What would it take for you to summon Search and Rescue? Lost for a day? Mauled by a bear? Fell out of your treestand? How about, tasted some salty water?

From the Associated Press:
Last month two men and their teenage sons tackled one of the world's most unforgiving summertime hikes: the Grand Canyon's parched and searing Royal Arch Loop. Along with bedrolls and freeze-dried food, the inexperienced backpackers carried a personal locator beacon — just in case.

In the span of three days, the group pushed the panic button three times, mobilizing helicopters for dangerous, lifesaving rescues inside the steep canyon walls.

What was that emergency? The water they had found to quench their thirst "tasted salty. . . .”

Because would-be adventurers can send GPS coordinates to rescuers with the touch of a button, some are exploring terrain they do not have the experience, knowledge or endurance to tackle.

Rescue officials are deciding whether to start keeping statistics on the problem, but the incidents have become so frequent that the head of California's Search and Rescue operation has a name for the devices: Yuppie 911.

Check out the full article and tell us your reaction.

From an AP story via Fox News:
Karl Wolfe had a half day to hunt for blacktail deer, but the outing ended just 15 minutes after he left his truck.

Hiking in darkness and a steady rain up a steep Sitka slope, Wolfe was attacked Sunday morning by a grizzly bear, which chomped down on his arm and knocked him to the ground. ...

Wolfe swung his rifle around and hit the bear with the butt end. The animal turned away for a moment but still had its ears back, Wolfe said.

"It didn't go away, it was regrouping," he told the Sentinel. "It swung around and was coming at me aggressively."

Wolfe chambered a round into his rifle and fired from hip at close range. He said he didn't know if he hit the bear, but he didn't wait to find out.

"I knew I was bleeding a little, and I knew I needed to get out of the woods," Wolfe said.
He said he reached his truck and drove to the Sitka hospital.

Check out the full story.

From the Cody Enterprise:

A Clark man is in the hospital with extensive injuries to his face after encountering a grizzly bear sow with three cubs Sunday afternoon.



The man fired three shots at the bear with a .41 caliber revolver, killing the bear.


Game & Fish has the three cubs, which are about a year old.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s request for a massive hunt of an estimated 100,000 pythons roaming the Everglades in Florida has been approved by Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist.

Crist has asked wildlife officials to start trapping pythons immediately. This comes a couple of weeks after a 2-year-old girl was strangled by a pet Burmese python in central Florida.

From the Miami Herald: 

"I was distressed to see the death that occurred recently," [Crist] said. "It is important that we take action now to ensure a safe and healthy future for Florida's native wildlife and habitats in the Everglades."

A spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Pat Behnke, said about 10 hunters would be permitted initially. They will be allowed to begin hunting the snakes Friday, initially focusing on state lands south of Lake Okeechobee.

Behnke said only the most experienced herpetologists will be allowed to track the Burmese pythons that will be euthanized when found. The hunters are not allowed to use firearms or traps.

"We want to make sure we've got the best people out in the field," she said. "They are going to be providing us with valuable information."

The Burmese pythons captured by qualified herpetologists will be euthanized.

These snakes can grow to be more than 30 feet long and about 300 pounds. Although the nonpoisonous snakes are known for squeezing their prey to death, their jaws can also have up to 200 backward curving teeth, as well as teeth on the roof of the mouth.

Was the government right in preceded with the snake hunt Nelson proposed? Or would it be a good excuse—and would it be deemed safe enough—to open a season for sport hunters?