Many hunters are notable conservationists, and one recently found an unexpected way to conserve bullets.
Prairie du Sac, Wis., resident TJ Hauge was hunting on opening day of the state's nine-day gun deer season. Settled into his tree stand when a buck came into his sights, TJ took careful aim and squeezed off a shot. Bull's-eye -- the buck dropped in its tracks -- and so did the unseen one standing directly behind it.
"Between the adrenaline and the rather strange outcome, my mind had a little trouble grasping what had just transpired," TJ told Outposts. "I spent the next 25 minutes with a big, uncontrollable smile and occasionally laughing to myself in disbelief of what had happened."
TJ immediately text-messaged the other members of his hunting party, "two bucks, one bullet."
A Wyoming man has been ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and has been barred from hunting and from accompanying anyone else hunting for 10 years for shooting two mule deer from his pickup truck.
In a plea agreement, Casper, Wyo. resident Timothy Alme also received two years suspended jail time and had to forfeit the rifle used to shoot the animals.
Wyoming Game and Fish wardens were originally tipped off by a state Highway Patrol officer, who was investigating a traffic accident involving a guard rail and a pickup truck, which was abandoned along the highway. During the investigation, the officer noticed a lot of blood and deer hair in the bed of the vehicle, registered to Alme.
A consented search of Alme's residence by game warden Shawn Blajszczak turned up four deer carcasses, only two that were confirmed to be legally harvested.
A Texas man may find himself in the Nebraska state record books after shooting a 38-point whitetail buck.
Lexington, Texas, resident Wes O'Brien was hunting with a friend on private land in Richardson County, Neb., on Saturday when he spotted and shot the deer from about 100 yards.
O'Brien told the Lincoln Journal Star that his trophy has received a preliminary score of 281.
The rack's official score won't be determined for 60 days, the "drying period" during which the antlers will shrink a little.
Should O'Brien's buck be scored the new state record, it will beat a record held for 47 years by bow-hunter Del Austin of Hastings, Neb. Commonly called "Old Mossy Horns," the deer shot by Austin scored 279-7/8 non-typical, which was not only a Nebraska record but also a world record for whitetail taken by archery.
Tony Korth, aquarium director at Schramm Park and a certified Boone and Crockett scorer, said that he has never seen another buck like the one O'Brien shot in nearly 20 years of checking hunters' deer.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime buck," said Korth. "Remarkable is a really good word for it."
Should the deer break the state record, "Old Mossy Horns" will remain in the books as the top archery buck.
But O'Brien doesn't seem that interested in the possibility of making the record books.
"I don't care if he doesn't get any records. He's amazing to me," O'Brien said of his trophy buck with the impressive antlers.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Wes O'Brien of Lexington, Texas, shows off the massive whitetail buck he shot Saturday on private land. Credit: NEBRASKAland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
In what may be an effort to assure quotas are reached, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission has decided to extend the wolf-hunting season through March 31 in all zones.
This will lengthen the season in seven areas which previously had a Dec. 31 closure. Hunting was already set to end March 31 in two other zones.
Of course, if a zone limit is reached prior to March 31 that area will close to further wolf hunting.
As of this morning, the number of wolves reported killed in Idaho was 111 -- just over half of the statewide quota of 220.
Three areas have already reached the limit and have closed, and three are nearing theirs.
All other rules remain unchanged, and hunters are required to report a wolf kill within 24 hours, and must present the skull and hide to a regional office or a Fish and Game conservation officer within five days.
Also, those planning to hunt wolves after Dec. 31 must purchase a 2010 license and wolf tag.
Neighboring state Montana ended its inaugural wolf hunt
about two months after opening the season, though the statewide quota
was only 75 and large numbers of animals were killed during the early
season back-country hunts.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A wolf watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Whaling ships from Japan left today for Antarctic waters on an annual five-month voyage in pursuit of about 1,000 minke whales and a small number of endangered fin whales.
The seasonal hunts, during the Antarctic summer, are highly controversial. They're carried out in the name of research but the meat is sold in Japanese markets and restaurants and whatever research is conducted has been deemed questionable and unnecessary by many scientists outside Japan.
Australia and New Zealand, closest to the whaling region, have spoken out against the hunts, but to no avail.
Enter the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and its devoted captain, Paul Watson, who himself is controversial and labeled a terrorist by the Japanese. Sea Shepherd is making final preparations for "Operation Waltzing Matilda," its name for this year's harassment campaign against the whalers.
It will again involve a crew from Animal Planet for its popular "Whale Wars" series. The series has thrust Sea Shepherd into the spotlight and made a hero of Watson and his vegan crew, in the eyes of some. Watson has won many volunteer recruits because of the series.
It reports that a government review committee has proposed substantial cuts in subsidies to various programs, including the whaling research program. Without government subsidies, Greenpeace maintains, "the whaling program would be doomed."
Time will tell. Meanwhile, exploding harpoons will tear into the flesh of unsuspecting cetaceans, water cannons will blast from ship to ship, bottles full of rancid butter will be heaved aboard the whaling vessels, and collisions might occur.
Watson will again be hailed and chastised; people seem to either cherish or despise him. He routinely brushes aside the criticism, saying that he's only interested in costing the whaling fleet money and saving as many whales as possible each year.
My guess is that he has come to enjoy the "Whale Wars" spotlight, also.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Sea Shepherd crew members are hosed by crewmen aboard a Japanese harpoon vessel during last year's effort to harass the whalers. Credit: Stephen Roest / Sea Shepherd
Note: To follow this blog on Twitter please visit @latimesoutposts
Montana's inaugural wolf-hunting season came to an end this week and has been deemed a success by state wildlife officials.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks called for the season to close half an hour after sunset on Monday after receiving word that the statewide quota of 75 was nearly reached.
"We hit 72 of the 75 wolf quota with two weeks left before the season was originally planned to close on Nov. 29," FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim told the Billings Gazette.
A total of 15,600 wolf hunting licenses were sold, generating $325,859 for the state license fund.
"It was a successful season. We learned a bunch, and we'll learn more as we evaluate it," Aasheim said. "We know where wolves where taken by county. We know sex. We know age. We'll know the days hunted. It's a pretty sound information base."
One thing that will be studied further is the sustainability of the hunt.
Were you able to watch the National Geographic special, "White Shark Expedition," on Monday night -- and if so, what do you think of the methods utilized by researcher Michael Domeier at remote Guadalupe Island off Baja California?
If you live in the Bay Area, you might also have viewed an ABC News program that was spawned by an incident involving Domeier's team using the same methods at the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. The program featured experts who were critical of the methods, which involve using a team of anglers and a large baited hook attached to a line with buoys.
(There's also a film crew, hence the National Geographic special and related episodes to air next summer.)
The hooked shark struggles until it's completely worn out. It's then lifted onto a platform, where a sophisticated tracking tag is bolted into its dorsal fin. A large hose is used to flush water through the shark's gills, so it can breathe throughout a process that can take 20 minutes.
The sharks usually are hooked in the corner of the mouth -- because of the 24-inch circle hook's design --but in at least one case at the Farallon Islands a shark had to be set free with part of the hook lodged deep in its throat.
The specialized tags have a life span of up to six years, providing real-time data and pinpointing precise locations of migrating sharks. They're important, Domeier says, for researchers seeking a clearer picture of these mysterious predators' life history.
In support of the California Department of Fish and Game
and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on
Thursday afternoon or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's
weekly Q&A column:
Question: I went hunting with my brother-in-law recently. He was hunting for bear and I was hunting for mountain quail and gray squirrels. He had a bear tag and I didn’t. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to shoot a nice one that was about 200 to 250 pounds. We were unable at the time to take the whole bear home so he decapitated the bear, stuffed the head in his backpack and gave me about 50 lbs. of meat to take home in my backpack. We left the rest of the body there and agreed to go back for it later.
When we got home, he asked his brother and me to pick up the rest of the body because he had to go to work. I refused to do so because I thought it would not be legal since I was not the shooter. He told me it should be all right and that if I was stopped by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), I should just call him at work to verify the kill. I still didn’t go and we got into an argument. In this situation, could I have been cited for taking the bear meat without the shooter being present? Thanks! (Alex V.)
Answer: If you accompany a person in the field who is legally hunting bear and you have a firearm, archery equipment or other means capable of taking a bear, then it is reasonable to assume you are also taking bear. In addition, you could also be cited if you do not have a valid bear tag of your own. Your explanation that you were hunting squirrels would likely not be acceptable to a game warden, especially given that you helped transport some of the bear.
Three Nebraska men convicted of illegally killing deer have been ordered to pay fines and restitution in excess of $20,000, the largest penalty for such crimes in state history since electronic records began being kept in 1996.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reports that a Cherry County court judge assessed a combined $20,145 in fines, damages and court costs to Merriman, Neb. residents Nathan Chappell, Kip Castellaw and Ernie Bennett after each pleaded guilty to poaching five mule deer.
The men were originally charged with 30 counts each for game law violations, including hunting during a closed season, criminal trespass, hunting with artificial light and wanton waste, though five of the counts were dismissed in a plea agreement.
The poachers shot and killed five deer and left four of the dead animals in a field, taking the largest and displaying it on a flatbed trailer (what nincompoops, considering it was closed season). The buck's inside antler spread was 4-1/2 inches shy of the 24 inches that would have added a mandatory $5,000 fine for trophy penalty status.
"It is extremely gratifying when landowners, prosecutors and judges
work together with law enforcement to bring poachers to justice," said NGPC conservation officer Heath Packett, who investigated the case.
All three men will also have their hunting and fishing privileges suspended for three years.
This callous waste of animals is an insult to legitimate hunters. Hopefully the hefty fine and three-year suspension for this reprehensible act will make these men think twice about doing something like this again.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Mule deer buck. Credit: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times
The reward being offered for information on who illegally shot and killed an 800-pound grizzly bear in Montana has grown to more than $11,000. (The bear killed is not the one in the above photo.)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun distributing posters touting the large reward, recently sweetened to $11,800 after other organizations and private individuals, including Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, local ranchers and Defenders of Wildlife, committed funds for information leading to the conviction of the poacher or poachers.
"Interest in prosecuting the individual or individuals responsible for this illegal shooting has grown and so has the reward," said FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim.
The reward is for tips on who killed the 800-pound bear only. The Fish and Wildlife Service is also investigating two other illegal grizzly shootings in the same area.
The bear was one that FWP officials were familiar with, having accidentally captured it in 2007 while doing a population study. It is believed to have been one of the largest male grizzlies in the region -- the average weight for such animals is approximately 600 pounds.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact TIP-MONT, the statewide FWP anti-poaching hotline, at (800) 847-6668.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A large adult grizzly bear faces the camera. Credit: Joel Sartore / National Geographic / Getty Images
Avid elk hunters Mark and Carol Brye unwittingly came up with a new weapon for deer hunting when their concrete lawn ornament killed a whitetail buck last week.
No, it wasn't the Roaming Gnome, but a 640-pound, life-like concrete elk statue given to the Viroqua, Wis., residents as a Christmas gift by their children.
The LaCrosse Tribune reports that Mark awoke one morning to see the statue on its side. He didn't immediately realize that a 180-pound buck lay dead in his yard.
It appears that the deer saw the statue as a rival male in its territory and began sparring with it. The buck apparently went in for a head butt and shattered its skull, staggered for about 20 feet and fell dead.
"I could tell that the buck poked the statue a couple of times by the chipped paint on it," Mark said.
He claimed the animal with Vernon County conservation wardens using one of his deer tags. The buck was butchered and is in the freezer.
And the concrete elk? "The statue is OK, but the antlers broke off when it tipped over," added Mark. He is considering putting the deer horns on the statue, as a remembrance of the odd but true tale.
Meanwhile, the lawn art remains on its side, awaiting reinforcements to help lift it back into place. "I can't tip it back up until I get a whole bunch of guys to help me," said Mark.
To give you an idea of how popular the special, late-season cow elk hunts are in New Mexico, it took only 10 seconds Tuesday for the 350 available licenses to be sold over the Internet.
The New Mexico Game and Fish Department issued a news release stating that tens of thousands of hunters stormed its website seeking a license to bag an antler-less elk in any of five game management units.
The licenses were sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and the website logged 250,000 hits from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The sale began at 10 and was scheduled to end at 10:30.
Hikers, birders and other visitors to the Eastern Sierra are encouraged to be on the lookout for Karma, an adult male red-tailed hawk that for the past two-plus years had resided at the Eastern Sierra Wildlife Care facility in Bishop.
The majestic raptor was believed to have been kept illegally as a pet before it was abandoned in the wild. It could not fly when it was discovered floundering and suffering from heat prostration and brought to the center, which cares for injured and abandoned critters.
But Karma learned to fly at the facility and was regularly driven afield for brief falconry-type flights. He always returned to his handlers, but last Thursday in the Keough Hot Springs area west of Highway 395, he dipped behind an outcropping and disappeared.
Cindy Kamler, who runs the facility, told Outposts that people have been scouring a two-square-mile area but have not spotted the bird, which is wearing black leather bracelets on both legs and might be trailing a short orange cord.
It's feared that Karma will be unable to fend for himself or find his own food, but Kamler is hopeful and cites a few instances where the bird captured and killed sparrows that had entered its enclosure.
Interestingly, it had recently begun communicating with wild hawks during its flights, notably a juvenile red-tailed hawk that was present during Karma's last controlled flight. Could Karma simply have answered the call of the wild and sought freedom?
Kamler concedes it's a doubtful scenario, since the bird had been raised in captivity. "It'd be unique," Kamler says, "but not impossible."
Anyone who spots the hawk is urged to call the center at (760) 872-1487.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo of Karma the red-tailed hawk courtesy of Chris Morrison
Wolf hunting continues in both Idaho and Montana, with each state announcing the closure of a second zone on Monday after reaching quotas.
Idaho Fish and Game has announced the closure of the McCall-Weiser zone in west-central Idaho, where the limit of 15 wolves has been reached. This is the second area closed in the state, with the Upper Snake zone meeting its quota of five earlier this month.
Thus far, 98 of the statewide quota of 220 wolves have been reported killed in Idaho.
In northwest Montana, the North Fork sub-unit, a small area located in what is called Wolf Management Unit 1, reached its limit of two wolves and will close to further hunting today at sunset. The rest of Unit 1 remains open, with 14 wolves left in the total zone quota of 41.
This is the second zone to end its wolf hunting season in Montana. WMU 3, which includes the northern border of Yellowstone National Park, quickly met its quota of 12 within a month of the hunt's opening Sept. 15.
Matthews, a professional nuisance animal trapper, called media to his neighborhood to witness the capture of a large Burmese python from a drainage pipe. Turns out, Matthews put the snake there in the first place and staged the whole event.
Matthews apparently purchased the reptile a month before from a licensed
reptile dealer and released it to set up its capture to "bring
attention to a growing problem of irresponsible pet ownership," according to an FWC news release.
His releasing of the reptile is a big no-no in Florida, which is having a huge problem with the invasive species and even held a state-sanctioned hunting program in an effort to eradicate the non-native pythons.
What better place than the wide-open spaces within a national park or wildlife refuge to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy and the sacrifices made by members of the armed services to protect those freedoms?
(This was reported previously by colleague Jane Engle in the L.A. Times travel blog.)
“The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee-free day to thank our nation’s service men and women,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a news release. “The sacrifices and achievements of the brave men and women of our armed forces can never be understated. We invite all of our visitors to enjoy this fee-free day and take time out on this national holiday to remember our service men and women who are currently serving overseas in harms way. ”
Only entrance fees are waived. Fees associated with camping, lodging or other activities will be collected.
The 19-year-old Toronto resident was airlifted to a Halifax hospital in critical condition. She died the following day.
The coyote tested was killed by park officials and is believed to have been one of the two that had bitten Mitchell. Its carcass was sent to the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island to try to determine why the animals attacked.
Sadly, it may never be known why the coyotes attacked Mitchell, nor what individuals should do if confronted by the animals. The Parks Canada website describes the eastern coyote as a species that has interbred with wolves, which may give some insight as to the predatory behavior exhibited rather than the shy nature usually seen in coyotes.
A female great white shark that had lived in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit since August was tagged and released today.
The young predator, which was captured off Malibu, was set free offshore beyond the southern edge of Monterey Bay. She measured 5 feet, 5 inches, and weighed 100 pounds.
It's the fifth white shark successfully released after a stay at the facility, where the sharks are intended to provide visitors with a better understanding of the apex predators and inspire support for shark conservation.
She was released because she had begun to exhibit aggressive behavior toward other sharks in the 1-million-gallon tank.
"I’ve always said that these animals will tell us when it’s time to put them back to the ocean. Now was clearly the time,” said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for the aquarium. “Her health is excellent, and we learned a lot while she was with us. Based on past experience, we have every expectation that she’ll do well after release.”
Tracking tags will enable scientists to monitor the shark's movements and habits. Previously, two of the released sharks traveled beyond Baja California's tip. The other two ventured to the Santa Barbara area.
The aquarium, with its research partners, also is part of a Juvenile White Shark Program, which involves tagging and tracking of sharks that utilize California and Mexico waters as nurseries. Real-time data and published research can be found on the Tagging of Pacific Predators website.
It has to be an unsettling situation for parents of small children and owners of small pets in South Florida, where thousands of Burmese pythons are slithering amok.
A state-sanctioned pilot hunting program aimed at determining location and formulating an eradication plan ended Saturday with 37 of the invasive reptiles being killed.
The constrictors can measure 18 feet long and weigh 160 pounds, and wildlife officials say they could number in the tens of thousands in the South Florida region -- mostly in the Everglades.
Snake owners who released pythons when they became too large to manage are believed largely responsible for this troubling phenomenon. The snakes, which are reproducing in the wild, have become a threat to native wildlife.
The wildlife commission is collecting data from the snakes killed so far and will expand the hunting program next year. Meanwhile, licensed hunters after other species can continue to kill pythons in designated areas, including parts of the Everglades around Big Cypress National Preserve.
Renowned Australian surfer Dave Rastovich and three others are nearing completion of a monthlong kayaking expedition with humpback whales and their calves in an attempt to bring attention to the dangers marine mammals face as they migrate past Australia en route to the Southern Ocean for the Antarctic summer.
Commercial fishing methods, industrial runoff, noise pollution, ship strikes and human interaction are some of the dangers. Other whales, notably minke whales, also are migrating and they'll soon be targeted by Japanese whalers, who in turn will be harassed by Capt. Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Rastovich, co-founder of the group Surfers for Cetaceans, spearheaded a 435-mile journey that includes San Diego's Chris Del Moro. Musician Will Conner and photographer Hilton Dawe are also part of the odyssey.
The crew, sailing aboard red trimaran kayaks, began Oct. 1 at Byron Bay and arrived today in Sydney Harbor. It will officially conclude its mission Thursday at nearby Bondi Beach. The campaign is called Transparentsea.
Said Rastovich: “The primary intention of our journey has been to highlight the plight of whales that are destined for the Southern Ocean and the inevitable visits by Japanese whaling fleets. As surfers, we have a direct connection with these amazing creatures and during the past 30 days, we’ve had the fortune of interacting with them, almost on a daily basis.
“Now we are calling on people to show their support and to join us in putting pressure on the Australian government, lead by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and our Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett, to uphold their pre-election promise to challenge Japanese whaling in international court and to protect the Southern Ocean sanctuary.”
The surfer and his group plan to celebrate with Sea Shepherd crew members, who are in Australia preparing for their sixth campaign against the Japanese whalers. Japan's whaling effort is carried out under a research loophole in the wording of an international moratorium on whaling.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Transparentsea environmental campaigners protest the actions of Japanese whalers from aboard kayaks in Sydney Harbor. Credit: Fetch/Transparentsea
Idaho Fish and Game has announced the first area to be closed to wolf hunting, after the quota of five animals was reached in the Upper Snake zone in the eastern portion of the state.
The closed area borders Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming,
where wolves are still protected by the Endangered Species Act.
All other portions of Idaho remain open to wolf hunting, with a total of 87 of the 220 statewide quota killed thus far.
Two other zones are nearing their limits. The McCall-Weiser unit has 14 of the 15 animal quota reported, and the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone, with a limit of five, has two predators taken.
The Southern Idaho unit, which is the largest, has yet to report any wolves shot toward the quota of five.
The season runs through Dec. 31 or March 31 depending on zone, or until each zone quota is met.
--Kelly Burgess
Photo: A wolf watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
An area of western Colorado that has been off-limits to mountain lion hunting since 2004 will open for a limited season beginning in mid-November.
The hunting season on a portion of the Uncompahgre Plateau will open Nov. 16 and run through Jan. 31, unless the quota of eight cougars is reached before then.
Hunters must obtain a special permit, as well as a regular mountain lion license, to hunt the area. The free permits are available beginning today at the Colorado Division of Wildlife office in Montrose and are valid for 14 days, with unlimited replacement if a hunter does not bag an animal within the 14-day period.
As in other areas of Colorado, hunters must report within 48 hours if they kill a mountain lion and must show the carcass to a state wildlife agent within five days. They also must check daily to see if the research area is still open for hunting by calling (888) 940-5466.
The state Division of Wildlife closed the area in order to conduct research on mountain lion population dynamics. The study will continue through 2014 and is being done to help shape management policy for the big cats.
"The study is designed so that the [Department of Wildlife] can examine the lion management structure and biological assumptions used for managing lions with sport hunting throughout Colorado," Ken Logan, a project researcher with the department, said in a news release.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A mountain lion in a Colorado snow storm. Credit: Kevin Russell / Colorado Division of Wildlife
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I counted five Saturday afternoon, including the three in the top image, and heard many more have since landed. The large, unwieldy and sometimes comical birds spend their summers in the northern U.S. and Canada. Many winter in Southern California.
As for brown pelicans, they're always around and often amusing. If you have a camera and are patient, you'll be rewarded with exceptional photo opportunities from the footbridge, just steps from the parking lot.
Most but not all of these dive-bombing birds are adept at catching fish.
One of my favorite day hikes is to a series of vast meadows atop Point Mugu State Park, at the north end of the Santa Monica Mountains.
I've preferred making this uphill sojourn in late afternoon, alone, when there are few or no people on the meadow trails, because that's when coyotes emerge from their daytime slumber. If you're stealthy enough, you might get close enough for a decent photo opportunity.
But after reading about the fatal mauling by coyotes of singer Taylor Mitchell in Nova Scotia, Canada, I probably will be more leery next time I make that trip, even if the coyotes there try their best to avoid people.
The first time I encountered one of the rangy critters was on a remote side trail surrounded by tall brush. I'd seen mountain lion tracks and was spooked when a coyote bolted from the brush across the trail 30 yards in front of me. It stopped and gazed at me, and I wondered whether it had companions hiding in the brush.
To see how it'd react, I took a few steps toward the predator. To my relief, it looped swiftly to the other side of the meadow, then turned and kept an eye on me.
The Mitchell incident was bizarre and unusual, but not unbelievable, given there are so many coyotes living in proximity to people.
In support of the California Department of Fish and Game
and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on
Thursday afternoon or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's
weekly Q&A column:
Question: This is my first year waterfowl hunting and while I am a pretty decent shot when I can get the birds to come in, I am a terrible caller! I can’t seem to get them to respond. I’ve found some electronic callers online that look pretty good and don’t cost too much money. I’d like to try them, but since everyone I’ve hunted with this year uses only the traditional calls, I wonder if these electronic calls are just new or if they might not be legal to use. What’s the answer? (Jake P.)
Answer: I’m afraid you’re going to have to just pucker up and keep practicing with the regular old duck calls found in most sporting goods stores. Electronic or mechanically operated calling or sound reproducing devices are prohibited when taking migratory game birds (CCR, Title 14, Section 507[c]).
To improve your technique, you might want to check out the many demo videos or “how to” techniques published online. The Ducks Unlimited website, for example, is loaded with lots of tips, videos and suggestions. Also, watch for duck calling seminars coming up in your area, such as through Wilderness Unlimited or other hunt clubs and sporting goods stores.
Q: I would like to photograph big bucks and know the best times would be during the rut periods. Can you tell me when the rut starts and stops in zones D-3 through D-5? (Bob W.)
Mitchell, of Toronto, was airlifted to a Halifax hospital in critical condition and died Wednesday morning.
The Ottawa Citizen reports that another hiker heard her screams and called emergency services. Royal
Canadian Mounted Police officers arrived at the scene and shot one of
the coyotes, though both animals escaped.
Park officials later killed one of the coyotes believed to have bitten Mitchell. Its body was sent to the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island for pathological tests to try to determine why the animals attacked.
"If Mitchell ran from the coyotes or panicked, it may have triggered a predatory response in the animals," said Simon Gadbois, an animal behavior specialist at Canada's Dalhousie University.
Poachers of wildlife seem to be making headlines every day somewhere in the country, tarnishing the image of legitimate hunters.
The latest story involves eight Ohio residents who traveled to West Virginia to carry out their dirty deeds, which involved illegally baiting black bears to a specific site and shooting them from elevated camouflaged stands.
“This group of hunters, all of whom were residents of Ohio, had been participating in this type of illegal activity for a period of several years,” said Capt. Michael Waugh of the Division of Natural Resources' District 3 office in Elkins. “They had purchased their bait, which consisted of donuts and corn, from multiple out-of-state vendors. The bait was then hauled into the area by truck and distributed to the bait sites using all-terrain vehicles. This out-of-state purchase and interstate transport of the bait is believed to have been an effort on the part of the poachers to conceal the quantities of bait, the purposes for which it was being purchased, and to avert suspicion in the areas they were baiting.”
Investigators uncovered seven baited shooting sites in Nicholas County. The alleged culprits -- two have yet to be arraigned -- were arrested at a cabin used as a base camp and at shooting sites. Two large adult black bears (pictured) and large quantities of bait were seized at the base camp. Two other bears had reportedly been transported out of state, and a request for assistance in recovering these animals has been made to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under provisions of the Lacey Act.
Black bear parts -- especially gallbladders, which are coveted as medicinal or as an aphrodisiac in some parts of the world -- are often sold by poachers on the black market.
Six of the men were arraigned and fined more than $2,000 apiece and given 100-day jail sentences that were suspended contingent upon payment of fines.
The officers are to be commended, but the penalties do not seem severe enough considering the apparent scope of this poaching operation.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Officers pose with black bears that were killed illegally and discovered as part of an investigation in West Virginia. Credit: West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife official confirmed that a 12-year-old girl has become the youngest person in the state to kill a moose. (Minnesota recently lowered the moose-hunting age to 10.)
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Nicollet resident Kelly Holmin was on a hunting trip with her father, Jeff, earlier this month when she felled the 1,100-pound bull moose with a single shot from about 75 yards.
Kelly is not new to hunting or to handling guns. The youngster has a firearms safety certificate and takes annual hunting trips with her father.
"Maybe the next thing I do is put in for an elk license," Kelly said after bagging the massive moose with a 58-inch antler spread. "My dad says that in big-game hunting, it's all downhill from here."
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Kelly Holmin, 12, sits on a bull moose after she shot and killed it. A Minnesota wildlife official confirms that Kelly is the youngest Minnesotan to kill a moose. Credit: Associated Press
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A wild turkey hunting clinic will be held Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve in San Diego County.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Fish and Game and the National Wild Turkey Federation San Diego chapter, the timing of the clinic is opportune -- the fall wild turkey hunting season opens Nov. 14 and Thanksgiving is right around the corner.
Topics to be covered include wild turkey habits and habitats, hunting regulations, proper types of firearms and ammunition, hunter safety, responsibilities and ethics and game care and cooking.
The cost to attend is $40. Children 16 and younger accompanied by a paid parent or guardian will be admitted free.
Participants can print a registration form online or call (916) 358-4356 to request a form via mail. Once registered, attendees will receive a map to the facility and a list of items to bring.
A story on Montana's wolf hunt that appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times provides colorful insight into wolf behavior and the controversy swirling around that state's first-ever hunt, especially as it pertains to wolves that utilize Yellowstone National Park.
It makes specific reference to Wolf 527, which was killed earlier this month by a hunter on Buffalo Plateau north of Yellowstone during a backcountry hunt that coincided with deer and elk hunts. Wolf 527, an amazingly cunning animal, was one of Yellowstone's famous wolves. She was of the Cottonwood Creek pack; the killing of four wolves from that pack fueled the controversy and caused Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials to rethink its strategy.
That special backcountry hunt was closed before the zone quota was reached, but hunting of wolves in general is deemed necessary by state wildlife officials as a tool of management. There are about 500 wolves in Montana and an overall quota of 75 has been established. The statewide hunt began Sunday.
Animal rights groups have so far been unsuccessful in efforts to halt the hunts in Montana and Idaho and have the predators placed back on the endangered species list.
If that were to happen, allowing wolf populations to further increase, there probably would be more interaction between wolves and ranchers and their cattle and livestock.
Kim Murphy's L.A. Times story cited the August slaughter by wolves of 122 purebred sheep on a ranch in Dillon, Mont., 180 miles northwest of Yellowstone. That seemed an example of wolves killing for pleasure rather than need.
Wolves also are believed at least partly responsible for the decline of elk in the region. So while it's sad to read about the passing of legendary Wolf 527 -- and perhaps that specific hunt was a bad idea because it occurred in the remote backcountry -- wildlife officials seem justified in allowing limited hunting of wolves.
Many will argue this point, but you won't find a Montana rancher among them.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: A tranquilized wolf is fitted with a radio collar as part of an effort to track the recovery of the endangered gray wolves that were reintroduced into Yellowstone in 1995. Credit: Daniel Stahler / National Park Service
Anderson will be making an appearance at the Ontario legislature in Toronto to call for an end to the annual hunt, which takes place every spring on the eastern coast of Canada.
"I can only hope that by bringing attention to the slaughter, the international outcry will force the Canadian government to end this shameful practice," Anderson said in a statement.
The advertising campaign will feature the Canadian native as well as other celebrities wearing PETA's "Save the Seals" T-shirts.
Ads will appear in entertainment magazines and on blogs beginning this fall, to focus attention on the hunt and to keep pressure on the government year-round instead of just during the hunting season, when protests are expected.
--Kelly Burgess
Photo: Pamela Anderson poses in the new PETA T-shirt. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images
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In support of the California Department of Fish and Game
and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on
Thursday afternoon or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's
weekly Q&A column:
Question: We own a duck club with two ponds on the property. Members shoot waterfowl over one pond while the other has a floating corn feeder for wood ducks on it. We want to keep shooting the club pond during the season but also want to keep the feeding station out on the other pond for the wood ducks during this time. The regulations say baiting for migratory birds is prohibited and that it is illegal to “hunt over” bait. What is the minimum distance required to be maintained between the feeding station and our shooting pond before feeding is considered baiting? Thanks in advance. (Stacy M.)
Answer: Waterfowl and migratory bird regulations are set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. While there are no minimum distance requirements specified in the regulations, it’s clear that you may not keep the floating corn feeder on another pond if it in any way influences waterfowl to come into shooting range for hunting. Even if the feeder is just intended to be for wood ducks, anything that can be determined to be bait that influences waterfowl of any species to come in within range for the purposes of hunting them could be considered bait and is illegal.
This principle applies even if the feeding station or baiting is on a neighbor’s property. While hunters may not have control over what a neighbor is doing, they do have control over hunting on their own property or hunt club. Hunters may not shoot any birds that come into range if those birds are being influenced to come in for bait, even if on another’s property. In addition, all feed or bait must be removed 10 days prior to hunting over it, and the responsibility to know it is all gone is upon the person hunting over its influence.
Q: When boiling a lobster, or otherwise prepping it for cooking, is there a humane way to kill the critter without inflicting unnecessary pain on the live lobster? I’ve tried inserting a knife on the triangle above the eyes where I expect the brain is, but am not sure this really dispatches it as there’s still lots of movement afterward. Thanks for any help! (John S.)
The wolf hunt in Idaho is proceeding with remarkable hunter success in some of the state's 12 hunting zones, and in Montana, where limited hunting is underway, the general season opens Sunday.
Hunting wolves in both states, made possible after the removal of the predators from the endangered species list last spring, is controversial, and animal rights groups are trying to stop the hunts.
The latest campaign was launched by Defenders of Wildlife, which is asking for donations to pay for an ad to be placed in New York's Times Square through Dec. 15. "Hundreds more wolves will be targeted in the coming weeks and months, threatening the very recovery of these amazing animals," the group states on its website. The group also is urging people to sign an online petition that will be sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, "urging him to withdraw his flawed delisting rule that prematurely removed vital protections for wolves in the northern Rockies region--before a lasting wolf recovery slips from our grasp."
Sportsmen's groups, meanwhile, are backing state wildlife agencies claiming that wolf numbers in the northern Rockies have increased to the point where the animals need to be managed, via controlled hunting, to minimize interaction with ranchers and threats to livestock.
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, in an action alert sent to members, cited a recent study by Montana State University that links the reintroduction of wolves into Rocky Mountains to a decline in elk numbers in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
The study, published in July, found that wolves have caused elk in the region to change their foraging habits to such an extent that herds are producing fewer calves. All elk are losing weight in the winter and the presence of wolves, the study claims, causes elk to browse more on woody shrubs or low tree branches in safer forested areas rather than grazing on grass in open meadows where they're more vulnerable to wolf predation.
Through Wednesday in Idaho, which has a statewide quota of 220, 73 wolves had been killed, one of them by an alleged poacher. In Montana, which has a quota of 75, 12 wolves have been harvested during special back-country hunts.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo of gray wolves courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
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The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society held a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday and unveiled the Ady Gil: a sleek and speedy trimaran that is expected to bolster the group's effort against Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean below Australia.
Formerly named Earthrace, the vessel is powered by biodiesel and can reach speeds of 50 knots and deflect harpoons. It was renamed to reflect its benefactor, Ady Gil, who helped acquire the futuristic-looking boat.
Sea Shepherd will launch its sixth campaign against the Japanese whalers in December from Australia, using the flagship Steve Irwin and the Ady Gil to disrupt efforts by whalers to kill and process minke and fin whales.
It would be interesting to see the expressions on the faces of the whalers when they first glimpse the Ady Gil.
Japan hunts the whales annually in the Antarctic region using a research loophole in the wording of an international moratorium on whaling.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Earthrace, now named Ady Gil, will be used during Sea Shepherd's upcoming campaign against Japan's annual whaling effort. Credit: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The artwork that will grace the 2010-11 Federal Duck Stamp has been chosen.
The beautifully detailed painting of an American wigeon done by Waldorf, Md., artist Robert Bealle was selected from 224 entries in the oldest wildlife art contest in America. (The contest dates back to 1949 -- earlier stamps were done by commissioned artists.)
"The magnitude of this moment has not escaped me," Bealle said. "I'm so humbled and appreciative of this, I just don't know what to say."
The stamp, produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which all waterfowl hunters age 16 and older must possess, will go on sale in late June for $15. The stamps also allow free admission to any public national wildlife refuge.
Purchase of the stamps, also prized by philatelists, birding enthusiasts and conservationists, helps to support migratory bird habitat, raising about $25 million annually to fund the acquisition and preservation of wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge system.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Winning 2010-11 Federal Duck Stamp artwork by Robert Bealle. Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
At a meeting Tuesday, the five-member commission voted unanimously to close the remote area for the remainder of the season while keeping the statewide quota of 75 animals in place, reports the Associated Press.
Hunting had been suspended last week after nine wolves were killed surprisingly quickly since the season opened Sept. 15 in the backcountry zone. The area is located within what is called Wildlife Management Unit 3, which has an overall quota of 12.
State wildlife managers and commission members acknowledged a mistake in the decision to open the hunting season early near Yellowstone, and have characterized the nearly filled quota for the area as a learning experience.
Photo: A wolf watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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A hunter out with a group of six men and their dogs was mauled by a black bear they had wounded.
Orval Sanders, of Oroville was hunting in Tahoe National Forest on Monday when his group treed three bears.
Mark Lucero, Department of Fish and Game spokesman, told the Appeal-Democrat that one of the bears came down from the tree after being shot and attacked the 83-year-old Sanders.
"The bear came out of the tree and grabbed the guy," Lucero said. "He tried to protect himself by raising both arms in front of him and the bear slashed and bit both arms."
Another member of the hunting party shot the animal, killing it.
Sanders suffered a crushed left wrist as well as injuries to his left arm and shoulder and was taken by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he underwent surgery on his wrist.
None of his hunting companions accompanied Sanders to the hospital and apparently resumed the hunt, according to Lucero.
Officials plan to test the bear for rabies.
--Kelly Burgess
Photo: A road sign acknowledges the presence of bears. Credit: Eric Gay / Associated Press
The backcountry hunt began Sept. 15 in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, coinciding with elk and deer hunts there. That small zone is within what is called Wildlife Management Unit 3, one of three large units in which hunting will be allowed when the statewide general season opens Oct. 25.
But with nine animals having been killed surprisingly quickly in the backcountry zone, the agency decided to suspend the hunt until the general season begins, to ensure some hunting occurs elsewhere in WMU 3 before the quota of 12 is met.
One of the goals of the state's inaugural wolf hunt is to encourage wolves to steer clear of ranches and livestock. Hunting the predators in a remote wilderness does not serve that purpose.
"We’re learning things every day as Montana’s first ever, fair-chase wolf hunt progresses," Joe Maurier, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, said in a news release posted Thursday on the agency website. "We were always a bit unsure about the level of hunter success we’d see in the remote, early-season backcountry areas. One thing we hope to achieve with closing the backcountry hunt in WMU 3, is to provide some hunting opportunity in other portions of the management unit where we’ve seen conflicts with livestock. We also need to learn as much about wolf hunting in the valleys as we’re learning about hunting in the backcountry."
In Montana’s other early backcountry hunt — also in deer- and elk-hunting districts — only two wolves have been harvested. The state has set quotas in each of the three units and next week will consider raising the quota in WMU 3 for the general season to ensure more front-country wolves are targeted. But that would mean lowering the quota in another zone. The overall state quota is 75 wolves.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's planned mission this winter against the Japanese whaling effort has hit a snag because Capt. Paul Watson and his first officer are experiencing visa issues and so far are not being allowed into Australia.
Outposts reported on this Monday. Australia is the strategic point of departure for Sea Shepherd, which annually hunts and harasses the Japanese harpoon and factory vessels as their crews seek to kill minke whales in the Antarctic region during its summer.
Watson claims politics are behind the stringent visa requirements he's being asked to comply with and on Tuesday posted a letter on the Sea Shepherd website blasting Australia's government for its stance on whaling and for trying to "sabotage" the Sea Shepherd campaign.
Here's the controversial captain's letter:
By Captain Paul Watson
Way back in October 2007, I had urged thousands of Australians to vote for Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett’s Labor Party. Why? Because they promised to get tough on illegal Japanese whaling. They promised to take Japan to court. They promised to send a ship down to the Southern Ocean to monitor the illegal activities. They had severely criticized the former Howard government for not doing enough.
Since then Rudd and Garrett have demonstrated that they have done far less for the whales than former Environment Minister Ian Campbell had done.
The hunt is in progress in Montana's remote Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness along the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. It began Sept. 15 in a small parcel within what is known as Wildlife Management Unit 3. WMU 3 has a quota of 12 but nine wolves already have been killed and it's conceivable the quota will be reached before the statewide general hunt in WMU 3 begins Oct. 25.
Carolyne Sime, the wolf program coordinator, said in a Billings Gazette story that she "didn't think the wolves would be so vulnerable to firearms harvest."
One of the goals of the overall hunt is to encourage wolves to remain in the backcountry away from potential conflicts with livestock. "So what we're learning," Sime said, "is that maybe we need to rethink these backcountry hunts and see if we can fine-tune that."
The front-country wolves, those more likely to come into conflict with livestock, will be targeted during the general season.
Matt Skoglund, blogging for Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote: "How could FWP have expected anything else when they opened the backcountry wilderness areas to wolf-hunting?" Skoglund stated that wolves sought by hunters in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness are "those famous Yellowstone wolves you've seen in the park or on PBS and the Discovery Channel." The blogger wondered whether the "poorly planned hunt" will affect tourism in Yellowstone.
The answer, most likely, is that it will not affect tourism. The quota in this district is only 12 wolves. Montana's wolf population at the end of 2008 was believed to number 500. The overall state quota is 75, which is deemed conservative by the agency, which regards hunting as a necessary wildlife management tool.
But as long as Montana's inaugural wolf hunt continues -- legal challenges remain -- it will be open to this kind of attack by animal rights groups.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Gray wolves wander through the snow in Montana. Courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Hunters in Alaska appear to have exercised extremely poor judgment by shooting and killing a grizzly bear alongside Alaska's Kenai River in full view of wildlife watchers.
A lengthy account of the incident was posted today on the Redoubt Reporter website.
According to an eyewitness, about a dozen people were watching the bear swimming and fishing from various points on Sterling Highway.
After a while, two men got out of a car wearing camouflage clothing and carrying rifles. They proceeded toward the bear.
Pamela Locke told the Redoubt Reporter: "The lady walking with me stopped them and said, ‘You’re not going to shoot that bear, are you?’ They were kind of smiling and laughing and said, ‘Yeah, we are, if it crosses the highway.’ And she said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.'"
Locke said the men shot the bear after it had crossed the highway, into legal hunting territory, as it was fleeing up a hillside. Hunting from or even close to highways is illegal, and the case is under investigation.
Larry Lewis, a wildlife technician with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, said it is not illegal to shoot in front of other people, but he implied this seems to have been a clear violation of hunter ethics.
“In our hunter education program and in our general dealings with hunters, we try to discourage people from taking game in a manner that can disturb others,” said Lewis, who is also president of the Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Safari Club International.
Said Locke: “I’m just disgusted at the whole situation. My family supports ethical hunting, but this is anything but sportsmanlike. And any decent hunter knows if you don’t have a clean shot, you don’t shoot. It took at least five shots to put it down, aiming up the hill while it was running away."
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: A grizzly bear fishes in the Kenai River before being shot and killed by hunters. Credit: Pamela Locke
Florida anglers are being sharply criticized after apparently free-gaffing a 748-pound mako shark while fishing this week off South Florida.
The accompanying video, which is making the rounds on the Internet, shows the fishermen trying to gaff the free-swimming shark, which had become interested in a swordfish they had alongside their vessel. They succeeded in catching the predator and the footage ended up on a Florida TV station website.
A comment on YouTube from someone called Zencaster read: "I have been big-game fishing for 25 years and this is the most amateur kill I have ever seen. No wonder they have never seen anything like this before. They gaffed a green mako feeding on roadkill and were lucky they weren’t pulled in or worse, get their boat torn up after pulling him aboard.... What a disgrace, the fish deserved better."
Making note that no rods or reels appear to have been used in the capture of the mako, at least one shark conservation website claimed the anglers were in violation of state and federal law and implied it would follow through with authorities.
Luke Tipple, a marine biologist and director of the Shark-Free Marina Initiative, posted regulations that appear to have been violated.
"I’d hazard that I’m not the first to pick up on these fine points of the law but if the video does indeed tell the full tale then these laws need to be enforced," Tipple wrote. "If however the fishermen can provide video evidence of them using PRIMARY tackle (i.e. hook and line) to initialize the capture then they would be within their rights to have landed the shark.
"If this turns out to be the case then I will instead turn this report into a cautionary tale of how the media should be more responsible in reporting on shark harvests, particularly when dealing with species considered by some to be globally threatened."
Amateur photographers are invited to submit entries in six categories -- Plants; Animals; Scenic Shots; Young Photographers (age 12 and younger); People in Parklands and Memories of the Mountains. Photos must have been taken within the Santa Monica Mountains Zone to be eligible.
Ribbons will be awarded for first-, second- and third-place in each category. First-place winning images will also appear in issues of Outdoors, the print and online quarterly calendar of programs and events. (Second- and third-place winners may be published as space permits.)
Winners will be announced at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the National Park Service Visitor Center in Thousand Oaks, where entries will be on display through Jan. 31.
For questions, call the visitor center (open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily) at (805) 370-2301.
--Kelly Burgess
Photo: The view from Circle X Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains. Credit: National Park Service
Wolves may be wily and among the more intelligent wild critters, but hunters are not experiencing much trouble finding and killing them in Montana's remote Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.
The state's inaugural and highly controversial wolf hunt began Sept. 15 in four small districts in which deer and elk hunts also are in progress. The statewide hunt begins Oct. 25.
In the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, which is along the northern border of Yellowstone National Park, nine wolves have already been killed. The state set a quota of 12 in this area.
Carolyn Sime, wolf program coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, told the Billings Gazette: "We didn't think wolves would be that vulnerable to firearms harvest. The uncertainty is why we went with the low quota."
The agency, which has a separate web page to keep tabs on the number of kills, did not expect the quota to be reached before the statewide season opens, but that's now likely. The statewide quota is 75 wolves.
Montana's wolf population at the end of 2008 was believed to number 500. More than 10,500 wolf hunting licenses have been issued.
Environmental groups, meanwhile, are still trying via lawsuit to have the the cagey predators placed back under endangered species act protection, which would bring an end to hunts believed by the state to be a valuable means of wildlife management.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo of gray wolf courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
The recent change of weather is a reminder that fall is here and winter is not far off. That means it won't be long before Pacific gray whales begin their southbound migration.
For those who'd like to become more closely involved with the migration and help others enjoy the whale-watching experience, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro is holding its first orientation meeting for docents Tuesday from 7-9 p.m.
Volunteer docents meet every Tuesday for classes, lectures and other training in a casual, friendly atmosphere. During the first meeting program director Larry Fukuhara will give the orientation while Bernardo Alps, president of the American Cetacean Society's Los Angeles Chapter, will share a PowerPoint presentation on whale watching during the last six months.
Alps' presentation will include killer whales in Monterey Bay, lunge feeding humpback and blue whales in the Santa Barbara Channel, the wayward juvenile gray whale that paused for a while in Marina del Rey and a Guadalupe fur seal at Cabrillo Beach.
Everyone is welcome but prospective docents must be college-age or older. The aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen M. White Dr. in San Pedro. For details call (310) 548-8397 or email cabrillowhalewatch@gmail.com.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: A Pacific gray whale breaks the surface off San Simeon in this file photo. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times
Terns, gulls, pelicans, herons, egrets, hawks, ospreys, grebes, sandpipers and many other types of birds are on glorious display these days at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
Also prevalent are hikers, dog walkers, joggers, bikers and, most of all, birders and bird photographers: big-time photographers with tripods and bazooka lenses, budding wannabes, casual shooters and folks with pocket cameras who most times are unable to get close enough to their subjects to fill a frame.
I fall into the casual-shooter category and cite the accompanying images as evidence. They were captured over the weekend during a 90-minute lap around the sprawling wetlands across the highway from Huntington State Beach in Orange County. A sampling from my field notes:
-- Snowy egrets abound. They're one of the easiest large birds to photograph, far more active and less shy than the much larger great egret, which is an ambush hunter that stands perfectly still, its long neck outstretched, and strikes snakelike at passing prey.
-- A particular snowy egret is shuffling through a shallow mudflat with webbed feet, trying to stir up a morsel. These downy-white birds with long black legs and yellow feet will do this for hours with little or no success, but I've arrived just as the bird plucks a shrimp or some other small critter (see above photo). Time to move on.
A Massachusetts fisherman has been fined for freeing a whale that had become entangled in his fishing gear.
In a plea deal, Chatham resident Robert Eldridge was fined $500 after pleading guilty in Federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. He had faced up to $100,000 in fines and a year in prison.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston, Eldridge was operating a commercial fishing boat last year and had set gill nets in an area where humpback whales were present, and one promptly got entangled.
Upon learning of the trapped cetacean, Eldridge attempted to free it himself rather than calling the toll-free Marine Animal Disentanglement Hotline -- the number for which he had posted on his boat -- to bring in licensed marine mammal rescue workers.
Unable to disentangle the whale, he eventually cut the gear from the boat, leaving about 30-feet of line on the marine mammal.
In addition to the fine, Eldridge also provided a written statement that can be distributed to other anglers, which acknowledged his actions and in part read:
"I am making this statement in order to alert all persons who fish or enjoy being in the waters off Massachusetts that we must be, at all times vigilant in protecting of the marine mammal species with whom we share the waters."
--Kelly Burgess
Photo: A humpback whale breaches in this file photo. Credit: Associated Press
Five-year-old Simon Hughes has quite a show-and-tell for his schoolmates after bagging a 12 1/2-foot, 800-pound alligator.
The Goodrich, Texas, first-grader was out hunting Sunday with his father, Scott, and family friend Chuck Cotton on the Hughes' 5,000-acre property near Lake Livingston, reports the Houston Chronicle.
They had set a baited hook the evening before, and when they went to check it Sunday morning the line was in the water, taut.
When the reptile surfaced, Simon shot it from about 5 feet away with his junior-sized shotgun, killing it. Just to be certain, Cotton fired another shot with his pistol to make sure it was dead.
The youngster showed no fear. "I wasn't even afraid," Simon told a KTRE-TV reporter. "It's pretty much simple. I got my gun out and shot him."
Simon's mother, however, wasn't so nonchalant. "As a mom it sort of scares you to death, because there's alligators, there's snakes, there's all of that sort of thing out there," said Toni Hughes. "What we thought was huge was a 10-foot and this one just dwarfs the 10-foot. I mean its just so massive and prehistoric looking."
The gator, estimated to be 35 to 40 years old, is currently at the
taxidermist, where the Hugheses are having the head -- which alone weighs
104 pounds -- mounted. They plan to make boots out of the hide and eat
the meat.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Five-year-old Simon Hughes examines the alligator he shot on his family's ranch. Credit: Associated Press; Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle
Scheduled for the first three weekends each month from October through February, the docent-led tours are the only way to access some of the prime viewing areas at the reserve where the large birds migrate for the winter.
An $8 per-person donation is requested and pre-registration is required as each tour is limited to 30 people. A nice feature on the DFG website registration page is that it shows if a certain date is full and, if not, how many spots are available.
Lodi will be holding the 13th annual Sandhill Crane Festival on Nov. 6-8. A separate, expanded tour schedule will be offered those dates.
Greater sandhill cranes, one of the state's largest birds at 5 feet tall and with a wingspan up to 7 feet, are considered a threatened species; an estimated 7,000 are left in California.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A sandhill crane wades in a marsh. Credit: Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times
Outposts' primary contributor is veteran L.A. Times outdoors and action sports reporter Pete Thomas. Also contributing are Kelly Burgess and other Times staffers.
