Animal Articles/Videos

[ScriptOhio]

Very rare white buffalo calf born in Montana's Yellowstone, 'sacred' name revealed

A rare white buffalo was born earlier this month and a religious ceremony was held to name the "sacred" animal with hundreds gathering to celebrate its birth at Yellowstone in Montana.

www.foxnews.com

Very rare white buffalo calf born in Montana's Yellowstone, 'sacred' name revealed​

Rare white calf named during ceremony outside Yellowstone National Park​

A rare white buffalo reportedly born earlier this month in Yellowstone has officially been named by Native American tribal members.

The calf's momentous birth turned into a celebration, which led to a gathering of hundreds of people for the reveal of the animal's name.

The calf has been named Wakan Gli, meaning "Return Sacred" in Lakota, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The religious naming ceremony consisted of dancing, drumming, singing and the telling of the White Buffalo Calf Woman prophecy.

The birth of the rare white buffalo calf is believed to mean that "better times" are ahead. The message apparently serves as both a blessing and a warning.

"It’s up to each and every one of you to make it happen for the future of our children. We must come together and bring that good energy back," Chief Arvol Looking Horse said at the ceremony, which took place a few miles west of Yellowstone, in far southern Montana, the AP reported.

An estimated 500 people attended the sacred ceremony at the headquarters of Buffalo Field Campaign – with representatives from the Colville Tribes in Washington, Lakota and Sioux in the Dakotas, Northern Arapaho in Wyoming and Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho also in attendance.

The calf has only been seen by a few individuals and even fewer have been able to capture a photo of the white-furred animal.
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The birth of Wakan Gli is considered to be "a miracle" to the Lakota people and other Native American tribes.

"To the several tribes who revere American bison — they call them ‘buffalo’ — the calf's appearance was both the fulfillment of sacred prophesy and a message to take better care of the Earth," the AP reported.

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[Steve19]

Sitting at a picnic table, wearing sandals in a national park, hand feeding a bear. Oh, sure. You just have to get up and run...but it was so friendly.

Shouldn't this be in the Darwin Awards thread? Idiots.

 

[Steve19]

Actually, I have a great tip for these folks seeking national park hikes to see predators. You save a LOT of money by going out on your own without the trained and armed park rangers. What could go wrong? Oh, ignore all those articles about game trackers and guides being ambushed and eaten by lions or elephants. You have rights! You be you!

 

[ScriptOhio]

Rodeo bull jumps fence into crowd, injures 3 before being captured

Two people were hospitalized after a rodeo bull hopped a fence surrounding an arena and ran through a concession area.

www.wilx.com

Rodeo bull jumps fence into crowd, injures 3 before being captured​

A rodeo bull hopped a fence surrounding an Oregon arena and ran through a concession area into a parking lot, injuring at least three people before wranglers caught up with it, officials said.

The crowd at the 84th Sisters Rodeo in the city of Sisters was singing along with Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” on Saturday night, most with their cellphone flashlights on, as the bull ran around the arena before what was to be the final bull ride of the night, when the bull hopped the fence, according to a video shot by a fan.

Other videos posted online showed the bull running through a concession area, knocking over a garbage can and sending people scrambling. The bull lifted one person off the ground, spun them end over end, and bounced them off its horns before the person hit the ground.

“Everybody behind me was just yelling, and it was - Everybody was just trying to get out of the way,” rodeo volunteer Paige Chamberlain told KTVZ-TV on Sunday.

The Sisters Rodeo Association issued a statement Sunday saying three people were injured “as a direct result of the bull, two of whom were transported to a local hospital,” KTVZ reported. Rodeo livestock professionals secured the bull next to livestock holding pens and placed it in a pen, the association said.

Deschutes County sheriff’s Sergeant Joshua Spano said several ambulances were called to the scene. Deputies transported one patient with non-life-threatening injuries to a hospital, and a deputy also sustained minor injuries when responding to the bull’s escape, Lt. Jayson Janes told KTVZ on Sunday.

Danielle Smithers was among the rodeo fans with her cellphone flashlight on as the bull named Party Bus was moving around the ring with two riders on horseback as the crowd sang and swayed to the music.

No more rodeos for ‘Party Bus’ after the bull jumped a fence and injured people in Oregon

The bull who jumped out of the arena at an Oregon rodeo, sending the audience into a frenzy, has been forced to retire from competition.

www.opb.org

No more rodeos for ‘Party Bus’ after the bull jumped a fence and injured people in Oregon​

Party Bus, a 3-year-old bull bred for bucking, has performed in his first and last rodeo.

Party Bus — named after his father, Short Bus — made national headlines last weekend at his first rodeo when he jumped the fence of a crowded arena in central Oregon and careened through the concessions area, injuring three people.
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Corey said he was disappointed that the bull's first rodeo was ultimately his last. Party Bus was bred from award-winning bulls, Corey said, and trained for bucking with a remote-controlled dummy.

But while he wishes the bull could be given a second chance, he’s not going to push it, he said.

Now that Party Bus has been “condemned” — meaning the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association will never allow him to compete in a rodeo again, according to Corey — he will spend the rest of his days on Corey’s ranch in eastern Washington, siring more baby bulls who Corey hopes will become “superstar athletes” with their own chance at rodeo glory someday.

“He’s a great animal,” he said. “His daughters and his sons will be a huge asset in the future of rodeo.”

 

[ScriptOhio]

Veterans swim with sharks to mark Fourth of July

This is a special day for a group of veterans. They're spending this Fourth of July doing something most veterans would not get the chance to do.

cbs12.com

Veterans swim with sharks to mark Fourth of July​

This is a special day for a group of veterans. They're spending this 4th of July doing something most veterans would not get the chance to do, free-diving with sharks.

They boarded boats at Blowing Rocks Marina in Tequesta to go on the shark drive and gathered for an after-party at Tiki 52 Bar and Grill.

This event is free for the veterans, sponsored by a number of local businesses and the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund to show these men and women how much everyone appreciates what they've done for our country.

These American veterans have served in several countries, and some have been wounded in combat in various places around the globe. Most of them are Purple Heart recipients who've demonstrated tremendous courage and bravery.

On Thursday, they're showing another type of bravery, by getting in the water with sharks.

Morgan Jackson, a U.S. Navy veteran from South Carolina who served in Japan, went on the shark dive.

"This is a dream of a lifetime. I've been infatuated by sharks my whole life. This is something that is a healthy way to get adrenaline out," Jackson said.

The 8th annual Freedom Dive brings together veterans to free dive with sharks for a couple of hours off the coast of Jupiter at no cost.

"It's really good to see them smile and have a great time and what better day to do it than on Independence Day," said John Rourke, one of the organizers.

Rourke, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Bosnia and Iraq and spent nearly 16 years in the military, started this event eight years ago.

"I mean it's just taking care of vets, vets taking care of vets. That's very important to us that the veteran community give back to other veterans that are in need," Rourke explained.
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[ScriptOhio]

This bird species was extinct in Europe. Now it's back, and humans must help it migrate for winter

The distinctive northern bald ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. “We have to teach them the migration route,” said biologist Johannes Fritz. The northern bald ibis once soared over North Africa...

www.yahoo.com

This bird species was extinct in Europe. Now it's back, and humans must help it migrate for winter​

How do you teach a bird how, and where, to fly?

The distinctive northern bald ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. But the birds — known for their distinctive black-and-iridescent green plumage, bald red head and long curved beak — don’t instinctively know which direction to fly to migrate without the guidance of wild-born elders. So a team of scientists and conservationists stepped in as foster parents and flight instructors.

“We have to teach them the migration route,” said biologist Johannes Fritz.

The northern bald ibis once soared over North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Europe, including southern Germany's Bavaria. The migratory birds were also considered a delicacy, and the bird, known as the Waldrapp in German, disappeared from Europe, though a few colonies elsewhere survived.

The efforts of Fritz and the Waldrappteam, a conservation and research group based in Austria, brought the Central European population from zero to almost 300 since the start of their project in 2002.

The feat moved the species from a "critically endangered" classification to "endangered" and, Fritz says, is the first attempt to reintroduce a continentally extinct migratory bird species.

But while northern bald ibises still display the natural urge to migrate, they don’t know which direction to fly without the guidance of wild-born elders. The Waldrappteam's early reintroduction attempts were largely unsuccessful because, without teaching the birds the migration route, most disappeared soon after release. Instead of returning to suitable wintering grounds such as Tuscany, Italy, they flew in different directions and ultimately died.

So the Waldrappteam stepped in as foster parents and flight instructors for the Central European population, which was made up of descendants from multiple zoo colonies and released into the wild in the hopes of creating a migratory group. This year marks the 17th journey with human-led migration guides, and the second time they've been forced to pilot a new route to Spain due to climate change.

To prepare them for travel, the chicks are removed from their breeding colonies when they are just a few days old. They are taken to an aviary that's overseen by the foster parents in the hopes of “imprinting” — when the birds will bond with those humans to ultimately trust them along the migration route.

Barbara Steininger, a Waldrapp team foster mother, said she acts like “their bird mom."

“We feed them, we clean them, we clean their nests. We take good care of them and see that they are healthy birds,” she said. "But also we interact with them.”

Steininger and the other foster parents then sit on the back of a microlight aircraft, waving and shouting encouragement through a bullhorn as it flies through the air.

It's a bizarre scene: The aircraft looks like a flying go-kart with a giant fan on the back and a yellow parachute keeping it aloft. Still, three dozen birds follow the contraption, piloted by Fritz, as it sails over alpine meadows and foothills.
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Just an interesting article, who would have guessed a flock of birds would follow someone in an ultralight to learn a migration route?

 

[ScriptOhio]

Newborn rattlesnakes at a Colorado 'mega den' are making their live debut

A “mega den” of hundreds of rattlesnakes in Colorado is getting even bigger now that late summer is here and babies are being born. Thanks to livestream video, scientists studying the den on a craggy hillside in Colorado are learning more about these enigmatic — and often misunderstood — reptiles.

www.yahoo.com

Newborn rattlesnakes at a Colorado 'mega den' are making their live debut​

A “mega den” of hundreds of rattlesnakes in Colorado is getting even bigger now that late summer is here and babies are being born.

Thanks to livestream video, scientists studying the den on a craggy hillside in Colorado are learning more about these enigmatic — and often misunderstood — reptiles. They're observing as the youngsters, called pups, slither over and between adult females on lichen-encrusted rocks.

The public can watch too on the Project RattleCam website and help with important work including how to tell the snakes apart. Since researchers put their remote camera online in May, several snakes have become known in a chatroom and to scientists by names including “Woodstock,” “Thea” and “Agent 008.”

The live feed, which draws as many as 500 people at a time online, on Thursday showed a tangle of baby snakes with tiny nubs for rattles. They have a lot of growing to do: A rattlesnake adds a rattle segment each time it sheds its skin a couple times a year, on average.
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Check out the 2 live "rattlesnake cams":

Project Rattlecam | Explore the Secret LIves of Rattlesnakes | Rattlesnake Cam

Join the collaboration between Project Rattlecam, Cal Poly, and Central Coast Snake Services to study and raise awareness about the importance of rattlesnakes in the ecosystem. Discover our mission...

rattlecam.org

 

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[ScriptOhio]

Grand prize winner removed 20 Burmese pythons from the wild in Florida challenge

It’s official, the Florida Python Challenge this year has a winner. The $10,000 grand prize went to Ronald Kiger, who removed 20 Burmese pythons from the Florida Everglades during the 10-day hunt, which was meant to bring awareness to the threat that these pythons pose to the ecosystem. Last...

www.yahoo.com

Grand prize winner removed 20 Burmese pythons from the wild in Florida challenge​

It’s official, the Florida Python Challenge this year has a winner.

The $10,000 grand prize went to Ronald Kiger, who removed 20 Burmese pythons from the Florida Everglades during the 10-day hunt, which was meant to bring awareness to the threat that these pythons pose to the ecosystem. Last year, he was the direct runner-up to the grand prize winner.

Representatives from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Kiger’s win in a Tuesday morning meeting in Duck Key. This year, more than 800 people from 33 states and Canada participated in the challenge, and hunters removed 195 Burmese pythons from the wild.
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Hunters contracted with the state’s wildlife commission and the South Florida Water Management District work year-round to remove the invasive pythons from the wild. A female python can lay about 50 to 100 eggs at a time, which is why the competition is held during hatching season in August. According to the wildlife agency, about 22,000 pythons have been removed from the state since 2000.

 

[ScriptOhio]