Strange – Page 2 – The Outdoors Guy

June 19, 2012

Quebec women in Thailand poisoned by Fugu?

Officials now believe the sisters from Pohénégamook, Quebec, who were vacationing in Thailand, may have died from Fugu poisoning.

A Thai Doctor who examined the girls says their death shows signs of severe poisoning; consistent with eating a (potentially) deadly Puffer fish meal.

What is Fugu?

My condolences to the entire Belanger family and friends of Noemi and Audrey.

Here’s an excerpt on Fugu, taken from the book: Weird Facts about Fishing:

Fish Food with a Kick!
“Another weird fact about fish and fishing in
society today is some of the strange fish dishes
used as table fare across North America. One
such odd fish meal is fugu, a fish eaten as a delicacy
in Japan and other parts of Asia. The fugu is
a blowfish with extremely deadly poison within
its organs, yet many around the world eat it as an
expensive meal. In Japan, there is an expression
that goes “I want to eat fugu but I don’t want to
die.” This expression has come about as the result
of some instantaneous deaths from meal-goers
who have eaten improperly prepared fugu.
In Japan, only very skilled and licensed chefs are
even allowed to prepare fugu for their clients as
there are strict regulations now in place on the
use of this deadly blowfish as table fare.
Not only is this dangerous fish meal high profile
because of its deadly after effects, the cost per
serving is outrageously high. It may cost as much
as $200 or more per person and sometimes more,
depending on the chef.

According to people in the blowfish community,

the most poisonous fugu of all, known as torafugu,

is also the most delicious and the most expensive of

the fugu dishes. This deadly dish, as I discovered, is

actually now sold online and in some grocery stores
in Japan. Winter is evidently the best season to
eat this fish as there seems to be less risk of dying
at this time.“

June 14, 2012

Dreaded Northern Snakehead found in BC

The northern snakehead discovered recently in a Burnaby, British Columbia pond is being analysed by Biologists. By all accounts it is the first time this invasive species has been found in Canadian waters.

Researchers are hoping to determine that the fish was an accidental release from someone’s exotic fish tank, although I don’t know why anyone would have a Northern snakehead as a pet.

In case you’re not familiar with these nasty critters, here’s an excerpt taken from my book Weird Facts about Fishing:

The northern snakehead is another odd fish
that is native to the Yangtze River in China
where they survive in large numbers. However,
as with many other accidental introductions into
North American waters, they can also be a scary
sight and create substantial damage. The northern
snakehead story in the United States dates back to
the turn of the new millennium where a restaurant
owner from New York City reportedly ordered
some snakeheads to make soup for his restaurant.
Well, that’s when all the trouble started. The
northern snakehead, you see, is a very peculiar
fish in not only its looks but in its ability to breathe
air. These critters can live for several days out of
water and in China are often packaged and
shipped live as they will remain fresh for longer
providing a fresher meal.

It is believed that the New York restaurant
owner received his snakeheads for soup but
found them too cute to eat, so later decided to put
them in his aquarium instead. As the story goes,
his two snakeheads quickly consumed all the
‘feeder fish’ the restaurant owner offered them
and in no time became too large for the aquarium.
It is believed the man then released them into
a pond behind the house where these nativeChinese
fish had their run of all the local pan
fish in the lake, which they made short work of
devouring. As time went on, the snakeheads
reproduced and eventually found their way into
other nearby water systems. They have reportedly
even been caught by anglers in Maryland
and turned into the Department of Natural
Resources for examination.

Because of their ability to breathe air and the fact
that they are extremely resilient, with such a veracious
appetite, the northern snakehead is a real
concern to local waters. Some people call them
the “Jaws” of the new millennium. They are
yet another example of an exotic fish species
accidentally released into non-native waters.
Within a year, it was discovered that the snakeheads
had been found in six other U.S. states.

In 2008 President George W. Bush announced
trade and import bans on 28 snakehead species,
in an attempt to prevent any further spreading. The
northern snakehead is another weird and wonderful
fact in the world of fishing today, though
probably weirder than they are wonderful.

June 2, 2012

Convicted killer eaten by bear in BC

According to officials in British Columbia, convicted killer Rory Nelson Wager was pulled from the open window of his car and eaten by a black bear. Investigators believe Nelson may have been dead already.

Here’s the story from the Calgary SUN:

CALGARY – The corpse of a man eaten by a B.C. bear was that of a convicted killer, officials have confirmed.

The B.C. Coroners Service identified the man as 53-year-old Rory Nelson Wagner of Kamloops, B.C., whose dismembered and partially consumed remains were found Wednesday on a remote logging road between Merritt and Kamloops.

The National Parole Board confirmed he had fled a halfway house in Kamloops.

He was convicted of second-degree murder and began his sentence on May 31, 1996, according to Correctional Services of Canada. He had recently been granted day parole.

Wagner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, along with two other men, for the 1993 killing of Langley, B.C., resident Andy Kohlman, after Kohlman had been cleared of sexual assault allegations involving a relative of Wagner’s, according to media reports.

Wagner had been missing since May 23.

“They let people know when they’re expected to return, if they’re going to be late they’re expected to phone and of course he didn’t return,” said Patrick Storey of the NPB Pacific office.

“They were aware that he was missing, however they weren’t aware until recently that he was deceased.”

Hunters spotted his vehicle on a remote logging road and called Mounties, who discovered Wagner’s body hidden beneath some brush.

Officials believe he was already dead when a black bear dragged him out of an open car window to feed on him.

The fact the adult black bear approached the vehicle, then dragged Wagner out to eat is a serious concern for the B.C. environment minister and conservation officers, who are hunting the bruin.

“The concern is once it has lost its fear of humans, then others it comes into contact with would be at risk and this is an area well-used for hiking and fishing and there’s ranching up there as well,” said Minister Terry Lake.

Traps are set and conservation officers are on the hunt.

Acting Insp. Darcy MacPhee, of the Thompson Cariboo Region’s conservation officers, said the bear is likely to return, but might have moved on for now.

While the Coroners Service is confident Wagner was already dead when the bear found him, it’s still unclear what did kill him.

“We should be able to rule a few things out very shortly after the preliminary autopsy … if there was any trauma or any natural disease that caused death,” said Mark Coleman, regional coroner for the interior region.

“If those are ruled out we’d be waiting mainly on toxicology.”

[email protected]

February 25, 2012

Father arrested after child draws gun picture

The Toronto SUN recently reported on a case in the Kitchener School system where a child’s drawing in class actually had her father arrested.

Check it out and then see if you are as bewildered as I am.

Ont. dad arrested after daughter draws picture of gun

Police arrested a Kitchener, Ont., father outside his daughter’s school because the four-year-old drew a picture of him holding a gun.

Jessie Sansone told the Record newspaper that he was in shock when he was arrested Wednesday and taken to a police station for questioning over the drawing. He was also strip-searched.

“This is completely insane. My daughter drew a gun on a piece of paper at school,” he said.

Officials told the newspaper the move was necessary to ensure there were no guns accessible by children in the family’s home. They also said comments by Sansone’s daughter, Neaveh, that the man holding the gun in the picture was her dad and “he uses it to shoot bad guys and monsters,” was concerning.

Police also searched Sansone’s home while he was in custody. His wife and three children were taken to the police station, and the children were interviewed by Family and Children’s Services.

Sansone’s wife, Stephanie Squires, told the newspaper no one told them why her husband had been arrested.

“He had absolutely no idea what this was even about. I just kept telling them, ‘You’re making a mistake.'”

Several hours later, Sansone was released without charges.

Here’s the latest on this story:

KITCHENER, ONT. – The Sansone family is not getting any apologies after they were put through hell by school officials, social workers and police last week.

And, the smoking gun — a child’s drawing that triggered the whole thing — will never be seen.

“I am really sorry that the family is as upset as they are, but we followed proper standards and procedures,” said Alison Scott, executive director of Family and Child Services for the Waterloo Region.

She told QMI Agency if the same situation happened again tomorrow, her organization would do the exact same thing over again.

“I do not see any need for our agency to apologize for fulfilling our mandated responsibility,” Scott said.

The drawing that startled the teacher, who started the domino effect, has vanished.

Scott told QMI Agency it was drawn on a white board and had been erased. She doesn’t know if anyone other than the teacher ever saw it. She also doesn’t know if anyone took an image of it.

Jessie Sansone, a 26-year-old father of four, was arrested at his children’s school, strip searched and held by police, told he was being charged with illegal possession of a firearm. Three of his children were taken by Family and Child Services to be questioned and his pregnant wife, Stephanie, was hauled down to the police station after their four-year-old daughter drew a picture of her dad holding a gun.

Police searched their house and neighbours said cops were going through the house all afternoon.

Eventually, police let Sansone go, saying all they found was a transparent plastic toy that shoots little plastic balls. The toy gun costs $16 at Canadian Tire.

Scott said it wasn’t just the picture, but the resulting conversation with the junior kindergarten teacher that caused the state workers to go into red alert – but she won’t say what was said.

“If there is a drawing where there is some information relayed through that drawing that children may have access to what is described as a gun, and that access may be unsupervised and these children may be concerned because the gun was pointed at them and they didn’t feel safe, that would concern anyone,” said Scott, speaking theoretically.

The social workers still have an “open investigation” on the family, despite police dropping all charges and launching a review of their own conduct.

The walls of the modest Sansone home are covered with family photos, certificates of achievement and framed scripture. The soft spoken young couple now have a lawyer and wanted to share with QMI Agency they are humbled and encouraged by all of the messages and posts supporting them.

Sansone said earlier that he had felt humiliated and isolated sitting in a cell, not knowing where his children were, or why he was being charged with anything, but getting messages from Tahsis B.C. to Truro, N.S., is balm for the soul.

October 17, 2011

Hunting for outdoor oddities

The moose and deer season brings with it, among other things, plenty of time to stroll the backwoods.

In between animal sightings and enjoying the wild splendour of the Great Outdoors, we often stumble upon things unexpectedly. The woods are a wild and woolly place and often play host to the weird and wacky.

Hunters travel long hours over hill and dale; covering a lot of ground in the process, so it’s not uncommon to come across things in the woods you wouldn’t expect to find there.

I call it hunting for outdoor oddities and it provides something to talk about back at camp if nothing else.

Here are a few of things I’ve come across over the years while out hunting, and I invite you to send in your own oddities list:

While moose hunting one time near Parent QC, my buddy and I found a string of advertising balloons from a Detroit, Michigan car dealership. I calculated they flew over 1500 miles before landing in the Quebec woods.

One time in the bush near our hunt camp in the Laurentians, we found a ‘love mattress’ with a bunch of girly magazines lying on it.

We have, over the years, found several marijuana plantations over the years and one time even ran into the gardener as he was trying to escape.

One time, we found the remains of what appeared to be a weather balloon stuck in the trees.

A few years back we discovered a pair of stolen ATV’s someone had hidden in the woods covered in brush.

So, now its your turn. Drop us a line with your oddities list!

Outdoorsguy

April 27, 2011

Rare Jefferson Salamander discovered in Ottawa

(Jefferson Salamander photographed at my property in East Ottawa)

Ok, this cute little guy may not seem that impressive, but I assure you it is one rare find indeed!

According to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM):

The Jefferson Salamander requires intact deciduous forest with undisturbed forest floor and unpolluted breeding ponds. It is likely that habitat loss and degradation, caused by urban development and agriculture, are responsible for the declines in this species in southern Ontario. Today, the Ontario populations are small, isolated pockets each numbering a few hundred individuals. Small populations are always susceptible to local extinction due to chance events such as floods, fire or other catastrophes.

Range: The Jefferson Salamander lives in deciduous forests. Its range extends from New England south to Maryland, and west to Illinois. In Canada, it occurs only in Ontario, where it has been reported from about 30 sites. (In Southwestern Ontario)

This rare specimen is, in fact, the second Jefferson Salamander we have spotted around our property. We actually found another one outside our garage last fall as it was preparing for hibernation. The one I discovered today, whom I’ve decided to call ‘Jeff’ for obvious reasons, was evidently keeping himself warm around the outside of our septic tank.

These special creatures are protected under the Endangered Species Act:

Protection for Jefferson Salamanders is provided by Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007 prohibits actions such as killing, capturing, possessing, selling or trading of the species. The Natural Heritage component of the Provincial Policy Statement under Ontario’s Planning Act provides for the protection of significant habitat of endangered species. Most populations in Ontario are on private land and are close to urban areas. Populations in Conservation Areas and Provincial Parks receive protection.

Don’t ask me what this endangered species is doing here in the Ottawa-area (several hundred miles from SW Ontario), but I feel fortunate they’ve chosen my property to hang out in.

Outdoorsguy

P.S. For those who are wondering, the Great Outdoors is not always about hunting & fishing.

April 13, 2011

Bear versus Cow

This series of photographs (with captions) is one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen!

As the story goes, the photos were taken at a cattle ranch in Kettle Valley, British Columbia, and show what happened when a rogue black bear took on a team of Simmental beef cattle:

Interesting photos from a ranch where every year they have to deal with some pretty weird stuff. This year, a bear had been bothering the herd and I guess enough was enough.

A couple of evenings ago, the farmer went out to check the cows and saw a very strange sight and was able to photograph the event. A black bear approached our cow herd which turned out to be a very big mistake on his part.

The blonde and white Simmental cow we know as I-12 went right for him. She is a very good cow, a very attentive mother and about 12 years old. She’s in her prime and knows that bears are bad news.

She tried her best to mash him into the ground.

There are a couple of photos where the bear is biting I-12’s leg and clawing her face but she is not giving up. Her stiff tail shows how agitated she is. Wayne said all the cows were bawling, the bear was squealing, the calves were running around with their tails in the air.

A younger cow, R-55, an Angus-Cross cow, age 7, is helping her out as best she can. It is an incredible photo to see two cows at once trying to crush the bear.

I looked up the calving records of both cows who are so aggressive in these photos and they are both good, calm cows around us and have given us no troubles whatsoever. I’ll have to add in my notes that they have a very distinct dislike of bears.

We’ll be watching I-12 over the next few days to see if she needs treatment for infection. I don’t know how willingly she’ll come to the corrals for treatment, but she might not have a choice.

Finally, the bear decided to vacate the area. We thought he’d be dead for sure, but there was no sign of him the next day.

We’ll have to keep an eye out for eagles in the trees or flocks of ravens flying up. We’re sure he’s got some broken ribs out of the deal at the very least.

Wayne couldn’t believe his eyes when he witnessed this ruckus. This is another once-in-a-lifetime photography event to add to all the others he managed to document this summer. It is amazing.

I’d like to thank Serge for sharing this incredible story with us…just goes to show what you can accomplish when you work together as a team!

Outdoorsguy

February 14, 2011

Wife saves husband from Tiger Happy Valentines Day

(Unrelated Tiger)

A woman in Malaysia gave her husband the best Valentine’s gift ever, by saving him from the jaws of a hungry tiger!

According to QMI Agency:

Tambun Gediu, 60, from an Orang Asli settlement in Kg Sungai Tiang, told the New Straits Times he was hunting squirrels in the Belum forest on Saturday when he came across the big kitty.

He tried to escape by climbing a tree, but the tiger dragged him back down.

“I was terrified and I used all my strength to punch the animal in the face, but it would not budge,” he told the newspaper. “I had to wrestle with it to keep its jaws away from me, and it would have clawed me to death if my wife had not arrived.”

His wife, Han Besau, 55, heard the commotion and came running. She beat the tiger’s head with her large wooden ladle until it ran away.

Tambun suffered wounds to his knees, neck and head. He is in hospital, in stable condition.

Now if you ask me, thats true love and the best Valentine’s gift a guy could ask for..so, what are doing for your loved one today on Valentine’s Day?

Outdoorsguy

December 30, 2010

Amazing, Croc discovered in Ottawa River

Are you as concerned about this as I am??

December 9, 2010

Amazing whitetail battle to the death

If you have not yet seen the images of the three whitetail bucks locked in death..I warn you they are quite graphic.

We have often seen images of two whitetail bucks locked in battle for supremacy during the rut. On the rare occasion, these deer become locked together for life (& death). It is a sad reminder of the cruelty of nature…

Now, I bet you have never seen three bucks locked together, following what must have been one terrible battle!

In this image, you can see the silhouette of three big bucks connected only by their headgear. The caption on the email I received says “Buck Fight in Dacre” however, it seems the photos originate from the US Midwest, and NOT from Ontario

In this photo you can see the three deer after being pulled from the water and their heads severed.

This image will give you a full appreciation for the size of the bucks involved. What a terrible shame.

So, now we can say we’ve seen evidence of the worst buck fight in history, but a few questions remain. What were three bucks fighting in the first place? Were the two smaller ones ganging up on the big one?

I guess we will never know…

Thanks to Chessy for digging up this additional image:

Outdoorsguy