News Hound archive: Through May 22, 2006
posted May 18, 2006:
Getting back on the horse (and, hopefully, away from the gator)
Remember the recent blog about Sam Crutchfield, the 66-year-old Fort Pierce, Fla., angler who received a gator bite to the buttocks while he was flyfishing and wading in a marsh off Florida's Lake Istokpoga?
Well, Orlando Sentinel writer Tim Povtak caught up with ol' Sam this week and asked him if his recent close encounter and the three subsequent fatal Florida alligator attacks were enough to change his wadefishing habits.
Povtak discovered that the ardent angler put his chest waders back on this week, for the first time since being bitten and after two weeks of antibiotic treatment for his puncture wounds and lacerations.
"Any time you go into the water, you can put yourself in harm's way," said Crutchfield, a fifth-generation Floridian.
"I don't know what the odds are, maybe a million to one, but you can throw those odds out the window when one bites you in the (backside) like it did me."
When it comes to gators and anglers, the odds are definitely on our side.
Of the 20 reported fatalities in Florida since 1948, the conservation commission reports that none has involved an angler. Most have involved someone swimming or snorkeling, or an unattended child in the water.
Of his gator run-in Crutchfield mused, "I probably did the best walk-on-water routine you'd ever see. But I also know you have to get back on the horse. It's not going to change my fishing habits, just my judgment about where I can go." FORUM | MAILBAG
Scrapping of Canadian gun registry begins
Canada's newly elected Conservative government took its first steps Wednesday to scrap the country's costly and controversial long-gun registry, beginning with a one-year amnesty for those who have not yet registered their non-restricted firearms.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday that the Tories plan to introduce legislation to totally eliminate the program brought in by Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party 11 years ago.
But until the legislation makes its way through Parliament, Day announced a number of measures that would effectively gut the registry, including a $10 million cut to its operating budget.
Under the newly announced provisions, long-gun owners will no longer have to pay for registration and will not be prosecuted for non-registration. In addition, the government will provide refunds to those who already have registered their firearms.
Called a Billion Dollar Boondoggle by its detractors, the tab for gun control since Parliament approved it in 1995 hit $946 million in March 2005. Today, the program operates on an annual budget of about $83 million. FORUM | MAILBAG
A record fish — but at what price?
Last week, the Ft. Myers (Fla.) News-Press carried a story about the 13 foot, 4 inch,
750-pound great hammerhead shark caught off Boca Grande that is in the running to become the International Game Fish Association line-class record for 80-pound tackle.
The News-Press reported that the angler who landed the shark, Andy Whitbread of Fort Myers, documented its weight on a certified truck scale in LaBelle, Fla., then buried the carcass in a nearby orange grove.
In today's News-Press, outdoors columnist Byron Stout writes that reader reaction to the record hammerhead story "ranged from disappointment — that angler wished he had done it himself — to disgust. The disgust invariably was born of a distaste for waste."
Stout raises a valid question, one that all fishing record-seekers should ponder before making the ultimate decision not to release a fish. Is it wise to kill such a fish for the sole purpose of establishing a line-class record … that is, not the largest catch of a species, but the largest catch on one of 11 different strengths of line?
A couple of weeks ago I blogged the pending record catch of Dr. Martin Arostegui, who landed a 385-pound lemon shark on a flyrod in March. Arostegui and his guide transported the shark in a livewell to Key West, weighed it using a sling and released it.
Some states have taken action to encourage the practice of catch and release while maintaining the opportunity to enter fish for records. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has instituted a new Catch and Release Angler Recognition Program that accepts length-only record applications for the catch and live release of selected species in Texas public waters.
So what do you think? Was it right for an angler to transport a 750-pound hammerhead to a scale, knowing it could not be released alive, in order to have his name appear on a new line-class record? FORUM | MAILBAG
Snakebite vaccine for your hunting partner
American sportsmen who hunt with dogs in Southern and Western locations where rattlesnakes may be encountered will want to know about a new canine vaccine recently approved for nationwide sale and use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The treatment costs $20 to $35 per dose, and full protection is reached about 30 days after the second injection. In areas where snake encounters occur with some regularity, booster shots are recommended every six months.
Because the vaccine in its present form is not effective for every rattlesnake species, dog owners are advised to consult their personal vet for recommended use.
In addition, snakebites aren't necessarily synonymous with envenomation and are not always fatal for dogs. It's estimated that between 25 percent and 40 percent of rattlesnake bites are "dry," and no venom is injected.
However, in snake country, the small investment could be well worth the peace of mind and protection it provides you and your prized hunting partner and companion.
FORUM | MAILBAG
Duration of Florida gator season doubled, and then some
In the wake of last week's spate of fatal alligator attacks, a recent decision by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to expand the 2006 alligator hunting season from five to 11 weeks is attracting a lot of attention.
"Some people think there are too many alligators out there, and we have decided to address that," said Arnold Brunell, wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Last year, about 4,300 licenses were available, with each permiting the holder to take two gators. Only about 2,700 permits were sold, resulting in a 2005 gator harvest of 3,436.
Officials hope to significantly increase that number this year with the six-week expansion. The 2006 gator-hunting season is set to run Aug. 15 to Nov. 1.
FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 16, 2006:
Good Lab work
I've mentioned in past blogs that, like many of you who love the outdoors, I'm a huge dog fancier … as well as a lover of stories about good dogs.
Here's one that I couldn't resist sharing with my News Hound readers.
A yellow Labrador retriever saved a 9-year-old boy from Colorado's Roaring Fork River on Mother's Day by swimming out and dragging the child to shore by his life preserver while sheriff's deputies frantically prepared rescue efforts downriver.
According to the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, second-grader Ryan Rambo fell from a private raft late Sunday afternoon.
Zion, a 2-year-old yellow Lab, was walking with his 13-year-old owner, Chelsea Bennett, when they saw Ryan. Though the boy was wearing a life jacket, he was having difficulty keeping his head above water.
That's when Zion went to work, leaping into the Roaring Fork and swimming directly out to the youngster. "He grabbed onto my dog, and my dog brought him into shore," Chelsea said.
Once Ryan was safely on land, Chelsea walked with him downriver to the nearest bridge, where rescue workers were waiting.
Ryan and his family moved to Colorado last fall after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home in Amite, La.
The rescued boy's mother, Deana Rambo, said she felt especially blessed on Mother's Day.
"How ironic, isn't it? We come here to get away from flood waters, and he nearly drowns in the river," she said. FORUM | MAILBAG
Feline fast food
When you think of fast food, you probably picture a situation where you can enter an establishment, quickly determine what you'd like to eat and dine expeditiously, then go on with your business.
The immature, 50-pound cougar entered a residence by using a pet door and proceeded to kill and eat the family cat. When the lion was finished with Matthew and Deborah Silverman's 15-year-old kitty, Mungit, it ate the pet's dry cat food for dessert.
When the Silvermans returned home to find the remains of their kitty and a much larger feline resting by a tree in their backyard, they notified authorities.
Following an afternoon-long capture effort, which included at least a dozen individuals from the local police department and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the cougar finally was sedated and trapped.
Aaron Harber, a neighbor who witnessed the ordeal, blogged about the Mother's Day mountain-lion incident in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News.
"Because the Silverman's backyard opened up into the neighbor's, we had a good view during the three-hour standoff," Harber wrote. "The 12-member team had guns, tasers and a variety of tranquilizers and delivery devices, as well as nets."
Last month a 7-year-old boy was injured by a mountain lion while hiking with his family near Boulder. The cougar was tracked and killed by state wildlife authorities.
FORUM | MAILBAG
Florida honeybees more of a threat than gators
With the past week's unusual surge of Florida alligator attacks resulting in three deaths, some news outlets — especially cable television, it seems — have launched upon their own feeding frenzy, as it were. TV graphics scream "Killer Gators!"
Today's Sarasota Herald Tribune front-page headline reads: "People 'going crazy' over attacks."
The story covers a weekend incident in which a woman used a handgun to shoot a 3-foot gator multiple times because it was threatening her golden retriever.
Offering some decidedly rational advice is an article in today's Gainesville Sun. Kent Vliet, an alligator biologist with the University of Florida's department of zoology, uses real numbers to put the attacks in perspective.
"With Florida having almost 16.5 million residents and another 75 million visitors, with residents living on the edge of the lake and visitors in the lake, and with the lakes filled with 1 to 2 million alligators, there are only a dozen injurious alligator-human interactions in a year. That's almost so small as to be insignificant," Vliet said.
"That's not to ignore the horror and tragedy associated with these deaths, but it really is such a rare event that it's not worth spending time worrying about. You're more likely to die from honeybees than alligators in Florida. I don't think you can contribute these three deaths to anything but coincidence." FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 15, 2006:
Third fatal gator attack in less than a week stuns Floridians
Wildlife authorities in Florida confirmed yesterday that two women were killed by alligators in separate incidents, bringing the total gator-related fatalities for the week to three — a historic and tragic record.
The 17 percent increase in the total number of deadly attacks in such a short time span has Floridians stunned.
Wildlife officials say there have never been so many attacks in just a few days. There have been multiple attacks before, but they were "scattered throughout the year," state alligator biologist Allan Woodward told the Orlando Sentinel.
A 23-year-old woman was attacked and killed while snorkeling at a lake about 50 miles southeast of Gainesville yesterday. The body of another woman was found in a Pinellas County canal early Sunday.
On Saturday, trappers captured and killed a 9½-foot alligator that was responsible for the death of a 28-year-old woman jogger near Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. Medical examiners say the alligator attacked the woman while she was on land and dragged her body into the canal.
In the spring, alligators are known to be most active — feeding, mating and protecting their territory. It is estimated that 1 million of the amphibious reptiles make their home in Florida, a state with a booming human population.
"The fact of the matter is, more people are moving into the territories, the habitat, of alligators," Arnold Brunell, state biologist told the Sentinel. "It's not that the alligator as a species is becoming more aggressive." FORUM | MAILBAG
Banff black bear bites biker
It seems like there's no end to the wild critter tales this spring.
A mountain biker who was riding on a popular trail in Banff National Park north of Calgary, Alberta, this weekend was seriously mauled by an aggressive black bear.
Reconstructive surgery in the biceps and triceps area is scheduled to take place today.
Flaaten was riding alone on the outskirts of Banff when he was attacked and dragged into the thick timber.
Two cyclists are credited with interrupting the bear's attack after they found Flaaten's bike and a broken blue helmet lying beside the popular bike path Friday evening.
The two said they found the victim after hearing his cries for help. It was not known how long the attack lasted.
The bear was tracked and shot by a game warden. It was described as a sickly looking male weighing about 140 pounds, which is much lighter than a normal, healthy bear, according to Associated Press reports. A necropsy was expected to take place today.
FORUM | MAILBAG
Decommissioned ship to serve Gulf of Mexico anglers
A stripped, 888-foot decommissioned aircraft carrier, the former USS Oriskany, will depart Florida's Pensacola Naval Air Station today and head to its final resting place — the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Tugboats were scheduled to begin towing the vessel today, with the official sinking expected to take place Wednesday, providing the weather cooperates and all goes well.
Following the sinking, the Navy will turn over the title of the vessel to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and it will rest in a designated artificial reef site in 212 feet of water.
The Ticonderoga-class attack aircraft carrier was commissioned in 1950, supporting a crew of 3,460 and 80 aircraft. The ship earned seven battle stars during its wartime service. The Navy retired the Oriskany in 1975.
Pensacola was among several Gulf Coast cities in the running to have the Oriskany sent to Davy Jones' locker.
Its placement is expected to be a boon to fishing and a shot in the arm for the charter and marine-related business in the region. FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 12, 2006:
Fatal Florida gator attack confirmed
South Florida authorities have confirmed that a woman jogger whose body was discovered in a canal Wednesday was killed by an alligator.
According to the Miami Herald, the Broward Medical Examiner has reported that Yovy Suarez Jimenez, 28, died quickly on land and was later dragged into a canal.
"It is my professional opinion that the alligator attacked the woman while she was on land," said Broward Medical Examiner Joshua Perper. "She died of traumatic injuries sustained by an alligator attack, a mixture of blood loss and shock, and in my opinion died very fast."
Florida Conservation officers and trappers continue to search for the aggressive gator, which they believe to be 8 to 10 feet in length.
Since 1973 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has logged 16 fatal alligator attacks, not including Wednesday's incident. FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 11, 2006:
Granny gets gator's goat
Constance Gittles, 74, was watering the plants with a garden hose in her Punta Gorda, Fla., backyard Tuesday when she felt something bite her ankle.
When she looked down, she saw a six-foot alligator looking back up at her.
The spunky grandmother and longtime Floridian didn't think twice.
"I just whacked him right in the snout with the nozzle," she told the Ft. Myers News Press. "After that, he took off."
Gittles was treated for three puncture wounds and minor abrasions.
A gator that fit Gittles' description was later caught and removed from a nearby pond using a new luring method, the News-Press reported.
The culprit was attracted to the shore by a licensed trapper using an amplified recording of "alligator hatchling and mating calls."
Note to novices: While I haven't the slightest idea what an alligator mating call sounds like, it's my guess that you'd want to know what you're doing before you play one on a boom box in south Florida this time of year. FORUM | MAILBAG
Carp diem
At least once a year for the past four decades, Pennsylvania archer Dennis Russian has made the three-hour trip to Lake Erie's Presque Isle from New Alexandria to fling arrows at the big carp that spawn in the shallow water this time of year.
"They make good eating … for skunks and possum," Russian told the Erie Times-News.
On Tuesday, the 59-year-old proprietor of a gun and bow shop arrowed a 59¼-pound buglemouth that is destined to land the bowfisherman in the Pennsylvania record book. Russian's fish eclipsed the state record, set way back in 1962, by more than 2 pounds.
OK, so maybe arrowing a big yellow bottom-feeder is not as poetic as landing a cutthroat on a fly or catching a bonefish in the Florida Keys, but Russian is your consummate pragmatist.
"It was an ugly, gray, yellow-bellied thing," he said. "Makes good raccoon bait. I'm going to take it home tonight and chop it up, and feed it to the skunks and possum. It's good for the ecology." FORUM | MAILBAG
Country bears turned city bears
For the second time in less than a week, authorities in New Jersey have killed a black bear wandering in a decidedly urban setting.
Over the weekend, a 225-pound bruin was tranquilized and later euthanized after it was treed in midtown Trenton.
Yesterday, a 300-pounder that had been wandering for two days in some of the most urban and densely populated areas of the state was shot outside Newark.
In the Associated Press story about the latest big-bear incident, Wanda Williams summed up the feelings of many Jersey urbanites:
"Good God almighty! Why would a bear want to be in Newark? Good gracious! I just hope I don't run into it." FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 10, 2006:
Catfish turns tables
There's little doubt that my good friend and ESPNOutdoors.com columnist Keith "Catfish" Sutton has heard just about every tall tale about angling for whiskerfish that's ever been told.
But here's one that I'll bet is beyond anything even the old master of bottomfishing has heard.
Hungarian news reports today that angler Gabor Komlosy apparently was dragged into the Szamos River by a 150-pound catfish and drowned Sunday while attempting to retrieve the 4-footer.
Authorities said when they retrieved the body of the 53-year-old angler, he was still clinging to his rod — and the catfish remained solidly hooked on the line.
Police investigating the accident speculated that the fisherman was pulled from the bank by the enormous fish and hit his head on a rock.
The wels catfish (Silurus glanis, a k a sheatfish) that are native to most of Europe grow larger than any species found in North America and can tip the scales at 300 pounds or heavier. FORUM | MAILBAG
First of a kind: Polar-grizzly bear mix is official
DNA testing has confirmed that the odd-looking bear taken by an American hunter in
the far-northern reaches of Canada's Northwest Territories late last month was the
first crossbred polar and grizzly bear ever documented in the wild.
Upon closer inspection, they found the bear had the thick, white fur of a polar bear and the long claws, humped back and dished face of a grizzly bear.
Its eyes were ringed black and its hide had small patches of brown on its nose, back and one foot.
Canadian authorities now say they will return the bear to Martell, though it remains to be seen how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department will handle its importation.
While crossbreeding of grizzlies and polar bears has been known to occur in captivity, Canadian bear expert Ian Stirling noted that the successful mating of two different species of bears likely was more than just a chance meeting on ice-floes passing in the night.
Female polar bears and grizzlies become fertile after repeated mating, and the animals must spend many days together for the breeding to be successful.
"They would have to have been together very likely for at least a week," Stirling said. FORUM | MAILBAG
What's real and what's all wet?
Some readers may remember a news article from a few weeks ago in which the outgoing Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, announced the release of a new report that showed a net gain in America's nonagricultural and agricultural wetlands for the first time since such data began being compiled in 1954.
The report, prepared as part of President Bush's initiative to stem the loss of wetlands, indicated that approximately 191,800 acres of wetlands were gained between 1998 and 2004, bringing the nation's total wetlands acreage to 107.7 million acres, or 5 percent of the land area of the lower 48 states.
A few days after the secretary's announcement, an article appearing in the New York Times that extensively quoted a National Wildlife Federation "wetlands expert" claimed that the statistics reflected an expanded definition of wetland — which included golf-course ponds and storm-water retention ponds.
A number of newspapers predictably followed the Times' lead and ran with the story, and editorials proclaimed the administration used "fuzzy math" to make the wetlands report appear positive.
No article specifically detailed how the definition of wetlands was altered by the new data, nor were representatives from the agency responsible for collecting the data quoted or paraphrased.
In the interest of balanced news reporting and clarity here at the News Hound blog, I offer a letter to the editor appearing in today's Ft. Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, one of the papers that ran the aforementioned editorial.
In the letter, Matt Hogan, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, wrote that the department has used identical criteria to track America's wetlands coverage since 1954:
"The report clearly states it counts freshwater ponds with a surface area less than 20 acres and a depth no greater than 6½ feet as wetlands. It did in 1954; it did in 2004 and it did every year in between. The report uses the standard definition for classifying wetlands accepted by federal, state and non-governmental conservation organizations alike."
posted May 9, 2006:
Calling all grizzlies
According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, each year about 1,000 grizzly and black bears are killed in British Columbia because they pose threats to humans or domestic animals.
In researching the story and obtaining freedom of information documents, reporter Larry Pynn discovered that not only do garbage and apple orchards often attract bears, so do hunters calling for moose and elk during the regular hunting seasons.
Pynn wrote that a husband and wife were calling moose last September when a grizzly snuck up on them.
In a report to the British Columbia Environment Ministry, the wife wrote that she handed her husband the 30.06 rifle and "he took the safety off, aimed and fired. At this point, the bear was only 25 feet away, crouched down on its belly, stalking up towards us with its ears laid back on its head and the lips were curled back away from the teeth, nostrils flared, mouth partly open."
Also last year, two hunters were bugling for elk near Prince George when they were charged by a large, male grizzly.
According to a conservation officer's report, one hunter was knocked to the ground and mauled, while his partner shot the bear in the hind quarters at a distance of 13 feet. The bear released its victim, and the hunter finally killed it with a third shot to the head. FORUM | MAILBAG
Good year for gunmakers
The 2005 excise tax collections on firearms and ammunition reflect a 2.6 percent increase over the previous year, indicating strong growth and solid performance in sales among sector manufacturers.
Excise taxes are generally considered a strong barometer among industry watchers relating to sales and overall market strength.
The 2005 excise tax totals point to an estimated $2.1 billion in sales for manufacturers, up from about $2 billion in 2004. Total excise tax collections for the calendar year included: long guns, $105.6 million (up 1.8 percent from $103.8 million in 2004); ammunition, $71.3 million (up 3.5 percent from $68.9 million in 2004); and handguns, $47.3 million (up 3 percent from $45.9 million in 2004).
Excise taxes paid by the firearms industry are returned to the states to be used for wildlife enhancement, public land acquisition, hunter education and other programs. FORUM | MAILBAG
Bears in the boroughs
There's probably no use trying to convince those opposing the New Jersey bear-hunting season that the bruin population in The Garden State is thriving.
But how about the fact that authorities had to trap and kill a 225-pound bear this weekend just blocks away from state Department of Environmental Protection offices in downtown Trenton?
The bear was first spotted on East State Street Friday evening and was treed and darted by animal control officers the following night.
Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said the decision to put down the bear was based on department policy.
"If a bear is caught within a certain mile radius within an urban area, then it classifies for that bear to be euthanized," she told the Trentonian newspaper. FORUM | MAILBAG
posted May 8, 2006:
Celebrity slab
John Horstman, 69, of rural Fulton, Mo., landed the big slab while fishing with minnows April 21 at a private lake near his home.
The 19-inch crappie officially weighed 5.02 pounds on a Missouri Department of Conservation scale in Jefferson City. The state record for a black crappie is 4.5 pounds. The all-tackle record IGFA also is 4.5 pounds and is held by two fish and anglers.
Horstman's fish has been kept alive and is under quarantine. It is planned to be part of a permanent display in an aquarium at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield, Mo. FORUM | MAILBAG
The story behind the sturgeon
There's no doubt that the e-mail inboxes belonging to a good number of our News Hound blog readers are regularly stuffed with photos of big fish and other critters, along with stories of questionable authenticity.
Thanks to the fine investigative work of Brad Dokken, the longtime outdoor writer for the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald, the true story behind a photo of a mammoth sturgeon making the rounds on the Internet can now be shared.
Dokken wrote that the e-mail he received read:
"This sturgeon weighed out at over 1,000 pounds and measured out at 11 feet, one inch. It was 56 inches around the girth and took over 6 hours for the four guys taking turns reeling. It was caught at the mouth of the Rainy River."
However, Dokken observes that lake sturgeon found in Lake of the Woods and Rainy River these days may grow only as large as 200 pounds. A subsequent phone call to a DNR biologist led to the identification of the pictured fish as a white sturgeon.
Following some more targeted searching, Dokken tracked down the photo's source to the Web site for Len's Sport Fishing Adventures, located in British Columbia.
The tenacious outdoor writer contacted the owner, Len Ames, who told him that the sturgeon was caught last fall on the Fraser River near Chilliwack, British Columbia. Four men battled the fish for about six hours before they pulled it to shore for a photo op.
Catch and release is mandatory for white sturgeon, but Ames confirmed that the big fish measured 11 feet and probably weighed about 1,000 pounds.
About the author: J.R. Absher shares his perspective while blogging about hunting, fishing, shooting sports, sportsmen's issues and the occasional offbeat outdoor tale. In more than 30 years of writing and a lifetime of enjoying the outdoors, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, photographer, mule wrangler, wilderness packer, magazine editor, political consultant, hunting-equipment copywriter, public-relations director and sportsman's advocate. You may contact him at jrabsher@psci.net.
