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Nature & Wildlife
2020 August/September
Pg 11- The Sunshine Express
* August 3 - Full Moon. This phase occurs
at 15:59 UTC, known by early Native Ameri-
can tribes as the Sturgeon Moon because the
large sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and
other major lakes were more easily caught at
this time of the year, has also been known as
the Green Corn Moon and the Grain Moon.
* August 11, 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower,
one of the best meteor showers to observe,
produces up to 60 meteors/hr at its peak,
Perseids are famous for producing a large
number of bright meteors, runs annually from
July 17 to August 24, peaks this year on night
of the 11th and morning of the 12th, sec-
ond quarter moon will block out some of the
fainter meteors this year but Perseids are so
bright and numerous that it should still be a
good show, Meteors will radiate from the con-
stellation Perseus but can appear anywhere in
the sky.
* August 13 - Venus at Greatest Western
Elongation. This is the best time to view Ve-
nus since it will be at its highest point above
the horizon in the morning sky, Look in the
eastern sky before sunrise.
* September 2 - Full Moon. This phase oc-
curs at 05:23 UTC, was known by early Native
American tribes as the Corn Moon because the
corn is harvested around this time of the year.
* September 11 - Neptune at Opposition.
Brighter than any other time of the year and
visible all night long, this is the best time to
view and photograph Neptune, Due to its ex-
treme distance from Earth it will only appear
as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful
telescopes.
* September 22 - September Equinox, oc-
curs at 13:30 UTC. The Sun will shine directly
on the equator and there will be nearly equal
amounts of day and night throughout the
world, also the first day of fall (autumnal
equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and
the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Aug
3rd
11th
19th
25th
Visible Planets
[ Aug ][ Sep ]
Mercury -
[
---
][ Dusk ]
Venus
-
[ Morn ][ Morn ]
Mars
-
[ Morn ][ Morn ]
Jupiter
-
[ Eve ][ Eve ]
Saturn
-
[ Eve ][ Eve ]
Sep
2nd
10th
17th
24th
Night Time Delights
The Moon Dance
SUNSHINEEXPRESSMEDIA.COM
& WESTERNSLOPENEWS.COM
visit us online at:
CPW Officers confiscate wild fox from Colorado
Springs woman; remind public it is illegal and
potentially dangerous to possess wild animals
8/1/2020, COLORADO SPRINGS: Colorado Parks
and Wildlife officers confiscated a wild Red fox
from a woman in Colorado Springs on Friday.
Wildlife officers discovered the woman had the
fox after she created an Instagram page for the
animal where she posted dozens of photos and
videos dating to May 4, 2018, when the animal
was a small kit.
It is a crime to possess wild animals in Colora-
do. Illegal possession of live wildlife is a misde-
meanor punished by a $100 fine.
And it¡¯s potentially dangerous. Red fox are
known to carry diseases such as canine distem-
per and rabies.
In her initial Instagram post, the woman
claimed she had ¡°rescued¡± the fox. Photos and
videos show it in a dog collar, on a leash, eat-
ing human snacks and inside a chainlink fenced
cage.
But Frank McGee, CPW¡¯s Area Wildlife Manager
for the Pikes Peak region, described the act of
taking an animal from the wild and raising it in
a human home as ¡°kidnapping.¡±
¡°Wild animals belong in the wild. Period,¡± McGee
said. ¡°People cannot take care of wildlife better
than their parents. It is selfish and irresponsible
to take these animals from the wild.¡±
McGee said there¡¯s a reason CPW requires
rehabilitation facilities to be certified and their
operators trained and licensed.
¡°It takes specialized education and training to
handle wild animals, whether it¡¯s deer, rac-
coons, birds or whatever,¡± McGee said. ¡°People
often think they are helping when they pick up
wildlife.
¡°They are not. These are wild animals. They are
not meant to live in captivity.¡±
Because the fox had lived more than two years
in captivity, wildlife officers determined it could
not survive if released back into the wild forcing
them to euthanize the animal.
¡°This was so unnecessary and sad for the fox
and our officers,¡± McGee said.
¡°If you see a wild animal, especially a baby ani-
mal, leave it alone. Call us if you believe it¡¯s or-
phaned or abandoned and needs to be rescued.
We¡¯ll assess the situation and get it to a licensed
rehab facility, if necessary.¡±
permission from the landowner to enter private
land to retrieve a dead animal. First, you should
try to contact the landowner on your own. If that
effort fails, call the local CPW office. CPW officers
know landowners in their areas and will help you
make a contact.
¡ñ Shooting from a road: Before firing a shot, you
must be at least 50 feet off a designated state or
county road, and just off U.S. Forest Service or
BLM roads. You also cannot shoot across a road.
¡ñ License not voided: After you kill an animal, you
must void the license immediately.
¡ñ Improperly attached carcass tag: The carcass
tag must be attached to the animal. The best way
is to cut a hole in the hide and attach with a tie.
It is OK to wait until you get the animal back to
camp or to your vehicle to attach the carcass tag.
¡ñ No evidence of sex: Be sure to leave evidence
of sex naturally attached to the carcass. Evidence
includes the head, the vulva or the scrotum.
¡ñ Waste of game meat: Big game meat can begin
to spoil at 38 degrees. To keep the carcass cool,
remove the hide as soon as possible after the
kill to allow for air to circulate around the meat.
Reduce the mass of the carcass by quartering the
meat or boning out the meat.
Place the meat in a cooler as soon as possible.
Even in cold weather, a carcass should not hang
outside for more than 36 hours. Remember:
Because game meat contains very little fat, it
cannot be aged like beef. The so-called ¡°gamey
taste¡± is caused by spoilage, not because the
animal is wild.
¡ñ To learn how to field dress a big game animal,
see the video at: cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/
HuntVideos.aspx
¡ñ Shooting a spike-antlered elk: Hunters who
hold a cow elk tag sometimes shoot spike bulls.
Be sure of your target. If you are shooting at a
long distance or in low light conditions, it can be
difficult to see spike antlers. If you are not abso-
lutely sure, do not shoot.
¡ñ Illegally tagging an animal: You can only place
a tag on an animal that you shot. You cannot
trade tags with other license holders, or use tags
of other license holders.
For more information: cpw.state.co.us
(By Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
Common hunting violations can be costly
Every hunting season, officers for Colorado Parks
and Wildlife hand out hundreds of tickets for vio-
lations that cost hunters hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
While some of those tickets are for flagrant viola-
tions of wildlife regulations and hunting laws,
many more are for minor violations that could
have been avoided.
Hunters are reminded that not only can they be
fined for violations, they can also lose their hunt-
ing privileges in Colorado and the 45 other states
that cooperatively participate in a nationwide
wildlife compact agreement.
Rick Basagoitia, area wildlife manager for the
San Luis Valley, explained that hunters need to
set aside some time to review the Colorado Big
Game Brochure. The brochure explains many of
the common violations and how to avoid them.
¡°Hunters must know their responsibilities when
they get into the field,¡± Basagoitia said. ¡°Wildlife
laws are written to protect a valuable resource
and for safety.¡±
Following are some of the more common viola-
tions that occur every year:
¡ñ Not wearing fluorescent orange or pink: You
must wear at least 500 inches of daylight fluo-
rescent orange/pink, including a head cover-
ing of the same color that can be seen from
all directions. Mesh garments are legal but not
recommended. Camouflage orange/pink does not
qualify.
¡ñ Carrying loaded firearms in or on vehicles:
Rifles must not have ammunition in the chamber
while in or on any motor vehicles. For those rid-
ing OHVs, weapons (rifles and bows) must also
be in a closed case and fully unloaded (chamber
and magazine). Most accidents involving firearms
occur in or near vehicles.
¡ñ Going on private land without permission to
retrieve a harvested animal: You must have
Big Game 2020
Leave Wild Animals Alone