Archive for the ‘animal occurrences’ category

Shark Pursues Kayak Near Cape Cod!

July 10, 2012

– – You could practically hear the theme from Jaws playing, and a kayaker almost wound up as shark kibble in a real life drama that played out off of Nauset Beach near Cape Cod, Massachusetts recently.

One wonders what thoughts ran through the head of first-time kayaker Walter Szulc about 100-150 yards out in the water when he turned to see a shark’s fin closing on him about ten feet away.   A surfer was first to point out the shark, and hundreds of helpful people on the beach were yelling, “Paddle, paddle, paddle!”  Ironically, Szulc had teased his young daughter a short time before about being afraid to go into the water due to fear of sharks, assuring her that the risk of such was very low.–Well, paddle was what he did, “like no tomorrow,” and Szulc’s escape from the 12-to 14-foot long great white shark  was successful.

This was the third great white sighting in Cape Cod in the past couple of weeks.  Experts feel that sharks are being drawn to the area because of a spike in the gray seal population, which has grown from 10,000 to more than 300,000 due to protections being put in place.


Feline Survival Tale…

December 23, 2011

– – A large black and white cat survived a road trip of 200 miles and four hours duration while traveling under the hood of a car in Ohio last Sunday afternoon.  The driver of the car smelled something burning when he stopped at a rest area near his Cleveland destination, and raised his hood to discover the feline hitchhiker stuck in the engine compartment!

Although the cat suffered burns to his right side, he survived his ordeal remarkably well, and a vet who checked the cat out said that he’s going to be fine.  The cat has been named “Eclipse” as that was the model of the car, and the SPCA is trying to find the cat’s owner…

Don’t Ask Santa For One…

November 17, 2011

 – – You might not want a hippopotamus for Christmas, regardless of what the irritating novelty song tells you.  Consider the case of South African farmer Marius Els who adopted at five months of age a male hippo rescued as a calf during a flood, and added him to his collection of 20 different exotic animals including giraffe and rhino that he kept on his farm.  Naming the hippo Humphrey, the former army major built a bond with the animal, considered him harmless, and was videotaped riding him.  Els was repeatedly warned that the hippo was still a wild animal and had to be treated with caution; incidents occurred where the hippo was blamed for killing calves and also broke out of his enclosure, chasing golfers at a nearby club.

The mutilated body of Marius Els was recently found in a river running through his property after the man was bitten several times by the hippo and then dragged underwater.  Hippos, you see, are highly territorial, and are considered one of the world’s most dangerous animals, commonly attacking humans with no apparent provocation, and usually using their enormous canine teeth to gouge their victims. 

The hippopotamus can weigh up to three tons, and travel at speeds of up to 30 mph…

Aftermath of an Animal Tragedy…

October 22, 2011

  – – Just days after a private owner of exotic pets in Ohio set dozens free this week and then committed suicide, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed an executive order pushing for a moratorium on exotic animal auctions and a crackdown on unlicensed auctions in the state. 

 

Animal activists have complained that Ohio has some of the nation’s laxest regulations on exotic pets.  A Dayton, Ohio based group that wants to end private ownership of wild animals says that it knows of at least 20 farms that are comparable to the one in Zanesville from which 56 exotic animals were released with authorities subsequently slaying 49 of them, including 18 rare Bengal tigers…one percent of the world’s Bengal tiger population.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears…

October 20, 2011

 – – Neither in their native habitat nor near Oz, dozens of wild and exotic animals kept in private ownership escaped from a farm near Zanesville, Ohio Tuesday night when an animal farm owner described as a “collector” released 56 animals from their cages and then killed himself.  Of the released animals which included lions, tigers, bears, mountain lions, wolves, and a baboon, 49 were killed by local authorities who deemed such necessary to ensure the public safety.  Six animals were captured alive while at least a baboon remained unaccounted for.

Counted among the slain animals were 18 tigers, nine male and eight female lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two grizzly bears, two wolves, and a baboon.  The owner/operator of the wildlife farm had been previously convicted of multiple firearms and animal regulations violations, including cruelty to animals.  

This horrendous and unnecessary tragedy underscores the need for strict and nationally standardized regulations governing the sale and ownership of exotic animals;  Ohio is one of the states that currently has no such laws…

Bear Seeks Fudge, Gets Creamed…

September 5, 2011

 – – On August 28th in Juneau, Alaska, Brooke Collins let her two dogs out later to hear her dachshund, Fudge, barking.  Investigation revealed that the dog had good reason to bark as a black bear had scooped the wiener dog up, and was biting it on the back of its neck!  This did not bode well for the wiener…

Fearing for her dog’s life, the young woman then decided to deploy five-fingered Mary against the ursine invader, punching the bear on its snout until it relinquished its hold on the pooch.  Her boyfriend then entered the fray, chasing the bear until it disappeared into the bushes.

Ms. Collins said her instincts got a hold of her.  “It was a stupid thing but I couldn’t help it,” she explained.  “I know you’re not supposed to do that but I didn’t want my dog to be killed.”  Fudge survived his ordeal with minor injuries, and a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game felt that hunger might be driving bears into residential neighborhoods due to a poor berry crop…

Perry Shoots Less-Than-Wily Coyote…

September 3, 2011

 – – Republican presidential aspirant Rick Perry, described by another Texas Republican as being “…like Bush only without the brains,” recently drew attention for reportedly shooting a coyote dead that he felt menaced his daughter’s Labrador while he was jogging on a trail near Austin.

Now Perry claims that he always carries his .380 Ruger handgun in undeveloped areas because he’s afraid of snakesand felt that either he or the dog were in imminent danger from the coyote, so the governor plugged him.  It should be noted that the governor was without his security detail at the time, so the incident or the degree of threat posed can’t be substantiated.  Coyotes usually, however, are wary predators that shun human contact, and when some Austin locals protested that Perry’s reaction was excessive and dangerous, Perry shrugged it off.   “Don’t attack my dog,” Perry said, “or you might get shot – if you’re a coyote.”

Dunno about this Perry, but I’d vote for Perry the Platypus…and had the coyote been Wile E., properly supplied and supported by Acme, the incident might have had a very different outcome…

Scorpion on a Plane!

July 4, 2011

 – – It sounds like a sequel to the forgettable action flick Snakes on a Plane, but the scorpion on a plane was all too real, and it stung a Portland-area man flying from Seattle to Anchorage during a June 17th Alaska Airlines flight.

The male victim felt something crawling inside one of his sleeves while trying to sleep on the flight, and thought it was a small bug.  When it turned out to be a scorpion, the man at least had some fun out of the experience by gathering the arachnid up in a napkin, and showing it to his girlfriend!  Predictably, she freaked.   By this time, the man’s elbow was burning from the sting, and two doctors on board checked the guy out while the flight crew called for medics to meet the plane at the airport in Anchorage.  The girlfriend kept her feet on the seat for the rest of the flight, refusing to put them on the floor.

The arachnid is felt to have been a striped bark scorpion common to Texas where the flight originated.  An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the airline has never had a poisonous creature like the scorpion on one of their flights before.

Politicians, lawyers, and my ex-supervisors apparently have never flown Alaska Airlines…

Wrath of the Feline…

May 21, 2011

 – – Within even your common domestic house cat there continues to reside something  feral, something so awesome that we trifle with it at our own risk…and at least one man taken to the hospital might now tend to agree with me…

…while the details of the case are not well presented, it would appear that a man in Cleveland, Texas got into an altercation with a 20-pound feral cat that he found sitting in the living room of his house upon returning to it.   Scared, police said, the man grabbed a knife to try and protect himself from the cat, who seconds later is reported to have attacked the man in the bathroom.  Things got nasty then, with the 40-year-old man admitting that he stabbed the cat multiple times and the cat apparently giving back as good as she got, perhaps exploiting the man’s ineptitude with the knife and reportedly getting his pinkie really well; a claw and chaw operation!  When medics arrived, the man was bleeding profusely, and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.  The cat was also in bad shape, but undaunted (“–Gonna mess you up bad!,” said the cat, “Bring it on,  pinkie!- -You blink, you bleed!- -Is that the best you got, suckah?- -You ain’t worth my time!”).

The feral cat was taken by animal control officers, tested for rabies, and was then euthanized…some say that as the lethal chemicals dripped into her veins, the cat seemed to be enjoying herself…she died a warrior, having fought bravely and well against another life form armed with a weapon who was about ten times her size!

“It is a far better thing that I do than I have ever done,” thought the cat as sleep took her, “it is a far better rest that I go to than I have ever known!”

“Welcome to paradise!,” roared Tatiana the tiger in greeting…

A Goat Walked Into a Music Store…

April 20, 2011

 – – It sounds like a set-up line for a really bad joke, but it actually happened at a piano store in the southeastern Idaho town of Ammon!  The goat is reported to have followed a woman and her child into the Piano Gallery on Monday.  The staff corralled the goat in a bathroom until animal control arrived.

Dubbed “Beethoven” for its apparent love of music, the goat is being held at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter;  if it isn’t claimed, someone is ready to adopt it.

We would suspect that the goat was just looking for some sheeeet music for his kids