It’s Not a Game
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Mark Jeter, a state Fish and Game warden, patrols the Angeles National Forest near Mt. Baldy. His job includes everything from searching for poachers to taking butchered deer meat--nabbed from poachers--to Sisters of the Poor charity in Long Beach. Here are some bits and pieces from a game warden’s life:
What others in law enforcement call wardens: Critter cops.
How fishermen who exceed the state limit react when they see him: They stuff wriggling fish into their boots or pockets.
What people dressed in hunter orange say when Jeter asks for their hunting license: “I’m just shooting at rocks”; “I’m just trying to protect my buddy from bears.”
What people try to steal from the forest: Jeter caught one man with an 8-week-old mountain lion stuffed under his car seat, a rope around its neck.
Why wardens don’t like dove season, which starts in the fall: Hunters shoot wildly at the sky, and pellets rain down, peppering wardens and others. Last year, a hunter in the Angeles took a shot at a low-flying dove, accidentally shooting a warden in the face.
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