Outdoors, action and adventure

British Columbia cougars found to prey on seals, sea lions

Mountain lions in British Columbia's Pacific Rim National Park Reserve like to fatten up on black-tailed deer, but also on unlikely prey items such as harbor seals and sea lions.

Researchers made the surprising discovery -- believed to be the first showing that cougars prey on marine mammals -- after collecting scat samples for a recent diet analysis.

They also were surprised to learn that black-tailed deer comprise only a quarter of the predators' diet, and that raccoons are their top food source.

But seals and sea lions?

"This is really interesting; imagine a cougar stalking its way across a barnacle-infested reef," researcher Chris Darimont told the Leader-Post newspaper. "I know of no other account of cougars eating a marine mammal.

"But I'm not completely shocked. There is some pretty delicious seafood out there. Seals are loaded with calories, fat and protein. They're big prizes, and, compared with deer, a little safer to hunt."

The analysis involved 29 scat samples from a vast park area along Vancouver Island's west coast. It showed that raccoons comprised 28% of the cougars' diet; harbor seals 24%; black-tailed deer 24%; river otters 10%; sea lions 7%; mink 4%, and unknown species 3%.

Prey items were identified through scat examination but also carcass analysis in the field.

Decorah bald eagles begin new family with season's first egg

Here we go again with the internationally-famous bald eagles of Decorah, Iowa.

The white-crowned parents, who successfully raised and fledged three offspring last spring and summer, have one new egg on their 80-foot-high nest, with another expected any day (view live feed below).

 

The first egg of the 2012 nesting season was laid on Friday night and the event can be viewed via YouTube, at about the 7:08 mark.

Last year more than 200 million people viewed the eagles via high-definition web-cam, set up and monitored by the Raptor Research Project.

Devoted "eagle-holic" Sherri Elliot chronicled the drama and intrigue — and there was plenty — in a 152-page book, featuring 586 color photographs. "The EEeee's & Me" is available for $33.95 through Blurb.com. Proceeds benefit the Raptor Resource Project.

Additionally, "The Decorah Eagles," a coffee table book, is available through Blurb for $73.65 (hardcover) or $57.30 (softcover).

Last year the eggs, which also were laid in February, hatched during the first week of April.

Mysterious purple squirrel creates stir in Pennsylvania

It's not a horse of a different color that turned up in Pennsylvania recently, but rather a different mammal -- a squirrel. More precisely a purple squirrel.

The uniquely-colored rodent was trapped by Percy and Connie Emert, of Jersey Shore, Pa., who caught it in traps put out to keep squirrels from their bird feeders.

"We have bird feeders out in our yard, and the squirrels are constantly into them," Connie told AccuWeather.com. "My husband traps them and then sets them free elsewhere."

Connie had spotted a purple squirrel on her property but no one believed her.

"I kept telling my husband I saw a purple one out in the yard. 'Oh sure you did,' he kept telling me," she said.

But sure enough, when Percy checked the traps on a recent Sunday, there it was, in all its purple glory.

Nobody can explain the peculiar coloration, but theories abound.

AccuWeather.com meteorologist Henry Margusity ventures that "The squirrel could have been looking for somewhere warm and fallen into a port-a-potty or something similar."

Krish Pillai, a professor at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, thinks the cause may not be so benign.

"This is not good at all. That color looks very much like Tyrian purple. It is a natural organobromide compound seen in molluscs and rarely found in land animals. The squirrel [possibly] has too much bromide in its system."

No matter the reason, no harm came to the brightly colored squirrel. The Emerts released it back into the wild and currently nobody knows where the animal is. Hopefully, it will remain that way.

"We're not going to do a manhunt to look for the purple squirrel," Harold Cole, wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission said.

Hunting or fishing license required for bow-fishing?

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: I have been trying to get into the sport of bow-fishing but two issues have my parents and I a little puzzled. My dad heard that if you are going to bow-fish, you need some kind of special reel on the bow (don’t know whether it was an open face reel or a crank reel). We are also unsure what license I should use. Do we need a hunting or a fishing license to bow-fish? (Nicholas M.)

Answer: No special reels or gear are required for bowfishing by the Department of Fish and Game but you will need sport fishing licenses since you will be taking fish and not game. Be sure to check with the governing law enforcement agency for the area where you intend to fish because not all areas of the state (including various federal, state and local parks) are open to bow-fishing. Some areas prohibit using this type of fishing gear because they consider it possibly a "deadly weapon." This has been the case primarily in incorporated city areas. If fishing in freshwater, please read section 2.25 in the Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations for the list of permitted species and any special water restrictions (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 2.25).

Q: My uncle has a ranch up in northeastern California and his property has become overrun with ground squirrels. He’s worried about his calves stepping in the holes and breaking their legs. Do we need hunting licenses to help him get rid of these varmints? How can we legally help my uncle control his ground squirrel invasion problem and not get in trouble with a game warden? (Anonymous)

Sea lion rescued in Oceanside recovering from bullet wound

Animal care experts from SeaWorld San Diego removed a bullet Wednesday from a sea lion that had come ashore at least four days earlier in Oceanside.

A SeaWorld team rescued the underweight and distressed pinniped last Saturday. It's believed to be between 5-10 years old.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the sea lion was found with a deep, infected wound on its left flipper, and that a bullet fragment had  become lodged in its shoulder. The animal was treated with antibiotics and was said to be in stable condition.

It remains unclear who may have shot the sea lion, or what the motive might have been.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is investigating the incident. The agency also is investigating a string of nine sea lion killings in Washington state.

-- Image is courtesy of SeaWorld

Gray wolf named OR7 back in California's Shasta County

California wolf enthusiasts may be interested in learning that OR7, believed to be the state's only wild wolf, has crossed from Lassen back into Shasta County.

The state Department of Fish and Game has created a web page devoted to OR7 and posts occasional maps that reveal where the young male gray wolf has been, thanks to a GPS unit fitted onto its collar. The maps are lagged, however, to avoid revealing the wolf's real-time location.

The accompanying map, released Wednesday, shows OR7's position through Feb. 9.

But the DFG also provides more timely updates, and earlier this week the agency reported that the wolf, who crossed from Oregon into California in late December, had entered Shasta County. He had also been in Shasta before entering Lassen County, and had previously been in Siskiyou County.

An update Wednesday morning states that OR7 is in the southeast portion of the county and traveling to the south. That would place him close to where he was before he entered Lassen County.

To be sure, if OR7 is searching for a mate his vast wanderings seem a sad and hopeless  journey through bountiful but wolf-less terrain. The last known wolf in California was a specimen killed by a trapper in Lassen County in 1924.

OR7 is 2 1/2 years old and hails from a pack in northeastern Oregon. He entered California on Dec. 28.

Shakira recovering from scary encounter with sea lion

Pop singing star Shakira, after a scary encounter with a sea lion off Cape Town, South Africa, undoubtedly has a greater appreciation of wild animals and how unpredictable they can be.

The entertainer from Colombia, while on a recent nature tour, was ferociously charged by the large pinniped after she had scampered down the rocks to get an up-close photo with her BlackBerry, which she guessed was mistaken as food.

Here's Shakira's description, via the singer's Facebook page:

"This afternoon I happened to see some sea lions and seals. I thought to myself how cute they were so I decided to get a bit closer than all of the other tourists and went down to a rock trying to pet them doing a baby talk while taking pictures...

"Suddenly, one of them jumped out of the water so fast and impetuously that it got about one foot away from me, looked me in the eye, roared in fury and tried to bite me. Everyone there screamed, including me.

"I was paralyzed by fear and couldn't move, I just kept eye contact with it while my brother 'Super Tony' jumped over me and literally saved my life, taking me away from the beast."

Sea lions can be territorial and their bites can spread painful and serious disease. Divers who swim in their company are sometimes charged but not often attacked by the swift and agile mammals. I've personally experienced these false charges while scuba diving and snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez off Baja California.

Shakira added: "We both got our hands and legs scratched by the rocks while trying to protect ourselves. I believe what happened is that it confused the shiny reflection of the BlackBerry I was taking these pics with, with some sort of fish."

She went on to visit penguins, which were much more accommodating, as you can see by the image at the top of this post. The imge was pulled from her Facebook page.

-- Pete Thomas

At Midway Atoll, the Laysan albatross soars into spotlight

Having been fortunate enough to have visited to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, I can attest that there are few avian critters as goofy-looking (on land), graceful (in flight) and lovable as the Laysan albatross.

The accompanying video clip, posted Monday by Midway Journey, reveals a glimpse of what's to come in a high-definition film titled "Midway," directed by Chris Jordan. It shows weary albatross parents waddling shoreward to embark on their first forays to find food after weeks on the nest.

But the large sea birds of Midway -- which hosts about 71% of the world's nesting population -- face peril because of plastic pollution that's picked up in the ocean by the adults, and passed to babies on the atoll.

Midway Journey states on its website that the atoll "serves as a lens into one of the most profound and symbolic environmental tragedies of our time: the deaths by starvation of thousands of albatrosses who mistake floating plastic trash for food."

Jordan says the upcoming film is "more than just a documentary or a film about wildlife at risk. 'Midway' brings us an opportunity for us to look at our world in close-up, to see how our lives are impacting the planet, and to find new approaches to moving forward."

To be sure, the plight of the albatross lends contemporary meaning to the phrase, "Battle of Midway." The film, which remains under production, ought to be both inspirational and enlightening.

Whales lift dolphins from water in rare playful display (video)

Interaction between marine mammal species is not uncommon. Sea lions will mingle with pods of feeding dolphins and sea lions and dolphins occasionally swim alongside whales.

But the type of playful behavior exhibited in the accompanying video -- bottlenose dolphins receiving rides atop humpback whales in Hawaiian waters -- is exceptionally rare.

As mentioned in a recent post for GrindTv, the photographs used to produce the video are the first recorded examples of these incredible events. One occurred off Maui and the other off Kauai.

The video was posted recently to the American Museum of Natural History website as part of its Science Bulletins program.

"The two species seemed to cooperate in the activity, and neither displayed signs of aggression or distress," the website explained. "Whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters often interact, but playful social activity such as this is extremely rare between species."

The Kauai encounter featured one documented event. During the Maui encounter, scientists watched a humpback whale and bottlenose dolphin performing this ride-and-slide episode six times, with the dolphin gliding gently off the whale each time.

It remains unclear whether this is pure play or which species gets the most enjoyment from the interaction, but for marine mammal enthusiasts it's sure fun to watch.

-- Pete Thomas

What new abalone regulations go into effect this year?

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: What are the new abalone regulations that will go into effect this year?

Answer: When the abalone harvest season opens on April 1, the following  new abalone regulations are going into effect:

1) The Fort Ross area will be closed for the first two months so abalone in this area may be taken only during the months of June, August, September, October and November (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(b)(1)). A map showing the abalone closure area around Fort Ross can be found at http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=42101&inline=true

2) Individuals taking abalone shall maintain separate possession of their abalone. Abalone may not be commingled in a float tube, dive board, dive bag, or any other container or device, until properly tagged. Only after abalones are properly tagged (as described in CCR Title 14, section 29.16 (b)), may they be commingled with other abalone taken by another person (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(g)(1)).

Q: I have a friend who lost some livestock to either coyotes or a mountain lion. He wants to protect the rest of his animals and was advised to contact the local government trapper. How can a person become a licensed trapper authorized to track down and remove these problem predatory animals?