Tag Archives: higher calling wildlife

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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Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors and Higher Calling Wildlife podcasts on all major podcasting platforms.

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.

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

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Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors and Higher Calling Wildlife podcasts on all major podcasting platforms.

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

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

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

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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.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

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“If You Support Me, Please Read This Post”

Greetings from Texas!

“If you support me, please read this post’.

I was struggling with the verbiage for this post and that is the most heartfelt, honest one I can come up with.

We have been given some incredible opportunities to invest in the lives of children in Colorado by including them in part of a special mission trip in June.

This young man got to join Chester on an expedition in 2022 in Colorado. He got to photograph bighorns, elk and the beautiful mountain scendry.

In fact, we’ve had the trip booked but just added two new families to two different parts of the trip.

Our mission is restore hope during a dark time in their lives by giving them amazing wildlife encounters. We’ve raised most of the funds for this trip which we believe is very important. But we haven’t raised it all yet.

I almost never use this blog for fundraising but I need your help.

We still need to raise about $3,000 with the addition of the new families we are helping and other expenses as the cost of some things has risen since we put this together.

This is the photo the young man above took. Can you help facilitate the next young person getting such an encoutner?

Any size donation is appreciated. We are excited our mission has expanded and we will be impacting more families but we do need your help.

A donation of any size is appreciated. You can makg tax-deductible donations by clicking here.

We are taking families to do wildlife photography in the Estes Park area as well as connecting with special wildlife encounters at two different zoos in the state.

All of it costs but the great news is these have proven to be life-changing experiences for the children and families. You have an opportunity to help us help hurting children and to see the goodness of Christ through wildlife expeditions.

The forthcoming expedition will also help some kids and their families get special wildlife encounters at zoos in Colorado.

My writings and broadcasts are important because they help spread the word of conservation. I very much appreciate you supporting them.

But these expeditions are far more important as they not only spread the word of conservation but help us help hurting children receive hope.

Can you make a donation? A donation of any size is greatly appreciated.

You can donate here.

Thank you so much!

In Christ,

Chester Moore

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

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

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Sheep Show Coming This Week!

The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) hosts its 46th annual Convention and Sporting Expo “The Sheep Show” Jan. 12-14 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and the Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino.

“Every year we bring the sporting community together to celebrate outdoor traditions and raise money for the conservation and management of wild sheep,” said WSF President & CEO Gray N. Thornton. “It’s the largest celebration of mountain game hunting and conservation in the U.S. This year we’ve expanded the Expo to include three halls filled wall to wall with exhibits featuring the finest guides, outfitters, gear, taxidermy, art, firearms, optics and other outdoor essentials from North America and around the world.”

Higher Calling Wildlife will have coverage of the show on our Facebook and Instagram and a wrap-up here next week.

The Show features hundreds of exhibitors, educational seminars, youth events, drawings, hunt giveaways, raffles, and banquets. Nightly auctions feature more than $3 million in outdoor adventure trips and more special conservation permits than any other convention or hunting expo.

Money raised is used to enhance wild sheep populations across North America and internationally through disease research, herd monitoring, habitat improvements and other initiatives.

The Sheep Show is open to the public Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 12-14, at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Show hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Daily admission is $25. Paid attendees are entered daily for floor credit drawings from $1,000-$5,000. Free seminars from experts on mountain hunting in North America, Europe, and Asia include topics such as wildlife conservation, travel, outdoor skills, backcountry fitness and nutrition, wild game preparation and cooking and hunter safety.

The Expo also features a free Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience open to the public at the convention center Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The youth event offers fun educational activities focused on conservation, outdoor skills and nature. 

A complete schedule of events, pre-registration and other details are available at www.wildsheepfoundation.org.

Daily passes are available at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on convention days. Five-dollar discount coupons are available at Sportsman’s Warehouse, Cabela’s, Scheels, Reno HUNTNHOUSE, Mark Fore & Strike (Reno), Bass Pro Shops (Sacramento), Gun World & Archery (Elko) and Honey Lake Firearms (Susanville).

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Higher Calling Wildlife Is Back!

Greetings from Texas!

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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Meet Chester Moore Tomorrow! (Help Higher Calling Wildlife Expeditions)

Chester Moore and young artist Chanah Haley will host a book and poster signing Saturday Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. at Rambo Outdoors 2335 MacArthur Dr, Orange, TX 77630.

Chester will be signing his hunting and fishing books and Chana will debut a special poster of a red sheep she drew after taking part in one of Chester’s Higher Calling Wildlife expeditions.

“I’ll be there to talk with everyone and sign books to raise funds for our ministry work. It’s really about Chanah and her work. She went on our expedition, photographed a red sheep and then went and did the artwork. This shows her she can use her art for good and raise awareness to conservation. We will donate a portion of the proceeds to wild sheep conservation as well,” Moore said.

Above you see Chana taking photos in Kerr County, TX on a Higher Calling Wildlife expedition in May 2022. Here you see the art she did from one of of her photos. Order this poser and help other kids go on special expeditions.

You can order a print to be a limited to 40 signed and numbered to be shipped to you for only $25. Order here and clicking on the Higher Calling Wildlife fund.

Order here.

Come out to meet Chester, get a cool, limited art print and help the cause. You can also have a rare chance to talk one on one with Chester about wildlife, Dark Outdoors and other topics.

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

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Wildlife Wednesday: Shark In A Yard, Hurricane-Wildlife Blackout & Mysterious Water Deaths

Greetings!

Last week we reported on possible wildlife impacts to Hurricane Ian, but the damage has been so bad on the infrastructure side that little info has come out of that part of the state.

Even the toll on people remains mysterious at the time of this writing. Hopefully there will not be as many dead as some officials predict.

This was an incredibly powerful and devastating storm..

One interesting wildlife note that has come out of Florida is a video of a shark in a backyard in Fort Meyers.

There are photos and videos that seem to pop up around every storm and most of them are fake, but this one seems legit.

You can watch it here.

We will have updates on Ian’s wildlife impact when we get them.

Dark Outdoors: Mysterious Water Deaths

If you think you’ve heard it all in true crime and outdoors mysteries, think again. Chester Moore interviews William Ramsey of William Ramsey Investigates about mysterious water deaths that have been puzzling police around the nation.

You can listen by clicking here.

This takes us into the “Smiley Face Killers” phenomenon and we also delve into death cults link to murders in the great outdoors.

*Here why police and forensics experts believe young men are being taken and then dumped in water days, sometimes weeks after abduction.

*Learn why a smiley face can be a sinister symbol when found in the outdoors.

*Hear about dangerous death cults who operate in wilderness areas and along the border.

Speaking For The Wildlife Society

Last week, I had the honor of speaking at Stephen F. Austin State University for The Wildlife Society.

My presentation was about how to make an impact on wildlife conservation.

I shared some of my adventures in the field from photographing bighorn sheep to working with sharks.

It was a fun evening and several students have connected with me since then to find ways to use their photography to help wildlife. We will publish some of their work here soon.

Saving Vietnam’s “Unicorn”

One of the world’s rarest animals—the saola, a type of wild cattle likely down to a few individuals—is getting a critical emergency boost from the European Union, Re:wild and WWF-Viet Nam to prevent its extinction.

According to a press release by Re:wild: the saola is the focus of the latest efforts by the Rapid Response for Ecosystems, Species and Communities Undergoing Emergencies (Rapid RESCUE) fund, established in 2020 by the EU, Leonardo DiCaprio and Re:wild to provide a swift response to emerging biodiversity threats.

 Saola photo by Toon Fey, WWF

The funding will support Re:wild and WWF-Viet Nam in their search for the last saola that survive in Viet Nam, as a first step in securing these animals for a conservation breeding program to ensure the species’ survival. As a result of the global covid pandemic, intensive search efforts to find the last Saola were effectively stopped for two years, greatly increasing the need for emergency support to quickly initiate surveys and conservation measures to save it from extinction.

“We have an amazing opportunity here to find and save the last saola in Viet Nam,” said Andrew Tilker, Re:wild’s Asian species officer.

“And as we are searching for saola, we will also be looking for some of the other special and endangered species that are found only in the Annamite Mountains. We are working with local stakeholders to start conservation breeding programs for a number of these species with the aim of someday returning them to the wild when it is safe to do so.”

The saola, which was only discovered by scientists in 1992, is so rare that no biologist has ever seen one in the wild. Their evasiveness has earned them the nickname Asian “unicorn.” Like other species in the Annamite Mountains, a rugged mountain chain on the border of Viet Nam and Laos, saola are the victims of unsustainable hunting through wire snares. Although the snares do not target saola, they indiscriminately kill ground-dwelling animals, and have emptied the forests of wildlife across the region.

“Protecting ecosystems is key for wildlife to flourish,” said Giorgio Aliberti, head of the European Union Delegation to Vietnam. “We all depend on it, as biodiversity is crucial to safeguard global food systems and ultimately food security. The European Union is proud to support conservation efforts to save species like saola from extinction, in line with the EU biodiversity strategy.”

Since the saola’s discovery, biologists have only photographed the species five times in the wild, all by camera traps—twice in Laos and three times in Viet Nam. The most recent camera trap photos were taken in 2013, when a WWF camera trap caught images of an animal in central Viet Nam. This year’s Southeast Asia Games, which ran from May 12 through May 23, featured the saola as its mascot.

For more information click here.

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Wildlife Disaster: Hurricane Ian Will Be A Game-Changer In Florida

As monster category 4 Hurricane Ian slams into Florida, the human loss is of course the priority.

There are still people in danger and many homes and businesses are already destroyed.

This is a game changing storm for the Gulf side of Florida.

There will be a major wildlife and wildlife habitat toll as well and that is what we are going to cover here.

Although it will be at least 24 hours before we get into on major results of the storm on wildlife, here is what I believe we should expect.

Manatee Strandings: With the water already sucked out of Tampa Bay in a reverse surge situation, you can expect some impact to the West Indian manatee.

These animals have suffered tremendous losses over the last couple of years and there are chances of strandings and deaths due to direct impact and stress.

Manatee strandings are a big concern in the wake if Ian. (USFWS Photo)

Fish Kills: A storm brining up to 18 feet of storm surge with giant waves on top of that will cause major fish kills along much of the impacted area.

Fish kills will likely occur many miles inland. (USFWS Photo)

Canals where water has been sucked out will see fish death and saltwater intrusion of inland areas will also cause issues. It might be a fe days before we see this begin to happen on a large-scale but it will happen.

Key Deer: The Florida Keys dodged the major brunt of this storm but there was some storm surge.

I got this report from the National Weather Service

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for the Lower Florida Keys including Key West through Big Pine Key– Act now over the next several hours near and after the low tide to protect property.  

Widespread Storm Surge Flooding originating from the Gulfside up to 4 feet above normal high tide levels is expected from Key West through Big Pine Key.  For several islands, this will allow the storm surge to pass over from Gulfside to oceanside.  The peak storm surge levels will likely occur from around noon through mid afternoon. 

It went on to say many streets will become impassable with water into ground floor homes and businesses, especially those in lower elevation areas.  

Key deer are under threat on Big Pine Key. (Photo by Faith Moore)

The largest concentration of the endangered Key deer is on Big Pine Key which has an elevation of three feet, so there is still some concern for the wildlife there.

Displaced Snakes & Hogs: In the aftermath of the storm, Florida’s very abundant feral hog and snake population in the impacted areas will be displaced.

That will mean cottonmouths and rattlesnakes in and around housing editions and feral hogs showing up in high ground around cities.

People will need to use extreme caution around debris.

We will post an update as soon as we know more on the wildlife end of things.

Keep the people and wildlife of Florida in your prayers.

They need it.

Chester Moore

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