Pete Thomas Outdoors

How to keep hunters from hunting on our property?

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: Our church owns about 700 acres in the foothills of Northern California. We recently had someone shoot at a 6-point buck, wound it, and screech away off the property. We called the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), who sent out a tracker. They followed the trail of blood but never found the wounded animal.

Meanwhile, we have many deer that reside on our property and we are vegetarians. We do not shoot the deer and they wander freely on the property. You can walk within maybe 20 feet of even these majestic big bucks and they won’t flee. We do not want people shooting the animals on our property.

The Fish and Wildlife person who came out told us it was legal for people to shoot the deer on our property unless we fenced it or posted signs (such as “POSTED NO HUNTING”) all over the property. Is this really true? For one thing, it isn’t even hunting season (with a firearm, which this was), and second, it’s private property and we’ve not given written permission to anyone to hunt on our property.

We also don’t want to post “NO TRESPASSING” signs because we welcome the public to visit our beautiful community with 85 homes and a number of businesses, including a school.

Can you help me understand what the law states, and what we must do to allow the public on our land but disallow hunting (and fishing) on our land? (Church Administrator)

Answer: Hunters do not need permission to hunt on private property unless the land is under cultivation, enclosed by a fence, or posted in accordance with Fish and Game Code, section 2016. This section requires that signs “forbidding trespass or hunting, or both are displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering those lands,” and “signs may be of any size and wording that will fairly advise persons about to enter…that the use of the land is so restricted.”

Mysterious spinning ice circle found in North Dakota river

Just about everyone has heard of crop circles, but ice circles?

A retired engineer this week discovered an enormous circle of ice spinning slowly down North Dakota’s Sheyenne River (video posted below).

George Loegering described the rare phenomenon as “an amazing wonder” and can be heard in the video saying that the perfectly round, alien-like disc measured about 50 feet in diameter.

 

These ice circles, or ice discs, are believed to be formed by eddy currents, and are found only in slow-moving water. Rotational sheer is a scientific explanation of the event. (Picture a large chunk of surface ice breaking free atop a whirlpool eddy, and venturing downstream.)

While the phenomenon is considered rare, ice discs have been documented several times in recent years, in such locations as England, Russia, and the northern United States. Most of those, however, were small by comparison.

According to Science Frontiers, a spinning ice disc with a diameter of 160 feet was discovered in Sweden's Pite River in 1987. The publication stated:

"The fringe literature has made much of the huge, slowly spinning discs of ice seen on some rivers in northern climes. UFOs are connected somehow. Or, more recently, they must be associated with the infamous crop circles!"

Presumably, there is no UFO connection to ice circles. But they're pretty mysterious-looking.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

Man hiding with daughter in house destroyed by tornado captures harrowing event on video

Chilling video has surfaced showing an EF-4 tornado approaching and ripping apart a house in Washington, Illinois, Sunday while a man and his daughter scramble inside and search for cover.

The man, Marc Wells, filmed the event while trying to make sure he and his daughter found a safe place in which to hide (the video goes dark for several seconds while they're hiding in a sheltered area.)

The daughter, Josie Taylor Wells, can be heard screaming in fear throughout much of the ordeal.

 

They emerge to find their house totally destroyed by the devastating twister. Wells did not post the surreal footage until Thursday, presumably because he was too busy dealing with his loss of property, and perhaps helping neighbors cope with their losses.

Wells posted in the description that the rest of his family was out of town when the twister struck.

"I am so glad Kerry Gorman Wells and the other girls were out of town when this storm came through," Wells wrote. "Very thankful we were not injured." State and federal assessments are still being conducted in the region.

The series of tornados on Sunday damaged or destroyed more than 1,400 homes.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

Did game warden have the right to search my car?

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: I was out fishing at Lake McSwain. A man was there before me but didn’t catch anything. I got lucky and caught two trout right away, then decided to go try out a different spot. I was planning on doing a whole day of fishing and didn’t want the two fishes to spoil, so I gave them to the man that had not caught any. As I was leaving, a game warden showed up. I told him I caught two but gave them away because I’m heading to a different spot. He wanted to search my car and I let him because I didn’t have anything to hide. After not finding anything, he then told me those two fish count towards my bag limit so I can only catch three more, even if I move to a different spot. Now my question is, does he really have the right to search my car just like that, and is it correct that I can only catch three more fish after I gave those two away? What happened to the five fish in possession regulation? (Anonymous)

Answer: Good question, but the game warden was correct. No more than one daily bag limit may be taken or possessed by any one person (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 1.17). There is a difference between the bag limit (the number you can take per day) and the possession limit (the maximum number you can have in your possession). Just because you gave two fish away, this did not set the slate back to zero so that you could take five additional fish that day.

As far as the request to search your vehicle, any officer can ask for your consent to inspect a vehicle. Your question indicates you “let him” inspect your car because you had nothing to hide. This was perfectly legal.

Whether an officer has the authority to conduct an inspection when consent is not given depends upon the specific circumstances of the contact. Wildlife officers have extensive inspection authorities that are unique to their jobs. For example, it is a crime to refuse to show an wildlife officer “… all licenses, tags, and the birds, mammals, fish, reptiles or amphibians taken or otherwise dealt with under this code, and any device or apparatus designed to be, and capable of being, used to take birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians” (Fish and Game Code, section 2012). Also, wildlife officers are authorized to inspect all receptacles, except the clothing actually worn by a person at the time of inspection, where birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians may be stored or placed (FGC, section 1006).

Q: Can I challenge the Hunter Education exam to get my license? (Mark L.)

Warning to Manhattan Beach paddlers and anglers: leave the great white sharks alone

When a coastal region has a great white shark problem, it generally means that a clear and present danger exists for water users.

But for Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, it's the sharks that are at risk of being harrassed by stand-up paddlers trying to videotape them, and by anglers attempting to hook the protected predators.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife, citing a trend that involves paddlers with GoPro cameras intentionally trying to find white sharks, is warning people to leave them alone or face the possibility of being cited. The same goes for pier anglers.

"White sharks are a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act and therefore fully protected," Traci Larinto and Michelle Horeczko, part of the DFW's White Shark Status Review Team, said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. "They cannot be taken or pursued.  The public should take steps to avoid white sharks while fishing or being out on the water."

Though white shark sightings are up this year throughout Southern California, the epicenter is Manhattan Beach, particularly a mile-long stretch from the pier north to a surf spot called El Porto.

Juvenile white sharks–those measuring to about 10 feet–are seasonal residents of Southland coastal waters, and perhaps because of a mixture of abundant prey and warm water, many of them congregate off Manhattan Beach.

(Juvenile white sharks feed primarily on small fish, including sharks and rays. Most sightings occur in summer and early fall. The sharks are believed to migrate into Mexican waters during the winter.)

The increase in sightings could be due to an increase in the number of juvenile white sharks. But a definite factor is a sharp increase in the number of people who stand-up paddle, many while caring GoPro cameras in the hope of capturing footage to share via social media.

"Right now, every surfer/thrill seeker with a GoPro is going out to Manhattan Beach and trying to film them, ride them, and catch them on hook and line," said Christopher Lowe, a Cal State Long Beach professor and white shark expert. "Most people do not understand CESA regulations and that even incidental catch [or] being caught swimming after a shark with a GoPro camera can be considered take or harassment and is a citable, even jailable offense."

Paddleboard sightings began to increase in September. In October, a YouTube video of a close encounter, shared by Mike Durand, went semi-viral. He used a helmet-cam to record a shark swimming beneath his board as he paddled  off El Porto. Video is posted here:

 

Also catching the eye of the DFW was a Nov. 8 post on this website, showing Eric Martin swimming with a 9-foot white shark. Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium at the end of the pier, said he had always wanted to swim with a great white.

Not long after he swam out with a mask and long pole for protection, one of two sharks that were spotted from the pier cruised within feet of him.

Larinto, of the DFW, says this sends a message that this is acceptable and safe behavior.

Martin, who has spotted dozens of white sharks from the pier over the years, said he swam with the sharks, in part, to prove that the juvenile sharks do not present a serious danger to swimmers and surfers.

Fishermen, however, are no friends of the sharks. Martin has watched anglers intentionally try to hook them. Last year, he almost got into a fight with a man who refused to let Martin cut his line, after he had hooked a white shark. The man eventually allowed Martin to free the shark.

Earlier this week KTLA posted footage captured by paddleboarder Nathan Anderson off El Porto. Anderson stated that three white sharks were picked up by the camera, all within 100 yards of one another. The video was uploaded to YouTube on Monday and is posted here:

 

As for fishing for sharks from the pier, it's not illegal. But catching white sharks is illegal and hooking them for catch-and-release seems to fall into somewhat of a legal gray area.

But these are a protected species that may or may not be mounting a comeback after years of overfishing. It's best to leave them alone.

Said Lowe: "One rumor is that a couple of fishermen have caught and killed some sharks off El Porto and supposedly found squid in the stomachs. I just don't think the public understands the ramifications of the law here." 

–Pete Thomas

–Top image shows Eric Martin intentionally swimming with a juvenile great white shark off Manhattan Beach Pier. Credit: Dani Baker

Bora Bora diver shares intimate hug with 8-foot lemon shark

Touching and even riding sharks by holding onto their dorsal fins seems to be a developing trend, judging by some of the videos being circulated on the Internet.

But a snorkeler in Bora Bora recently took this act to a new level by diving down to an 8-foot lemon shark, sliding underneath and hugging the shark as it swam lazily through gin-clear water near the bottom.

It almost looks as though he's trying to have sex with the shark, which seems so unresponsive that you can't help but wonder whether the footage is even real. (Perhaps divers who have been to Bora Bora know more about these sharks and how accustomed to people they have become?)

 

The footage certainly looks real, though, and no matter how tame the region's sharks might be, this kind of activity is dangerous.

Lemon sharks aren't known as man-killers, but they have bitten people before, and who would have blamed this shark for defending itself against this seemingly unwelcome and strangely intimate intrusion?

Loving sharks is a good thing. Hugging them? Not recommended.

–RELATED: Man swims with great white shark next to Manhattan Beach Pier

Australia's Sunshine Coast bombarded by hailstones the size of oranges (video)

 

Hail storms often cause people to scurry for cover and rush to get their automobiles out of the line of fire.

But rarely are the hailstones large enough to cause truly significant damage, such as the fist-size bombs that bombarded Australia's Sunshine Coast last Saturday.

The incredible footage posted above and below was captured by Steve Ots from the 12th floor of a building overlooking the river below. (The storm intensifies at about 30 seconds.)

Ots described the hailstones as "Apocalyptic-sized," and it must have seemed so watching and listening to the ice balls as they splashed into the water and struck the surrounding area, shattering windows and damaging at least 200 cars.

At least one man was injured when he was struck in the head while kayaking. "It drew blood and really hurt," Grant Kelly told the Courier Mail. "I rolled my [kayak] over and hid under it."

Bernie Duncan added: "Giant hailstones were hitting the ground and then bouncing up and smashing into the side of cars, damaging panels, too."

GrindTv Outdoor quotes the Sunshine Coast Daily as stating that the freak storm "carved a trail of destruction through central parts of the Coast shortly after lunchtime, with Sippy Downs, Buderim, Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland and the Maroochydore among the worst hit."

Trent Hammill, describing the aftermath to the Courier Mail, said, "Everyone was in shock after it."

Here's more footage by Ots, showing hailstones on the ground after the storm had passed:

 

Giant Mola mola caught off Jamaica; 'I thought it was an alien'

The massive sunfish was so bizarre looking that Desmond Phillips, one of two Jamaican fishermen who caught the estimated 900-pound behemoth on Sunday, thought it was from another world.

"At first I thought it was an alien, and I was somewhat frightened," Phillips told the Jamaica Gleaner. "It was difficult to bring the fish to the surface, and even more challenging to get the monster into the boat.

"When I realized what it was that we had caught, I said to my partner, Michael Grant, who is the boat captain, maybe we should release it."

The two fishermen hooked the sunfish off Boston Bay and after a battle that lasted nearly two hours, Capt. Grant was determined not to let the unusual catch get away.

However, they were aboard a small boat and getting the enormous fish to shore proved to be more difficult than reeling it in.

They decided to tie it to the boat and motor to shore, but the boat could hardly progress because of the weight of the fish. 

So they decided that the sunfish had to be brought on board. "And after a lengthy period, and with water flooding into the boat, we finally brought it into the boat and set sail for Bryans Bay," Phillips said.

Sunfish range throughout the world's oceans, but they are not commonly encountered in Jamaican waters. And they're quite the sight, roundish and blob-like, with truncated bodies, huge faces, and tiny mouths.

According to the Gleaner, word quickly spread of an "alien-fish" having been captured, and that lured dozens of curious people to the beach at Bryans Bay.

Many would eventually learn that these ocean sunfish, or Mola molas, can reach weights of 5,000 pounds, but are harmless omnivores that feed on sea jellies and other invertebrates.

"There is no need to fear it," said Andre Kong of Jamaica's Fisheries Division. "They are very docile and you can dive with them."

For Phillips, according to the Jamaica Observer, it was his most exciting moment at sea since his catch of a 500-pound marlin two years earlier.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–Photos: Desmond Phillips (left) and Michael Grant pose with giant sunfish in top photo. Credit: Jamaica Observer. Second image is courtesy of the Jamaica Gleaner

Should Melissa Bachman be banned from South Africa for shooting a lion?

A hunting show star who used social media to share a photo of herself posing with a lion she killed in South Africa has sparked outrage among animal rights advocates who want to have her banned from returning to the country.

Melissa Bachman, host of Winchester Deadly Passion, killed the male lion during a recent guided hunt facilitated by the Maroi Conservancy in Limpopo province. (The hunt was legal.)

The photo was shared more than 1,000 times on Bachman's Facebook page, and in the past week it has circulated in the mainstream, generating harsh criticism.

According to ABC News, Cape Town resident Elan Burman began a Change.org petition requesting that the South African government prevent her from visiting.

The petition, which has gained nearly 15,000 signatures, reads: "She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation this country prides itself on. As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources."

Big-game hunting in South Africa is big business, and part of the revenue generated through hunting helps fund conservation projects. Bachman, whose Facebook page includes photos of many other types of trophy animals, is no stranger to controversy. But the hunting celebrity enjoys lots of support.

The "Show Support for Melissa Bachman and resist anti-hunting abuse" Facebook page has nearly 8,000 followers.

The Maroi Conservancy also has been barraged with criticism. On Saturday it stated its motto, "Conservation through sustainable hunting" on its Facebook page, accompanied by a lengthy defense of its hunting program.

Part of it reads: "We do ethical hunting and all meat from animals hunted is distributed to the local community. Funds generated from hunting goes towards fixing the border fence that was washed away in the 2013 floods, combating poaching, which is excessive in this area due to close proximity to Zimbabwe, and running a sustainable conservancy."

Another segment reads: "We are not apologizing for facilitating the [Bachman] hunt. If you are not a game farmer and struggling with dying starving animals, poaching, and no fences in place to protect your animals and crop, please refrain from making negative derogatory comments."

Bachman did not kill the lion on Maroi Conservancy land. Maroi merely arranged the hunt, in Zeerust in Northwest Province, through another outfitter.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–Photos showing Melissa Bachman posing with trophy lion are from her Facebook page

Father of missing surfer Kirk Passmore wants son's last ride to be watched

 

Less than two days after Kirk Passmore went missing after a wipeout in large surf Wednesday on Oahu's North Shore, his father expressed a wish that his son's final ride be shared with as many people as possible.

Passmore, 32, a passionate big-wave surfing veteran and Hawaii resident, is presumed to have drowned and as of Friday his body had not been found.

Larry Haynes, a cinematographer who was capturing footage of surfers riding 20- to 30-foot waves at an outer reef known as Alligator Rock, complied with Passmore's father by sharing Kirk's final ride footage with Hawaii's KITV News. (Video posted above.) 

It shows Passmore, on the white surfboard, negotiating a steep drop before digging the nose of his board slightly into the water, catapulting him forward. The wave broke on top of the surfer and moments after the whitewater swept over him, his feet could be seen in the froth.

That was an indication, perhaps, that he might have ruptured his eardrums and had become disoriented, and did not know which direction was up or down. Another large wave broke, snapping his surfboard in two, and breaking the leash attaching the tail-end of the board to the surfer's leg.

By then rescuers had swept into the impact zone on personal watercraft, but could not get to Passmore before he disappeared.

Unfortunately, the surfer's fatal mistake might have been not wearing a floatation vest. "They were trying to grab him but they had nothing to hold on to," local surfer Chris Owens told Hawaii News Now. "What would have saved him is if he had a float vest on. Everybody wears float vests nowadays."

Fatalities are rare in big-wave surfing, despite the raw power of enormous swells generated by faraway storms.

That's because surfers, by and large, are a close-knit group and watch out for one another. It's also because most of them train vigorously, to be able to withstand being held under for long periods, and because water patrol staff on personal watercraft are almost always on vigil during these large-surf events.

(There have been great strides in water safety on the North Shore since Todd Chesser, a famous surfer, died at Alligator Rock in 1997.)

Additionally, most surfers have come to realize the importance of floatation vests, which help them attain the surface faster after a wipeout, and keep their heads upright.

Passmore's wipeout comes only two weeks after Maya Gabeira, a rare female athlete in this adrenaline-fueled sport, endured a beating in enormous surf off Portugal.

Gabeira, who was pulled to safety during a frantic rescue effort by her Jet Ski-riding partner, Carlos Burle, was wearing a vest and credits the device for helping to save her life.

It's hoped that Passmore's tragic accident will underscore their value, and serve as a reminder that despite great strides in water safety, nothing is guaranteed.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv