#fish and wildlife

[delphinidin4]

[great-and-small]

A few days ago I noticed that one of the softshell turtles in my nearby pond has a very unique look. I was thinking he might be piebald (which is a genetic mutation that disrupts skin pigmentation), but I’ve never seen or heard of a piebald softshell. Take a look at this weirdo ⬇️

Since I wasn’t sure what was up with this dude, I did what I always do whenever I see something weird going on with a wild animal; I called my local Fish & Wildlife! This might sound like a crazy reaction to seeing a splotchy turtle but I actually learned something extremely important that I would love for my followers (especially those in Florida) to know about too. After calling F&W I spoke with the turtle specialist for quite some time, as it turns out there is an unknown pathogen killing softshell turtles in Florida, and biologists are desperate to find the cause. They need our help to do this! The biologist that I spoke with says they’re relying on civilian reports to find cases for further study, so it’s incredibly important to spread the word and make sure people know how to report any abnormal appearance or behavior in turtles that they see.

Fortunately my splotchy turtle (I call him Uncle Walter) doesn’t seem to be sick based on his presentation or behavior! The turtle experts examined his photos and at this point they agree he is probably just piebald, though they asked me to keep an eye on him and make sure his condition doesn’t change. I’m so happy that I am armed with knowledge I can use to monitor him and his friends in the face of this worrisome unknown illness.

To my friends here in Florida- if you see ANY wild turtle that looks sick, weak, distressed, or abnormal please contact Fish and Wildlife immediately using the information provided below! To my non-Fl friends, if you have any contacts that enjoy herping or just outdoor activity in the state please let them know about this as well. Our turtles are very dear to us and reporting possible illness is the best way we can help find what’s killing these animals.

[usnatarchives]

"Fisherman proudly shows off his catch." Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, LA, Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA ID 166709492.

"Learning to fish," Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, NC, undated. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA ID 166710712

Calling all Anglers: FISHING SEASON! By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs. Special shoutout to the team @Fletcher's Cove! Is there a connection between Archives and fishing? YES! We hold millions of records from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, Record Group 22), dating back to 1868! Selected highlights below. Stay tuned: learn about the agency's brilliant promotion of.... CARP! See the historic 1911 EAT THE CARP! poster imploring Americans to embrace, fish, eat, can, jelly and enjoy this then-new (to the US) fish!

Kids' fishing day; Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, 6/8/2002, Saginaw, MI. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA ID 166691838..

Cool off from the heatwave with ice fishing!

Ice Fishing, Stoddard, WI, undated, NARA ID 166692836.

Flashback: Halibut Fishing 1888!

"N. P. Railway, Tacoma [Wash. Terr.] Shipping first cargo of halibut caught in Puget Sounds by crew of schooner Oscar and Hattie. 9/20/1888." By N. B. Miller. Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA ID 513088.

USFWS: Why can't fish just get along?

FILM: Cooperative Fish Culture, 1927. Shows work at fish hatcheries operated by the Bureau of Fisheries

More online!

“A Carpapalooza: An American Anthem”, Pieces of History

Learn about the dangers of illegal muskrat trapping!

Fur Warden Sketches Map of Fortymile River Basin in Alaska, The Text Message.

National Park Service Virtual Tour, National Archives Catalog newsletter.

[jellybracelet]

He looks soooo sexy here. Fuck me up country boy!

[emberprince]

unfortunately great tits are not legally protected under the migratory bird treaty act :(

[marywoodartdept]

2021 Federal Duck Stamp Contest

Ivy, Art History, tells us about an annual competition held by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in "2021 Federal Duck Stamp Contest"

A fun fact about me is that I am deathly afraid of most birds. Anything larger than a chicken (which definitely is included in the list of scary birds) that has a beak and can take flight is on my list of ��Never Ever Get Near: A Comprehensive List of Birds That Look Like They Most Likely Would Harm Me If Given The Chance.” Small birds aren’t safe from this list, either! Cute little round birds…

[blondebrainpower]

Vertical koi pond feature.

[nonasuch]

here is a concept: time travel cop, fish & wildlife division

most of their job is dealing with the kinds of assholes who think black market tiger cubs are a great idea right up until someone gets mauled, except these are even bigger assholes with black market Smilodon cubs that they are even less equipped to care for

this is the most straightforward and therefore relatively headache-free part of their job, because it’s the same “put that thing back where it came from or so help me” song and dance every time

it’s also significantly less depressing than the trophy hunters who don’t even want an alive extinct animal. those are extra annoying because you have to undo the time travel that let them kill that poor Megatherium or thylacine or anklyosaur or whatever, and it’s always so much extra paperwork.

and those people suck, definitely, and have fully earned a stint in Time Jail. no question. but they still do not create anywhere near as much work as the obsessive hobbyists with their exhaustively careful best practices and worryingly good track-covering. also, weirdly, it’s almost always birds with them?

like. the guys who will flagrantly abuse Time Law to bird-nap breeding pairs just long enough to raise one clutch of eggs apiece, and return them seamlessly to their spots on the timeline. who are so determined to keep their pet (ha) projects going that no one even realizes what they’re doing until they have an entire stable breeding population of passenger pigeons up and running. who are now the reason that reps from six different zoos are about to start throwing hands right in front of you over who gets dibs.

those guys cause the most paperwork. and half the time they’re snapped up by the same zoo or wildlife preserve that gets their colony of ivory-billed woodpeckers or Carolina parakeets or — once, very memorably — giant fucking South Island moa, and they never even spend a day in Time Jail.

[joshuacourter]

Fish On, Freely!

Jaden catches a fish on Free Fishing Day At a friends dinner table one evening someone mentioned about a free fishing day across the state. The Fish and Wildlife department hosts a free, no license needed, fishing day. I have heard of these before, but what I didn’t know about the one coming to a local park was all the rods and tackle are included to borrow for the day. You can literally show up…

[valhikes]

California Fish and Wildlife area

One of the "Did you know you can hike there?" places I found via geocaching. The Fish and Wildlife areas do seem to be a little bit secret and this one sits next to a base. They could use a little less ice plant, though, if it is a preserve. From June 2015.

[lionfloss]

by norsez Oh

[rebeccathenaturalist]

To be honest, if one of the students in my Junior Duck Stamp classes ever turned in something like this, I would be elated.

(For a bit of background--a few years ago the Federal Duck Stamp contest rules were changed so that artists HAD to include some element of waterfowl hunting in their entries, whether they were comfortable with it or not. The above artwork may be my favorite example of malicious--or at least snarky--compliance.)

[beautyunderthewaves]

Deep Sea Beauties

[letkidsbekidsinc]

Bear-Hunting Dogs Turn Into Bear Savers

Bear-Hunting Dogs Turn Into Bear Savers

The Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife has used Karelian Bear Dogs for years to motivate bears back into their natural habits. ( I took some photos during a training of the dogs by WSFW enforcement officers. See photos below the following article. )See their website: https://wdfw.wa.gov/ By Michael Engelhard | Dec 25 2021 – Sierra Magazine “In July, near Seward, Alaska, a black bear…

[seraphica]

Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, 2021

[website] • [2015] • [2016] • [2017] • [2020] • [2021]

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Snorkeling Brown Bear - 2430b+ by Jen Hall Via Flickr: They are so cool, they don't even need a mask! It is definitely a Bear With Me Monday!