Steller was convicted last August of the attempted murder of Alix Castro Chavarría, who was caught poaching sea turtle eggs during a 2009 ranger patrol.
National Police officers and Environment Ministry officials last Friday caught two poachers transporting 62 birds in the central Pacific district of Montes de Oro, in Costa Rica's Puntarenas province.
The defense of Costa Rican park ranger Mauricio Steller Fallas said their client acted in self-defense and therefore the charges should have been dismissed during the trial.
The suspect was found with a .22-caliber rifle, a machete and a dog that reportedly was used for hunting. He was arrested for carrying a weapon illegally. Three others with him fled.
Support for park ranger Mauricio Steller, who was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison for shooting an alleged poacher, appears to have wavered little since it came to light that Steller is also the subject of a narcotics investigation.
A turtle researcher recently posted a video on YouTube of her colleague removing a plastic drinking straw from the nostril of an olive ridley sea turtle off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The woman has started a GoFundMe campaign to develop first aid kits for sea turtles in distress.
Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines will no longer allow the shipment of lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo hunting trophies, the U.S. carriers said Monday.
Zimbabwe on Friday called for the extradition of Walter Palmer, the Minnesota trophy hunter who shot and killed Cecil the lion. Palmer and his guide have said the killing of the tagged lion, who was a favorite among tourists, was a mistake and that calls for severe punishment are out of proportion.
