Bobcats!

Bobcat kittens - Image by Mark Musselman

While on patrol for destructive wild pigs on the east side of the swamp nearly opposite the Francis Beidler Forest nature center, I walked up on a female bobcat and her three kittens tucked inside a standing hollow tree.

Wild pigs numbers were greatly diminished after the extreme high water resulting from the 1000-year rain event in October 2015 and Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. However, since the water level in the swamp has dropped, wild pigs have been rooting up every foot of exposed moist soil and reproducing and reproducing. Therefore, I was patrolling to survey the damage and was prepared to shoot any pigs that showed themselves in the open. Unfortunately, the damage was extensive and no pigs were spotted.

I was making a less-than-stealthy march through the dwarf palmettos on the way back to the truck, when a reddish-haired mammal began slinking away in front of me. It was obviously a mammal, but looked initially like a woodchuck low to the ground and somewhat flattened around the edges. It was not a woodchuck, as they are not in this area and the body proportions were wrong. The animal in question was longer. I thought maybe a red fox due to the hair color, but there was no tail. Even when the animal stopped, turned broadside to me and stared, I remained unconvinced it was a bobcat. Cat, definitely, but the hair was so reddish. It was too big to be a domestic cat, but a bobcat would not stand 20 meters from me and stare...unless there was something she really wanted to protect. Just as I began to scan the area for a possible den site, the sounds of young kittens began emanating from the base of the tree to my right. Bending forward and peering around the side of the tree, I could see it was hollow and occupied by three kittens.

Before mom decided to return and possibly fight for her offspring, I captured the short video linked below. I made an even noisier retreat to ensure the female bobcat knew that I was gone and it was safe to return to her kittens.

Video

USAF Wreckage in the Swamp

Last August, we were in the swamp checking for damage caused by wild pigs. Over the years of Audubon ownership, the area of the sanctuary in which we were stomping had been frequently visited. However, a portion of less than half of an acre had apparently avoided visitation or someone would surely have told this story by now.

At some point in the trek, what appeared to be the tail section of a military jet rested ahead on a small piece of higher ground. Fallen trees and logs at a distance can look like many things, but a closer look was warranted. As seen below, it was indeed the tail section of a military jet.

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

Scattered about the tail section, which was the largest piece of wreckage, were various smaller pieces of the aircraft.

A wheel...

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

A bomb rack...

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

A  pedal control...

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

A fuel bladder...

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

...and various bits of steel and aluminum.

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

Inside the tail section was the first clue as to the origins of the wreckage. The identification plate showed the aircraft to be a RF-84F.

RF-84F, 51-1895 wreckage - Image by Mark Musselman

RF-84F - Image USAF

Having never heard the story of a crashed jet in the swamp, we checked with Norman Brunswig, the original sanctuary manager, who arrived in 1973. He had heard a story, though it appeared to be a tall tale told to the newly posted out-of-towner, of a jet crash occurring in the few years before his arrival. Norman never encountered the wreckage during his tenure, which ended in 2014. With that information, we contacted the Air Force at Joint Base Charleston.

After initially being told that we would need to contact the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office, three members of the flight safety office came out to the swamp to satisfy their curiosity. After their initial excitement at seeing the older USAF insignia, they examined what could be seen of the debris field and concluded that the aircraft had impacted at a low angle generally from the east and that the crash investigation team likely took portions of the aircraft (engine, cockpit, and sensitive equipment like cameras). As Joint Base Charleston had no records of the incident, we sent our request for information to the FOIA office.

Upon returning from Christmas break, we found a letter from the FOIA office stating that they had no records of the incident in question. After a brief consultation with Fox Mulder, we were confident that there was no coverup involving the 1950s-era reconnaissance aircraft possibly encountering alien craft over Four Holes Swamp. However, we were also confident that the aircraft had not disappeared without someone in the USAF noticing (extra parking space on the runway apron; missed scheduled-maintenance appointments; extra set of keys on the sign-out board; inspectors pointing to serial number on an inventory list). Therefore, just like the movies, we went to the Internet for answers.

Unlike the movies, the detailed information we sought, including ventilation schematics for the aircraft hangers, did not immediately pop up on our computer screen. Earlier searches for military aircraft crashes in South Carolina had produced only a few high-profile crashes and mainly recent incidents. We searched for any military aircraft crashes and found a webpage showing all significant crashes from the 1940s until the present, but were overwhelmed by the volume of losses by the United States alone. We narrowed the search to simply F-84 models and once again were overwhelmed by the number of crashes, including eight flying together when ice formed on intake screens and all the engines flamed out. All of the USAF F-84 crashes occurred prior to the time frame we expected based on our local story, though F-84s flown by foreign governments continued to crash throughout the 1970s. After a rainy Saturday of searching, we found one webpage that showed numerous RF-84F aircraft crashes listed as impacting in South Carolina. Ignoring the Edisto Beach, Aiken and other non-local crash sites, we focused on the handful of crash locations listed as Shaw, AFB.

Looking back at the image showing the tail section of the aircraft wreckage, portions of the buzz number could still be seen. The buzz number was a large alphanumeric designation on the side of the aircraft to help those on the ground identify aircraft that buzzed low over their house, town, or facility. For the F-84 models, FS was the alpha- portion of the buzz number and the last three digits of the aircraft's serial number was the numeric portion of the buzz number. As the wreckage showed FS-89?, we looked at the two aircraft listed on the webpage that had 89* in their serial number. One aircraft was 51-1897 and one aircraft was 51-1895. Although the wreckage does not allow a full identification of the final number of the buzz number, it was clear that the number was not a 7, but could certainly be a 5. The RF-84F (serial #51-1895) was listed as possibly crashing in December 1956. With a specific aircraft and a more precise date for the crash, we emailed the FOIA office.

Before the end of the day, we received a call that, given the updated time frame, they had located the aircraft crash report and would be sending the releasable portions to us. They stated that the aircraft had crashed on January 7, 1957 in a dense swamp northeast of Dorchester, SC. Yep, that would be her.

Opening the manila envelope that arrived revealed photocopies of microfilm records with all names (pilot, maintenance crews, investigation officers, etc.) redacted. Reading the "Report of AF Aircraft Accident" was pretty straightforward: Dorchester, SC; 7 Jan 57; 1509 EST; Shaw, AFB, SC; flight duration 0:29; 21,000 feet; RF-84F-10RE; FltLt; British...what? We do not know the identity of the 168-lb, 71-3/4" Brit, but here is how his half hour went after taking off from TAC, 9AF, 363D TACRECONWG, 363D TACRRECONGRU, 18th TRS stationed at Shaw, AFB over 60 years ago. (Update: from my USMC roommate, 1/31/2017 - He found a webpage showing ejections from aircraft, which identifies the British pilot as Flt. Lt. John West. Update: from Grant Mishoe, 2/1/2017 - John West went on to be a RAF wing commander, flew the Canberra and died on 5/2/2008.)

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/project/year_pages/1957.htm

From the report:
HISTORY OF FLIGHT:
At 1330 hours, 7 January 1957, FLT LT XX briefed 2NDLT XX on a formation flight, during which close and tactical formation, oblique photography, and instrument flying were to be practiced. Flight conditions were VFR and the flight was to be conducted in the local area.

Engines were started at 1425 EST. The start of FLT LT XX aircraft, RF-84F NR 51-1895, was normal, with no indication of engine malfunction or over-temperature. Formation take-off was accomplished on Runway 22 at 1440 hours, FLT LT XX leading with 97 percent power for take-off.

Level off was accomplished at 23,000 feet and power reduced to 95 percent. After approximately 10 minutes of tactical formation, FLT LT XX was maneuvering and taking oblique photographs of LT XX aircraft, and after a turn of some 60 to 90 degrees while pulling a slight "G" force (2 to 2-1/2 "G's"), FLT LT XX heard a loud explosion in his aircraft, and the aircraft started to vibrate violently. Power setting was 95 percent, altitude approximately 21,000 feet, and airspeed 340 knots.

The wingman noticed a ball of fire come from the tailpipe, immediately followed by what appeared to be fuel pouring from the underside of the fuselage and sabre drain. The aircraft itself did not catch fire.

FLT LT XX retarded the throttle and turned the fuel valve off. As the airspeed slowed down to 270 knots, the vibration smoothed out and FLT LT XX had satisfactory control of the aircraft. FLT LT XX continued to decrease the airspeed, and at 230 knots the vibration increased again and he decided to eject.

FLT LT XX blew the canopy at 7,000 feet and ejected. The lap belt released automatically and FLT LT XX manually pulled the "D" ring. He retained his P-4 helmet and oxygen mask and landed, without injury, in a large pine tree.

The aircraft continued on in a westerly direction for 4 miles and crashed in a swamp area.

(Update: 4/13/2017 from Grant Mishoe, Flt. Lt. John West's description of his ejection.)

Elsewhere, the report states that the $665,162 aircraft was destroyed primarily by an engine explosion and secondarily by being abandoned in flight. The primary cause of the engine failure "was materiel failure in the first stage of the engine compressor rotor blades," which was caused by "metal fatigue in the compressor rotor blade serrations." The engine was a Buick J65-B3, serial number B-641288.

Annotations on an area map (I-26 and I-95 are conspicuously absent) shows the pilot landing in a tree in the area of the new Volvo plant northeast of Ridgeville. The sketches below show the flight of the aircraft before impact and the resulting debris field. The flight safety team from Joint Base Charleston was correct in their assessment of the crash.

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report sketch - USAF

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report sketch - USAF

The other pilot (Update: 4/13/2017, 2ndLt. Charles L. Lustig) in aircraft 51-1879 landed at Shaw, AFB without incident. That aircraft went on to serve in 1958 with the Iowa ANG 174th TRS and in 1962 with the Michigan ANG 107th TRS.

A few black-and-white/microfilmed/photocopied images were included showing various aspects of the crash site. There was the engine, which was removed from the swamp and studied as part of the investigation.

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report image - USAF

There was the wheel, which remains in the swamp and is shown earlier in this blog.

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report image - USAF

There was the tail section with a much brighter USAF insignia, which also remains in the swamp.

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report image - USAF

Finally, there was an image of the "negligible damage" caused by the aircraft as it impacted the swamp.

RF-84F, 51-1895 accident report image - USAF

With over 17,300 acres in the Francis Beidler Forest, we are going to keep stomping. We will let you know what we find.

(Related news coverage at ABC News4. Corrections: 1) Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest is not part of a national forest. 2) Land manager is responsible for 18,000 acres of Francis Beidler Forest not Four Hole Swamp. Francis Beidler Forest is a portion of Four Hole Swamp. 3) The aircraft in the image is the same model, but not the aircraft that crashed.)

To Rattle Or Not To Rattle

Snakes rattle their tails as a warning, but not all snakes exhibiting this behavior are rattlesnakes.

Here an Eastern Cottonmouth rattles its tail to warn of its presence and desire to be left alone.

Rattlesnakes have evolved an amplification method for their tail twitching. Some dry skin remains at the end of their tail each time they shed skin, which allows for a rattle louder than a tail simply moving in dry leaves. Tail twitching is a method of announcing a snake's presence and the rattle is a highly effective design. However, rattling the tail is generally an action of last resort, so many snakes will not rattle even if a human is close.

There are stories suggesting that rattlesnakes are evolving back to quieter snakes without rattles, because non-rattling snakes go undetected and survive. However, there are not any studies that show snakes are rattling less frequently than in the past. Snakes obviously do not want to reveal their location to prey they are trying to eat and unnecessarily revealing their location to non-prey animals may result in death or injury (see the Internet for numerous images of snakes shot or chopped before they could do any "harm"). Remaining motionless and allowing camouflage to work likely allows  snakes to go unnoticed and unharmed. Conversely, if a snake feels that death or injury is imminent, rattling the tail may cause the source of potential danger to move away. It always works with me.

Besides the encounter shown in the video above, other Eastern Cottonmouth snakes have alerted me to their presence when they felt I was too close. While patrolling in the swamp, I saw snake tracks in the mud, but could not find the snake. I did not want to step any farther without knowing exactly what was sharing my close surroundings. The polite cottonmouth, a few feet to my right, rattled its tail against the dead log atop which it rested to let me know its location and that it preferred to be left alone. I obliged and safely moved away. It was possessive of space, but not aggressive.

Eastern Cottonmouth - Mark Musselman

After the great rain of October 2015, I was patrolling the edge of the swamp near the nature center for signs of wild pigs. I hoped that the high water would have them bunched at the edge of the swamp and vulnerable to elimination. I looked up long enough to identify a vehicle moving down the driveway, which was exactly the amount of time needed to step squarely on the back of a Timber Rattlesnake. Sensing the textural difference from my previous thousands of steps, I lifted my foot. The snake moved off a safe distance, coiled and then rattled its disapproval. I took an image, thanked it for its subdued reaction to my "attack" and moved safely away.

Timber Rattlesnake - Mark Musselman

Though the event listed below has become history, we do offer speaker presentations, including one on our friends the snakes. We can all benefit from a better understanding of these reptiles.

Gone Hog Wild!

Actually, they are Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa), but either label congers images of a mess.  Wild pigs are in Four Holes Swamp and have begun to frequent the area around of the boardwalk.  We have noted the negative effects of this issue before in this blog and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Clemson Extension have dedicated substantial resources toward the increasing problem...and it's not just a problem in South Carolina as a quick Google search reveals.

Signs of pig activity can be seen around the southern leg of the boardwalk, which traces a path along the edge of the swamp.  Pigs root through the soil in search of food, which can turn the soil up to three feet deep, disturbing the habitat sufficiently as to make it unsuitable for native plant and animal species.

Pigs also create extensive wallow areas, think large mud puddles, to help cool their bodies and rid themselves of parasites.  This makes the swamp quite attractive to the pigs.

A major obstacle to the removal of invasive pigs is the inability to be at the same place at the same time as the pigs.  We have set up cameras to see if there is a pattern to the pigs' mainly nocturnal movement, but have yet to capture images showing that species of mammal.  However, we have plenty of images for the ubiquitous Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).

We have also set a trap in the upland area beyond sight of the boardwalk.  Significant damage has been done to that habitat as pigs have rooted around in search of plant and animal meals.

The gates at the front of the trap swing to allow access into the trap, but cannot be pushed in the opposite direction to allow pigs to exit the trap.  So far, the corn bait has only attracted hungry raccoons (Procyon lotor) and passing interest from a wary pig or two.

Finally, even the beavers (Castor canadensis) are likely tired of their invasive mammalian kin.  During a recent swamp stomp, we noticed that pigs had been rooting within the beavers' dam and had created numerous breaches along the structure.

Images by Mark Musselman

Wild Pigs Worldwide Problem

As we have reported in the past, Wild Pigs(Sus scrofa) are an invasive problem at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.

Today's Washington Post article reports that wild pigs are a major and increasing problem in Pakistan. A quick search on the Internet will reveal that the problem with pigs and habitat destruction is worldwide.

Image SCDNR

What can be done to control the problem? South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources' news release describes the issue and regulations, including recent legislation passed to control the transportation of wild pigs throughout the state.

DNR encourages those who have wild hogs on properties they own or hunt to lethally and legally remove every hog they have the opportunity to remove...Feral pigs have been called by some an "ecological train wreck" and the destructive nature of this invasive species lends itself easily to such a description. All feral pigs share an unbridled appetite and can destroy hundreds of acres of farmland as well as native plants and wildlife habitat in just a few short nights. Free roaming pigs reproduce at a prodigious rate and are capable of producing two litters of up to a dozen piglets a year.

As noted in the Washington Post article, ignoring the problem does not make it go away and in fact as the exact opposite effect!

South Carolina's Wild Pig Problem

At the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, we have previously reported on the wild pig problem in the old-growth swamp.

Today, The Southeast Farm Press published an online article regarding the general problem of the non-native pigs and the specific issue the animals pose for agriculture.  The article is a fine summary of the problem, which affects us all directly or indirectly.  It is worth the quick read!

Images by Mark Musselman

Wild Turkeys

Most of today was consumed by glamorous work that all naturalists likely leave out of their career day presentations...we moved refrigerators. We hauled a donated refrigerator in the back of pickup truck from Mt. Pleasant to the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest. Nothing like the rollercoaster-like I-526 bridge over the Wando River and the high winds of the stratosphere (that's where we felt we were) to test one's confidence in commercial straps and Boy Scout knots!

We made the refrigerator transfer because the refrigerator in the log cabin actually expired during the Clinton administration. Therefore, we put the donated refrigerator in the nature center, moved the current nature center refrigerator to the log cabin, and sent the log cabin's refrigerator to the white goods section of the county waste collection site. We can guarantee that this part of the job won't come up at tomorrow's Devon Forest Elementary School career day.

In the few minutes between loading refrigerators on and off the pickup truck, we were able to grab lunch and check out the latest issue of South Carolina Wildlife. Den Latham's "Talkin' Turkey" discusses the decline and resurgence of the population of South Carolina's state game bird, the Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallapavo silvestris). Habitat loss, especially from cotton farming, and overhunting brought the state's population of turkeys to below 30,000. As farms were abandoned when soils ceased to be productive or eroded as in the Upstate, reforestation occurred. Wildlife managers from the Department of Natural Resources began takign birds from the Francis Marion Forest and relocating the animals across the state. Now, every county in the state can report a population of Eastern Wild Turkey.

Turkeys still face threats. Wet weather during the breeding season can cause polts to die of hyperthermia or cause the hen's scent to be stronger and more easily detectable by predators. Feral pigs, non-native and destructive scurge in all habitats of South Carolina, can eat turkey eggs and food items as well as destroy turkey habitat. Finally, the reduction in burning prevents the critical open understory which turkeys need for foraging and avoiding predators. Although the swamp seldom burns, the mature, old-growth forest at the Francis Beidler Forest provides the open understory and the turkey population is quite healthy. The images show a group of eight turkeys moving through the parking lot and down into the swamp. They apparently do not like to get their feet wet as they waited patiently for their turn to use a log to cross the wettest portion of the swamp.