Here's an interesting story from The Huntsville Item of Huntsville, Texas on the trapping of predators to fit them with tracking devices in order to determine the degree of impact that they are having on the eastern wild turkey populations in East Texas.

The $3,000 high-tech radio collars use "global positioning satellite technology to record hourly positions of the animal from dusk to dawn and once at midday," according to the article.

Haemish Melville, a 37-year old wildlife research scientist from South Africa, is working on his doctorate’s degree at Texas A&M University and is helping with the study.

“I think everyone acknowledges that predators have had an impact on the turkey populations, but whether they are the main cause of the problems the turkeys are having remains up for debate,” Melville said. “What we are trying to find out is if the mesocarnivores are having a substantial influence on the recruitment of wild turkeys, or if the problems we are seeing are more of a combination of the other factors in conjunction with predation.”

Trapping Today linked to this Capital Press story on some beaver troubles in Washington. Beavers are chewing on fruit trees in a fruit orchard.

Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if the state didn't have heavily restricted trapping laws that ban the use of bodygrip traps. I'm sure trappers would be more than happy to take care of some of those pesky beavers.

The ban on trapping in Connecticut has failed. It did not pass in the Senate Judiciary Committee. That's great news, even for non-trappers in the state, since a ban on trapping would have cost the state over a half million dollars, according to the Connecticut Nature Examiner.

The Maine lynx lawsuit has been postponed after four days of court hearings. It will resume some time this summer.

The Flathead Beacon of western Montana profiled Vince Sansone, a trapper and ADC worker, on their Web site today.

Here's an excerpt:

With another season of recreational trapping almost behind him, Sansone’s business will now begin picking up as the summer residents of the Flathead return. But he’s already thinking about the following winter, and what he might catch.

“I think I’ll always have fur traps out,” Sansone said. “I’m glad I’ve got the trapping in that I have, though, and caught the animals that I have.”

Wolf experts have confirmed that 19 lambs found dead on an eastern Oregon ranch were killed by wolves. The rancher said most of the lambs were killed, but not eaten.

Wolves are about to de-listed in the eastern third of Oregon on May 4.

A gray wolf that was collared just north of Yellowstone National Park in September and tracked through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Colorado has been found dead in northwest Colorado.

Authorities have not released details on the cause of the death and an investigation is underway.

Wolves have not regularly lived in Colorado since the 1930s.

Trapping Today posted an update on the Maine Canada lynx trapping lawsuit.

Paul Paquet, a self-proclaimed lynx expert, provided testimony for the plaintiffs, claiming that "Maine’s population of an estimated 500 lynx is too small to be considered viable."

Trapping Today refuted the argument in today's post.

"Unfortunately for the animal rights groups that are relying on Paquet as their ‘expert biologist’, however, Paquet completely failed to mention that Maine’s estimated 500 lynx do not act as an isolated population.  They are connected to a much larger, healthy population that is only separated by a political line known as the U.S. - Canadian border."

Paquet was expected to be cross-examined today and the defense will likely bring up similar questions. It wouldn't be the first time Paquet's expertise came into question. Paquet is the same "expert" that concluded that the death of Kenton Joel Carnegie on Nov. 8, 2005, in northern Saskatchewan was the result of bear attack, not of an attack by a pack of wolves as had been previously concluded. Paquet's conclusion, however, was quickly refuted by several experts. One such expert, Valerius Geist, does an excellent job explaining how off base Paquet's conclusion was in this article.

"All the forensic sign pointing to 'bear', as proclaimed by Paquet, are thus misidentifications, as the only bear that could have left such signs at the site of the tragedy must have been suspended in mid-air, as none of his paws reached the telltale snow. Furthermore, Paquet’s repeated insistence that his approach alone was in the spirit and methodology of science, and was supported by superior experience, has demonstrably no basis, as shown by three peer reviews and the coroner’s inquest."

Hopefully the court recognizes the questionable "expert" testimony from a man with many ties to animal rights groups and this case ends in the defenses' favor. The trial is expected to last through Thursday.

It seems like we've seen a lot of stories like this lately...

Madison, Wis., residents are proposing that the city hire sharpshooters to shoot urban problem coyotes. Several coyotes appear to be growing less afraid of humans and a handful of coyote attacks on dogs have been reported.

From the article:

Dan Hirchert, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the neighbors have spoken to him about the agency providing help in killing the particular coyotes that have been spotted near homes and are likely the animals causing problems. He said state law allows such action but added that the agency would have to coordinate with city officials before any final decision is made.

"We're really in the information gathering stage right now," Hirchert said. He added that he intends to use motion-sensor cameras to monitor coyote activity including information on individual coyotes and the frequency of their visits.

The Detroit Metro Times actually put out an article and video on Glemie Dell Beasley, aka the 'Coon Man, more than two months ago. It has some additional info on Beasley, his background and his 'coon hunting.

Here's the video:

This past weekend, a rabid bobcat attacked a Cub Scout and an elderly man in separate incidents in Citrus County, Florida. The attack follows an incident in Arizona last week where a rabid bobcat walked into a bar.

The Cub Scout received cuts and scrapes in the attack. The second attack was a "short while" after the first incident. The 'cat bit a 71-year-old's leg before the man killed the bobcat in self-defense.

The bobcat later tested positive for rabies.