00:00:02 Speaker 1: From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan and elephant in India reportedly killed a seventy year old woman last month and then returned during her funeral to trample her corpse. Can take it easy, rick, Let's start it kids darker morning. The story was first reported by India's largest news agency and then picked up in outlets around the world. According to the account, the elephant escaped Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and attacked the woman as she was collecting water. Then, as her family was performing her last rites, the same elephant showed up, grabbed her body from the funeral pyre, trampled it again and ran off. Elephants are intelligent, social creed cheers. They certainly live a long time. African elephants reportedly going up to seventy years, Asian elephants averaging about forty eight years of age, which only matters because I think the older you get, the more you're capable of holding a grudge. Now this story is contested. It could be totally fabricated for international attention. The world may never know. Different outlets reported different ages for the woman, which makes one skeptical. Some claimed a pack of elephants attacked or rather than a single elephant, and the website Snopes pointed out that there haven't been any official statements of the incident, which may or may not be strange. Keep in mind, India is not the United States. There were a reported thirty three hundred human deaths and elephant related incidents in India over just the last seven years. This could be a case of news or fake news, or it could be a case of something that happens that wasn't really news over there. This week, we've got bears, boars, wolves, and legislation. But first, I'm gonna tell you about my week. And my week is brought to you by a Steel Power Equipment. Find an authorized steel dealer near you. They'll get you set up with what you need and won't send you home with what you don't. If you need some tips and tricks on everything from the backyard to the wood lot, find Steel USA on your social media platforms. I'm super pleased to announce I'll be joining Steel at the Timber Sports Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas at the end of the month. Maybe I'll see you there. In other news, went out and finally did some angling, caught up with a few walleye Old Stephen Ronnella, I'll tell you that I wasted my life fly fishing and thus lee sacrifice the Midwesterners walleye jigging wrist. I'm not sure about wasting my life fly angling for trout, but I will admit that the subtlety of the jigging motion is not something I've mastered. Despite this, we managed to get a few and boating time for an Independence Day fish fry, which turned out pretty darn good. I'm always changing up I fried fish batter or breading, and I've yet to find something that I like, really love enough to try to repeat the next time. Let me know if you have any killer mixes. I'm gonna make you a mix tape like Phil Collins. I've got two ears and a heart, don't I. I basically only have one dedicated fishing trip left this summer, which seems absolutely absurd, but heck, birds are just around the corner. Moving on to the bear desk, black bears are thriving across large portions of their historic range in the United States. That's great news for the species, but increasing bear populations often result in more conflicts with humans. There are about forty three thousand bear human conflicts per year in the United States, according to a two thousand seven study, and that number is only increasing. Recently, a black bear died in Tennessee from heat aftergot trapped in a car that have been parked in front of a rental cabin near the Great Smoky Mountains and National Park. Wildlife officials believe the bear could smell an empty soda can food packaging that had been left in the car. The bear managed to open the door with its paws, but couldn't figure out how to get back out when the door shut behind it. It died after being exposed to temperatures in the car exceeding one and forty degrees. The car's owner was away from the cabin all day and returned to find the bear slumped over the center console between the back and front seats. The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency pointed out in a Facebook post that a bare sense of smell is seven times stronger than a bloodhounds, which is a thousand times stronger than a humans. Empty food containers, candy rappers, fast food bags, and even air fresheners can attract bears, so it's super important to lock those items away or not bring them into the mountains at all. Wildlife officials are also looking for another curious black bear that's wiped out a family inside a tent. Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife set a woman, her husband, and their young water. We're sleeping in a tent at the Monument Lake Resort near Trinidad around two am. The two year old woke up to a popping sound when the bear stepped on a beach ball outside her tent. The child started to cry, and when the mother sat up, she rubbed against the tent wall. The bear apparently swiped at the tent when it saw the mother's movement and left several minor scratches on the woman's head. Officials do not believe the bear was acting aggressively or trying to harm the family, since it immediately wandered off, but any contact between a bear and a human is considered an attack and the bear must be captured and euthanized. If you think that's a bummer wait till you get a load of this story. On June nineteen, and Palm Beach County, Florida, Sheriff's deputies were called when a juvenile male black bear was spotted walking through a residential neighborhood. The deputies called conservation officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and together they hazed the bear into a nearby tree. Officers with the Florida Wildlife Commission contacted their supervisors, who eventually decided to let the bear climb down the tree and find better habitat on its own. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, however, begged to differ. They said the bear presented a danger to the residents of the neighborhood and could disrupt traffic. They claim that the Florida Wildlife Commission told them that they would send a trapper to capture the bear and relocate it. When no trapper showed up, the powers that be at the Sheriff's office directed their deputies to shoot the bear if it climbed down from the tree. The Wildlife Commission officers, un scene, tried to intervene, and apparently both the deputies and the officers did everything they could dissuade the bear from climbing down, but you know, what goes up must come down. Four hours in a tree, people yelling at it, flashing lights, sirens, the bear decided it was time to get the heck out of dodge. It climbed down the tree, and the moment all four paws touched the ground, multiple deputies shot at with twelve gage shotguns. The incident has understandably sparked controversy and Floridians and the Florida Wildlife Commission is reviewing what happened. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to Floridians. Florida has far and away the most reported human bear conflicts per year. According to a two thousand eighteen study by Utah State University, Florida reports over five thousand conflicts per year, while the next highest state, New Jersey, only reports about hundred. Now, the definition of conflict only gets more broad when it comes to bears, so those numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. A person getting their heads scratched while inside a tent is a conflict, but according to the Sheriff's Department in Palm Beach County. So is a bear in a tree moving on to the python desk, or we'll name this one the records desk. Two animals broke records last month after living thirty thousand years apart in Florida. A team of python researchers and now the largest python ever captured in the state. The giant snake tipped the scale at two d and fifteen pounds, well above the previous record of one forty pounds. The female had grown to be nearly eighteen feet long, and she was carrying one and twenty two eggs to Scientists and an intern from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida made the discovery while tracking a male python in the Florida Everglades. The Conservancy is working on ways to remove the invasive species from the ecosystem, and one of their methods involves inserting GPS tracking devices into male pythons. They release those pythons onto the landscape and tracked them until they find a female. One of those snakes, this one named Dion, led them to this enormous reptile, which, as far as I know, has not been given a name. I think BFP for Big Female python would be appropriate, but by the time this story circulates it will undoubtedly be something more catchy like, I don't know, extreme snake asaurus. Whatever you call her, this is a big mama. The scientists wrestled with the BFP for about twenty minutes before subduing her. When they performed in neck cruptcy, they found not only the eggs, but also a white tailed deer in their stomach. This is an unusual Pythons often eat white tail, and the number of servants in the Everglades has dropped so much that the Florida panther population is starting to suffer, not to mention Florida deer hunters. Speaking of giant animals, scientists working in Canada's Ukon Territory just unearthed the first near complete and best preserved mummified mammoth remains ever found in North America. The mammoth calf was discovered by a gold miner working in the Klondike gold fields, and it still had its skin, hair toenails, trunk and intestines attached. The animal looks to be about the size of a large dog, and it was named non Choga, which means big baby animal. Scientists believe it died and was mummified in the permou frost about thirty thousand years ago. The DNA scientists recover from non Choga will give scientists an extremely detailed glimpse into the time when she roamed the planes of northern Canada. I encourage you to go check out the photos of this ancient animal. They're really cool and in no way should resemble any meat in your freezer. You can see a few shots over the meat eater dot Com. Moving on to the artificial intelligence desk, scientists in the Everglades aren't the only researchers using technology to conserve wildlife and habitat. A team of mountain lion biologists and Yellowstone are using specialized camera traps to monitor the big cats more closely than ever before. What scientists call camera traps and hunters called game cams have been used for many years to find and track animal species. The problem with mount lions is that many of them look identical, especially from the side. However, mount lions do have one distinguishing feature their faces. Eye size, whisker placement, and ear shape can all help scientists identify individual cats. Working on this assumption, Peter Alexander Research biologists based in Kelly, Wyoming, developed a special kind of camera trap that plays a kitten noise when the cat walks by. The noises designed to make the cat look towards the camera and get a good clear image of its face. Humans are the same way. One kid yells mom at a busy park, and all the moms within earshot look up and scan quickly for blood and broken bones. Anyway, Alexander's strategy worked. According to this paper published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, five independent reviewers were able to identify individual lions with a greater accuracy using photos from his camera traps than from traditional cameras. What's more, in an interview with Scientific America, Alexander said these images could be fed through facial recognition software to quickly comb through photos looking for matching faces. So far, the animal rights crowd has remained silent on how these technologies will violate the privacy and personal liberties of mountain lions. But I'll keep you posting. Souped up camera traps are a reasonable and targeted solution to a wildlife management problem. A new proposal in Rome might need a little work. Regular listeners to col's we can review know that Rome has a pig problem. Wild boars have descended on the city by the thousands, stealing food and harassing citizens. Fences have been erected around the city's Ring Road and hunters have been given extra permits, but the problem persists. Some wildlife experts are pinning their hopes on another wild animal, wolves. In two thousand thirteen, researchers found evidence that wolves had returned to Rome for the first time and over a century now, many hope that they can help control the wild boar population. Maurizio Gubiati, the head of Rome's Parks and Nature Reserves, told the British newspaper that boar remains have been found in wolf feceas in a reserve near the city. The equilibrium is coming, he said, Which is a line straight out of Into the World. Thriller, isn't it. In fact, I said the same thing to the bucket of leeches I had in the boat this weekend. I'd be happy to hear that nature was solving this problem on its own. But this kind of language sounds a little too similar to the trophic cascade attributed to Yellowstone wolves. According to this theory Yellowstone wolves are responsible for everything from resurrecting the beaver population to regrowing aspen trees, to changing the course of the rivers, and much more importantly, the bottom lines of park based wolf guiding tours. The problem is that that theory doesn't really hold water. Wolves did contribute to declining elk numbers, and that decline did have certain positive effects, but no one has been able to definitively quantify the role that wolves played. As one scientist put it in an article for National Geographic Quote, it's an unproven theory that gets undue attention in the quest to have wolves shine rainbows out of their asses. Don't get me wrong, I like having wolves on the landscape, and if Italian wolves help reduce board numbers, that's great. But let's not forget the lessons we learned in that children's book about the king who wanted to get rid of mice. You remember that one he brings in cats to get rid of the mice, but then he has too many cats, so he brings in dogs and lions than elephants. The elephants are way bigger problem than just mice, so then he goes back to mice. Chase way elephants. Eventually he just learns to live with mice. And I think it's important to note here that in the context of asses and rainbows, if you really like being outside, rainbows are everywhere. It's not a market reserved only for the romanticized wolf. Moving on to the legislative desk. In episode one six two, we covered the fight in South Dakota between the folks who support hunting pheasants using pen raised birds and those who opposed the practice. South Dakota isn't the only state having this debate. In New Hampshire, the Fish and Game Commission is discussing whether to continue to maintain their public pheasant stocking program. At their meeting last month, they debated whether inflation and wayne hunter interest will make the program and solvent moving forward. Wildlife officials in Montana are thinking about launching their own pen raised pheasant hunting program, and the idea has sparked a healthy debate. The program is designed to recruit new pheasant hunters by offering an easier, more accessible hunting experience, but opponents of the program, which include Pheasants Forever, b h A and the Montana Wildlife Federation, argue that at risks spreading disease among wild pheasants and departs from ethical fair chase practices. They also worry that biologists haven't sufficiently studied how releasing pen raise birds will affect wild populations. And that's just the tip of the rooster spur. But we'll leave that for now and over to dip into the ocean. Over in New Jersey, environmental groups are pushing to designate the Hudson Canyon as a National Marine sanctuary. Hudson Canyon is a rich marine ecosystem that starts about ninety miles off the coast of New Jersey. It's a popular spot for recreation fishermen to target tuna, bill fish, and tile fish, but making it a marine sanctuary would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAH, more leverage to protect the canyon's resources or possibly prohibit fishing altogether. NOAH is currently accepting public comments on the designation, and the comment period will be open until August eight. To learn more and submit a comment, visit Sanctuaries dot NOAH dot gov. Hudson Canyon that Sanctuaries dot n o A A dot g O V slash Hudson Dash Canyon in Pennsylvania. State Senator Dan Laughlin recently introduced Senate Bill for thirty one, which would authorize the sale of antlerless deer licenses through the Commons Wealth New Hunt Fish p A website. The current licensed system requires hunters to purchase their antlerless tags through county treasurers via mail and pay by check. Last year, multiple applications were law or damage without ever being processed, according to Don Rank of Pennsylvania back Country Hunters and Anglers. Furthermore, one dollar from each license goes to the county treasurer instead of to the Game Commission. This year, eight thousand tags were approved with one dollar taken out of each tag. That is a lot of revenue lost. You Pennsylvania folks. Please let me know if the county throws a big party or does some sort of habitat work we're missing out on. Senate Bill for one would modernize this process and make it easier and cheaper for Pennsylvania deer hunters to get their antlerless tags. This bill should be a no brainer, but it never hurts to give our duly elected a little encouragement, So get on the phone today and tell your state legislators you support sbe up. In Washington, the spring two thousand twenty three black bear season might be acts before it's even proposed. On July fifteen, the Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider a proposal that would require the Commission to rewrite the state's policy on the bear hunt before setting permit levels for the upcoming spring season. Rewriting state policy can take months, so this proposal would all but guarantee that there won't be a black bear hunt this spring. If you live in Washington State, get in touch with your commissioners and ask them to go ahead and set the permit levels and then worry about the larger hunt policies. The last one for you. You may have seen rumblings about animal rights groups trying to block the expansion of hunting and fishing on national wildlife refuges. Some of those reports have been, shall we say, hyperbolic. The refugees are still on track to open, though new hunting lands might have restrictions on lead ammunition. Here's the important part. I have it on good authority that the Department of the Interior is very interested in what people say in the public comments they'll be reviewing those comments closely as they make their decisions. So now is the time to let your voice be heard. To submit comments type two zero too too, dash to zero to three station specific hunting and sports fishing regulations into the Google machine, or just click the link in this podcast description at the meat eater dot com, which will take you to where you can leave a comment. Be proactive, leave a comment Moving on the Pipeline fire has burned nearly thirty acres of the Coconino National Forest in central Arizona, and officials believe they know what caused it, burning toilet paper. Fifty seven year old Matthew Riser was arrested in connection with the fire and charged with building a fire during restrictions, residing on the national forest, and marijuana possession. As first hearing, a U S attorney said that Riser placed burning toilet paper under a rock and returned to his campsite, which was about eight yards from where the fire began. He told investigators he didn't believe the paper would smolder all night, and when he realized he had started to fire, he attempted to put it out with his sleeping bag. It didn't take long for riser to realize that sleeping bags don't make great fire extinguishers. His pickup truck was seen driving quote rapidly away from the fire, and he was soon stopped and identified. If convicted, he's looking at finds jail time or both and speak in a poop. About fifty thousand fish are thought to have died in Marley Creek near Baltimore after a sewage pipe leaked human waste into the river. The fish were mainly Atlantic man haden, but Maryland Department of Environment officials identified eight other species. According to the Baltimore Sun, the fish didn't die just from swimming in people's poop. They believe the fish died due to a phenomenon called an oxic bottom water intrusion. This is not a fancy term for colonoscopy, though I know it sounds like it could be. Instead, it describes what happens when water devoid of oxygen, rises to the surface, especially in low tide, and suffocates aquatic life. The sewage spill caused the river algae to bloom, and as the as blooms decayed, they starved the water of oxygen. Quick side note, an unnatural algae bloom can kill fish, but Mobile Bay, Alabama, deoxygenated water causes annual events known as jubilees. Jubilee occurs when a pocket of oxygen poor bottom water gets pushed towards shore and drives bottom dwelling creatures like crabs and flounder in front of it start of of oxygen. These creators are easy pickings for Mobile Bay residents, and in past decades somewhat harvest dozens of flounder and hundreds of crabs in one jubilee. But if the animals aren't harvested, many are able to survive in the surf until the weather changes and allows them back into the bay. As far as we know, Mobile Bay is the only place in the world where this phenomenon occurs with any frequency. It's hard to know how many happen each summer, but residents usually report seeing four or five. To learn more about this unique natural phenomenon, just search for Jubilee at the meat eater dot com. Anyway back Baltimore poop Rivers Local news reports that the sewage leaked into Marley Creek after a twelve inch suwermain burst and released nearly eleven thousand gallons of waste repair crews fixed the eight foot section of pipe, and health officials advised residents who may have been in contact with the sewage to wash well with soap and water. They failed to advise the fish on what kinds of precautions they should take. Baltimore residents are in this one up to their ears, as a recently released state report on two water treatment facilities, the Black River and Patapsco and the area detail quote failures at nearly every level. Problems that the plant first came to light in August, when water quality monitoring from local nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore flagged high bacteria levels outside baltimore City second plant along the Patapsco River. After the group's finding, State environmental regulators conducted increasingly frequent inspections at both plants and soothed the city over the plant's environmental woes in January. What that means for us in the angle and recreating side of things, No swimming, especially with open cuts, no matter how minor, and boop lots of boop in the river. I think it's also worth noting that the then Secretary of Maryland Environmental Services who made the emergency order to inspect the treatment facilities is named Grumbles, which I can only assume is very appropriate for the situation. Nothing to do and no hope of things getting better. Sounds like Saturday night at my house. That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you so much for listening, and as per usual, please right in and let me know what's going on in your neck of the woods by writing in to A s K C A L. That's ask Cal at the meat Eater dot com. Thanks again and I'll talk to you next week.

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