Pete Thomas Outdoors

Slow-motion video reveals geese flying upside down

Serious birders have keen eyes, but it's likely that not many have enjoyed a detailed glimpse of geese flying with their bodies turned upside down. The accompanying video captures this peculiar event, referred to as whiffling, in slow-motion.

(Watch the goose at the top, and in the middle of the screen at the 15-second mark.) Though the birds twist their bodies upside down, their heads remain upright.

 

According to New Science, geese perform this maneuver as a means of braking. Paul Stancliffe of the British Trust for Ornithology explains that the maneuver helps the large birds quickly lose height as they approach landing areas.

Stancliffe also said this event is very difficult to detect in real-time.

The video, believed to provide the first slow-motion footage of this phenomenon, was shot by Hans de Koning and Lodewijk van Eekhout, and earned them first prize in a competition organized by the Flight Artists group at Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands. 

Shaun White is perfect in X Games superpipe triumph

If there are any threats to the dominance of snowboarder Shaun White, they did not materialize Sunday night in the Winter X Games' Snowboard Superpipe final at Aspen, Colo.

White, 25, won a fifth consecutive gold medal and registered a first-ever perfect score of 100 in the marquee event.

"It's unreal. I've been wanting that 100 forever," he told ESPN's Tina Dixon, during an interview after his historic run.

He posted the score on what amounted to a victory lap, having already clinched triumph with a 94.00 logged on his first of three runs Sunday night.

As the last rider, and with nobody having topped the 94.00, White dropped into the U-shaped pipe and unleashed a series of progressive tricks that his competitors simply cannot string together.

They included a huge backside air, a front-side double-cork 1080, a cab double-cork 1080, a front-side stalefish 540, a double McTwist 1260, and a front-side double-cork 1260.
(See video for visual explanation.)

Asked by Dixon how he expects to improve on a perfect score, White thought for a second and quipped, "There's always next year."

Are wild pigs a threat to me or my dogs?

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 learned recently that some Indians on a reservation in my area released some pigs for hunting purposes and now they are breeding and beginning to populate the area where I walk my dogs in Descanso, California. Are these pigs a threat to me or my dogs? (Sheri M., San Diego)

Answer: We do know that wild pigs inhabit some of the areas around Julian and Descanso. However, we are unable to positively identify the mechanism for their recent introduction.

According to Marc Kenyon, Statewide Coordinator for the Bear, Mountain Lion and Wild Pig Programs at the Department of Fish and Game, wild pigs are timid creatures that simply want to be left alone for the most part. However, they can be very aggressive if approached and they perceive the person as a threat (particularly if they have piglets nearby). If you see a wild pig while recreating in the outdoors, please try to avoid approaching it. You can stand still and maintain your dog close to you on the leash. Pigs are nearsighted and will tend to ignore objects that stand completely still.

Furthermore, pigs have a great sense of smell. They will smell you before they see you. If you walk with the wind at your back, your scent is more likely to be detected at great distances by wild pigs, and they will likely avoid you.

However, there have been some instances where wild pigs have come into contact with people. Usually only one pig will approach while the rest of the group of pigs (known as a sounder) evacuate the area. If this does happen to you, try to stay away from the head of the pig. They have sharp teeth that can cut through clothing. Back out of the area as quickly as possible.

Q: Is it legal to pick up sand dollars on the beaches of San Francisco, with or without a fishing license, even though some are still alive -- purple in color with hair (fuzz)? (Peter R.)

Alaska Airlines to stop distributing prayer cards to passengers

Frequent travelers who either appreciated or were offended by Alaska Airlines' practice of distributing prayer cards to passengers will be displeased, or happy, to learn that the 30-year practice will end on Feb. 1.

For the last six years, only first-class passengers were presented with the paper cards, usually at meal time.

A Seattle Times story states that Alaska Air Group CEO Bill Ayer, and Alaska Airlines President Brad Tilden, delivered this email Wednesday to regular customers:

"This difficult decision was not made lightly. Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service. At the same time, we've heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane, and some are offended when we hand out the cards."

The email also contained this passage: "Our priority at Alaska is to fly our passengers to their destinations safely, on time and with their bags."

The airline began passing out prayer cards in the 1970s in an effort, an Alaska spokesman once told the Christian Post, to "fancy up the meal service since many folks like to give thanks before a meal."

California DFG devotes website to wolf from Oregon (OR7)

The California Department of Fish and Game reports that a gray wolf from Oregon, named OR7, remains inside the state and that a website has been established to post updates on the predator's status.

"At this time, there is only one documented gray wolf living in the wild in California," states a passage on the website.

OR7, a young male wolf originally from a pack in northeast Oregon, made headlines during a zig-zagging adventure that spanned across the Cascades and ultimately into eastern Lassen County in Northern California.

The wolf, which was fitted with a GPS collar before he left the pack, is the first known wild wolf to have ranged in the Golden State in nearly 90 years. The last one was killed by a trapper in 1924.

The only known probable photograph of OR7 is a black-and-white trail-camera image captured in Butte County, in Southern Oregon, last Nov. 1 (top right).

The presence of OR7 and the possibility of other wolves entering California has farmers and ranchers worried, because wolves are notorious for livestock predation in some areas in western states where they've flourished since recently being reintroduced.

The California DFG is formulating a wolf policy in case other wolves return to California and what was once prime wolf habitat.

OR7 and other gray wolves that might enter California are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the DFG will post only general information regarding OR7's whereabouts.

In a news release, the DFG states that many reported sightings of gray wolves in California have been investigated in recent years, but most of those turned out to involve coyotes or dogs.

The DFG adds that wolves pose little threat to humans. "Concerns about human safety are largely based on folklore and are unsubstantiated," the news release states. "In recent years there was one human mortality in Canada caused either by wolves or bears and one confirmed human mortality in Alaska by wolves.

"[But] based on experience from states where substantial wolf populations now exist, wolves pose little risk to humans. However, DFG recommends that people never approach a wolf, or otherwise interact with or feed a wolf."

Farmers and ranchers can reduce the threat of livestock predation "by removing potential sources of food and other attractants from their land, such as discarded animal carcasses, bone piles, etc."

-- Trail-cam image shows what is likely OR7 during his trek through Southern Oregon toward California. DFG website graphic shows OR7's path in California through a period through Jan. 11

Offshore killer whales make rare appearance off Southland

As the southbound parade of gray whales continues off Southern California, killer whales keep stealing the limelight. About 40 "offshore" killer whales were seen Thursday off Orange County and, later in the day, beyond the Long Beach area.

This comes after several sightings earlier this month of a pod of 10 "transient" killer whales. Offshore killer whales, unlike transients, do not prey on sea lions and other marine mammals. They eat sharks and fish.

Offshore killer whales, or orcas, are most commonly seen in the Queen Charlotte Islands area off British Columbia, but they tend to disappear for long periods. They are rarely seen off California, and more rarely spotted off Southern California.

Killer whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger recalled sightings of much larger pods of offshore orcas on Feb. 11, 1995, and on Feb. 14, 2005.

There are believed to be between 300-400 offshore killer whales along the West Coast.

The accompanying video, with footage captured Thursday, is courtesy of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari. Note the upside-down orca at the beginning of the clip, and amazing underwater footage captured from within a small viewing pod that enables passengers to see how marine mammals act beneath the surface.

Freeskiing star Sarah Burke dies nine days after crash

Freeskiing has lost one of its top athletes and great personalities in Canadian superpipe specialist Sarah Burke, who died Thursday of head injuries sustained Jan. 10 during a fall in the Eagle Superpipe at Park Mountain Resort in Utah.

Burke, 29, a four-time X Games champion and a favorite to win the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, passed away at 9:22 a.m. She was accompanied by family and new husband, Rory Bushfield.

A statement released by the family explained that Burke had suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. The rupture led to a severe hemorrhage, which caused her to experience cardiac arrest soon after her fall.

Burke was placed on life support while doctors repaired the artery. But she had sustained severe irreversible brain damage because of a lack of oxygen and blood flow after cardiac arrest.

In accordance with her wishes, her organs and tissues were donated to help save the lives of others.

The accident has raised the issue of safety in terms of superpipe riding at the highest level. Burke's fall occurred at the same resort at which snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured while training on Dec. 31, 2009.

Pearce, who had been training for his Olympics debut, suffered traumatic brain injuries and endured a long and comprehensive rehabilitation period. Last month he rode a snowboard for the first time since his accident, but his career is over.

The sport has progressed to dangerous new heights, with more spinning and more amplitude above the superpipes' 22-foot walls. This makes it easier to become disoriented before trying to land on the walls of the U-shaped superpipes.

Snowboarding star Gretchen Blieler told ESPN while Burke was still alive that athletes are aware of the dangers.

"There are no guarantees," she said. "And that is the risk we all take with us every day in life. But that is why we must live and live well, because nothing is guaranteed. I think Sarah would tell all of us to keep going, keep waking up early to land those tricks you've been dreaming of, but only if it's done with 100 percent passion, pure fire, discipline and commitment."

Why are refuge hunting reservations so difficult to draw?

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: How are waterfowl reservations picked and how are they kept random? There seems to be something wrong with the system because it doesn’t seem to be randomly selecting people. Several of my neighbors and I have put in for the season draw for multiple refuges for the last few years without much success. One person has not been drawn in the past two years. Some people may get drawn only once while other people are getting drawn quite a bit. Can you please shed some light on this for us? (Rod H., Norco)

Answer: Unfortunately, the competition for waterfowl reservations is enormous! More than 750,000 hunt choices have been submitted for the 2011/2012 season so far. Some areas are extremely difficult to draw.

According to Department of Fish and Game License Program Analyst Glenn Underwood, reservations are issued by random drawings. Each drawing is independent and does not affect the outcome of any other drawing. The likelihood of being drawn does not increase when you were not drawn for a previous hunt. Odds are determined solely by the number of applicants who apply for an area on that date.

In a series of random drawings, some people are likely to be drawn more than once, and some may not be drawn at all. The results should look somewhat like half of a bell curve.

Boaters on watch for tagged gray whale from Russia

Southern California marine mammal enthusiasts should note that a special whale named Varvara will be passing through local waters today and Friday.

The 8-year-old female gray whale, sporting a satellite tag that reveals her position, is special because she has swum all the way from Sakhalin Island in the western North Pacific off Russia, providing scientists with more evidence that Western Pacific gray whales may not be as distinct from Eastern Pacific gray whales as previously believed.

Varvara hails from a critically endangered population of perhaps 130 Western Pacific gray whales, with very few breeding-age females. There are about 20,000 Eastern Pacific gray whales, famous for their annual 10,000-mile round-trip migration from the Bering and Beaufort seas to and from winter breeding areas in lagoons along the Baja California coastline.

It has become increasingly evident that both populations utilize the same breeding areas. However, David Weller, a marine mammal specialist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, has authored a manuscript (under peer-review) which states that despite this mixing, "Significant DNA and nuclear genetic differences between whales utilizing the Sakhalin feeding ground and those summering in the Eastern North Pacific support the continued recognition of Sakhalin animals as a distinct genetic unit."

Varvara is expected to pass through the Los Angeles/Long Beach area late today and pass Orange County and San Diego on Friday.

Her position is relayed to scientists at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute. (People can obtain weekly updates of Varvara's progress, each Monday, via this link.)

Her odyssey follows that of Flex, who was fitted with a satellite tag a year earlier. Flex, a male Western Pacific gray whale, surprised scientists when he crossed from the western Pacific to this side, and joined with Eastern Pacific grays during their migration.

The tag worn by Flex, however, stopped transmitting off southern Oregon. Varvara's tag is still relaying her position. She has been photographed with other gray whales off Oregon and Northern California, but it was not clear whether they were Western Pacific or Eastern Pacific grays.

Yosemite Half Dome cable permits required daily this season

Yosemite National Park officials have announced that day-use permits to climb the Half Dome cables will be required seven days a week for the 2012 summer season.

An interim program that required permits on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays was implemented by the National Park Service in 2010 and switched to a seven-day-per-week system for 2011, to better regulate the number of hikers using the cable system. Safety issues have arisen from crowding, which also has led to long waits on the popular hike.

Some changes to the permiting system were made this year, and permits will now be allocated through a preseason lottery, a two-day-in-advance lottery, and as part of the Wilderness Permit process, with a maximum of 400 hikers allowed each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond the subdome.

Permit fees also have increased, with two separate fees collected for 2012. A non-refundable processing fee of $4.50 will be charged when applications are submitted online ($6.50 if done by phone). An additional $5 per person refundable fee will be charged when permits are received, and helps offset the cost of stationing park rangers at Half Dome to check for permits.

Further details regarding the lotteries and the wilderness process can be found at the park's website at www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm.

The Half Dome cables are generally in place from mid-May through mid-October, depending on snowpack and weather conditions.

Image of Half Dome and climbers using the cable system courtesy of Scott Gediman / National Park Service