Pete Thomas Outdoors

Animated video portrays Florida capture of 19-foot python

 

The recent Florida capture of a Burmese python measuring a state-record 18 feet, 8 inches, made headlines around the country.

A story I posted on GrindTv Outdoor was featured on the Yahoo homepage Monday and Tuesday and garnered 4 million views.

There were photos of scientists posing with the dead snake, courtesy of the University of Florida, but the missing element was video footage showing Jason Leon pulling the massive reptile from the brush and stabbing it to death.

That's where TomoNews US comes in. Its staff put together the accompanying animated video portraying what happened, based on reports, late at night on a highway in southeast Miami-Dade County.

The video is somewhat informative and viewers who are not angry with Leon for killing the snake probably will find the footage to be amusing.

It should be stressed that Burmese pythons are an invasive species and a threat to Florida's native wildlife. Florida's Fish and  Wildlife Conservation Commission hopes to contain or control their numbers as effectively as possible, and praised Leon for removing this particular predator.

--Pete Thomas

False killer whales make rare appearance in Sea of Cortez

Mark Rayor has lived in Baja California's East Cape region for more than 15 years, guiding sportfishing and diving trips.

He has seen plenty. But on Monday morning, Rayor was visited by a pod of cetaceans that he could not positively identify.

They turned out to be false killer whales, which are large toothed whales that generally reside in the open ocean.

The rare sighting was at about 8 a.m. at the northern end of Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park. 

"We have seen what I thought were false killer whales but they looked different," Rayor said. "At first that is what we thought they were but then we had doubts. They just hung around and played with our panga until we left."

False killer whales were named because they share feeding habits of some killer whales, or orcas--notably because they also attack and kill other cetaceans. (Both are actually dolphins.)

They're smaller than killer whales, however, measuring to about 20 feet (females to about 15 feet) and weighing to about 1,500 pounds.

Like killer whales, false killer whales establish strong social bonds and typically travel in groups of 10 to 20.

“False killer whales are typically found in deep, offshore, tropical to semi-tropical oceans and they feed on large game fish,” said Annie Douglas, a researcher with Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Wash. “However, they occasionally come into more coastal waters or stray into colder climates.

“They are very gregarious and are one of the few cetaceans that share there food with their group, and there have been numerous accounts of individual false killer whales offering food to divers and swimmers as well!”

Falkse killer whales are also known to strand on beaches, sometimes in much larger groups, in some parts of the world.

They're studied extensively in Hawaiian waters, where one of three distinct populations--a tiny population associated with the main islands--was recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

--Pete Thomas

--Photos of false killer whales are courtesy of Mark Rayor/Jen Wren Sportfishing

Grizzly bear decides video camera looks too good to pass up

If you ever wondered what it would look like to be mouthed by a grizzly bear, here's proof that it would not be a pleasant experience.

Brad Josephs, a wildlife biologist and expedition leader for Natural Habitat Adventures, got the footage while in Alaska filming "Great Bear Stakeout" which was shown on BBC One and Discovery Channel.

Josephs said that the above video was "filmed with a GoPro camera that I strapped to a rock with a rubber band! The first bear to appear is an older mother, and the second is her 3-year-old cub. The bear only gently mouthed the camera, and didn't even put a dent in it!"

Josephs also shares some other behind-the-scenes footage on his website that was obtained during the making of the documentary.

-- Kelly Burgess

 

Blackbird catches midair flight... atop a red-tailed hawk

Sometimes, when relentlessly fighting off hawks, blackbirds need a place to rest.

Or so it might seem to anyone viewing a remarkable image captured recently by Bay Area photographer Eric Dugan.

It shows a red-winged blackbird standing atop a soaring red-tailed hawk as if it were catching a ride to some other destination.

Dugan's images, captured at Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area in Northern California, appeared Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle. He described the event to outdoors columnist Tom Stienstra:

"I was exploring the wildlife refuge and heard the screech of a red-tailed hawk, loud and repeated. I scanned the sky but didn’t see anything at first. Then, in the distance, I saw a young red-tailed hawk sitting on a telephone pole and the red-winged blackbirds were jumping on and off its back and head, apparently to drive it away from a nesting  area.

"I immediately stopped, changed to my long lens and set up my camera in anticipation for the show. As I walked closer, I anticipated that the hawk would take flight and the blackbirds would pursue it, to drive it out of their territory. I raised the camera and the blackbird actually landed on the hawk multiple times.

"The small bird was so far more maneuverable in flight that all the hawk could do was tolerate it and fly away."

Dugan explained via email that the photos "are 100% legit" and that his only edits were exposure- and shadow-related because lighting was harsh at certain points because of the bright sunshine.

"I went back to the same spot a few days later hoping lightning would strike twice," he said. "But the red-tailed hawks were hunting way off in the distance."

--Pete Thomas

Related story: Hawks-versus-ravens dogfight photographed off Palos Verdes

In must-see video, hunter catches flying quail with bare hand

Two words you don't not expect to hear from your partner during a quail-hunting trip: "Sweet catch!" But then it's not often--and it might be unprecedented--that a hunter reaches into midair and clutches a fast-flying quail with his bare hand. And if you're wondering whether the accompanying footage is real, consider that it was uploaded by the Austin Stone Community Church in Texas.

 

Also, the hunting partner making the "Sweet catch!" remark is San Francisco 49er quarterback Colt McCoy.

The man fielding the incoming quail, casually, with his shotgun in his other hand, is Senior Pastor Matt Carter.

"It is totally real," Travis Wussow, executive director of teaching ministries at the church,  told GrindTv Outdoor. "While filming [the church uses creative storytelling, including films, to spread the gospel], inexplicably this bird takes off and stupidly flies right at Matt, and he grabbed it. It’s unbelievable…

"I was there and watched it happen. It’s totally unbelievable."

There was a film crew on site and it captured hunting's version of the "Immaculate Reception" from three angles.

What's not clear is what Carter did with the quail or, if he kept it, whether barehanded capture is a legal method of take.

--Pete Thomas

Orca gives surfing exhibition behind Malibu Baywatch boat

 

Last week we shared a story about killer whales surfing in a boat's wakes off La Paz, Mexico, and referred to prior sightings of this this rarely observed behavior elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez.

Now there's evidence, courtesy of boat captain Eric Astourian of Baywatch Malibu, that at least one orca has been surfing recently off Southern California.

The accompanying video shows a young killer whale, or orca, riding behind a Baywatch boat on May 4 off northern Malibu. (The footage was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday.)

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a killer whale researcher, says the mammal probably is a 2 1/2-year-old female cataloged as CA51d and nicknamed Comet because of its distinctive eyepatch. (Comet is pitcured at right in a photo taken in 2011 off Point Fermin on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.)

That would make sense because the CA51 family group of transient killer whales has been spotted recently in Southland waters--most recently on Saturday off Dana Point.

Though most transient killer whale sightings occur farther north and specifically in the Monterey area, the CA51s are becoming regular visitors to Southern California, and they're famously boat friendly.

They include the mom (CA51), her 15-year-old son (CA51B), her younger son (CA51C), and Comet (CA51D).

--Pete Thomas

Photo credit: Alisa Schulman-Janiger

Pregnant elk in Colorado has a spare tire around her neck

It's never easy getting rid of that spare tire.

But for a pregnant elk in Colorado, it seems like an almost impossible task, given that the actual tire is being worn around her neck like a wreath.

 

The 9NEWS video report features three images captured Thursday by Tim Cuthriell in Pine Park Estates, near North Turkey Creek.

Unfortunately for the elk, it might carry this burden for weeks or longer because Colorado's Parks and Wildlife officers have chosen to "let nature take its course," as if this is a natural occurrence.

"We definitely monitor the animals, but because these are wild animals as well, if we don't intervene, if the animals are still able to do everything they need to we really prefer to let nature take its course," agency spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said. "Generally these things will fall off over time."

They're concerned that tranquilizing the elk might cause problems with her pregnancy.

It's a boy! Aquarium of the Pacific has a new harbor seal pup

The Aquarium of the Pacific on Wednesday proudly announced the arrival of a bouncing baby boy--a harbor seal pup that becomes the first male seal born at the Long Beach facility.

Not surprisingly, the adorable little pinniped looks a lot like his parents, Shelby and Troy.

The new pup entered the world on May 1 weighing about 30 pounds. He'll be placed on display at the Seal & Sea Lion Habitat exhibit in mid- to late summer.

Meanwhile, AOP is asking for the public's help in naming the baby seal through its Adopt an Animal program, which allows individual or groups to adopt animals at a minimum cost of $25.

Those who enter the program before June 30 will be allowed to suggest names, and the aquarium staff will decide which of those names will belong to the seal pup.

Shelby has been at the aquarium since 1998. Troy, which had been the facility's only male harbor seal, has been there since 2007.

This is Shelby's second pup. The first, a female named Bixby, was born in April 2012.

--Photos showing the Aquarium of the Pacific's new harbor seal pup, alone and with mom, were taken by Robin Riggs

Killer whales thrill boaters by riding, leaping in vessel's wake

Killer whales are the undisputed masters of the marine universe. They're powerful and ferocious, but also graceful and, at times, playful. The accompanying footage shows a pod of up to 20 killer whales, or orcas, riding and leaping in wakes created by a speeding dive boat off La Paz, Mexico.

 

The footage was captured by Rich and Laura Howard, who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on a dive trip outside of La Paz, in the Sea of Cortez.

They were understandably excited because this was an extremely close encounter involving apex predators that rarely ride in the wakes of boats.

However, it has happened before in the Sea of Cortez. Last June and October, to the north of La Paz off Loreto, boaters aboard the same 70-foot yacht enjoyed similar encounters and captured some extraordinary images.

In those images, as in the Howards’ video footage, the orcas definitely look to be playing and enjoying themselves.

Why do turtles sold as pets have a size limit?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is there a size limit on the sale of turtles that are sold as pets? (Robert Bruce, Antioch)

Answer: Yes, federal and state laws require that turtles must have a carapace (shell) length of at least 4 inches to be imported, sold or distributed (California Code of Regulations Title 17, section 2612.1). This restriction was brought into effect under the Public Health Services Act by the Food and Drug Administration in 1975 to address the problem of Salmonella infections in children. I have heard this size was determined to help prevent children from putting these small reptiles into their mouths. Prior to the ban there were an estimated 250,000 cases of turtle Salmonellosis in children and infants that were associated with pet turtles in the United States (Source: http://exoticpets.about.com/od/reptilesturtles/a/turtlesales.htm.)


Q: I frequently fish at the Point Arena pier but am not clear on a specific rule. I know you may only have two hooks on one fishing line, but is it legal to use a Sabiki rig with multiple small hooks to catch bait fish? (Steve Lum)

A: When fishing from Point Arena pier, you can use a fishing rod with multiple hooks as long as you don’t have rockfish, cabezon, greenling or lingcod in your possession. If you happen to catch one of these species while using more than two hooks on your line, you must release the fish.

You are limited to no more than one line and two hooks when fishing for rockfish, cabezon, greenling and lingcod, or if these species are in possession. On a public pier, you can use up to two fishing appliances (rod and reel, hoop net, crab trap, etc.) with no restrictions on the number of hooks (unless you are targeting the species mentioned above or have them in your possession).


Q: Are there any regulations prohibiting someone from giving me a bear skull or claws if legally taken either in California or out of state? No money or goods would be exchanged. Would I need to have proof to show where the parts came from or who gave them to me? (Tom H.)