In Indiana, the best time to wear orange if you’re hiking or recreating outdoors is November and into December.
When and why to wear orange?
Hunter orange is the color and starting the first Saturday after Veterans Day (Nov. 15) and running until Nov. 30 is firearms deer hunting season in the Hoosier state. All deer hunters are required to wear hunter orange, even while walking to and from their hunting location. It’s recommended for anyone outdoor in fields and woods during firearm season as well.
After the firearms season ends, it’s not long before the muzzleloader season begins. This year it runs Dec. 6-21.
Where can people hunt deer in Indiana?
There are many private properties where hunting is allowed. Hunters must have permission from the land owner to hunt.
In addition many public properties in Indiana allow hunting. That includes state forests and recreation areas (Yellowwood and Morgan-Monroe state forests), including recreation areas at Lake Monroe, as well as in the Hoosier National Forest.
Over 200 beachgoers watched on as the rescue progressed
Marine Mammal Center volunteers wheel a sick sea lion off the beach at Natural Bridges State Beach Sunday afternoon. (Caroline Hemphill – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
SANTA CRUZ — Volunteers with the Marine Mammal Center rescued a sea lion that washed up on the beach at Natural Bridges State Beach Sunday afternoon.
The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit organization and marine mammal hospital that rescues, rehabilitates and studies marine mammals in Hawai’i and along the California coastline. The organization received reports on its hotline of a California sea lion on the busy beach Sunday and a team of trained volunteers from the hospital’s triage facility in Castroville arrived at the beach just after 3 p.m.
The sea lion weighed about 200 pounds and appeared to be in poor condition, said Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. It was reactive and registered the volunteers’ presence but was lethargic. The volunteers worked together to corral the animal into a large metal box as a crowd of beachgoers formed to watch the rescue in progress. The crowd applauded once the sea lion was safely secured in the box and the volunteers carried it up the beach.
The sea lion was taken to the Castroville triage center, where it stayed overnight. Monday morning, the animal was found dead. It will be transported to the Marine Mammal Center’s main hospital in Sausalito. There, it will undergo an animal autopsy to try and determine the cause of the sea lion’s poor condition, strange behavior and its eventual death.
BBQ influencer, Michael Duarte, dies in ‘horrible incident’, and other top stories from November 12, 2025.
The rescue comes in the middle of a severe outbreak of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that causes kidney failure in sea lions. The behavior of the sea lion at Natural Bridges was consistent with some leptospirosis symptoms, but the Marine Mammal Center cannot yet confirm whether the animal was infected.This year’s leptospirosis outbreak has been the largest on record, Rulli said. The Marine Mammal Center has responded to over 450 California sea lions with the disease since July 1. For comparison, previous record years 2004 and 2018 each saw around 300 sick sea lions. The numbers seem to be tapering off now, Rulli said, but the epidemic isn’t over yet.
This year’s major outbreak is a mystery, according to Rulli. Scientists have been trying to understand why the disease spreads rapidly once every three to five years, and haven’t been able to find many answers. The current outbreak is particularly unusual, due to the large number of sick animals and the fact that outbreaks usually begin in the fall.
Leptospirosis can be fatal to dogs. For that reason, Rulli said, it’s important for owners to keep their dogs leashed on the beach and not allow them to approach sea lions or other marine mammals. Beach visitors are also advised to keep at least 150 feet of distance from marine mammals on the beach. Anyone who sees a marine mammal that could be sick or injured can call the Marine Mammal Center’s hotline at 415-289-7325, and volunteers will respond to evaluate whether the animal needs rescue.
Right now, it’s too early to tell if this bout of disease is an anomaly or a long-term problem for California sea lion populations, Rulli said.
“California sea lions are a conservation success story,” Rulli said. “Yet they are a species that is a sentinel for ocean health. So when they’re washing ashore sick, it’s really important that we pay attention.”
An Okanagan animal sanctuary is at the centre of another avian flu exposure. The operators of Critteraid in Summerland say they’re heartbroken at having to put down a number of animals. Klaudia Van Emmerik has more.
An animal sanctuary in B.C.’s interior says it is facing a “heartbreaking” experience after discovering a positive case of H5N1, also known as avian flu.
Critteraid took to social media on Nov. 7, saying its volunteers are “devastated” by the discovery of avian flu at their facility.
“The animals in our care are the centre of everything we do and the emotional weight of this moment is immense,” the organization said on Facebook.
The sanctuary, which is based in Summerland, confirmed to Global News on Monday that 10 chickens have died and that all 10 were sick and showing symptoms of avian flu.
Out of the 10, two had to be euthanized.
In addition, Critteraid said it had to euthanize five ducks as well.
Story continues below advertisement
“We were given the choice to do it ourselves or have (the CFIA) disposal team do it,” Lori Stewart, the Critteraid Board president, said.
“And we made the choice that to ensure our policies of compassion were upheld and they deserve that dignity, that we did it ourselves.”
Critteraid also said that 12 volunteers were exposed to avian flu, but Interior Health tested all of them and cleared all 12. “We’ve never had to navigate anything like this. So the past 15 days has been excruciating, extraordinarily difficult,” Stewart added.More on HealthMore videos
Critteraid says on its website that it provides a home for a variety of rescue animals, including house pets, barnyard animals such as pigs, goats and cows, as well as ducks and chickens.
Fifty-four animals are listed in total.
The situation has required “immediate action” and “coordination” with Interior Health, veterinary professionals and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the organization promises to handle the situation with transparency and accuracy.
“We want to be very clear: we are not hiding anything from the community,” the post says on Facebook. “We are simply trying to move through this with care, accuracy, and integrity while also supporting our animals and each other.”
Story continues below advertisement
The post goes on to say that staff and volunteers are “simply consumed with this horror” and that the “situation is still active and regulated.”
In a statement to Global News, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed that “Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected at BC-IP252, a non-commercial, non-poultry premises in the District of Summerland on October 30, 2025.
“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) works directly with owners to help explain next steps for any exposed birds and any requirements an owner must fulfill when a premises is declared to be infected with avian influenza.
“The CFIA is not releasing additional details to help protect the privacy of the sanctuary staff and volunteers who are dealing with a significant setback.”
1:05Ostrich cull complete at B.C. farm, flock of birds shot dead, CFIA says
The announcement comes shortly after the cull and disposal of what CFIA says were 314 ostriches at Universal Ostrich farm near Edgewood, B.C.
Story continues below advertisement
Critteraid has asked for patience and understanding at this time.
“If you need to reach us, please do so with kindness,” the post says. “Our fragile hearts are fragile right now.”
Exposing the Big Game 