We hope you get to spend it with people you love and eating too much good food.
Please take time to reach out to those who might be lonely this Christmas.
A phone call or a text to say “I love you” or “Merry Christmas (Insert Name)” might save a life. Suicide rates are through the roof around Christmas.
I’m excited for 2024 as we have a lot of really great things planned with some of the content you all have been asking for more of over the last year.
Feel free to share my kid’s story and its animated video “Bingo the Christmas Dingo” with the kids in your life. We got to read the story to a foster group home this morning and it blessed my heart seeing the kid’s reaction.
I’ll be back soon with new in-depth wildlife posts, videos and podcasts.
May the peace of Christ be with you and yours!
Chester Moore
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Christmas is a time of joy, celebration, and time with family.
But for many, it’s a dark time of isolation and loneliness, especially when it brings back memories of a dearly departed loved one.
I’ve had my brush with this and remember the date clearly. It was Dec. 27, 2014.
No place is more alive just before dark than the cactus-filled thickets of deep South Texas and that’s where me and my Dad were hunting.
I had to talk my Dad into duck hunting but he loved deer hunting and instilled in me a conservation ethic through our time in the field.
My father and I were hunting our friend Robert Scherer’s ranch near Freer and I was absolutely stunned by the number of big bucks, young bucks, does and other creatures I spotted.
A stunning green jay sang just outside the tower blind I sat in while a long-legged bobcat carefully moved down the sendero.
The scene’s highlight was a massive drop-tined 10-pointer that looked like something out of a deer hunter’s dream. I was there to shoot does for the freezer but had as much fun filming and photographing the behemoth as I would have shooting it.
Truly majestic.
The previous evening, Dad shot a beautiful 18-inch eight-pointer that was his second biggest buck, only behind a three-main-beamed monster he bagged at the same ranch two years earlier.
“That is a nice buck. I’m so happy for you,” I told Dad as I showed him a photo of it on my phone.
“Yeah. It is nice,” he replied with a smirk.
“See anything this evening, Dad?”
“A few does and a bunch of javelina, 15 of them,” he replied.
Dad then explained that a group of 14 javelinas came out and fed on the corn scattered down the Sendero and that he raised his rifle to shoot one but just couldn’t do it.
“I really didn’t want to shoot a javelina and learned years ago not to shoot anything that I did not want to eat,” he said.
“So, I decided to get some photos for you, but when I positioned the camera, they all left.”
“Then something interesting happened,” he said.
“A lone javelina that had not been part of their group came out and virtually posed for me and let me take several good shots.”
My Dad with the buck he shot the night before he passed away.
Dad then turned on his camera and showed me some nice photos as a big smile came across his face.
“I believe that was God’s way of showing me I did the right thing.”
“How awesome is that, Dad? God has shown us some amazing signs in nature, hasn’t He?” I replied.
We briefly spoke about that and then decided to quarter his buck hanging in Scherer’s freezer.
While cleaning the buck with another gentleman and his wife who were hunting the ranch, Dad suddenly said, “I think I overexerted myself.”
I walked over to help him from the squatted position, and he looked at me and said, “It’s not good.”
The couple who were helping us with the buck were EMTs, and they worked on Dad and kept his heart beating for a good while, long enough for me to tell him I was proud to be his son, that me, mom, my wife Lisa and his beloved granddaughter Faith loved him.
Soon after, Dad passed from this world into the arms of His Savior, Jesus Christ.
My head spun as I watched the man who introduced me to the great outdoors, supported everything I ever did, and loved me unconditionally, lifeless on the floor of the ranch house. I had to make some painful phone calls home and then make the seven-hour drive back to Orange.
Just as I left the ranch gates around 10 p.m., I came within a couple of feet of hitting a big boar javelina. Something about the animal seemed surreal, almost like I saw it in a strange 3-D projection.
As I drove down the lonely highway in my Dad’s truck, realizing I would never get to hunt or fish with him again, I cried in mourning for the man behind many of my successes in life.
Then I started praying.
“Lord, could you please send me a sign from Dad, a sign from you that He is alright?”
I knew without question where He was, but at that moment, not much seemed real. My life suddenly seemed like a terrible dream. And then it hit me.
I asked if he could hear me, and he blinked his eyes.
The javelina.
The javelina was my sign.
Our last conversation was about a lone javelina and how God used it to confirm that He made the right decision. Now it made sense why I got such a close look at the creature and why something about it seemed different.
I believe the javelina was heaven-sent.
That encounter boosted me to make the four-hour drive to an area where friends would meet me and take over the rest of the three hours.
IA lone javelina was the sign I needed.
I didn’t want to deer hunt for a couple of years after Dad passed away. I would duck hunt but shied away from deer hunting because that was the thing we shared so much together.
But that changed after I realized he would love to be deer hunting with me out there.
Since Dad passed away so close to Christmas, the holiday is always a reminder of his passing. But we have chosen it to be a reminder of a well-lived life and a man who brought us happiness.
Many of us who love the great outdoors have lost people, and this time of year, it can quickly turn to depression.
Choose to turn it into a celebration, and remember the reason for this season can bring you peace beyond understanding. I cried out to Him in deceleration for a sign on that sorrowful night, and He answered.
The world is going wild, and things can look grim, but focus on the good things in life.
Remember the incredible whitetails you hunt, the ducks you doggedly pursue, and the bighorns and elk you dream of.
Spend time with those you love, and always reach out to others who might be struggling this time of year.
Trust me, even after grief strikes, things can get better, and there’s no better place to feel that than in the great outdoors.
Give yourself the gift of the outdoors this year and share it with others. I had to take a long drive to get back to the place I could enjoy Christmas and I know you can do it as well.
You can change lives for the better by helping others hunt, fish, and enjoy nature, and you will honor those outdoors lovers who have fallen in the process.
Merry Christmas!
Chester Moore
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I have been getting many requests for more video content and I have uploaded 75 videos (and counting) to my YouTube channel. You can help me in a major way by subscribing to that channel.
I’m trying to get to 1,000 subscribers so I can monetize and help feed the family in an increasingly challenging to make a living in media world. Your support is appreciated. This helps me and my family and will help the causes we support.
I have uploaded some killer stuff including videos of pink dolphins, bears in Oklahoma, wild cats, snakes eating snakes and much more. I also have a Dark Outdoors playlist with cool clips and a full documentary. I will be doing many Dark Outdoors clips as well as some (by popular demand) cryptozoology videos.
Please subscribe and comment away on the clips. Let me know what you want to see and I will do my best to make it happen.
Chester Moore
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@thechestermoore on Instagram
Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook
Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.
Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors and Higher Calling Wildlife podcasts on all major podcasting platforms.
Higher Calling Wildlife® has consistently supported wildlife conservation efforts in Israel.
We have partnered with the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo’s Persian fallow deer restoration program since 2014 and are proud to call them friends.
We has enjoyed raising awareness to the restoration of the Persian fallow deer into Israel and has been recognized for his organization Kingdom Zoo Wildlife Center’s contributions to that program.
We make donations to this conservation program in honor of kids coming through Wild Wishes®. This program grants wildlife encounters to children with a critical illness, traumatic loss , living in foster care and other serious issues.
The kids light up when we tell them because they came to us, wildlife in Israel got a blessing.
A few years back we created the Higher Calling Wildlife® Wildlife Of Israel magazine that raises awareness of wildlife conservation in the Holy Land.
It’s the first of its kind magazine focusing solely on Israel’s wildlife and we chose to bring it back to public awareness as Israel as engaged in war and they suffered a horrific attack Oct. 7.
Last Saturday I had the incredible honor of being recognized as “2023 Outstanding Bighorn Teacher” by the National Bighorn Sheep Center in beautiful Dubois, WY. It was for my work teaching kids (and kids at heart) about bighorn sheep and their conservation needs.
For someone who used to cut pictures of bighorns out of Sports Afield, Field and Stream and Outdoor Life and paste them into a scrapbook when he was a little boy this is a huge deal.
But something equally special happened Saturday night. Two little kids who I later found out were son and daughter of the new center director were doing an animal game for kids. As typical for me when I see kids, I went and talked with them about their favorite animals.
They asked me what my favorite American animal was and I said, “bighorn”.
When I got my award I had the chance to speak for a minute and then I walked to the back of the room to shoot a few pics for social media. The little boy I had talked to walked up to me and gave me this little plastic bighorn ram.
“We only had one of these and I saved it for you. Congratulations sir, I figured you might like this.”
This really touched my heart and reinforces what it’s all about-making an impact for kids and wild sheep.
I’m grateful to the National Bighorn Sheep Center for the honor and to Sara Bridge (pictured here with me) for bringing me out to Camp Bighorn this summer to teach the kids about bighorns and conservation.
Chester Moore
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@thechestermoore on Instagram
Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook
Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.
Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors and Higher Calling Wildlife podcasts on all major podcasting platforms.
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
After a two-month hiatus, Higher Calling Wildlife, the media platform is back! There are some great things already completed that will debut soon and lots of things in the works for 2023.
Higher Calling Wildlife-the podcast makes its 2023 return with a new format Jan. 10. We’ll be putting a a weekly 10 minute episode on intriguing wildlife news and investigations and doing a monthly hourlong deep-dive.
And while we’re on the subject of the podcast, in 2022, we moved into a different network. We greatly appreciate the opportunity but the format didn’t work for how I needed to produce the program.
Now I’m back with my old host where I kept archives of the program and was blown away with how many people downloaded the archives in 2022. When I got the 50,000 downloads badge notification I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t wait to see the numbers we do with an active program on the podbean nework!
There will be much more audio and video content coming. I’m also doing a lot of freelance work on top of my main gig as Editor-In-Chief of Texas Fish & Game.
I’m motivated, more focused than normal (which is a lot) and ready to have an inspirational year of content creation and investigative wildlife journalism.
Chester Moore
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