Outdoors – Page 189 – Syndication Server

Newborn gray whale bonds with mom in touching footage

Gray whale sightings are increasing off Southern California and some moms aren’t waiting until they reach Mexico to have their babies.

Gray whale sightings are increasing off Southern California and some of the moms aren’t waiting until they reach Mexico to have their babies.

The accompanying footage, captured Tuesday off Dana Point in Orange County, shows a cow-calf pair swimming slowly southward and beautifully illustrates the special bond that forms between a whale mom and her offspring.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_J4InJW0TE]

At times the newborn – perhaps only a day old – is resting on mom’s back near her fluke, and mom is seen gently hoisting the calf just high enough for it to take breaths.

The drone footage was captured Tuesday by Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari, and Dana Wharf Whale Watching.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CMcVx62CQE]

Both videos show the same cow-calf pair, and while the top video shows the whales in more detail, the bottom video shows interaction between sea lions and Pacific white-sided dolphins, and the newborn whale.

The footage helps to illustrate that, contrary to popular belief, not all gray whale calves are born in lagoons on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

Photo credit: Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point, California

The whales are migrating from Arctic feeding areas to the lagoons, where nursing and breeding occurs.

Schulman-Janiger said the peak period to watch northbound cow-calf pairs off Southern California is late April and early May.

–Videos courtesy of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari and Dana Wharf Whale Watching. Photos courtesy of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari

Woman stops for bison, receives free car wash

A Nebraska woman stopped to let bison pass recently while driving in Fort Niobra National Wildlife Refuge, and received a free car wash.

A Nebraska woman stopped to let bison pass recently while driving through Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and received a free car wash.

The accompanying footage, captured by Kelly Keogh, shows one of the massive mammals licking the side of her Chevy Malibu in a thorough and vigorous manner, as if being careful not to miss a spot.

[protected-iframe id=”0754697b8b3dcb68ca8fe5f126b3a8cb-58289342-114731612″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fkeoghkse%2Fvideos%2F10157248847744775%2F&show_text=0&width=267″ width=”267″ height=”476″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border: none; overflow: hidden;” scrolling=”no”]

Keogh, who made her amusing footage public this week, told For The Win Outdoors that the bison most likely was attracted to road salt that had spun up from the tires and clung to her car.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Stunning footage shows gray whale hanging out with surfers

“It went on for 3-4 minutes,” she said. “There were other [bison] in front of me on the road and they weren’t moving very fast… and it’s not wise to rush them or anything.

“This one just started licking my car and he got close to my window so I quickly rolled it up and he licked my window just as I got it it rolled up.”

Of course, Keogh acknowledged, it was the kind of car wash that required its own cleanup after her trip through the park. “I had to wash it off, yes,” she said.

Bison are North America’s largest land mammals and males can weigh 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall at the shoulders.

Fort Niobrara NWR is home to about 350 of the iconic critters.

–Images and video are courtesy of Kelly Keogh

Stunning footage shows gray whale hanging out with surfers

The swell was fading, but for surfers at a SoCal beach on Sunday, the presence of a whale more than made up for any lack of waves.

The swell might have been fading, but for surfers at a popular Southern California beach on Sunday, the presence of a whale more than made up for any lack of waves.

The first video accompanying this post, captured by Daina Buchner at Black’s Beach in San Diego County, shows a juvenile gray whale lolling just yards from the shore, at times surfacing in the lineup as surfers paddled for waves.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Q–29bM-Y]

“As for the surfers’ reactions, most of them looked curious and in disbelief,” Buchner told For The Win Outdoors. “Mostly they were trying to stay out of the whale’s way, but sometimes the whale was obscured by the water and that’s when the surfers were surfing next to it.”

At 53 seconds, a wave breaks over the whale, with surfers riding the wave on either side of the whale. The whale does not seem bothered by the wave or the presence of surfers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6RR7VnSoM]

About 25,000 gray whales are migrating down the coast, from feeding areas off Alaska to nursing and breeding areas off Mexico.

Juvenile whales, not in a great hurry, sometimes appear to be more curious and adventurous, and might linger in one spot for hours.

Trystan Snodgrass, who captured the drone footage in the second video accompanying this post, was first to locate the gray whale at Black’s Beach.

His morning footage shows the whale in remarkably clear water south of the surfing area, in almost nonexistent surf. The whale, measuring 20-plus feet, seems to be lounging in a turquoise sea of tranquility.

“Apparently they’re known to take a breather once they reach Southern California and the waters warm up,” Snodgrass said. “It was there for at least a few hours on Sunday, and the next morning it was spotted by a friend and I saw it finally leaving the area around noon on Monday.”

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a Southern California-based whale researcher, told For The Win Outdoors that juvenile gray whales are more likely to travel closer to shore.

The whale in the footage, she said, might have been relaxing and enjoying the turbulence against its body. But it might also have been searching for food, opportunistically, in the sediment.

“This whale quite possibly swam all the way from Alaska, traveling by itself,” Schulman-Janiger said. “That’s not unusual, so maybe it just stopped to rest and enjoy some stimulation in the waves and mud, to roll in the sand and remove parasites, and possibly forage.”

Gray whale sightings are starting to increase off Southern California. The peak period, according to Schulman-Janiger, is often around the third week of January.

–Follow Daina Buchner and Trystan Snodgrass on Instagram

Angler sets record with surprise catch off Maryland

Jeff Rosenkilde was fishing off Maryland recently when he hooked what he thought might be a tuna, until he saw that the fish was purple

Jeff Rosenkilde was fishing 75 miles off Maryland recently when he hooked what he thought might be a tuna, until he saw that the mysterious-looking fish was purple.

It turned out to be an enormous big-scale pomfret, a species typically found farther south, that earned Rosenkilde a state record.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources this week approved the 22.1-pound catch, made on Dec. 28, as the state’s first-ever record for the species.

The catch could also qualify as a world record – the current record is 21.6 pounds – if International Game Fish Assn. rules were followed during the landing of the fish.

Rosenkilde had not responded to an inquiry from For The Win Outdoors at the time of the post, but he told the Maryland Department of Natural Resources that the pomfret took a whole squid at a depth of 1,000 feet.

“At first I thought it was a big-eyed tuna, but it had a purple, iridescent color,” he said.

Rosenkilde, who is from Monkton and was fishing with four friends, wrote on Facebook, “No love from the tuna. But we did catch a huge pomfret and a nice [swordfish]. We currently are the pomfret kings of Ocean City.”

Big-scale pomfret reside throughout the Atlantic, mostly in pelagic waters, and prey largely on shrimp and squid. They’re mostly solitary, so recreational catches are somewhat rare.

The IGFA states on its website that the world-record pomfret was caught in 2004 off St. Augustine, Fla.

–Images courtesy of Jeff Rosenkilde and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Owner of sunken crab boat thought it unsinkable

The majority owner of the crab fishing boat Scandies Rose said he couldn’t believe his boat went down.

The majority owner of the crab fishing boat Scandies Rose said over the weekend he couldn’t believe his boat went down, explaining to a Seattle radio station on Monday that it was considered a “battleship” among the Alaskan crabbing fleet.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2574406559277034&set=pb.100001231464409.-2207520000..&type=3&theater

When the Scandies Rose sank off the coast of the Alaskan Peninsula on New Year’s Eve, two crew members made it into a life raft and were rescued by the Coast Guard after five hours adrift, but five were presumed drowned.

Dan Mattsen, a 50 percent owner of the boat, told KIRO Radio that he didn’t hear about the incident until the next morning. He had arrived into Dutch Harbor on a different fishing boat around 11 o’clock the night before, called his wife to wish her a happy New Year’s, put his phone on “don’t disturb” and went to bed.

“When I woke up my phone was blowing up with condolences and expressions of concern, and I found out what happened,” Mattsen told KIRO Radio. “I’ve been in the industry a long, long time and I have suffered losses before with friends going down in their boats and things, but this has hit home in a way I can’t even describe.”

KIRO Radio host Dori Monson asked Mattsen why he said over the weekend he couldn’t believe his boat went down. Mattsen explained, “The boat had tremendous amounts of stability…In the fleet it’s described as, well, that’s a battleship, that’s a tank. People can’t wrap their heads around the Scandies Rose going down because it was so stable. It could carry so many pots, it could carry so much crab. It was just a tremendously good platform to fish crab on.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark affects world-famous yacht race

Asked what he thought happened, Mattsen replied, “We know it was very cold and we know the seas were very rough so we know there’s icing involved. It’s hard for me to speculate. I don’t know what profit there is when we got the Coast Guard and the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] all over it. I’m just hopeful that they can come to something definitive.”

Mattsen told The Seattle Times, “We want to know what happened because if the Scandies Rose can sink in these conditions, any crabber can.”

Dean Gribble, one of the surviving crew members, posted a YouTube video saying there were 20-foot seas and 40-knot winds, icy, and “the worst possible conditions.”

“We just started listing really hard to the starboard side,” he said in the video. “From sleeping to swimming was about 10 minutes. It happened really fast. Everybody was trying to get out.”

Gribble also said the safety equipment was [crap], which prompted Mattsen to do the radio interview with KIRO to clarify the comment.

“If you look at the context of it, a lot of what he was referring to was the contents of the life raft and having trouble activating flares and what was going on inside the life raft,” Mattsen said. “Of course, we have nothing to do with that. We send the life rafts out to a qualified repacking station and they repack it. We never, ever — God willing — see the inside of a life raft.”

Mattsen told KIRO he is still processing what happened, adding “I cannot begin to convey just how sad I am with losing my friends and my crew.”

Photo of Scandies Rose courtesy of Bret Newbaker. Generic photo of a crab boat in rough conditions on the Bering sea courtesy of Wikipedia.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

Grand Teton partially closed for goat-shooting operation

Portions of Grand Teton National Park are closed this week as animal experts attempt to kill invasive mountain goats.

Portions of Grand Teton National Park are closed this week as animal experts attempt to kill invasive mountain goats to help a struggling population of native bighorn sheep.

The operation will be carried out by aerial gun crews operating under contract. A second phase, if required later this winter or during the fall, could involve volunteer ground hunters.

A vast closed area includes the north and west slopes of the iconic Cathedral Group, which includes the tallest peaks of the Teton Range.

Mountain goat image via Wikimedia Commons

The operation is expected to end Thursday, barring weather delays.

Denise Germann, park spokeswoman, said in a statement: “We’re trying to be efficient and effective — so doing this as fast as possible in the most efficient way — and we believe that the aerial operations does that.”

The Jackson Hole News and Guide reported that reconnaissance flights were to be carried out Sunday. Shooting operations were set to begin Monday.

It was not clear how many mountain goats are scheduled to be removed during this phase.

“This will be our initial action, and we’ll see how it goes,” Germann said. “It’s a very unique situation for Grand Teton National Park.”

The Teton Range is home to about 100 native bighorn sheep. It’s one of the most isolated herds in Wyoming and its existence was described as precarious even before mountain goats became a threat.

According to CBS Denver, the mountain goats are descendants of animals introduced outside the park in the 1960s. Their population in the Teton Range has grown from 10-15 animals seven years ago to perhaps more than 100 animals.

Mountain goats compete with bighorn sheep for a limited food supply and threaten sheep with disease.

The park has stated that unless the problem is addressed quickly, goat numbers will grow to an unmanageable number.

“Without swift and active management, the mountain goat population is expected to continue to grow and expand its distribution within the park,” the park stated in an environmental assessment draft. “The mountain goat population is currently at a size where complete removal is achievable.

“In a short time, however, the growth rate of this population suggests that complete removal in the near future may become unattainable.”

–Images are via Pete Thomas and Wikimedia Commons. Graphic showing the closed area is courtesy of the National Park Service

Fisherman makes surprise catch, and it’s huge

Fishermen on a charter boat 75 miles off New Jersey were not expecting this catch.

Fishermen on a charter boat 75 miles off New Jersey expected to catch sea bass, pollock, bluefish and cod, so it was quite a surprise what regular Joe Welsh reeled to the boat earlier this week.

Welsh of Hopatcong landed what was estimated to be a 475-pound mako shark, the biggest fish ever caught on the 125-foot Jamaica out of Brielle, N.J. The two previous bests were a swordfish and bluefin tuna of undisclosed weights.

Sea bass to 7 pounds are what fishermen typically catch on this trip with the occasional cod to 30 pounds. But a mako shark, and one that size? Not a typical catch.

“We have caught large sharks at this time of year before, but not quite that big,” Capt. Howard Bogan told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Normally we see more large sharks on our Canyon tuna trips in September and October. But during the winter when we’re on the offshore wrecks, there are bluefish, bonito, weakfish and other species that sharks like to eat.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark affects world-famous yacht race

Prior to the catch, a number of fish being reeled in were getting bitten off and fishermen assumed it was by bluefish, at least until Welsh’s catch, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Welsh, fishing in his usual spot at the bow of the boat, was reeling in a dogfish when the unexpected occurred.

“The shark followed the angler’s line up and ate the dogfish he was reeling in,” Bogan told FTW Outdoors. “He put up a little bit of a fight but then swam close to the boat where we were able to gaff it.”

Bogan said on Facebook that “by the time the tail rope was on the shark, three gaff hooks were straightened out, and the other gaff poles practically exploded.”

Even Bogan was a bit surprised by the catch, particularly because of its size. He said on Facebook, “When I saw that he had a large mako hooked up, I never expected [it] to get anywhere near the boat.”

The fishermen who went home with tasty shark fillets were no doubt happy it did.

Photo of Joe Welsh and skipper Howard Bogan behind him courtesy of Howard Bogan.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

Death Valley issues plea to park visitors after another major crash

Rangers in Death Vally National Park are asking visitors to exercise more caution in the aftermath of four recent car crashes.

Death Vally National Park is asking visitors to exercise more caution on roadways in the wake of four serious car crashes in recent weeks.

The latest occurred last Monday, when a motorist drifted into oncoming traffic on CA-190 east of Stovepipe Wells, causing a head-on collision.

Two people were air-lifted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. Three others were transported by ambulance with moderate injuries.

The collision, involving a Kia Optima and Chevrolet Malibu, occurred in the evening.

According to a park news release issued Thursday, 11 visitors have been injured and one person was killed in recent traffic accidents inside the park.

Additionally, one motorist was killed and seven others were injured as a result of a head-on collision Dec. 20 on CA-190, just east of the park.

The park stated in the news release: “Winter is an exceptional time to visit Death Valley and the park received extremely high visitation over the Christmas and New Years weeks.

“Park staff remind visitors to wear their seat belts, drive within the speed limit, pass only when safe, and be courteous to other drivers on the road.”

–Images showing Death Valley National Park and the aftermath of recent crashes on CA-190 are courtesy of the National Park Service and California Highway Patrol

Deer hunter arrested after family’s pet horse is shot

An arrest has been made in the case involving a Virginia deer hunter suspected of shooting a family’s pet horse.

Jeffrey Mayo, of Mineral, was charged with reckless handling of a firearm and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling, the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.

“It was determined through the investigation that the suspect was hunting and had fired three shots at a deer while it was running,” the agency stated in a news release.

ABC 8 News reports that the 24-year-old quarter horse, named Penny, suffered wounds to her chest and lung during the Nov. 27 incident in Ashland.

Alexander Gaudino, Penny’s caretaker, said that after seeing the horse bleeding from her side he initially thought she had been injured by barbed wire. “We walked over there and she wouldn’t move; we were in complete shock,” Gaudino said.

A GoFundMe page was created two days later, with Kim Boyd Gaudino writing, “Our family pet of 20 years was shot in the yard the night before Thanksgiving. We are asking for help with medical expenses.”

On Nov. 30 the post was updated to reveal that Penny was “fighting to live” but the next day Penny was said to be “doing amazing well.”

Penny, who received care from the family’s veterinarian, has since recovered.

The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

–Images showing Penny during her recovery are courtesy of the Gaudino family

Man swept away by huge wave

Man comes face-to-face with crashing wave with no time to react.

A man walking on the rocks at Bonny Doon Beach in California came face-to-face with a huge, crashing wave and, with no time to react, was swept away by the punishing surf.

https://www.facebook.com/AGroffTV/videos/527148181217771/?v=527148181217771

The unidentified 20-year-old from Boulder Creek survived the frightening ordeal that occurred around 4 p.m. Friday in Santa Cruz, according to KION.

California State Parks released the video Tuesday as a warning to beach-goers to be aware of their surroundings.

Gabe McKenna of California State Parks told KION that a witness called 911, but by the time rangers and lifeguards arrived the man was on shore. He was treated at the scene.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark affects world-famous yacht race

“Sometimes waves will double up, and you’ll think you’re in a safe spot and all of a sudden a wave will just suck you in so quickly back into the ocean,” State Park Lifeguard Dan Perry told KION.

The Santa Cruz County Parks Superintendent told KION that if you are standing on wet sand or rocks, you are too close.

The huge wave was a precursor to what was expected to hit Mavericks by Wednesday night, according to SFGate. Mavericks is a big-wave surfing spot north of Half Moon Bay, about an hour north of Santa Cruz.

Waves of more than 35 feet are expected as part of a Pacific Ocean storm off the Aleutian Islands that is sending a giant swell to California, KSBW reported.

Photo courtesy of California State Parks.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.