An eye on the Hangul

The Dachigam National Park, habitat of the majestic Hangul, near Srinagar is these days in for an activity never witnessed in the Valley. Technology has ultimately changed what Harwan’s legendary wildlife guard Qasim Wani did for decades before his death at the age of 100 with his empty hands and naked eyes: studying the behaviour of the dreaded Himalayan black bear, leopard, shy musk deer and Hangul.

The multi-terrain expanse of 141 sq km, spread over the plains, dense forest and barren hills from the picturesque Zabarvan range to the high-altitude ridges of Tral, is under the radar to track the Hangul alone. The other inmates in this landscape are musk deer, leopard, Himalayan grey langur, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan brown bear, hill fox, Himalayan weasel, yellow-throated marten, long-tailed marmot and otter.

Hangul, or cervus ellaphus hanglu, a sub-specie of the European red deer known to be existing only in Kashmir, has been for the first time chemically captured and fitted with a state-of-the-art satellite collar by a dedicated team of 30-odd officials and experts from the State government’s Department of Wildlife Protection, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST) and the Dehra Dun-based Wildlife Institute of India [WII]. It is a Rs. 40 lakh research initiative and is being supported by the Union Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest (MoEF).

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/an-eye-on-the-hangul/article4614448.ece

Stripers are "chasing boats begging for anchovies"

Lake Elevation: 3598

Water Temperature 53-63 F

Stripers are still running along the canyon walls in the southern lake. They spilled into the main channel three weeks ago and have been eager to hit bait offered by anglers ever since. I have heard they are chasing boats begging for anchovies. Well that may be a bit much but if you pass over some hungry stripers please stop and feed them!

Glen Canyon dam still holds the majority of the fish but many are behind the barricade out of casting range. The Chains parking area offers good shore fishing near the dam. It may be easier to consistently find willing stripers by looking further uplake near Buoy 3 on the corner before arriving at Antelope Canyon. After passing through Antelope Marina the next spot is the south wall near the Power Plan intake. Striper schools are spread randomly for a mile along the wall. There are other good main channel locations but these are all that is needed to catch a cooler full of fish. Immediately put harvested fish on ice to preserve eating quality.

Northern lake stripers are being caught trolling near the mouth of White and Farleys with good fishing all the way to Red Canyon. These stripers are fatter than southern cousins because of the resilient shad population at the Colorado River inflow area. Trolling is the best way to find a school but casting jerk baits and spoons right after a trolled fish is caught is extremely productive. Bait does not work on stripers that have shad to eat. Troll or cast jerk baits for striper schools in the muddy water at the back of major canyons that have a long flood plain to catch stripers anywhere on Lake Powell.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfishing/56131857-83/lake-stripers-fish-caught.html.csp

Longmont teen sets hunting record

In August 2009,Sara Brandenburg became the youngest person ever to complete the North American Grand Slam, killing four species of wild sheep. Recently, she continued her trend of setting records, completing the North American Super 10.

"I started it three years ago, and I just finished in December," Brandenburg said. "I'm now the youngest woman to complete the Super 10."

Brandenburg wasn't overly eager to sing her own praises, but a smile did cross her face when she spoke about breaking the record.

"I don't actually know the person who held the record before me, but I blew them out of the water by far," Brandenburg said.

According to Super Slam coordinator Cameron Mitchell, Brandenburg shattered the record, which was held by a man in his mid-30s.

There are 29 recognized North American big game animals, which are arranged in 10 categories (bear, cat, deer, elk, caribou, moose, bison/muscox, goat, antelope and sheep). To accomplish the North American Super 10, a hunter must kill one animal in each of those categories. Most hunters won't complete the challenge in a lifetime, but it took Brandenburg only three years.

http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_23015320/longmont-teen-sets-hunting-record