Pete Thomas Outdoors

Photobombing 'shark' in Manhattan Beach wave was most likely a bottlenose dolphin

–Photo is courtesy of @June Emerson

An alleged shark that appeared in a Manhattan Beach wave Friday as two children played in the water nearby was most likely a dolphin, according to experts who have examined the image (see top photo).

The unusual "photobomb" story went viral on Sunday and Monday, with some reports stating that the critter was a shark, and many other reports strongly implying that it was a shark. 

This is somewhat understandable. There were several shark sightings in Manhattan Beach in late summer and fall, mostly from the pier or from the air. Juvenile great white sharks feed in Southern California coastal waters and are seen sporadically during summer months.

However, if you look closely at the photo, the tail fin is horizontal, like that of a dolphin. Also, there is no sign of a second dorsal fin, which sharks possess.

Plus, bottlenose dolphins are frequently seen surfing in the faces of waves, while sharks are not. If this still looks more like a shark than a dolphin, water distortion could be the reason.

(A sure way to tell would have been to see if the creature surfaced to breathe, which is a must for mammals. But the woman who captured the image didn't realize there was a creature in the wave till afterward.)

Stated Kera Mathes, a naturalist with the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, on her Facebook page:

"I know there has been a lot of concern over this news story, but just wanted to let everyone know this is a dolphin. A couple of us (mainly Julien Jordan haha) have been emailing in to the news. I couldn't agree more Julien, the news needs to check the photos and facts before you go scaring everyone! I hate that the poor sharks are getting a bad, scary, rep for this when it's a coastal bottlenose dolphin."

Diane Alps of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Cetacean Society commented on my Facebook page: "Sure looks to be a bottlenose dolphin! Single falcate dorsal fin, horizontal flukes. General body shape looks dolphin'esque too."

Stated Florida-based shark expert David Shiffman on Facebook: "I asked about a dozen shark scientists and a handful of dolphin scientists (yes, I know dolphin scientists) to confirm my suspicion that it was a dolphin, and 100% of them identified it as a dolphin. It doesn't have a second dorsal fin and the tail is flat. Dolphin.

"It took me only a few minutes to do this. And yet, the media ran with the inaccurate and fear-mongering story without reaching out to any scientists."

This is not the first case of likely mistaken identity (we cannot state as fact that the Manhattan Beach photobomber is not a shark, and Eric Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Marine Lab and Aquarium at the end of the pier is among those who still think it's a shark).

In September of 2012 at the Hurley Pro surf contest at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, Kolohe Andino was photographed riding a wave while what was first thought to be a shark appeared in the wave face (middle photo).



It was identified as a bottlenose dolphin by ACS researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, based on the shape of its dolphin-like fluke.

In 2011 at Swami's in north San Diego County, surfers were sure that a large critter photographed in a wave was a large great white shark. The tail of the animal even looked vertical, like that of a shark. But that, too, was most likely a dolphin turned sideways as it swam through the wave (bottom photo).

Said Salvador Jorgensen, a white shark expert from Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station: "It doesn't really look like a shark tail more than, say, a dolphin sideways in the wave. But it's impossible to say for sure from the picture alone."

Christopher Lowe, a white shark expert who runs the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, also said the tail looked more like that of a dolphin.

So most likely, the two kids playing in the waves at Manhattan Beach on Friday were photobombed by a bottlenose dolphin. Still a fun story, but one that would not have gotten nearly as much attention (or website traffic) had it been reported as such.

–Pete Thomas

–Illustrations showing a bottlenose dolphin and great white shark are via Wikipedia

––Find Pete Thomas Outdoors on Facebook and Twitter

Australia's sharks are tweeting warnings to surfers, swimmers

Large sharks off Western Australia are now doing their part to keep surfers and swimmers safe–by sending tweets warning of their presence.

Scientists have fitted 320 sharks, many of them great whites, with transmitters that issue computerized warnings to the Surf Life Saving Western Australia's Twitter feed when the tagged sharks approach within a kilometer of the coast's popular beaches.

For example, a tweet sent early Saturday in Australia reads: "Fisheries advise: tagged Bronze whaler shark detected at Garden Island (north end) receiver at 06:0700 AM on 27-Dec-2013." 

The twitter feed has more than 14,000 followers and the real-time warnings, it's hoped, will help people make more informed decisions when considering ocean activities.

Chris Peck, from SLSWA, told Sky News that this system will reach beachgoers before alerts issued via traditional media, such as radio and newspapers.

"You might not have got some information until the following day, in which case the hazard has long gone and the information might not be relevant," Peck said. "Now it's instant information and really people don't have an excuse to say we're not getting the information, it's about whether you are searching for it and finding it."

Six people have been killed by sharks off Western Australia in the past two years. The latest victim, Chris Boyd, 35, was fatally bitten while surfing in November.

The government has been under tremendous pressure to make the waters safer and the Tweeting program comes after a decision to allow professional hunters to kill large sharks sighted in certain areas.

Premier Colin Barnett recently told reporters: "The safety of human life, the safety of beach goers using our marine environment must come first."

The shark-culling effort, however, has been highly criticized as a program that will only lend a perception that the waters are safer after a shark or several sharks are removed.

So far, nobody has tweeted in opposition to shark's using Twitter to announce their arrival. To be sure, it seems like the more rational of the two plans.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

Killer whale spectacle in Santa Monica Bay is 'like SeaWorld without the tanks'

Killer whales are at the center of a broiling SeaWorld controversy, thanks to "Blackfish the Movie," which shed light on how the iconic mammals are treated in captivity.

Many are boycotting SeaWorld parks. Animal rights advocates have arranged on-site protests, and several entertainers have canceled shows in opposition to SeaWorld's captive killer whale programs.

SeaWorld's shows go on, however, the park insisting that its orcas are ambassadors who foster appreciation of the ocean and critters.

But this week off Los Angeles, four wild killer whales proved emphatically that the most spectacular shows are those performed willingly in the wild, and that fishy treats are not required for them to leap and splash. (Video posted below.)

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a killer whale researcher, and Eric Martin, a marine biologist, on Monday afternoon were witness to a spectacle they'll never forget.

"It was like SeaWorld without the tanks," joked Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium at the end of Manhattan Beach Pier.

The encounter began nine miles west of Redondo Beach, with what Schulman-Janiger described as "a chorus line greeting," and ended an hour later a bit farther to the north.

The killer whales breached and spyhopped, surfed wakes created by the moving boat, and played beneath the vessel.

They even killed a smaller mammal–most likely a common dolphin–and celebrated with more acrobatics.

"They often do that after a kill," Schulman-Janiger said, adding that this marks the third consecutive year this group has appeared off Los Angeles during the holiday season. (Their home turf is Monterey Bay in Central California.)

The orcas are family members that include the matriarch cataloged by Schulman-Janiger as CA51 (age unknown), a 15-year-old male (CA51B), a 10-year-old male (CA51C), and a 3-year-old female (CA51D), who is named Comet because of her unusual eye patches. CA51C has been nicknamed bumper because of his friendly belly-bumping of Martin's boat last December.

They're part of a group of transient killer whales known to be extremely boat friendly, and one that has recently begun to include Southern California as part of its range.

The group sometimes include  CA51's 21-year-old daughter (CA51A), who has formed a separate sub-pod with her two offspring.

Monday's sighting was the fifth in four weeks of the CA51 group off the Los Angeles/Long Beach area. The sighting was first made by volunteers with the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

That inspired Schulman-Janiger and Martin to embark on a search aboard his 18-foot boat.

They spotted a tall, black dorsal fin at 3:07 p.m. and 13 minutes later they were surrounded by orcas.

"They approached and came right at us and stopped all together," Schulman-Janiger said. "It was like a chorus-line greeting. They swam under and around our boat and poked their faces out of the water. They did this five or six times."

 

When Martin ran his boat the killer whales surfed in its wake, the largest male a mere inches from the transom. When the boat stopped, the mammals surrounded the boat and resumed playing around and beneath the vessel, occasionally poking their heads out of the water for a closer look at their visitors.

Said Martin: "They were making eye contact with us, not just the boat. They were looking into our eyes, the way humans do. I don't see how it can get any better."

Perhaps this act could be labeled, "Blackfish, Wild and Free."

–Note: Schulman-Janiger is co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project. People who have  photographs of killer whales spotted off California, or information about sightings, are asked to contact the researcher at [email protected]

–Top photo, showing a breaching 3-year-old orca named Comet, is courtesy of ©Eric Martin. All other images are courtesy of ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger. The third image shows the mother and Comet spyhopping together

Why are there no elk in central or southern Sierra Nevada?

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: Why are there no elk in the central or southern Sierra Nevadas? It seems like ideal habitat comparable to that found in Colorado, but the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation doesn’t even show it as a historic range for elk. Is there some reason they could not and do not thrive in the high Sierras, or at least the foothills? (Nick C.)

Answer: It’s true that the historic range of elk in California did not include the Sierra Nevada range. According to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Statewide Elk and Antelope Coordinator Joe Hobbs, historically tule elk were found in the Central Valley, coast range and the Sierra foothills, but did not occupy the higher elevation regions of the Sierra Nevada.

Previous studies suggest that the Great Basin, combined with the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, served as a western barrier to the natural movement of Rocky Mountain elk (typically found in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana).

Hobbs also says elk are slowly expanding in California and we have received reports of elk in various parts of the Sierra (Plumas, Sierra and even Tuolumne counties). Currently, California has three subspecies of elk. In addition to the tule elk of the Central Valley and foothills, Roosevelt elk are found in the north coast area and the coastal interior regions, and Rocky Mountain elk reside in northeastern California.

Although the Sierra does seem to be composed of habitat capable of supporting elk, historically this was not the case due to the topography of California. Tule elk were found in the Central Valley and coast range and evolved for utilization of these habitat types and not those found in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The Great Basin and various mountain ranges prevented the Rocky Mountain elk from dispersing into the western portion of the Sierra Nevada range.


Q: May I keep female Dungeness crabs if they are of minimum size? (Larry A.)

Mysterious creature spotted off Dana Point; was it part of a large squid?

What's exciting about heading to sea is that you never know when something unexpected will materialize before your eyes.

During a recent excursion off Dana Point in Orange County, with Dana Wharf Whale Watch, the captain's focus was far to the west, where fin whales had been spotted on the previous trip.

But a few people at the bow stared downward in wonder as the 95-foot Dana Pride plowed over a three-foot-long creature that was pinkish-white and trailed what looked like tentacles.

Some were calling it an octopus but my first thought was that it was part of a "Humboldt" or jumbo squid. These mysterious denizens, which thrive at depths of 600 to more than 2,000 feet, can measure up to six feet long.

It definitely looked as though it were part of something that used to be more complete.

Unfortunately, the sighting was very brief. The captain was not alerted and the carcass was not collected. I was fortunate to have gotten a photo before the carcass was plowed over at cruising speed.

We proceeded offshore and saw seeing four fin whales and, a bit later, three gray whales.

When I got home I emailed the image to William Gilly, a scientist at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, and one of the world's leading authorities on Humboldt squid.

"What the heck is this?" I asked. "Could it be part of a Humboldt squid?"

His response was along the lines of, "I'm not sure because you dummies did not collect the specimen."

He was more polite, of course, stating: "Well, it has eight arm-like things but I don't see any sign of a head or eyes or mouth. Did you collect it? How big? I guess it could be the empty head of a jumbo squid with eyes ripped out, etc., but not really sure."

The photo was posted on a whale-watching group's Facebook page, and one of the comments was from Eric Austin Yee, an educator at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

It read: "Wow! Hard to say exactly without getting my hands on it, but steering to larger species of squid from this photo. Pretty cool!"

By larger, presumably, he meant Humboldt squid as opposed to much smaller market squid, which are commercially fished and sold as calamari.

But was it for sure a squid, or part of a squid? An alien life form, perhaps?

Alas, we may never know.

–Pete Thomas

–Photo by ©Pete Thomas

Can overpopulated deer herds be relocated?

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 live in the Christian Valley area above Auburn. The deer are overpopulated but they are protected in the area. The deer are starving and eat everything in sight. I’ve bought deer-resistant plants and cover them at night, but then they rip off the covering and devour my plants. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars to try to keep plants on my property. I’ve even bought coyote packets to scare them away, but they tear them off and go right by them. I try to chase these deer away but they are so domesticated now that they have charged me and kicked my dog. I need help! How can I get Fish and Wildlife to transfer the deer to a higher location? I love animals but the deer here are destroying all I’ve put out. (Mary N., Auburn)

Answer: Unfortunately, because most of the deer in your area are migratory, moving them up the hill won’t help as they will soon be moving back because of snow and forage availability anyway. More than that though, according to Game Species Conservation Program Manager Craig Stowers, it is the policy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to not move depredating deer. There are several reasons for this:

1)     Several studies (including one of our own) have indicated the survival rates for these animals are extremely low.

2)     The benefits from all wildlife captures must be weighed against the risks of injury/death to the individual animals and personnel involved. Since the survival rates are so low in these instances, the benefits most definitely do not outweigh the risks.

3)     There is a very real potential for introducing new diseases and/or parasites when moving animals from one area to another without health testing, and the only way that can effectively be done is through a quarantine process. Unfortunately, we don’t have the facilities for that and couldn’t take care of the deer long enough for test results to come back.

4)     Physical deterrence is the only proven long-term solution (fencing or some type of barrier). Even if we could move a large number of deer, there are others which would eventually move in to replace them.

As California becomes more urbanized, these types of problems will continue to increase in frequency. Traditional methods of managing wildlife populations are becoming increasingly unavailable to us, primarily because of public safety issues and changing societal values. CDFW has implemented a pilot project in the San Jose area to address a very similar problem and we are hopeful it can turn into something we can use in the future as these problems are only going to continue.

Q: Are cotton breakaway lines required on sport Dungeness crab pots? (Clinton M., Petaluma)

Black swans steal surfing spotlight on Australia's Gold Coast

Dolphins are the most likely critters to invade a surfing lineup and steal the spotlight.

But on Friday at Kirra, on Australia's Gold Coast, four back swans made a rare appearance in the surf and became an instant hit when they began to catch and ride waves. (Video posted below.)

"We've seen Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater, but not four black swans," Kelvin Mills, a Kirra local, says in the News 9 video, referring to iconic pro surfers who are in Hawaii vying for the world title.

Mills had never seen black swans in Kirra, let alone surfing swans.

And what makes the footage so unusual is that the birds were not merely swept up unsuspectingly by waves; they were actually riding the surf, seemingly for fun.

The first swan in the clip catches a wave to shore, oblivious to the human onlookers. It then paddles back out, using flight to get over the oncoming waves, instead of duck-diving beneath the waves as surfers do.

The three other swans then drop in at once and ride the "party wave" together.

Ultimately, they fly off, presumably to find a better break.

Muskie madness: two potential world records in two days

When the giant muskie caught by Matt Forjohn last week taped out at 130 centimeters, or 51.18 inches, the angler was sure that he'd soon be owner of a new world record.

The December 2 catch, on the St. Lawrence River out of New York, exceeded the existing length record by two centimeters, and Forjohn adhered to International Game Fish Association rules.

An IGFA spokesman even implied that everything seemed to be in order, and said the catch was under world-record consideration. (See top photo.)

But then came the unexpected twist. According to an IGFA announcement issued Thursday, "a rare thing happened in the world of sportfishing: two different anglers caught potential new all-tackle length record muskies in the same river only two days apart."

On December 4, Mark Carlson of Rockford, Illinois, battled a muskie for 15 minutes on the St. Lawrence. It measured 132 centimeters, or just a hair under 52 inches (bottom photo).

Making this story more bizarre is that Carlson is the current record holder for a 128-centimeter muskie he caught in 2011 on the Ottawa River.

So a likely scenario is that the IGFA will approve Forjohn's catch, because it received his paperwork first, briefly giving him the record.

But the IGFA probably will then approve Carlson's catch, giving the record back to him.

The IGFA is currently referring to both catches as "potential world records," but that's only because it has yet to complete an approval process that generally takes a few weeks.

Both anglers are being lauded for participating in the IGFA's fairly new length-record program. It was launched two years ago as a means of encouraging anglers to release their catches after a quick measurement.

The long-standing weight-record program, unfortunately, requires fish to be weighed on a certified scale. To do this, potential record catches in almost all cases are killed and brought to a marina or official weighmaster.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record for heaviest muskie is a 67-pound, 8-ounce specimen pulled from Wisconsin's Lake Court Orielles in 1949.

Passionate muskie anglers have for decades been in pursuit of that record.

The muskies caught by Forjohn and Carlson were estimated to weigh about 55 pounds, making them among the largest muskies ever caught.

The best part of this story, and muskie anglers are sure to agree, is that both are still in the river, and are likely to be significantly larger the next time they're caught.

That is, if the muskies are caught again.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Photos: Top image shows Matt Forjohn with 51.18-inch muskie. Second image shows Mark Carlson with 52-inch muskie that probably will set a new world record. Credit: IGFA

Bodyboarder attacked by shark off island of Hawaii

A bodyboarder was bitten Wednesday off the Big Island of Hawaii by what was believed to be a 10- to 12-foot tiger shark.

A 29-year-old unidentified Captain Cook man was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to Hawaii News Now.

The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. near Punalu'u Beach Park in Ninole Bay, in shallow water about 20 yards from shore. The bay and beach were ordered closed by lifeguards and will reopen Friday at noon.

This marks the 14th known shark attack in Hawaiian waters this year. Eight of those, two of which resulted in a fatality, occurred off Maui.

–Generic tiger shark image is courtesy of Wikipedia

U.S. Marine catches great white shark while fishing from beach at Camp Pendleton

Jeff Fangman accomplished a rare feat recently while fishing from the shore of Camp Pendleton north of San Diego. The U.S. Marine reeled in a great white shark, which he subsequently released because the species is protected.

The catch of a juvenile white shark measuring about 10 feet was made October 27, but Fangman did not share the story beyond his circle of friends until this week.

The avid big-game angler had recently moved to California from the Gulf Coast and was accompanied by his wife and daughter. He used heavy gear and delivered the bait far offshore via a kayak.

He was targeting sharks or stingrays, but never expected to set his hook into the jaws of the planet's most notorious marine predator.

 

During an exclusive interview with 10 News, Fangman said that he had landed plenty of large sharks when he fishing Gulf Coast waters. "Bull sharks, tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, lemon sharks," he said.

He also knew that when the line started spinning off his reel, he had something big on the other end.

"Lo and behold, it ended up being a great white," he said.

Juvenile great white sharks utilize Southern California coastal waters as a feeding area. They're sometimes caught unintentionally by commercial gillnet fishermen, but they're rarely hooked by anglers.

Very few have been hooked from the beach, and in recent years a few have been hooked from piers.

In the summer of 2011, for example, an angler on Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County gaffed and hauled up a great white, and after sharing his celebrated catch on YouTube he fell under investigation and was ultimately fined by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Last summer off Manhattan Beach Pier in Los Angeles County, an angler was persuaded to cut the line after reeling a great white to the pier only after a heated argument with a marine biologist who threatened to call police.

Fortunately, Fangman was aware that white sharks are a protected species and was able to help get the predator back into its domain, and watched it swim off.

"Just still kind of elated at the moment," he told 10 News.

–Pete Thomas

–Photos are via Facebook