Latest news with #N.C.WildlifeResourcesCommission
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NC Wildlife Resources Commission offers tips to protect livestock from bears
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission provides guidance to livestock owners on methods to protect their animals from becoming prey to black bears. Black bears tend to consume a mostly plant-based diet and are attracted to livestock feed, such as grains and corn. However, they are omnivores and opportunists and will feed on eggs, small livestock (such as chickens and rabbits) and larger animals (including goats, miniature ponies and alpacas). Raising livestock of any species in bear country requires BearWise® husbandry practices, even for small-scale, backyard operations. 'It's one of the most common calls about bears that we get and it's also one of the most preventable,' NCWRC BearWise Coordinator Ashley Hobbs said. 'Especially in the summer and fall months, I respond to many calls from the public reporting their goat herd or chicken flock have been completely wiped out by a bear. Unprotected coops and pens provide accessible food all in one convenient spot.' BearWise is an Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies program dedicated to helping people live responsibly with bears. It offers information and instruction on protecting chickens and helpful information for livestock owners and beekeepers. Proper husbandry practices are key to coexistence, and BearWise recommends the following proactive measures: Always store livestock feed and pet food away from the animals in a locked, bear-resistant shed or building, or in a bear-resistant container. Place livestock pens and bee hives at least 50 yards away from wooded areas and other cover that could protect bears from view. Confine livestock in buildings and pens, especially during lambing or calving seasons. Consider bringing livestock, particularly smaller animals, inside at night. Remove carcasses from the site and dispose of them by rendering or deep burial. Install electric fencing or own a guard animal. To learn more about safely raising livestock in bear country, please visit and contact NCWRC's Wildlife Helpline for assistance at 866-318-2401, Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Invasive fish first found in Lake Norman is spreading rapidly in NC, state says
An invasive fish first found in Lake Norman is spreading elsewhere in the state and threatening native largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, state wildlife biologists said Friday while asking the public for help. Anglers often mistake Alabama bass for spotted and largemouth bass because they look similar, District Biologist Kin Hodges of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said. The invaders often out-compete and replace native largemouth bass, according to the commission. Alabama bass are smaller than largemouth bass on average, officials said. Alabama bass also interbreed with smallmouth and spotted bass, according to the commission. 'They're being stocked and moved to new locations by anglers who need to understand the impact it's having to our native black bass family of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass,' Hodges said in a statement. 'Populations of largemouth bass are being dramatically reduced, while North Carolina could potentially lose smallmouth and spotted bass,' he said. Alabama bass have been in North Carolina waters since the 1980s, 'but only sparsely,' according to a commission news release. They were first discovered in far southwestern Lake Chatuge and then Lake Norman. Anglers are believed to have stocked them, and they've since spread to reservoirs and rivers. Now they're in coastal areas, including the Roanoke and Tar rivers, officials said. 'When we heard Alabama bass were being caught in reservoirs upstream of our coastal rivers in 2020, we anticipated we would start seeing them downstream,' Kevin Dockendorf, the state's coastal region fisheries research coordinator, said in the news release. In October 2024, state fisheries biologists caught Alabama bass in the Roanoke and Tar rivers with boat electrofishing, Dockendorf said. 'This expansion of Alabama bass is of concern given the similarities of North Carolina's coastal rivers to the habitats found in Alabama bass's natural range,' he said. Moving and stocking fish into public waters without a state permit is illegal. That includes live well releases into waters different from where the fish were caught. Commission officials urge anyone who sees or has information about illegal Alabama bass stockings to call 800-662-7137. Anglers who catch Alabama bass in waterways not previously documented should take photographs and report their catch on the N.C. Wildlife Aquatic Nuisance Species Reporting Tool or by emailingPublicInquiry-FishWildlife@
