​Nature shows are simply brilliant television. Sharks devouring seals in midair, a Golden Eagle dragging a helpless mountain goat to a savage death, and monkeys getting wasted off fermented fruit -- these are things dreams are made of.  More >>

Hunting and fishing trips are becoming more popular for vets.

​Stalking alligators in a swamp is not the only way veterans can bond and heal during outdoor adventures in Florida. In May, the Legislature passed a bill designating certain portions of state forests hunting areas for injured active-duty military members and veterans. So far, there are six forests slated to host hunts--  Lake Wales Ridge in Polk County, Withlacoochee in the Hernando and Sumter county areas, Welaka near Orlando, Lake Talquin in Leon County, and the Twin Rivers and Big Shoals forests along the Suwannee River.More >>

Hmm, Quite.

​Activists protesting the death of baby sea turtles because of Fort Lauderdale's flawed beach lighting know how to get Mayor Jack Seiler's attention: holding signs up against the windows of City Hall during a commission meeting, passing out his private cell phone number, calling him a murderer. More >>

Facebook/Ana Campos

Roadkill baby turtles

​"MAYOR SEILER HATES BABY TURTLES!" That's a popular refrain these days among advocates for sea turtles on Fort Lauderdale's beaches. Around this time of year, eggs buried by mother turtles on the beach hatch, releasing inch-long baby turtles who need to find their way to the sea. They usually do so guided by moonlight -- but the glow of business and streetlights along A1A can distract them, leading them to be run over or die in storm drains.

Groups like Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) and private individuals are trying to intercept lost turtles and guide them to the ocean, as well as lobby for stricter code enforcement against errant businesses. The group Supporter Ana Campos organized a protest yesterday outside city hall, arguing that Mayor Jack Seiler hasn't acted fast enough to enforce low-light codes and turn off streetlights. Edit 9/11: the protest was not officially supported or sanctioned by STOP, a separate organization.

Supporters of the turtles rally on a Facebook page, where activist Ana Campos also posts email communications between the activists and Seiler. Apparently, he's grown weary of their accusations:
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​Hunters and environmentalists are clashing over a plan that would open the last unhunted section of Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades to hunting. Opponents argue that a man-made reduction in the white-tailed deer population would reduce a primary food source for the region's dwindling population of Florida panthers. At a meeting last week, Matt Schwartz of the South Florida Wildlands Association and others cited a population of around 100 animals.

The hunters shot back. "Hunting has never caused the extinction of an animal," said Rich Gotshall of Safari Club International, who wore a drab-colored vest. "When the antis see the words 'No Hunting,' they are going to jump on that even though it's an illegal process," said Lyle McCandless, who later told the Pulp that the government intentionally hides the true, healthy population of panthers "on a regular basis, in an effort to restrict us."

Well, it turns out the panther population is higher than that previously quoted 100 figure... by as much as 60 percent. So there could be 160 panthers in Florida.
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Flickr: artur.pedziwilk

Ready, aim, fire! Deer in Big Cypress.

​A room at the Weston Hyatt was split down the middle last night between hunters and environmentalists who offered two-minute commentaries on what action the Park Service should take regarding deer hunting in the 146,000-acre Big Cypress Addition Lands.

If you had to ask this Pulp reporter to make a wager, it looks like the deer better find a new place to hide.

Giving the presentation was the URS Corp., "a leading provider of engineering, construction, and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world." Big Cypress Superintendent Pedro Ramos, a federal employee, explained that the agency outsources projects like these "because on our own, we don't have the capacity."

The star of the evening was Ron Bergeron, a More >>

Flickr: mich&pics

This guy may be competing with a hunter for his food.

​The National Park Service is poised to implement a plan that would allow hunting in one of the last outposts of untrammeled land in the Everglades: the northeast corner of the Big Cypress National Preserve.

The rest of the preserve is already open to hunting, but this section, called the Big Cypress Addition Lands, has been off-limits to deer hunters since its acquisition by the federal government in a land-swap deal with its owners, the Collier family, in 1988.

The proposal for hunting is controversial not just because of its potential impact on the deer population but because those deer are food to the 100 or so remaining Florida Panthers -- one of the most endangered species in the world.
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Andre

​And now, in incredibly depressing news that makes you shake your fist at the sky and ask why, and realize that any pretenses we had of a symbiotic existence with nature's creatures is pure malarkey and it's only a matter of time until we've ruined the Earth, we turn to the story of old Andre the sea turtle.

The Palm Beach Post reports that the 170-pound green sea turtle was stranded on a sandbar near Juno Beach in June 2010. He was rescued and treated for around a year at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Finally, he was released back into the ocean on August 3.

On Wednesday morning, he was found dead on the shore.
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South Florida SMASH HLS

​Animals rights activists are claiming victory after a local private airline, Monarch Air Group, agreed to stop shipping primates for research.

Monarch, which runs private passenger and cargo flights from its base in Fort Lauderdale, sent a letter to the animal rights group South Florida SMASH HLS yesterday announcing its decision.

"Per a recent shareholder meeting, Monarch Air Group has decided to seize [sic] the transportation of primates," said the letter signed by company President David Gitman.

"It's just not in the company's interest to be doing that anymore," said a man who answered the phone at Monarch this morning. He declined to give his name.
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Negotiation is Over

Watch out, pre-med students.

​Beware, collegiate science nerds: Just when you thought it was safe to spend the summer watching "Project Runway" and exploring the effects of medical marijuana, a new threat has emerged. Activists with the radical animal rights group Negotiation is Over are launching a new campaign to target budding doctors and scientists in Florida who dissect animals.

In August, the group will start distributing fliers on college campuses, asking students to rat out their friends. They're offering $100 to people who will provide the names, pictures, addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying information about students who conduct animal experiments. "Students Earn Ea$y Money!" the flier proclaims. "Provide us with the following, you can quit your part-time job."

"We want to force vivisection students to reconsider their plans and chose more humane
More >>