Tag: close encounter

Watch: Deer runs between man’s legs, knocks him to the ground

Two men were talking outside when they noticed deer running toward them from down the street. Despite evasive action, it didn’t end well.

Just before Christmas, two men were talking in front of the house—one in the driveway and the other just barely in the street—when they noticed deer running toward them from down the road.

Taking evasive action, the man in the street hurried into the driveway, assuming to be safe from the oncoming animal traffic. He wasn’t.

The deer made a quick lefthand turn around a parked car and ran right between the man’s legs, knocking him to the ground.

A second deer can be seen continuing down the street. There was no indication why they were on the run. A mountain lion, perhaps?

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The person who shot the video and posted it this week on ViralHog is from Monticello, Utah.

“My son Jaxson tried to get out of the deer’s way [then] the deer ran through his legs and knocked him down,” the poster said. “[Neither] Jaxson nor the deer were hurt.”

Fortunately, it appears to have been a small doe or a young buck sans antlers. Very fortunate, indeed.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Watch: Courageous baby elephant charges safari vehicle

A baby elephant was caught on video recently charging a safari vehicle in South Africa’s Kruger National Park

A baby elephant in South Africa’s Kruger National Park apparently has a low tolerance of tourists in shiny safari vehicles.

The accompanying footage, shared Friday by Wildest Kruger Sightings, shows the young elephant gathering courage to charge the vehicle in a show of bravado typically reserved for larger elephants.

No contact was made during the half-hearted charge. But the charge, and the obvious concern among the larger elephants, persuaded the driver of the vehicle to pull forward.

Wildest Kruger Sightings did not provide video credit or the date of this interaction.

Kruger National Park, located in northeastern South Africa, spans nearly 5 million acres and is one of the largest game reserves on the African continent.

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Yellowstone tourist practically begs to be tossed by bison

Footage showing a man with a camera walking to within feet of a bison in Yellowstone National Park is generating a powerful response on social media.

Footage showing a man with a camera walking to within feet of a bison in Yellowstone National Park is generating a powerful response on social media.

The man has been criticized for reckless and illegal behavior. Commenters also lambasted the parents of a child who is shown jogging in front of the bison with his cellphone.

“Disgusting. Remove them from the park, fine them, and let the big Buffalo give them what they deserve,” reads one of more than 250 comments on the Mountain Journal Facebook page.

The footage was captured in 2020 by Brian Genge. It gained new life two weeks ago after Genge posted the top clip as a Facebook reel. (A minute-long YouTube version is posted below.)

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It shows the bison standing on a road in Lamar Valley as the man sneaks up behind and alongside the bison, while other tourists watch safely from their vehicles.

The kid shown running in front of the bison was with another party, Genge told FTW Outdoors.

“I was filming from a safe distance with a large telephoto lens,” Genge said. “I initially was just going to get a silly video of the bison blocking the road when to my surprise [the man and kid] came close.”

It’s worth noting that at least three Yellowstone tourists have been gored by bison this season. The animals are generally tolerant, but unpredictable and astonishingly quick.

Park regulations state that people outside vehicles must stay at least 25 yards from bison. But there are more than 5,000 bison in Yellowstone; the rule is often violated and nearly impossible to enforce.

In the footage, after the man approaches the bison, more vehicles arrive, flanking the animal. So there are vehicles on one side and the man crouched in a photographer’s stance on the other.

The bison was hemmed in and that’s typically when the animals feel threatened and lash out.

Thankfully, however, the animal merely paused for a few seconds before strolling out of the frame while grunting its apparent disapproval.

Reads another observation beneath the Mountain Journal post: “That’s an incredibly patient bison.”

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Watch: Elephant charges safari bus in harrowing close encounter

Tourists on a safari bus in India will not soon forget their recent encounter with a wild elephant that charged the bus head-on, forcing the driver to flee in reverse.

Tourists on a safari bus in India will not soon forget their recent encounter with a wild elephant that charged the bus head-on, forcing the driver to flee in reverse.

The accompanying footage, shared Sunday by Surender Mehra of the Indian Forest Service, shows the elephant closing to within feet of the bus as the crew yells and frightened passengers scream.

Fortunately, the elephant pauses without making contact and veers into the trees.

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Mehra, an officer with the IFS, wrote on Twitter: “Always be cautious and keep a safe distance from wild animals, especially in elephant area. Even if you are in a close vehicle.”

Mehra did not state who captured the footage.

Watch: ‘Awesome’ grizzly bear suspicious of trail camera

A grizzly bear in Canada was caught on a trail camera recently casting a suspicious “side-eye” glance at the device, providing viewers with an up-close look at the animal.

A grizzly bear in Canada was caught on a trail camera recently casting a suspicious “side-eye” glance at the device, providing viewers with an up-close look at the animal.

The accompanying footage, captured in late September, was featured for the first time Sunday by David Troup on his Yukon Trail Cams Facebook page.

“Awesome Yukon grizzly giving the camera a double-take,” Troup wrote.

Troup, who monitors motion-sensor cameras in the Yukon Territory, acknowledged to FTW Outdoors that there’s “not much to chew on” with this particular clip “other than a gorgeous bear offering the camera a little side eye.”

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But the clip reveals a bears’ natural instinct to investigate objects and/or sounds that might seem out of place.

Reads one of dozens of comments: “Just shows how aware wildlife are of their surroundings. No matter what travels on this trail, they check out the camera. Their hearing is so sharp to hear that camera turn on.”

Troup is still reviewing footage captured during the summer and fall, searching for gems to feature through the winter.

Early last month he featured a clip showing a large grizzly bear walking across snow with. The camera angle was such as to reveal the undersides of its remarkably “huge feet.” (See second image and click here to view the video.)

In September, Troup featured a clip showing a grizzly bear standing to scratch its back against a tree before running toward the camera, passing within feet of the device, revealing. its massive claws. (Third image; click here for the video.)

After his latest post, Troup was asked if bears have destroyed any of his cameras.

His response: “I use metal security boxes that house the cameras; it keeps them secure although they get repositioned.”

Troup added that infrared sensors are exposed, but to date animals have not damaged his sensors.

–Images courtesy of David Troup

Hawaii diver captures rare great white shark encounter on video

A Hawaii-based photographer was astonished Friday to spot a 15-foot great white shark swimming toward him off Kona on the Big Island.

A Hawaii-based photographer was astonished Friday to spot a 15-foot great white shark swimming toward him off Kona on the Big Island.

Deron Verbeck told FTW Outdoors that he was freediving and first spotted the shark about 100 feet below the surface. “But she turned and came up into about 30 feet when I got all the shots and video,” he said.

The accompanying video shows the shark’s close approach as Verbeck captures video footage with a GoPro while also shooting stills. (Video is best viewed with volume.)

Great white shark sightings are rare in Hawaii, but adult white sharks from Mexico and California seasonally visit island waters.

After the encounter, Verbeck joked on Facebook: “Well check this one off the list of things ‘I shouldn’t have been swimming with.’ My first ever GREAT WHITE SHARK! And it happened to be in Kona and a 5-minute drive from my house!”

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The renowned freediver told KHON 2 that he first thought he had spotted a tiger shark but quickly recognized the classic shape of a large female white shark.

“It just kept getting bigger and bigger and I was like, ‘That is for sure, 100% a great white,’ ” Verbeck said. “And I just shot as much as I could as she went by, and she just disappeared back off the drop, then I was just shaking like, ‘Woah! That was insane!’ ”

The shark, although inquisitive, did not seem to regard Verbeck as prey.

Carl Meyer of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology told KHON 2 that white sharks might be attracted to island waters by the seasonal abundance of humpback whales. (White sharks are known to feast on whale carcasses.)

Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute stated on Instagram that “after a quick scan” the shark did not match any of the nearly 400 white sharks in the photo-identification catalog from Mexico’s Guadalupe Island.

Deep Blue, said by some to be the largest great white shark ever documented, measuring about 20 feet, is in the Guadalupe Island database and has been spotted in Hawaiian waters.

Domeier said his research team suspects that “this beautiful female is from the Central California Tribe or Pt. Conception Tribe” of white sharks.

Domeier stated that the shark “was spotted literally right in front of my house. This is the stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning with a smile!”

Verbeck is an award-winning photographer who specializes in shooting while freediving, or on a single breath without scuba gear. Many of his photos are shared via Instagram.

Woman stalked by cougar terrified, but holds ground; video

A woman who was stalked by a cougar Friday in Southern California was shaking with fear during a tense confrontation that “felt like an eternity.”

A woman who was stalked by a cougar Friday in Southern California acknowledged shaking with fear during a tense confrontation that “felt like an eternity.”

But Rachel de Vlugt knew better than to run and was thankful to have been with a companion who helped prevent the harrowing situation from escalating.

“Thank God Mark was there because I think I would have taken off running, which is obviously the worst thing you can do,” de Vlugt stated on Facebook after the evening encounter in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon.

De Vlugt and Mark Girardeau were checking motion-sensor cameras on remote trails when an adult female cougar, or mountain lion, charged toward them and paused behind bushes only 20 feet away. (See video below.)

Girardeau’s video shows the cougar eyeing both hikers intently as he yells repeatedly in an attempt to keep the predator at bay: “Get back! Get back, mountain lion!”

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In de Vlugt’s video clip, Girardeau predicts that the cougar will follow as they slowly back away. The cat, indeed, continues its close-range vigil.

Cougar named Uno. Photo: Mark Girardeau

De Vlugt acknowledges “shaking” but she and Girardeau maintain their composure, never turning away from the cougar until it retreats after two excruciatingly long minutes.

De Vlugt, a personal trainer, told FTW Outdoors that she has jogged on area trails for years and had never spotted a cougar. “Although I knew it was a possibility, I never expected it to actually happen,” she said.

Of resisting the impulse to run, potentially triggering an attack, she said, “Everyone knows how to tell you how you’re supposed to act in those situations, but nobody knows how difficult it is to execute when you’re actually faced with it.”

Cougar named Uno passes trail-cam. Photo: Mark Girardeau

Mountain lions in California prey largely on mule deer, which they stalk and ambush. Girardeau and de Vlugt spotted several deer minutes before the cougar sighting.

Girardeau, who runs the Orange County Outdoors website and shares trail-cam footage with researchers, initially thought the cougar was a male nicknamed Toro. A researcher informed him, however, that the animal is an older female named Uno.

–Images showing a cougar named Uno are courtesy of Mark Girardeau

‘Get back, mountain lion!’ Tense encounter caught on video

A photographer who monitors trail cameras in Southern California mountain lion habitat experienced a dangerously close encounter with one of the predators on Friday.

A photographer who monitors trail cameras in the Southern California wilderness experienced a dangerously close mountain lion encounter on Friday.

Mark Girardeau, who was hiking with Rachel de Vlugt in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon,  shared footage of their 5 p.m. encounter via Instagram.

Girardeau told FTW Outdoors that he and de Vlugt had just checked  a few cameras when he saw the mountain lion run up a hill and stop to watch them from perhaps 20 feet away.

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In the footage the male mountain lion, or cougar, peers intently through bushes and does not flinch as Girardeau repeatedly yells, “Get back!” in an attempt to keep the animal at bay.

As they slowly back away, the cat briefly follows.

Girardeau’s Instagram description reads: “I think there are two things that could have caused this: either he has a kill nearby and he was defending it or he ran up not realizing we were humans since he couldn’t completely see us from down below.

“There were deer in the area that we saw so he probably assumed it was them.”

Mountain lions in Southern California prey largely on mule deer, which they stalk and ambush.

Girardeau wrote: “Mountain lions do not predate on humans and this is why it’s good to hold your ground because any prey item for mountain lions runs away. If you don’t do this, the mountain lion is not going to assume you are prey.”

Girardeau, whose social media feeds contains cougar footage captured by motion-sensor cameras, told FTW Outdoors that about two minutes passed before the cougar stopped following them.

–Image courtesy of Mark Girardeau

Yellowstone tourist gets jail time for approaching grizzly bear

A woman who starred in a viral video that shows her approaching and being charged by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park will spend four days in jail.

A woman who starred in a viral video that shows her being charged by a grizzly bear at close quarters in Yellowstone National Park will spend four days in jail.

Samantha R. Dehring, 25, of Carol Stream, Ill., pleaded guilty Wednesday to “willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards” during the May 10 encounter, according to a National Park Service news release.

The encounter, at Roaring Mountain,  was captured on video by another tourist from inside her vehicle.

 

Yellowstone has strict rules pertaining bears, bison, and wolves. Tourists must remain at least 100 yards from these unpredictable animals for their own safety and that of the critters.

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Dehring appeared before Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. She was sentenced to four days in custody and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, and an additional $1,000 to the Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund.

Dehring also is banned from entering Yellowstone National Park for one year.

Court records show that tourists had stopped at Roaring Mountain to watch a grizzly bear sow with three cubs. Most of them remained inside or quickly retreated to their vehicles.

Dehring held her ground, aiming her phone at the bear until it briefly charged toward her from a distance of less than 30 yards.

Said Acting United States Atty. Bob Murray:

“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are, indeed, wild. The park is not a zoo where animals can be viewed within the safety of a fenced enclosure. They roam freely in their natural habitat and when threatened will react accordingly. Approaching a sow grizzly with cubs is absolutely foolish. Here, pure luck is why Dehring is a criminal defendant and not a mauled tourist.”

–Image courtesy of Darcie Addington

Watch: Curious ‘sea alien’ tries to communicate with diver

An ecotourism operator in Mexico said he seemed to gaze into the eyes of a “sea alien” during a recent close encounter with a false killer whale.

An ecotourism operator in Mexico said he seemed to gaze into the eyes of a “sea alien” during a recent encounter with an extremely curious false killer whale.

The extraordinary footage, captured by Charlie Harmer of Silver Shark Adventures, shows the false killer whale face to face with the guide after he had slipped into the water for a closer look.

Viewers can watch the mammal’s body movements and listen to its peculiar vocalizations as it scrutinizes Harmer from only feet away.

Harmer told FTW Outdoors that the encounter occurred Aug. 17 in the Sea of Cortez off Bahia de los Angeles, after his charter had spent hours observing actual killer whales.

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“We spotted a pod of approximately 20 false killer whales after spending five hours with a pod of six orcas,” Harmer recalled. “A few of the false orcas curiously approached our panga and started echolocating around us.

“You could hear the sounds loud and clear topside. After observing them for 15 minutes, one false orca remained around the panga. I got in the water, staying close to the panga and feeling strongly it was going to be curious of my presence.

“It took less than a minute for it to approach, turn to me and produce an array of high-pitch clicks and whistles. There were a few other false orcas below communicating the whole time. The encounter lasted approximately eight minutes, the majority of it with this false orca only a few feet from my face.”

Harmer continued: “It felt like a sea alien was communicating with me, putting me in a trance while I just watched in awe. It was arguably the best connection I’ve ever had with the sea.”

False killer whales, which are dark gray and do not bear a strong resemblance to killer whales, are found in tropical and subtropical waters. In the Eastern Pacific, however, they’ve been documented as far north as British Columbia.

Like wild killer whales, they’re not considered to be dangerous to humans, although swimming with the mammals is not advised and could be illegal if  harassment can be proved.

Robin Baird, who studies false killer whales in Hawaii for the Cascadia Research Collective, told FTW Outdoors: “There are other examples of false killer whales interacting with free divers, and even people in boats, in a way that is quite unusual.”

Two weeks ago the owner of a San Diego-based whale-watching company captured drone footage showing false killer whales passing a freshly killed bluefin tuna among themselves in a behavior known as prey sharing.

False killer whales also have been documented presenting fish to boaters.

Said Baird: “Their behavior of offering fish to people seems to reflect viewing humans as something similar, in a way that is rarely seen in other cetaceans.”

–Video and images courtesy of Charlie Harmer / Silver Shark Adventures