From bats acting like cast members of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds to people acting like, well, cast members of the movie Jackass, here’s the latest installment of our continuing series of reports on incidents and cases worked by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens.

The brief reports, lightly edited, are taken from weekly activity summaries TPWD game warden supervisors send to the agency’s Austin-based law enforcement division headquarters.

• The El Paso Law Enforcement office received a call from an oil well pulling rig in remote northwestern Culberson County which was forced to shut down operations because of unusual behavior by bats.

Workers reported that as it got light at the site, a group of bats that had been feeding on insects in the lights of the rig suddenly began flying into the side of the rig, the ground, vehicles, and an on-site trailer, where workers had taken shelter from the bats and a concurrent cloudburst.

The bats then started roosting on the rig itself.

When things settled a bit, approximately 100-200 dead or dying bats lay around the site. Game Warden John Apgar responded to the site and was assisted in the investigation by other TPWD employees, including wildlife biologist Misty Sumner, who joined him at the site.

The confluence of several factors may have led to the incident, but a definitive explanation for the bat behavior was not determined,

• Oct. 6, San Augustine County Game Warden Kevin Wilkinson was patrolling along the edge of the Angelina National Forest when he observed a small white truck driving down the road.

The truck accelerated and the driver began to discharge a firearm out of the cab of the truck in rapid succession.

The truck drove on and the driver continued to fire the weapon repeatedly.

Game Warden Wilkinson followed the truck to a residence, where an investigation took place.

The driver was charged with discharge of a firearm from a public road and a 9mm handgun was seized as evidence.

Game Warden Wilkinson learned that while the driver was firing the handgun, he had also somehow managed to shoot the left front tire of his own truck.

Case pending.

• On Sept. 28, Brazoria County Game Warden Scott Jennings worked a boat accident/water fatality in Surfside.

A 79-year-old male had been fishing alone from a boat near the Freeport Coast Guard base and forgot to bring up his anchor before moving his boat.

The operator managed to get the vessel up on plane, but then the anchor hung something solid, which spun the vessel around sharply, throwing the subject out of the boat and into the water.

The boat, throttled up but still held by the anchor, made several circles, running over the victim two to three times.

The incident was caught on video by a surveillance camera mounted at the U.S. Coast Guard facility.

The subject received several severe lacerations from the prop, and later died from his injuries at Brazosport Hospital.

• Oct. 5, Angelina County Game Warden Tim Walker received an Operation Game Thief (OGT) call about an archer witnessing two men dragging out a doe deer while carrying a firearm.

Unable to get to the area in time to make a case, Walker theorized that the violators would have to come to Zavalla to get ice.

After a two-hour wait, Walker observed the reported vehicle drive through town and pull in to the ice house parking lot.

Warden Walker made contact with the violator, who denied everything, while standing there with blood on his boots.

The other subject and the deer were located later.

Cases pending.

• On Sept. 24, Zapata County Game Wardens Stevan Ramos, Jake Mort, Roy Martinez and Captain Fernando Cervantes responded to a call of an abandoned boat traveling in circles on Falcon Lake near Hwy 83 north of Zapata.

While Mort and Martinez prepared their patrol boat, Ramos and Captain Cervantes were able to locate the vessel, which by now had come to a stop, from their vantage point on the highway bridge.

Shortly after the vessel was spotted, Ramos observed a male subject clinging to flooded brush in the middle of the water.

Mort and Martinez proceeded to the location of the subject and rescued him from the water.

The subject stated that after he left the nearby ramp, he hit a log and was ejected from his boat. He also stated that he did not have time to put his PFD on.

The subject stated that after he fell in the water, his vessel circled around him twice before he could swim out of its path.

After returning the subject to the ramp, Roy and Jake recovered the vessel and returned it to the ramp.

• On Sept. 26, Henderson County Game Warden Dustin Balfanz received information about a male subject skinning a deer on the side of a very busy farm-to-market road.

Upon arrival at the scene, Balfanz observed the subject skinning the deer with a broken beer bottle.

Warden Balfanz, assisted by Henderson County deputies, arrested the subject for possession of a white-tailed deer in closed season.

• On Sept. 24, Aransas County Game Wardens Karen Simmons and Richard “Marty” Martin were called to assist with a mysterious-looking bundle beached near St. Joe Island.

Karen and Marty launched their patrol boat and recovered the bundle which appeared to be several tightly wrapped smaller bundles of marijuana.

The entire bundle appeared to have been in the water for quite some time as a good amount of algae and barnacles covered the bundle.

The bundle was turned over to the Rockport Police Department.

• On Oct. 2, while responding to a trespass and hunting violation call in progress, Willacy County Game Warden Robbie Robinson observed a subject shooting from the access road of U.S. Highway 77 south of Sebastian.

The subject was very close to where a bridge is located that goes over an irrigation canal. Robinson turned around and got close to the subject and ordered him to stop.

The subject continued back under the bridge in an attempt to hide, and when Robinson approached the subject he observed him throw the shotgun into the rushing water of the canal and walk away.

Robinson immediately took control of the individual and took him into custody.

The subject claimed he never had a weapon and did not know what the game warden was asking about. The subject had several of his friends observing and laughing at the situation.

Robinson pointed out the spent shells on the ground where he first saw the subject and found several other unused shells in the subject’s pants pockets.

Robinson looked up and saw four DPS units rolling to a quick stop at his location.

The subject in custody continued to be searched and questioned by Robinson.

A small bag of marijuana was located in the subject’s shirt pocket.

The subject finally told Robinson that he threw the gun in the water because of the drugs.

The subject was issued numerous citations and released.

The shotgun the subject tossed into the water belonged to one of the friends at the scene.

According to Robinson, the gun’s owner was the only one not laughing at the conduct of the violator.

• On Sept. 27, Game Wardens Jarret Barker and Santana Torres boarded shrimp boats as they were unloading in the Port of Brownsville.

The wardens discovered one boat with an undersized kingfish and undersized ling. Another boat was found to be in possession of 68 snapper in violation of the federal snapper closure.

Fifty-nine of the snapper were undersized.

The violation was referred to NOAA fisheries service agents for federal prosecution.

• About midnight on Oct. 4, Guadalupe County Game Warden Tracy Large was contacted by Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office, which had received a call from two men stranded on the Guadalupe River.

The men stated they had capsized their canoe, and it broke in half.

They had lost everything except a cell phone, a lighter, pocket knife and one life jacket. One man had lost his shoes and shirt.

Warden Large with the help of retired Game Warden Doug Parker began to search for the men by land.

By accessing the river at various places and sounding the siren on the patrol truck, the wardens were able to narrow down the men’s location.

At first light, Warden Large and Parker launched a boat and started the search by water. The men’s cell phone battery had worn out, so the wardens were no longer able to communicate with the men.

After searching the water for five hours, Warden Large received a call from the men stating that they had walked out and were on the highway.

One of the men had cut up a life jacket and made shoes to walk through the brush.

• On Oct. 3, Travis County Game Warden Jeff Hill found more than a dozen bags of trash thrown into the brush along a remote county road.

The first bag he opened revealed a photocopy of the violator’s driver’s license and personal mail.

Upon contact, the subject was informed he would be receiving a citation and his response was, “I knew better than to do that and as soon as I get my tires aired up I’ll pick it up.”

Trash picked up; case pending.

• Erath County Game Warden Zach Havens and Somervell County Game Warden Joni Kuykendall patrolled Lake Granbury for water safety, fishing, and duck-hunting violations on Oct. 3.

Three subjects were contacted in a fishing camp as they were loading a car to leave. Despite having numerous fishing poles, none of the three subjects claimed to recall fishing.

A cleaning board covered with fish slime jolted the trio’s memory and they recalled catching, cooking and eating a flathead catfish.

Three citations issued for fishing without a license.

• Van Zandt County Game Warden Steve Stapleton received an OGT call the night before opening day of bow season about a deer camp where, the informant said, the occupants were intending to illegally gun hunt the next morning.

Warden Stapleton was familiar with the camp and hid nearby that morning.

A short time later a truck entered the camp with a dead deer draped over the tail gate. The truck stopped in camp, and the driver got out and cautiously walked back down the road.

Suddenly, the subject pitched his rifle into the brush and took off running back into the camp with Warden Stapleton close behind.

The subject grabbed the deer from the tailgate and took off running with it, and later tried to hide it in a nearby creek.

Unsure of where the subject went or who else was in the camp, Warden Stapleton took up a position back on a hill where he could see the camp and wait for backup.

Before backup could arrive, Warden Stapleton apprehended the subject when he tried to reenter the camp.

Evading arrest, waste of game, illegal means and methods, and no hunting license charges were filed.