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Black bear gets a trip; kids get an education
Before Mark Rutkowski found the black bear Wednesday, he had captured and tagged him near Interstate 81 in Moosic in April and removed him again on Labor Day in Scranton.
Read complete story from The Scranton Times-Tribune in Scranton, Penn.

Moss Point hunter helps land state-record alligator
Jack Hamilton was one of 120 hunters who won a permit in the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks' annual lottery. His crew spotted two alligators early in their search, but couldn't reach either. After about an hour of hunting, they spotted the record gator, partially submerged.
Read complete story from The Mississippi Press

Stolen gun recovered 25 years later
A shotgun stolen from a Kalamazoo man's home nearly 25 years ago was recovered during a drug investigation in Van Buren County, police said. Sheriff's deputies found the 12-gauge earlier this month at a residence in the 9000 block of 35th Street in Bloomingdale Township while investigating a possible methamphetamine lab, a news release from the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office said.
Read complete story from the Kalamazoo Gazette in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Athletic association: If you can't stand deer feces, don't play

After a soccer mom was "appalled" and complained that her daughter's high school varsity team was required to play on a Capitol Park field littered with deer feces, a high school sports regulatory official says not much can be done about the condition of fields and coaches should use good judgment when playing there.
Read complete story from the State Journal in Frankfort, Ky.

Yellowstone working on temporary snowmobile rules
CODY, Wyo. — As the legal wrangling over snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park continues, officials are rushing to develop a temporary plan to address their use in the park this winter.
Read complete story from the AP's Wyo. state wire

Hunter pleads guilty to illegally killing trophy bull elk
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Californian man who illegally killed a trophy bull elk near La Grande will have to pay $50,000, serve three years probation and can never hunt in Oregon again.
Read complete story from the East Oregonian

Ban on deer bait may impact archery season
LANSING, Mich. — The archery deer season began Wednesday amid controversy over a state-imposed ban on baiting and feeding of deer throughout the Lower Peninsula.
Read complete story from The Detroit News

Man falls to his death from deer stand
HARDIN, Ill. — A Calhoun County man fell to his death from his deer stand.
Read complete story from the AP's Ill. state wire

Wildlife group expands reach of anti-Palin wolf ad
WASHINGTON — These are not the typical wolves of political ads — not the menaces depicted by George W. Bush in 2004 or John McCain just a couple of weeks ago. These animals are bloodied, gruesome victims.
Read complete story from the AP's Wis. state wire

Colorado tests way to reduce animal-car crashes
DURANGO, Colo. — Colorado highway planners are testing a high-tech way to prevent drivers from colliding with deer and elk.
Read complete story from the AP's Colo. state wire

Big population of deer poses threat to life
Orangeburg is the leading county in the state for taking trophy deer. The record books from around The T&D Region are ample evidence we are blessed with an abundance of white tails. But the state's nearly 1 million deer can prove deadly for humans in the form of vehicle collisions with the animals.
Read complete story from the Times and Democrat

Defensive end hunts wild game, QBs
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Air Force senior defensive end Jake Paulson has been charged by a bull elephant while hunting in South Africa, lived in the wilderness for days in shelters he made of branches, twigs and leaves and attended an elite tracker and survival school.
Read complete story from the AP's Colo. state wire

Dog owner punches shark after pooch bitten
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida Keys swimmer punched a shark after the animal bit his dog — saving the pooch's life.
Read complete story from the FOX News

Swing of fate leaves lucky moose alive and well
Thanks to human compassion, one young Alaska moose learned that swings are designed strictly for human children — and lived to see another day.
Read complete story from the Anchorage Daily news

Penn. boy draws elk and bobcat licenses
Andrew D. Bowers, 15, of Belle Vernon, was awarded one of 1,435 bobcat permits issued for the 2008-2009 season. Lightning struck twice when Bowers got one of only 45 elk-hunting licenses for the Nov. 3-8 Pennsylvania hunt.
Read complete story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Md. officials relocate turtles from construction
A rescue squad of environmentalists, researchers, state employees and contractors is working against the clock to save Eastern box turtles that would otherwise be crushed or buried alive when hundreds of acres of woods in the Washington suburbs are paved over for a major highway, a process that could begin within weeks.
Read complete story from The Associated Press

Everglades in decline as restoration lags
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A multibillion-dollar effort to restore Florida's Everglades has made little progress amid funding shortfalls, bureaucratic red tape and disagreements, according to a congressionally mandated report that warns the vast wetland is in peril.
Read complete story from the AP's Fla. state wire

Police expect house cat, get cougar
CASPER, Wyo. — A police officer didn't think much of a call to shoo off a bothersome "kitty cat" at a home in Casper on Monday. It was no ordinary "big kitty," but a male mountain lion weighing 80 to 90 pounds.
Read complete story from AP's Wyo. state wire

ND man pleads guilty to SD hunting violation
PIERRE, S.D. — The second of six people charged with arranging illegal hunting trips in South Dakota has acknowledged his part. Dan Haakenson of Bismarck, N.D., pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor Lacey Act violation.
Read complete story from the AP's N.D. state wire

Hunter pleads guilty to illegally killing bull elk
PORTLAND, Ore. — A hunter accused of illegally killing a bull elk in Eastern Oregon has pleaded guilty to federal felony wildlife charges Monday.
Read complete story from the AP's Ore. state wire

Father's bow shot kills grizzly attacking son
A Cody bowhunter in search of an elk found a grizzly bear instead in a Sept. 12 mauling incident on the South Fork.
Read complete story from The Cody Enterprise

CWD testing finds more than 500 deer clean in Mich.
More than 500 wild deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease in the past two weeks, including 127 from Kent County, have tested free of the fatal disease, state officials said Friday.
Read complete story from The Grand Rapids Press

Tribes want quarantined bison
Five American Indian groups from Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota are in the running to receive a small herd of bison spared from a capture and slaughter program at Yellowstone National Park.
Read complete story from the AP's S.D. state wire