Wildlife Management

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Isgrimnur
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Wildlife Management

Post by Isgrimnur »

WaPo
Like every state east of the Mississippi River, Illinois is worried about its growing population of city-slicker coyotes. The animals surged from their original habitat in the West after what many now consider a colossal mistake — government-sanctioned predator removal programs that virtually wiped out red and gray wolves.

Coyotes have been taking over the territory of wolves, their mortal enemies, ever since. It is a textbook example of what the recent United Nations biodiversity report said: Humans are creating chaos for wildlife, placing a million species in danger of going extinct.

The report warned that the mismanagement of nature would come back to haunt humans in a variety of ways, including in the form of food and water shortages, and disruptions by invasive species.

As the Trump administration seeks to strip away legal protections for the last remaining wolves, state officials are contending with the consequences of a massacre carried out without regard to science.

People were fascinated when coyotes started showing up in Maryland, but complaints about nuisance animals increased as the coyote population grew. The public’s enchantment changed to “I do not want this animal in my neighborhood,” the state Department of Natural Resources said. “Few . . . wildlife species evoke as widespread and passionate disdain by the general public as coyotes.”

The situation was worse for native wildlife. Coyotes became the top predator and changed the ecosystem. Maryland’s red foxes were pushed the edge of their territory, and their numbers declined.
...
Coyotes have a unique way of responding to population pressure: They make more coyotes. Kill half a million one year, experts say, and that many will pop up the next.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Kraken »

And here I thought that would be about coywolves (a.k.a. eastern coyotes).
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

A few days ago, one of our cats, who's allowed to be outside, decided to join the rest of the family in a walk on the bike path between several ponds in our subdivision. We exited the trail and turned down a street to head home -- and the cat stopped following. When I went to coax her into coming, she started running away if I got to close. She had found her way home from the bike path before, so I was not overly concerned.

She's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Paingod »

Jeff V wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:27 pmShe's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
Back when we had cats, it annoyed me that my wife thought they needed to be obeyed when they demanded to be let outside so they could meet their fates as true hunters. These cats are not proud Klingon Warriors. They're the dough people from Wall-E. No amount of reminding her that we're a higher species that knows better could convince her. She fed 4 cats to the local wildlife in 9 years before she was done having cats. Bonus trauma: actually being woken up by the sounds of one being murdered at 1:00am.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Scuzz »

My brother lived on 10 acres near the edge of town and for many years he used to lose cats to coyotes. His response was to get bigger dogs.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Drazzil »

Paingod wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:38 pm
Jeff V wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:27 pmShe's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
Back when we had cats, it annoyed me that my wife thought they needed to be obeyed when they demanded to be let outside so they could meet their fates as true hunters. These cats are not proud Klingon Warriors. They're the dough people from Wall-E. No amount of reminding her that we're a higher species that knows better could convince her. She fed 4 cats to the local wildlife in 9 years before she was done having cats. Bonus trauma: actually being woken up by the sounds of one being murdered at 1:00am.
:shock: :doh:
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Grifman »

Cats kill millions of birds every year, so payback's a bitch.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Drazzil »

Grifman wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 9:57 pm Cats kill millions of birds every year, so payback's a bitch.
Not as much as previously thought.



Also, the oatmeal (comic) brought up an interesting point. Cats who are primarally indoors and fed on the regular don't really have the incentive to go outdoors and seriously hunt. It's the ferals that do most of the killing.

I would theorize that cats really dont have much of an impact on threatened species here. I say this because most protected species are in some sort of nature preserve, and in such preserves, housecats are in the food chain.

Dunno.

EDIT for, theres also a text article, which I thought the above link was. Sorry folks. Im shit at linking images and articles.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Scuzz »

We currently have 3 cats, and they are all indoor cats. We do give them access to the garage thru a cat door. It has become a problem with the cats bringing lizards into the house from the garage. The lizards apparently enter the garage from under the garage door and then become cat toys. Two of the cats merely play with their catch, while one likes to deliver the dead lizard to her mothers bed.

Ah, the screams when they are discovered. :lol:
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by LordMortis »

Kraken wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:05 pm And here I thought that would be about coywolves (a.k.a. eastern coyotes).
SE Michigan keeping denying there is a coywolf problem. SE Michigan rural residents keep asking if it's OK to shoot them if they don't exist.

I'd never heard of a coywolf until two years ago when my dad said one hung out with him for his entire hunting season for better and worse... I'd be happy with it chasing the deer away. I don't want my mom to be a widow and he's going to kill himself hauling deer out from deep in the woods by himself.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Freyland »

LordMortis wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:54 pm
Kraken wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:05 pm And here I thought that would be about coywolves (a.k.a. eastern coyotes).
SE Michigan keeping denying there is a coywolf problem. SE Michigan rural residents keep asking if it's OK to shoot them if they don't exist.
Wait, are we discussing coyotes or Skaven?
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

Scuzz wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:55 pm We currently have 3 cats, and they are all indoor cats. We do give them access to the garage thru a cat door. It has become a problem with the cats bringing lizards into the house from the garage. The lizards apparently enter the garage from under the garage door and then become cat toys. Two of the cats merely play with their catch, while one likes to deliver the dead lizard to her mothers bed.

Ah, the screams when they are discovered. :lol:
Back in ancient times when my grandmother was still alive, she hated cats. She especially hated the cat who liked to play Indoor Sportscat. We had French windows in my bedroom and one pane was broken, the cat used it to come and go. She would bring in various sorts of wildlife - squirrels, birds, rabbits, mice...whatever she could handle, bring it inside still alive, and promptly chase it under my grandmother's bed in the room next door. GODDAMN CAT! she'd roar trying to chase it and the critter out of the room.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Paingod wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:38 pm
Jeff V wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:27 pmShe's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
Back when we had cats, it annoyed me that my wife thought they needed to be obeyed when they demanded to be let outside so they could meet their fates as true hunters. These cats are not proud Klingon Warriors. They're the dough people from Wall-E. No amount of reminding her that we're a higher species that knows better could convince her. She fed 4 cats to the local wildlife in 9 years before she was done having cats. Bonus trauma: actually being woken up by the sounds of one being murdered at 1:00am.
When I was a kid, we had barn cats. They successfully killed at least one raccoon and fended off several foxes and stray dogs in their time. But they were outdoors from almost day one and were descended from a line of barn cats.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Paingod »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 10:54 am
Paingod wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:38 pm
Jeff V wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:27 pmShe's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
Back when we had cats, it annoyed me that my wife thought they needed to be obeyed when they demanded to be let outside so they could meet their fates as true hunters. These cats are not proud Klingon Warriors. They're the dough people from Wall-E. No amount of reminding her that we're a higher species that knows better could convince her. She fed 4 cats to the local wildlife in 9 years before she was done having cats. Bonus trauma: actually being woken up by the sounds of one being murdered at 1:00am.
When I was a kid, we had barn cats. They successfully killed at least one raccoon and fended off several foxes and stray dogs in their time. But they were outdoors from almost day one and were descended from a line of barn cats.
I won't disagree that cats born and raised outside can be fierce predators. I think I was mostly getting at how opening the door and letting your lazy indoor cat indulge in their hunting instincts in areas where real predators exist tends to end in disaster. Our last loss was a fat black cat that discovered a tear in one of the basement window screens and slipped out after making it big enough to fit through. He never came back.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

Jeff V wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:27 pm She's not been seen since and is presumed coyote chow.
Or not. She appeared on our doorstep yesterday morning, thoroughly uneaten.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Lorini »

Good to hear your cat came back!!!! Nope, there's tons of coyotes where I live, my cat is indoor only. I also have dogs and have a large dog run that's attached to the house so the cat can at least get some fresh air by going through the dog door. He does occasionally bring in mice and lizards, but my Boston Terrier takes care of those post haste.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

This cat tends to jailbreak when we let the dog out, but typically she doesn't stray off our property. A few weeks ago, she decided to follow us on a walk, and then 2 blocks from home she suddenly stopped following and ran the other way when I tried coaxing her. I figured she'd find her way back, it wasn't far, after all. Didn't think she'd be gone 2 1/2 weeks though.

And where she separated was along a road where I've seen coyotes before.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Isgrimnur »

CNN
An invasive fish species that can breathe air and survive on land has been found in Georgia for the first time. And officials are warning anyone who comes into contact with the species to kill it immediately.

An angler caught the northern snakehead fish this month in a pond in Gwinnett County, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division said Tuesday.
...
While this is the first time it's been discovered in Georgia, snakeheads have been reported in 14 states nationwide. The long, thin fish has a dark brown blotchy appearance and can grow up to three feet in length. It can also breathe air, and survive in low oxygenated systems, including on land, officials said.

A snakehead fish is considered a non-native invasive species, which means it affects native species by competing for food and habitat. In Georgia, it is illegal to possess one without a valid wild animal license.

Anglers who believe they've caught a northern snakehead should kill it immediately and freeze it, officials said.
...
The United States Department of Agriculture considers the snakehead fish "injurious wildlife," and it is federally regulated.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

Does freezing it prevent it from coming back to life in zombie form? I understand the kill order, AFAIK it's still illegal to release caught carp back into the water here, but why freeze it afterward?
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Isgrimnur »

They probably want to collect it for study.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Jeff V wrote: Thu Oct 10, 2019 3:46 pm Does freezing it prevent it from coming back to life in zombie form? I understand the kill order, AFAIK it's still illegal to release caught carp back into the water here, but why freeze it afterward?
Presumably to preserve it in case someone wants to take a look. They don't mention that you should report it, but you should.

"Thanks to the quick report by an angler, our staff was able to investigate and confirm the presence of this species in this water body," said Matt Thomas, chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Resources Division.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Jeff V »

Eh, my wife would just make snakehead soup out of it. There'd be nothing left to report.
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Re: Wildlife Management

Post by Isgrimnur »

AP News
Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators.

The U.S. Department of Interior announcement just days ahead of the Nov. 3 election could lead to resumption of wolf hunts in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin -- a crucial battleground in the campaign between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

It’s the latest in a series of administration actions on the environment that appeal to key blocs of rural voters in the race’s final days, including steps to allow more mining in Minnesota and logging in Alaska.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, who opposes recreational wolf hunting, called the decision disappointing and wildlife advocacy groups pledged to fight it in court.
...
Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species’ long-term survival. They argue it’s not necessary for wolves to be in every place they once inhabited to be considered recovered.
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