Word: elk
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...black bus rivals a greyhound in size but has an interior like a limo--and it gets a few curious looks as we wander into the dense neighborhoods of Elk Grove, Calif., a quiet suburb 15 minutes south of Sacramento. Five of us--a mortgage counselor, three investors and I--are looking at 10 recently foreclosed homes dubbed "excellent deals" by the O'Brien Co., the agency that set up the trip...
These "magical misery tours" are real estate agents' attempts to move their ever increasing inventory fast, as the mortgage crisis forces more and more homeowners into foreclosure. The idea originated in nearby Stockton last year and has migrated to other cities in California, Michigan, Florida and Massachusetts. Elk Grove alone has about 2,120 bank-owned houses for sale and 1,280 in pre-foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac, a real-estate-data website. The places we see vary from spotless to foul-smelling. One house, which appears to have been vacated in a hurry, has enormous stuffed animals...
...Bureau--more animals are losing their natural habitat, and so are forced to trade open land for golf courses and the backyards of greenbelt communities like the 1,850-home Pinery. That not only leads to more human-animal confrontations but also opens up opportunities for poachers to track elk, mountain lion, antelope, black bear and deer...
...they're not in it for the thrill of the kill, poachers are often bent on making some money. Bighorn-sheep horns, for example, can bring up to $60,000 on the U.S. black market; a large, balanced set of elk antlers, $10,000. In Japan, black bear gallbladders, treasured as an aphrodisiac, are literally worth their weight in gold. The illegal reptile, amphibian and snake markets in Southern California and Florida have been growing as well because of heightened collector demand in Asia...
Several other Colorado communities--including Aspen, Craig and Pueblo--have also banned barbed wire. Even outside of residential areas, environmentalists are leading a charge to replace the fencing. It may be cheap and effective at keeping cattle in, but it can be lethal to wild animals like elk and antelope...