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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.

● 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.

● License not voided: After you kill an animal, you

must void the license immediately.

● 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.

● 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.

● 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.

● To learn how to field dress a big game animal,

see the video at: cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/

HuntVideos.aspx

● 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.

● 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:

● 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.

● 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.

● Going on private land without permission to

retrieve a harvested animal: You must have

Big Game 2020

Leave Wild Animals Alone