Outdoors, action and adventure

Zoo visitors 'horrified' as lions kill, devour popular barn owl

Cats often attack birds, but it's not often that people are witness to very large cats — in this case lions — attacking and killing a cute and very popular owl.

The bizarre incident occurred over the weekend at Colchester Zoo in Essex, England, as visitors watched in alarm.

The barn owl, named Ash, was being used in a falconry display outside the lions' enclosure.

Ash somehow became spooked and struck the window of another enclosure, then flew in a daze to the roof of yet another enclosure, before making a low flight across the lions' pen.

Ash landed to the side of the pen, but slipped and fell inside, whereupon nature took its course.

"Families were horrified when a female lion 'clubbed' the bird out of the air before a male pounced and devoured it in front of them," wrote Kiran Randhawa for the London Evening Standard.

Gavin Duthie was visiting with his 2-year-old son, Daniel, who burst into tears at the sight.

"Daniel was in tears along with most of the people who were there," Duthie told the newspaper. "Women and children were screaming but it was all over in seconds.

"It's in the lion's nature — I have taught Daniel that lions are not fluffy animals. He was very upset.

Zoo officials also were upset. A spokesman explained that "in 25 years of falconry displays nothing like this has occurred as the birds do normally instinctively know that this isn't a safe place to go."

It remains unclear what initially spooked the unfortunate bird of prey.

-- Image shows Ash the barn owl before the bizarre mishap claimed the popular zoo resident's life

Wyland part of unique art contest for young whale watchers

Renowned marine life artist Wyland has partnered with Dana Wharf Whale Watching in a program designed to inspire both creativity among children, and a fondness for the ocean and its creatures. The three-hour Whale and Dolphin Adventures will be conducted Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., through February.

They begin with dockside presentations and art lessons, from Wyland via video feed, and are followed by 2.5-hour excursions aboard the landing's Ocean Adventures catamaran.

Children are then encouraged to create a drawing based on their experiences. Those will be judged by Wyland, with the winner earning a private family charter with the marine artist, valued at $2,000.

Other prizes include $50 gift cards to the Wyland Gallery gift shop in nearby Laguna Beach, and tickets for whale-watching excursions.

Cost is $59 for adults and $44 for kids 14 and younger ( a portion will be donated back to the Wyland Foundation).

In an age where fewer children are enjoying outdoor activities, this seems like an outstanding diversion from the world of computerized technology.

There's nothing like an enormous whale, leaping dolphins, or sea lions lounging atop the surface to show a kid that nature is as cool or cooler than anything a hand-held computer may conjure—and who knows, this program just might produce another Wyland.

Slow-motion video reveals geese flying upside down

Serious birders have keen eyes, but it's likely that not many have enjoyed a detailed glimpse of geese flying with their bodies turned upside down. The accompanying video captures this peculiar event, referred to as whiffling, in slow-motion.

(Watch the goose at the top, and in the middle of the screen at the 15-second mark.) Though the birds twist their bodies upside down, their heads remain upright.

 

According to New Science, geese perform this maneuver as a means of braking. Paul Stancliffe of the British Trust for Ornithology explains that the maneuver helps the large birds quickly lose height as they approach landing areas.

Stancliffe also said this event is very difficult to detect in real-time.

The video, believed to provide the first slow-motion footage of this phenomenon, was shot by Hans de Koning and Lodewijk van Eekhout, and earned them first prize in a competition organized by the Flight Artists group at Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands. 

Shaun White is perfect in X Games superpipe triumph

If there are any threats to the dominance of snowboarder Shaun White, they did not materialize Sunday night in the Winter X Games' Snowboard Superpipe final at Aspen, Colo.

White, 25, won a fifth consecutive gold medal and registered a first-ever perfect score of 100 in the marquee event.

"It's unreal. I've been wanting that 100 forever," he told ESPN's Tina Dixon, during an interview after his historic run.

He posted the score on what amounted to a victory lap, having already clinched triumph with a 94.00 logged on his first of three runs Sunday night.

As the last rider, and with nobody having topped the 94.00, White dropped into the U-shaped pipe and unleashed a series of progressive tricks that his competitors simply cannot string together.

They included a huge backside air, a front-side double-cork 1080, a cab double-cork 1080, a front-side stalefish 540, a double McTwist 1260, and a front-side double-cork 1260.
(See video for visual explanation.)

Asked by Dixon how he expects to improve on a perfect score, White thought for a second and quipped, "There's always next year."

Are wild pigs a threat to me or my dogs?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: I learned recently that some Indians on a reservation in my area released some pigs for hunting purposes and now they are breeding and beginning to populate the area where I walk my dogs in Descanso, California. Are these pigs a threat to me or my dogs? (Sheri M., San Diego)

Answer: We do know that wild pigs inhabit some of the areas around Julian and Descanso. However, we are unable to positively identify the mechanism for their recent introduction.

According to Marc Kenyon, Statewide Coordinator for the Bear, Mountain Lion and Wild Pig Programs at the Department of Fish and Game, wild pigs are timid creatures that simply want to be left alone for the most part. However, they can be very aggressive if approached and they perceive the person as a threat (particularly if they have piglets nearby). If you see a wild pig while recreating in the outdoors, please try to avoid approaching it. You can stand still and maintain your dog close to you on the leash. Pigs are nearsighted and will tend to ignore objects that stand completely still.

Furthermore, pigs have a great sense of smell. They will smell you before they see you. If you walk with the wind at your back, your scent is more likely to be detected at great distances by wild pigs, and they will likely avoid you.

However, there have been some instances where wild pigs have come into contact with people. Usually only one pig will approach while the rest of the group of pigs (known as a sounder) evacuate the area. If this does happen to you, try to stay away from the head of the pig. They have sharp teeth that can cut through clothing. Back out of the area as quickly as possible.

Q: Is it legal to pick up sand dollars on the beaches of San Francisco, with or without a fishing license, even though some are still alive -- purple in color with hair (fuzz)? (Peter R.)

Alaska Airlines to stop distributing prayer cards to passengers

Frequent travelers who either appreciated or were offended by Alaska Airlines' practice of distributing prayer cards to passengers will be displeased, or happy, to learn that the 30-year practice will end on Feb. 1.

For the last six years, only first-class passengers were presented with the paper cards, usually at meal time.

A Seattle Times story states that Alaska Air Group CEO Bill Ayer, and Alaska Airlines President Brad Tilden, delivered this email Wednesday to regular customers:

"This difficult decision was not made lightly. Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service. At the same time, we've heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane, and some are offended when we hand out the cards."

The email also contained this passage: "Our priority at Alaska is to fly our passengers to their destinations safely, on time and with their bags."

The airline began passing out prayer cards in the 1970s in an effort, an Alaska spokesman once told the Christian Post, to "fancy up the meal service since many folks like to give thanks before a meal."

California DFG devotes website to wolf from Oregon (OR7)

The California Department of Fish and Game reports that a gray wolf from Oregon, named OR7, remains inside the state and that a website has been established to post updates on the predator's status.

"At this time, there is only one documented gray wolf living in the wild in California," states a passage on the website.

OR7, a young male wolf originally from a pack in northeast Oregon, made headlines during a zig-zagging adventure that spanned across the Cascades and ultimately into eastern Lassen County in Northern California.

The wolf, which was fitted with a GPS collar before he left the pack, is the first known wild wolf to have ranged in the Golden State in nearly 90 years. The last one was killed by a trapper in 1924.

The only known probable photograph of OR7 is a black-and-white trail-camera image captured in Butte County, in Southern Oregon, last Nov. 1 (top right).

The presence of OR7 and the possibility of other wolves entering California has farmers and ranchers worried, because wolves are notorious for livestock predation in some areas in western states where they've flourished since recently being reintroduced.

The California DFG is formulating a wolf policy in case other wolves return to California and what was once prime wolf habitat.

OR7 and other gray wolves that might enter California are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the DFG will post only general information regarding OR7's whereabouts.

In a news release, the DFG states that many reported sightings of gray wolves in California have been investigated in recent years, but most of those turned out to involve coyotes or dogs.

The DFG adds that wolves pose little threat to humans. "Concerns about human safety are largely based on folklore and are unsubstantiated," the news release states. "In recent years there was one human mortality in Canada caused either by wolves or bears and one confirmed human mortality in Alaska by wolves.

"[But] based on experience from states where substantial wolf populations now exist, wolves pose little risk to humans. However, DFG recommends that people never approach a wolf, or otherwise interact with or feed a wolf."

Farmers and ranchers can reduce the threat of livestock predation "by removing potential sources of food and other attractants from their land, such as discarded animal carcasses, bone piles, etc."

-- Trail-cam image shows what is likely OR7 during his trek through Southern Oregon toward California. DFG website graphic shows OR7's path in California through a period through Jan. 11

Offshore killer whales make rare appearance off Southland

As the southbound parade of gray whales continues off Southern California, killer whales keep stealing the limelight. About 40 "offshore" killer whales were seen Thursday off Orange County and, later in the day, beyond the Long Beach area.

This comes after several sightings earlier this month of a pod of 10 "transient" killer whales. Offshore killer whales, unlike transients, do not prey on sea lions and other marine mammals. They eat sharks and fish.

Offshore killer whales, or orcas, are most commonly seen in the Queen Charlotte Islands area off British Columbia, but they tend to disappear for long periods. They are rarely seen off California, and more rarely spotted off Southern California.

Killer whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger recalled sightings of much larger pods of offshore orcas on Feb. 11, 1995, and on Feb. 14, 2005.

There are believed to be between 300-400 offshore killer whales along the West Coast.

The accompanying video, with footage captured Thursday, is courtesy of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari. Note the upside-down orca at the beginning of the clip, and amazing underwater footage captured from within a small viewing pod that enables passengers to see how marine mammals act beneath the surface.

Freeskiing star Sarah Burke dies nine days after crash

Freeskiing has lost one of its top athletes and great personalities in Canadian superpipe specialist Sarah Burke, who died Thursday of head injuries sustained Jan. 10 during a fall in the Eagle Superpipe at Park Mountain Resort in Utah.

Burke, 29, a four-time X Games champion and a favorite to win the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, passed away at 9:22 a.m. She was accompanied by family and new husband, Rory Bushfield.

A statement released by the family explained that Burke had suffered a ruptured vertebral artery, one of the four major arteries supplying blood to the brain. The rupture led to a severe hemorrhage, which caused her to experience cardiac arrest soon after her fall.

Burke was placed on life support while doctors repaired the artery. But she had sustained severe irreversible brain damage because of a lack of oxygen and blood flow after cardiac arrest.

In accordance with her wishes, her organs and tissues were donated to help save the lives of others.

The accident has raised the issue of safety in terms of superpipe riding at the highest level. Burke's fall occurred at the same resort at which snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured while training on Dec. 31, 2009.

Pearce, who had been training for his Olympics debut, suffered traumatic brain injuries and endured a long and comprehensive rehabilitation period. Last month he rode a snowboard for the first time since his accident, but his career is over.

The sport has progressed to dangerous new heights, with more spinning and more amplitude above the superpipes' 22-foot walls. This makes it easier to become disoriented before trying to land on the walls of the U-shaped superpipes.

Snowboarding star Gretchen Blieler told ESPN while Burke was still alive that athletes are aware of the dangers.

"There are no guarantees," she said. "And that is the risk we all take with us every day in life. But that is why we must live and live well, because nothing is guaranteed. I think Sarah would tell all of us to keep going, keep waking up early to land those tricks you've been dreaming of, but only if it's done with 100 percent passion, pure fire, discipline and commitment."

Why are refuge hunting reservations so difficult to draw?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: How are waterfowl reservations picked and how are they kept random? There seems to be something wrong with the system because it doesn’t seem to be randomly selecting people. Several of my neighbors and I have put in for the season draw for multiple refuges for the last few years without much success. One person has not been drawn in the past two years. Some people may get drawn only once while other people are getting drawn quite a bit. Can you please shed some light on this for us? (Rod H., Norco)

Answer: Unfortunately, the competition for waterfowl reservations is enormous! More than 750,000 hunt choices have been submitted for the 2011/2012 season so far. Some areas are extremely difficult to draw.

According to Department of Fish and Game License Program Analyst Glenn Underwood, reservations are issued by random drawings. Each drawing is independent and does not affect the outcome of any other drawing. The likelihood of being drawn does not increase when you were not drawn for a previous hunt. Odds are determined solely by the number of applicants who apply for an area on that date.

In a series of random drawings, some people are likely to be drawn more than once, and some may not be drawn at all. The results should look somewhat like half of a bell curve.