Tag Archives: the wildlife journalist

A Tiger At Lake Livingston! Or Was It In Bossier City?

March 14, 2024 Chester Moore Leave a comment

“Tiger spotted at Lake Livingston. (Livingston, TX), y’all be careful out there.”

This text accompanied a photo of a tiger in the water along a brushy area in a waterway that was posted to Facebook and shared thousands of times.

In addition, the post said, “Update: $10,000 reward for whoever can catch it or have information on where this tiger is located.”

That post might have struck my interest a little but I had already seen the same post in stead of Lake Livingston it was allegedly in Bossier City, La.

Then I found another to claimed it was in the San Antonio area.

I found a post attached to the same photos in 2019.

This is simply another example of fake wildlife news.

Photos like this are posted somewhere and for reasons that are beyond me are shared all over the place with locations and details often changed.

I have received the same supposed Texas “black panther” game camera photo on and off or five years from at least half a dozen different locations. The photo is indeed a black panther-a melanistic (black) leopard from Africa.

The tiger situations brings up a fallacy that has been floated for years that Texas has more captive tigers than exist in the wild. I’m not saying that might not have been true 30 years ago, although no one ever did a legitimate survey.

But it’s not true now in my opinion. No way.

There are tigers out there but there’s not one in every city as some have suggested.

There is however an interesting history of tiger escapes that are verified.

*There’s the case of a tiger named India found roaming around the Houston area in 2021.

*Another 2021 story details a tiger that was spotted in someone’s backyard in San Antonio.

*In 2023 a tiger was found in the Dallas area.

Unfortunately, these stories and the fake wildlife news put the focus on captive tigers and unfortunate reality television stars that have them and almost always leave out the fact wild tiger populations are critically endangered.

One of the last Caspian tigers killed in the 1930s.

It’s not as sensational but the fact is in the last 100 years we have lost two tiger subspecies (Javan and Caspian).

There is positive news that numbers have increased slightly in India, China and Russia but they still need major help as habitat loss and poaching are still major threats. Read our story on that here.

*An Amur (Siberian) tiger roaming the wild lands of China. (Photo Feline Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland)*

I believe it’s important to dispel fake wildlife news and that any attention we pay to tigers should be focused on saving the habitat and conserving wild populations.

In my opinion, tigers are the most beautiful animals on the planet.

I would love to see one of the wild, but it’s not about to happen at Lake Livingston any time soon.

Chester Moore

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Mysterious Wildlife

This Is The Source of Many Black Panther Sightings!

February 6, 2024 Chester Moore Leave a comment

Six years ago, I coined the term “black longtail” to describe a type of cat I believe is responsible for many black panther”sightings in America.

In part 5 of our Black Panthers In America YouTube series we discuss this felid and show some interesting photos.

In case you missed our last two videos in the series you can watch them here. these talk about different aspects of black panther sightings.

Help Us Help Hurting Children

We are doing a special expedition to Florida to help give 12 kids amazing educational and inspirational encounters at a friend’s facility that has mountain lions, Florida panthers and other small cats.

These encounters can change lives and inspire kids to get involved with wildlife. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation you can donate at the link below. We have a short time to get the funds together and need your help.

Donate here

Spotted Seatrout Podcast

Regulations for spotted seatrout (speckled trout) are changing along the Gulf Coast. There is much concern about this popular fishery and in the latest episode of Higher Calling Wildlife® we dig deep into the topic.

You can listen here

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Higher Calling Wildlife

Amazing Wildlife Footage!

December 12, 2023 Chester Moore Leave a comment

Greetings from the swamps of Southeast Texas!

I have been getting many requests for more video content and I have uploaded 75 videos (and counting) to my YouTube channe l. You can help me in a major way by subscribing to that channel.

You can subscribe here.

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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Mysterious Wildlife, Wildlife Wednesday

Wildlife Wednesday: Is This A Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Or Something Else?

August 31, 2022 Chester Moore Leave a comment

A woman claims she spotted a mysterious animal resembling the long-extinct Tasmanian Tiger while out on a bush walk with her son and sister according to a report in The Daily Mail.

Jessie Milde was on the hike in Belair National Park in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, when her family noticed a strange animal ‘lolloping’ around.

Ms Milde first thought the creature was either a ‘weird looking kangaroo’ or a ‘really scraggy looking dog’ but her sister was convinced it was a Tasmanian Tiger.
You can check out the video here.

The thylacine has been considered extinct since the 1930s although a fair amount of reports exist.

They are without question in my opinion the most intriguing of possibly still alive-considered extinct creatures. The video (linked above) is interesting, but what interests me more is there seems to be an uptick in sightings and possible videos in recent years.

My good friend Todd Jurasek has made several expeditions into Australia and New Guinea. He believes there is a high chance of thylacines still existing.

“I think there are definitely still some thylacine living in Australia and Tasmania,” he said.

Sept. 13 Higher Calling Wildlife the podcast and this blog will begin a three-part series on mysterious wildlife. The thylacine will be the subject of one of these episodes. We will also cover the ivory-billed woodpecker, blue and black tigers and some other obscure animals.

It’s going to be a fun fall with super cool topics.

Defending Against Guys Likes This In The Great Outdoors

In this epic, hour-long episode, Dark Outdoors host Chester Moore dives into the iconic unsolved Moonlight Murders and the Phantom Killer made famous in 1976’s classic “The Town That Dreaded Sundown”.

The Phantom Killer as portrayed by Bud Davis in The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

This show examines how the phantom operated and compares it to dangers lurking today in sububan forest areas from similar predators.

It begins with a personal brush with danger from me and then goes into an interview with John Tennison, a cousin once removed from one of the chief Phantom killer suspects.

Click here to listen.

Hear a super rare and historic revelation of an eyewitness to seeing a white-masked figure in the night of Texarkana during the Phantom’s reign of terror.

We also interview Pamula Pierce Barcelou, daughter of “The Town that Dreaded Sundown” director Charles B. Pierce. She shares fascinating insight into this cult classic and her Dad’s role creating it nearly 50 years ago.

And learn why we should be super cautious in urban and suburan parks, greenbelts and forests.

This is a can’t miss episode!

Water For People and Bighorns

The San Francisco Mountains south of the Arizona border in Sonora, MX, barely receive 3” of annual precipitation according to officials with The Wild Sheep Foundation.

WSF, along with $10,000 from the Dallas Safari Club Foundation, has contributed $82,500 to drill a well to supply water to local people and provide a close and reliable water source for transport to fill water tanks for desert bighorn sheep and other desert-dwelling wildlife.

Before this well, water had to be trucked daily 30 miles to supply the 78 families living in the area according to WSF reports.

For nearly 25 years, residents have worked to conserve and re-populate desert bighorn sheep in this ejido. As a result of their program’s success, desert bighorn hunting on the ejido has expanded, as six permits were offered in 2020. Four of these permits were sold to generate money to pay for additional transplants of free-ranging desert bighorn sheep.

For more information click here.

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Wildlife Wednesday

Wildlife Wednesday: Mega Drought Gets Worse, Asian Elephants And The Gale Force Twins

April 13, 2022 Chester Moore Leave a comment

“Drought conditions are approaching 2011 levels.”

Those words shook me to the core.

Yesterday I exchanged texts with a private biologist in Texas who owns land in the Hill Country and surveys everywhere from East Texas to remote desert in the Trans Pecos.

What’s happening in my home state is bad, but it’s even worse in other places.

The following is from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Central Washington, Idaho, and northwest Montana also saw increases in drought extent or severity as short-term dryness continues to build upon long-term moisture deficits extending back to last year. Many parts of southern Idaho, and the rest of the West, have set records for the driest 3-month period (January to March) going back 100 years or more. Meanwhile near record warmth increased evaporative demand from plants and soils.
Farther south, extreme drought expanded in parts of California, Nevada, and New Mexico while moderate and severe drought expanded across Arizona. In California, Cooperative Extension reports impacts to agriculture including reduced forage, livestock stress, decreased water allocation, and the selling livestock earlier than normal. Data such as reduced stream flows and declines in satellite-based vegetation health and soil moisture indicators confirm these reports.

This is already having a big impact on wildlife. As early as last summer, wildlife officials in Nevada in conjunction with partners like The Wild Sheep Foundation were dropping water on manmade guzzlers (water tanks) to supplement water for desert bighorns and other wildlife.

There are concerns across much of Texas for wild turkey and quail production in much of the state.

This will end up being the United States biggest wildlife story of 2022 and we will do our best to keep you up to date.

Helping Asian Elephants

Since 2007 I have been writing about the need to get more attention to Asian elephants and their dire conservation needs.

There are literally 10 times as many African elephants yet they seem to get the bulk of attention.

I was excited to learn of the Center of Asian Elephant Conservation at the St. Louis Zoo.

Check out what they’re doing.

The Center for Asian Elephant Conservation’s partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and others will significantly enhance our scientific understanding of rewilding elephants. Through a ground-breaking research project based in Myanmar, a framework will be developed for elephant release that incorporates a diversity of scientific approaches at all decision stages. To test this framework, approximately 30-50 elephants will be released into the wild in the near future to gain a deeper understanding of which animals are most likely to succeed in the wild and which management choices can ensure success. This project will be a tool for environmental managers to use when designing future elephant reintroduction programs across Asian elephant range countries.

Between 2005 and 2021, they contributed more than $420,000 to the International Elephant Foundation to support Asian elephant conservation in Asia and has supported projects in Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India.

The Zoo is also eading the fight against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), a viral infection that affects elephants in the wild and in zoos, by contributing to prognosis and treatment protocols that have saved elephants. In 2021, the Zoo established its own EEHV lab to further our commitment to fighting this disease.

You can learn more here.

An Interview With The Gale Force Twins

Growing up in South Florida, Emily and Amanda Gale, The Gale Force Twins, discovered their love and passion for the water.

Last weekend I had a chance to hang out with them and interview them for the Higher Calling Wildlife podcast at the Hunt-Fish Podcast Summit.

“At an early age, we started fishing off the docks of Islamorda wanting nothing more than to go deep sea fishing. We attended the University of Miami, earning degrees in Microbiology and Immunology while competing on the track and field team as pole vaulters. The two of us spent our summer breaks and long weekends working on a busy fishing charter boat out of Key West,” they said.

“It was there that we finished our sea time, honed in on our skills and earned our USCG 50 Ton Captains Licenses. With that we started our own business, Gale Force Twins LLC.”

Listen to an inspiring interview with Emily and Amanda Gale (The Gale Force Twins

Upon graduating, the girils left the academic world to pursue careers in the sportfishing industry.

“After a few years of running our own charter business. We began vlogging our adventures as female captains on the water. The response was exponentailly positive. We now film, edit and produce educational yet entertaining videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Although each video is unique they all share the same goal: to Educate, Explain and Entertain. We take pride in keeping our pages family friendly while we take our viewers with us to experience the variety of fishing opportunities that the world has to offer.”

Turkey Release

The folks at Spring Creek Outdoors, LLC were kind enough to ask if I wanted to release one of the Rio Grande turkeys I had been photographing them release on the Rafter K Ranch. It was cool being on this side of a release. They are working on a TPWD-permitted turkey restoration project.

I never take moments like this for granted and thank God for them in a very literal sense.

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Wildlife Of Israel

Celebrating The Wildlife Of Israel

September 18, 2020 Chester Moore Leave a comment

Yesterday we announced that we created our own conservation outreach Higher Calling Wildlife. Everyone who joins for FREE gets this very special edition Higher Calling Wildlife “Wildlife Of Israel” e-mag.

It’s the first of its kind magazine focusing solely on Israel’s wildlife and we chose to debut it today as the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) begins this evening.

This is the New Year on the calendar God gave to the Hebrews and since supporting Israel’s wildlife is one of our pillars, we thought this would be a good way to celebrate and also a new beginning for us.

Subscribe for FREE at http://www.highercallingwildlife.net and get your Higher Calling Wildlife Of Israel e-mag today.

You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.

Uncategorized

Bear Education Necessities

August 19, 2020 Chester Moore Leave a comment

This summer has been a fun one here at Higher Calling as we have been on a three month long quest called “Summer of the Bear”.

The goal has been to raise awareness to bears and bear conservation around the world.

It started with reporting on greatly increased bear sightings in my home state of Texas and has seen us doing lots of giveaways including plush bears for kids and special edition Texas Bear Aware tokens.

This week ends our summer bear project and we’re doing it in a big way publishing this podcast I recorded with Jack Evans of Bear Trust International.

A large black bear photographed by the author in Estes Park, Co. in August. (Photo by Chester Moore)

Listen to the show below as we talk about that organization’s great conservation education work.

Thanks to everyone who participated by sending emails, social media interaction, photos and videos.

The “Summer of the Bear” was a big success thanks to you.

Chester Moore

Mysterious Horse Kilings

Horse Killings: Is There a Pattern In TX Cases?

August 12, 2020 Chester Moore 1 Comment

“You see it on social media all the time, but I never thought it would happen to me. Someone shot and killed our horse last night in his pasture in Port Mansfield. If anyone has any leads please let us know. I am completely devastated R.I.P Seabiscuit.”
Those heartbreaking words showed up in my Facebook feed just a day after I started looking into mysterious horse killings in Texas, Florida and Louisiana.

I was able to interview the horse’s devastated owner Jessica Neu, who said the horse was shot in the chest, head on and no meat was taken.

“This was in a pasture right outside of Port Mansfield, TX. It’s the navigation district property where local kids can keep livestock and show animals..”

There is no known motive and as she noted in her post, these killings are showing up all over the place. If you have any information for Neu, contact her here.

We discussed a string of killings in the area around Pearland, TX that began in May and has continued into August. You can hear about those at our podcast here.

The podcast also addresses three similar killings in the Liberty County area from 2017-2018.

The Pearland killings involved the harvest of meat. Like the death of Neu’s horse, the ones in Liberty were shot and left to die with no meat harvest.

Horse meat is legal and popular in many eastern European, Asian and in some Latin American nations. Are people of wealth from some of these nations driving a black market in the horse meat trade? (Public Domain Photo)

These are both bizarre situations and ones that I believe deserve attention here as horses are such an important part of the lifestyle of outdoors lovers.

There are two different situations happening regarding horse killings.

The Pearland killings along with a similar situation in central Florida most likely is tied to some sort of black market horse meat trade.

In order to butcher a horse and load it up it would be like skinning and packing out a large bull elk.

One hind quarter would possibly weigh over 100 pounds. There’s a good chance this would take more than one person and the risk level of taking the horse, killing and taking the meat is far higher than a drive by shooting of sorts.

Horses are an important part of outdoors culture around the world. (Public Domain Photo)

The second situation is the killing of horses for seemingly no gain other than to kill the horse or perhaps terrorize the owners.

An Aug. 5 story at Spectrum News details a July killing of a little girls’ horse in Caldwell County, TX. where a horse was shot in the head and left to die. Caldwell County is a four hour drive straight up Highway 77 from Port Mansfield.

Another little girl’s horse was killed in February near Poteet according to the San Antonio-Express News. Interestingly, this is just an hour from the Caldwell County killing, one turn off of 77 from Port Mansfield (37 North) and all three of these involved kids pets, ag show horses or were on property where young people from these programs keep their horses.

Even the killings in Liberty involved a little girl’s horse. You can read more about it here.

Two of the killings were the same little girls’ horse-one two days before Christmas in 2017 and the other in February 2018 after someone gave her a new horse. Another child’s horse was killed in the same area Nov. 2017.

adorable affection animal beautiful — Horses are special animals with a special bond to their owners which makes these crimes all the more heinous. (Photo by Tatiana on Pexels.com)

Is there a pattern here?

There are a few similar reports from other states.

On May 26, ABC Denver 7 reported “Horse Killed in Elbert County ‘Execution Style'”.

A horse was shot in the head as if someone walked up to the horse and did it at point blank range and was the second horse in the area killed by gunfire.

On Feb. 17 KNOE News 8 reported someone shot and killed a horse named “Big Mac” in Calhoun, La.

The horses owner in the story said she feels that she and her family are being targeted.

She said that her other horses have been mysteriously released from her barn by someone multiple times over the past year. She feels this is the same person who killed her horse.

A Nov. 2019 story reveals five horses in North and South Carolina stabbed or shot.

At least one of the Pearland horses was stabbed.

Is there a killer fixated on horses in Texas? What is driving the killing of horses for their meat? Why are horses the target of killings all around the nation?

There are many questions to ask and hopefully someone finds an answer soon.

Contact information on all of the above cases are in the linked stories if you have any pertinent information.

Chester Moore

Uncategorized

Higher Calling 2020

July 31, 2020 Chester Moore Leave a comment

There is nothing more majestic than a bighorn ram navigating its mountain domain where the air is thin and the scenery stunning.

As me and my wife Lisa photographed a gorgeous Rocky Mountain bighorn ram enjoying a natural mineral lick at 12,000 feet in Colorado, another ram appeared.

The author photographed this bighorn at 12,000 feet in an area where grazing is restricted but these sheep don’t stay here all the time. Moving into grazing areas is highly dangerous. This is the same described in the introduction standing over a mineral lick (Photo by Chester Moore)

Popping its head up over what looked like a sheer cliff from our angle, the younger ram carefully made it’s away toward the lick, cautiously approaching the older and larger animal.

I thanked God for the moment because I knew it was He that put me and Lisa on this path.

Six months earlier the Holy Spirit whispered the words “Higher Calling” into my spirit and put me on a trajectory that led me on a path of deeper purpose and of elevated expectations.

As COVID-19 continues to shake the world and people debate everything from wearing masks to rioting, there is no doubt times are confusing.

In his letter to the church in Phillip, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

And that’s what seeing the great animals of the high country reminds me of-God, His Creation and divine purpose.

The author glassing for wild sheep with a new pair of Meopta binoculars near Estes Park, Co. (Photo by Lisa Moore)

There was a reason these rams had a mineral lick in their alpine habitat and they instinctively knew they needed it.

When the universe was flung into Creation, those purposes were built into the Earth and the sheep and here we were witnessing it.

There is something pure about mountain air and special about the creatures that thrive in these environments.

Wild sheep don’t always live in the highest altitudes though. They will move down into valleys and fields to feed. And when they do, they are often in grave danger.

There has been a pandemic of sorts ongoing with wild sheep in North America since the 1800s when domestic sheep entered their landscape. Carrying bacterial pneumonia, they transfer it to their wild cousins and the results have been catastrophic.

From two million wild sheep on the continent when Lewis and Clark set out on their expedition to 25,000 or so in 1900 it was brutal.

Hunter-conservationists and concenred fish and game agencies stepped in and through translocation and careful management have brought numbers up to around 175,000 but the threat still exists. And wild sheep still die when the co-mingle with domestics.

Maybe there’a s lesson here for us.

Co-mingling with those infected can only bring trouble.

The coronavirus is one aspect but I am talking about all of the infection of the hateful, vicious fighting over issues that will only truly be settled when the Lord returns. I am talking about the abandonment of honor for fellow humans.

At 12,000 fee that day there were no political debates, election ads, controversies of social issues or division thereof.

It was just me, my wife, what ended up being three Rocky Mountain bighorn rams and a tangible sense of God’s presence.

If I had not heeded the words “Higher Calling”, we would not have experienced this and many things in my life would be different.

This blog would not even exist.

There is something to this whole “Higher Calling” thing and that is for each of us to discover and I believe those who purpose it in their hearts will do so in 2020.

And I am soon heading back to the mountains to do just that.

Chester Moore

Uncategorized

Paddington Bear: Endangered And OVERLOOKED

July 29, 2020 Chester Moore Leave a comment

Author Michael Bond impacted several generations with his iconic “Paddington Bear” series.

Featuring a spectacled bear from South America, a species known little outside of its indigenous range, the books and animated features have done more to raise the profile of the species than anything.

They are the only South American bear species and are named for the light pattern on their face, neck and chest that in some individual resembles spectacles or eyeglasses.

A spectacled bear. (Public Domain Photo)

According to the Wildlife Conservation Network, little is known about this elusive bear and while the mystery surrounding them may add to its mystique, it does little to further its conservation.

Lack of knowledge about these bears considerably compromises the conservation management for the species.
This rare, charismatic bear is highly endangered, primarily due to habitat fragmentation that has caused bears to lose access to critical feeding areas. Although this bear is generally found in humid, alpine cloud forests, Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC) discovered a population of more than 65 bears in the low elevation dry forest, providing a unique opportunity to observe these bears in the wild.

SBC says spectacled bears are a vulnerable species seriously threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict.

The lack of knowledge about spectacled bears in the wild impacts our ability to make conservation decisions or plans. Spectacled bears are the only bear species in South America with potentially as few as 2,500 mature individuals remaining.

I have reached out to some researchers to get some in-depth information on the species we will hopefully be able to post soon. Until then, enjoy this introduction to the beautiful, enigmatic and endangered spectacled bear.

Chester Moore

Donate to help spectacled bears through Spectacled Bear Conservation by clicking here.

We donated $50 in honor of our daughter Faith wanting to champion bear conservation. And hopefully this little donation will inspire others who read this to donate. (Chester and Lisa Moore).

The Inspirational Voice Of Wildlife Conservation