Latest news with #ForTheWinOutdoors
USA Today
24-06-2025
- USA Today
Can you spot the snow leopard ‘disappearing like a ghost'?
A guide with a photography tour company in India tracked a snow leopard to a place where it enjoyed the perfect hiding place to ambush approaching blue sheep. Can you spot it? The sheep couldn't. Inger Vandyke of Wild Images Photo Tours knew from her years of work in the mountains of Ladakh that predators are mostly active around dusk. Since her group arrived at around 2 p.m., they decided to wait it out and see what happens, despite getting colder and colder. When they saw some blue sheep walking up the valley, they wondered if the hidden snow leopard would react. It did. It 'woke from its slumber' and slowly crept down a slope of loose stones and found a place to hide, and 'that's when I took the photo,' Vandyke told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. 'Eventually the blue sheep came into his view and he bolted out of his hiding place to try and catch one, but he missed,' Vandyke told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. 'Sadly, most snow leopard hunts end in failure. I managed to capture it all in stills and I was shaking after it finished. I hoped like crazy that I managed to get all the photos in focus and I did! From that event I became the first person in the world to photograph a wild snow leopard hunt at close range.' Also on FTW Outdoors: 'Ghost elephant' seen for first time in years; is it a lone survivor? The photo of the snow leopard in its hiding place is most rewarding, as it shows the built-in camouflage these animals enjoy. 'They are incredibly hard to spot in the mountains,' Vandyke told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. 'I always remember my husband telling me that before we arrived in Ladakh. I looked at the red-colored mountains and thought to myself 'Well I'm looking for a grey cat in red mountains. How hard can it be?' 'I was completely wrong with that thought.' 'Even now when I look at this photo I wonder how many we might have walked past that we just couldn't see because of their camouflage,' Vandyke told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. 'They can quite literally turn their back on you and disappear like ghosts into the mountains.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Ghost elephant' seen for first time in years; is it a lone survivor?
A camera trap in Niokolo-Koba National Park captured rare video of what might be the last remaining elephant in Senegal, last seen in 2019. The new footage was captured by Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, and Senegal's Directorate of National Parks, and it shows Ousmane, an elephant named after a park ranger and known as the ghost elephant. 'Rare sightings, stealthy behavior and near-mythical status due to their low numbers have earned this lone bull the title of 'ghost elephant,'' Alyssa Cuevas, a Panthera spokeswoman, told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. The black-and-white footage was captured as the elephant strolled by the camera at night, giving it a ghost-like appearance. IFL Science posted it on YouTube. 'When it was last spotted in January 2019, it was thought to be one of only 5 to 10 elephants remaining in the park – a drastic change from the hundreds that once called Niokolo-Koba home and a shocking reminder of the implications of poaching and habitat loss,' Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors. 'Shortly thereafter, a scientific study by Panthera and DPN revealed the male is likely the only elephant left in Senegal, although an anecdotal report might suggest the presence of several elephants in the area.' Elephant numbers in Senegal have declined to near extinction, but this new sighting has 'sparked discussions of greater protections for the elusive elephants that remain, including whether it might be possible to establish a breeding population in the park,' IFL Science reported. Also on FTW Outdoors: Texas fisherman catches record bass, releases it 3 months later Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors that 'there's hope for this lonely creature,' citing other successes. 'The Critically Endangered West African lions that also reside in the park are currently making a comeback – the lion population has more than doubled since Panthera's work began in 2011, driven by persistent anti-poaching and scientific monitoring efforts,' Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors. 'That positive news is reflected in UNESCO's recent announcement removing Niokolo-Koba National Park from the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing the strides that have been made in protecting wildlife that call the park home, such as one of only two remaining populations of lions in West Africa and the region's largest remaining leopard population. 'The footage also comes just months after another camera trap in the park captured images of the Endangered giant pangolin for the first time in 24 years, another development reviving hope for the near-extinct species.' Photo courtesy of Panthera. This article originally appeared on For The Win: 'Ghost elephant' seen for first time in years; is it a lone survivor?
USA Today
16-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
‘Ghost elephant' seen for first time in years; is it a lone survivor?
'Ghost elephant' seen for first time in years; is it a lone survivor? A camera trap in Niokolo-Koba National Park captured rare video of what might be the last remaining elephant in Senegal, last seen in 2019. The new footage was captured by Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, and Senegal's Directorate of National Parks, and it shows Ousmane, an elephant named after a park ranger and known as the ghost elephant. 'Rare sightings, stealthy behavior and near-mythical status due to their low numbers have earned this lone bull the title of 'ghost elephant,'' Alyssa Cuevas, a Panthera spokeswoman, told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. The black-and-white footage was captured as the elephant strolled by the camera at night, giving it a ghost-like appearance. IFL Science posted it on YouTube. 'When it was last spotted in January 2019, it was thought to be one of only 5 to 10 elephants remaining in the park – a drastic change from the hundreds that once called Niokolo-Koba home and a shocking reminder of the implications of poaching and habitat loss,' Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors. 'Shortly thereafter, a scientific study by Panthera and DPN revealed the male is likely the only elephant left in Senegal, although an anecdotal report might suggest the presence of several elephants in the area.' Elephant numbers in Senegal have declined to near extinction, but this new sighting has 'sparked discussions of greater protections for the elusive elephants that remain, including whether it might be possible to establish a breeding population in the park,' IFL Science reported. Also on FTW Outdoors: Texas fisherman catches record bass, releases it 3 months later Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors that 'there's hope for this lonely creature,' citing other successes. 'The Critically Endangered West African lions that also reside in the park are currently making a comeback – the lion population has more than doubled since Panthera's work began in 2011, driven by persistent anti-poaching and scientific monitoring efforts,' Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors. 'That positive news is reflected in UNESCO's recent announcement removing Niokolo-Koba National Park from the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing the strides that have been made in protecting wildlife that call the park home, such as one of only two remaining populations of lions in West Africa and the region's largest remaining leopard population. 'The footage also comes just months after another camera trap in the park captured images of the Endangered giant pangolin for the first time in 24 years, another development reviving hope for the near-extinct species.' Photo courtesy of Panthera.
USA Today
05-05-2025
- USA Today
Mystery of fish caught with wedding ring attached is solved
Mystery of fish caught with wedding ring attached is solved A version of this amazing fish story was first posted on June 24, 2019. In one of the more bizarre fishing stories to surface, a fisherman reeled in a steelhead with a wedding ring attached to its tail, leaving a group of anglers fishing in a tournament on Lake Michigan scratching their heads. 'It was crazy,' Jim Nelligan told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. 'We started wondering who did this, and why?' The answer didn't take long to emerge. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Capt. Jason Rose used a zip tie to attach his wedding band to a steelhead he caught and released [a month and a half earlier] across the lake near the port of Whitehall, Mich. Rose had been married for nearly a decade when he and his spouse decided to go their separate ways. 'I am a fishing guide; she was always against me following my dreams and hated how much I fished,' Rose told the Sun-Times. 'Four years went by since our divorce. I felt I needed to get rid of that ring, but I didn't want to just toss it to the bottom, pawn it or any of that kind of thing. So I released it the best way I know how. I am convinced that ring is cursed. My life has been nothing less than great since I released it.' The steelhead and ring reemerged more than seven weeks later when Joe Penar caught the fish on Nelligan's boat 'Grey Lion II' while they and two others fished the Pass the Passion tournament by Salmon Unlimited of Illinois. They were fishing for lake trout by the R4, a famous buoy east of Chicago's north suburbs, the Sun-Times reported. 'The fish made several jumps out of the water when we caught it, so it seemed normal for a steelhead,' Nelligan told For The Win Outdoors. 'When we first saw it we wondered if it was some kind of DNR [Department of Natural Resources] tag initially, but then we saw it was a wedding ring.' The wedding band is silver with one diamond in it and the inscription, 'SDH Steel.' 'I didn't know steelhead get married,' crew member John Massard quipped upon seeing the wedding ring. Also on FTW: 'Rarest of rare' animal spotted in Texas desert Rose was surprised upon hearing the news about his fish and ring. He told the Sun-Times 'none of us can believe someone caught it.' It was hardly a surprise to Nelligan, however, when he learned the story behind the ring. 'That was my first guess, a divorce, but funny that the guy says the ring is cursed,' Nelligan told For The Win. Because, 'That ring is cursed. Ever since it came on my boat, I've had problems with my Glendinning engine controls, the switch to raise the helm floor to get at the engines broke and the hose at my dock burst. Sheesh! 'I think we'll mail it back to him, no return address!' Photos courtesy of Jim Nelligan.
