Latest news with #Dall
Scoop
03-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
Follow Burning Rules, NRC Urges
Northlanders are being asked to follow the rules - and be courteous - or risk fines and other penalties as the pre-Winter burning season comes to an end. Group Manager - Regulatory Services, Colin Dall, says in a typical year roughly a quarter of all calls to the Northland Regional Council's 24/7 incident hotline (0800 504 639) involve complaints about burning and/or associated smoke nuisance. He says while for a long time the council had typically preferred to educate rather than take enforcement action, its approach had toughened in recent years as backyard burning continued to generate large numbers of complaints. The harder line also applies to those caught breaching the rules at industrial and trade premises. "Open burning at industrial or trade premises is not permitted under our Proposed Regional Plan and businesses breaching this rule are now more likely to receive a $1000 instant fine, rather than the warning they may have got previously." Mr Dall says burning on trade and industrial premises must be done in an "incineration device", which the Plan defines as: A device made from non-combustible materials designed to burn waste that: contains all embers and sparks has a grate and lid or spark arrestor, and is not used to generate energy. He says an open 44-gallon (170 litre) drum is not deemed to be an incineration device. "Those breaching the rules are liable for enforcement action which can range from instant fines of up to $1000, abatement notices and prosecution - the latter with the risk of much stiffer penalties - through the courts. Mr Dall says last year the council had issued 38 infringement notices ranging from $300 to $1000, 56 abatement notices and there had been two court-ordered enforcement orders for burning-related incidents. He says the council's Proposed Regional Plan effectively bans backyard burning in the more densely populated Whangārei urban area. "People living within the Whangārei city airshed - which is roughly bordered by Maunu, Onerahi, Tikipunga, Springs Flat and Hurupaki - can only burn some waste materials during the period from 01 September to 31 May the following year if the size of their property exceeds one hectare or they have a resource consent to burn." "Only waste that is paper, untreated wood, cardboard or vegetation can be burnt." Mr Dall says Northlanders outside the Whangārei urban area can still have outside fires, providing; they don't cause offensive or objectionable smoke or odour to neighbours if the fire is going to last for more than 24 hours and is within 100 metres of a smoke sensitive area, the person lighting it needs to notify all neighbours within 100 metres of the fire they don't obscure vision along a public road fires only contain waste that is paper, untreated wood, cardboard and vegetation (or animal remains where the burning is on agricultural land). (This ability to have fires obviously does not apply when restricted fire season or fire bans are in place.) Mr Dall says in general the regional council is keen to encourage alternatives to backyard burning (regardless of location) wherever possible. "Waste vegetation can be composted or mulched, larger branches can be used as firewood and paper and other materials can usually be recycled." If waste vegetation is being burnt, a lot of problems can be easily avoided just by ensuring it has been given plenty of time to dry out, rather than burning it green. However, Mr Dall says even if some burning is allowed, council rules and national regulations specifically ban the burning of some materials on health and environmental grounds. These include rubber tyres, coated metal wires, treated timber, plastic containers, motor vehicle parts and waste oil. Mr Dall says general information on the rules around backyard burning - including a more detailed map of the existing Whangārei airshed - is also available at:
CBC
05-05-2025
- CBC
Wings, wool and wonder: Faro celebrates annual crane and sheep festival
At Faro, Yukon's annual crane and sheep festival, spectators gather around a fire while up above, cranes are "kettling" — or swirling in circles. It looks like a dance in the sky, with birds nearly crashing into each other. Carrie McClelland is a biologist with the Yukon's Department of Environment. She says the kettling allows the birds to travel large distances. "Anyone who's been a glider pilot knows that's how you gain altitude," she said. Every year, people from all across the Yukon and beyond visit Faro to take part in the festival and see the migration of thousands of sandhill cranes as they make their way from Texas to northern Yukon and Alaska, across the Bering Sea to Siberia. The festival also features the Fannin sheep, also known as Dall sheep, which live around Faro and make their migration from their winter to summer habitat, a few kilometres away. McClelland says over 5,000 birds flew overhead on Friday night alone. She's been coming to the festival for 15 years and says seeing the migration never gets old. "It's amazing and beautiful. I liken it to seeing the northern lights. We get to see them a lot in the North, yet everyone still stops and looks. Same with the cranes, they've been coming here for millennia, and still the locals and visitors stop, watch and appreciate the site," she said. On a cliff face near the festival site, sheep graze on early season shrubs, regaining strength after losing about 20 per cent of their body weight over the winter. The female sheep, or ewes, like to be high on a cliff with their lambs because the challenging terrain helps keep predators at bay. Visitors in Faro gather and look through telescopes and binoculars scanning the mountain's slope for the sheeps' brown and white coats. Tina Freake is the festival's head organizer. She says she's happy with this year's turnout, both human and fowl. "Mother Nature's agreeing with us. The animals are out. So, yeah, it's been really good," she said. The festival took place from Friday to Sunday with nature walks guided by territorial biologists and meals provided on a by-donation basis. Now that this year's festival is over, Freake says she's on to planning the next one. And she says, she can't wait.
BBC News
14-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Watch how whale swallow one man briefly for southern Chile before e spit am out
One Venezuelan kayaker get experience of im life wen one humpback whale swallow am briefly as e bin dey paddle for di Strait of Magellan for southern Chile. Adrián Simancas, 23 bin dey water togeda wit im papa, Dall Simancas, 49, wen di strange event happun. Adrián remember for interview wit BBC say, "I feel like say sometin hit me from back and dey near me and sink me. Na so I close my eyes, by di time I open am again, I find out say I dey inside whale mouth." Di papa and pikin just cross Eagle Bay wen Dall wey get camera for di back of im kayak to record rising waves, suddenly hear crash behind am. Dall say, wen e look back, im pikin don disappear. E say, "Wen I turn back, I no see Adrián. I bin worry for a second until I see am dey comot from di sea. Den I see sometin wey resemble whale bicos of im size". Adrián believe say e bin dey inside di whale for up to three seconds. E describe di experience say, "I spend one second to realise say I dey inside di mouth of sometin, say e fit don chop me, say e fit be orca or sea monster". "But den I start to feel like say I dey rise to di surface wen e spit me out. I go up for two seconds and finally I reach surface see say e no chop me and e no be predator." Di two of dem wey move from Venezuela go Chile seven years ago to find beta life no believe say dem go get dat kain close brush wit nature for remote waters for di Chilean Patagonia. Adrián say, "na experience wit wildlife for one of di extreme places for earth." "I bin dey reason weda I go fit survive inside di whale. I bin wonder wetin I go fit do if e swallow me becos I no get how to fight and stop am again. By den, e don swallow me so I get to tink of wetin to do next. "I bin dey fear weda I go fit seize my breath becos I no know how deep I dey and I bin reason say e go tay for me to come up." Later wen Adrián see di video wey im papa record, e shock at how big di whale be. "I bin no see wen di back appear and di fin dey sightable. I no see am, I hear am. I fear wella." E add say, "but later wit di video, I see say e big sotay if I see am, na wetin for fear me pass". For Adrián, di experience wey im describe as getting a "second chance" no dey about just survival na about reflection too. "E make me tink wetin I fit do beta up to dis point and all di ways I fit take advantage of di experience and enjoy am well. Not only how to get di positive out of wetin dey negative but also to see di full picture wey be unique experience, na encounter wit wildlife for region wey dey for di edge of di world." 'Accident' Roched Jacobson Seba, wey be Brazilian conservationist and president of Instituto Vida Livre, nonprofit wey dey advocate for wildlife conservation and research, say Adrián encounter "na accident". E explain say, "di whale fit dey chop school of fish wen e mistakenly join di kayak wit im food." "Wen whale surface too fast wen dem dey chop, dem fit accidently hit or chop wetin dey dia food road." Oga Seba note say humpback whales get "narrow throats, like di size of household pipe, wey fit swallow small fish and shrimp. Dem no fit physically swallow large objects like kayaks, tires, or even big fish like tuna." "Last last di whale spit out di kayak becos e bin no fit swallow am," e add. He also warn say dis unexpected encounter na "an important reminder." "Pipo no suppose dey go wia whale dey wit stand-up paddle boards, surfboards, or silent vessels," na so e warn, adding say boats wey dem dey use watch whale suppose keep dia engines on so di noise go make di whale know say dem dey dia. "E dey important to respect dia natural habitat and make dem exist witout unnecessary human interference." Additional reporting by Luis Barrucho
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Yahoo
'I felt a slimy texture brush my face': Man describes being eaten by whale
The first thing kayaker Adrián Simancas noticed after he was swallowed by a whale was the slime. "I spent a second realising I was inside the mouth of something, that maybe it had eaten me, that it could have been an orca or a sea monster," the 23-year-old told BBC Mundo. Adrián had started to think how he might survive inside the humpback whale "like Pinocchio" - then the creature spat him back out. The Venezuelan kayaker had been paddling through the Strait of Magellan, off Chile's Patagonian coast, with his father when he felt something "hit me from behind, closing in on me and sinking me". His father, Dall, was able to capture the short-lived ordeal on video just metres away. "I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I realised I was inside the whale's mouth," Adrián told the BBC. "I felt a slimy texture brush my face," he recalled, adding that all he could see was dark blue and white. "I wondered what I could do if it had swallowed me since I could no longer fight to stop it," he said. "I had to think about what to do next." But within seconds, Adrián started to feel as though he was rising toward the surface. "I was a little afraid of whether I would be able to hold my breath because I didn't know how deep I was, and I felt like it took me a long time to come up. "I went up for two seconds, and finally I got to the surface and realised that it hadn't eaten me." In a nearby kayak, Adrián's father Dall Simancas watched on in disbelief. The pair had just crossed Eagle Bay - down the coast from Punta Arenas, Chile's southernmost city - when he heard a crash behind him. "When I turned around, I didn't see Adrián." "I was worried for a second, until I saw him coming up out of the sea," the 49-year-old said. "Then I saw something, a body, which I immediately interpreted as most likely being a whale because of its size." Dall had fixed a camera to the back of his kayak to record the rising waves - which captured his son's remarkable experience. Watching the footage back, Adrián - who moved with his father to Chile from Venezuela seven years ago in search of a better quality of life - was shocked to see just how enormous the whale had been. "I hadn't seen the moment when the back appears, and the fin is visible. I didn't see it, I heard it. That made me nervous," he said. "But later, with the video, I realised that it actually appeared before me in such a huge size that perhaps if I had seen it, it would have scared me even more." For Adrián, the experience was not just about survival - but he said felt he had received a "second chance" when the whale spat him out. The "unique" experience in one of the most extreme places on Earth had "invited me to reflect on what I could have done better up until that point, and on the ways I can take advantage of the experience and appreciate it as well", he added. But there is a simple reason he was able to escape the whale so quickly, according to a wildlife expert. Humpback whales have narrow throats "about the size of a household pipe" designed for swallowing small fish and shrimp, Brazilian conservationist Roched Jacobson Seba told the BBC. "They physically cannot swallow large objects like kayaks, tires, or even big fish like tuna," he said. "Ultimately, the whale spit out the kayak because it was physically impossible to swallow." The humpback whale likely engulfed Adrián by accident, Mr Seba suggested. "The whale was likely feeding on a school of fish when it unintentionally scooped up the kayak along with its meal. "When whales surface too quickly while feeding, they can accidentally hit or engulf objects in their path." He warned that the encounter served as "an important reminder" to avoid using paddleboards, surfboards or other silent vessels in areas where whales usually swim. Boats used for whale watching and research must always keep their engines on, he added, as the noise helps whales detect their presence. Additional reporting by Luis Barrucho and Maia Davies. Watch moment man is swallowed by humpback whale Fishermen rescue humpback whale tangled in rope
BBC News
14-02-2025
- BBC News
Kayaker swallowed by whale recalls feeling 'slimy texture' in its mouth
The first thing kayaker Adrián Simancas noticed after he was swallowed by a whale was the slime."I spent a second realising I was inside the mouth of something, that maybe it had eaten me, that it could have been an orca or a sea monster," the 23-year-old told BBC had started to think how he might survive inside the humpback whale "like Pinocchio" - then the creature spat him back Venezuelan kayaker had been paddling through the Strait of Magellan, off Chile's Patagonian coast, with his father when he felt something "hit me from behind, closing in on me and sinking me".His father, Dall, was able to capture the short-lived ordeal on video just metres away. "I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I realised I was inside the whale's mouth," Adrián told the felt something "slimy" touch his face, and all he could see was dark blue and white."I wondered what I could do if it had swallowed me since I could no longer fight to stop it," he said."I had to think about what to do next."But within seconds, Adrián started to feel as though he was rising toward the surface. "I was a little afraid of whether I would be able to hold my breath because I didn't know how deep I was, and I felt like it took me a long time to come up."I went up for two seconds, and finally I got to the surface and realised that it hadn't eaten me."In a nearby kayak, Adrián's father Dall Simancas watched on in pair had just crossed Eagle Bay - down the coast from Punta Arenas, Chile's southernmost city - when he heard a crash behind him. "When I turned around, I didn't see Adrián.""I was worried for a second, until I saw him coming up out of the sea," the 49-year-old said."Then I saw something, a body, which I immediately interpreted as most likely being a whale because of its size."Dall had fixed a camera to the back of his kayak to record the rising waves - which captured his son's remarkable the footage back, Adrián - who moved with his father to Chile from Venezuela seven years ago in search of a better quality of life - was shocked to see just how enormous the whale had been."I hadn't seen the moment when the back appears, and the fin is visible. I didn't see it, I heard it. That made me nervous," he said."But later, with the video, I realised that it actually appeared before me in such a huge size that perhaps if I had seen it, it would have scared me even more." 'Physically impossible to swallow' For Adrián, the experience was not just about survival - but he said felt he had received a "second chance" when the whale spat him "unique" experience in one of the most extreme places on Earth had "invited me to reflect on what I could have done better up until that point, and on the ways I can take advantage of the experience and appreciate it as well", he there is a simple reason he was able to escape the whale so quickly, according to a wildlife whales have narrow throats "about the size of a household pipe" designed for swallowing small fish and shrimp, Brazilian conservationist Roched Jacobson Seba told the BBC."They physically cannot swallow large objects like kayaks, tires, or even big fish like tuna," he said."Ultimately, the whale spit out the kayak because it was physically impossible to swallow."The humpback whale likely engulfed Adrián by accident, Mr Seba suggested."The whale was likely feeding on a school of fish when it unintentionally scooped up the kayak along with its meal."When whales surface too quickly while feeding, they can accidentally hit or engulf objects in their path."He warned that the encounter served as "an important reminder" to avoid using paddleboards, surfboards or other silent vessels in areas where whales usually used for whale watching and research must always keep their engines on, he added, as the noise helps whales detect their reporting by Luis Barrucho and Maia Davies.
