OutdoorHub
Can Grizzly Bears Use Tools? One Study Aims to Find Out
Grizzly bears, perhaps North America's most feared predators, are generally known for their great size and strength. Scientists say there is also a cunning brain behind all that brawn, and researchers at Washington State University (WSU) want to find out whether brown bears can use tools.
“While it’s generally accepted that grizzly bears are intelligent creatures, until now no scientific research had been conducted on their problem-solving skills,” WSU biologist Lynne Nelson said in a Read more »
Iowa Manure Spill Causes Massive 12-mile Fish Kill
Biologists from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are investigating a large fish kill in O'Brien County that was discovered on Tuesday. According to the DNR, the incident was caused by a manure spill from Summit Dairy near Mill Creek in the upper Mississippi River. Officials confirmed that the fish kill has spread 12 miles to the edge of Cherokee County and is reportedly one of the largest Iowa fish kills in recent memory.
“The runoff caused an elevated level of ammonia and lowered dissolved oxygen in the creek,” said DNR environmental specialist Tom Roos in a Read more »
Alabama Native Recounts Catching Record Gator
At 5 p.m. on Friday, Mandy Stokes of Thomaston, Alabama, was a wife, mom, and assistant to Dr. Bill Bledsoe at the Camden Veterinary Clinic. Less than 24 hours later, Stokes was an instant, multi-national celebrity.
Stokes admits she had no idea what she was getting into during the second night of the Alabama alligator hunting season and, especially, the media feeding frenzy that started when word began to circulate about the 15-foot, 1,011.5-pound alligator that she tagged in the wee hours of this past Saturday morning in a slough near Miller’s Ferry Dam on the Alabama River.
“I...
Seven Questions with Huntress Julie McQueen
Julie McQueen is the co-host of Brotherhood Outdoors and a producer for Backstage & Backroads Productions. Her passion for hunting and sharing the outdoors with others is evident from her on-camera time and social media pages. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Julie about her favorite kind of hunting, superpowers, and working side-by-side with her husband.
Britney: Please tell us a little about your background in the outdoors. Who introduced you to hunting and fishing?
Julie: I grew up on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma where there are plenty of...
Researchers Suspect Blood-sucking Parasitic Eyeworm Caused 2010 Quail Decline
It's only about an eighth of an inch, but it's the stuff of nightmares. Researchers from Texas Tech University say that eyeworms (Oxyspirura petrowi) may be responsible for the widespread decline of quail in Texas during 2010. It is no secret that quail have faring poorly in the Lone Star State for the past several years, but biologists and hunters were astonished to see a surge in bird populations early in 2010. Then, just as quickly as they came, the birds disappeared.
“It was very green and lush, and we had a lot of quail,” said Ron Kendall, a professor of environmental...
Video: Large Grouper Eats Angler’s Hooked Shark
While most saltwater angers may worry about the odd shark stealing their catch, few fish do it with as much gusto as a grouper. These behemoth denizens of the oceans think little of gulping down even a four-foot blacktip shark, as the one in this video does. Blacktips are large predators in their own right, capable of growing well past six feet and more likely to snack on groupers than the other way around, but not this time. This opportunistic grouper finds the struggling shark on the line and quickly snaps it away in one bite, leaving the angler holding an empty line.
According to the...
Ten Reasons Why the Midnight 3 Gun Invitational is My Favorite Shooting Event
Last week, I had the fortune to compete in and cover the shooting community's coolest adventure---the Crimson Trace Midnight 3 Gun Invitational (M3GI). As the name implies, this is a full-blown outdoor 3-gun match.
The third annual event was held at the Central Oregon Shooting Sports Association (COSSA) shooting range located in the high desert about 7,394 nautical miles outside of Bend, Oregon. The remote location and match schedule ensures several things: it will be dark, as in black-hole dark,...
Spill Dumps 5,000 Gallons of Diesel Fuel into Ohio River
Cleanup crews are working to mop up 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the Ohio River after a spill 20 miles from Cincinnati on Monday. According to WKRC, the spill occured in Duke Energy's Beckjord plant shortly before noon. Officials from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are still assessing how the spill will affect local fish and wildlife, but say that water coming from the river should still be safe to drink. This is...
Albino Crocodile Kills Australian Angler Retrieving Snagged Line
A 57-year-old fishermen identified as Tran Van Lanh was killed on Monday after he was ambushed by a crocodile in Australia's Adelaide River. According to the AAP, Lanh was attempting to free a snagged fishing line when he was attacked by a rare, but well-known albino crocodile that local river boat captains nicknamed "Michael Jackson." The animal had been frequently spotted swimming in the river and was considered a popular attraction for tourists. Shortly after the...
Crab Cakes for Free
Have you checked the prices of crab meat in the seafood stores lately? If you have, you know that it's often the most expensive meat per pound sitting on ice behind the glass window. However, often for less than $20, you can catch plenty of blue crabs all along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
As a youngster, any time my family vacationed at the beach, I’d have a roll of 150 to 200 yards of nylon line packed in my suitcase. When we arrived at the beach or the bay, I’d go to fish cleaning stations and hunt for discarded fish heads. I’d take those fish heads back to where...
The BAREBOW! Chronicles: Chasing Dreams
In 1989, I was fortunate enough to draw a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep tag in my home state of Washington. This BAREBOW! Chronicle combines two different stories from BAREBOW!’s 14th chapter. Both misadventures occurred on the same unsuccessful hunt, yet both are worth telling.
The Umtanum Unit for which I was drawn was an archery-only unit, and it straddled most of both sides of the Yakima River, from Ellensburg to a point about 10 miles downstream, through what’s known as the Ellensburg Canyon. Most of the rugged cliffs along the river were on the south bank, so that was...
Talon Shallow Water Anchor System
A boat is only as good as its equipment. It’s true that for some pursuits, having a simple tiller-powered waterborne conveyance is all that’s needed. To have a boat that’s focused on one task or one that’s versatile enough to accomplish several things, however, you must accessorize. In the last few years, we’ve come up with so many great products to make boats safer and easier to use. Advancements in electronics and technology have played a huge part in this.
This week, I tested the Minn Kota Talon...
Video: Two Bear Cubs Start Boxing in Backyard
Confrontations between adult bears can become fights of titanic proportions. These battles can be brutal, loud, and deadly. Bear cubs, on the other hand, are ridiculously cute when they put on mock fights. Like any other young animal, playtime for cubs offers valuable experience for later on in life. These two little bears duke it out near the Smokey Mountains of Gatlinburg, much to the surprise of one homeowner.
"Nothing like going outside around lunch time, looking off the 2nd story deck and seeing two bear cubs horse playing around with their mother keeping a close eye on them," said...
ATF Wants to Know How Many Guns Get Lost in the Mail
Have you ever lost a firearm in the mail? The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) would like to know. The agency announced a proposal on Tuesday that would change how retailers, gunmakers, and importers deal with firearms that are lost in transit. Under federal law, dealers and manufacturers are required to report any lost or stolen firearms within a 48-hour period. However, that does not apply to guns that go missing in the mail. The ATF is now proposing that the same rule be applied to firearms lost during shipping.
"This proposal seeks to ensure that such losses and...
Dave Canterbury’s ‘Bushcraft 101′ to Hit Shelves in September
Survival expert Dave Canterbury's latest book, Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival, is set to be released on September 1. Coming off the success of his previous book, Survivability for the Common Man, Dave says that both books share many of the same core themes, but Bushcraft 101 is an entirely different animal.
"Survivability for the Common Man was exactly that, it was about survival. It is a book based on what you should put in your kit for short-term survival purposes," Dave told me. "This book is more about...
Angler Survives Five Days in California Wilderness
One angler from West Sacramento found that the relaxing fishing trip he had planned for quickly turned into a wilderness survival test. On August 6, Mike Vilhauer, 58, traveled to Lower Sunset Lake in California's sparsley populated Alpine County for some fishing. According to ABC News, Vilhauer had set up camp near the lake with all his supplies when he figured that the fish were not biting. Hoping to remedy that, Vilhauer took up a butterfly net and wandered into the forest to look for some...
Seven Things I Learned by Shooting My First 3-Gun in the Dark
As I stepped into the shooting box at Stage 9 of the Crimson Trace Midnight 3 Gun Invitational (M3GI), I took a deep breath. I was still trying to contain my excitement after lobbing a 40mm paint grenade at an unfortunate (and at that point in the competition, heavily battle-damaged) Cutlass Ciera. Four steel silhouettes stood behind the Ciera.
The goal was to land two shots on each steel target before moving down a row of 11 paper targets, each of which required one round to the central “A-zone” or two on-target. After the rifle targets, I was...
Tips for Calling Squirrels to Enhance Hunting Fun and Success
Communicating with game is one of the absolute joys of hunting. For squirrel hunters, calling can fire up a forest and increase fun and success, just as it can for turkey, deer, and elk hunters. Calling adds versatility to your hunting arsenal and allows for more efficient and effective hunting.
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Video: Leopard Forgets How to Ambush Warthog
Not every hunt in the animal kingdom ends with a successful harvest. Even predators as fearsome as the leopard have their off-days, and sometimes they simply mess up. A video posted on YouTube by Kruger Sightings shows what should have been a pretty one-sided ambush between a leopard and his prey. After almost two minutes of stalking, the cat makes its move and, well, something obviously went wrong. It may be that the warthog was larger---and much more intimidating---than the leopard expected, or it simply lost interest. Whatever the case, the video is worth a watch.
This footage was...
Wisconsin Officials Suspect Koi Herpes Virus Caused Carp Die-offs
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced earlier this month that the culprit behind carp die-offs in and around Horicon Marsh, Lake Sinissippi, and Silver Creek was likely the koi herpes virus (KHV). As the name of the virus would suggest, it is most commonly found among ornamental koi, but is also transmissible to common carp. Fish that contract the virus may die as early as one or two days after becoming infected, leading to widespread die-offs previously recorded in New York, Michigan, and Ontario.
"The public is not at risk from the koi herpes virus and from what we...