Maine wildlife still wild

Piping Plover chicks at Old Orchard Beach - click to enlarge
Photo: Shawn Patrick Ouellette Portland Press Herald

  Piping Plovers used to run Southern Maine beaches by the thousands when I was a boy.  The population dwindled to a few hundred before the nests were better protected.
  Last year a dog running loose (under voice command, allegedly) killed two chicks and destroyed a nest in Scarborough and the lawsuits and proposals started flying.  The dogs are no longer allowed off leash on a beach and the protections are working.  This year Maine has 50 nesting pairs and the chicks are given a chance to grow, like the two in the photo.

Wildlife Biologist Randy Cross with Big John - click
Photo: John Wood Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

  The bear has been studied for nine years after he was fist tagged - not every year through he's wild and roams around the woods in Washington County.  He now weighs over 430 pounds, that a pretty bit old critter.  Those beehives and blueberries up there must be treating him well.  I'm hoping the hunters don't find him.