Surviving Encounter With Wildlife

I ran across an interesting article in the Salt Lake Tribune on how to survive encounters with wildlife. They cover the wildlife native to their part of the country but much applies to a large part of the United States. Check it out and maybe you’ll walk away from your next photo op with a buffalo.

Photo & Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Polar Bear Disrupts School Trip

Photo by Moose

Canadian First & Second graders had their scavenger hunt disrupted when park workers observed a polar bear in the area. The students were gathered safely in a park building while wildlife officers hunted and killed the large male polar bear.

“Because there were people in the park we didn’t want to detour the bear. There were just too many people around,” Williams said.
The Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA) had one polar bear tag left over this year, which has now been applied to this bear.
It kept the hide and distributed the meat at four corners downtown.
David Veevee, who stopped by the site as residents cut up the steaming meat, pointed to the bear’s teeth, which were ground down to stubs and stained with age.
“It’s got to be a pretty old bear,” he said.
Williams estimated the bear, which was about 2.5 metres tall, to have been about 20 years old. It was healthy and not too skinny, he said.
Only about six bears have been spotted this close to Iqaluit over the past six years, and in each case the bear was shot, according to Alden.
“The ones we chase off will return once or twice, and then we have to put them down anyway,” he said.

Iqaluit resident Elizabeth Qammaniq harvests a piece of polar bear downtown on June 25. The male bear was shot by wildlife officers at Sylvia Grinnell Park earlier that day. – Karen Mackenzie/NNSL photo

Northern News Service

Healthy 20 year old polar bear? Seems odd guess he hadn’t heard about global warming. The villagers ate good I bet here in America it would of gone to waste for sure. Can’t imagine hungry Americans coming out to the city square to cut off a hunk of meat off a fresh kill to bring it home to feed the family.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The Wildlife in National Parks is… Wild

Photo by Moose (zoom lens from inside a vehicle)

A 12 year old Pennsylvania boy was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after sustaining injuries from an encounter with a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park. Witness report that the boy and his family were posing for photographs within 2 feet of the mature bull despite the well publicized rules and bystanders warning that they were way to close. 2 freaking feet!!! The park rules are 25 yards. The bull reportedly tossed the boy approximately 10 feet in the air. The injuries appeared to be the result of the fall mostly abrasions and small cuts but he was also complaining of abdominal pain and why he was airlifted out. Authorities have not released the name of the boy or his family or any additional information of where they live other then to say they are from Pennsylvania.

I’ve seen people ignore these rules a number of times in National Parks across the country. Its one thing when it’s adults that are acting irresponsibility but another thing when they put children in harms way. In my experience to many people assume that animals like moose, deer, elk, and bison are tame or docile which they can appear to be but they are wild animals.

Story & photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Now That Our Gun Rights Are Protected Lets Work On “Sensible Gun Laws”

Yesterday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court to affirm the Second Amendment as a right for individuals to own and have guns was huge victory. The antis were handed a big defeat but it seems the spinning has already begun and the counter attack is beginning. A local radio newscast I heard yesterday one of the North Carolina Anti Gun Groups spokesperson was excited because they felt this was a good thing because they could now move on to more sensible and reasonable gun laws in this state now that the court has taken the total banning of guns off the table.

So in another words today I should feel reassured that mandatory registration of guns, limits on the numbers of guns I can buy, etc etc are reasonable because there is no reason I should think my right to own a gun is going to be challenged. Wrong!!! Wrong!! Wrong!! As easy as this court ruled one in the future could change that and these “sensible laws” will be used to confiscate and eliminate my right to bare arms. The antis are going to attempt to use this ruling to pull off middle of the road people who may be willing in the name of “safety” to trade small parts of our freedom to keep us all safer.

How about in light of this ruling some new sensible gun laws? Like the ability to Conceal Carry Nationwide…. How about the right of an American to purchase a gun any where in America with out limits to their home state borders? Huh How bout them Sensible gun laws.

We won a small battle but the war still rages to keep liberty alive.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Maximus Bite

Photo Courtesy of Mike Noles

Back in April Mike Noles from Conman’s Guide Service shared with me some photos of a monster bruin he had on one of his places in the Eastern part of North Carolina. They are calling this bruin Maximus and he will likely tip the scales at over 800lbs.
This past weekend I was down at Conman’s for our annual fishing trip and our wild game cookout. Almost as soon as I saw Mike he told me he had something I just had to see.

Saturday morning a few of us piled in Mike’s truck and he drove us into Maximus territory, some of the thickest overgrown swamp land that was ideal cover for bears. What I saw next was jaw dropping when I saw the first tree that had been marked by Maximus.

This is a bite on a tree and given the size and the height there is little doubt this was done by a very large bear. There was a number of these bites throughout the area, Mike believes that there is at least one if not two other sizeable bears using this same area and probably why we saw so much bear markings.

Here is a video that I ran across that explains a little bit about bear tree bites.

Although we never saw Maximus I did see a 200-250 lb bear early on Saturday morning. My attempts to get close enough to him to get some photos did not work so you’ll have to settle for a photo of his track on the dirt road.

The wildfire is having a lot of impact on everyone and everything in the area. The good news is that the fire never spread in this area to this land although the impact is still being felt with many critters being forced on to new land, crowding of the species, heavy smoke, and drought conditions. The roadblock for the fire line is right at the end of Conman’s Guide Service driveway.

With the long term prospect of the Pocosin fuel burning for a long time till the land is soaked or flooded to extinguish it. Food and cover will be an issue for the foreseeable future until the fire is out and life can return to normal in the burn area.

I did not ask Mike if they have any bear hunts open for this year but I’m sure you can give him a call and find out.

Story & Photos (unless otherwise credited) by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Annual Fishing Trip On the “Risky Business” A Success

What has become an annual fishing trip on the Risky Business took place this past weekend. As always Jamie and Andy did a great job to make our trip a good one. I’ll let the photos I shot tell the story;

Leaving Port

Who Took My Sandwich?

Steve hauling in a Nice Tile Fish

Brian Fighting One

Mike helping haul another nice tile aboard

Jamie Filming the Action

Taking a break

John Fighting an Amber Jack.

Brian’s Amber Jack

Jody Casting for some Amber Jacks

Unloading the Haul

We had a great day fishing catching our limit of Tile Fish and catching a few Amber Jacks. Hard to believe that even out in the ocean the smoke at times from the wildfire was thick.

If you’re looking for a fishing adventure contact the “Risky Business” out of Oregon Inlet you can’t go wrong they run 1/2 day and full day charters.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Fort McHenry Is Correct

Answer to the Flag Day photo question I asked was Fort McHenery the location that inspired Francis Scott Key to write what is now our National Anthem “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin

Harnett County Up to Their Necks In Alligators

(Photo courtesy of Harnett County Animal Control and WRAL)

Well maybe a bit of a stretch but animal control and North Carolina Wildlife officials captured another 8 foot gator that was snarling up traffic earlier this week highway 401. This is less then a year since they relocated another 8foot gator to a more secluded part of the county. In case you were wondering if this was the same gator it is not according to the Dunn Daily Record;

Mr. Ellington speculated it was possible the alligator is the one captured and released in a pond on Christian Light Road near Angier in August. Residents caught the alligator in a pond with the assistance of animal control officers. It was then taken to another pond with an undisclosed location, still in Harnett County, where Mr. Ellington said, to his knowledge, it has continued to live.

He said the owner in that case was comfortable with the large reptile in his pond.

“The gentleman last year said he didn’t have a problem with it and said he would keep an eye on it,” Mr. Ellington said. “It is possible it migrated up to the location where we found the alligator Sunday.”

Animal Control Supervisor Tino Medina said the owner of the pond where the alligator was put last year reported to his office that the alligator is still in the pond.

“We figure it has to be a different one,” he said

I was alerted to this story by one of my reader’s Chuck who lives in Harnett County and has been trying to get me down there to catfish with him and his boys. I’m not sure emailing me stories like this makes me any more inclined to join them for a fishing outing.
This particular gator has been relocated to an undisclosed area closer to the coast where it is more common to find them. Two 8 ft gators in less then a year makes me think the population must be growing if they are looking to expand their territory this far up the Cape Fear River.

Story by Dan McLaughlin

Evans Road Wildfire Update

Photo Credit Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Land Rapid Response Team,NASA GSFC

Interesting photo from NASA showing a satellite’s view of the smoke from the Evans Road Wildfire in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge as well as the much smaller wildfire burning in the Dismal Swamp.

Thick smoke from two large fires in North Carolina and Virginia traveled up the East Coast in mid-June 2008, affecting air quality in numerous cities and towns, including the nation’s capital. The Evans Road Fire had burned over 41,000 acres of the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge as of Sunday, June 15, while the South 1 Fire in the Great Dismal Swamp had burned about 1,500 acres.
This natural-color image of Virginia and North Carolina was captured by the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Smoke billows out over the sounds that separate mainland North Carolina from the islands known as the Outer Banks.

The good news is that the fire is 70% contained and not growing the bad news is that the amount of fuel (peat) is significant so this fire will continue to smolder and burn for weeks if not months. The smoke will be a problem for air quality and for those with respiratory problems for the foreseeable future. It will take a significant soaking from a hurricane or tropical storm to fully extinguish this fire.

Story by Dan McLaughlin

NCWRC Releases New Regulation Book

The 2008-09 Regulation Book for hunting and fishing in North Carolina has been released. Here is a link to the PDF version so you can check those season dates and plan your vacation. If you want a hard copy you should be able to find them at any location where you can purchase a license.

Progress Being Made on Evans Road Wildfire

A US Forest Service-contracted Heavy Air Tanker has been brought in to assist firefighters on the Evans Road Fire. This tanker can deliver 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in one drop.
Credit: USFS-Chris Carlson

Two weeks after lighting started the massive wildfire in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge the weather has aided firefighters in getting the upper hand. The fire is now 60% contained and there is only about 5 miles of containment line to dig. Pumping operations from Lake Phelps and New Lake are allowing fire fighters to put 92,000 gallons a minute on to the still smoldering Pocosin fuel.

That is a massive amount of water.

The operations involve 35 high-volume pumps that can move about 92,000 gallons of water per minute, according to representatives from the incident command center for that fire.
“That would fill a normal-size in-ground swimming pool six times in one minute,” spokesperson Greg Pate said.
The pumps will run continuously, stopping when an area is completely flooded and the units need to be moved to another location.
The firefighters are authorized to draw down Lake Phelps by up to 5 inches.

Pilot online

I understand that evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes and the main concern is the air quality with the heavy dense smoke this fire is still putting up. Hopefully the weather will continue to be helpful in the fight and total containment will be reached soon. I will continue to follow this story and bring you additional updates.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Johnston County DU Waterfowl Hunters Party

This Saturday seems the things I had planned got change around so at the last minute I had some time open up for me so I decided to go check out the Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Hunters Party. Noon time on a Saturday seems a bit odd timing to say the least but at was at Howell Woods a place I’ve wanted to check out for a while now.

They advertise the event as “not your daddy’s DU banquet” and after attending I would agree it is not the typical banquet event that many of us have come to expect.

Are you a hard core duck hunter? If so you will not want to miss the Waterfowl Hunters Party.

These Ducks Unlimited fundraising events feature over 60 dozen Greenhead Gear decoys, Avery blinds, and of course, guns! This is a one of a kind experience.

Tell all your friends – this ain’t your daddy’s DU banquet!
The atmosphere is pure hunting. Hey, if you wear camo not only will you be dressed like most everyone else, you’ll be eligible to win a Benelli Nova 12 gauge Max-4 camo shotgun!

Howell Woods is owned and operated by Johnston Community College and has a wide variety of educational & recreational activities to participate in. Being practically in my back yard I was over do for finding this place and checking it out. The main thing that attracts me is the feral hog hunting they have at Howell Woods that will be another story.
Howell Woods is in a pretty remote part of the county and good thing I had detail directions otherwise I’m sure I never would of found it.

The DU event attracted a decent crowd 140 or so and there were some real nice prizes for the hunter. Lots of decoys a few guns, and some blinds with a number of different raffles going on. The food was disappointing, hotdog and a soda adding some chips or something would have helped. I guess given how good the food is at the banquet this was a very stark comparison but fitting in with the “this ain’t your daddy’s DU banquet!”

The event moved at a good clip unlike many of the banquets and people were excited as the decoys and other prizes were given out. I won two sets of decoys (had my lucky hat on) and had a pretty good time. There is another one of these events coming up next month in Fayetteville NC I’ll try to get the details and post them up.

Story & Photos by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

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