As long as there are rules and regulations, someone’s going to go out there and break them—and when that someone gets caught, it can make for an entertaining story.
Especially when you’re talking about poachers.
Check out the latest installment of AmericanHunter.org’s Dumbest Poacher series below, and be sure to catch up on what you missed in the last edition! These tales may not be timeless, but they’re a lot of fun to read.
Sometimes the Clothes Do Make the Man
In this story from KVAL in Oregon, the authorities were able to bag a less-than-cunning father-son poaching duo.
Troopers already had a warrant and were in the process of searching the home of Charles Douglas Cochran for proof of poaching when he pulled up in his truck sporting camouflage clothing, three hunting rifles and a cache of hunting gear.
Considering it was February, Cochran’s getup didn’t do much to help his case.
Cochran was taken into custody by the Oregon State Police and ultimately charged with taking deer out of season, exceeding the bag limit, unlawful possession of deer and a handful of other misdemeanors. His 16-year-old son will face similar charges.
Next time he may want to dress less conspicuously.
Royal Ties
The last edition of AmericanHunter.org’s “Dumb Poachers” broke down what has made rhinoceros poaching so popular—and no, there still isn’t any scientific proof that their horns can cure cancer. Rhinos remain in peril, even the ones that can name drop.
Poachers recently managed to find and slaughter a 6-year-old rhinoceros on a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. The rhino, named Max, happened to be famous among the wildlife community—not only had he been featured in a documentary, but he’d also had dealings with Prince William.
Max had been raised by the Prince’s friend Ian Craig, and had been cared for by the Prince himself for a time during the Prince’s younger days.
Unfortunately, that didn’t protect Max. Nor did the fact that he’d already had most of his horn removed—a tactic that conservationists have used to deter poachers. In February, he was found with 17 gunshot wounds and missing the little remaining horn he had.
No poaching is wise, but it seems particularly ill-advised to go after an animal with friends in high places.
You Are What You Eat
In this story that began in 2010—that AmericanHunter.org contributor Dave Campbell has already commented on—the poachers got burnt by a cottonwood leaf and some crafty work by Wyoming’s finest.
Shenae Blakemore, Cody Gilligan and Colton Lapp brought home a 185-inch 4x5 mule deer buck. Wardens found it in a shed while investigating a separate issue, and weren’t quite convinced by Lapp’s claim that it had been killed in an area of the Wyoming Black Hills north of Sundance.
The wardens extracted a sample of the deer’s stomach contents and shipped it to a lab for further analysis. The results? The deer had been eating cottonwood leaves. The issue: Cottonwoods are indigenous to the Greybull River area, which is more than 200 miles away from where Lapp claimed the deer had been taken.
That gave the wardens reason to dig deeper, and a series of text messages traded between the poaching trio sealed the deal.
Blakemore got two years probation, and all three offenders faced steep fines.
They couldn’t escape what was in the belly of this beast.
Give That Man An Asterisk*
Every hunter dreams about taking that trophy whitetail that makes his or her friends fall over themselves with envy—so it’s really got to hurt when you finally do, and wind up getting arrested.
According to the Kansas City Star, David V. Kent killed a massive 14-point buck that may have set the new Kansas state record in November 2011. The problem? He allegedly poached it. And then gave himself away in the worst way possible: by bragging about it.
Kent showed up to Kansas’ Monster Buck Classic with a beautiful new set of antlers that were, by far, the largest typical rack at the show. Wildlife agents were immediately suspicious, as most hunters would have made the tagging of a deer of that stature big news from day one.
After an investigation, Kent was charged with eight separate counts, including hunting with an artificial light, hunting during a closed season, illegal hunting from a vehicle and use of an illegal caliber for deer hunting.
Note: It’s rarely a good idea to bring your misbegotten goods to a building full of industry experts.
The Triple Crown Contender
A poacher in Delaware got busted in February for, well, everything. After seeing a picture in a local publication of a nearby field that was blanketed in geese, one erstwhile “outdoorsman” saddled up and took to action, determined to help thin the flock.
Problem was, the birds were on a Federal Refuge. The alleged poacher didn’t seem to mind, and he showed up and started banging away.
To compound matters, he was using illegal ammunition and didn’t have a hunting license.
Give the man his trophy.
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