A West Virginia University mascot who got in trouble for using his uniform musket to kill a bear has been cited for another problem -- not wearing blaze orange during the bear hunt.
Mountaineers mascot Jonathan Kimble wears buckskin and a coonskin cap and fires the musket -- loaded with black powder but minus ammunition -- at home athletic events.
Kimble wasn't wearing the required hunter orange when he shot a black bear Dec. 3. The kill was legal but triggered a public outcry after Kimble posted a video online.
State Division of Natural Resources spokesman Hoy Murphy says hunters are required to wear 400 square inches of the high-visibility color for safety reasons.
Kimble has agreed to stop hunting with the musket. He didn't immediately comment Wednesday.
------------------------------------
Original story from Dec. 7
West Virginia University has ordered its musket-toting mascot to stop using his university-issued weapon on hunting trips after an online video showed him killing a black bear.
Jonathan Kimble accompanied more than a dozen friends and family members in the woods of Pendleton County on Monday. In the video, Kimble is shown firing the muzzle-loaded long gun at the bear in a tree.
WVU spokesman John Bolt says officials spoke to Kimble about the incident, but that Kimble broke no laws.
Kimble didn't immediately return a telephone message Friday. But he told the Charleston Daily Mail he'll abide by the school's edict.
The WVU mascot wears buckskin and a coonskin cap and fires the musket -- minus ammunition -- at home athletic events and school-sponsored events.
