Mississippi Outdoors Podcast

MDWFP biologist Martin Coker joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to explain something most Mississippians have never thought about — the difference between a nuisance animal and a fur bearer species, and why that distinction matters for how they're managed.Martin breaks down which animals fall into each category, why wild hogs can be taken year-round while bobcats and river otters have a regulated season, and why the stretch between deer and turkey season is actually a great window for hog management. He also talks about how CITES tags work, why muskrats have been rebranded as "marsh hare" in some markets, how raccoon calls are increasing as suburban areas expand, and why you need to remove nearly 80% of a hog population annually just to hold it steady.

You've called them skeeter eaters your whole life. You've been warned about granddaddy long legs since you were a kid. You've wondered why fire ants even exist. In this episode of the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, Matt Wyatt sits down with Brady Dunaway, ecologist with the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program and entomology background from Mississippi State, to bust a few of those myths wide open.

Sharks stealing your fish off the Gulf Coast? You're not imagining it, and marine fisheries professor Marcus Drymon joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to explain exactly why it's happening and what you can do.Marcus breaks down the science behind shark depredation, which species are most responsible (sandbar, bull, and blacktip), and why anglers have been dealing with more of it over the past 20 years. He also explains why healthy shark populations are actually a sign that the Gulf Coast fishery is doing well — and why that's a harder message to deliver to a fishing guide who just lost a red snapper to a shark.

Eddie and Becky Briggs of Mississippi are two of the best helice shooters in the world, and most people have never heard of the sport. They join the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to explain everything.Helice uses spinning plastic targets launched from five machines in a baseball diamond layout. You don't know which machine will fire. The targets spin at 5,000 RPMs, fly unpredictably, and you have to knock the white center cap inside a two-foot fence ring — with two shots. Eddie is the current U.S. senior champion. Becky's team finished second at the World Championship in Italy.They talk about what it feels like to compete overseas with Team USA, how to get started in the sport, where to try it in Mississippi, and why every shooter they've introduced to it calls it addictive.Mississippi Outdoors is produced by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Anthony Ballard (Mississippi), Spencer Daniels (Arkansas), and John Hanks (Louisiana) join the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast for a rare three-state bear program roundtable.Arkansas has over 5,000 bears and has had a hunting season since 1980. Louisiana just held its second bear season after coming off the federal threatened species list in 2016. Mississippi's bear population is continuing to expand. These three biologists explain where each state is, how their seasons work, and what Mississippi biologists are watching closely as its bear population continues to grow.

Melanie Boudreaux, assistant research professor at Mississippi State University, joins the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast to share what may be the first study to put hard numbers on how wild hogs and deer interact, and what it means for chronic wasting disease in Mississippi.Her team used GPS collars that could track when animals were near each other, trail cameras at bait sites, and aerial surveys across the state. What they found: hogs move between deer social groups like a bridge, connecting populations that would otherwise stay separate.