State Fish and Game wardens on Tuesday confiscated a stuffed raptor and wolverine from a Georgetown bar.
The mounted red-tailed hawk and wolverine, sporting a hat and clenching a cigarette between his teeth, were on display at the Georgetown Hotel and Bar until wardens got a tip.
Wardens removed the species because having them dead or alive violated state fish and game code.
One code section states that there are nine mammals that are against the law to kill or possess for whatever reason, even if they are stuffed and no matter how old, said Andrew Hughan, DFG spokesman.
One of those protected mammals is the wolverine, a shy and scarce bear-like mammal of the forest. The image of one wolverine was captured by a graduate student's remote-controlled camera north of Truckee in February 2008.
However, the last confirmed Sierra wolverine was shot as a scientific specimen in 1922.
The stuffed hawk was also against he law to posses because it violated another code section, relating to possessing a non-game bird.
"We are not going to cite these folks," said Hughan. "But at the end of the day, the wardens received a tip, they found a law being broken and they did what they had to do. All we wanted to do is make sure they were compliant."
It's perfectly fine to display other types of game, such as deer, said Hughan. Fish and Game will find homes for the stuffed hawk and wolverine in a museum or wildlife viewing area.
The nine mammals that are fully protected:
-- Morro Bay kangaroo rat
-- Bighorn sheep, except Nelson bighorn sheep
-- Northern elephant seal
-- Guadalupe fur seal
-- Ring-tailed cat
-- Pacific right whale
-- Salt-marsh harvest mouse
-- Southern sea otter
-- Wolverine
PHOTO CAPTION: The seized stuffed wolverine. California Fish and Game.
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