Outdoors

Where Big Cats Have No Mates

A few months ago, a mountain lion was killed on a Missouri highway, one of several killed in the state in the past few years. Shortly afterward a media specialist for the state conservation department said that those cougars were very shy and of no real threat to people, perhaps because there are so few

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Fire may be the only remedy for a plague killing deer and elk

by Carl Zimmer Dr. Zabel and his colleagues are developing plans to burn plots of National Park Service land in Arkansas and Colorado. If the experiments turn out as the researchers hope, they will spare some elk and deer a gruesome death. Across a growing swath of North America, these animals are dying from a

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MDC encourages people to help prevent wildfires

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds people that strong winds, low humidity and dry conditions this time of year means extra caution is needed to avoid unexpected wildfires. According to MDC’s Forestry Division, the main cause of wildfires is improper burning of debris such as leaves or brush piles. “It’s been drier and warmer

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MDC reports more than 7,700 deer harvested during antlerless portion

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 7,728 deer during the antlerless portion of the fall firearms deer season, which ran Dec. 1-3. Top harvest counties were Callaway with 250, Macon with 212, and Pike with 205 deer checked. Last year’s harvest total was 6,503. MDC

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Young hunters harvest more than 3,000 deer during late youth portion

Top counties for the late youth season were Franklin with 72, Douglas with 71, and Howell with 69. Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that young hunters ages 6 through 15 harvested 3,056 deer during Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2017 deer hunting season, which ran Nov. 24-26. Top counties

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Kansas City angler hooks state-record skipjack herring

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports that Craig Barulich of Kansas City became the most recent record-breaking angler in Missouri when he hooked a skipjack herring on the Missouri River using a rod and reel. The new “pole and line” skipjack herring record caught by Barulich on Nov. 12 weighed 3 pounds. It broke

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MDC reports November firearms deer harvest ends with 191,000+

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 191,368 deer during the November portion of fall firearms deer season, Nov. 11- 21. Of the 191,368 deer harvested, 99,431 were antlered bucks, 20,148 were button bucks, and 71,789 were does. Top harvest counties were Howell with 4,564 deer

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Poplar Bluff angler gigs state-record northern hog sucker

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports Jeff Rowland of Poplar Bluff became the most recent record-breaking angler in Missouri when he gigged a northern hog sucker on the Current River in Ripley County. The new “alternative method” record fish caught by Rowland on Oct. 15 weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces with a length of

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“The Last Buck”

On the opening day of deer season, a buck deer chased a doe out into an opening in front of my deer stand. His antlers were unimpressive. At 100 yards no one can tell how many points are on a moving animal. The doe was obviously aggravated with him. Reminded me of me when I

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Flowing Waters of Another Time

It was a November river, brightly arrayed in the reds and yellows and orange of fallen leaves set adrift on the blue-gray water before us. But downstream, there were dapplings of green along the lower end of a wide eddy, the green heads of wild mallards… lots of them. The mallards were what we were

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