In the past few weeks, investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Internet Crime Unit have used the online commerce site Craigslist to locate person illegally trading in wildlife, including alligators and other reptiles. The Epoch Times.

Indiana State Police are seeking information on a suspected serial thief they say has entered the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store in Clarksville, IN at least a dozen times in the past four months, ripped the tags off a hunting bow, and scampered outside to a waiting getaway vehicle. Presently, $6,000 in bows have been taken. Louisville C-J.

Police summoned to a wooded area near a Tarpon Springs, FL apartment complex yesterday struggled to subdue and capture a massive, 14 1/2-foot African rock python weighing an estimated 200 pounds. ”It took three full-grown officers to wrestle with it, to get it through the woods, and they had to take a break halfway through,” said Loren Mell, who discovered the reptile. St. Petersburg Times.

Among the souvenirs Marine Bill Bucklin acquired during his service in the Pacific Theatre was a Japanese Arisaka Type 99 rifle. Though he carved his name in the stock, the gun was lost while being transported back to his Erie, PA home after the war. An amazing stroke of luck reunited the late Mr. Bucklin’s family to the firearm last September, when it was located in a Washington, PA gun shop. The Erie Times-News.

Fire Department officials say the collapse of a Vacaville, Calif. gas station roof awning that nearly struck a woman as she filled her car’s gas tank was caused by the buildup of “several inches” of pigeon feces on the structure. ”It just went ‘boom’ and then it all came down,” said Chris Doss, who had just finished putting gas in her Mazda. Oakland Tribune.

Researchers from Texas Tech say wild hogs in three Texas counties tested positive for Tularemia, a potentially dangerous disease, and that hunters should be cautious when butchering the animals. “Hunters should always wear protective gloves and eyewear when they are cleaning animals to prevent from getting a disease,” said Brad Dabbert, associate chairman of Tech’s Department of Natural Resources Management. The Daily Toreador.

During last week’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee work session in Missoula, Mont., a consensus appeared to agree that a transition in bear management may be imminent. ”We need to rethink our grizzly messages for the Greater Yellowstone area,” said Steve Schmidt of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. “This population is recovered. We are now transitioning into management.  The Missoulian.

The plan to serve meat from a black bear killed by a Wisconsin hunter at a St. Paul, MN bar frequented by Green Bay Packers football fans during yesterday’s playoff game was nixed by the Minnesota Department of Health because the meat was unprocessed and uncertified. The decision didn’t affect Packers’ fans enthusiasm, however, as Chicago Bears fans find themselves dining on crow today. Nick Ferraro in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

A .36-cal. Spiller and Burr revolver apparently stolen from the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va. in 1975 was discovered with the possessions of a Tennessee man who died last month and will be returned to the museum, according to the FBI, which investigated the case. Knoxville News Sentinel.

A spokesman for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee says the group’s certification for bear-resistant trash bins and other containers may be overhauled due to the increase in demand for such products and the profit potential for manufacturers that produce them. The IGBC’s Gregg Losinski said companies stand to make thousands of dollars if they can sell bear-proof garbage cans and trash bins to large subdivisions. Via AP.

Bug, a 2-pound Chihuahua puppy, is recovering from injuries it received this week when a hawk swooped down and grabbed it on a Fort Walton Beach, FL deck. When rushed by the dog’s owner, the hawk dropped its intended prey and flew off. “They’re large raptors and they eat little animals,” Stan Kirkland with Florida F&W told the NW Florida Daily News. “And a little Chihuahua or a little small dog looks like food to them.”

Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation say the series of photos taken by a Chesterfield resident’s trail camera Jan. 12 depict a mountain lion, marking the first confirmed sighting of a cougar in St. Louis County since 1994. It was the third Missouri mountain lion sighting since November. Via AP and MDC.

A Northern Rockies grizzly bear expert says long-distance joggers and wilderness trail runners are approaching photographers as the backcountry group most likely to be injured in a wild animal encounter. “…Some of these people are not aware of the dangers they put themselves in,” said Chris Servheen, USFWS grizzly bear recovery coordinator. “This long-term running, at dawn and dusk, at night with headlamps: These are the specific things we tell people not to do in bear habitat.” The Missoulian.

If not, here’s a sampling of some article headlines from this week’s Shooting, Hunting and Outdoors Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. “World’s Largest Gun Show Launches in Las Vegas Despite Arizona Shooting,” (ABC News),  ”In an Ocean of Firearms, Tucson Is Far Away,” (NY Times), and “Ariz. Shootings Spur Gun Sales In Vegas,” (KVVU-TV).

A whitetail killed in November by Wisconsin bowhunter Brian Inda of Wautoma is officially the state’s new archery record, measuring 187 5/8 inches, three-eighths of an inch more than a buck killed in Dunn County in 2006. Paul Smith in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Montana wildlife authorities say a pair of wolves were responsible for killing 27 sheep on two ranches near Ulm, about 11 miles southwest of Great Falls, in late December. Additionally, wolves have recently preyed on livestock in central Montana’s Fergus County, for what is believed to be the first time. Great Falls Tribune.