Join MDC online April 21 to learn about mushroom hunting
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Warming spring weather brings nature to life with trees, shrubs, and bulbs sending out their spring flowers. It also prompts the popping up of another spring favorite for many Missourians – MORELS!
The elusive and edible morel mushroom shows itself during April and into May and is a flavorful favorite for many mushroom lovers. Morels aren’t the only wild edible mushrooms in Missouri though. Chanterelles can be found growing from May through September. Chicken of the Woods is a seasonal favorite from May into November. Puffballs appear from July into October. Shaggy Manes pop in September and October. Hen of the Woods show themselves during September into November and Oyster mushrooms grow year-round.
Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease confirmed in Garfield, Larimer and Saguache counties
DENVER – On March 26, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 (RHDV-2) in dead cottontail rabbits submitted from Garfield, and Saguache counties earlier in the month. CPW has had ongoing surveillance for the disease throughout the state since it was identified in April of 2020. Garfield and Saguache are new counties identified as having RHDV-2. The new discoveries mean that 15 Colorado counties have had positive tests for RHDV-2.
The positive case from Garfield County was discovered just south of the town of Silt. The cottontail was submitted to a CPW wildlife officer by a landowner whose dog had found the carcasses and brought them home over a period of a few weeks.
A Sonoran desert tortoise.
“Many people don’t even consider opening up their homes to desert tortoises, but they make fantastic and personable pets,” said Tegan Wolf, desert tortoise adoption program coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD).
“It’s rewarding to hear stories from those who have adopted a captive tortoise and made them part of the family, because they’re a unique alternative to traditional family pets. They offer many of the same life lessons to children, and they can provide just as much companionship and personality as a dog or cat.”
Due primarily to illegal breeding, AZGFD has more than 100 tortoises of various ages and sizes available for adoption. Captive tortoises grow up to about 14 inches long and can live upward of 100 years. They cannot be released back into the wild, however, because they could spread diseases that harm wild populations.