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Bob Zink

Is killing native owls to save native owls a good thing?

Featured, Home Page News, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion /

When populations of a species decline to perilous levels, efforts to forestall extinction can take many forms. Under the nation’s Endangered Species Act, it is common to designate “critical habitat,” allowing a species to recover on its own, given adequate space, resources, and implied protection from whatever caused its original decline.
One widely cited example of a critically endangered species is the spotted owl of the western U.S.

Is killing native owls to save native owls a good thing? Read More »

Considering the whitetail rut: Looking at day length and temperature

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

I split my time between northern Minnesota and east-central Nebraska. I recently was asked when the whitetail rut occurs in Nebraska, and I guessed it would be later than it occurs in northern Minnesota, because it would be colder sooner in Minnesota than in Nebraska.
I decided that guessing was lame, and so I did some digging. My idea was to consider temperature, day length, and timing of the rut along a south-north transect from Louisiana to Manitoba.

Considering the whitetail rut: Looking at day length and temperature Read More »

To be a ked on the wall or, more likely, a whitetail

Featured, Home Page News, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

What exactly are deer keds?
Deer keds are highly specialized flies, also called louse flies or, for good reason, flat flies. Four species occur in the United States. These flies have a fascinating life history. These insects are obligate parasites (they rely on their hosts to survive and to reproduce) that feed on the blood of their hosts.

To be a ked on the wall or, more likely, a whitetail Read More »

Why is meat from some feral hogs tainted blue?

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

I used to take my two sons to southern Texas during spring break to bowhunt hogs at a high-fence ranch. (I’m not a beach guy; I’d rather hunt.) In three days of hunting, we’d average a total of about three hogs.

Why is meat from some feral hogs tainted blue? Read More »

Things are heating up below Minnesota’s waves, too; what will it mean for fisheries?

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Minnesota, National Fishing, Nature Page & Night Sky /

Few days go by without media attention to global warming. Writing about global warming is actually pretty low-hanging fruit because the evidence is unambiguous: the earth is warming. 
This is nothing new, at least when we recall that 21,000 years ago there was a mile-thick glacier covering parts of the Upper Midwest, one of more than 20 such glacial advances in the past 2 million years. 
All glacial retreats occurred because of global warming. However, the new part to the current warming trend is that climate (not weather) scientists think the warming is more rapid than in the past, and that there’s a strong likelihood humans have something to do with it.

Things are heating up below Minnesota’s waves, too; what will it mean for fisheries? Read More »

The perch and the walleye: Same family, (very) distant relatives

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Minnesota, National Fishing /

Although my professional career has involved figuring out how populations and species are evolutionarily related to one another, I’d never stopped to think about perch and walleyes – other than the countless times I’ve discussed with someone about how I love to catch perch because they taste like walleyes. After all, they’re in the same family. 
But does being in the same family mean they are closely related?

The perch and the walleye: Same family, (very) distant relatives Read More »

Bob Zink: Looking at the coexistence of dogs and traps

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, Opinion /

Last winter, a friend of mine was in a northern Minnesota state forest, legally cutting down a Christmas tree. His two Drahthaars were nearby, both with tracking collars. The dogs were close by my friend, who could track them with the GPS collars; they were not running wild. 
One of the dogs began to make unusual noises, and my friend assumed the dog had encountered a raccoon or skunk – which is usually bad for them.

Bob Zink: Looking at the coexistence of dogs and traps Read More »

What do mayflies have in common with passenger pigeons?

Featured, Home Page News, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky /

Visiting a lake in May or June in much of the Midwest likely will bring you into contact with mayflies, although they also occur throughout the country.
We sometimes see huge swarms in spring or early summer, and occasionally they show up on radar. It’s common to find them attached to buildings or trees next to lakes following a hatch. I found a bunch of mayflies attached to my place at Minnesota’s Leech Lake in late June.

What do mayflies have in common with passenger pigeons? Read More »

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