If you bought Gorilla Inc.’s  latest safety harness, the EXO-Tech, you should stop using it immediately and contact the company for a refund. Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the company, announced a voluntary recall of the product. Here’s the problem, according to this USCPSC press release:

Hazard: The webbing of the waist belt on the safety harness is not routed through the lineman's loop located on the front of the harness near waist level. Since the loops are not properly anchored to the harness webbing but are attached only through stitching not intended to restrain a user during a fall, they that [sic] can pull away from the harness when force is applied, leaving the user unrestrained. In addition, the manufacturer of the harness used a previously untested carabiner connector located at the end of the tether at the back of harness, which is the portion of the tether that attaches to the tree.

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Yet another reason for a NJ bear hunt, from the New Jersey Herald:
When she heard a different kind of sound coming from the llama pens that night, Lynn Gannon knew something was wrong

"I grabbed the flashlight and went out. It was a kind of scream I had never heard before. Then I saw it. A bear was tearing at Lily[, one of the llamas]," she said. . . .

"The bear. . . ripped her open," Gannon said of the wounds, and the veterinarian euthanized the llama. . . .

As Gannon and her husband were standing over the animal . . . the bruin returned.

"He was right about here," Gannon said as she stood in the pasture Tuesday afternoon, reliving that night. "We yelled, waved our arms, but he didn't run off. He just kind of walked away, not afraid of us at all." [ Read Full Post ]

From a Southwick Associates Press Release:
In an October 2009 survey, Southwick Associates asked anglers and hunters which type of organization they trust the most for accurate information regarding fish and wildlife conservation. The results of the monthly AnglerSurvey.com and HunterSurvey.com poll show that state fish and wildlife agencies are considered the most trustworthy source of conservation information among hunters and anglers.

Of the 2,771 anglers surveyed, 54.4 percent reported state fish and wildlife agencies were their most trusted source. Of the 3,378 hunters surveyed, 50.7 percent agreed.  The second most trusted source, with 25.1 percent of anglers and 29.5 percent of hunters, was sport-fishing and hunting non-profit conservation groups.

Other options included federal agencies, outdoor television, and outdoor print media. Who do you trust most? [ Read Full Post ]

From the Teton Valley News
An 11-year-old boy killed a bear at point-blank range last Wednesday night after it wouldn’t leave his family’s porch. The boy was at home with his younger sisters and after seeing the bear on the front porch and not being able to get it to leave, the boy retrieved a gun and killed the animal.

Fish and Game Conservation Officer Doug Peterson said the black bear had been a problem in the area. . . .

The boy and his family are not in any trouble, and Peterson said he issued them a permit to keep the bear. [ Read Full Post ]

From AOL News:
A 2-year-old girl whose temporary abduction sparked an Amber Alert in Maine on Monday is now safe at home again -- thanks to a passing hunter. . . .

On Tuesday afternoon, said WMUR/News 9, a hunter named Michael Grant was tramping through a wooded area not far from Milton, N.H., when he saw a familiar truck. Grant recognized both the make and license plate from television news reports. . . .

"I walked up to [the truck] and told [the driver] that I knew he was the gentleman [authorities] were looking for," Grant told WMUR. "[I] pretty much told him he had one of two choices. He could turn himself in or I could turn him in."

After a long, emotional conversation, Grant said, he persuaded [the man] to surrender to police. [ Read Full Post ]

On my recent trip to Oregon, a bunch of us were sitting on a ridge waiting for a mule deer to do something stupid, and one of our number left to walk down an adjoining ridge. When he was 1,000 yards away or so the head honcho of the ranch said: “You know, I can see him as clearly as if he were wearing blaze orange. That camo of his doesn’t work.”

And it was true. The ridgerunner was wearing some kind of dark camo designed for sitting in a tree in a Southern swamp, and at a distance all the branches and leaves and Spanish moss and  cottonmouths in the pattern blended together into a dark and highly visible mass. I’ve seen this many times; very few camo patterns travel well.

There are three that do, and they work because ...

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Looks like the U.S. military needs to expand its recruiting efforts...

From the story: Muslim Insurgents Mauled to Death by Bear After Hiding Out in Its Den
Two armed Muslim insurgents picked the wrong cave to hide out in after they were both killed by a bear. The men were carrying AK-47 assault rifles as they sought refuge in Indian administered Kashmir, but were taken by surprise by the giant carnivore. Two other militants were also injured by the Himalayan black bear, but managed to escape and make their way to a village near Srinagar.

Colonel Brar, Srinagar defence spokesman, said: 'Both bodies were mauled badly by some wild animal, and apparently by a bear, as the area is inhabited by Himalayan black bear. "The attack seems to have been so violent that both the militants got no chance to fire back at the wild animal." A joint team of police and soldiers recovered the two bodies, as well as Kalashnikov assault rifles and some ammunition. [ Read Full Post ]

From the News Herald:
A Florida Fish and Wildlife officer’s attempt to use a 5-foot live alligator during show and tell Friday at Breakfast Point Academy ended with the critter on the loose in the woods near Pier Park. . . .

[A]fter the show, the officer placed the gator in the back of his truck and left in an attempt to return the animal to the wild. But the creature apparently got anxious and decided to return to the wild early, [FWC spokesman Stan] Kirkland said. . . .

“It’s green, it’s 5 feet long and it was last seen on the lam,” Kirkland said.

Officers do lose animals from time to time, Kirkland added.

“It’s probably happened. It’s not something we hear about,” he said. “This just happened to be viewed by half of Panama City Beach. We appreciate all those calls to the media.” [ Read Full Post ]

On October 3rd, a hunter bagged a female radio-collared wolf in Montana’s backcountry. And on October 25, the Los Angeles Times made her a celebrity, with the back-story provided by the collar she wore.

From the Times, in case you missed it:

Wolf 527 was a survivor. She lived through a rival pack's crippling 12-day siege of her den.

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From The Baltimore Sun:

Once the flash point for lawsuits, legislation and protests, the bear hunt has become just another part of the wildlife management program run by the Department of Natural Resources.

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Sometimes you read something that - to be perfectly honest - leaves you feeling hopeless and doomed. Something so depressing it makes you want to throw up your hands, shout "to hell with it all!" and head straight to the nearest bar. Something like this, from the LA Times.
 
The latest figures from Nielsen have children's TV usage at an eight-year high. Children's health advocates warn of adverse effects.
 
More than an entire day -- that's how long children sit in front of the television in an average week, according to new findings released Monday by Nielsen.

The amount of television usage by children reached an eight-year high, with kids ages 2 to 5 watching the screen for more than 32 hours a week on average and those ages 6 to 11 watching more than 28 hours. The analysis, based on the fourth quarter of 2008, measured children's consumption of live and recorded TV, as well as VCR and game console usage.

"They're using all the technology available in their households," said Patricia McDonough, Nielsen's senior vice president of insights, analysis and policy. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet. They're not giving up any media --... [ Read Full Post ]

From the Helena Independent Record:
Montana's statewide wolf hunting season on Monday came to an abrupt halt in the southern portion of the state, only one day after it started.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks ordered hunting closed in Wolf Management Unit 3 a half-hour after sunset Monday. . . .

The hunting closure. . . was prompted by four wolves that were reportedly killed from that unit, which pushed the total number taken from the area to 13. A pre-established quota called for taking only 12 wolves from that area. [ Read Full Post ]