A Thought From Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum

"...discrediting the study of creatures whose existence is unproven countermands the scientific commitment to explore the unknown."

- Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum

I can't think of much more to add to this. Pretty much sums it up.

Mountain Lion Attacks Boy in Big Bend National Park

National Park Service personnel are on the hunt for a mountain lion (Puma concolor) that attacked and injured a 6-year old boy earlier this week. The boy was walking with three other people when he was singled out for the attack.

Big Bend National Park official David Elkowitz said the boy was treated at a hospital in Alpine for puncture wounds and scratches. The boy’s injuries were not serious and he was released from the hospital shortly after seeking treatment.

Elkowitz said the boy was walking with three other people near the park lodge when the lion pounced. The big cat may very well be sick or injured as witnesses described it as, “a young lion in very poor condition.”



Officials evacuated campsites early Monday and closed other trails and areas of the park including the Chisos Basin, Window Trail, the Pinnacles, Boulder Meadow, and Juniper Flats so that the hunt for this cougar could get underway.

If the animal that attacked this young boy is located it will be killed. Officials really have no choice in that matter. As of now, however, the lion remains on the loose.

This attack should not discourage people from enjoying the outdoors; however, it should serve as a reminder to remain vigilant at all times. Wild animals are just that…wild. They can be dangerous and when faced with extreme conditions like the drought Texas is currently suffering or if sick or injured they will behave in atypical ways.

I would not say that outdoors enthusiasts should beware; rather I would caution them to be aware. Nothing can prevent every animal attack, and this situation may very well fall into that category, but if you are going to be spending time in the outdoors, especially in an area with which you are unfamiliar, do a little homework. Find out what wildlife might be present in the area and then combine awareness with a bit of common sense.

Doing so might save your life.

Source: KDFW News

Let's Go Over This One More Time...

I thought I would give you all a bit of insight into the sort of sheer idiocy I see on a weekly basis. You may remember that a while back I was actually contemplating “retiring” from writing this blog. There were several reasons for this but one of the main factors was the large amount of ignorant and hateful correspondence I receive on a weekly basis.

Most days I let this sort of stuff just roll off my back but it does wear on me after a while. I try pretty hard to write intelligently on a variety of topics. I don’t pretend to be an expert on anything. I’m just a guy who has an interest in the natural world, in general, and wildlife in particular. While I do have an interest in cryptozoology, particularly the bigfoot mystery, most of the time I write about much more common animals and topics. Why this inspires such negative reactions in some people I will never understand.

While I hesitate to publish correspondence from cretins, I thought I would give you all an example of the sort of thing that makes its way to my inbox. Below is an email I received this week from an anonymous reader (the jerks always remain anonymous, it seems) in response to a post I did called “Wolf Attacks on Humans on the Increase” back in March of 2010. I would ask you go back and read the post and then read the comments below.

“SHAME THE WOLF WAS KILLED, INSTEAD OF THE REDNECK, YOU PEOPLE IN TEXAS ARE SO HUNT DRIVEN, YOU WOULD MAKE UP A STORY TO HUNT SOMETHING OR ANYTHING...OVIOUSLY DID NOT GET ENOUGH COWBOYS AND INDIANS.”

Did this guy even read the post? The comments do not make any sense. The two people referenced in the post that were attacked by wolves were from Alaska and Canada. That being the case, where does the redneck reference come from? Wishing a person dead is a disgusting sentiment and provides a bit of insight into this person’s sick mind. This moron ends his comments with an accusation that I have made this entire story up just to justify the hunting of wolves and/or other animals. His final shot at Texans in general is an all too familiar refrain from his ilk.

The overwhelming majority of correspondence I receive is positive in nature. I don’t mean that everyone agrees with me on everything, rather, I mean that the messages are intelligently written by someone who has actually given the topic in question some thought and who has chosen to voice their opinion in a civil manner. A few times a week, however, I get a something like what you just read.

Generally, I just delete the offending posts. I’ve stated before that I will publish all comments, whether they agree with me or not, as long as the writer abstains from name calling, insults, and sheer insanity. This post would normally be zapped due to its hateful nature but I decided to print this one just to show all of you the kind of stuff I see on a weekly basis.

So, let’s go over the rules one more time. Feel free to comment on any and all the posts you want. Send me an email if you feel you need more room than the “comments” feature allows. Understand that no comments or emails containing hateful, profane, or downright crazy language will be published. If you can’t be civil, you won’t be heard. Not here anyway. Again, I’m not saying that only comments that agree with my ideas will be published. Nothing could be further from the truth. I AM saying that if your vocabulary is not expansive enough to articulate your thoughts without insults, profanity, or making you appear to be a lunatic you are just wasting your time.

To the vast majority of you out there who are not drooling imbeciles, I say thank you. Your comments and thoughts are ALWAYS welcome. They restore my faith in the human race. Keep your correspondence coming. If I don’t publish your comment right away or reply to your email quickly it is likely because I’m wading through garbage like the example above. Be patient and I’ll get back to you.

If, however, you are a mouth-breathing simpleton that types in all caps, fails to use spell check, and won’t even sign your own name (probably because you can’t spell it), well…do us all a favor and keep your comments to yourself.

That is all.

Burmese Pythons Rapidly Devouring the Mammals of the Everglades

Invasive Burmese pythons have been in the news in a big way this week. I’ve seen stories on at least four different sites and/or newspapers.

The stories mainly center on pythons in the Everglades of Florida. It seems surveys show that the numbers of many small mammals like raccoons, rabbits, and opossums have dropped precipitously in the last few years in areas pythons are known to inhabit. The articles also mention that larger animals like deer, bobcats, and alligators could also be at risk.



You can read several different articles on this issue by hitting the links below:

Science Daily
National Geographic
USA Today

Other news outlets have run the story as well but the links above will get you to articles that are pretty representative of what is being said about the python problem.



I feel it is just a matter of time before we start to see these giant constrictors in other parts of the south. I hope I’m wrong….

…but I don’t think I am.

Baby Bobs Captured on Video in Bell County

I managed to get out and check on my game cameras this afternoon. I was three weeks past due on checking on them. This was due mostly to weather related issues. We’ve actually received a fair amount of rain over the last several weeks and I knew the road into the area would be very muddy and that the creek bed in which the cameras are deployed would be full of water. I didn’t want to get my truck stuck and walking that creek while it was full of cold, rushing water didn’t appeal too much to me so I decided to bide my time until things dried out a bit.



Finally, I got to the point that I couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to give it a go this weekend. The road in was still very soft but passable so I made my way to the creek. The water was still flowing but had receded enough so that I could traverse the creek bed so in I went.

I only had three cameras operational for this last set. You may recall that one of my Cuddeback cameras was submerged in rising waters during a very heavy rain event last month. I’ve cleaned it up but still don’t have it working at this point (I did purchase a used Cuddeback that I placed out today so I’ll have four cameras deployed for this next set). Since there has been water in the creek bed most of the last six weeks I was not expecting as many pictures as usual from the location. It turns out I was right; however, several of the photos I did capture more than made up for the lack of quantity.



While none of the pictures captured any unusual animals this time around there were some outstanding shots. I particularly liked one coyote shot and another of a great blue heron who were both walking the creek. These two photos, while very nice, were far from the stars of the set, however. That honor belonged to three bobcat kittens and their mother.

Three bobcat kittens (Lynx rufus) appear in the lower left-hand corner of the photo below. You can see the eye-shine of one of the kittens clearly and a second slightly to the left of the first. It appears to be descending the bank and moving toward the creek. The third kitten is not easily discernible in the photo but can clearly be seen in the video that follows the photo.





When I saw this photo and realized I had managed to get these “baby bobs” on video, I was thrilled. I also wondered where the mother might be. It would not be like a bobcat mom to allow her kittens to wander too far out of her sight. It didn’t take too long to figure out that mom was right there all along. The video below shows the mother jumping up into the tree to inspect my camera. She is so close to the camera that she appears a solid, ghostly white; however, there is no mistaking her identity. My guess is that she was with the kittens all along, maybe a bit closer to and almost underneath the camera location, and became aware of the camera once it fired. This is especially interesting as this is a digital, supposedly silent, camera that utilizes infrared and does not use a flash. What alerted her to its presence is a bit puzzling. Regardless, become aware of it she did and she quickly jumped up onto a branch to check it out and make sure it was not a threat to her young. She inspected the camera briefly, turned, and jumped down out of the tree. This was the only time I saw her or her kittens during this set.



The presence of bobcat young in late December is a bit unusual. I’m certainly not going to try to pass myself off as an expert on bobcats but from what I’ve learned they usually give birth in April or May. The gestation period is 60-70 days. So, this means that this female was mating in September or October. Normally, mating takes place from February through March. Obviously, everything happened earlier than that for this female. The whole cycle was accelerated for some reason. Could this be due to environmental conditions or is this bobcat family just one of the exceptions when it comes to the normal reproductive cycle of the species? I have captured quite a few photos of different bobcats over the last few months. Now that I’ve seen the female with kittens, it is likely that some of the individuals photographed were males following her around in the hopes of mating.



This location continues to yield some great images and interesting data. The previous set yielded images of river otters (never before documented in Bell County) and this set gave me images proving that at least some of the bobcats found here are mating and giving birth much earlier than the expected norm for the species.

I wonder what the next set of photographs will show?

Exotic Lionfish Invading Texas Coastal Waters

When you think of the various dangerous fish that swim the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, images of tiger sharks, bull sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish probably come to mind. The exotic lionfish (Pterois volitans) would likely not jump to the top of your list of dangerous Gulf species. Unfortunately, that may change soon.

The lionfish is a beautiful animal that is characterized by reddish-orange, black, and white stripes, flashy pectoral fins, and venomous spikes. Adults average about 12” in length and are native to the waters of the Indo-Pacific. The lionfish is prized by aquarium enthusiasts due to its distinct and colorful pattern.



Three different lionfish have been spotted at Flower Garden Banks National Maritime Sanctuary. The sanctuary is east of Galveston Island and approximately 100 miles south of the Texas-Louisiana border. The spot is very popular among divers and fishermen due to the abundance of marine life living in close proximity to the coral reefs found there. That abundant marine life may now be in danger.

Lionfish are voracious predators that live near structure (coral reefs, oil rigs, shipwrecks, etc.) and feed on an extremely wide variety of creatures including important commercial fish like grouper and snapper.

Emma Hickerson, a research coordinator at Flower Garden Banks said, “They are pretty indiscriminate. They eat fish, crabs, shrimp, everything.”

The species has been known to completely take over reefs and other structure and virtually wipe out other species living there.

“What we have seen in the Tortugas and the Florida Keys is that they dominate and there are no small fish left,” Hickerson said.

The presence of lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico could have a domino effect. One such effect pointed out by Lance Robinson, executive director of coastal fisheries for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, was that the species feeds on parrotfish. Parrotfish are vital to the health of coral reefs as they eat algae. If the parrotfish disappear then there is a very real possibility that the algae will grow unabated and smother the coral. It is scenarios like this that have had the attention of organizations like the TPWD and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees Flower Garden Banks, for the better part of 12 years.

Officials have watched as the lionfish’s territory has expanded. The species, first spotted off of south Florida in the 1990’s has moved up the Atlantic coast as far as Long Island, infested the Caribbean, and spread to the Gulf coast. Lionfish have been found off the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, northern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Cuba.

Hickerson pointed to the presence of the Gulf’s many oil rigs as an aide to the lionfish’s quick migration.

“Not only are there reefs for them to live around, but you have the added dynamic of up to 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf, which provides them places to live. That’s how they ‘island hop’ around,” he said.

Experts feel that there is little possibility that the lionfish will not continue to spread and infest the Texas coast. Beside the favorable habitat found in Texas waters, there are no natural predators of the lionfish to be found here.

“There is nothing to keep them in check,” Robinson said.

So, how did this happen? As with other invasives, the problem stems from issues within the exotic pet trade. In this case, it is the aquarium trade.

“They are pretty fish, that’s why they are popular for aquariums,” Robinson said.

Hickerson adds, “They really are quite pretty. They just don’t belong here.”



Efforts to control the lionfish population will likely have to be multi-faceted. They are good to eat and have a white, mild flesh that is quite tasty. Officials hope that a market will develop for the meat of the lionfish. This won’t be enough alone, as divers can’t easily get to the depths where lionfish live (they’ve been observed as far down as 1,000 feet). Direct removal of the species and the development and management of a healthy population of natural predators will also have to play large roles. Along these lines, park officials at the Roatan Marine Park in Honduras have attempted to train sharks to feed on lionfish in an effort to control the Carribbean population of the species. Results thus far have been mixed. Likely, the only way the lionfish population will be kept under control will depend on whether or not a natural predator steps up that feeds off the larvae and young of the species. Without that the population could skyrocket.

Due to the depths at which lionfish usually live, there is only a minimal risk to swimmers. Divers and fishermen are more at risk, however, as lionfish have a nasty and aggressive disposition and are extremely territorial. Cases of aggression against divers have been documented. Lionfish venom produces systemic effects such as vomiting, fever, and sweating. Generally, while extremely painful, the sting of the lionfish is not fatal to humans though there have been a handful of deaths attributed to the venom of the species.

Even if population control efforts are largely successful it appears the lionfish is here to stay. The successful invasion of lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico once again points to the need for much stricter regulations on the exotic pet trade. Invasives like zebra mussels, snakehead fish, Burmese pythons, and even the wild burros of west Texas are wreaking havoc on ecosystems that have no defense against them. We’ve got to get this problem under control.

There is just too much to lose if we do not.

Source: “Invasive species on the prowl along Texas Coast,” Galveston Daily News, 28 January 2012.

Still Here

I just wanted to touch base and let everyone know I'm still here.

This week has been crazy busy and I just have not been able to get any writing done. It has all been good stuff, thank goodness, keeping me tied up but it has hampered my blogging activities.

Part of what has kept me busy is looking into a black panther story. I will be posting that write up very soon. It will include a very intriguing photo.

I'll also be getting out to check on my game cameras this weekend. I am about two weeks past due on refreshing batteries and checking memory cards. I can't wait to see what these cameras have captured in this latest set.

So, I am still here and will be getting back up to speed as quickly as possible. Hang in there with me.

More soon...