[cootkiller]

By the time you all read this you will probably already have heard of the crime against wildlife that took place at the GF AFB.
Gary Rankin should turn in his badge and be charged with poaching because that is all that he did, poached a bear.
First a moose, now a bear.
Are Game Wardens above the law. Obviously, I guess they are. Total and utter abuse of power and I am disgusted by it.
What's next, is a party of wardens going to get together and start shooting deer out of season because too many cars are running into them on the highway "endangering public safety".

This warden used less common sense than a certain talk forum moderator that I know.

cootkiller

 

[Field Hunter]

I'm sure game wardens are not going around shooting anything that isn't a public menace. I'm sure the moose you're refering to was in Fargo. They may have been able to get it to run out of town, doubtful, but there were too many dumb ^%$#& chasing after it through the neighborhoods getting it all upset.

As far as "endangering public safety" you young guys need to know that ANY alcohol of any kind is just plain STUPID while out in the field or just plain scouting. I'd say that "what's next" should be fines for anyone out drinking and drivng . . . or scouting.

 

[cootkiller]

I already explained myself on that one. I don't drink and drive. I leave the driving to others. I am just against drinking and driving as the next person, quit trying to change the subject.
These have been bad decisions made by people who are supposed to be trained to handle them in the correct manner.
It pains me that no one is going to do anything about it.

cootkiller

 

[Dan Bueide]

Monday morning quarter-backing produces the "right" results every time. In Fargo, if it had been attempted to herd the moose out of town and even one person had been even slightly hurt, the outcry would have been just as loud and exactly the opposite. I don't know the details of the GFAFB deal, but the more folks I meet in the dept. the more respect I have for them and the quality job they do. I wouldn't second guess tough decisions like these with uncertain outcomes. CK, ever have a parent second guess the way you handled a disciplinary matter? Were they ever right in your mind?

 

[ACE]

10 or 15 years back there was an old moose that decided to hang out and strip birch bark in the back yard our farm.
The old boy was called into the ND G&F, as it had a broken hind leg.
After a few days they showed up to take care of the problem. They're answer was a pistol. The warden would shoot and the moose would get up. This went on seven times. The moose was finally dead after the eighth shot. Professionals alright.
What would have been wrong with tranquilizing the animals at Fargo and GFAB and relocating them to their proper habitat? At least I have not read that it took them 8 shots to do the job. They must be improving.

 

[Dan Bueide]

Apparently tranquilizing a large animal that's already pretty jacked up in an urban setting is a dangerous proposition, even when you have access to the right equipment, which they did not. Sometimes an already worked-up animal gets more active, not sedated, from a tranquilizing shot and they don't necessarily just tip over in their tracks 2 seconds after the shot. Sometimes a tanquilizing dart in the *** causes them to react like the rest of us would and they bolt in a panicked state at mach one - not a good situation with a 1000+ lb. animal in town. All things considered, even if you had the right equipment, and you've got five minutes to decide: better to risk injury and property damage by tanquilizing or attempting to herd these large and stressed-out animals 3-4 miles through town or put them down? Terrible situation to have to deal with, but only one safe and logical decision in my mine.

 

[stevepike]

I think it is a far cry from poaching. Where did you get your information from Cootkiller? I read the article at http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/5824217.htm

It sounds to me like the Warden was not too happy about having to do it but did what was necessary for public safety. I am sure through your vast travels that you have been to the base before and would have been able to plan a good route out for the bear but unfortunately you were not there (where you?).
In the article it stated they did look for a tranq gun but could not find one. They also had no one who was trained in it's use. What would have been your comment if they had under or over drugged the bear? "They should be trained to tranq' a bear."? Then you would complain our license fees are being spent on training Wardens to tranq' bears in a state with no viable bear population.
Can anyone ever get credit for preventing loss of human life?

 

[Fetch]

I would trust & respect Garys decisions on anything. We have some of the best there is, working at our G&FD

We just need alot more of them.

 

[Qwack]

This warden used less common sense than a certain talk forum moderator that I know.

:roll:

The moose incident in Fargo brought more letters to the editor then any other issue I have ever seen. Of course the majority of the writers expressed their infinite knowledge (probably gained by watching too many Disney movies) that it should have been a simple process of 1. firing a tranquilizer dart. 2. watching the moose quietly go to sleep 3. transporting moose to the woods 4. the moose waking up to tell Bambi about her adventures in the big city.

The experts say it's not that easy, and I give them the benefit of the doubt.

The G&F department have a tough job to do and IMO they handled both situations well. No people got injured or killed and that is the bottom line.

 

[frosty]

Gary Rankin is one of the most respected Game Wardens in ND. If you have never met Gary, please make an attempt to do so, he is one of the nicest men you will meet as well as having a ton of common sense. I obviously was not there, but I trust Gary's judgement with the situation. A bear roaming around on the golf course cootkiller? Sounds like a good situation to me. I'm sure Gary can sleep just fine at night knowing this situation did not cause any individual injury or death, which in a situation like this is very possible as the animal is far removed from it's normal habits and surroundings. It still pains me coot that you are teaching our young kids of the state. You must have been the poster child for our legislators as to why we shouldn't raise teacher salaries. God bless our children in the Devils Lake school system.

 

[Dick Monson]

Tranqing animals is not an easy operation, in the wild or anyplace. A few years back I had an Angus bull with a piece of barbed wire in his hoof. Put him in a headgate, and the vet tranqed him under the tail, knowing his exact weight for the dosage. The bull was not agitated. We let the bull out of the chute with a halter on him, and threw two half hitches on him to put him on the ground. He went nuts! Ran over my Dad, tap danced across a pickup, went thru two fences, one of them plank. Ended up giving that bull a double dose, and it lasted less than 5 minutes. It was not a pretty picture.

Stevenpike, welcome. Glad to see you over here.

 

[jimboy]

All I know it is really easy to sit in an easy chair and second guess people. When your a worldly 6 grade teacher who knows how to deal with all wildlife situations it must be down right frustrating reading about all these idiots who claim to be wardens and biologists and stuff. :lol:

 

[Matt Jones]

Like others have already said, Gary Rankin is a very respected warden...not to mention one hell of a nice guy with a lot of common sense. CK, you are making it sound like Gary was salivating at the chance to shoot the bear; which makes me believe that you've never met Gary...Because if you have you'd realize there's No Way that could possibly be the case. I'm sure Gary did everything he could to save the bear but ultimately the safety of human lives comes before protecting an animal. By reading the article it certainly sounds like having to shoot the bear was something Mr. Rankin didn't want to do, but had to.

 

[Maverick]

I'm just wondering my self why they couldn't dart the animals and see how they reacted. I know that when you do that , it's sets them into a panick mode but they could have tranquized it first and seen how it reacted,and if it started to act up then lethalize it. MAYBE something different could have been done, but who knows how things were going to go? It's nature and it all works it ways out, besides the bear was probably from Canada, and we don't need Canadians here! It was the LABBATTS Bear LOL!!!

Just leave are geese and ducks alone and we'll be fine!!

Mav......

 

[Qwack]

Might have been a NR bear from MN :lol:

I would imagine it would be a lot harder to get a lethal shot on the bear (or moose) if it was juiced up on tranquilizer that didn't agree with it. Imagine the Forum headlines: Conservation Agent shoots moose 27 times

 

[Dan Bueide]

Actually, the lethal shot may have been pretty easy after being slowed down by passing through a few homes and getting hit by a few vehicles......

 

[Maverick]

Or maybe they could have tried stun guns! The ones they use on prisoners. It worked on Jonnie Knoxville in Jackass! Drop 'em with the stun gun then net'em. That's would have been my style.

Mavv.....

 

[Fetch]

I always thought Davy Crockett just Grinned em down

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/p ... ockett.htm

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5816/

 

[Dick Monson]

Everybody is missing the point about the Grand Forks bear, or exbear. It is clearly a question of landowner rights. If you don't believe it, buy your own Air Force base and then you'll see what it is like. Party animals dropping by when ever they want with no regard for the landowner. It was bound to happen. If this bear had called ahead like good bears do, maybe the landowners would have handled this unannounced visit differently. Obviously relationships are the key and this bear just didn't get it. If the bear had schmoozed the troops, told some bear jokes, shook a few paws, maybe the bear would have been granted access by the landowners. Now it will be hard going for all bears. Less access. More Air Force bases will be posted up, more armed guards, more alarms, more video cameras, it looks pertty bleak for the future. Bad bear. Stay in Fargo next time. No, don't stay in Fargo, that's not good either.

 

[KEN W]

Great analogy Dick...