Latest news with #CraigWebb
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
$15,000 reward to find the object dropped by an injured eagle
A $15,000 reward has been offered for anyone able to find this object dropped by an injured eagle in Tasmania. The wedge-tailed eagle was left in need of medical intervention after it was shot through the leg with an arrow, and now experts hope that by finding the weapon, they can also find the DNA of the person who fired it. Craig Webb, the founder of Raptor Refuge, told Yahoo News Australia, 'It's just a despicable act, and it shows… the level of intelligence these people have.' 'We can pinpoint where [the arrow fell] down to an area of around 10 tennis courts. We're going to do a grid search, and some people are coming out with metal detectors… But we think we have a pretty good shot of finding it.' Video transcript A $15,000 reward has been offered for anyone able to find this object dropped by an injured eagle in Tasmania. The wedge-tailed eagle was left in need of medical intervention after it was shot through the leg with an arrow, and now experts hope that by finding the weapon, they can also find the DNA of the person who fired it. Craig Webb. The founder of Raptor Refuge told Yahoo News Australia it's just a despicable act, and it shows the level of intelligence these people have. We can pinpoint where the arrow fell down to an area of around 10 tennis courts. We're going to do a grid search and some people are coming out with metal detectors, but we think we have a pretty good shot of finding it.
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Yahoo
$15,000 reward offered as hunt commences for object dropped by injured eagle in paddock
The hunt is on to find an arrow that fell to the ground in a paddock, in the hope that it will still contain the fingerprints or the DNA of the person who fired it. More than a week ago, the arrow was shot through the leg of a large wedge-tailed eagle, leaving the apex predator in excruciating pain and in need of medical intervention. A $15,000 reward has been offered to anyone who can help catch and convict the person responsible. Pictures from a week ago show the bird flying with the red-feathered arrow still caught in its leg. Witness accounts from that time indicate it was likely struggling to hunt and had resorted to eating roadkill. Craig Webb, the founder of Raptor Rescue, spent more than a week tracking down the injured bird in Tasmania after he received a phone call about it from a member of the public in late July. 'It's just a despicable act, and it just shows, you know, the level of intelligence these people have,' he told Yahoo News Australia. How do we know where the arrow fell? Working with an expert trapper, Webb set camera traps to pinpoint its exact location in the southern coastal Tasmanian town of Margate. A remotely controlled net was then fired out of a cannon, and the eagle was secured and taken into care. While the bird is recovering well, it will need an operation to remove a bone fragment from its leg. By the time they'd caught the eagle, the arrow had fallen out, but by trawling through images taken beforehand, Webb has been able to figure out a rough location where it likely landed. 'We can pinpoint where it happened down to an area of around 10 tennis courts. We're going to do a grid search, and some people are coming out with metal detectors on Saturday to see if we can find it,' Webb told Yahoo News. 'We've got to be extremely careful when we find it. We'll need to be double-gloved so we can keep it forensically safe.' The ground is mostly rough pasture which will be easy to search, but there's one major problem the team could face. 'There's a big dam that we've got to search around. We just have to hope it hasn't fallen in,' Webb said. 'But we think we have a pretty good shot of finding it.' Eagles face bigger problem than 'idiots' with arrows Eagles in Tasmania are protected, but they face multiple threats, and they're not all from 'idiots' firing arrows and shooting guns at them. One of the biggest killers is power lines, which electrocute eagles all the time. Although cheap bird diverters or "flappers" could be affixed to the lines to alert birds to their presence, they are seldom used. 'They kill birds weekly and not enough is being done about it. To be honest, I'm more angry about the power lines than the occasional idiot. That said, I'd love to catch them and convict them,' Webb said. Signs of million-year-old ancient humans found on Australia's doorstep Couple's 'heartbreaking' discovery on rural road Disturbing discovery on remote Aussie island 'paints a concerning picture' If you'd like to donate to Raptor Refuge to help with its work, you can do so here. If you have information about the eagle shooting, or if you're able to help in the search for the arrow on Saturday, you can contact Raptor Refuge via the details on its social media page. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
New York Post
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Cedar Point's ‘Siren's Curse' rollercoaster breaks down for 4th time since opening, forcing riders to scale down 160-foot tall curve: video
Siren's cursed? A stomach-dropping video shows riders on Cedar Point's 'Siren's Curse' rollercoaster inching down the towering 160-foot-high tracks to safety after it broke down for the fourth time last Tuesday since opening in late June. The ride at the Ohio amusement park skidded to a halt shortly after climbing up the skyhigh tower at the very beginning of the rollercoaster — a small mercy for the passengers who could've otherwise gotten stuck upside down or dangling over the edge. 4 Cedar Point's 'Siren's Curse' broke down for a fourth time last Tuesday. Heather Hammond Semak The 'delay' was caused by the rollercoaster's safety system halting the ride before engaging its signature tilt feature that dangles riders over the midway point while the coaster shifts to attach to the track below, a spokesperson with the amusement park told the Akron Beacon Journal. 'Its safety system performed as designed, but the ride could not be restarted. Guests were safely escorted off the ride,' the spokesperson said. 4 The ride opened to the public on June 28. Craig Webb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images But for some riders, the walk off the coaster may have been more terrifying than the imposing loop-de-loops. A video shared on X Saturday showed the group of riders slowly inching down the evacuation stairs alongside the 160-foot incline as they clung onto the railing for dear life. Breaking News 🚨 Sirens Curse coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio malfunctioned again, forcing riders to walk down the track. This is the 4th incident since the ride opened earlier this year. Video credit: Heather Hammond Semak. — Dave Bondy (@DaveBondyTV) July 27, 2025 The abandoned coaster sat on the flat portion of the tower multiple yards away. One pair of passengers in the middle of the line wasn't budging, seemingly paralyzed by fear while the rest of the riders bottlenecked behind them. 4 The passengers had to scale down the evacuation stairs. Heather Hammond Semak 'That walk down is definitely 10 times scarier than actually riding the ride,' one user commented. 'i'm scared of heights. so if this happened to me, my bones would've melted, and there would nothing be left of me but a blob of skin,' another added. The sensors have plagued the coaster, the tallest, longest and fastest of its kind in the country, since its opening. It has inexplicably halted the rollercoaster at odd spots four times now. 4 On its opening day, a power outage stopped the ride and left passengers dangling over the ledge for 10 minutes. Craig Webb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On its very first day open to the public, a power outage brought the coaster to a screeching halt, leaving the passengers dangling over one of its signature ledges for 10 minutes. Then, on July 2, it stopped on the 160-foot platform for the first time, leaving passengers to descend down the evacuation stairs. On July 19, it broke down a third time while tilted on a 45-degree angle for roughly 20 minutes before it resumed.
New York Post
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Riders stuck upside down for 10 minutes on ‘North America's tallest, longest and fastest tilt coaster' on opening day
It was a hair-raising experience. A malfunctioning roller coaster dubbed 'Siren's Curse' left riders stranded upside down for nearly 10 minutes during its grand debut in Ohio. The coaster, which features a 160-foot lift hill, 2,966 feet of track and hits speeds of 58 mph over a two-minute ride, hit a snag when a power outage brought it to a screeching halt Saturday on its first day in operation, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Advertisement 'The coaster's safety system performed as designed, the ride was restarted, and guests continued their ride,' Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark told the outlet. 'Siren's Curse reopened shortly after and all guests exited the ride safely.' Footage and images of the mishap show parkgoers on the ground glancing up at the suspended roller coaster enthusiast during the malfunction. Advertisement Park officials said the coaster riders did not have to be evacuated from their seats, with the ride resuming after about 10 minutes — although the ride was shut down from 8 p.m. to about 9:45 p.m. The Siren's Curse coaster opened on Saturday at Ohio's Cedar Point park — and soon had a mishap. Craig Webb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The debut of the Siren's Curse coaster at Cedar Point park in Ohio was anxiously anticipated by thrill seekers. Craig Webb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Clark told the Journal that the outage occurred after a motorist slammed into a nearby utility pole, which cut power to the coaster in mid-ride. Advertisement Cedar Point has been touting the roller coaster's debut for weeks, calling it 'North America's tallest, longest and fastest tilt coaster' on the park website. The park last made headlines in 2021 when an object flew out of the 420-foot tall Top Thrill Dragster coaster and struck a woman on the ground, shutting the park down for the season. In 2022, an investigator's report cleared the park of wrongdoing in the incident.
ABC News
21-06-2025
- Science
- ABC News
New 'risk-mapping tool' aims to prevent bird deaths from powerlines
Craig Webb says he does not want to share images of dead eagles on his social media pages. "But the fact is there are so many that I feel like everyone needs to know," the Raptor Refuge founder said. "I wish there was none. I'm not trying to cause trouble. I'm just trying to put it out there … how many of these birds are succumbing to powerlines." Raptor Refuge is a not-for-profit sanctuary in southern Tasmania dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of the state's birds of prey. Mr Webb said a "high percentage" of the birds that came into the sanctuary were injured by powerlines. "There's a real threat to them out there, and we see countless birds brought in with damages, or they're dead," he said. Technology that is used to mitigate against the risk of birds being electrocuted includes flappers — small reflective disks that hang from powerlines — perches, and covers. TasNetworks said more than 600 kilometres of its distribution lines had flappers, perches or covers installed — up from 140 kilometres in 2023-24. It has also used what is called the "delta design standard" that spreads lines further apart to reduce electrocution risk. Tasmania's powerline network includes 20,310 kilometres of distribution lines. University of Tasmania researchers, in partnership with TasNetworks, have released a new "risk-mapping tool" aimed at preventing powerline bird deaths. By tracking 23 wedge-tailed eagles over six years, the research team built a model that predicts where eagles are most likely to cross powerlines, and where the risk of death is highest. Lead researcher James Pay said powerlines were among the leading causes of injury and death for large birds of prey in Tasmania, and globally. It is hoped the data will help TasNetworks identify where mitigation technologies are most needed. "There's some other models that [TasNetworks has] been working on as well," Dr Pay said. "We're combining them all together to help guide where to put either the different designs of the powerlines or the bird flappers more proactively — rather than relying on where the birds have already been killed." TasNetworks said it invested almost $1 million every year in bird protection. In 2023-24, 11 threatened birds were "impacted" by powerlines, down from 26 reported incidents in 2022-23, according to TasNetworks. Mr Webb is concerned the number of birds injured or killed by powerlines in Tasmania is under-reported. "These birds are found under or near powerlines where there are people around," he said. "So you can imagine how under-reported this is because there are so many powerlines that aren't near people and aren't near townships that are not going to be found." More than 9,400 powerline crossings at "risky altitudes" were recorded during the project. Mr Webb said it was "a significant number". "If we can learn from that and do some more mitigation work in those areas, well, that's fantastic," he said. However, he said more investment in implementing mitigation was needed. "It's taken all this time to really realise what's happening and how these birds can see these powerlines. "We've got to catch up to all those kilometres and kilometres of powerlines that have never had anything and, in fact, make it mandatory that all new powerlines have flappers on them." Dr Pay said installing mitigation technologies could be costly. "The only thing that really holds it back is the amount it costs to get these things put out and also to maintain them," he said. "It'd never be feasible to put them everywhere, but [it is feasible] to target them where they're needed, using methods like the model that we've developed." TasNetworks said mitigation technologies were installed "all the time, based on high-risk areas and new reporting". "We're investing strongly in new technology like fibreglass cross-arms and the delta design standard to make the network itself more bird safe, in turn reducing the need for flappers and perches," a spokesperson said. If you find an injured or dead raptor in Tasmania call 1800 RAPTOR (1800 727 867).
