Category: Outdoors

Officer shoots gun while chasing surfer on closed beach

Video footage has surfaced showing a policeman in Costa Rica shooting a gun while chasing a surfer away from a closed beach.

Video footage has surfaced showing a policeman in Costa Rica shooting a gun while chasing a surfer on a recently closed beach.

The grainy footage was posted to Instagram by Surfline on Saturday with the description: “Today in Costa Rica. Surfing is not allowed. Shots are fired. Please be safe out there and pay attention to any local laws, here and abroad.”

Viewers will note that the officer fires two shots at close proximity in a clear attempt to issue a powerful warning. Another surfer is seen sprinting in a different direction.

It was not clear whether the officer was firing live rounds or blanks. Surfline did not identify the person who provided the video clip.

Surfline also stated that Noe Mar McGonagle, a pro surfer who lives in Costa Rica, was arrested recently for surfing during a beach closure.

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McGonagle did not respond to messages sent by For The Win Outdoors, asking for details.

All beaches in Costa Rica have been closed to the public since March 23 to help stop the spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus.

The Tico Times, an English-language newspaper/website, reported Sunday that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Central American nation had surpassed 300.

Several countries have closed or restricted access to public beaches, and keeping surfers away has kept authorities busy.

(According to the Los Angeles Times, a surfer was fined $1,000 after ignoring warnings by police and lifeguards at Manhattan Beach in Southern California.)

Surfline’s Instagram post inspired more than 4,000 viewers to comment. Many were critical of the officer’s reaction and the beach closures.

One person wrote: “Are they popping off rounds at people just for surfing?”

Another chimed in: “Guy is surfing alone on a beach. That’s far better than walking into any store or living in a apartment complex. get ur … priorities straight.”

But many defended the closures and efforts to keep people from gathering on beaches.

Reads one such comment:  “I’m Costa Rican, so many people are spreading fake news, the shots were not fired towards him, it was just to scare him.

“Not the best approach, but it was clearly stated by the government that we need to stay inside, if they let one person then more people will join and we don’t have enough resources to battle this pandemic if it gets really bad because people are not following social distancing.”

–Image and video courtesy of Surfline

Woman with Asperger’s achieves a climbing first

Alex “Chikorita” Roudayna, an ultramarathoner who suffer’s from Asperger’s syndrome, took on the difficult challenge of climbing volcanoes.

Alex “Chikorita” Roudayna, an ultramarathoner who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, became the first woman to climb three volcanoes in less than 24 hours.

Roudayna, with a support crew from Red Bull documenting the feat, climbed Mount Pico de Orizaba (18,490 feet), Mount Iztaccihuatl (17,158 feet) and Mount Nevado de Toluca (15,354 feet) in 22 hours, 22 minutes, despite a 2½-hour traffic jam in Mexico City between the second and third climbs.

The challenge was made more difficult because of her Asperger’s. She doesn’t process the world as everyone else does, and it’s hard for her to understand the reasons behind everything.

“One thing I learned these days in the mountains is that I’m capable of doing things I never thought before, to feel comfortable with people around me,” the native of Mexico City said in the video shown below.

“People have to live it to understand it. I’m thankful for everyone behind this because I’ve seen each one of them give the best of themselves, truly giving their body and soul. Personally, they’ve changed my life.”

The Three Peaks challenge was finished in the early hours of Dec. 5, 2019, but the details, photos and video were just released Thursday by Red Bull.

The first climb up Pico de Orizaba started at 4 a.m. in darkness and 19-degree weather. Once complete, it was a five-hour drive to the next peak, Iztaccihuatl. When she started running up the trail, 10½ hours had elapsed.

“What’s the difference between trail and high-altitude running?” a producer said in the video. “Here, if you slip you are very vulnerable and far from help.”

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Upon descending, it was a five-hour, 137-mile drive to Nevado de Toluca.

“There is no way to get to Mount Nevado de Toluca without going through Mexico City’s traffic,” Roudayna said. “We could use this time on the mountain.”

At 10:45 p.m. and wearing a headlamp, Roudayna began the climb to the top, which upon reaching she broke down in tears. She then hurried down to the bottom to complete her feat just after 2 a.m.

“I would like this to be a moving force, right?” Roudayna said. “To get out there and get our butts kicked, to make something cool but also to make that energy vibrate and make someone get up and say: you know what? I wanna be more than I thought I was; to break my limitations. I believe that’s the point of all this.”

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Roudayna, 30, practiced taekwondo and rowing as a child before becoming obsessed with running as an adult, which led to a training regime of eight to 10 hours a day in a sport that “stops her from thinking.” She won the 2016 and 2017 Spartan Ultramarathon Races in Mexico.

Photos courtesy of Marcos Ferro/Red Bull Content Pool. In order, they show Roudayna before the climbs; Roudayna climbing Pico de Orizaba at dawn and reaching the top then sliding down; Roudayna atop Iztaccihuatl; and Roudayna in the darkness climbing Nevado de Toluca.

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Yellowstone bison interrupt TV reporter, and it’s hilarious

A reporter for NBC Montana has gained social media fame for his reaction during a close bison encounter inside Yellowstone National Park.

A reporter for NBC Montana has gained social media fame for his hilarious – and wise – reaction during a close bison encounter inside Yellowstone National Park.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh no… I ain’t messing with you,” Deion Broxton says in the accompanying footage, after noticing the advancing herd and before ducking for cover behind the crew vehicle. “Oh no. I’m not messing with you.”

Bison do not appear in the footage Broxton tweeted Wednesday, which was later shared to Facebook by NBC News Montana (both clips were widely circulated). But Broxton later tweeted a clip of several bison he caught on video “once I got a safe distance away.”

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It’s worth noting that bison, which can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, are the largest land mammals in North America. They’re not typically aggressive toward humans, but they’re wild and unpredictable, and warrant a wide berth.

The footage was shared to Facebook by Yellowstone National Park, which wrote: “A perfect example of what to do when approached by wildlife! Thanks Deion for putting the Yellowstone pledge into action!”

Part of the pledge, requested of all park visitors, is to treat wild animals with respect by giving them distance and staying out of their way.

Yellowstone, which incorporates portions of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, has been in the news after announcing that it was closing indefinitely because of COVID-19 pandemic.

–Image showing Deion Broxton is used with the permission of NBC Montana; bison image is courtesy of ©Pete Thomas

Eel slithers on angler’s line; ‘He’s coming up to get me!’

Josh Jorgensen landed a moray eel while fishing recently off Florida, and discovered that posing with such a dangerous quarry is precarious.

Josh Jorgensen landed a moray eel while fishing recently off Florida and discovered that posing with such a dangerous quarry is more than a little precarious.

The accompanying footage shows Jorgensen’s surprised reaction after seeing what he had reeled to the surface – “Oh my gosh, there’s an eel!” – and trying to maintain his composure as the critter slithered into a ball near his outstretched arm and hand.

“He’s coming up to get me,” Jorgensen says in the video. “He’s coming up to get me! Oh, shoot!”

Jorgensen, a producer for BlacktipH Fishing, told For The Win Outdoors that he was fishing with Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, hoping to catch snook on the St. Lucie River.

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Snook fishing was awful, but Spanish mackerel kept the anglers busy until Jorgensen broke the monotony with his rare eel catch.

“I’ve done it before, but it’s kind of crazy,” he said. “You really have to watch out because they’ll take your fingers off. These things are not a joke.”

Moray eels boast incredibly powerful jaws and are considered an apex predator in their rocky ecosystems. They feed primarily on smaller fish, octopuses, squid, and crustaceans.

The footage was captured late last month by BlacktipH editor Davis Bennett. Jorgensen said that despite a remark about the length of the eel in the footage, it probably measured nearly 4 feet.

The imagery is similar to footage captured recently off California, involving a wolf eel (actually a fish) that kept slithering as the deckhand attempted to hold a pose.

As for Alonso, the Mets’ first baseman, Jorgensen said he did not catch a prized snook, but landed a personal best Spanish mackerel.

–Images courtesy of BlacktipH

A catch so rare that it’s spared the dinner table

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is one she’ll never forget.

Robyn Bordelon has landed more catfish than she can count, but her recent catch of a 10-pound blue catfish is likely one that she’ll never forget.

The fish, caught from a kayak on the Mississippi River, had no blue pigmentation. It was mostly white with a piebald pattern more likely to appear on a horse or cow, with a pink-and-black tail.

Robyn Bordelon poses with rare leucistic blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

“I’ve seen pictures of these fish, but I never thought one would grace my line,” Bordelon, who is from Destrehan, La., told For The Win Outdoors. “That’s the best Monday I’ve had in a long time, and watching that fish swim away was priceless.”

Bordelon, who retrieved her baited jug lines on March 16 in the hope of landing fish she could store in her freezer, said she could not bring herself to keep the odd-looking catfish.

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It was likely leucistic, a rare condition in which skin lacks typical pigmentation.

“That fish is at a disadvantage from birth with a mostly white coloration that sticks out to predators,” Bordelon told Louisiana Sportsman, explaining why she set it free. “When I pulled up the line and saw what it was – and how big it was – I almost lost my lunch.”

Robyn Bordelon shows off a normal-looking blue catfish. Photo: Robyn Bordelon

Bordelon told For The Win Outdoors that she likes to fish with a rod and reel, but when the river is high during the spring runoff she uses her kayak to set jug lines.

The anchored lines, with jugs serving as floats, are baited with shad or mullet and allowed to sit for extended periods. Bordelon waited about 24 hours before checking her lines on March 16, but the leucistic catfish appeared to have been freshly hooked.

She told Louisiana Sportsman: “I quickly got it netted, took pics, revived it, and happily watched it swim away.”

–Images showing Robyn Bordelon with a rare leucistic blue catfish, and a normal-looking blue catfish (bottom), are courtesy of Robyn Bordelon

Gleeful reception for grizzly bear emerging from hibernation

In these stressful times, thank goodness for small wonders, such as a grizzly bear emerging from its long winter hibernation.

In these scary and stressful times, thank goodness for small wonders, such as the sight of a grizzly bear emerging from its snow-covered den after a long winter nap.

The accompanying footage, captured at the Grizzly Bear Refuge in British Columbia, Canada, shows a bear named Boo poking his head through the snow to rediscover the bright and glistening universe above ground.

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“Eight years it took me to catch this moment!” exclaims a gleeful Nicole Gangnon, who manages the facility in Golden, B.C. “Yeah! Hello… Oh, my big boy, momma’s so proud of you!”

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Boo, looking groggy as he ends his months-long hibernation, is the star attraction of the 20-acre refuge at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.

He and his brother, Cari, were orphaned in 2002 after their mother was killed by a poacher. Sadly, Cari died of intestinal problems in 2004.

According to the Kicking Horse website, “Boo hunts, plays, forages, and explores just like his wild cousins.”

The Grizzly Bear Refuge is billed as the world’s largest enclosed and protected grizzly bear habitat. Because of its vastness, guests are not guaranteed a Boo sighting but can return free of charge if they do not see the bear.

Viewers can click here to enjoy images of Boo captured over the years.

–Images are courtesy of the Grizzly Bear Refuge at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

Two anglers busted for cheating in bass tournament

Two fishermen in Utah face felony and misdemeanor charges for cheating in a bass fishing tournament at Lake Powell.

Two fishermen in Utah face criminal charges for cheating in a bass tournament by catching fish from a different lake and using them at the weigh-in, a scheme that was uncovered because the bass looked much different than the others being weighed.

Robert Dennett, 45, and Kamron Wootton, 35, both from Washington City, caught bass from Quail Creek Reservoir near St. George, Utah, and transported them to use at a tournament at Lake Powell, according to the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources.

The tournament prize was $2,500 for the team with the heaviest five fish caught during the two-day event. The suspects were in second place after the first day, and led for overall biggest fish. But tournament officials disqualified them because of the suspicious nature of the fish.

“Some of the largemouth bass they’d turned in had little heads and fatter bodies, indicating a different diet than the fish at Lake Powell, which were more lean,” DWR Lt. Paul Washburn said. “The fish also had red fins, which indicated they had undergone some stress.”

Photos from the DWR show the differences.

Suspect’s bass.
What a normal bass from Lake Powell looks like.

DWR conservation officers were alerted and subsequently had the fish tested at a University of Utah lab, along with fish caught from Lake Powell, and the results determined that the suspicious bass had come from Quail Creek Reservoir.

“Illegally moving and introducing fish into different waterbodies can cause a lot of damage to that fishery,” Washburn said. “In this case, there were already largemouth bass at Lake Powell, but you can still run the risk of introducing disease and causing other issues whenever you move fish illegally. We continue to be grateful for those vigilant Utahns who report suspicious wildlife-related activity to our poaching hotline.”

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During the long investigation, conservation officers learned that the suspects had taken first, second or third place at eight other bass fishing tournaments earlier in the year. The illegal activity occurred at the tournament on Oct. 21, 2018. Charges were brought Wednesday.

In Kane County’s 6th District Court, Dennett and Wootton were charged with bribery or threat to influence a contest, a third-degree felony; unlawful release of wildlife, a class A misdemeanor; and unlawful captivity of protected wildlife, a class B misdemeanor. It is illegal to transport live fish to other areas of the state without proper certifications.

Dennett and Wootton have a court appearance June 4.

Photos of a suspicious bass and a normal bass for comparison are courtesy of DWR. Photo of Lake Powell courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

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Yellowstone announces coronavirus-related closures

Yellowstone National Park has closed the Albright Visitor Center to help reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure.

In an effort to comply with federal guidelines and reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure, Yellowstone National Park has closed the Albright Visitor Center and the Boiling River swimming and soaking area.

The indefinite closures were announced Wednesday.

The Albright Visitor Center, built by the U.S. Army in 1909 to house calvary officers, is located at Mammoth Hot Springs near the park’s North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana.

The road from the North Entrance to Cooke City, Montana, remains open to the public. The road spans 57 miles and is popular among commuters and tourists hoping to spot wildlife in and beyond Lamar Valley.

Albright Visitor Center. Photo: NPS

The closure of the Albright Visitor Center and Boiling River come when much of the park is under a seasonal closure, as crews plow roads in preparation for the opening of the spring tourism season.

Most roads and facilities are scheduled to open beginning April 17. The park is expected to be fully open by early June.

“In the time between now and those scheduled openings, park managers will continue to evaluate and adapt to changing COVID-19 guidance and adjust operations as needed,” the park stated, referring to the novel coronavirus by its scientific name. “As of now, the park intends to maintain the regular opening schedule.”

Also on Wednesday, the National Park Service announced that it was temporarily waiving entrance fees at all national parks, even though facilities inside parks might be closed.

Visitors are urged to follow CDC guidelines pertaining to social distancing and hygiene to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

–Images are courtesy of Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service

Angler finds that catching rare wolf eel is the easy part

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

Tanner Wright discovered Monday that reeling a wolf eel from the Southern California depths is a lot easier than holding onto one while posing for a video.

The accompanying footage shows Wright, a deckhand on the Reel Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, trying to pose with the bizarre-looking creature while Capt. Chris Pica documented his rare catch.

“Come on Tanner, grab the thing. We’re trying to get a picture. Stop screwing around,” Pica jokingly instructs.

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Wright, struggling to grab the tail of the slithering wolf eel, responds: “He needs to calm down.”

Wolf eels, a species of wolffish, are found along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, but they’re rarely caught aboard sportfishing vessels.

While they possess dangerous canine teeth and molars, and jaws designed to crush the hard shells of prey, they’re rarely aggressive toward humans and are a prized sighting for scuba divers.

They reside mostly in rocky caves and crevices, where they prey on invertebrates such as crabs, clams, mussels and urchins. But wolf eels also will ambush small fish.

Donna Kalez, general manager of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, said Wright caught his wolf eel on a sardine at a depth of nearly 300 feet. It was kept alive in the bait tank overnight, and released Tuesday.

On Wednesday the landing announced that it would cease operations at least through March 31 in cooperation with coronavirus-related closures mandated by Orange County.

–Images of Tanner Wright with wolf eel are courtesy of Dana Wharf Sportfishing

It’s now OK to shoot grizzly bears with a paintball gun

U.S. landowners hoping to discourage grizzly bears from foraging on their property can now legally shoot the animals with paintball guns.

U.S. landowners hoping to discourage grizzly bears from foraging on their property can now legally shoot the animals with paintball guns.

It’s one of several deterrent methods clarified in the new “Grizzly Bear Hazing Guidelines,” issued recently by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The guidelines differentiate between harassment, which is illegal under the Endangered Species Act, and hazing.

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Appropriate hazing techniques, allowed within distances of 200 yards, range from banging pots and blaring vehicle horns to shooting marbles and stones at grizzly bears with slingshots (in the rump area; not near the face).

Landowners have discovered that paintball guns are a reasonably effective deterrent, but those who have used this method have been operating in a legal gray area until now.

Paintballs are listed in a separate category in the hazing guidelines. Landowners are advised to use rubber balls as opposed to balls filled with paint, but that’s not a requirement. The appropriate shooting range is 30 to 150 feet.

The USFWS notes that “Bears are attracted to paintball residue, therefore the area must be cleaned up after the use of paintballs.”

The use of bangers and cracker shells, projectiles that are fired from a weapon and explode in flight, also is approved under the new guidelines. These devices must explode safely before reaching the bear.

Anne Smith, with the advocacy group Shoot’em With A Camera, told Wyoming Public Media that the new guidelines make sense given that the alternative to scaring bears from private property sometimes includes killing them for livestock predation.

“I think whatever it takes to deter the bears from coming onto private property is necessary as long as it doesn’t harm the bear,”  Smith said. “Because, as we say, a fed bear is a dead bear.”

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department applauded the new rules, stating on Facebook:

“For years we have been trying to get paintballing approved and a new federal order does just that. The new Department of Interior Secretarial order has allowed the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to expand its landowner grizzly bear deterrence guidelines – with paintballing and cracker shells explicitly approved for public use.”

“Many people have been using these aversive conditioning methods for years, but previously we were operating in a legal gray zone – this order now specifically allows landowners to use these useful and effective conflict prevention tools! Hazing is imperative for keeping bears afraid of people and away from our residences and infrastructure.”

–Grizzly bear images are courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service