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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Wildlife officials in Texas discovered an American alligator living at a home near Austin.</li><li>The woman told officials she had taken the egg two decades ago while working as a zoo volunteer.</li></ul>A nearly 8-foot-long alligator that was being kept as a pet has been returned to the same zoo she was stolen from over 20 years ago, wildlife officials in Texas said.The alligator, named Tewa, was discovered when a game warden was out investigating a separate and unrelated hunting incident in Caldwell County, south of Austin, according to Jen Shugert, a press officer with Texas Parks and Wildlife. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=957769971882551" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">game warden</a> stopped by the home to ask questions related to that incident and found the alligator.Tewa was kept in a chain link pen in the backyard of the home. "There was a little pool of water in which the alligator could fully submerge herself and kind of move around, but she had outgrown the habitat," Shugert told Insider.The woman at the home told officials she had stolen the egg from the <a href="https://www.awsfzoo.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo</a>, located in New Braunfels about 30 miles northeast of San Antonio, when she worked there as a volunteer more than two decades ago and had raised Tewa as a pet ever since.Owning an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alligator-pulled-from-brooklyn-lake-was-unwanted-pet-officials-2023-2" rel="nofollow sponsored">alligator</a> is heavily regulated in Texas and requires proper permits. The woman, who has not publicly been identified, was cited for illegal possession of an alligator egg and illegal possession of an alligator. Each carries a fine of up to $500.Jarrod Forthman, the deputy director of the zoo, told Insider they were contacted by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpVnAyQJ_mF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=84fe4536-3e6b-4902-840a-35cf1347f5d0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Texas Parks and Wildlife</a> a few weeks ago about the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-make-disease-resistant-catfish-with-alligator-dna-2023-2" rel="nofollow sponsored">alligator</a>. He said the person who owned Tewa was actually doing a good job caring for her, but that she had grown to the point of needing a bigger enclosure. After the prior owner was unable to meet the requirements that would be needed to legally own the alligator, the zoo decided to take her back."If we were unable to take it in, the alligator would be euthanized. That's when we opted to offer it a forever home," Forthman said.They went out to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/awsfzoo/videos/917333409313349" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">capture the alligator</a> and rehome her at the zoo, where she is now doing great and getting along with the other alligators in her new habitat.Forthman, who has been at the zoo for 19 years, said the alleged egg theft happened shortly before his time, when the zoo was not yet accredited. He added alligators can lay dozens of eggs at a time and that if someone had slipped one in their pocket back then, it may have gone unnoticed.In a video post on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpVnAyQJ_mF/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=84fe4536-3e6b-4902-840a-35cf1347f5d0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Instagram</a> that showed Tewa being relocated and entering her new habitat, Texas Parks and Wildlife said: "Alligators don't make good pets, y'all."Although <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alligator-rescued-nyc-park-has-bathtub-stopper-stuck-2023-2">alligators</a> may look cute when they're first born at around 10 inches, they continued to grow for the rest of their lives, which could be anywhere from 40 to 80 years, and can reach more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-5-foot-alligator-cut-out-of-python-swallowed-whole-2022-11" rel="nofollow sponsored">12 feet in length</a>.Forthman said he hopes Tewa's story can help raise awareness of conservation efforts and educate the public. He also said the zoo feels for the old owner."We've let her know she can come anytime and see the alligator," he added. "From a distance."

An alligator egg was stolen from a Texas zoo 20 years ago. Wildlife officials found the 8-foot-long gator living as a pet in the backyard of a former zoo volunteer.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian authorities are searching for a <keyword id="9403" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger">tiger</keyword> that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. </li><li>RT1 recognizes any traps that are set up for him, only eats after dark, and uses his instincts cleverly.</li><li>A 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor was the latest victim of the vicious tiger.</li><li>Tigers have killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, including 31 in Maharashtra in 2020 alone.</li></ul>Indian authorities are searching for a man-eating tiger that has claimed its eighth victim in the space of two years. On October 5, a 70-year-old farmhand named Maroti Pendor went into the forest to gather firewood. When he didn't come back, his family and other villagers from Khambada, Maharastra, went out looking for him. They found his clothes barely 200 meters beyond the treeline, then his leg, his head, and part of his shredded torso as they got deeper into the forest but the rest of his body was gone, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times</a> reported.He had become the latest person to be mauled to death by Rajuri Tiger One (RT1), an 8-year-old male who prowls the Tadoba National Park forests in the Chandrapur district, home to 175 tigers.Also known as the Tiger of Rajura, he has killed eight people and injured three others since January 2019, most of whom were also farm workers who had gone looking for firewood, according to the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hunt+for+indian+tiger+killed&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwilzfG1qLTsAhWTN8AKHcPGCvgQ_AUoAXoECBIQAw&amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955amp;biw=1409&amp;bih=955">Daily Mail</a>.It has brought the total of fatal tiger attacks in the district up to 27 as human settlements and industry encroach into the tigers' natural habitat and creating conflict, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/maharashtra-sets-up-chandrapur-human-tiger-conflict-resolution-study-group-report-by-dec-31/story-StlilS7jY12LqkgqhiecBJ.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported. Hunters armed with tranquilizers have not yet been able to capture RT1 despite urgent calls from politicians, including a seven-day ultimatum from Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Subhash Dhote. Village Head, Malesh Atram, said: "The forest department has four teams but only two shooters; the lack of shooters means it is taking too long to capture the tiger," <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times</a> reported. Nitin Kakodka, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) also renewed calls for the capture of the Tiger of Rajura for the fourth time since January this year.However, Bandu Dhotre, a district <keyword id="6360144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wildlife">wildlife</keyword> warden and founder of the conservation group Eco-Pro said that officials ignored calls from locals to kill the tiger rather than trapping him, according to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/world/tiger-lurking-in-indian-forest-kills-eighth-human-in-two-years-wzdzktnz9">The Times.</a>He said: "This animal is so intelligent that he recognizes the trap set-up. He eats only after dark and uses his instincts cleverly. Villagers are panicked, traumatized by this tiger. The situation is like an unofficial lockdown."The tracking teams are really working very hard. On many days, they have to even go without a bath. An urgent meeting should be held to decide how to put an end to RT1's killing spree. It is proving to be very difficult to catch."In 2018, a female tiger named Avni who killed at least 13 people was dramatically shot dead in a highly publicized case despite appeals against the order being lodged with the country's Supreme Court.More recently, in June, a tiger responsible for the death of three people was captured and sent to a zoo in the state of Madhya Pradesh after officials said it was too dangerous for it to roam freely, according to the <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/08/india-sends-man-eater-tiger-to-lifetime-in-captivity.html">Jakarta Post</a>.Meanwhile, a leopard was shot dead this week after killing two children in Teri Gharwal, Uttarakhand, a northeasterly state which has seen over 10 people killed in leopard attacks over the last two months, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/human-leopard-conflict-rises-in-uttarakhand-over-10-people-killed-in-last-months/story-p9N6fnX31b6szpOL7rKdxK.html">Hindustan Times</a> reported.India is home to 70% of the world's tigers and 50 tiger reserves established in 1973 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to protect the endangered species. The main problem now is the increasing conflict between humans and tigers.Tigers killed 225 people between 2014 and 2019 across India, according to the country's tiger census, including 31 people killed in 2020 alone, the highest amount in a decade, the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/31-killed-in-tiger-attacks-across-maharashtra-in-2020-highest-in-a-year-since-2010/story-uodHikRC1froTJRwIS5WVI.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hindustan Times</a> reported.The state government has since created an 11-member committee that will look into measures to reduce conflict between tigers and humans and submit their findings by December 31, 2020.

An 'intelligent' man-eating tiger that has killed its 8th victim in an Indian forest continues to evade the hunters sent to track it down

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A woman brought a baby raccoon into a pet store in Maine to have its nails trimmed.</li><li>The raccoon was handled and kissed by multiple customers, possibly exposing them to rabies. </li></ul>A baby raccoon had to be euthanized after a woman brought it into a pet store to have its nails cut and let people kiss it, authorities said.The woman brought the animal into a Petco in Maine on Tuesday and allowed multiple people to handle it, potentially exposing herself and others to rabies, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries &amp; Wildlife said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mefishwildlife/posts/pfbid04YFiaffJeV5JGQm1FXWJBXKiB3gSCFbkRXJXSFahRvJTTHyEYXXanc1b6wjK4vuSl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook post.</a>Raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in the state, the post said, adding that the infection can be lethal unless treated. After the store manager became aware of the raccoon on site, they asked the woman to leave and contacted the Maine CDC and the Maine Warden Service, the report continued.To test for rabies, the animal needs to be euthanized, and brain samples need to be collected, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/diagnosis/animals-humans.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC's description</a> of the procedure.Authorities said that after tests, they could confirm that the raccoon was not infected with rabies and that those who came into contact with the animal did not need treatment.The department noted that it is illegal to possess wildlife such as raccoons in the state of Maine, adding that "Petco does not trim raccoon nails."Anyone with information about the woman who brought in the juvenile raccoon is requested to contact the Maine Warden Service, authorities said."Please 'Keep Wildlife Wild'" and "If you care, leave them there," the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries &amp; Wildlife reminded people.

Baby raccoon euthanized after woman took it to a pet store and let people kiss it — possibly exposing them to rabies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Charlie Clinton, 11, caught a fish with human-like teeth in a pond behind his Oklahoma home.</li><li>It turned out to be a pacu, a cousin of the piranha native to South America.</li></ul>Janna Clinton's 11-year-old son, Charlie, was fishing in a pond behind their Oklahoma home earlier in July when he pulled an <a href="https://www.insider.com/strange-deep-sea-creatures-trivia-facts-2018-4">unusual-looking fish</a> out of the water. He yelled for his mother to come look, saying that he had caught a piranha.At first, Clinton thought her son was being dramatic, she told Insider. Then she saw the creature's jarringly human-like teeth."I was shocked how big it was, and of course that it did actually have teeth," she said. "We took pictures. He kept giggling with excitement."Charlie released the fish back into the pond, and Clinton posted the photos on a neighborhood Facebook page. Local wildlife authorities later identified the catch as a pacu, a fish native to South America and a cousin of the piranha. The species can grow up to 3.5 feet long and weigh up to 88 pounds.<div type="image" title="A pacu fish caught in an Oklahoma pond." height="1200" width="1600" msid="101994349" hostid="261" sizebytes="266432"></div>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OkWildlifeDept/posts/pfbid0Y9XLb7e8rVDnk3Kbk3tLMsgHf5d6tWCxPs1rDRgBRZR7CfkKgNNM5GJ4KXhi22kLl">Facebook post</a>, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation said that the pacu was likely someone's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/animals-legal-pets-us-surprising-2019-10">exotic pet</a> that they released when it outgrew its tank, and encouraged residents to report pacu sightings to their local game warden."Pacu are not native to Oklahoma and have the potential to become an invasive species," a representative for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation told Insider. "When non-native fish or wildlife are introduced into a habitat, they create competition with native species."Clinton says that while they didn't know what to do with the fish the first time around, Charlie is determined to reel the pacu in once more."He wants it mounted and smiling at him," she said.

An 11-year-old boy told his mom he caught a piranha in an Oklahoma pond. She thought he was being dramatic — and then she saw its teeth.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A girl in Georgia was attacked by a 55-pound rabid beaver on Saturday as she was swimming.</li><li>Her father had to step in and kill the beaver "using blunt-force trauma," authorities said.</li></ul>A girl was attacked by a huge, rabid beaver on Saturday evening as she was swimming in a lake in Georgia.She ended up being rescued by her father, who beat the animal to death, authorities told <a href="https://accesswdun.com/article/2023/7/1193321/when-beavers-attack-young-girl-swimming-on-lake-lanier-bit-by-angry-beaver1">local outlet WDUN-AM.</a>The beaver bit the girl's leg as she was swimming on private property in Lake Lanier near Gainesville, Hall County Animal Control field supervisor Kevin Beucker told the outlet.It was the "biggest beaver" the investigating game warden had ever seen, <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/hall-county/girl-recovering-after-rabid-beaver-attack-lake-lanier/J7ROZLP5Y5HDLHH6Z7Z23TUPUM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DNR Wildlife Resources Supervisor Don McGowan told WSB-TV.</a>"He estimated it at 50 or 55 pounds, which is about as big as they get in Georgia," McGowan said.According to Buecker, the father of the girl "intervened and killed the beaver using blunt-force trauma," per WDUN-AM. Neither the girl nor her father were named.There was no indication that the attacking beaver was trying to protect any baby beavers in the area, authorities told the outlet.The carcass was brought to the Georgia Public Health Lab, where it tested positive for rabies, WDUN-AM reported.Local wildlife biologists told WSB-TV that beaver attacks are rare in the area, and that the last incident they could remember at Lake Lanier occurred 13 years ago.North American beavers typically weigh between 35 and 65 pounds, though the heaviest beaver on record weighed 110 pounds, <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/beaver" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.</a>Beavers are rarely aggressive to humans unless provoked, and attacks are often attributed to rabies.In a similar case, a 73-year-old man in Massachusetts was <a href="https://www.fieldandstream.com/survival/massachusetts-beaver-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacked in September 2021 by a beaver</a> that was presumed to be rabid. The attack lasted around five minutes, and the man, who tried to punch the beaver multiple times in self-defense, sustained lacerations on his arms and legs and a fractured finger.In 2012, a group of boy scouts <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scouts-stone-rabid-beaver-to-death-after-attack/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stoned a rabid beaver to death</a> after it attacked a 51-year-old man swimming in Pennsylvania. The boy scouts helped the man get out of the water, at which point the beaver switched tack and attacked a pool noodle.

One heck of a rabid, 55-pound beaver attacked a girl swimming in a Georgia lake, and her dad beat it to death

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Twenty gray <keyword id="12109009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wolves" source="Orion">wolves</keyword> from Yellowstone have been killed by hunters, reducing the park's population to 94.</li><li>National Park Service Superintendent has asked the <keyword id="12024547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="montana" source="Orion">Montana</keyword> governor to suspend wolf <keyword id="11930901" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hunting" source="Orion">hunting</keyword> for the season.</li></ul>Twenty gray wolves from <keyword id="11964052" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="yellowstone-national-park" source="Orion">Yellowstone National Park</keyword> have been killed by hunters in recent months. There are now only 94 wolves left in the park's population, with the hunters wiping out almost 1 in 5 (17.5%) of the wolves.Fifteen of these wolves were shot in Montana after leaving the park, according to figures sent to Insider from the National Parks Service. Five more died in Idaho and Wyoming. Hunting is banned inside Yellowstone.This total is the highest number of wolves killed in a hunting season since they were <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolves.htm">introduced back to the park in 1994. </a>One family group — the Phantom Lake Pack — is now considered "eliminated" after most or all of its members were killed between October and December, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-environment-and-nature-wyoming-montana-billings-a5cd3e869c32f1d4dfc6ad6a8bf0d831">AP report</a>. Naturalists and wolf advocates fear the death toll will climb even higher with months still to go in the hunting season and wolf trapping season just starting, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/07/yellowstone-gray-wolves-hunting-montana">reported The Guardian.</a>As a result, National Park Service Superintendent Cameron Sholly has asked Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to suspend wolf hunting for the season.On December 16, Sholly wrote, "Due to the extraordinary number of Yellowstone wolves killed this hunting season, and the high probability of even more park wolves being killed in the near future, I am requesting that you suspend wold hunting in [hunting management units] 313 and 316 for the remainder of this season." In 2021, Gianforte failed to take a mandatory trapper course after receiving a warning from a Montana game warden for trapping and shooting a radio-collared wolf about 10 miles north of the park.He was not receptive to Sholly's request, writing in a letter on January 5, "Once a wolf exits the park and enters lands in the State of Montana, it may be harvested pursuant to regulations established by the [state wildlife] Commission under Montana law," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/07/yellowstone-gray-wolves-hunting-montana">the Guardian reports. </a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-environment-and-nature-wyoming-montana-billings-a5cd3e869c32f1d4dfc6ad6a8bf0d831">Speaking to AP</a>, Marc Cooke with the advocacy group Wolves of the Rockies predicted that Gianforte and the state would receive criticism for not putting protections for the Yellowstone wolves. "People love these animals, and they bring in tons of money for the park."

Hunters kill almost 20% of Yellowstone's gray wolves, with months still to go in the hunting season

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword> mother punched a 65-pound <keyword id="11975312" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mountain-lion" source="Orion">mountain lion</keyword> who was attacking to save her son. </li><li>The boy, 5, was attacked while playing near his home in Calabasas, Los Angeles on Thursday.</li><li>The five-year-old suffered injuries to his head and torso but is in stable condition.</li></ul>A California mother has been hailed as a "true hero" after punching a 65-pound mountain lion to save her five-year-old son on Thursday.The boy was playing by a tree near his home in <a href="https://www.insider.com/khloe-kardashian-sells-calabasas-mansion-photos-justin-bieber-2020-11">Calabasas, Los Angeles</a> when the mountain lion pounced on him and "dragged him about 45 yards," Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesman with the California department of fish and wildlife, said, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/29/california-mother-fights-off-mountain-lion-with-bare-hands-to-save-5-year-old-son">according to The Guardian.</a>The mother, who has not been named, was inside the house when she heard her son scream. She rushed out and started "punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son," Foy said.Read more: <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-shows-utah-jogger-being-stalked-angry-cougar-six-minutes-2020-10">The story behind the video of the Utah trail jogger who stumbled upon some mountain lion cubs and was chased away by the protective mother</a>"The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son's life," he added, according to The Guardian.The boy's parents rushed him to a Los Angeles hospital where he was treated for injuries to his head, neck, and upper torso. Officials said he is now in stable condition. Wildlife officers, who were sent to the scene, found the same mountain lion hiding in a bush with its "ears back and hissing," Foy said. They ended up shooting and killing it.A statement on the website of the <a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/mountain-lion-dispatched-after-attack-near-calabasas">California Wildlife Department</a> said: "Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site."There have been four validated mountain lion attacks in California since 2019, <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/08/28/woman-fights-off-mountain-lion-to-save-5-year-old-son/">CBS LA reported.</a>Ana Beatriz Cholo, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, told <a href="https://www.latimes.com./california/story/2021-08-28/wildlife-agents-kill-a-mountain-lion-after-it-mauls-a-five-year-old-boy">The Los Angeles Times</a> that people hiking in the mountains should be aware that they could encounter mountain lions."Do not turn around and run away," she said, according to The Times. "Keep kids close by. Put them on your shoulders. Try to look bigger than you are. If it doesn't work and the mountain lion doesn't leave, you need to be more assertive."Cholo also praised the boy's mother for her action. "She fought back," she said, according to The Times. "She used her bare hands. If you have a rock or stick, use that."In October 2020, a trail runner in Utah <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-shows-utah-jogger-being-stalked-angry-cougar-six-minutes-2020-10">filmed his encounter with a protective mountain lion mother</a>, who chased him for six minutes after he got too close to her cubs.A few months earlier, another jogger was running in Colorado when he was also attacked by a mountain lion, which he subsequently <a href="https://www.insider.com/jogger-strangles-mountain-lion-to-death-after-attack-then-hikes-to-hospital-colorado-2019-2">killed by jamming his foot into the lion's neck and suffocating it.</a>

A California mother fought a mountain lion with her bare hands to save her 5-year-old son

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Travis VanZant/California Department of Fish and Wildlife via APWildlife officer Pat Freeling replants a Dudleya in Mendocino County, California.</div></div></div><ul><li>Succulent poachers are a growing problem in Northern California seaside communities.</li><li>Thieves are unearthing a succulent commonly known as "bluff lettuce" from its native habitat and shipping it in bulk overseas, where the plant is seen as a luxury.</li><li>In South Korea and China, one plant will sell for up to $50 on the black market.</li><li>Poachers who are caught can be fined at least $1,000 and sentenced to up to six months in jail.</li></ul>A houseplant <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/succulents/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hyped by the Instagram generation</a> is becoming an exciting black market buy for Asia's growing middle class.The Dudleya Farinosa, a wild succulent more commonly called "bluff lettuce" or "powdery liveforever" grows only on the California and Oregon coasts, where temperatures are moderate and sunlight is generous. This specific, mature succulent is hard to come by in the humid climates of China, Japan, and South Korea, and plant poachers have capitalized on the void.In the last several months, a growing number of plant thieves have been spotted unearthing the succulents on remote bluffs in Monterey, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/05/20/611570479/the-case-of-the-stolen-succulents#storytext">according to NPR</a>, and allegedly shipping them to Asia, where they sell for up to $50 a pop on the black market.NPR's Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi said the succulents are "popular among Korean housewives - desperate, if you will, for the same things that have made them a hit in the US - they're collectible, neglectable, and instantly grammable." Indeed, they require <a href="http://calscape.org/Dudleya-farinosa-(Bluff-Lettuce)">"very low" to "extremely low" water</a> to thrive. In other words, the houseplant version is hard to kill."As succulents have become the darling of designers and a staple for home and garden décor, so has the desire grown to possess rare species - and an illegal trade in pilfered plants is growing exponentially," <a href="https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2018/05/16/the-case-of-the-stolen-succulents/">reported Kathryn McKenzie</a> for Voices of Monterey Bay.Small-scale plant poaching has been an issue along the California coast for some time, Stephen McCabe, a dudleya expert and emeritus director of research for the <a href="https://arboretum.ucsc.edu/" data-slimstat="5">UC Santa Cruz Arboretum</a>, told <a href="https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2018/05/16/the-case-of-the-stolen-succulents/">Voices of Monterey Bay</a>."It's on a much bigger scale [now]," he said. "It's really multiplied in the past few years." <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Travis Van Zant/California Department of Fish and Wildlife via APWildlife officer Will Castillo holds a Dudleya before replanting it in Humboldt County, California.</div></div></div>After a growing number of poacher sightings from Northern California residents, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is cracking down. Poaching plants is considered a misdemeanor and carries a $1,000 fine per incident and a maximum penalty of six months of jail time. A game warden for the department told NPR that they've seized thousands of plants worth more than $700,000 since December.One man who was caught on a post office security camera mailing the plants to China was fined $5,000, and sentenced to three years probation and 240 hours of community service. Mercury News <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/20/busting-plant-smugglers-along-californias-coast/">dubbed</a> one recent succulent poaching bust "an international plant heist.""Wild Dudleya seems to be especially profitable for thieves since it can be harvested from remote areas where intruders may go unnoticed," McKenzie wrote. Thousands of plants have been recovered in the last several months and replanted, and authorities remain on high alert. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tianjin-binhai-library-china-books-2018-3">You can climb a 'book mountain' in this gigantic library in China</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

People are poaching succulents in Northern California to sell to housewives in Korea and China for $50 a pop

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmhzcrsZGP8">YouTube/Sun Journal</a>AUBURN, Maine (AP) - A professional runner from Kenya who was out training on a nature trail in the woods near his home in Maine says he encountered two charging black bears but was able to outrun them during a frantic sprint to a nearby vacant house for cover.Moninda Marube said when he saw the bears early Wednesday he had to think fast, and decided to do what he does best: run."In my head, I know I can't swim. I fear swimming. I fear water," he <a href="http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2017/07/05/pair-bears-join-kenyan-runner-morning-run/2161257" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said to the Sun Journal</a>, referring to a nearby lake he could've potentially ran to in his escape."Secondly, I knew I could not climb up a tree because bears can climb a tree," he said. "The only solution I had at that time was to be able to run."He told the Sun Journal that the bears were 20 yards away from him and a vacant house was 20 yards away in the opposite direction. So he made a run for the house, with the bears closing to within 10 yards by the time he found safety on the house's screened porch.The bears stopped, not realizing they could've easily crashed through the flimsy porch screens, Marube said. They sniffed around for a while before wandering away. Marube added that if the house had been just a bit further down the road the bears would've caught him. He went on to say, "It's not the house that helped me. It's God."Wardens advise people who encounter black bears to make themselves appear big, make noise and back away slowly. But they recommend people stand their ground if a black bear charges and say if the bear attacks, then fight back.Marube said he was aware that standing your ground was the suggested method of dealing with his situation, but that's easier said than done. "At that time, you cannot think standing your ground once they start running towards you."He said he initially engaged in a stare-down with the bears but the bears charged the moment he turned his back on them.Marube, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington who finished third in the 2012 Maine Marathon and won the 2013 half-marathon, said he'd once encountered a leopard perched in a tree while alone in Africa - but the bears were scarier.He said he learned an important lesson from his close encounter with Maine's wildlife: "Just make peace with people. You never know when your day comes."You can watch Marube share the story of the encounter below, courtesy of the Sun Journal. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inventor-roomba-behind-roomba-for-gardens-2017-6">The inventor of Roomba has created a weed-slashing robot for your garden</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

You Searched For "wildlife warden" and got 9 results

An alligator egg was stolen from a Texas zoo 20 years ago. Wildlife officials found the 8-foot-long gator living as a pet in the backyard of a former zoo volunteer.

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An 11-year-old boy told his mom he caught a piranha in an Oklahoma pond. She thought he was being dramatic — and then she saw its teeth.

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Hunters kill almost 20% of Yellowstone's gray wolves, with months still to go in the hunting season

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People are poaching succulents in Northern California to sell to housewives in Korea and China for $50 a pop

Tanza Loudenback

A professional runner outran 2 bears while training in Maine

Associated Press,Tyler Laulet…

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