Backcasts archive: Through May 18, 2007
Blog calendar: May 18 | May 17 | May 16 | May 15 | May 14
Black bear makes wrong turn in Albuquerque, winds up in medical clinic
"He did not have an appointment."
That was the final assessment from Presbyterian Health Care Services spokesman Todd Sandman, after a young black bear casually made itself at home in this Rio Rancho, N.M., medical clinic, the Associated Press reports.
Last week it was a Tennessee bruin nosing around a bird feeder at a complex of condos; now we've got one padding around the gauze and IVs. (The latter no doubt made a wrong turn in Albuquerque; ol' Bugs Bunny can relate.)
It must be that time of the year. In fact, it is.
"They get displaced from their dens," Williams said. "Their mothers kick them off, and they're kind of looking for a place of their own, looking for food."
At any rate, the New Mexico bear got prompt treatment, according to the AP, including a tranquilizer dart and a quick trip back to the wilds.
The bear, 125-pound male bear, perhaps 2 to 3 years old, got in to the Presbyterian Medical Group gastroenterology laboratory at about 7:15 a.m. through an automatic door, Sandman said.
"There were just a handful of people there, before the time when it was really open for appointments — I think a nurse, perhaps a receptionist and a patient and spouse," Sandman said.
"I think the person in the waiting room was pretty surprised."
Everyone was safely evacuated, he said.
"Apparently, the bear was very calm and retreated into a side room and then further into a bathroom,'' Williams said. An officer fired a tranquilizer dart, sedating the bear in a little more than a minute.
The bear was released in the Manzano Mountains, about 20 miles to the southeast, but not before being tagged on an ear, Williams said, "So we'll recognize him if we see him again.''
Just how much more of this are we going to have to bear?
Salmon habitat likely won't warm up to heating of the planet
New studies indicate more than 40 percent of rivers in Oregon and Idaho and 22 percent of Washington rivers will be
too warm for salmon by the year 2090, according to the Associated Press. The situation will be more daunting for bull trout, which demand colder water.
In the report, a panel of 11 independent scientists told the Northwest Power Planning Council temperatures in the Northwest already have gone up nearly 2 degrees since 1900, which is 50 percent more than the global average. The increase is expected to continue at a rate of about 1 degree each decade, the AP reports.
It's all very bad news for the salmon family, because warmer water:
• Prompts salmon eggs to hatch quicker, producing smaller juveniles more likely to be eaten by predators
• Favors fish that eat young salmon
• Weakens adult salmon as they swim up fish ladders
• Makes adult salmon more vulnerable to parasites and diseases
• Means less food for salmon as they mature
Not surprisingly, only wide-sweeping global strategies that reduce greenhouse gases will completely address the numerous heat-related problems facing salmon, the scientists suggest.
But there are some partial solutions, the AP reports, including the release of more cold water from reservoirs above hydroelectric dams during salmon migrations and installing weirs that help young fish pass over the dams more quickly while migrating downstream.
And perhaps the cool $335 million earmarked for the grand ocean studies scheme below will offer a few more solid solutions for our finned friends.
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Let's hope $335 million will save a few salmon
What will 850 miles of high-speed cable get you?
For oceanographers, perhaps the best understanding of our vast underwater world in 135 years.
According to the Seattle Times, that's how much cable will be employed along the Juan de Fuca Plate off the coast of Oregon and Washington as part of a six-year, $335 million project designed to measure volcanoes and ocean currents; study tsunamis and the ocean's ability to absorb greenhouse gases; improve weather prognosticating; and help manage sealife including salmon.
We like that last part best. Anything to improve fishing is good, very good, especially in light of the recent announcement that Puget Sound and Hood Canal steelhead have joined their regional brethren of chinook and chum salmon on the federal Endangered Species List.
The National Science Foundation is backing the cause, and the University of Washington's "Neptune" (North East Pacific Time-integrated Undersea Networked Experiments) system will be central to it, the Times reports.
The massive project represents the most significant advancement in ocean study since our primary system of research began when ships starting taking sea measurements in the 1870s, according to Steve Bohlen, president of the Washington-based Joint Oceanographic Institutions.
"This is the beginning of a new revolution," Bohlen told the Times. "It's new science, it's big science and it's big risk. But that's how we make big scientific advances."
Hip, hip, hurrah for the mighty fighting Scottie dogs
I gotta give a shout out to my brother-in-law's university, Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, for finally picking a mascot.
Yep, after more than a century since its ribbon cutting, the school's students, faculty, staff and alums can all be very proud that they will now be represented by the Scottish terrier, the Associated Press reports.
Fight on you mighty Scotties.
For years students have donned Scottish terrier outfits at football games in honor of founder Andrew Carnegie's Scottish roots. In fact, a recent survey suggested a quarter of the alumni already thought the Scottie represented the school.
But the Scottie mascot wasn't official until yesterday, when the university announced its choice after the survey of students and alumni indicated 78 percent of students favored the terrier, according to the AP.
So, congrats, Jim, you old dog, you, on selecting such a worthy ambassador for your university.
"I guess the fierce Scottish terrier does strike fear in opponents' hearts. Ha," Jim emailed me this afternoon, with confirmation he has turned in his thesis essay and will, in fact, graduate on Saturday.
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Baby Bubba's got a gun … and a permit
The Illinois gun permit Bubba Ludwig recently was issued lists his height at 2 feet, 3 inches and weight at 20 pounds, and there is chicken scratch on the signature line, the Associated Press reports out of Chicago.
We're presuming that if his age must be listed in years it would read zero, because Bubba is only 10 months old and can't walk, much less shoulder the 12-gauge Beretta shotgun he received as a gift from his grandfather.
Yep, baby Bubba's got a gun permit.
Bubba, whose given name is Howard David Ludwig, was issued a firearm owner's identification (FOID) card after his father, Howard Ludwig, 30, of Chicago, paid the $5 fee and filled out the application, not expecting to actually get one, according to the AP.
But, wait, it gets better.
"Does a 10-month-old need a FOID card? No, but there are no restrictions under the act regarding age of applicants,'' said Lt. Scott Compton of the Illinois State Police.
The police oversee the application process and, with some exceptions, the cards are required of any Illinois residents purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition within the state, the AP reports.
Their purpose, Compton said, is to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, those under an order of protection and those convicted of domestic violence.
But no age restrictions, huh?
OK, I'm making a gentleman's bet (all for honor, no Washingtons involved) with all Backcasts readers that despite how cool this may be, not only will Illinois cops get big grief over this but the law will be changed to include an age minimum.
And if that doesn't happen, I'll make a gentleman's side bet the police will be inundated with applications from proud hunters and shooters wishing to register their little Bubbas for gun permits.
If you're curious, the AP reports the 12-gauge gift will probably be kept at the home of Bubba Ludwig's grandpa until the boy is at least 14.
Fish feces fiasco just got a little weirder
Apparently a big part of the Associated Press item we picked up a couple of days ago was all wet. Here is the AP's correction, with a dateline of Turners Falls, Mass.:
Based on information from the Turners Falls Fire Department, The Associated Press erroneously reported on May 12 that four workers at a fish farm had been trapped in a tank dense with feces and sand. In fact, the tank contained a filter system of plastic sheets on which bacteria from fish waste grow, and it had been drained. The workers, who were rescued, became trapped among the dislodged panels of plastic in the filter system.
I guess this really proves beyond a doubt that, er, stuff happens.
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Take a guess at the world record for fishing world records
How many angling world records do you have under your waders belt? Seriously?
One? Two? 10?
Odds are you have exactly zero. And you'll always have exactly zero.
Indeed, most of us will never come close to setting a world record or any milestone, for that matter, other than personal best.
And that's fine with me, although I do have to say that I once thought I was a shoo in for an International Game Fish Association record back in the 20th century when the Pacific barracuda standard was less than 10 pounds. I pulled up a snake (a k a barrie, scoot, scooter, but Sphyraena argentea, to be sure) on a solid-gold-tinted iron jig a mile out of Santa Barbara that was surely double digits when we put it in the bait tank for safe keeping. That total shrank as the 'cuda shriveled over the course of the afternoon; by day's end I wasn't even an also-ran. (I notice now the world record is 26½ pounds — taken in Costa Rica in 1999; but the lowly barrie still doesn't merit line-class record status.)
I'm not after records (I'll take quantity over quality any time), and I bet most of you aren't, either. Heck, many of you likely aren't even aware there is such a thing as a line-class record (one each for the pound-test of fishing string) or that the equivalent for flyfishing is based on tippet strength.
And that's OK. That's great, in fact.
But if you are into fishing records, here's one for the books: The IGFA has announced that Dr. Martin Arostegui of Coral Gables, Fla., is the first angler to collect 200 world records … and he's not stopping there, according to the news release.
"Dr. Arostegui's accomplishment of achieving 200 world records is truly a remarkable feat," IGFA president Rob Kramer said in the release. "Through careful planning, detailed preparation and steadfast perseverance, he has taken world-record game fishing to an all-time high."
Arostegui is noted as a light-tackle specialist who favors flyfishing; he has a 1-pound Brazilian pinktail chalceus to his credit to prove it. But he's also reeled in some true monsters, included the largest fly-caught fish on record — the 385-pound lemon shark he hooked last year off Key West on 16-pound tippet.
On the record trail he surpassed Herb Ratner of Greensburg, Pa., who retired from the pursuit of the 200 mark with 181 world records. Through it all, according to the release, Arostegui encourages fish conservation by documenting, photographing, then safely releasing more than 90 percent of his fish.
Arostegui's first record was a 10-pound Everglades triple tail on 4-pound tippet in 1994, and his 200th came nearly 13 years later with a fly-caught Costa Rican mullet snapper.
He has a penchant for the obscure and bizarre, including giant snakehead in Malaysia, prehistoric alligator gar in Texas and the toothy giant trahira of Suriname.
"Some of my friends make fun of me for catching all these weird fish," Arostegui is quoted in the release. "Most of my buddies' primary focus is the snook and tarpon. I've caught a lot of those and like catching them.
"But after catching so many I said I need to find new challenges and weird things to learn about. I kind of have a challenge of catching them on a fly rod."
And he's not one to hold too tightly to trade secrets, suggesting that some of the best opportunities for records are on the fly in the 2-, 4- and 6-pound tippet categories.
But do take note, Arostegui states, "Those are very frustrating because sometimes just hooking the fish the line breaks."
Learn more about staking claim to your own world record by visiting the International Game Fish Association Web site.
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Fish-poop rescue, fried animal testicles, 2-nosed calf, welcome to the carnival
In what can only be described as a circuslike atmosphere on the wire of late, I have been blessed by the Associated Press with a plethora of fresh blog items.
Today's midway marquee of AP headlines reads:
• Rare albino alligator on display at zoo; "Nobody believes she's real"
• Deep friend what? Festivalgoers eat livestock testicles
• 2-nosed calf born; smaller, functioning nose on top of first
• Sea lion joins California schoolchildren's walk-a-thon
• 4 workers rescued from giant vat of feces after fall at fish farm
The stars are aligned today, my friends, and we'll make stops in each exhibit under the big top … and save the last for fish, er, first:
TURNERS FALLS, Mass. — Fortunately everyone appears to be all right, but it was a messy, messy seen in Mass. as four workers were spared a rank fate after dropping into a tank of fish poop.
So, say this one fast four or five times: Four farmhands freed from fish feces.
Apparently a bracket holding a plastic pad collapsed Friday as workers stood on it to clean an 18-foot filtration tank of dense feces at Australis Aquaculture, according to the AP.
The fish farm employees were trapped for 45 minutes in the sludgy dung until rescuers cut through the enclosure, said Turners Falls Fire Capt. David Dion and Josh Goldman, manager of the facility that rears barramundi, a fish farmed as a replacement for grouper.
"It was very slimy and it was heavy," Dion said. "Never seen anything like it in my life."
One of the workers had been submerged in what Dion described as a sand-and-feces mix, while the other three had their heads above the muck, he said.
One worker who fell under the feces was airlifted to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, but was talking with paramedics and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, Dion said. The other three were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with minor injuries.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — "Is she real?"
It's the most common question visitors to the Knoxville Zoo ask after viewing the rare albino alligator on loan here, the AP reports.
"Nobody believes she's real. They stare until she takes a breath or moves her eyes or jumps in the pool," said Phil Colclough, the animal park's assistant curator of herpetology.
The alligator's name was decided through a contest and was to be announced today.
Cool Shade would seem to be a natural moniker for the reptile, as it can only remain inside, its cold blood warmed by a heat lamp. If outside, her skin would burn in the sun, according to the AP.
A curious side note to the clammy, scaly resident: She was borrowed from a St. Augustine, Fla., facility that has acquired some 30 such white alligators over the course of the past 15 years from a commercial farmer in Cut Off, La.; all the offspring have been found in the same nest every year and are thought to be produced by the same male and female pair.
You can't make this stuff up.
CORTE MADERA, Calif. — In his latest publicity stunt, Astro — a 1-year-old sea lion that was abandoned by its mother and raised by biologists and returned to the sea — joined a group of schoolchildren on a walk-a-thon, the Associated Press reports.
"He did a whole lap," said Kelly Watson, spokeswoman for the private Marin Country Day School next to the shores of the San Francisco Bay.
It was the latest brush with humans for Astro, who was named by staffers at the Marin Headlands-based Marine Mammal Center.
He was abandoned at Ano Nuevo Island off the San Mateo coast in June, prompting biologists to bottle-feed the pup. They released the adolescent April 25 with a radio tag, according to the AP.
But Astro keeps returning to civilization. About a week ago, he swam under the Golden Gate Bridge to the shores of Corte Madera. The Marine Mammal Center again picked him up and released him in the Farallons, 27 miles from San Francisco.
But returned again Friday, just in time for the walk-a-thon.
"They are very intuitive, like dogs, and he was able to find his way back," said Marine Mammal Center spokesman Jim Oswald.
Astro's run-ins with humans could pose danger to both species, so the center will try to find him a permanent home, possibly the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, which keeps threatened Steller sea lions.
"This just shows the effect human contact can have," Oswald said. "It's not a happy story for Astro."
ELDERON, Wis. — Testicle Festival. Must be an only-in-Wisconsin thing.
"What else can you do in a small town?" said Nancy Fenske, who founded the festival — yes, an actual event — that is staged here in this central Wisconsin hub of all things fried.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the deep fryer. Wisconsinites can't seem to get enough, according to the Associated Press.
They have deep-fried cheese curds, candy bars and Twinkies. And now deep-fried livestock testicles have been added to the menu.
More than 300 people paid $5 for all-you-can-eat goat, lamb and bull testicles Saturday at the ninth annual Testicle Festival at Mama's Place Bar and Grill here.
"Once you get over the mental (aspect) of what you're eating, it's just like eating any other food. And it tastes good," Buster Hoffman said.
Amen, brother.
Fenske said the festival grew out of her late husband Roger's birthday party 12 years ago, the AP reports. Organizers decided to have "a nut fry" at Mama's Place after bringing back lamb fries from a trip to Montana.
The event grew every year and now they fry up to 100 pounds of testicles, she said.
Butch Joubert, 58, likes the parts sandwiched between bread and slathered with tartar sauce. They're not so different from regular meatballs also served at the festival, he said.
"After a few beers, you can't really tell the difference," Joubert said.
After a few beers, huh? Maybe that's what it takes to grab this bull of a menu item by the, ahh, horns.
MERRILL, Wis. — I guess a single only-in-Wisconsin story isn't enough for one day, so here we go again.
Hey, with all the cheese and milk in this part of the world, it makes sense that if ever there was a calf born with two noses chance are it would be from the Badger State.
Mark Krombholz didn't realize anything was askew with his new calf, Lucy, until he got the animal into the barn, the Associated Press reports.
"And all of a sudden I went to feed her a bottle of milk, and I thought maybe she'd been kicked in the nose and there were two noses there," Krombholz said.
The second, smaller nose sits on top of the first.
"It's a functioning nose because the middle of her second nose, the flap would go in and out when she drank out of the bottle like that," Krombholz said. "It was kind of funny."
What's also kind of funny is that while this kind of rare deformity is usually not the result of genetics, breeders actually do keep track of such mutations, according to breeder Scott Grund.
"We'll fill out a form, send that on to the company in Shawano and they will keep record of it," Grund said. "If by chance this would occur more than a few times, they would start looking at maybe the sire that we're using."
Krombholz said Lucy, who was born May 4, will be a pet and bred if she's able.
About the author: Brett Pauly spent nearly six years editing and publishing ESPNOutdoors.com before moving on to produce the ESPN.com Sports Travel site.
He is a national award-winning writer and editor with 14 years of experience in the newspaper trade. The Evergreen State of Washington is where he makes his home. Click here to email him.
