Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the newsletter. If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.
With that said, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey and get this mid-week dispatch out the door.
Here's what's worth reading about this morning:
Borderlands - A collared wolf was (legally) killed, sparking debate about hunting Yellowstone’s borders 🐺
Testing frenzy - After finding 30 dead deer, BC officials are looking for answers🔎
162 gators in one weekend - It’s good to be an Arkansas reptile hunter so far this year 🐊
Hunting the island - DNR toying with the idea of expanding hunting on Lake Michigan’s largest island 🏝️
Teen hides during bear break-in - A bear ransacked a Connecticut home while a teenager took refuge in a closet 🐻
Afternoon delight - Watch as this neighborhood bear casually walks off with a decent sized deer for his lunch 😳
IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
LEGAL HARVEST OF WOLF 1479F SPARKS CLASH OVER YELLOWSTONE’S BORDERLANDS
Slipping across an invisible line, Wolf 1479F, the spirited young guardian of Yellowstone's Junction Butte Pack, ventured north from the sanctuary of the national park and into Montana's vast, and what she soon learned to be, unforgiving wilds. There, on September 17th, in Wildlife Management Unit 316, which is a prime elk-hunting ground, she met her end at the hands of a hunter's bullet.
The death of this 2.5-year-old female, confirmed by the National Park Service via her returned GPS collar, has reignited debates over wolf hunting near Yellowstone National Park. While the kill was lawful under Montana’s wildlife regulations, it’s yet another case study highlighting the ongoing challenge of balancing scientific management with public perceptions of wolves - particularly those tracked and studied within the park.
For fans who had watched 1479F bound through snowy meadows and babysit rambunctious pups, it was a heartbreak that reignited old fires: the simmering controversy over wolf hunting at Yellowstone's doorstep, and the very human habit of falling too deeply in love with these wild, and now named souls…
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Testing planned after 30 deer found dead within 2 weeks in Grand Forks, B.C.: Jeff Gailey, president of the Grand Forks Wildlife Association, said he won't speculate on the cause, but the samples will be tested for bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), which killed a large number of California bighorn sheep in the region in 2021. Read the full story.
West Virginia releases its 2025 hunting outlook and mast survey report: According to the survey, the 2025 mast index is two percent above the statewide long-term average and 16 percent above the 2024 average, according to Avery Korns, mast survey project leader for the division's wildlife resources section. Read the full story.
Wisconsin DNR provides updates on CWD testing ahead of hunting season: Wisconsin DNR officials held a meeting Tuesday, discussing how you can help limit CWD in the state. CWD, or chronic wasting disease, is a fatal disease that attacks a deer’s nervous system. The Wisconsin DNR started monitoring the state’s white-tailed deer population in 1999. Read the full story.
Arkansas hunters check 162 alligators in first weekend of hunting season, AGFC says: Despite the recent rain on Monday, 162 hunters across Arkansas still managed to bring home an alligator during the first weekend of the 2025 hunting season. Read the full story.
DNR proposal would expand deer hunt on Lake Michigan’s largest island: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is considering a proposal that would extend antlerless-only hunting on Beaver Island by 20 days. Read the full story.
Everything you need to know for pheasant hunting in the Idaho Panhandle this season: There are two rule sets for hunting pheasants. One rule set applies to hunting pheasant outside of stocked areas, and the other rule set applies to hunting areas that are stocked by Idaho Fish and Game. Read the full story.
Teen hides in closet as bear ransacks Connecticut home: ‘I tried to stay still and not move’: Officials say a bear broke into a Connecticut home and stole some food as a 17-year-old girl hid in a closet. Meilin Lemis, 17, was home alone Sunday evening in Simsbury when her mother, Michele Lemis, called to warn her a bear had gotten inside. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🏠 This neighborhood bear found the perfect snack just seemingly laying around. Watch as this Ludlow, Mass. resident captured a bear grabbing ahold of a deer and wandering off with it.
No word on whether the deer was dead prior to the bear finding it, or if it was something the bruin took care of for himself…
QUOTABLES // WORDS TO LIVE BY
“It ain’t wilderness unless there’s a critter out there that can kill you and eat you.”
—Doug Peacock
HUMPDAY MEME // GIVE HIM ANOTHER YEAR
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
Redford wasn’t known for his on-screen cars like his buddy McQueen, but quietly had a badass cast of cars, (particularly Porsches) in a lot of his roles. That 1968 912 in Spy Game was one of my favorites. Shortly after Elvis Presley died in 1977, there was an attempt by someone to steal his casket while his body lay inside. It was one of the main reasons his body was eventually moved to Graceland to enjoy around the clock security. My dad always called it a prybar, but a lot of people to this day refer to it as a crowbar. As it would turn out, the name is believed to have derived from its early inception when the Oxford English Dictionary described it as “bar of iron usually with one end slightly bent and sharpened to a beak, used as a lever or prise.” John Barleycorn, tipple, budge and a few other nicknames for booze we seldom use anymore.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
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