![\"black-billed-magpie-9390-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/black-billed-magpie-9390-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMy title is warning enough that these photos are graphic. If such images disturb you,\u00a0consider proceeding no further. Please, no complaints about what you’re about to see if you scroll further down but I’m of the opinion that this\u00a0story\u00a0must be\u00a0told.<\/p>\n
Antelope Island State Park holds an annual bison “hunt”. This year it was held four days ago on Monday, Dec. 5\u00a0when one out-of-state and\u00a0six resident “hunters” were allowed to harvest 7 bison.<\/p>\n
What you’re about to see is part of\u00a0the aftermath of that hunt.\u00a0These images were\u00a0taken yesterday morning on the island.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This is a bison gut pile left over from the hunt. It’s only a few yards from\u00a0a campground, a road\u00a0and a very popular hiking trail and\u00a0it’s in plain view from all three. The gut pile is of course a bonanza for scavengers on the island and these Black-billed Magpies were taking full advantage of the situation. When these images were taken there were also a couple of coyotes in the general vicinity and I suspect\u00a0they too will get their share.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Magpies are known to be\u00a0raucous and aggressive scavengers and in\u00a0this situation they were certainly living up to their reputation as they…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/9, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n competed for and squabbled over the best feeding spots on the pile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Antelope Island bison hunt is\u00a0extremely controversial and it’s my contention that it’s highly inappropriate in a State Park. Park officials claim the hunt is a tool to manage bison numbers (bulls particularly) and to generate revenue for the park’s operations. But consider the following:<\/p>\n This post is NOT a tirade against hunting in general. My purpose is only to question the appropriateness of the bison hunt in a State Park. I’ve expressed my opinion and others are welcome to do the same, on either side of the coin. My only requirement is that any comments on the subject be\u00a0respectful and polite. Inappropriate comments will not be approved (or they will be deleted).<\/p>\n Since I’ve already had my say I’ll (mostly) sit back and not comment further unless it seems appropriate to do so.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My title is warning enough that these photos are graphic but I believe this story must be told.<\/p>\n![\"black-billed-magpie-9410-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/black-billed-magpie-9410-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"black-billed-magpie-9483-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/black-billed-magpie-9483-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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