Category: Outdoors

Poacher faces potential judgment of over $13 million for senseless act

A 20-year-old man suspected of killing nearly 18,000 young salmon at an Oregon fish hatchery faces serious poaching and vandalism charges.

A 20-year-old man suspected of killing nearly 18,000 young salmon at an Oregon fish hatchery was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief, and will be charged with poaching as well.

The suspect faces a huge financial penalty and possibly a lifetime fishing ban.

The chinook salmon died after a gallon of bleach was poured into one of the four rearing tanks at the hatchery, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Joshua Heckathorn was arrested after sheriff’s deputies discovered him behind a locked gate at the Gardiner, Reedsport and Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program hatchery in Reedsport.

Heckathorn admitted to trespassing on the property, entering a storage location and handling the chemical bottle on Monday night.

“The killing of these fish is a real blow to the STEP Program Volunteers, ODFW, fishermen, and the community as a whole,” Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division Sergeant Levi Harris said. “In my 25 years as a game warden, this is one of the most senseless acts I have seen.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division are collaborating efforts to address vandalism on the property and the significant poaching incident.

From the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Poaching charges will include Unlawful Taking Chinook Salmon for 17,890 fish, which raised the charge to a Class C felony. In addition, Heckathorn faces charges of Making a Toxic Substance Available to Wildlife, which is a Class A Misdemeanor; and Criminal Mischief 1st Degree (Damaging or destroying property of another in an amount exceeding $1,000). Additional penalties could include a lifetime angling license suspension and damage suits for unlawful killing of wildlife.

The maximum civil penalty in Oregon for illegal take of a single Chinook salmon is $750. Courts have the authority to multiply that amount by the number of fish taken, with a judgment in this case potentially raising the amount to over $13 million, according to Sergeant Harris. Although it is unlikely to elevate to that level, the case represents a significant loss to the STEP program…

The estimated 18,000 fish lost contribute to the lower Umpqua River fall Chinook fishery and would have joined approximately 60,000 other fall Chinook pre-smolts that will be fin clipped and released in June.

“You get attached to those fish,” said Deborah Yates, president of the STEP program. “When nature does something, it’s crushing. But it’s nature and it happens. But when someone comes in and does something like this, you can’t wrap your head around it. We have so many hours wrapped up in those fish, to have someone come in so cavalier, and kill them, it doesn’t make sense.”

Photo caption: Hatchery Manager Tim Hooper shovels the dead pre-smolts from the bottom of the rearing pond. The fish will be frozen for future evidence in the criminal case. Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Woman rolls down window for closeup photo of bear, gets bitten

The victim’s friend says the “bear was hungry, and thought my friend was going to be lunch.” The victim says her jacket probably saved her life.

A 72-year-old Scottish woman touring in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania on Monday suffered non-life-threatening injuries to her arm while attempting to get a closeup photo of a brown bear.

Moira Gallacher was traveling with her friend Charmian Widdowson when they spotted two brown bears alongside the road. They stopped, and the bears approached the vehicle.

“We were in the car and we were going to take a picture,” Gallacher told Observator News via the Scottish Daily Express. “And the bear came up to the window.”

The bear raised up on its hind legs, leaned into the car and bit down on Gallacher’s arm through the window she had opened to get the photo; Widdowson immediately stepped on the gas and fled the scene, making way to a nearby hospital, according to the Daily Mail.

Gallacher told the Scottish Daily Express that the Marks and Spencer jacket she was wearing probably saved her life.

“The mummy bear was hungry, and thought my friend was going to be lunch,” Widdowson told the Scottish Daily Express. “She was wearing a thick Marks and Spencer jacket and the poor bear got more jacket than arm.”

Gallacher, who lost her phone in the encounter, told STV news, “I’m a very lucky woman.”

The extent of her injuries was not reported, only that her arm is “sore.” She was expected to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.

More from the Scottish Daily Express:

Romania is home to Europe’s largest population of European brown bears. They are the largest terrestrial carnivores in Central Europe, reaching towering sizes of just over 7ft (2.2m) and weighing up to 350kg.

They are incredibly fast and can run at speeds of 30mph as well as being excellent climbers. Romania is home to an estimated 8,000 brown bears which is Europe’s largest population in the wild. Most reside in the Carpathian Mountains and over the past seven years, 14 people have been killed and more than 150 attacked by the animals.

Bear cubs scale Colorado ski-lift tower as onlookers watch in awe

Footage from a Colorado ski resort shows the two young black bears ascending the gondola structure via its ladder.

Bear cubs love to climb and apparently their skills aren’t restricted to trees.

The accompanying footage shows two young black bears scaling the Wild Blue Gondola lift tower at Steamboat Ski Resort in Colorado.

“The bears are climbing the tower,” an employee deadpans through a radio speaker in the footage.

To which comes the reply: “You better be taking videos.”

Onlookers are clearly entertained, while the bears appear comfortable scaling the massive structure… to a point.

The footage shows them stopping, dozens of yards above ground, before one cub begins the precarious task of descending the ladder, rung by rung.

“It’s OK, they’re using lobster claws,” the first employee jokes, referring to belaying ropes used by human climbers.

One onlooker wonders aloud why momma bear is allowing two of her cubs to put themselves in danger.

But black bear cubs begin to climb trees almost instinctively early in life. They probably climbed the tower out of a playful curiosity.

The Wild Blue Gondola takes resort visitors 3.16 miles from the base of the resort to the top of the mountain.

The footage was captured by Sharon Spiegel and shared by Steamboat Radio.

Boy, 16, holds up great white shark he caught, then gets bitten

A father was fishing with his two sons and daughter in Australia on Sunday when the incident occurred off Adelaide’s West Beach.

A 16-year-old boy who caught a 5-foot great white shark was bitten in the leg as he lifted it up by the tail to get a photo and to release it overboard.

The incident occurred in Australia on Sunday afternoon as Michael Ness fished with his two sons and daughter off Adelaide’s West Beach.

Son Nathan caught the shark, and somehow the family managed to get the shark onto the boat to remove the hook.

“I grabbed a pair of pliers, ripped the hook out of it,” Michael Ness told Australian Broadcasting Company. “Then he [Nathan] picked it up to throw it back into the water and take a picture of it, and as he picked it up, it swung around and grabbed hold.

“I reached down then and opened its mouth and the shark let go, and he hauled it up and threw it back in the water.”

The bite left two “big gashes” that required stitches.

“It happened very quickly because from biting his leg to getting it off was only a few seconds,” Michael Ness told 9 News.

As Michael Ness raced the boat back to the West Beach ramp, Nathan called emergency services, which met them at the dock. He was briefly treated at the scene then taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The unfortunate incident hasn’t dampened Nathan’s desire to go fishing again, however.

“He even said as he was getting into the ambulance, ‘Can we go out tomorrow?’” Michael Ness told 9 News.

Hawaii sounds alarm after python is discovered at Oahu home

It’s illegal to possess snakes in Hawaii, as the invasive reptiles could devastate native fauna if released into the wild.

A wellness check at a Honolulu home last Saturday turned up a deceased male and a live python that measured 3-1/2 feet.

Few details were released regarding the dead man. But the discovery of a pet python in a state where snakes are not allowed was alarming to state officials.

“We should all be very concerned that snakes are being transported and kept by residents which are a serious threat to Hawaii’s unique environment,” Sharon Hurd, chairwoman of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture, stated in a news release.

“Those who know anyone with snakes or other illegal animals in Hawaii should report it and those who possess them should turn them in under amnesty.”

Ball python. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Hawaii’s amnesty program is designed to deter people from releasing unwanted invasive reptiles into the wild, where they could establish populations and threaten native fauna.

(Possessing snakes and other illegal animals in Hawaii is a class C felony, punishable by fines of up to $200,000 and three years in prison. Under the amnesty program, citizens can turn in illegal animals, prior to the start of an investigation, without fear of prosecution.)

The snake found at the Honolulu-area home was a nonvenomous ball python, which was transported to the HDOA’s Plant Quarantine Branch.

Ball pythons are native to West and Central Africa and can measure up to six feet. They prey largely on birds and small mammals.

In January, a 20-inch gopher snake was discovered in a shipping container that was being unloaded at a Molokai hardware store. Police arrived and killed the snake with a pellet gun.

–Top image courtesy of Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Yellowstone wolves kill elk at public school outside park

The attack on a cow elk at the K-12 Gardiner School occurred at night; the wolves had vanished before dawn.

A wolf pack from Yellowstone National Park devoured a cow elk last week on a school football field outside the park.

The kill site became widely known after Jim Baldwin, superintendent at Gardiner Public Schools, shared an image showing a park ranger standing over the elk carcass. (See graphic image below.)

The Gardiner School is in the town of Gardiner at Yellowstone’s North Entrance. (Part of the school building is inside the park.)

The kill occurred after dark on April 11 and the wolves had vanished back into the park before dawn on April 12.

Elk sightings at the school, and in town, are common. But wolf sightings in the populated district are rare.

Linda Veress, a Yellowstone National Park public affairs officer, told the Billings Gazette: “It’s common for elk, bison and pronghorn to be at the school grounds, less so bears and wolves. It is very rare that we document wolves within the town’s developed footprint over the last 28 years.”

Yellowstone National Park ranger stands over the elk carcass. Photo: Jim Baldwin

The 8-Mile wolf pack, which inhabits part of the park’s northern range, is believed responsible for the elk kill, according to the Billings Gazette.

The school, alongside the Yellowstone River, is a K-12 facility that serves about 200 students.

If wolves were to show at the school during the day, it’s likely that they’d be hazed with rubber bullets and/or cracker shells.

–Generic Yellowstone wolf image courtesy of NPS / Jacob W. Frank

‘Idiots’ pull bear cubs from trees for selfies; investigation underway

Video shows the irresponsible actions of a group of people in North Carolina. One of them was bitten by a cub, a wildlife agency revealed.

An incident in which a group of irresponsible people pulled black bear cubs out of the trees to take selfies is under investigation, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Rachel Staudt took video of the incident that occurred Tuesday afternoon in Buncombe County, North Carolina, near an apartment complex and shared it with WLOS.

One individual can be seen dropping the cub, which frantically scrambled along the fence line, looking for a way back to safety.

Authorities were called to the scene where N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission special projects biologist Ashley Hobbs found one cub very wet and cold, and “probably had a pretty traumatic experience.”

The cub was taken to a rehabilitation center where it will eventually be released back into the wild, if possible. The second cub was nowhere to be seen, and possibly reunited with the mother bear.

Hobbs said it is not uncommon during this time of year for a female to drop their cubs off in a safe tree and come back for them later.

The people who did this are being called “idiots,” among other things, on social media, and many are calling on them to be arrested and charged.

“We did follow up with the people who pulled the bear out of the tree,” Hobbs told WLOS. “We did confront them on site that day and let them know how irresponsible and potentially deadly it could be for that cub to be separated from its mom, especially ripped out of a tree like that.”


The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission filled in more of the story in a Facebook post Thursday. It stated that when staff arrived, they were told both cubs had escaped after a cub bit one of the people. One of the cubs was found in a retention pond and the other had not been located.

“The cub appeared to be lethargic and frightened,” Hobbs said. “It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering.”

“This incident remains an active investigation,” the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stated.

‘Legendary’ sighting as huge gator attempts to climb wall in Florida

The striking image was shared by news personalities, including one who jokingly cautioned residents to watch out for “climbing gators.”

Alligator sightings in Florida are fairly common, especially near wetlands.

But when the prehistoric-looking reptiles begin to scale walls in residential areas, it might seem like cause for alarm.

The accompanying image, captured by Belynda Blyth in Englewood, shows a large gator attempting to climb over a wall near a busy road.

As some remarked via social media, the gator also seems to be heeding advice written on the sign.

“Meanwhile in Florida. Spotted in Englewood. Watch for climbing gators too,” WINK News meteorologist Matt Devitt warned Wednesday via  Facebook.

The image was subsequently shared by others in the news business, including NBC2 reporter Gina Tomlinson, who remarked, “This is LEGENDARY. Gators are now climbing walls and it’s not even AI.”

The striking image, presumably genuine, is just another example of how gators make news in Florida.

Their presence just about anywhere is not surprising, given that they exist in all 67 Florida counties.

While most Floridians safely coexist with alligators, painful or deadly conflicts occur.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC), about five people per year suffer alligator bites. Since 1948, 22 people in Florida have been killed by alligators.

The state receives hundreds of complaints each year regarding alligators showing in unwanted places, and that’s often bad news for gators. The state permits the killing of up to 7,000 “nuisance alligators” each year.

Here’s hoping the wall-climbing Englewood gator made it safely back into watery seclusion.

Girl’s record catfish sparks controversy; criticism appalls her mother

A 15-year-old girl landed what is being called the largest fish ever caught in Ohio, but the method used has created a huge debate.

A 15-year-old girl landed what is being called the largest fish ever caught in Ohio, but the method used and whether it was a legal catch has created a huge debate.

Jaylynn Parker caught a 101-pound blue catfish that was weighed and certified as legal by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, which deemed it as a state record for the biggest fish caught since record keeping began in the 1950s, as reported by WJW.

Parker caught the catfish on a creek near the Ohio River while fishing with her father Chuck Parker and family friend Jeff Sams on April 7.

The fish was caught on a jug line (a large jug is placed in the water and connected to a tied line with a hook and bait), which is a legal method in Ohio.

The problem is, there is not a separate record division for jug fishing, and many Ohioan anglers believe it should be its own category, not be part of the division that includes rod and reel catches.

Not only that, one commenter on Outdoor Writers of Ohio claimed that the jug line catch was not legal.

Joe Owens pointed out on the OWO Facebook page that the jug lines were unattended, saying the mother admitted as much in a social media post when stating, “she went out to check the jugs…”

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife states, in regards to jug fishing, that “floats must be freely adrift and be attended by the user at all times.”

Joe Owens also reposted a social media post that claims the teen and her father weren’t even on the property when the jug went down, indicating a fish on the line.

Jaylynn’s mother, Kristen Powell Parker, came out swinging, defending her daughter and the catch, and condemning the “nasty comments,” writing on the OWO Facebook page:

“No laws were ever broken. We did everything 100% by the books. Those jugs were never unattended where they’re at our friends place where he stays !!

“And we totally understand about the categories. We all agree there should be different categories, but unfortunately there’s not and that is not our fault.

“So many nasty comments and hate that is coming out of this just really disgust me the amount of grown men that have reached out and said horrible nasty things to my daughter who is 15 is disgusting.

“Just to let everybody know as soon as the fish was brought to the shore, the game wardens were called right away. Adams Clermont and Brown County showed up !!!”

Later she wrote, “No matter how this pans out my daughter has still caught the biggest blue out of the river regardless!!”

Bottom line is, the Ohio Division of Wildlife certified the catch as a state record. But it is generally agreed that it needs to make a separate category for jug-line catches.

“It’s so exciting,” Jaylnn told WJW about the record catch. “I want to inspire young people my age to know they can get out there and do and achieve what adults do or anyone.”

Acrobatic hippo prompts laughter, comparison to synchronized swimmers

Video shows a hippo nicknamed Hipney rolling onto its back and entertaining tourists on safari at Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa.

A hippo at a game reserve in South Africa had been given the nickname Hipney Spears by a tourist because of its dance moves in a waterhole. Then, on a recent safari, it performed a number, as if on cue.

Hildo, the name the Umkumbe Bush Lodge on the Sand River knows the hippo by, suddenly turned upside down with all four feet out of the water, prompting loud laughter among the tourists on safari.

“He’s stuck,” one tourist could be heard saying in the video.

“That is so funny,” another said.

The Umkumbe Bush Lodge posted the video on its Instagram page.

“He kept us entertained and in awe as he kept rolling around on his back almost as if he is a part of a synchronized swimming team,” the lodge wrote. “This old bull was all by himself peacefully resting and rolling around the watering hole.”

Wrote one commenter on the post, “Hipney Spears has all the good dance moves! I’m jealous.”