The Enduring Legacy of “Fred Bear”

Fred Bear.

In the Moore household that name was always spoken with great reverence.

In 1988, Fred Bear passed away but something was birthed that year that has kept his legacy alive more than anything.

It’s the song Fred Bear by Ted Nugent.

Having known Ted since I was 19 years old, we’ve had many discussions about Fred and that song.

Fred Bear, Ted Nugent and a furry friend.

“When I got the news of Fred passing that song flowed out of me,” he said.

And on his last major tour appropriately entitled Adios Mofos, it fits right in with his classic laden setlist of numbers like Stranglehold and Free For Fall.

The song for the last 35 years has become an anthem for hunters who feel truly connected to nature in a more profound way than much of the hunting media expresses, much less the mainstream.

The chorus’s refrain of “In the wind he’s still alive. In the wind he’s still alive. In the wind I hear Fred Bear” unites hunters in a way that perhaps nothing has ever done.

It also through an audio sample of Fred played in the outro and various video packages over the years, has not only introduced nonhunters to Bear but hunting in general.

I met my late friend Clint Starling the day I met Nugent in 1993 as he was Ted’s friend and involved with this then organization Ted Nugent World Bowunters.

Clint was born with spina bifida and wasn’t supposed to live past 17. He lived to be 47.

Clint loved bowhunting and he wasn’t exactly the most emotional guy on the planet, but more than once while we watched Ted play this song live, I saw tears well up in Clint’s eyes.

Clint Starling, his nephew Colton and of course Ted.

I always tear up when I hear it, but to see Clint do this was special.

On a long drive back after one of these shows, Clint talked about how much he loved hunting with his Dad and how Ted inspired him to take up the “mystical flight of the arrow”.

The hunting world has done a poor job of heralding its heroes. This is especially true in the hyper critical environment we live in where even disagreeing with someone on the type of firearm they use has seen pioneers escorted out of the business.

Ted Nugent has taught us the value of lifting up our heroes in this now iconic song.

It’s a song about a hunt, time with a lived one and remembering the powerful connection to nature you shared because of hunting.

And now 35 years later on Sept. 15 we get an awesome 12-inch hunter-orange vinyl Ep with incredible cover art and great bonus features.

This special vinyl release includes the original studio version & Hunt Music version; plus 2 Unreleased versions of the classic song.

It’s a great tribute to a song that follows many of us in the field every time we venture beyond the pavement.

Ted Nugent wrote this song out of love. It was a way of turning mourning into a celebration of a life beyond well-lived and a legacy that has benefitted all of us who hunt.

Fred Bear the song lives on and is more powerful than ever as it reminds in these dark and crazy times life is better spent outdoors with those we love.

And now we can enjoy this song in an amazing format befitting such a poignant work of art.

Chester Moore

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A Look At Mysterious Micro Deer

My late uncle Jackie Moore was a man of few words.

On the rare occasions he told a story, it always seemed to have an interesting twist, especially when it came to outdoors experiences.

“This deer crossed the road in front of us on in San Saba and it had a full eight point rack but it was half the size of a normal whitetail. It was the size of a medium-sized dog.”

He related that account several times and after his passing I mentioned it to my Dad and was shocked at what I heard.

“I saw one of those little bucks down in San Saba too. We hunted the same lease and I saw one there. It was half the size of the other bucks with a full rack.”

Considering the Texas Hill Country has some of the nation’s smallest deer, that would put the weight of this tiny buck at around 40 pounds.

After pondering this I started looking for photographic evidence.

Photos of someone holding a super tiny fawn that fits in one’s hands circulate on the net and often claim they are whitetail. They are not. Those are muntjac deer which hail from Asia and only get to about 35 pounds at adulthood.

Here’s a shot of me with a muntjac fawn that was a couple of weeks old when the photo was taken.

After blogging on this issue last fall a reader sent a photo that is without a doubt the best proof of “micro whitetails” I have ever seen and this is the first time it has been published

Reader “Alonzo” sent in this photo from a game camera.

Notice the small buck is in the foreground so it should appear larger than the one in the background. That means this deer is indeed a tiny one and would fit the size description of the ones my Dad and Uncle encountered in Central Texas more than 40 years ago.

In conducting an Internet search on the topic I found several references.

We use to have one where I went to college. Can’t remember what everyone named it but it was a dwarf deer. People would see it all the time and it was about half the size of a normal adult deer as well. These deer were very tame too as they were never hunted in an urban area so you could get fairly close to them. Use to trap deer there and then tackle them so we could put tags in them and do some research. Tried to get the mini but never did get him to go in one of the traps. (From T_3 Kyle on Taxidermy.net)

Here’s another example.

I was watching some hunting show. I can’t remember which one it was, but they showed a midget whitetail buck walking down a trail. It was neat looking, short stubby legs and it had a nice little rack too. (From JMBFishing2008 on Indianasportsman.com)

The Key Deer is the smallest subspecies of whitetail and it is found only in the Florida Keys chain of islands. The next smallest is the Carmen Mountains Whitetail found in a remote mountainous region of West Texas and northern Mexico.

We recently took a Higher Calling Wildlife expedition to the Florida Keys and the 14-year-old boy we took with us took this photograph.

Key deer are federally endangered species with less than 700 in existnece.

I am left with the following question.

Is there a recessive gene akin to dwarfism in whitetails? Have you seen one of these deer? If you then shoot us over a report or preferably a photo or video link to chester@chestermoore.com.

Whitetails are the most common large animal in North America and the idea of micro versions running about is truly fascinating.

Chester Moore

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Sharks, Seagrass & Sunny Florida

“Bad To The Bone”.

That was the theme of our 2023 Higher Calling Wildlife expedition to southern Florida.

The mission was to take 14-year-old Jerry Gibson on a conservation/fishing/photography adventure and to highlight the importance of seagrass flats that produce world-class sportfish like bonefish.

“Bad To The Bone”.

Get it?

With a donation from the Coastal Conservation Association and the help of Capt. Mo Estevez of Miami Bonefishing, we made a huge impact on Jerry and the mission at hand.

Biscayne Bay is the stunningly beautiful ecosystem in the shadow of Miami. Jerry told me his dream was to catch a shark so Capt. Mo took us out on the Atlantic side of the bay in the same location I caught my first bonefish with him in 2021.

Jerry loved watching the sunrise over Biscayne Bay.

It didn’t take long to connect with sharks in the beautiful clear waters. Jerry fought a bulldog-like nurse shark for about 10 minutes and achieved his ultimate angling dream.

Jerry’s dream came true catching this nurse shark with Capt. Mo Estevez. Bajio Sunglasses provided him with a pair that allowed him to see into the water in a way that he has never experienced. He was impressed Bajio is working to save seagrass flats.

He ended up catching another, slightly smaller nurse shark and marveled at seeing other nurse sharks, a bonnethead and a large southern stingray swimming around the boat.

Bajio graciously provided Jerry with a pair of sunglasses that were a real trip highlight for him. He told me he loved how they allowed him to see things in the water he never dreamed of being able to see.

Capt. Mo talked with him about the bonefish, permit and tarpon anglers come to pursue there and he left the bay with a feeling of achievement and inspiration.

We went down to Marathon Key and took a helicopter tour that showed the seagrass flats from a whole other perspective. He got to see the prop scarring from boats and saw two manatees, some dolphins, a couple of massive stingrays and an even more massive loggerhead sea turtle.

A helicopter tour at Marathon Key gave an awesome perspective of seagrass.
Look close enough and you might see a manatee here.

Higher Calling Wildlife seeks to mentor teens facing special challenges to become wildlife conservationists. Photography was a big part of our trip that we will cover in another post and Jerry has committed to using photography to aid conservation awareness.

We will be sharing more from this trip soon including Jerry’s photography from The Everglades and Big Pine Key.

Would you like to help other teens have experience like this? We will be doing expeditions in Colorado and Tennessee this fall and are already planning Florida for 2024.

You can make a tax-deductible donation here.

We believe that we are creating a NOW generation of conservationists and letting them know despite challenges great things can happen in their lives.

Chester Moore

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Hunters Nearly Killed By Feral Dogs!

A pack of feral dogs nearly killed a hunter in a recent, terrifying incident.

The man received nearly 300 puncture wounds and lacerations in an epic life and death struggle.Before his attack, a pair of hunters in Texas had to shoot their way through a pack of feral that was running in to attack them.

Feral dogs are becoming a major problem in this episode of Dark Outdoors we talk with these hunters and detail numerous terrifying tales of feral dogs pursuing hunters and other outdoors lovers.

You can listen by clicking here or listening via the player below.

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Amazing Wildlife Photos (From A Voice In The Wilderness Expedition)

Greetings!

I would normally say it’s great to be back after an expedition but I honestly wish I was still in stunningly beautiful Colorado.

Hey, don’t hate on me-fellow Texans! The heat index was 108 today.

We had a great time working with young people in our Wild Wishes program and other young people we are working with in a mentoring setting.

I’ll have a video recap next week but for now here are some of the photos the young people took on the trip.

Wild Wishes girl Kamille took this shot of a mule deer doe in Colorado Springs.
Our Wild Wishes girl Juno takes a great photo of a bull elk. You’ll see it in the next shot.
Juno’s elk photo turned out great!
Thirteen-year-old Delilah captured a beautiful moment between a cow moose and her young calf near Estes Park, CO.
Speaking of calves, Amber Borel got this great shot of a elk cow and calf. Many of the elk in the Estes Park area have collars to help track movements.
My daughter Faith got this great shot of a big bull elk.

We’ll be posting a video and more photos soon.

The mission fo what we do is to bring children facing special challenges to wild places and mentor them in conservation. We are teaching them to use photography to raise awarness of wildlife and the issues they face.

And we need your help as we have more expeditions planned.

Take a moment to think about your dark moments as a child and what it would’ve meant if you got to do something like this.

A tax-deductible donation of any size can be made by clicking here. You can also donate @kingdomzoo on Venmo.

We truly appreciate any size donation. Thank you for supporting what we do.

And if you know of a. young person we could help on an expedition like this or a wildlife encounter, please email chester@chestermoore.com.

Chester Moore

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A Look At Predators In Our National Parks

People are turning up missing at alarming rates in America’s national parks, forests and in other public wild lands.

Delia D’Ambra iis an investigative journalist and host of the Park Predators podcast and has been studying the issue since she came across alarming disappearances in her line of work.

Are these disappearances linked to mountain lions, bears and other wild predators or predators of the human kind?

Click banner to listen to this fascinating episode.

Listen to the latest episode of the Dark Outdoors podcast with Chester Moore to hear what Delia has found in her research.

Crazy Texas Moose Story

There was actually once a moose in Texas according to a 1989 story in The Oklahoman.. I included this in a story in the Fish & Game report last week.

Here’s one of the highlights from The Oklahoman.

A wandering bull moose that has been seen on occasion in the Oklahoma Panhandle apparently is in deep trouble in western Kansas.

Kansas wildlife officials said the big bull is in poor body condition and appears to be suffering from severe parasite infestation.

The animal, sporting an impressive set of antlers, was first observed in South Dakota in October 1987. Since then it has traveled through Nebraska and Kansas, across the Panhandle and into Texas. It later returned to Kansas and took up residence in the Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge before beginning another journey last fall. It was seen in Oklahoma last September, near the Optima Wildlife Refuge

This stray moose came over from Colorado and shows that wildlife do not respect maps and boundaries we put on them. Have you ever seen animal that is not supposed to be in Texas?

Chester Moore

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Dark Secrets Of TX National Forest Revealed

This is the show I have been wanting to do.

Since I began this Dark Outdoors journey, I have been researching for this exact show. And now, we have it.

The Sam Houston National Forest near Houston has more than 40 missing people arounds its corridor and many bodies found over the years.

Now we have a verified serial killer in the area and put together a show that gives deep insight into what has been going on in the area.

Click here to listen or via the icon below.

I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and would love to hear your stories of the Sam Houston National Forest or other Dark Outdoors encounters you might have had.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Chester Moore

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Bonefish and Permit In All The Wrong Places

Bonefish are the gateway drug to flats fishing. Once you catch one, you can’t get enough, and you want to go after permit and tarpon, and then you’re hooked.”

Those were the words of Dr. Aaron Adams, Conservation Director of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust on an episode of my Higher Calling Wildlife podcast.

In an article called Chasing The Flats Slam in Texas Fish & Game I admitted to telling Adams after recently catching my first bonefish in Florida’s Biscayne Bay, that I had already booked a trip to catch permit, he said, “I told you so.”

Adam’s statement made perfect sense to me. I’ve never done a drug in my life and have always found the high of hooking into a big fish or calling in a turkey plenty for me.

The Flats Slam consists of the bonefish, tarpon, and permit, fish which spend some of their time in the deeper ocean but most of their life cycle in the flats.

Tarpon can be found in all states along the Gulf Coast in catchable numbers although the main fisheries are Florida, southern Texas and a small section of the Louisiana Coast.

What’s interesting is there seems to be evidence that with warming Gulf temperatures, more bonefish and permit are showing up in odd places.

Bonefish: Bonefish are arguably the fastest-moving, hardest-fighting pound-for-pound fish on the planet. They are the stuff of fly fishermen’s dreams as stalking them on the clear flats in places like Florida, Belize and The Bahamas is a mega challenge.

Did you know there are a few bonefish in Texas?

The author with the big bonefish he caught in Biscayne Bay in 2021 while fishing with Capt. Mo Estevez.

The state record weighed 3.77 pounds and was caught by angler C.W. Morris in 1977. The listing says “Gulf of Mexico” which probably means he caught it in the surf somewhere, but I have not been able to track down the exact location.

One of Capt. Brian Barerra’s clients caught a small bonefish in the South Padre area a few years ago. Capt. Joey Farrah told me one of his clients hung into one in the lower end of the Middle Coast.

In preparation for this article, I contacted Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s coastal fisheries division and found out that since 1994, they have records of catching 16 bonefish in their net surveys. The catches were all in the Aransas Channel, Aransas Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, Upper Laguna Madre, and Lower Laguna Madre. They were all less than four inches in length.

They’re nowhere near a common catch, but they are present in Texas waters.

Permit: Quite a few anglers think they’ve caught a permit in Texas, but are disappointed to find out it was a southern pompano (a close relative) or even a jack crevalle (similar shape and colors).

Permit are stunning flats species that get big. They are said to be the moodiest of flats slam species and will often ignore the most perfectly placed lure or fly.

Permit are also present in Texas in small numbers.

permit in Texas

Jared Guinn caught the Texas state record in the Gulf of Mexico in 1993. It only weighed 1.50 pounds. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence of permit close to this size caught in the Galveston Bay complex in recent years, from very informed anglers.

Christy Real caught this permit while fishing at the Texas City Dike March 2023.

One of Capt. Brian Barerra’s young clients caught a permit in the South Padre area. It wasn’t a monster but in a very real way, it was the catch of a lifetime.

Have you caught a permit or a bonefish outside of Florida? If so, email your reports, pics and videos to chester@dchestermoore.com.

We would love to have the opportunity to use these photos to rasie awareness of these great fish.

Chester Moore

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Great News For Higher Calling Wildlife!

Higher Calling Wildlife-the blog (the one you’re reading) was honored last weekend by the Press Club of Southeast Texas.

It took first place in the blog category, for the second time in three years.

Chester Moore also won in four other categories.

Moore and his wife Lisa at the Press Club awards.

Dark Outdoors-the podcast won for “Overall Excellence? category for podcasts and for investigative program.

His “Moore Outdoors”on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI radio program won best talk show and he also took first in social media for his Instagram.

“It’s great to be honored by such a prestigious media organization. I’m both humbled and inspired to keep working on top-quality content,” Moore said.

Hog Origins And How Long It Takes Domestics to Go Wild

Check out this fascinating episode of Higher Calling Wildlife-the podcast where Chester talks with top hog expert Dr. Jack Mayer about feral hog origins.

We even get to hear how big hogs can REALLY get in the wild. Click here on the icon below to listen.

Dark Outdoors

And don’t forget to check out the latest episode of Dark Outdoors.

Have you ever seen the cult classic Southern Comfort featuring Powers Boothe and Keith Carradine? We have a real life story on this week’s episode just as scary. Click here to listen or via all major podcasting platforms.

Next week we talk about the dark side of the Sam Houston National Forest.

Follow Chester Moore and Higher Calling Wildlife® on the following social media platforms

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

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Real Life Southern Comfort And A Dangerous Encounter While Surf Fishing!

Dark Outdoors is back with a new episode!

Last weekend was awesome as I got to do a seminar on the Ladybird Lake deaths at Texas Frightmare Weekend. We appreciate their support of this media platform.

Have you ever seen the cult classic Southern Comfort featuring Powers Boothe and Keith Carradine? We have a real life story on this week’s episode just as scary. Click here to listen or via all major podcasting platforms.

This is all about raising awareness and keeping people safe in the great outdoors. We featured a Missing in the Wild segment in every episode. This week is the case of Vincent Beradi from the Fort Worth area who went missing in the Davy Crockett National Forest.

Learn more about his case here.

Also, we learned about the cold case of Molly Miller at Frightmare this weekend. Please visit  Operation Find Molly Miller on Facebook.

Hope you have a great rest of the week!

Sincerely,

Chester Moore

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Dark Outdoors the podcast is sponsored by Texas Fish & Game and Texas Frightmare Weekend.

The Inspirational Voice Of Wildlife Conservation