Archive for the ‘scalies’ category

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Strange Corpse Identified

June 4, 2011

 – – Something weird and disgusting that washed ashore near New York’s famous Brooklyn Bridge on May 21st has at last been identified…

…”What?,” you’re probably saying, “Did Fat Tony forget to weigh down a body again?!”

Not at all!  The over six-foot long body that was pulled from the East River in New York City has been identified by experts from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation as a bony-plated Atlantic sturgeon...

…informers and other rats, however, will continue to sleep with the fishes!

Categories: scalies, science, strange, strange happenings, weird

Comments: 3 Comments

Goldfish Racing…

April 24, 2011

 – – Not to be confused with cat juggling, dwarf bowling, or submarine races, goldfish racing is one of those strange pseudo-sports activities that bars seem to be host to, alcohol making such things just that much more amusing.

In goldfish racing, cheap “feeder”-type goldfish normally sold to be fed to other pets are guided and encouraged by bar patrons to swim down water troughs the length and general width of plastic gutters with bottles and water guns.  This practice has brought complaints from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who contend that the loud noises and bright lights used during the practice scare the bejesus out of the fish.  In addition, some fish have reportedly been impaled with soda straws or even swallowed alive by the same notorious bar patrons.

PETA’s protests have caused one Tacoma, Washington bar to cancel its weekly goldfish races, while other similar establishments are still having fish start their engines…

Categories: absurdities, animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, scalies, strange happenings, things humans do
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Comments: 3 Comments

–Look!–Godzirra!

April 8, 2011

– – Godzilla has been a presence on the movie monster scene since his first film appearance in 1954, surviving cheesy outings in rubber suits and the 1998 reinvention of the character for Sony which earned the disdain of long-time fans of the character.   Worse still, movies like Cloverfield and War of the Worlds (the remake) produced a greater shock and awe factor.  It seemed the glory days of the classic character were behind him…

But wait, there may be a dance in the old boy yet!   Wikipedia reports a greater number of searches under Godzilla in the aftermath of Japan’s tsunami and nuclear reactor problems.  Furthermore, Legendary Pictures has announced that they are ready to start developing a new movie based on the classic Toho Studios monster that will go back to the roots of the creature.  Hopefully ready for a 2012 release, the new film may reboot this classic cultural icon…just in time for the end of the Mayan calendar!

Categories: cool things, movies, scalies
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Comments: 2 Comments

To Be Young, Elusive, and Serpentine…

April 1, 2011

– – She’s young, beautiful, quite deadly, and on the lam; the Bronx Zoo Egyptian cobra, that is!  A mere 3 ounces and just twenty inches long, the missing adolescent cobra has more than 135,000 followers on Twitter, some of whom suggest possible hideouts for her or relate supposed communications.

Staffers at the zoo believe that the elusive snake is still holed up in some warm spot at the Reptile House such as a heating duct or under a large appliance.  Unless discovered, the missing reptile could spend months in hiding before eventually emerging for water or something to nosh.

The snake’s toxins can cause respiratory failure, and is probably the type of asp that Cleopatra used to commit suicide; the venom is lethal to humans in 15 minutes.   Snakes tend to seek out confined spaces where they feel safe, where I rather imagine that she’s listening to some White Snake…

Addendum:   The Egyptian cobra has now been located by zoo staff coiled in a dark corner of the Reptile House during a sweep of the premises.  She is in good condition, but her Twittering days may be over…

Categories: animal behavior, animal occurrences, animals, scalies
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Comments: 1 Comment

Life Imitates Art!

January 25, 2011

– – Those of you familiar with Peter Pan or the movie Hook may recall how a crocodile was Captain Hook’s nemesis, but his approach could be detected by the pirate owing to the ticking of an alarm clock swallowed by the reptile.  The presence of this foreign body did not otherwise adversely affect the croc outside of diminishing his chances of a pirate supper.

Well, Peter Pan was nowhere in sight, but life imitated art when a 14-year-old crocodile called Gena at an aquarium in the Ukraine indigested a cell phone dropped by a woman as she attempted to photograph the croc!  The Nokia phone started ringing afterwards inside of Gena’s stomach (now that’s quality!), and the croc has since been refusing food and acting listless.  Even worse, the croc hasn’t had a BM in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain since consuming the phone.

Hoping that all things will pass, doctors tried to feed Gena quail laced with vitamins and laxatives, but he didn’t take the bait.  The crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.  Surgery is a last resort as incisions and stitches take at least three weeks to heal in reptiles, and the procedure is dangerous for both the animal and the vets.

The crocodile in Peter Pan, by the way, had bitten off one of Captain Hook’s hands and wanted to continue the banquet.- -Aren’t kiddie stories great?!


Categories: animal behavior, animals, scalies, strange happenings
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Comments: 2 Comments

‘Gator of a Different Color

January 9, 2011

– – In the wild, Florida alligators are usually a grayish black on top with a lighter colored belly.  That makes an orange-colored ‘gator discovered in Venice, Florida a bit of a stand-out.

Experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have analyzed the photos taken of the alligator by a 74-year-old woman and determined that the animal’s coloring is not genetic, suspecting that the coloration comes from mud or something else in the environment. It’s unlikely that the ‘gator is a dye job in light of the creature’s thick skin.

Unless the experts get their hands on the animal itself, definitive answers on reasons for its color will remain elusive.  Until then, see you later alligator!


Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, scalies, unexplained
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Comments: 4 Comments

Something Smells Fishy!

January 7, 2011

– – Were the Mayans on to something?–Is it the Apocalypse?!- -I dunno, but just as birds were dropping from the skies in Beebe, Arkansas a massive fish kill was occurring some 125 miles to the west over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River!

Some 100,000 drum fish were involved.  A pollutant was not felt to have been involved as only drum fish were affected, and a pollutant would have affected all fish.

The massive fish kill appears to be a natural occurrence, however, that is not tied to the bird kill in any way.  Fish kills in the area are common, although this one was larger than most…

Categories: animal oddities, mysteries, scalies, strange happenings, unexplained
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Comments: 2 Comments

Asian Carp Invasion!

November 4, 2010

– – Hah!- -Just when you thought that Halloween was over, the Asian carp are knocking at your door! They may already be in waterways near Lake Michigan, and five states are embroiled in a lawsuit against the City of Chicago, barge companies, and others to close Chicago area shipping locks in order to stop the spread of the ravenous fish!  The invasive carp, you see, may decimate a $7 billion a year fishing industry.  Biologists fear that the fish, which can weigh up to 100 pounds, would gobble plankton and starve out prized species such as salmon and walleye should they get into the lakes.

Opponents counter that closing the locks would undermine critical flood control measures in the Chicago area, and cost barge and tour-boat owners as well as others billions of dollars in lost business.  A U.S. District Judge is expected to rule on the matter within several week.

(I for one do not fear the Asian carp; they only want our computers for their young, and should be able to help me with my math…)

Categories: animal occurrences, animals, environmental, scalies
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Comments: 2 Comments

The Japanese Kappa Monster on Destination Truth

October 9, 2010

– –  Once feared as an evil cross between a demon and a turtle, the Kappa has become somewhat of a Japanese national mascot, more loved than feared and depicted on such innocuous items as lunchboxes.   The darker incarnation of the Kappa, however, is blamed for the disappearance of livestock and even children, prompting a segment on a Destination Truth investigation.

Journeying to the location of a recent reported Kappa sighting near Tono, Josh Gates and his team set up infrared and trap cameras to capture any images of the elusive beast, and broke into two groups to sweep the area.  They saw a large dark shape in the water,  which was later regarded by experts to be a large fish or perhaps an eel.  Also checking out skeletal remains of a reported Kappa foot at a Japanese shrine, the team returned with photographs of the same,  which were regarded by a mammalogist to be bones of a canine.

The conclusion?–Evidence for the Kappa is not convincing, and the creature exists at the juncture of folklore and animal misidentification…


Categories: animals, cryptozoology, imaginary animals, mysteries, scalies, unidentified, weird
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Comments: 2 Comments

–Frankenfish?

September 29, 2010

– – It kinda feels like a Syfy movie offering, these tales of genetically-engineered animals for human consumption.   A fast-growing Atlantic salmon developed by AquaBounty Technologies in Massachusetts contains an extra growth gene that makes it grow twice as fast as conventional farm-raised salmon, and is the first such genetically-engineered animal to be promoted for a food source.

The FDA says that studies conducted by AquaBounty show that the gene is safe for the salmon, safe for humans, and safe for the environment.  Some scientists and consumer groups say, however, that the agency should slow down and get more information, citing concerns over potential consumer allergies to such fish and questions about what would happen if such genetically-modified fish escaped from fish farms into the wild, there to mate with wild fish, out-compete with them for food, or irreversibly change their environments.   Soon, such fish might be running for elected office…

It all sounds a bit fishy…and there’s gotta be a bad horror movie in this somewhere! 

Categories: animals, scalies, science, trends
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Comments: 3 Comments

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