By Chad Love

The smallest rabbit species in North America gets added to the ever-growing list of species in trouble, but not enough to be listed under the ESA.

From this story on MSNBC:

The pygmy rabbit does not warrant protection under the endangered species act, a federal agency said Wednesday. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concluded that while there are pressures to the rabbit's habitat, it is not enough to threaten the survival of the species.

By Chad Love

A mule deer who was either [A] hungry and a poor planner; or [B] despondent and just wanted to end it all, recently jumped off a cliff and into Lake Powell. Maybe he was trying to prove Santa and his Reindeer Only policy wrong...

From this story in the Desert News: 

A hungry mule deer on the cliffs of Lake Powell took to the air, then jumped into the water Saturday, before being returned to solid ground by officers from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The four-by-four point buck was trapped in Moqui Canyon, about two or three miles north, or "up lake," of Bullfrog Marina, said Sean Spencer, a conservation officer who assisted in the rescue.

By Chad Love

The long, slow decline of the bobwhite quail in the southeastern states is well known. Now, a study says that hunting opportunities may need to be reduced in order to bring back quail numbers.

From this story in the University of Florida News:

More hunting restrictions may be needed if wildlife managers are to bring back declining populations of the northern bobwhite quail, a new University of Florida study shows. The population of the popular game bird, which gets its name from its distinctive call, has been declining in the southeastern U.S. since the 1980s largely because of habitat loss. UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers, in a paper published in the current issue of Wildlife Research, report that hunters play a role in reducing the numbers of quail including some that don’t get a chance to reproduce.

By Chad Love

Are you bored with your space-age 325-feet-per-second bow? Do you no longer find the thrill in your minute-of-gnat's-ass big-game rifle? Are you looking for a challenge? A real challenge? A get-back-to-your-roots challenge? Well, here it is, at least if you live in Missouri.

From this story in the Columbia Missourian:

One knee on the ground, Justin Garnett, 27, scraped an elderberry stem with a knife he made from volcanic glass. Within 30 minutes, he turned the stem into a weapon favored by Aztec war gods. The weapon is called atlatl, pronounced “AT’-lat-ul”. Its name originated from the Aztec language, meaning “water thrower” for hunting fish and mammoths. It wasn't until 2007 when the atlatl could be used in Missouri to hunt small game such as squirrels. In November, Missouri will become the second state in the U.S. where this weapon, which dates to at least 28,000 years ago, can be used to hunt deer. Alabama took the lead in 1996.