Pete Thomas Outdoors

Is California's lone wild wolf, OR7, homesick for Oregon?

Could California's only known wild wolf be headed back to its home state of Oregon?

The male gray wolf cataloged as OR7, who made headlines after ranging across much of Oregon and entering California on Dec. 28, 2011, is presently in southwest Modoc County, which borders Oregon and Nevada.

That's the farthest north he has been since last May.

OR7, which returned to Oregon briefly two months after first entering California, had spent the past several months in Plumas, Tehama and Lassen counties. His most southerly position was Butte County.

The wolf's collar is fitted with a GPS unit that allows scientists to track its whereabouts. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife issues daily updates and Thursday's placed the wolf in Modoc County.

During that May visit to Modoc County Richard Shinn, a DFW employee, captured the only known color image of OR7 (pictured top right).

The wolf is 4 years old and presumably searching for a mate. Perhaps his instincts are luring him back to a state that boasts an estimated minimum wolf population of 53, including seven packs and at least five breeding pairs.

OR7 hails from the Imnaha pack  in northeast Oregon. His first entry into California was via Siskiyou County, just west of Modoc County.

Rare footage shows fire devil, or fire tornado, in Australia

-- Note: This is a reprint of a Pete Thomas story on the GrindTv Outdoor channel

A filmmaker in central Australia has captured rare images of a fire devil, also called a fire tornado or fire whirl, and the photos have taken the Internet by storm. Chris Tangey, 52, who manages Alice Springs Film and Television, was scouting locations and was near an old cattle station in Uluru when he encountered the blaze, which spawned several fire devils.

It was a windless, uneventful day but a blaze was burning nearby. Suddenly, a man screamed out. Tangey turned and saw a fire tornado measuring 100-plus feet and roaring like "a fighter jet." The sound carried even though Tangey was nearly 1,000 feet from the flaming twister.

Soon, other twisters formed."It was a dance of giants in front of me. I've never seen anything like it; it was awe inspiring," Tangey told 7 News Australia. "I saw a red tornado, a black one, a white one and several made of pure fire."

The images were grabbed from HD video footage, which is still under production. Tangey, however, posted a 4-minute YouTube video (see it above) on Tuesday, because of the demand.

Video reveals Arctic's record-setting (and alarming) ice melt

 

NOAA on Monday issued an animated video that reveals just how drastically sea ice has diminished in the Arctic Ocean. It's at an all-time low and, for the first time since satellite observations began in 1979, the ice cover is less than 4 million square kilometers (1.54 miles).

The footage is somewhat self-explanatory but the description beneath the video states: "The black area represents the daily (median) average sea ice extent over the 1979-2000 time period. Layered over the top of that are the daily satellite measurements from January 1 -- September 14, 2012.

"A rapid melt begins in July, whereby the 2012 ice extents fall far below the historical average. The National Snow and Ice Data Center will confirm the final minimum ice extent data and area once the melt stabilizes, usually in mid-September."

The diminishing sea ice beat the 2007 record on Aug. 26.

Wardens seek help finding dangerous Susanville poacher

A dangerous poacher is on the loose in the Northern California city of Susanville.

The state Department of Fish and Game is requesting public help in finding a deer poacher who has killed four large bucks during the past three weeks. Three of the bucks were shot within city limits, making this a very dangerous situation.

"These poachers have shown total disregard for public safety by shooting deadly weapons in residential areas and within the city limits," Nick Buckler, a DFG warden from Lassen County, said in a news release. "Almost as disturbing is the lack of respect for Lassen County’s wildlife, especially our famous trophy bucks."

All of the bucks, the news release states, were shot within 50 yards of houses. They were shot with either bows or crossbows and left for dead. The most recent was Monday in the area of North Gilman Street in Susanville.

Susanville residents with information that could help identify the poachers are asked to call the DFG's CalTip hotline at (888) 334-2258. Callers can remain anonymous and information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poacher or poachers is eligible for a reward up to $1,000, plus another $250 reward donated by the Susanville Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation.

For more information, see the DFG news release.

License required to fish outside California waters?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game 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: A group of friends and I are planning to take a trip on their yacht, basically sailing up and down the coast and visiting some of the small islands along the way. A couple of us like to fish but aren’t sure of what regulations will apply to us if we’re fishing outside of state waters. Do we have to have a fishing license if we are fishing more than three miles from shore? I’ve heard something about the coastal three nautical mile limit but want to be sure we have our ducks lined up before we launch. Thanks for your help. (Randi L.)

Answer: Yes. California sport fishing licenses are required even when fishing outside of California waters if the vessel you’re fishing from is registered in California, or if your trip either begins or ends in California waters.

The only time you will not need a California license is if your boat is not registered in California and your trip originates in another state or country, and you never come into California waters to fish or to conduct commerce (e.g. purchase fuel, food or other goods.) This includes the offshore islands that are considered a part of California (e.g. Farallon Islands, Channel Islands, etc.)

In addition, species that are illegal to possess in California are also generally prohibited from being imported into California. Fish and wildlife cannot be imported into California unless legally taken and possessed outside of the state (Fish and Game Code, section 2353).

Q: What is the most responsible way to manage cat litter? Because of  wildlife disease impacts from cat feces, biodegradable forms of cat litter disposal may be a bad idea if they are composted on site. Yet, loads of litter in plastic bags in our overburdened landfills is not a good thing either. We know that keeping cats indoors is the best thing to do for wildlife (the number of birds and lizards killed by house cats each year is staggering AND outdoor cats defecate where feces can enter the ecosystem), but it’s hard to know how best to deal with litter. Any advice? I’m stumped… and I have an indoor cat I want to be responsible about caring for it! (Becky S.)

In Oregon, call of the wild begins with howling wolf pup

 

The reintroduction (and proliferation) of wolves throughout the West has been controversial, largely because of threats to livestock.

But the animals themselves are incredible predators and many might appreciate the accompanying video, which shows communication among the Snake River pack in Oregon.

A biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife filmed the pup initiating the process with a cry from the Summit Ridge area.

An answer comes after the third howl and soon other members of the pack are responding from the darkened woods.

According to the ODFW, wolf howls can be heard for several miles.

Pelicans to blame for murre deaths along Oregon coast

The mystery surrounding the deaths of hundreds of murres that have been washing ashore this week on an Oregon beach has been solved: pelicans are to blame.

At least 300 murres have been counted along three miles of Agate Beach, with many more believed to be dead in the water.

 

Rob Suryan, an Oregon State University professor, told KATU that on Monday night, a large group of brown pelicans landed at a nearby murre colony, where thousands of adult murres were raising their chicks.

Suryan explained that many chicks plopped into the ocean because of this disruption or were consumed by pelicans.

Suryan described this as a natural event, although he had not seen it on this scale, but offered a grim assessment regarding this year's crop of chicks. "It's going to be a near failure this year," he said.

Powerful Hurricane Emilia issues 'cold stare' to NASA satellite

As Hurricane Emilia churns to the west off Mexico as a Category 4 storm, NASA reports that its Aqua satellite has measured cloud tops surrounding Emilia's eye to be colder than minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit.

The report referred to the phenomenon as a "cold stare." The readings mean the clouds are reaching high into the troposphere and boast extremely powerful thunderstorms.

Emilia, seen at right as viewed from NASA's Terra satellite, had featured sustained winds of 140 mph but on Tuesday morning winds had dropped to 130 mph.

The hurricane, which on Tuesday morning was located 685 miles south-southwest of Baja California's tip, is following on a path similar to that of its predecessor, Daniel (now a tropical storm).

Daniel on Tuesday was located 1,350 miles east of the Hawaiian Islands, which has prompted the National Hurricane Center to issue advisories for Hawaii.

Waiting in the wings, off southern Mexico, is System 98E, which on Tuesday was predicted to have a 50% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone.

-- Image is via NASA's Terra satellite

Warden finds marijuana, drug-running boat near Morro Bay

Last Sunday about 180 bales of marijuana, weighing about four tons, were discovered floating off Dana Point.

On Thursday a Department of Fish and Game warden found a 30-foot skiff on the beach north of Morro Bay, and after following footprints in the sand he discovered 22 bales of marijuana (pictured).

Interestingly, in the first discovery, about 15 miles offshore, a boat was not found. Could the skiff -- a panga like those used by Mexican fishermen -- be the same vessel that lost the four tons of pot?

Perhaps not. That might have been too large a load to fit onto a 30-foot boat.

But inside the panga were several barrels containing more than 400 gallons of fuel for the outboard engines, and between Sunday and Thursday the speedy vessel, conceivably, could have made it to Central California.

In any event, it seems there's a lot of drug-running going on these days off California, so boaters and fishermen should be alert.

The panga was discovered at the northern boundary of the Piedras Blancas Marine Protected Area (MPA) within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Police from several agencies searched the area, using dogs and all-terrain vehicles, but did not round up any suspects. They are still investigating.

-- Image showing helicopter and bales of marijuana discovered off Central California is courtesy of the DFG

Alligator had taste for baseballs, lures, rocks and much more

A 13-foot alligator captured this week in a park pond on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island must have been suffering from a severe case of indigestion.

Inside the gator's stomach were a soccer ball, 53 fishing lures, several lead sinkers, two baseballs, a tennis ball and two other balls that were partially digested and impossible to identify.

That's just the sports equipment. There also was a smaller alligator, two turtles, a beer can and 48 rocks.

The gator was killed because it had "snapped up the soccer ball at the water's edge and could easily snatch a dog or a small child," Mark Carinus, a trapper with Critter Management, explained to the Island Packet.

Carinus added that the large reptile could not be relocated because of its propensity to eat other gators.

-- Thanks to The Outdoor Pressroom for the story tip