Lightning Strikes Twice: Florida Hunters Latest to be Killed in Storm ⚡️

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: FLORIDA HUNTERS AND THEIR DOGS LATEST TO BE KILLED IN STORM

In a tragic incident in Florida's Highlands County, two unnamed Miami-area hunters, aged 38 and 31, along with their dogs, were killed by what authorities believe was a lightning strike during a dove hunting trip. The grim discovery was made on Wednesday of this week, when the men failed to return from their outing. 

According to reports, officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission located their parked vehicle near a canal and found the bodies on a nearby levee, marking a yet another somber moment for the hunting community…

🤖 Robo-Bear Rolls Out: Montana’s High-Speed Lesson in Bear Safety. In an innovative push to boost bear safety, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has introduced a robotic bear on wheels that mimics a grizzly’s top speed of over 30 mph. Unveiled at Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo last weekend, the four-wheeled, radio-controlled bear helps residents practice using inert bear spray, teaching them to quickly disengage the safety and aim correctly to counter a charging bear. This hands-on training, a collaboration with Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation and other partners, aims to build muscle memory and confidence, ensuring people are prepared before facing real bears on the trail.

The initiative comes as part of Montana’s Bear Aware month in September, addressing misconceptions about bears and promoting safe practices during hunting season, when gut piles and carcasses can attract grizzlies and black bears. FWP bear technician Brandon Davis stated that bears are nuanced creatures and are not inherently aggressive, but startling them can trigger dangerous reactions, especially from protective mother grizzlies. With events like a recent non-fatal bear charge in Yellowstone, FWP’s program seeks to reduce human-bear conflicts through education, hands-on practice, and even collecting expired bear spray to keep Montana’s trails safer.

🔪 Mutilated Bear Sparks Outrage and Probe in New York. In something of a grisly discovery that's left residents reeling, two women stumbled upon a mutilated black bear carcass dumped along Route 32 in Orange County, New York, earlier this week. The bear, shot in the head with both front paws cleanly severed, was found roadside around 10:30 a.m., prompting an immediate call to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Witnesses Eileen Novick and Susan Garcia first spotted a suspicious unmarked blue dump truck parked nearby an hour earlier, but by the time they returned, the vehicle had vanished, leaving the gruesome scene behind.

The women, still haunted by the sight, described the bear as appearing freshly killed with minimal blood, fueling suspicions of deliberate dumping. The DEC's law enforcement division has launched an ongoing investigation, noting that bear hunting season in New York's Southern Zone, including Orange County, doesn't begin until mid-November, making the killing illegal at this time. Authorities are urging tips from the public via their hotline at 844-332-3267.

🐻 Hikers Survive Fierce Attack on Trail in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords. And rounding out a very bear-focused Friday is the story of how two hikers faced a harrowing encounter with a brown bear just a quarter-mile up the Exit Glacier Trail in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park on Wednesday. The pair, unnamed by authorities, managed to literally and physically fight off the bear and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, requiring hospital treatment, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The trail, a gateway to the park’s stunning glaciers and fjords, was promptly closed, with biologists and troopers set to assess the site the following morning.

While the cause of this attack remains unclear, it follows another recent incident in nearby Kenai, where a jogger survived a brutal brown bear mauling. Authorities stress that in aggressive bear encounters, fighting back vigorously is key, as these hikers did to survive.

More than 160,000 apply for Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade, FWC officials say: Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade drew more than 160,000 applicants for a far more limited number of permits, including from opponents who are trying to reduce the number of bears killed. Read the full story.

Feds provide peek at National Elk Refuge plan: Keep feeding bison, cut off elk at 7% CWD: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may roll out a proposal that calls for perpetual feeding of the Jackson Bison Herd, a species that’s immune to CWD. For the Jackson Elk Herd, meanwhile, feeding would continue until rates of always-lethal chronic wasting disease reach 7%.  Read the full story.

N.J. deer hunting season begins, bringing a $100M economic boost: Deer hunters contribute more than $100 million annually to the New Jersey economy by providing a financial benefit for different businesses in the state, according to information from the state Department of Environmental Protection.  Read the full story.

Former President FDR’s ‘Favored’ Hunting Retreat Hits the Market in Hudson Valley for $1.6 Million: ‘A Masterwork of Craft’:  A beautiful stone house in the Hudson Valley that was used by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a "favored" hunting retreat has hit the market for $1.55 million—less than four years after it last sold. Read the full story.

‘Judas elk’ to help target Jackson Hole ‘suburban elk,’ easing pressure on Yellowstone migrants: A new study, “Elk personality and anthropogenic food subsidy: Managing conflict and migration loss,” assists wildlife managers with tools to decipher which of the 10,000 elk in the herd are migrating from where. Specifically, the research could help concentrate hunting pressure on the lowland elk that summer on ranchland and amid the trophy homes of the wealthiest Americans once they reach the National Elk Refuge. Doing so could help efforts to preserve struggling migratory elk that now take the brunt of the gunfire. Read the full story.

Deer Hunting Season on Martha’s Vineyard Extended In Effort to Combat Lyme Spread: Deer hunting season on Martha’s Vineyard will be extended an extra month this year as state officials hope to cull the expanding deer herd that is fueling the rise of tick-borne illnesses on the Island. Read the full story.

Hunter dies in Connecticut after falling from tree, police say: Enfield EMS, police, and fire responded to 54 Weymouth Road around 7 p.m. and located the man about 300 feet into the woods, the Enfield Police Department said in a release.  Read the full story.

🛹 We didn’t have skateparks like this when I was a kid.

Dang, what a view…

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by: @outsidesam

Oh, and one more thing…