A Tennessee resident wanted to help this bobcat because she thought it was injured. It wasn't. (Photo courtesy of TWRA)
October 03, 2017
By Game & Fish Online Staff
In the field notes: Here's a roundup of state outdoors news, which includes items on a deer with rabies, a well-meaning action that turned dangerous and another CWD report in Michigan.
This report was compiled from wildlife agency news releases, original reporting and media reports.
NEW YORK
Attacking Deer Had Rabies
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A deer that reportedly attacked a Troy, N.Y. man recently tested positive for rabies, according to the local health department.
The Rensselaer County Health Department said the man would undergo treatment as a precaution, CBS 6 in Albany reported.
The man told investigators he was taking couch cushions to the trash and after he turned around a buck in his yard attacked him. He said he used the cushion to shield him from the buck, but he still needed stitches to close a gash under his right eye.
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"The only thing that went through my head was I'm going to be attacked, I'm going to be attacked, I'm going to be attacked, and I got attacked," Anthony Remillard told the TV station.
The New York DEC said the deer was found dead in a parking lot later after it had gotten trapped inside a fenced-in area.
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A Tennessee resident wanted to help this bobcat because she thought it was injured. It wasn't. (Photo courtesy of TWRA)
TENNESSEE
Good Intention Turns Dangerous
Tennessee Wildlife Resources officers were called to remove a bobcat from the laundry room of a west Tennessee home, the dangerous result of a well-meaning person's attempt to help the animal.
The agency said on Facebook that the woman picked up a stunned bobcat along the road because she thought it was injured. She told officers took the animal home, put it in the laundry room, and intended to take it to a licensed rehabilitation facility.
The bobcat became unmanageable in the laundry room overnight and the TRWA was called.
After capturing the bobcat, officers determined it was healthy and released it back to the wild.
Leave injured or orphaned wildlife alone, the TRWA says.
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ARIZONA
No Gilas in Trout Challenge
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is temporarily suspending the requirement for anglers to catch a Gila trout in order to complete the state's Wild Trout Challenge. With the closure of Frye Creek
The Arizona Trout Challenge, which requires anglers to catch six of the eight total species in Arizona, remains unchanged since the closure to Frye Creek will not affect anglers trying to catch stocked Gila trout in Frye Mesa Reservoir.
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MICHIGAN
Doe Likely Had CWD
The Michigan DNR said a 3 ½-year-old female deer killed by a youth hunter in September may be the state's 10th free-ranging deer found to have chronic wasting disease. Preliminary tests indicated the deer was positive for CWD; final confirmation is expected from the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
The doe, which was killed in Montcalm County, was initially taken to a DNR deer check station and submitted for testing.
"We cannot thank this family enough for bringing their deer to a check station," Dr. Kelly Straka, DNR state wildlife veterinarian, said in a news release. "Without their effort, the disease may have gone undetected in this area. We encourage hunters from any part of the state, especially the south-central Lower Peninsula, to have their deer tested."
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WASHINGTON
Rivers Closed to Chinook Fishing
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said due to low returns of hatchery chinook anglers are required to release any chinook salmon they may catch on the Cowlitz, Green and North Fork Toutle rivers. The new regulation went into effect Oct. 2.
State fishery managers said the closures are necessary to ensure that enough fall chinook return to those rivers to support hatchery production during the coming year.
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