LITTLE ROCK - People should be “bear aware” of the hazards posed by increasing black bear populations in Arkansas even though attacks are rare, says Rebecca McPeake

“Most bears avoid direct contact with humans,” she says. “Bear attacks are so rare that a person is 180 times more likely to die from a bee sting or 160,000 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than die…[more]

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will temporarily close five state parks for public safety reasons for two weekends during December while special hunts are being conducted to alleviate deer overpopulations.

By law, state parks are established as wildlife refuges, and hunting is not permitted except under special circumstances. However, these special hunts are used as a resource management tool because the deer population is too large for…[more]

We live in a universe of almost unimaginable size. To give you an idea of the scale, we can only use optical and radio methods to observe objects out to about 13,000 million light years away and nobody knows what lies beyond that. Closer to us we can see clusters of galaxies at distances out to about 750 million light years. The other galaxies of what is know as the…[more]

Tim Ernst, Arkansas’ Wilderness Photographer, will be presenting a slide show throughout the Ozarks during November and December.  Ernst creates these slide shows annually and tours them around the area toward the end of each year.

The next free event will be held on Saturday, November 15 at 7pm in the Lyric Theater on the square in Harrison, Arkansas. This show is being sponsored by the Ozarks Arts…[more]

Eagle Days’ 30th anniversary takes flight Dec. 6
Visit one of these locations to see bald eagles in the wild and up close in indoor programs.

News item photo
Missourians have been spying on bald eagles for 30 years at events organized by the Missouri Department of Conservation. This year, Eagle Days kick off with an event at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge Dec.…[more]

The Little Rock Zoo is sad to announce the death of a male silverback western lowland gorilla, JJ, or “Jungle Jack,” who died Sunday morning in his exhibit.

Zookeepers fed JJ breakfast in the morning while the gorilla was inside and then went outside to clean exhibit yards in the great ape display. When they returned later that morning JJ was found dead.[more]

This coming winter in the Ozarks is going to be warmer than average with an above average snow fall. Well, at least according to persimmon seeds.

“It’s a cherished bit of Ozarks folklore that the shape of the tiny seedling inside a persimmon seed can predict conditions in the upcoming winter,” said Patrick Byers, horticulture specialist, University of Missouri Extension.[more]

JEFFERSON CITY–Missouri’s acorn-counters have filed their reports, and the news could play a key role in deer and turkey hunters’ strategies this fall.

Acorn-counters? That’s right. The Missouri Department of Conservation has a dedicated cadre of employees and volunteers who take to the woods each fall to measure the abundance of acorns. The durable wildlife food items are known collectively as “oak mast.”

Acorns are the…[more]

“In what can only be termed as a phenomenal effort with superb results for the recovery of wild quail, we are extremely proud to have the West Central Chapter and Quail Unlimited as an organization as a significant part of the quail habitat recovery in Missouri,” proclaimed Rocky Evans, President of QU. The Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI), the strategy plan for quail recovery in the U.S., set restoration goals…[more]

(NewsUSA) - This winter, you may notice what appears to be a binocular brigade, counting birds in your local woods.

From Central Park to backyards in Biloxi, tens of thousands of citizen scientists are taking action. For some, these counts are a competitive sport. To many, they serve as a real way to tackle environmental challenges. Because birds are early indicators that a habitat is disturbed, they are…[more]