EATON RAPIDS, Mich. (WILX) – Eagles are being exposed to lead and it’s killing them. Wildlife experts said it’s incredibly common.
Wildside Rehabilitation in Eaton Rapids said Thursday it was treating three eagles for lead poisoning. Even just a small amount of lead can be deadly for these big, majestic, birds.
“It’s still very sad when you have to euthanize because you know that it was us (people), that caused it to happen in the first place.” said Jonah Wojnar, withWildside Rehabilitation and Education Center.
While eagles are federally protected, wildlife experts said the threat of lead comes from hunting and fishing. If eagles could talk, they might ask you to stop using lead bullets and lead fishing weights.
These photos show Nova, a 3-year-old golden retriever, and the illegally placed body hold trap, commonly referred to as a Conibear trap, that caught her while walking near Outer Point Trail last week. (Courtesy / Jessica Davis)
What was intended to be a relaxing beach walk near Outer Point Trail on a sunny day late last week turned into “one of the worst experiences” for a Juneau dog owner whose pet narrowly survived a near-death experience.
Last Friday, decade-long Juneau resident Jessica Davis and her boyfriend were walking along the beach north of the Juneau Substation when her 3-year-old, 80-pound golden retriever, Nova, who was walking along the brush near the high tide line let out a squeal and growl and began thrashing around.
Upon quickly running to the source of the noise, Davis found Nova lying limp on the ground with her head in a body hold trap, commonly referred to as a Conibear trap. The trap closes with about 90 pounds of pressure and according to Juneau-area biologist Roy Churchwell, the trap was originally developed to be a more humane trapping system meant to kill animals quickly.
“But in a pet situation, a pet in that trap doesn’t live that long and you have to be quick,” he said.
Davis said she panicked, and had no idea how to get the trap off. However, she said thankfully her boyfriend knew what to do and the pair worked together to release the trap, but even then, it was difficult to remove, and they were afraid it was too late.
“In the state of panic, I would have lost her if it was just me — I didn’t know how to get it off,” she said.“I thought she was gone — we both did.”
After a few minutes, the pair successfully released the trap and after attempting CPR, Nova regained consciousness. Upon resting and a visit to the vet, it appeared she only suffered bruising but no major injuries.
According to wildlife officials, incidents like this in the Juneau area are extremely uncommon for many reasons.
“It’s such a rare thing,” said Alaska State Trooper Alisha Seward who was one of the responders to the incident reported by Davis.
Seward said the last time she heard of a trapping incident similar to this in Juneau was back in 2016, but even then it wasn’t a pet that got caught — it was a bird. She said in her experience, the trapping community in Juneau has always been responsible and good at placing traps in legal and appropriate locations which she said makes this incident even more of an outlier.
Seward confirmed the trap was fresh and placed illegally near the area that typically has moderate pedestrian and pet traffic. She said the trap wasn’t staked down, which is something an experienced trapper would typically do, and the trap did not have a marker identifying who owns it.
Prior to 2016, Southeast Alaska trappers were required to have signs marking their trap lines or tags on each trap or snare with their name and address or an identification number. However, the Alaska Board of Game voted to remove that requirement with advocates citing financial burdens and misuse as reasons behind the removal.
In 2019 the board faced a proposal that sought to reinstate the requirement which advocates said was intended to help with the enforcement of trapping regulations and to address problems of pets getting caught in traps. However, the board voted it down and currently there are no requirements to have signs marking traps of owner identification in the region.
“They don’t have to be marked,” she said. “It makes this harder to identify whose trap it is.”
Seward said after speaking with Davis, she along with a Department of Fish and Game hunting biologist walked the area to scan for other potential traps and examined the exact location of the trap, which was found via a geolocation of a photo Davis took of the trap after the incident.
Seward said they are still trying to identify who set the trap, however, currently, she believes the area is now clear of traps and intends to go out again after the recent snow melts for a second scan.
“Right now, I don’t think that there are more out there,” she said.
Seward, Churchwell and Davis said though the rare incident didn’t result in a fatality, they all emphasized that knowing the trapping regulations in the area along with understanding the mechanism to release traps can be life-saving skills to know, like how it was for Nova.
“It’s an infrequent occurrence that something does happen, but just be aware of if it does happen and your animal does get trapped so that you know how to undo the traps,” Seward said. “You know, just learning how traps function and being familiar just in case a freak accident does happen.”
Churchwell said a lot of information on how to identify and release the different varieties of traps legal in Southeast Alaska and around the state can be found on the ADFG website among other online resources like the CBJ website.
Grateful Dogs of Juneau has an entire page dedicated to the trapping locations, seasons and regulations in Juneau along with how to remove traps from pets.
Currently, trapping season for area 1C — which Juneau is in — is open for wolves and coyotes through April 30, wolverine through Feb. 28, beaver through May. 15 and river otter, red fox, lynx, marten, mink, weasel and muskrat through Feb. 15. The 2022-2023 Alaska trapping regulations guidebook can be found at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/trapping.pdf
“Reports of illegal trapping are very rare, it happens once every few years or so but there’s always that possibility,” Churchwell said.
Churchwell said the public also has the opportunity each fall to attend a Department of Fish and Game presentation called Sharing the Trails which explains common trapping practices in Juneau, the areas that are trap-free and the different trap removal procedure videos.
“The safest thing to do is to know and go to areas where there are not supposed to be traps,” he said.
Davis said Nova is doing okay and said she hopes her story can encourage other pet owners in Juneau to learn what to do if they find themselves in a similar situation.
“Always be aware, know the dangers and research,” Davis said. “Just try to be as prepared and knowledgeable as you can and know how to handle the situation if it ever arises — we definitely got lucky.”
Booking Carolina Buia’s ski trip this winter is proving more of a challenge than any Black Diamond. “I feel like I’m working as my owntravelcompany, “ says the Palm Beach-based real estate agent. “For March, I’ve booked two places to stay, and I’m paying extra to have the ability to cancel, while I watch the weather.” Buia is planning an annual ski trip to Europe with her financier husband Heath and their four teenagers. The family usually goes toItaly, but the unsettling, unsettled weather this winter made the family reconsider. “We thought aboutskiingin Norway, but it’s just so cold and dark at this time of year,” she explains. Instead, Buia booked two vacations in radically different parts of the country to hedge her bets for…
Ignoring fences and rivers, the unruly ungulates roam from Ute reservation onto Tavaputs rangelands used for livestock
(Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) Bison inhabit Utah’s Book Cliffs, but they have been increasingly roaming onto rangelands on the West Tavaputs Plateau, where they are causing problems for ranchers.
TheAmerican bisonmay be the iconic big game species of the American West, but they don’t belong on Utah’s West Tavaputs Plateau.
Brought back from near extinction last century and officially designated thenational mammal, they now occupy special management areas in Utah, such as theHenry Mountains,Antelope Islandand the Book Cliffs. But one thing about buffalo, they roam.
In recent years, bison have increasingly wandered off theUte Indian Tribe’sreservation lands on the East Tavaputs Plateau, crossing the Green River onto private and public lands…
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — An Olathe, Kansas man is recovering at Overland Park Regional Medical Center after being shot while hunting in a state park in Miami County. He nearly died.
The state says another hunter could’ve pulled the trigger in what was likely a hunting accident.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A white rhinoceros was shot dead less than a day after it arrived at a Florida wildlife park last year, wildlife officials said this week.
According to a report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the incident occurred Sept. 19 at Wild Florida, a gator and drive-thru safari park about 60 miles south of Orlando in Kenansville. The park acknowledged the incident in a Facebook post on Monday.
The report said FWC investigators were called to the park about a week later after getting an anonymous tip that called the shooting “animal abuse” and “unnecessary.”
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The animal was delivered to the park the day prior and was “acting very wild,” the park’s owner, Jordan Munns, told investigators. The animal was crated on a trailer, then released into a fenced-in lockdown area within the rhino enclosure, where it would stay until it was ready to be released into the full containment area.Here’s how many people were arrested at Gasparilla 2023
Munns said they observed the animal “acting aggressively” as it tried to climb over the enclosure. It eventually climbed over a guardrail to escape the lockdown area and entered the main containment area. The rhino tested the cable fence and hot wire surrounding the enclosure, but eventually calmed down and spent the night resting in the main containment area, the report said. The park was closed the next day to give it time to acclimate.
However, the next morning, the rhino began acting wild again and continued to test the fence. Staff tried to reinforce the fence by attaching more guardrail material to the top of it. They decided to shoot the animal if it breached the enclosure again.
The rhino continued to test the fence and was able to push through the hot wire and breach its containment, the report said.
Armed with high-powered rifles, staff chased the animal to a nearby cypress stand and opened fire.
“The rhino was hit several times (by gunshots) but was still able to exit the cypress stand and head east,” the report said. “It made it to the perimeter fence (and) they followed and continued shooting it. … After following it and shooting it for approximately 1/3 mile, the rhino fell and died.”
“They estimated fifteen rounds were fired at the rhino based on the shell casings they collected,” the report said.
Once the animal was dead, staff loaded it onto a trailer and drove it to a property where other animals are buried.
“Out of fear that a helicopter might spot the rhino, they dug a hole, placed the rhino in it, and covered it most of the way, leaving a portion of the head exposed for us to observe upon our arrival.”
The rhino “was in healthy condition” before it was killed, the report said. No action was taken against the park.
The park issued a statement, saying in part, “For more than twelve years, Wild Florida’s mission has been to provide an unforgettable Everglades experience that promotes a connection with animals while inspiring education and conservation. Unfortunately, we are sometimes faced with unforeseen situations and circumstances that require an immediate response to ensure the continued safety of visitors, staff, neighbors, and, most importantly, animals in our care.”
Avian flu has been found in seals that died a ‘mass mortality event’ in the Caspian Sea. Now scientists are investigating whether it is the first transmission of the virus between mammals in the wild
An information sign about seals in Dagestan. In total, 2,500 seals have been found dead, about 700 on the coast of the Kirovsky district of Dagestan (Photo: Denis Abramov/Anadolu/Getty)
February 1, 2023 1:48 pm(UpdatedFebruary 2, 2023 2:24 pm)
Scientists are investigating the possibility thatbird fluhas been transmitted between mammals in the wild for the first time – fuelling fears it could lead to the next pandemic in humans.
In what is being described as a “mass mortality event”, more than 700 seals were found dead in December in the Caspian Sea, near to where the highly contagious H5N1 variant of avian flu was found in wild…
After an accidental gunshot wound, Mitchell Amundson’s heart stopped more than once. His Sanford Health surgeon said, “He attempted to die multiple times, and he’s still around to tell the story.” (Photo courtesy of the Amundson family; video by Jason Anschutz, Sanford Health)
Mitchell Amundson of Dilworth, Minnesota, is lucky to be alive.
“Unfortunately, I remember the accident,” said Amundson.
On the day after Thanksgiving, Amundson, age 26, was in a serious hunting accident just outside of Jamestown, North Dakota.
“As soon as it happened, my legs went numb and all of a sudden I was like, ‘Wow, this really hurts,’” he said.
While hunting coyotes with a friend, he was shot through the right flank…
Members of the Nez Perce tribe field dress a Yellowstone National Park bison just across the park border in Montana’s Gallatin National Forest in 2013.William Campbell / Corbis via Getty Images
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Amember of the Nez Perce tribe was hit by a stray bullet fragment while field dressing a bison near Gardiner, Montana, on Jan. 17. The injury was not considered life threatening and no charges will be filed against the non-Native hunter whose bullet fragment ricocheted, Sheriff Brad Bichler of Park County, Montana, tellsOutdoor Life.
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Dan Yates
Top StoriesbyOutdoor Life
Exposing the Big Game 