$15K Reward Offered in Brazen Elk Poaching Case in Missouri 💵

I’m currently at the “it’s Thursday already?” phase of the workweek and am unsure as to whether or not that is a good thing as of yet.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get this Thursday morning dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

HOPEFULLY THEY FIND WHO DID THIS
$15,000 REWARD OFFERED IN BRAZEN ELK POACHING INCIDENT AT MISSOURI’S PECK RANCH

In yet another unfortunate and shocking act of shameless poaching, an adult bull elk was illegally shot and left to waste at Peck Ranch Conservation Area in southern Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation has labeled the incident as an "intentional and brazen" killing, and is now ponying up a substantial $15,000 reward through its Operation Game Thief program for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.

The poaching occurred on the night of November 25th when visitors to the conservation area discovered the elk's carcass the following morning lying in an open field approximately 40 yards off a gravel trail. A necropsy conducted by Conservation Agent Brad Hadley revealed devastating injuries: the bullet shattered the elk's left front shoulder and two ribs, penetrated the ribcage, and ruptured the lower third of its heart.

If the illegal killing wasn’t enough, the shooter(s?) ensured that no meat, antlers, or other parts were taken and abandoned the entire animal, adding further insult to injury given the egregious and wasteful nature of the crime…

🏆 Oklahoma Hunter Shatters State Record with First-Ever 400-Class Nontypical Bull Elk. In a historic milestone for Oklahoma big game hunting, 27-year-old hunter Zane Scrivner got himself a massive nontypical bull elk in September 2025 at Fort Sill, setting a new state record with an official net score of 411 1/8 inches. This marks the first time an Oklahoma elk has broken the prestigious 400-inch barrier in the state's Cy Curtis Awards Program, surpassing the previous nontypical record of 390 1/8 inches set in 2024 by Jame Evans in Dewey County. The impressive rack also qualifies for inclusion in the Boone and Crockett Club's national all-time records book, and its score would rank in the top five for nontypical elk in several western states.

Scrivner, an experienced elk hunter who spent seven years stationed in Washington state pursuing bulls in the Northwest, had the antlers officially scored on September 29th at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters. For comparison, Oklahoma's current typical elk record stands at 377 6/8 inches, taken in 2016 by Olivia Parry. The Cy Curtis Program, which expanded to include elk in 2014, continues to highlight the growing quality of trophy opportunities in the state, with hunts available on both private lands and public areas like the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

🐕 Florida Hunter Seeks Justice After Beloved Coonhound Shot and Killed During Hunt. In a heartbreaking incident that has left a local hunter seeking justice, Kenneth Fountain of Escambia County, Florida, is still searching for answers weeks after one of his beloved blue tick hounds was shot and killed during a raccoon hunt. The shooting occurred on December 17th on leased hunting land in Pollard, Alabama, associated with the Pollard Swamp hunting club. Fountain was out with three hounds when a neighbor across a creek allegedly yelled threats, followed by gunshots. Using a tracking device, Fountain located the paralyzed dog in shallow water with a gunshot wound through its spine; the animal later died from its injuries.

Fountain, who raised the dog from a puppy and described it as a loyal hunting partner that "didn’t fool with nobody," emphasized that the hound never crossed onto the shooter's property and was simply doing what it was trained to do. "He killed a dog that wasn’t bothering him," Fountain said, adding that the incident haunts him daily. The dog's body was recovered, examined by a veterinarian in Atmore for evidence, and the case is being investigated by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office as potential felony animal cruelty. As of this week, no arrests have been made, details remain sealed, and Fountain reports receiving no updates from authorities.

🧑‍⚖️ Wisconsin Teens Plead Not Guilty to Illegal Deer Shining and Poaching Charges. In Waupaca County, Wisconsin, three teenagers—Ian Johnson from Amherst, Landan Fuhs from Scandinavia, and Ethan Lashua—have pleaded not guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges related to illegal deer hunting. The charges include hunting deer outside of open season, illegally shining vehicle headlights on deer at night, and obstructing a conservation warden's investigation. On Wednesday, Johnson and Fuhs entered their not guilty pleas in court, while Lashua had done so earlier in December, with a status hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

The incidents allegedly took place on September 23, 2025, near Elm Valley Road south of Scandinavia, where a warden heard gunshots, spotted a speeding vehicle, and later received a tip about suspects in a red car shooting at deer. Investigations revealed the group shot at deer out of season, used a crossbow on a buck (taking only the head and dumping the body in a creek), and provided inconsistent stories to authorities. In addition to criminal charges, the teens face around $2,500 in combined civil fines from the Department of Natural Resources.

🤬 The fellas have been known to get a bit testy around the food pile. Watch as this photographer captures some gnarly footage of a group of coyotes getting physical around a bison carcass.

Make sure you turn the sound up for this one…

🤨 The Delicate Question: Eat Me? In 1820, the Essex was sailing the South Pacific some 1,000 miles west of the Galapagos Islands and on the trail of a pod of sperm whales when it was rammed not once but twice by a rogue bull and eventually sunk. Twenty sailors scrambled among the ship’s wreckage, salvaging everything they could before seeking refuge in three of the ship’s whaleboats.

In the whaleboats, resources were assessed and calculations were made. The closest landmass was the Marquesas Islands, but those islands were reportedly inhabited by cannibals, so the sailors set their sights instead on the Society Islands, 1,300 kilometers farther away. Ironically, it was the sailors’ dread fear of cannibals that would drive them to cannibalism themselves. Read the full story.

🥶 Los Gatos Frios: The plan was to chase some lion tracks and accomplish either of two goals: If we caught a young cat, we would tranquilize, collar, and release it, as the Apache tribe was interested in studying the population in this area for the first time. If we caught an old cat, Kevin would punch his ticket.

The call finally came, and at midnight on a Tuesday in January, we rolled out of Fountain Hills in Kevin’s perfectly souped-up Lexus GX470. Plenty of windshield time and caffeine had the anticipation building like stage one of a self-landing rocket launch. Read the full story.

🐈 Dad and the Bobcat: Continuing our plantation tour, Dad and I spooked a bobcat in the next dove field. The cat charged into the center of the open field, and Dad began the chase. Turning into the field’s second furrow, at speeds not meant for plowed dirt, my head hit the top of the cab. Dad yelled, “Hold on,” and slid, careening across furrow after furrow. I held onto the dash, then the door, looking for anything that might help hold me down. I even thought about crawling on the floorboard. Nothing worked.  Every time the bobcat saw a potential escape route, Dad saw it first and headed him off, bouncing through the field in ever-tightening circles until he stopped the truck. “You see him?” I did not.

“Go find him.”   Read the full story.

Oh, and one more thing…