Snake hunters getting ready for rattlesnake festivals – via Herp Digest

March 27th 2018, By Haley Wilson, Reporter, KWSO-TV.com 

(Source: KSWO)

WAURIKA, OK (KSWO) - Rattlesnake festivals in southwest Oklahoma are weeks away, and hunters are busy rounding up the snakes.

For some families, rattlesnake hunting is something they've done for generations, including Dustan Bryant’s. He said he started hunting them more than 25 years ago with his dad and uncle when he was still in high school. Bryant said there are few places he likes to go to find them.

"Rocky bluffs, sinkholes, any kind of clay river banks, things like that," Bryant said.

Bryant said he hunts them for a couple reasons.

"It's a little extra money for us, and it benefits the fire department also.”

Firefighter Zac Latta said the Waurika Volunteer Fire Department depends on this festival to help get them through the year.

"This is the money that will last us all year to buy new equipment, bunker gear, trucks if we need a truck, parts, time, labor,” Latta said. “It just benefits us a lot.”

While some people may call this is animal cruelty, Latta said he doesn't think it is.

"We actually have a problem here with snakes getting in yards and houses,” he said. “This helps thin the population down out, and keep it away from the population.”

Once bought, the snakes are put in boxes, which Latta said makes them think they're in hibernation. Bryant said another reason he snake hunts is because Jefferson county residents ask him to.

"A couple of the people have been bitten at their homes where I hunt,” Bryant said. “So, it means a lot to me to get rid of the snakes off of the places where they live.”

Waurika's rattlesnake festival is the first one of the year. It starts April 12 and will go through the 15th. Officials for Apache and Mangum's festival said they'll start buying snakes when their festivals get a little closer. Apache has theirs April 19th through 22nd and Mangum will have their derby April 26th through 29th.

Ban Sought on Commercial Wild Turtle Trapping in Oklahoma-Unlimited Numbers Can Now Be Caught, Sold - via Herp Digest

Press Release 5/11/17- OKLAHOMA CITY— The Center for Biological Diversity and several Oklahoma-based environmental organizations petitioned the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation today to end commercial collection of the state’s wild turtles, which are critical to the health of freshwater ecosystems. Turtle trappers can now legally collect unlimited numbers of eight turtle species from waterways on private lands to sell domestically or export for Asian food and medicinal markets.

“Turtle trappers shouldn’t be allowed to pad their pocketbooks by putting the state’s precious wildlife at risk,” said Collette Adkins, the Center biologist and senior attorney who authored the petition. “For the sake of our native turtles and all of us who care about them, Oklahoma has to rein in exploitative turtle trapping.” 

Commercial traders bought nearly 1 million wild turtles from Oklahoma between 1994 and 2014, according to reports submitted by turtle buyers to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Asian food and medicinal markets drive most of the trade. Because turtles accumulate toxins from prey in their bodies and burrow into contaminated sediment, their meat is often laced with mercury, PCBs and pesticides, posing a health risk. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.

Scientists have repeatedly documented that freshwater turtles cannot sustain any significant level of wild collection without population declines. For example, a 2011 Oklahoma study showed a significant reduction, in comparison to baseline data from 1997-1999, in “catch per unit of effort,” an index of turtle abundance, across eastern Oklahoma for the three turtle species primarily targeted by commercial trappers: common snapping turtles, softshells and red-eared sliders.

“Commercial trapping is devastating to turtle populations that are already suffering from multiple other threats, including habitat loss, water pollution and vehicular collisions,” said Michael Beilfuss, executive committee chair for Oklahoma Chapter Sierra Club. “Unless the state bans commercial turtle trapping, Oklahoma’s turtle populations will continue to plummet.”

In response to a 2008 Center petition, Oklahoma prohibited commercial collection of turtles from the state’s public waters. That prohibition, while an important step, insufficiently protects the state’s turtles because approximately 95 percent of the state’s land is privately held and therefore open to turtle trapping. And enforcement is difficult because turtle traders can claim that turtles illegally collected from closed public waters were collected from waters on private land.

Today’s petition was submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Oklahoma Chapter Sierra Club, Save the Illinois River and Local Environmental Action Demanded.

Background

As part of a campaign to protect turtles in the United States, the Center has been petitioning states that allow commercial turtle collection to improve their regulations. In 2009 Florida responded by banning almost all commercial turtle collection from public and private waters. In 2012 Georgia approved state rules restricting commercial turtle collection, and Alabama completely banned it. Most recently, in Iowa in March, new regulations setting closed seasons and possession limits for commercial turtle trappers went into effect.

As for states neighboring Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas prohibit commercial turtle collection, and New Mexico strictly regulates it with annual bag limits. In addition, last fall Missouri announced — in response to a Center petition — that it will consider ending unlimited commercial turtle collection through a formal rulemaking proceeding.   

Contacts: 

Collette Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity, (651) 955-3821, cadkins@biologicaldiversity.org

Michael Beilfuss, Oklahoma Chapter Sierra Club, (979) 218-8941, mbeilfuss@yahoo.com

Ed Brocksmith, Save the Illinois River, (918) 284-9440, info@illinoisriver.org

Rebecca Jim, Local Environmental Action Demanded, (918) 256-5269, rjim@neok.com

Giant Mammoth Skull Discovered by Bulldozer Operator

by Jeanna Bryner, Live Science Managing Editor | March 29, 2016 12:42pm ET

A bulldozer operator at a sand pit in northwestern Oklahoma got quite a surprise this month when he spotted a huge skull that belonged to a Columbian mammoth.

These giants were plentiful across the plains of Oklahoma during the Pleistocene epoch, which lasted from about 1.8 million to 11,700 years ago, said Leland Bement of the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey.

The discovery was not unheard of, as the Survey typically receives about three "mammoth-sighting" calls a year, Bement said. That made it now less exciting, though. " "Archaeological fieldwork is always exciting. You never know what you are going to find," Bement told Live Science in an email.

He added, "When it comes to mammoth finds, we are always on the lookout for the next one that has projectile points or stone tools associated with it to indicate that the animal was killed and butchered. We have so few of these sites across North America and only one so far in Oklahoma."

Read on ...

Public shocked as poacher shoots and beheads 'tourist favourite' Hollywood the elk

Hollywood was apparently friendly to tourists before he was killed for a trophy by a poacher

By Helena Horton

3:32PM GMT 21 Jan 2016

The friendly nature of this magnificent elk appears to be what got him killed.

Hollywood the elk was found dead on a nature reserve, which has upset visitors as the noble beast was a tourist favourite.

The star animal, who lived at Nickel Preserve in Oklahoma was shot by a crossbow and arrow.

Poachers took his head and one hindquarter, and left the rest for visitors to find.

The reserve is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy, an environmental non-profit.

Hollywood was much-loved by visitors for its excellent relations with children and keenness to be around people.

Preserve Director Jeremy Tubbs told the Tulsa World : "People with kids could drive through, and it was almost guaranteed they would see him.

"There are no other elk like that on the preserve; they are typically pretty secretive animals."

Read on …

Endangered Species Protection Sought for Oklahoma's Disappearing Horned Lizards-Protection Petition Spurred by Concerns of 15-year-old Boy in Moore, Okla. - via Herp Digest

OKLAHOMA CITY— Press Release for Immediate Release, December 18, 2014 

The Center for Biological Diversity, concerned scientists and a 15-year-old lizard enthusiast filed a formal petition today seeking state endangered species protection in Oklahoma for the Texas horned lizard. Despite their name, these formidable-looking lizards with numerous horns on their heads were once common throughout Oklahoma, but have now nearly disappeared due to habitat destruction, pesticides and introduced fire ants.

“Time’s running out for these lizards,” said Collette Adkins Giese, a Center biologist and lawyer focused on protecting reptiles and amphibians. “The state of Oklahoma needs to recognize the dire situation these rare creatures are in before it’s too late.”

Today’s petition documents that the Texas horned lizard has undergone massive declines in Oklahoma and continues to be threatened by loss of habitat and many other factors. Fifteen-year-old Kade Wilson contacted the Center for help in protecting the lizards after learning that a shopping center would be built in a field near his home, where he enjoyed finding the lizards, also known as “horny toads.” The lizard is already listed as a “threatened species” in Texas. In both states it is illegal to kill the lizards or collect them for pets.

"I’m a fifteen-year-old and I might not be a scientist or a biologist but I know that the horny toad is just trying to share the Earth with us, and we’re taking it away from them,” said Wilson, who joined the petition. “Horny toads look like modern dinosaurs, and that’s why they’re interesting to me. If we don’t protect them, the horny toads too will be gone."

Experts agree that the Texas horned lizard is suffering substantial declines not just in Oklahoma, but across its range in the Midwest and Southwest. Because the lizard eats harvester ants and not much else, pesticides that kill its ant prey also harm the lizard. Other threats include invasive red fire ants (that outcompete the native harvesters), drought from climate change, and illegal collection for the pet trade. The loss of these lizards is alarming because reptiles play important roles as predators and prey in their ecosystems and are valuable indicators of environmental health.

“It’s so sad that horned lizards are declining. These beautiful creatures are iconic members of desert and prairie communities of the western United States,” said Dr. Geoffrey Carpenter, a herpetologist and co-author of today’s petition. “We need to protect the lizard and its habitat while we still can.”

The Texas horned lizard has prominent horns on its head and spines scattered over its backs and sides. To avoid being eaten by predators, the normally flat-bodied lizard can puff up and appear very fat, causing its body scales to protrude so the lizard cannot be easily swallowed. The lizard also ejects blood from its eyes when threatened; in courtship males rapidly bob their heads, and females nod their heads in response.

Although reptiles have been around for hundreds of millions of years and survived all past mass extinction events, now, due largely to human impacts, they’re dying off at up to 10,000 times the historic extinction rate. About 20 percent of reptiles in the world are endangered or vulnerable to extinction.

The Center was joined in its petition for the Texas horned lizard by Dr. Steve Sheffield, a zoologist who received his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, and Dr. Geoffrey Carpenter, a herpetologist affiliated with the University of Oklahoma Biological Station.

Contact: 

Collette Adkins Giese, Center for Biological Diversity, (651) 955-3821

Dr. Steve Sheffield, (443) 831-1956

Tiger Mauls Employee in Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma

Doctors are struggling to save the arm of an employee at the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood, Okla., after a tiger mauled her Saturday morning.

An account issued by the Garvin County Sheriff's Office states that at approximately 10:27 a.m., witnesses saw the young female employee stick her arm in between cage bars, "to either place or remove a lock on a smaller cage where the tiger was located."

A later statement released by the zoo said the woman was wearing a "large goose down jacket" that got bunched and caught in the cage wire, and the employee was unable to retract her arm fast enough.

The more than 400-pound tiger bit and held onto her outstretched limb, while the unidentified employee struggled to remove it unsuccessfully. A fellow employee managed to help get the tiger off and rendered aid until help arrived.

The woman was airlifted to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City where she underwent surgery several hours later.

Continued

Bloodworms in Drinking Water: Are They Safe?

Residents of Colcord, Okla. (population 815) were shocked to discover tiny red worms in their drinking water this week. The city has asked people to not use their tap water for drinking or food preparation, and several organizations are distributing bottled water for drinking purposes.

"We are still looking into this problem," city councilman Terry Wood told The Associated Press. "I mean, we need to get to the bottom of it and we will continue to investigate and do pretty much what we need to do to find out what happened here."

The worms have been identified as bloodworms, the small larvae of the midge fly (Chironomidae). Sometimes used as fishing bait or to feed aquarium fish, the larvae of some of these insects contain hemoglobin, which helps them get oxygen from water and gives them their characteristic reddish hue.

Though the worms themselves are harmless if swallowed, a large infestation of bloodworms may be indicative of other water quality issues — because of their hemoglobin content, bloodworms can thrive in polluted water with low oxygen levels.

The worms aren't common in the water supplies of Oklahoma, but show up occasionally in the southeastern United States, according to a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Continued

Assemblages of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals on an Urban Military Base in Oklahoma – via Herp Digest

Victor Bogosian III,* Eric C. Hellgren, and Raymond W. Moody

Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Mailcode 6504, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6504 (VB, ECH)

Natural Resource Program, 72 ABW/CEANO, 7701 Arnold Street, Suite 109, Tinker Air Force Base, OK 73145-9100 (RWM)

Present address of VB: Missouri Department of Conservation, Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, 6700 West Route K, Columbia, MO 65203

*Correspondent: Vic.Bogosian@mdc.mo.gov

The Southwestern Naturalist 57(3):277-284. 2012 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-57.3.277

Abstract

We surveyed Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, an urban complex largely dominated by industrial and housing facilities but with habitats for herpetofauna and mammals. Using a variety of sampling techniques, we captured or observed >2,000 organisms on 16 study areas. We tallied 11 species of amphibians (all anurans), 26 species of reptiles, and 24 species of mammals, including several species of conservation concern. Species richness and diversity were predictably higher on green-space areas and were lower on areas surrounding airfield runways.

Wood Ape Sightings: Correlations to Annual Rainfall Totals, Waterways, Human Population Densities and Black Bear Habitat Zones

Support the TBRC

In Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, anecdotes about huge, hairy, apelike creatures said to dwell in the deep woods and, occasionally, near the peripheries of rural communities, have accumulated for centuries. Many of these accounts were related by highly reliable and trustworthy individuals, people who had nothing to gain by telling their stories.

Indeed, in many cases, these witnesses became the subjects of much ridicule, even among close friends and relatives. To the present day, most witnesses hesitate to share their incredible stories of seeing this strange, undocumented animal. Their reticence should come as no surprise given the treatment of the subject by the mass media and some mainstream scientists.

Continued:  http://texasbigfoot.com/index.php/about-bigfoot/articles/67-ecological-patterns

Photos of Upright Hairy Creature Released

David Mizejewski 

I've been meaning to post about this for a few weeks, so this is not new news but still worth sharing, especially for all you Finding Bigfoot fans out there.

For a while now I've been hearing about a set of photos that were taken on the Arapaho tribal lands in Oklahoma back in 2000 that show what looks to be an upright, bipedal, human-like figure in the brushy vegetation.

Except the figure is covered what looks to be dark fur.

The photos have recently been released on the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy's (TBRC) website and I've gotten permission to repost them here.

From the TBRC's website:

"In November 2000 Russell Lumpmouth, a member of the Arapaho tribe, took two photographs that appear to feature a sasquatch-like figure. According to his account, he and several co-workers were cleaning up after an outdoor tribal function. His supervisor walked over a short distance from their vehicles to pose for a picture with a piece of litter seen lying on the ground. Lumpmouth followed with a borrowed digital camera. As he looked through the viewfinder and took the picture, he noted the appearance of a dark object in the background, visible through gaps in the foliage that aligned from his position. Advancing a step or two out of curiosity, he took a second picture as the subject turned and departed. The men did not initiate a pursuit." 

Continued:  http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_oddities/2012/05/photos-of-upright-hairy-creature-released.html#mkcpgn=fbapl32

Okla. Officials Find Doughnuts Help Trap Bears

COOKSON, Okla. — Oklahoma wildlife officials say nothing traps a black bear quite like a doughnut.


Wildlife officers are studying the growing black bear population in the eastern part of the state, and they say they've had the best success in trapping the animals when they use pastries as bait.

Craig Endicott of the Wildlife Department told Tulsa television station KOTV the agency usually finds 300-pound male bears and 200-pound females in its traps. But on a recent day, a 50-pound cub got to the doughnut first.

The bears are tagged and researchers take fur and tissue samples for DNA analysis. Some adult bears get tracking collars.

Researchers also are setting up about 200 bait stations equipped with hair snares. DNA from the hair will help map bears' movement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/23/doughnuts-trap-bears_n_907767.html

Woman fighting to keep pet kangaroo

In the season of Peter Rabbit, a woman in Oklahoma is fighting to keep her pet kangaroo by her side.


Christie Carr told KIRO Radio's Ron and Don Show Irwin the kangaroo has been her best friend for over a year now. She helped nurse him back to health as part of a program to battle her own depression. Irwin broke his neck and was paralyzed, but with Carr's help, he can now move around.

"He can do two to three hops before he falls," Carr explained.

She explained that in the area of Broken Arrow, Okla. there are domestic kangaroo farms where the animals are sold for pets. Carr discovered the injured kangaroo at an animal rescue shelter.

When she first brought Irwin home, she couldn't find a city ordinance that applied to her situation. Carr said now the USDA has required her to get an exhibitor's license. In the process of acquiring that license, she found out the city does have an ordinance.

"They can't take him away. His ownership was signed over to me, but they can make me move," Carr said. "The city is trying to get an exemption worked out."

So how do you raise a 25-pound kangaroo?

Carr said she carries Irwin around in a denim pouch or child's car seat. He also has quite a wardrobe.

"He has jeans and t-shirts, two suits, and he had a tuxedo until he grew out of that one," she said.

Irwin eats kangaroo food made by an exotic pet food company, which looks similar to dog food. He also sleeps in Carr's bed.

"He hogs the bed. He stretches out and tries to push me off," she said.

Stephanie Klein, MyNorthwest.com Editor
http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=458247

Skunk stinks up Oklahoma town's $16,000 worth of toys

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press 5


PURCELL — "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" in the Oklahoma town of Purcell is actually a skunk.

Peggy Christian coordinates Operation Christmas in the town of about 6,000 people, 35 miles south of Oklahoma City. She said Tuesday that most of the $16,000 worth of toys gathered in the drive to benefit more than 800 children from poor families had been ruined by the scent sprayed by a four-legged intruder in a shed where the toys were stored.

She said volunteers found a few pieces that were salvageable, but most of the toys stink — dance mats, dolls, pizza ovens and stuffed animals alike.

Plans called for the toys to be distributed this Friday, and Christian said residents are now scrambling to replace the damaged goods with new donations.

Tiny community is troubled by Bigfoot sightings (Via Paul Cropper)

Tiny community is troubled by Bigfoot sightings
SHEILA STOGSDILL
6 April 2010
Tulsa World
© 2010 World Publishing Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.

JAY -- For the past month, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office has been bombarded with telephone calls about the legendary elusive apelike creature known as Bigfoot. It seems the creature was roaming the wooded countryside near Kenwood -- a small, isolated community about 20 miles southwest of Jay and surrounded by acres of trees and fresh springs of water.

"We had calls from people that were worried and others wanting to know if it was a joke," Sheriff Jay Blackfox said. For weeks, cell phone photos and an audio recording circulated throughout the community of 200.
Trouble was, there was no Bigfoot. It was a prank instigated by a group of boys, Blackfox said.

The infamous black-and-white, cell-phone photograph is known in Bigfoot circles as "Jacobs Photos."
Reports state it was taken on Sept. 16, 2007, in northwestern Pennsylvania. In October 2007, the Pennsylvania Game Commission referred to the creature as a "skinny mangy bear." At first Kenwood folk were concerned, then the rumor quickly turned to a prank, now a joke, Blackfox said.

"Now, there is a photo circulating of Bigfoot with Ronald McDonald going to McDonald's in Jay to get something to eat," he said. The sheriff said he assumed the Bigfoot sighting was a prank and never sent a deputy to Kenwood to investigate. Blackfox wanted to let the boys know that pranks are serious and that he had to spend time away from county business to take calls from nervous residents.

"I attempted to talk to the boys, but they weren't at home," he said. Another authoritative voice confirmed Blackfox's conclusion. "We heard about the Kenwood rumors and sent one of our investigators, who confirmed it was a hoax," said D.W. Lee, the Mid- America Bigfoot Research Center's executive director.

Lee said his investigator identified the cell-phone photograph as one from the Patterson-Gimlin footage taken in California. The audio recording is a recorded howl out of Ohio. Both the photograph and audio clip are downloaded from the Internet. Lee said the organization gets about 10 telephone calls a month. They are evenly divided among legitimate, misidentifications and hoaxes, he said.

The organization is currently working 25 active investigations of Bigfoot sightings in Oklahoma, he said.
"When we do expose a hoax, it shows the credibility of our organization," Lee said. Lee is quick not to discount the Bigfoot sightings in northeastern Oklahoma. "About four weeks ago, there was a Bigfoot sighting witnessed by 12 people," Lee said. Lee would only say the hairy creature was spotted in southern Adair County by one of his research groups on an overnight trip. He estimated the creature to be between 7 and 8 feet tall. "He stepped out of water and stood behind a tree," Lee said. "We turned off the spotlight, and he disappeared through the river reeds."

For more information, go to Mid-America Bigfoot's Web site, www.tulsaworld.com/midamericabigfoot .