Creature Comforts

The black bear and Mississippi have a storied history together, dating back to the days of President Theodore Roosevelt. Today on the show we welcome Becky Rosamond from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to talk about the black bear and the Black Bear Program. She shares that the black bear population in Mississippi is around 200 bears but they very hard to spot in the wild. With an emphasis on the slogan "Keep Wild Bears Wild", Becky shares tips about what to do if you become face to face with one of these mighty creatures. 

Show Links:

• Black Bears in Mississippi
• BearWise.org

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Firearm season for deer opens this weekend in Mississippi and William McKinley, Deer Program Coordinator for Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, wants all hunters to be safe. He joins the show to update Creature Comforts about the deer population of the state and provide an update about the chronic wasting disease.

For the most update information about hunting in Mississippi visit:

https://www.mdwfp.com/

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Tom Mann, from the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, spends many rainy winter nights in the elements. He and a group of volunteers are apart of the Bucket Brigade, a group that expediates passage of salamanders across the road in their direction of movement. This minimizes mortality caused by passing vehicles and keeps their ecosystem in tact. With plenty of knowledge about this small creatures Tom updates us on salamanders found around Mississippi and how you can be a part of this dedicated group. Also Libby Hartfield is back on the program and Dr. Majure answers another round of pet questions.

Show Links

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The Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University has a collection of over two million pinned specimens and is ready to show anyone all two million if they have the time. Today Matt Thorn and Brady Dunaway take time from their duties at the museum to talk about pollinators and other insects around the state with Kevin, Libby, and Dr. Majure. More than just bees and butterflies there are plenty of pollinators that help grow our Mississippi crops and wildflowers. Matt and Brady discuss these bugs and answer calls from listeners about swarms, rare bug sightings, and how Bug Camp crystallized their passion for insects.

Mississippi Entomological Museum

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For this special "Drive Time" edition of Creature Comforts we call on our good friend, biologist Joe Magee to let us know what to look for this fall season. A few frogs are still jumping around but the insects and migrating birds are the main attractions.

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The Gopher Tortoise Head Start Program has released over 400 endangered gopher tortoises into the wild. Becky Stowe, Director of Forest for the Nature Conservancy joins the show today to talk about this program and more specifically the work happening at Camp Shelby. Recently 94 gopher tortoises were released into the wild of the Longleaf pine system at Camp Shelby. Also Dr. Majure talks about pet safety during severe weather as yet another hurricane enters the gulf and Libby helps a listener identity an insect that has a particular set of skills.

Show Links:

Gopher Tortoises in Mississippi

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Wildlife Mississippi has been serving Mississippi's land and waters since 1997. At the head of this organization is James Cummins as Executive Director. Joining this edition of Creature Comforts, James talks about working close with politicians and people on the ground to move legislation forward to conserve Mississippi's natural wonders. Also we hear from our resident snake expert, Terry Vandeventer, about a viral video of two rattlesnakes battling for dominance in Wilkinson County.

Article and Video of Rattlesnake Battle (Clarion Ledger)

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