱 ‘Tis the season: Watch as a grizzled grizzly emerges through the snow from his den to take on the spring season.

THE GOOD FIGHT
VERMONT BACKS DOWN, HEAVILY AMENDS BILL AFTER HUNTER PUSHBACK

In what was originally introduced as a bill propped up against coyote hunting regulations, was soon found out to have some nefarious components. Buried within Vermont’s Senate Bill S.258 was a clause that would require the state to welcome ‘non-consumptive’ users to Vermont’s Wildlife Board. The clause, similar to one in Washington State, would soon open the door to animal rights groups that would undoubtedly alter Vermont’s hunting and fishing regulations for the worse.

As many would have expected, the proposed bill faced a ton of backlash, particularly from the hunting and angling community. Given the ruffled feathers, the bill was revised before passing the state Senate earlier this week. While the restrictions on coyote hunting remained (no more hunting coyotes with dogs over bait), revisions were made to just how exactly the Wildlife Board would be transformed moving forward.

Removing the requirement that the new board represent ‘non-consumptive’ users, the new wording requires simply that members are able to “provide balanced viewpoints.” The previous version of the bill also called for the board’s input on nongame species and habitat, which was also removed from the amended version of the bill…

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Traveling this Easter weekend? Don’t miss with these best roadtrip songs. But watch out, according to some, idiots tend to drive these types of cars. The trick the Navy developed to get you to sleep in two minutes or less. Bull fighting on bicycles? Yep. Somebody finally wrote it: the Ultimate Guide to Mullets.

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A rare piebald deer was photographed with a herd of deer near McMinnville, Oregon last month.
Courtesy of Kathleen Verigin