Bob Zink, Author at Outdoor News

CWD: Where we are now, and where are we going?

Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, National News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, News, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin / Bob Zink

Approximately 11% of Minnesotans over 15 years of age hunted deer in 2022, harvesting about 170,000 animals, roughly 17% of the estimated deer herd. Venison has been popular table fare for centuries. But because venison is not USDA-inspected, its safety is sometimes questioned.
One safety concern involves the diseases affecting deer, and currently, primary concern is chronic wasting disease. CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cervids for which there is no widely available vaccine.

CWD: Where we are now, and where are we going? Read More »

To pee or not to pee: Sometimes it’s complicated in a dog’s world

Features, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin / Bob Zink

I recently gave some thought to an age-old question that many – well, maybe just me – have pondered.
Let’s say you’re taking your “unfixed” male Deutsch drahthaar on a walk. The dog asks you how far you’re going. You decline to acquiesce to his request. It depends on the number mosquitoes and deer flies you encounter.

To pee or not to pee: Sometimes it’s complicated in a dog’s world Read More »

More to fear on CWD? A look at the tick-and-deer connection

Hunting, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Opinion, Opinion / Bob Zink

Concerns about the effects of chronic wasting disease on deer populations continue to broil as the role of game farm escapees spreading the disease to wild deer becomes more evident.
The main point that seems established is that once a deer in an enclosure develops CWD, other animals penned in proximity are more likely to get CWD than would deer in wild populations. It’s common to read that CWD is spread by animal-to-animal interactions or by contacting a contaminated environment.

More to fear on CWD? A look at the tick-and-deer connection Read More »

Survival strategies among species can be perplexing

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin / Bob Zink

Why don’t northern deer change their coat colors with the seasons? Might it not be adaptive to grow a white coat in the winter?
Perhaps the difference between deer and rabbits is about predator avoidance. Snowshoe hares are hunted regularly by goshawks, the largest of North America’s bird-hunting hawks. Sharp eyesight allows goshawks to pick off movement, and a brown hare against a white background probably makes the goshawk’s job way easier.

Survival strategies among species can be perplexing Read More »

Oddities examined afield and at home

Minnesota, Nature Page & Night Sky / Bob Zink

A couple of springs ago, my wife returned from walking our drahthaars and told me that there was a hawk on the ground near a streambank, flapping its wings.

Oddities examined afield and at home Read More »

Here’s why boats don’t come equipped with headlights

Fishing, Gear & Gadgets, Minnesota, National Fishing / Bob Zink

A younger friend in northern Minnesota sent me an image of his fishing boat with some really bright lights on the bow.

Here’s why boats don’t come equipped with headlights Read More »

Contaminants in fish: When science meets fear-mongering

Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion / Bob Zink

The world of science can move quickly, especially with new online publication outlets. Still, it takes time to think of a significant question you’d like to answer, design the study, get funding, do the work, analyze the data, write the paper, and see it through to publication.

Contaminants in fish: When science meets fear-mongering Read More »

There’s a crisis in public’s lack of nature knowledge: What can we do?

Illinois, Opinion / Bob Zink

Many of us who have spent time outdoors getting to learn things about nature often are dismayed by things some people say about animals and the things they do.

There’s a crisis in public’s lack of nature knowledge: What can we do? Read More »

THE ATLATL and the demise of really big animals 12,000 years ago

Features, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, News, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin / Bob Zink

Of these large-bodied herbivores, only the deer and bison remain. I noted that scientists oscillate between two explanations for the extinction of these large plant eaters (and their predators).

THE ATLATL and the demise of really big animals 12,000 years ago Read More »

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Bob Zink

CWD: Where we are now, and where are we going?

To pee or not to pee: Sometimes it’s complicated in a dog’s world

More to fear on CWD? A look at the tick-and-deer connection

Survival strategies among species can be perplexing

Oddities examined afield and at home

Here’s why boats don’t come equipped with headlights

Contaminants in fish: When science meets fear-mongering

There’s a crisis in public’s lack of nature knowledge: What can we do?

THE ATLATL and the demise of really big animals 12,000 years ago

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