00:00:09 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Kel's we Can review with Ryan kel Kell. Now Here's Kel. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources opened the season on wolves for the first time since two thousand fourteen. On February one, the Board of Wisconsin Department and Natural Resources voted on a statewide harvest objective of two hundred wolves outside of tribal lands. This includes eight one tags controlled by the Ojibwey tribal members. The two hundred wolf quota is set to maintain a harvestable wolf population in the state of Wisconsin, with the goal of the hunt being non nat population deficit, as in, they're just trying to kill the surplus. The state of Wisconsin could have as many as two thousand wolves spread out amongst two hundred and fifty six recognized packs currently calling the state home. When the last wolf hunt was held in two thousand fourteen, the population was counted at just over six hundred wolves, with one hundred and fifty four wolves taken during that season. Important to note that the wolf count numbers had declined over the course of the three consecutive hunting seasons from two thousand twelve to two thousand fourteen, but this year's hunt is occurring at a modern all time population high and has the lowest amount of take prescribed. Wisconsin DNR had hope to postpone this winter hunt, which is actually provided for in state law, basically saying if wolves are off the endangered species list, there will be a winter hunting season. In response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of hunter Nation by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, the d n R set the winter season and quota, which is spread out amongst six geographical regions. Harvested wolves must be reported within twenty four hours. Eighty two wolves were recorded after the first day of the hunt, which effectively closed zones two and six. As of Wednesday, the DNR had announced the closures of all regions. As of this recording, a total of one hundred and eighty two wolves were reported. The target number for non tribal members was one nineteen, with the statewide goal of two hundred. The state of Wisconsin offered four thousand winter wolf hunting licenses, which were obtained through a draw in which over twenty thousand people applied. The four thousand licensed hunters were then able to legally target wolves within the season and before the quota or target harvest numbers for each region were met. I would like to see the official breakdown of successful harvest methods. Trapping, hound hunting, baiting, and traditional firearms were all legal means of take for this season. If I were a betting man, I would wager that the trappers, followed by the baiters and the houndsman and the lucky shots is how this horse race came in. Wolves within the Great Lakes States are technically over objective by population number and distribution. The debate that remains is are they doing well enough to maintain healthy, diverse populations in the future. The wolf may as well be a fur covered ping pong ball as many times as it's crossed the net between federal and state management. On the state side of things, populations are managed by the states, and hunting, as in this case, is a management option, a tool in the bag, and a big revenue source. All proceeds from this wolf hunt, the twenty thousand plus application fees, the licenses and tag sales for the four thousand who went wolf hunting will go to conflict mitigation funds. Anecdotedly, if you were worried about the ease in which wolves were harvested in this shorter than advertised Wisconsin hunting season, this is similar to what we saw when seasons were opened here in Montana and Idaho. After not being hunted, wolves adjust their boundaries. They like running roads and road kill. They get a little bold and curious. After a hunting season or two, they readjust those boundaries, just as the elk did here in Montana and Idaho. All in all, this situation seems pretty darn fair to me. I have spoken this week. We've got the Texas desk, unlikely, invasive, and so much more. But first, I'm gonna tell you about my week. In My week as well as this podcast is brought to you by Steel Power Equipment. If you are starting to see broken branches, empty wood sheds, or even some skulls that need the antlers cut off poking through the snow, start thinking about picking up a fine, built for life steel set of oppers, pruners, blowers, or even a battery or gas powered saw. Get your lawn yard and wood shed back in to shape pronto. I went over to Discovery Ski Area, that awesome little ski area located just out of Phillipsburger Anaconda, Montana, depending on your direction to travel. This was a mountain we frequented in our younger years, and it has been maybe a decade since I've been back there, this time skiing primarily backwards with the five year old nephew. I gotta tell your parents, dressing for skiing with kids is very different. I froze my butt off. It was a great weekend, had me wishing to do a bit more skiing, but when I got home, I had a package that showed up, and it was chock full of the new turkey calls from Phelps game calls, and all of the sudden, I started looking beyond ski season to spring, spring fishing, mushroom picking, maybe a bear hunt, definitely turkeys. In order to prepare, I'm gonna get my smoker and the meat slicer out and knock out a big batch of lunch meat from last year's birds, maybe even a big open face mashed potatoes underneath gravy on top turkey sando. Of course, before I get to that, St Patrick's Day is right around the corner, and I have a whole buffalo tongue frozen and Brian just for that occasion. My freezer is divided, it seems, by season. While we were on this topic, I just recently melted down a pile of chilies into a beautiful, smoky, spicy gravy. I cooked perch and while if flats in this as well as Mule to your Shoulder and elkshank, made a pile of very tough to beat tacos. Moving on, people across the country are still reeling from the recent deep freeze and resulting utility failures. For those of you looking for a way to help our Texas neighbors, go to www dot Feeding Texas dot org to support food banks. The cold has caused havoc for wildlife as well as he amends off the coast of Texas. Sea turtles were among the thousands of species that underwent a phenomenon known as cold stunning. Because turtles are reptiles, they can't regulate their body temperature, and so when the water temp and the gulf started going down, the metabolism of the turtles went with it. At about fifty degrees, turtles lose the use of their muscles and their brain function goes down. They become effectively paralyzed. In this state, they're defenseless against predators and vulnerable to drowning. It might seem surprising that an animal that spends so much time underwater could drown, but sea turtles require a pretty high degree of athleticism. Just to breathe. They swim up to the water surface, exhale forcefully, then take a big, deep breath, all in just a few seconds. A single inhale lets them spend several minutes underwater, but in the cold they can't do any of this. So a team of volunteers sprang into action, researchers, students from Texas A and m wars, from Texas Parks, and wildlife groups dedicated to see turtle conservation, as well as just a bunch of regular civilians who themselves were struggling without electricity, running water, and fresh food. They got in boats and walked the shorelines from South Padre Island, near the border with Mexico, all the way up to Galveston. The volunteers pulled the turtles out of the frigid water and got them into warmer surroundings. According to the Houston Chronicle, by February there were more than four thousand, seven hundred and fifty turtles in the South Padre Island Convention Center alone, which would be the only convention worth going to and my friends. I have been to a lot of conventions. I can't imagine what the cocktail hour was like, but I would have liked to have been there. It's awesome, jelly man. This was the biggest cold stunning event in history, with an estimated eight thousand turtles affected. The last record was four thousand, six hundred thirteen turtles stunned in Florida in two thousand ten, which coincidentally, I was down there fishing at that time, which kind of sums up my luck for going to the ocean and fishing. Part of the reason the numbers were so high at this time is because of the recovery sea turtles that made in the last several years. More turtles means more stunned turtles in an event like this, but without these volunteers, all of that progress could have been wiped out in just a few days. And while the losses were severe, one rescue group was able to rescue sixty turtles, but counted seventy five who had already died. It could have been much, much worse. Biologists are hopeful that the remaining population can continue in healthy numbers in the future. By Monday of this week, volunteers were returning turtles to the Gulf after keeping them warm in all manner of vessels from kittie pools and plastic storage binds to regular old blue type spread on the floor. Scientists with A and m's Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research that's from the Houston Zoo and other local conservation groups put each turtle through a series of movement tests to make sure they could hack it in the water. The Lord knows what the turtles were thinking at that point. You teaching me to swim, You deciding if I can swim anyway. Then groups of turtles were taken by a boat several miles offshore to get back to their regular routine. We hope any decent biologist never lets a good crisis go to waste, So several turtles were also fitted with tracking devices so we can follow their future movements and migration. This is one bright spot during a pretty miserable time. Of course, the sea turtle is a charismatic example of North America's reptile species. Makes me worry for the fate of the less lovable but still critical species that people weren't rushing to save. For those of you worried about what the freeze might do to our favorite game species, Turkey's white tailed deer in particular, don't worry too much. Both species are well adapted to survive the cold, and vulnerable offspring won't be born until later in the spring. Unfortunately, species we don't like, like ticks, are also likely to weather the cold snap just fine. Quick upbeat update on legislation. As mentioned before, California black bear hunting BAM has been squashed. A Georgia bill to ban archery hunting on properties under ten acres has been beaten down. Those are a couple of winds where the voice of people just like you mattered and folks who love freedom in the outdoors and common sense one trust me when I say you need to treat advocacy of what you love as a second job. Right now, make time and write emails and call your duly elected officials. If my home state of Montana can be an example, this legislative session is an embarrassing dumpster fire, and you have got to pay attention and make your voices heard. Sign up for free newsletters from hooking bullet clubs conservation groups and see what is happening. Click on the link and read the actual bill right now. For instance, in Wyoming, there is legislation that would take all of the public land in that state and make it privately held and available to sell. Not good if you want to recreate in Wyoming or any other state with public land. This is pertinent. This matters to you. That's House Bill one, and their legislative session convenes Monday, March one, likely the day you are listening to this podcast. Get active, be involved, or don't complain. Moving on to a new segment I like to call Canadian cuff Links. Vancouver, British Columbia, has decided to officially seed the crown jewel of parks, Stanley Park two coyotes. Recently, a triathlete running amongst a group through the thousand acre plus park that borders downtown Vancouver was bitten on the leg by a coyote, which is reportedly the fifteenth time runners or bikers have reported kyote conflict within the park. In response, the city said we cannot identify the offending coyote, as all coyotes look the same. So it is only fair that nobody go into the park. It belongs to the coyotes. Now, let's hope they don't move further into the city. Now that's not a verbatim quote, but if you find that funny, the truth is even more entertaining. The triathlete mentioned how lucky it was that his firm triathletes calf was the target of the coyote and not that of a soft fleshed child. Sure guy. Of the fifteen attacks, twelve of the bites have been considered serious, So let's get serious with the direct quote courtesy of CTV News. We're looking at a bigger solution here and trying to understand all what's going on and the contributing factors. One theory, people are feeding the coyotes, so they expect to receive food from human and become aggressive if they don't get it. I wouldn't put it past them to move into the city. Now if they're coming right onto the sea wall. You know what they say, Vancouver residents when there's blood in the streets by real estate, good luck. Elsewhere in British Columbia, a lynx that was rating a farmer's chicken coop was not given the chickens or the coop by the owner. It was in fact putting a headlock of sorts or cuff legs. It's already overused, isn't it anyway. Chris Paulson, a Northern BC farmer, caught a links literally by the scruff of its neck as it attempted to kill his chickens. By the time Paulson arrived, the cat had killed two. He then pointed out the destruction to the cat, gave it a quick lecture, put it in a dog crate, and relocated it. He regrets this move. Moving a little further north to yellow Knife, a dog walking couple was attacked by a lynx. Instead of giving the links their dog, keys to the house, car, et cetera, Shania tim Chatten jumped on the links, separating her dog, which she threw to her boyfriend and continued to hold cuff link style, still working on it for reported twenty minutes. Have you ever tried to subdue any cat of any size that does not want to be held? This is no easy feat. Here's a quote. By this time, I felt like it was a long time just sitting there and My knees were starting to get cold from being crushed into the snow, and my head was hurting from having such a strong grip on this links. Her neighbor responded in true Canada fashion with a set of lacrosse sticks and was able to block Shania from possible attack after she released the links. That's reported by CBC Canada, UH, Vancouver, Are you listening to any of this? They make them a little tougher in the bush, don't they. The Canada links can get up to almost two feet tall at the shoulder and just shy of forty pounds, but are commonly found under thirty pounds. Moving on to the Florida Desk, regular listeners to Cal's Weekend Review might have become jaded about news of invasive species in the Florida Everglades, Nile crocodiles, old news, Mexican spiny tailed iguanas, yahn burmese pythons. How many times do we have to hear about burmese pythons? But, my friends, we have never covered the arapaima, a fish that recently turned up in the Kloosa Hatchie River near Fort Myers, Florida. Native to the rivers of the Amazon Basin in South America. The arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, sometimes growing as large as fifteen feet and over four hundred pounds. Arapaimas are air breathers, which means that in addition to taking oxygen in from the water through the gills, they can also swim to the surface and inhale air the way a mammal would. This lets them survive and water with extremely low oxygen content, even in stagnant pools that get cut off from rivers in the dry season. When all the other fish begin to suffocate and die, the aripaima can just feed on them at their leisure while getting plenty of oxygen directly from the air. This makes them very well suited to many rivers in lakes in Florida, where high temperatures and algae blooms can starve the water of oxygen. So let's do a checklist of our successful invasive species attributes. Are they voracious eaters? Yes. Their mouths are so big that they create a vacuum when they open it, pulling in multiple prey fish at a time. They can also leap out of the water to grab birds, lizards, fruit, anything they can fit in their mouths. There have been documented cases of aripaima's even snatching small primates out of low hanging trees, so watch your children flooridians. In fact, according to a paper published in the journal Nature in two thousand nineteen, their appetite and muscle building ability give aripaima the fastest known growth rate of any freshwater fish on the planet. Okay, what's next? Are there no native species that could effectively prey on them? Check? If aripaima were saltwater fish, maybe we could hope for predation from sharks or other large species. But in rivers and lakes, the arapaima is going to be the head hancho. Okay, before we go on tearing our hair out over the damage aripiamus could do. Let's know what a couple of things. They're just really cool about them. Aripaima our paternal mouth brooders, which means that the males of the species hold tens of thousands of fertilized eggs in their mouths, not able to eat until the eggs are old enough to hatch. So, for all those human dads listening out there, all you parents that are complaining about still having the kids at home because of COVID this and that, getting frustrated about getting old Junior into the car seat right now, at least you don't have to carry the little tykes around in your lip starving yourself until they can go out and get groceries on their own anything else. Aripaima are tasty, They grow fast, They taste good. They hang out close to the surface of the water. Aripaima elsewhere are easy targets and are relentlessly hunted across their native range. That, along with the severe habitat loss, means that they're seriously threatened in places they're actually supposed to be. What does this mean for Florida so far? If we've only found one aripaima here and that was dead, but does anyone considering the history of invasives in Florida want to put money on that being the only one. The species was introduced by anglers for sport fishing in Thailand and Malaysia, so I'm betting that some bone head decided to bring them to Florida as well. I guess we're gonna have to cross her face gers that they haven't spread too far already, unlike that other scourge of the Everglades, the Burmese python. Coincidentally, a sixteen foot long python was recently pulled out of a drainage pipe southeast of Tampa, carrying more than one eggs. The arapaima is easy to see, so if they do propagate successfully in Florida, they could be easy targets. Side note here observation rather, Florida is quickly becoming the surrogate travel destination for several parts of the globe. This could revitalize the travel agent business. I want to see Argentinean tagu lizards devouring crocodile ness, but hate those customs lines will redirect you to the appropriate location in Florida for a nominal fee. Arapaima on your list, but you can't go without Chick fil A, so the Amazon is out. Welcome to Fort Myers. Well that's all I've got for you this week. Thanks so much for listening. If you're loving what you're hearing, tell a friend or two, and most importantly, right in and let me know what's going on in your neck of the woods. A s k C A L. Let's ask cal at the meat eater dot com. I'll talk to you next week.

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