Wyoming Anthrax Outbreak Kills 50-Head of Cattle and A Wild Moose

The weekend might not be here yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

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

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

• Anthrax outbreak in Wyoming - 50-60 head of cattle and a wild moose are down 💀

• A monster in Mississippi- Gator hunters bag an absolute dinosaur on opening day 🐊

• Taking bears to Taco Bell - Two Ontario men capture a bear, feed it fast food 🌮

• Fishing leagues keep it low-tech- Two major fishing leagues outlaw or limit forward-facing sonar

• Double-riding a deer - Watch one one hunter takes doubling-up to another level 🚴

Check us out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

HOPEFULLY THIS IS AS BAD AS IT GETS
WYOMING ANTHRAX OUTBREAK KILLS OVER 50-HEAD OF CATTLE AND A WILD MOOSE

According to officials, dozens of cows and now a wild moose have dropped dead from a sudden outbreak of anthrax in Carbon County, Wyoming. This new outbreak of the deadly bacterial disease marks the first time it has been detected in cattle since the 1970s and the first time in moose since 1956. 

The official diagnosis was announced by the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory on Aug. 31, reporting that cattle from multiple herds around Elk Mountain tested positive for the disease.

“We have approximately 50 to 60 head that have died at this time due to anthrax,” Wyoming State Veterinarian Dr. Hallie Hasel said. “It's in a localized region at this time, but we are still investigating, and there could be other losses that we don't know of quite yet.”

Following the announcement of the dead cattle, the lab announced the confirmation of the dead moose on September 3rd, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department…

🐊 Mississippi gator hunters bag an absolute monster - and it’s ALMOST a state record. If you want to chase gators in Mississippi, you’re going to need two things: a tag (lottery only) and some time out on the water during the state’s quick and dirty 10-day season.

For the hunting group known as the Gator Getters, they had both of those things line up and found themselves up close and personal with an absolute dinosaur. Heading out on the first day of the season last Friday evening, the Gator Getters were caught in a torrential downpour shortly after launching their skiff into the Yazoo River. They first spotted the massive gator’s head and camped out until he submerged and surfaced a number of times. An hour had passed from when they first spotted the gator and they managed to get within 40 yards of the beast by the next time he surfaced for air. It was at this moment that they got hooks in the gator and fought to get him alongside the boat. The group attempted to snare the gator, but his head was too large, only allowing the snare to go around the gator's mouth. The team was finally able to get the gator to the surface and finish the job after a long tussle. 

Given the size of the reptile, they were unable to get it in the boat and, instead, dragged it back to the ramp. Mississippi’s Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks came out the next day and entered official measurements of 802 pounds and 14-feet in length. The current length record is 14 feet, 3 inches and was set just last year.

🌮 Two Ontario men pick up a black bear cub for a 10-hour road trip, complete with Taco Bell stops. Officials rescued a noticeably disoriented baby black bear from the back of a van in Windsor, Ontario last weekend. According to reports, the bear’s captors found the animal along a highway in Cochrane - about 10 hours north of Windsor - and road-tripped it south with them, making sure to make a pit stop at Taco Bell along the way.

"We actually took the bear from the back of their van and they were pretty pleased that they brought the bear down here and that they were feeding him Taco Bell," executive director of Chatham-Kent's Pet and Wildlife Rescue Centre Myriam Armstrong said. 

The bear has since been sent to a rehabilitation center in Huntsville where it is expected to rid itself of the Taco Bell toxins and make a full recovery. No word on any pending charges for the two men that snagged the animal.

🎣 Forward-facing sonar - or Livescope technology - banned from National Professional Fishing League and limited by B.A.S.S. Tournament League. In two separate announcements, two major fishing leagues are making big changes to the way competitive fishermen are able to track fish during tournaments and league play. The use of forward-facing sonar or Livescope technology has taken the fishing world by storm lately. By allowing anglers to utilize screens to target specific species of fish in real time, the question of ethics is being raised. Not only are anglers sucked into a screen looking for their next catch, these systems come with hefty price tags and blur the lines of fair chase ethics out on the water.

The NPFL has come forward with an all-out ban on the tech for their tournaments. Founder Alan McCulloch went on to say that the NPFL does not “want competitive bass fishing to become a technology arms race where anglers stare at a screen, targeting pixels and losing their connection to the fish we love so much.”

Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) also announced new equipment standards aimed at curtailing the use of emerging technologies such as forward-facing sonar. Among other changes, the new B.A.S.S. rules will not ban the use of it, but has set limits on the amount of live sonar devices allowed on bass boats and reduced the amount of on-board display screens.

QUICK HITS // ^{_{FROM AROUND THE WEB}}

Marylanders Get Prepared for the 2024-25 Deer Hunting Season: With burly whitetails in the Western Maryland mountains to exotic sika in the marshes of the Eastern Shore, plentiful opportunities await those wishing to stock their freezer with venison for the winter. Read more at Maryland DNR.

Game and Fish director discusses North Dakota hunting opportunities:  Learn what hunters and anglers can do to help maintain positive relationships with landowners and other outdoor enthusiasts and keep our hunting and fishing tradition going strong. Read more at Grand Forks Herald.

Wisconsin bear hunting season opened Wednesday:  The state’s bear hunting opener is Wednesday and the season is becoming popular among hunters.

“We see the popularity of bear hunting in Wisconsin increasing with the growing number of customers who apply for a bear hunting license or preference point each year,” said Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist. Read more at Northern News Now.

Arkansas bowhunters gain new opportunities with early deer hunt: Bowhunters will be able to participate in buck-only archery season in 2024. This is the first change to the Arkansas deer season regulation since the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission was formed in 1915, officials said. Read more at KARK.

Mississippi deer season 2024-25: Here's what hunters need to know: As has been the case in many years, there have been some changes. Here's what hunters need to know about chronic wasting disease, bag limits, harvest reporting and season dates for the 2024-25 deer season. Read more at Clarion Ledger.

Colorado wildlife officials remove broken bucket lid from deer's neck: CPW said it had been receiving reports about a deer living with a bucket around its neck dating back to Aug. 12. The agency said its officers had tried several times to locate and immobilize the doe to remove the lid. Read more at 9News.

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🚴 This hunter redefines doubling-up on a bicycle.  Watch as one hunter sets his kill up on his bike and rides him on out of the woods.

🎺 This one time at band camp… I played the Mariachi as passionately as I could to scare of a black bear that was fixin’ to eat our lunch.

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Oh, and one more thing…