Close Calls

Lost Newfoundland Couple Uses Fresh Moose Hide To Fight Cold

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:51:15 -0500

--Chad Love

Remember that scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are trapped on Hoth, so Han uses Luke's lightsaber to cut open a dead Tauntaun and hollow out the body cavity to use as an overnight shelter from the freezing temperatures? If not, see below...and since it's kind of a sin to have never seen Empire, you get the dubbed version.

In recent news, a pair of Canadian moose hunters trapped overnight in the freezing wilderness didn't follow the script to the letter, but they came pretty darn close.

From this story on cbcnews.com:
A western Newfoundland couple used the hide of a freshly killed moose overnight Tuesday to keep warm after getting lost in the woods during a hunting trip near Gros Morne National Park. Stephen and Sheila Joyce said they lost their way after wounding a young moose and began following the trail of its blood. Shivering and soaking wet, they eventually caught up with the wounded animal.

Video, Interview: Mountain Biker Clobbered by Charging Antelope

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:31:20 -0400

by Dave Maccar

Charging wildlife isn’t the first thing on a mountain biker’s mind in the heat of a race, but the animals don’t know that.

Evan van der Spuy was racing in the 38 km Time Freight MTB Express mountain bike race at Albert Falls Dam, 20km outside the city of Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa for Team Jeep South Africa over the weekend.

His teammate, Travis Walker, was in third place with a GoPro camera mounted on his bike, and captured this amazing footage below of Evan, who was in second place until this red hartebeest (a member of the antelope family) had something to say about it.

Yes, the hit was as hard as it looks. Evan was stabilized with a neck brace and taken to the hospital for overnight observation. He sustained a minor concussion, whiplash and some bruising on his head where his helmet imploded on impact.

F&S spoke to Evan today to get his take on the events behind this video, which is rapidly going viral.

Evan said he is recovering well, and feels extremely lucky.

“Luckily I walked away with just a bit of whiplash and a concussion, considering what happened,” he says. “I saw the animal moving to cross the road in front of me, but when I saw how close it really was, I was shocked. Then, from the moment it hit me I was unconscious. I actually don’t know what happened from then.”

Canadian Moose Hunter Fends Off Charging Black Bear With Bow

Sarah Smith — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:36:32 -0400

--Chad Love

A Canadian moose hunter is out of the hospital after fending off (and ultimately killing) a charging black bear.

From this story on lotwenterprise.com:

A Kenora area hunter is lucky to be alive after fighting off a bear attack, Sept. 26. The 48-year-old man was treated for puncture wounds to his arm, shoulder and neck at Lake of the Woods district hospital and released later the same afternoon. The bear was mortally wounded during the encounter and did not survive. A Ministry of Natural Resources official credits the man for taking action to save his life.

"It was a dangerous situation," affirmed MNR Lake of the Woods supervisor Leo Heyens. "He did all the right things. If he hadn't fired an arrow or fought back, yelling and making himself look big, it could have been more serious."

Video: Brit Attacked by Great White off Cape Town Coast

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:27:21 -0400

--Dave Maccar

A 42-year-old British expat reportedly lost most of his right leg and part of his left foot after being repeatedly bitten by a great white shark off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa today. A YouTube video (below) taken moments after the attack shows a huge shark lurking in the water.

From this story on the UK Telegraph:

Several beaches along the city's False Bay coastline this afternoon remained closed after officials warned it was likely the deadly beast remained in the area.

Craig Lambinon, a spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said the victim was this afternoon in a serious condition in a private hospital in the city.

"This man was swimming around 50 metres from the beach when the shark attacked him at around 12.20pm," he said.

"It repeatedly bit at both of his legs and caused serious wounds on both the right and left side.

Montana Outfitter on Horseback Saves Boy From Grizzly Charge

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:00:41 -0400

--Hal Herring

Amid all the grizz stories coming out of the Rockies these days, this one stands tall. If you ever find yourself about to be keelhauled by 600 pounds of furious airborn grizzly, you can only hope that 25-year-old Erin Bolster is riding nearby on the mighty 18 hands tall horse, Tonk.

Check out this wild tale written by F&S Rut Reporter Rich Landers in The Spokesman-Review via Missoulian.com:

A young woman on a big horse charged out of the pack of grizzly bear stories this summer near Glacier National Park. In a cloud of dust, the 25-year-old wrangler likely saved a boy's life while demonstrating that skill, quick-thinking and guts sometimes are the best weapons against a head-on charging bear.

On July 30, Erin Bolster of Swan Mountain Outfitters was guiding eight clients on a horse ride on the Flathead National Forest between West Glacier and Hungry Horse.

When Would You Kill a Venomous Snake?

Sarah Smith — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:54:42 -0400

--Chad Love

Early one chilly fall morning some 16 years ago, on the scout day for a weekend bonus deer archery hunt I had been drawn out on, I was stumbling my way along a game trail in far eastern Oklahoma when I stepped over--literally stepped over, with my family jewels open to immediate and easily-accessible fanged attack--a cold, curled-up timber rattler trying to warm itself up right in the middle of the trail. This brings up an interesting twist on an age-old philosophical question: If a grown man screams like a wee girl in the middle of the forest, and there's no one around to hear him, does he make a sound?

I'll let you be the judge of that, but when I saw this cool video of a large timber rattler swimming across a Kentucky lake, those nightsweats I thought I'd finally gotten over suddenly started up again...

Family of Man Killed by Mountain Goat Sues Olympic National Park

Online Editors — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:36:11 -0400

--Chad Love

The family of a man who was gored to death last October by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park has filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit.

From this story in the Seattle Times:
The incident took place on Oct. 16 when Bob Boardman, 63, was hiking at Klahhane Ridge in the park, along with his wife, Susan Chadd and a friend, Pat Willis. According to an incident report filed by Colin Smith, the park's chief ranger, "the goat approached Boardman's party while they were sitting and having lunch. They did not approach the goat; instead when it came up to them they attempted to leave the area.

Bear Attacks, Injures 2 Young New Jersey Campers in State Park

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:58:08 -0400

--Chad Love

Bear attacks aren't generally the first thing to come to mind when you think of Jersey. I mean, we expect rampaging Sopranos and Snookies, vicious Real Housewives and bellicose bear-sized governors, but a real, live bear attack is exactly what two Sussex County, New Jersey teens recently experienced.

From this story in the Wall Street Journal:
Two juveniles sustained minor injuries after a black bear attacked their campsite in northwestern New Jersey Wednesday. The attack occurred in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County. State Police say a black bear entered an area being used by campers from Montague-based Trail Blazers Camp. Troopers say the bear grabbed one juvenile out of a tent, causing a minor foot injury. It then swiped at another, causing a shoulder injury. The bear left, but soon returned and was rummaging through the campsite when state fish and game officials arrived and shot the bear in the neck.

Jersey bear attacks are uncommon. Has anyone else from the Garden State had a run-in with a bruin recently?

Close Calls: Hunter Escapes Grizzly

Online Editors — Sun, 01 May 2011 13:17:16 -0400

"It was Sept. 17—my 49th birthday. I was bowhunting with my friend John Wasser, and on this day we rode our ATVs about 5 miles from our camp before walking into a drainage.

We could hear bugling on the ridgeline, and by late morning we'd gotten on some bulls, but no shots. It started getting hot, so we decided to hike out. At around 1:30 we were scaling a timbered hillside when we heard a branch break above us. I looked up and there were two grizzly cubs, about 25 yards away, standing on their hind legs. I turned to John and said, “Bear!”

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Cliffs in the Dark at 40 Below

Online Editors — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:58:29 -0400

With the trip winding down, Ted and I knew we’d have to make a long push through the night to reach Ulukhaktok in time to spend a few hours with our friend Pat and, more importantly, catch our flight home. Fortunately, the weather was good enough for such an aggressive travel plan, and Ted and I left Rymer Point and headed straight overland, northward for Prince Albert Sound.