More than 45.000 people have signed up to take part in a bison hunt in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River following a call for volunteers by the US National Park Service (NPS).
A popular national park in Arizona is looking for twelve "skilled volunteers" to help reduce a bison herd they say is threatening to become an environmental hazard.
The action is not considered hunting, since hunting is prohibited in the national parks of the United States.
However, some environmental activists point out that this could be a dangerous precedent.
In just 48 hours since it was opened, 45.040 candidates applied for the competition.
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25 names will be drawn in the first round, and XNUMX of them will get the chance to kill a bison in the North Rim area after passing a test that includes marksmanship.
In accordance with the rules of the National Parks Administration, volunteers will be able to bring a few people as support.
Although bison can weigh more than 900 kilograms, shooters will be allowed to keep as much meat as they are able to carry on their own without the aid of motor vehicles or pack animals.
The chase will be organized on inaccessible, rocky terrain that is sometimes under snow and whose altitude exceeds 2.440 meters in some places.
Officials say this pilot project was necessary because the bison population in the canyon has grown to 600 over the past few years.
National park rangers hope to bring that number down to 200 to reduce the destruction of Native American archaeological sites and prevent water pollution and soil erosion in the canyon.
The bison, which is also known as the buffalo in America, was on the verge of extinction in the 19th century due to overhunting, while before that it migrated across the continent.
By the end of that century, the bison population had fallen from between 30 and 60 million to only about 400 individuals.
But environmentalists say there is little evidence that the Grand Canyon was once the animal's natural habitat.
Bison settled in North Rim at the beginning of the 20th century, when they residents of the border areas unsuccessfully tried to crossbreed them with domestic cattle, historians believe.
California condors occupied the house and declared war on the hosts
A flock of endangered California condors has taken over a home in one US state, "declaring war" on the property's owners, the family says.
At least 15 birds landed on Cindy Mikols' home in Tehachapi.
"They're not gone yet," her daughter Shawna Quintero wrote on Twitter, adding that they "totally messed up her porch."
It is estimated that there are less than 500 individuals of this condor in the United States, of which there are 160 in California.
Quintero says there is "no shortage" of these protected birds on her mother's terrace.
Ever since the birds first landed there and began their "ominous sojourn" on her mother's property, Shona has been reporting on developments via Twitter.
"My petite mother stared at birds half her size and tried to chase them away from three meters away," she wrote.
"However, the condors continued to stand on the roof and fences, making a mess and defecating all around."
The tweets included photos illustrating the damage the birds had done to the property and several condors perched on fences.
Over the weekend ~15 California condors descended on my moms house and absolutely trashed her deck. They still haven't left. It sucks but also this is unheard of, there's only 160 of these birds flying free in the state and a flock of them decided to start a war with my mom 😭 pic.twitter.com/bZyHsN58Bk
— Seana Lyn (@SeanaLyn) May 5, 2021
As she says, neither she nor her mother have anything against the birds being there, but the problem is the damage they cause - knocking over pots, scratching painted surfaces and destroying glass doors.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service responded to Quintero's tweets, clarifying that the birds are protected by law and that her mother's property is in natural condor habitat.
"If it happens again, we will support your efforts to prevent them from doing damage and settling there permanently."
"There are methods at your disposal other than those that can harm them, such as spraying them with a hose, shouting, clapping your hands, or using sprinklers that turn on when they detect movement," the agency said.
She does think this is pretty amazing but also the worst. They don't have to leave her property but leave the house alone. They keep hanging out on her roof and railings messing with stuff and pooping everywhere. Trees are fine but not the house please 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QhE9XVERZF
— Seana Lyn (@SeanaLyn) May 5, 2021
Shona Quintero said the mother followed the advice and doused the condors on the roof with water from a hose.
"Now they have moved to a tree in my yard, where the rest of the flock is. They are watching, waiting.
"They're doing what condors do," she explained.
The California condor is one of the largest birds and the target of hunters in the world, and is protected by a federal law from 1967, as well as a California state law from 1971, according to the Ministry of Fish and Game Protection.
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