Another black bear has been struck and killed by a motor vehicle in Missouri, making a half dozen roadkills around the state this summer.
"We have documented seven bear mortalities so far this year," said Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Laura Conlee, and "six were roadkill bears."
All of the bears, she noted, have been males.
Unlike the previous roadkills, this one was much closer to home.
The young male bear, estimated to weigh between 125 and 150 pounds, was hit the afternoonn of July 15 in the southbound lanes of Highway 67, about five to 10 miles south of Cherokee Pass.
"There were no injuries, though the car had some damage," said Madison County Conservation Agent Clayton Lewis, who responded to the scene.
The impact occurred around 2 p.m., Lewis said, and the bear never made it past the median.
Though the bear was hit by a vehicle, Department of Conservation resource scientists plan to examine it as a matter of procedure.
The high number of bear/auto incidents this summer should trigger more awareness of the state's bears.
"We tend to have several roadkills a year, and they typically occur during the late spring and early summer," Conlee said.
Young male bears tend to disperse this time of year, while older males move long distances in search of mates for breeding, she noted.
Bears are large animals with large appetites, and just like the chicken in the old joke, a bear will cross the road to find his next meal, so motorists should be on the lookout.
"Dry conditions may make finding food a little more difficult this year," Conlee said, "so bears could be moving around a bit more in search of food, making them vulnerable to vehicle collisions."
Antlerless Permits
If you look closely in the just-released regulations booklet, you may notice a significant change for bowhunters in Butler County for this fall.
Yes, Butler County finally has been added to the list of those where you can legally take any number of antlerless deer with archery equipment.
If you hunt in Reynolds or Iron counties, you'll be glad to know MDC made the same change there as well.
Butler County Conservation Agent Frank Campa has been pushing for this change for a few years, and MDC's biologists and brass finally agreed we have too many does and made the change. I think most bowhunters certainly will appreciate it.
In case you've never bought an antlerless permit, they cost $7 each (after you buy your regular archery permit, of course).
King of the River
Eighteen anglers fished July 14's King of the River tournament, hosted by the Current River Smallmouth Association, and after a long, hot 10 hours on the water, a club regular who hasn't won in a while topped the field.
Derek Hampton came away with the title of "King of the River," hauling in a five-fish stringer which easily topped the field and weighed 12.75 pounds. He also had the day's big fish, which weighed 3.22 pounds.
The rest of the top five finishers were very close in their weights.
Robbie Williams earned second place with a weight of 9.80 pounds, and Jack Rutledge grabbed the third spot with a weight of 9.60 pounds.
Fourth place went to Charlie Smith with 9.57 pounds, and fifth was earned by Dwayne Neal with 9.45 pounds.
The organization's next event will be a regular club tournament on Aug. 4, with fishing from Van Buren.
Youth Event
It's still more than a week away, but you might want to make note of a children's event at the Otter Slough Conservation Area coming up on July 28.
On that date, area staff and members of the Dexter Greenheads chapter of Ducks Unlimited will host the annual children's duck and dove banding program.
There's no charge to attend, plus each young participant will get some free goodies from Ducks Unlimited.
The program will kick off at 7 a.m. along the shore of Cypress Lake, where MDC fisheries biologists will demonstrate how they use electrofishing equipment to survey fish populations.
From there, the crowd will gather nearby to help MDC wildlife biologists place leg bands on doves and wood ducks trapped on the property. If you've ever been to the event, you know the excitement the children have when they get to release a wood duck back into the wild after banding it.