Texas Rancher Gored by Cape Buffalo While Hunting in South Africa 🐃

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

AN INHERENT RISK
TEXAS RANCHER GORED TO DEATH BY CAPE BUFFALO WHILE HUNTING IN AFRICA

The Dark Continent is a prominent bucket list destination for many hunters looking to get after game animals not found anywhere else on the planet. Each year thousands of hunters make the pilgrimage to the African continent in search of exotic big game animals including impala species, bushbucks, kudus and even the formidable cape buffalo. Often referred to as “black death”, cape buffalo are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Known for their erratic behavior and incredible size, hunting these animals comes with inherent risk that has unfortunately resulted in the death of an American man last weekend.

According to reports, 52-year-old Asher Watkins was fatally gored on Sunday by a 1.3-ton Cape buffalo during a hunting safari in South Africa’s Limpopo province, organized by Coenraad Vermaak Safaris. Accompanied by a professional hunter and a tracker, Watkins was stalking the buffalo  in the 50,000-acre Bambisana concession…

🦅 Fish-dropping osprey ignites British Columbia wildfire. There are freak accidents and then there are birds-dropping-their-next-meal-on-power-line freak accidents like the one that happened last week in British Columbia. According to reports, last Wednesday an osprey dropped a fresh-caught fish on a set of power lines just outside the town of Ashcroft, BC that sparked a brush fire that caused a temporary power outage. The fire, which burned about 1.3 acres, was extinguished using roughly 4,800 gallons of water through a combined effort by Ashcroft Fire Rescue, BC Hydro, Dawson Road Maintenance, and some local ranchers. It’s believed that the fish, which was likely caught from the nearby Thompson River about two miles away, was accidentally dropped and hit the power lines, creating sparks that ignited the dry grass below.

After distinguishing and containing the small fire, firefighters jokingly suggested the osprey might have been "tired of raw fish and wanted to try cooked," noting the bird was unharmed and still at large.

🌝 Kansas considers year-round night vision coyote hunting to address livestock losses. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is considering extending the night vision coyote hunting season, which currently runs from January 1 to March 31, following feedback from hunters and ranchers. Introduced in 2021, this season allows hunters to use artificial light, night vision, and thermal-imaging equipment with a $2.50 permit to manage the state's growing coyote population, which causes approximately $4 million in annual livestock losses, particularly to calves. Ranchers and hunters alike have recently rallied around the idea of a year-round season, citing increased coyote activity at night and the economic impact on agriculture. Public meetings held in March of this year showed majority support for expansion, though no formal changes have been proposed yet.

Opposition to the expansion comes from concerns about safety, poaching, and ethical issues, with critics arguing that night hunting with advanced technology is inhumane and disrupts rural communities. Coyotes, classified as nongame but managed as furbearers, have thrived in Kansas due to the absence of natural predators like wolves, and despite hunting pressures, remain resilient, often increasing litter sizes in response. The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission continues to gather public input, with discussions ongoing at meetings like the one scheduled for August 14th, in Topeka, to balance these competing interests.

🗳️ Pennsylvania adjusts elk lottery to favor resident hunters starting in 2026. Kicking off next year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has stated that they intend to cap nonresident elk hunting licenses at 10%, down from the current 15.7%, to increase opportunities for Pennsylvania residents in the state's elk license lottery. This change, approved in April, responds to the high demand for elk tags, with 140 tags awarded in 2025, of which 22 went to nonresidents. The cap will limit nonresident tags to no more than 14 if 140 tags are issued again, potentially reducing nonresident applications. Additionally, starting in 2026, all applicants must possess a Pennsylvania hunting license before entering the lottery, a shift from the current rule allowing license purchase only after being drawn. This requirement may deter some of the roughly 5,300 nonresident applicants who do not already hold a Pennsylvania hunting license, as nonresident licenses cost $101.97 compared to $20.97 for residents.

The 2025 lottery saw 52,156 hunters submit 104,992 applications, with 85% from Pennsylvania and 15% from nonresidents across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Nonresident winners, mostly from neighboring states, were drawn for the archery (Sept. 13-27), general (Nov. 3-8), and late (Dec. 27-Jan. 3) seasons. Local residents near the elk range, including four from DuBois and two from St. Mary’s, also secured tags. The changes aim to prioritize local hunters while managing the elk population in northcentral Pennsylvania, where the lottery remains highly competitive, with application costs at $11.97 per season or $35.91 for all three.

🙈 “Honey, where’s the damn dog?” When you get yourself the David Goggins of duck dogs and that fella does not take any time off.

Who’s gonna carry the boats?!?!

🐺 The Legend of Three Toes: There are few animals more controversial among wildlife conservationists and hunters than wolves. Regardless of where you stand, we can all agree that no one is going to agree on the subject. But in the not-too-distant past, everyone agreed on what to do with wolves: you killed them, and any government agency worth its salt would pay you a bounty if you got one.

Hell, it was that way ever since the Puritans in Massachusetts tried to carve out the first piece of America for settlers, and it did not end in Canada until about the time that Rush was singing on the radio, and some conservation groups still offer them in states where the population is over the management objective. These policies extirpated the gray wolf and its subspecies from everywhere except the most remote corners of the North American continent, including the entirety of present-day South Dakota. But 100 years ago, one wolf terrorized that state and its neighbors for over a decade.  Read the full story.

🪵 Hermits to the Woods: In re-reading “The Maine Woods” by Henry David Thoreau, I got to thinking about hermits. They fascinate me. Let’s face it.There is not a Maine outdoorsman worth his salt who hasn’t at least entertained a fantasy about pulling the societal plug and really getting off the grid.

It’s one thing to lose yourself in the woods for a week with nothing but a knife, some matches, and a compass; it’s quite another to disappear for 27 years like Christopher Knight, the Hermit of North Pond.

You have to really enjoy your own company to pull off a stunt like that. Knight, who has been both reviled and “legendized,” didn’t really measure up to the Daniel Boone image, however. He stole from others to survive. But at least he created no burden to the taxpayer – at least not until he was processed by the state judicial system.  Read the full story.

🏞️ Yellowstone High Country - My Connection to Hemingway: “The nights were cold, and, if you woke up… you would hear the coyotes. … You could sit in the front of the cabin, lazy in the sun, and look across the valley. … You remembered the elk bugling. … You remembered how this country had looked when you first came into it … all the hunting and all the fishing and all the riding in the summer sun and the dust of the pack train, the silent riding in the hills in the sharp cold of fall going up after the cattle on the high range. … It’s a good country.”  

In this excerpt from “The Clarks Fork Valley, Wyoming,” which ran in a 1939 issue of Vogue, author Ernest Hemingway was reminiscing. Written a year after his final stay, this essay contained his reflections on the five months he spent at the L-T Ranch in Wyoming, at the edge of Yellowstone National Park and close to the high-elevation community of Cooke City, Montana. Visiting first in 1930 at the suggestion of a friend, Hemingway soon found the ranch to be a retreat where he could write and avoid the outside world. It was a place, according to Robert Haskins, author of the article “Paradise Lost,” that was “as close [to paradise] as he ever found.” Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…