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Nevertheless, she persisted.

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Hot air and ill-informed banter

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Almost as fun as hiking the Appalachian Trail

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Dinky Hocker shoots smack!

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

I thought we were promised Infrastructure Week.

Too inconsequential to be sued

This is a big f—–g deal.

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Call the National Guard if your insurrection lasts more than four hours.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

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Women: they get shit done

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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You are here: Home / Archives for Nature & Respite / Faunasphere

Faunasphere

Florida Man Does Something Good!

by Adam L Silverman|  November 23, 202010:08 pm| 150 Comments

This post is in: Faunasphere, Lizard Blogging, Nature, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Something Good Open Thread

saved the puppy from getting eaten by an alligator and never dropped his cigar, a true legend pic.twitter.com/ryRSfZqOsy

— juan vidal (@itsjuanlove) November 22, 2020

Florida Man saves his puppy from a gator!

Don’t even think about messing with this Florida man’s puppy.

Richard Wilbanks, 74, acted swiftly when his 3-month-old pup Gunner was snatched by an alligator in the backyard pond of his home in Estero, near South Florida’s Gulf Coast.

In a stunning video, Wilbanks wrestles the young gator in waist-deep water, bringing it above the surface and prying open its jaws to release the King Charles Cavalier spaniel.

“We were just out walking by the pond,” Wilbanks told CNN, “and it came out of the water like a missile. I never thought an alligator could be that fast. It was so quick.”

Acting on adrenaline or instinct, Wilbanks said he just “automatically jumped into the water.”

He said he sustained some injuries to his hands and went to the doctor for a tetanus shot to be safe.

Gunner had one small puncture wound to his belly, but is doing fine after a trip to the vet, Wilbanks said.

Wilbanks told WINK News that he understands this is the alligator’s home and does not want it removed from the pond. He urged other pet owners to keep their animals away from the water’s edge.

The dramatic encounter was caught on camera thanks to a partnership between the Florida Wildlife Federation and the fSTOP Foundation as part of a campaign called “Sharing the Landscape.” Its mission is to help the community understand and appreciate the wildlife they live near and help reduce conflicts.

Meredith Budd, the regional policy director of the Florida Wildlife Federation, said the cameras typically capture videos of deer or bobcats. It’s not often they catch something like what Wilbanks and Gunner went through.

“We live on a shared landscape,” Budd said. “We don’t just want to tolerate wildlife, but, rather, we want to thrive with wildlife on a shared landscape.”

Louise Wilbanks, Richard’s wife, told WINK the incident has given them a new appreciation for the wildlife near their homes.

“We do need to be aware they are wild animals. They’re not here for our benefit. We’re very lucky to share this space with them,” she said.

Here’s a bit more video with some reporting:

As a native Floridian who grew up on a salt water canal that fed into Tampa Bay, but has also lived in areas of the state with lakes, retention ponds, and cypress swamp and scrub just outside my doors – front and back – one of the things you learn is that gators can be anywhere. And that they’re fast, very, very fast. When I’m out with the dogs near water, even if it is just low lying scrub that has filled up because of rain to form a pond, I keep eyes on the water and my ears focused on any movement in it and along its edges. Day or night!

And Gunner is a very good and very lucky boy!

Open thread!

 

Florida Man Does Something Good!Post + Comments (150)

Floriduh! Man Decides To Investigate the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party!

by Adam L Silverman|  October 28, 202010:54 pm| 266 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Faunasphere, Nature, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Pet Blogging

I meant the title to the post literally, not figuratively.

EXCLUSIVE: A man who paid $150 for a “full-contact experience” with a black leopard says he had to undergo multiple surgeries after he was mauled by the animal in an enclosure behind a Davie home https://t.co/x0zlA4G9Ne

— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) October 28, 2020

DAVIE, Fla. – A man who paid $150 for a “full-contact experience” with a black leopard says he had to undergo multiple surgeries after he was mauled by the fully-grown animal in an enclosure behind a Davie home.

A picture obtained by Local 10 News shows Dwight Turner’s heavily bandaged head and ear after the savage attack, which detectives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say happened behind a home on Earnest Boulevard on Aug. 31.

The man who lives there, identified as Michael Poggi, has a Facebook page saying he runs an animal sanctuary for rare and endangered animals.

I think I’ve identified the problem:

Investigators say Poggi charged the 50-year-old Turner $150 for a “full-contact experience” with his black leopard — to “play with it, rub its belly and take pictures.”

FWC’s report says that once Turner walked inside the enclosure, the leopard attacked.

Imagine that!

The injuries were so severe, the report says the victim’s scalp was “hanging from his head and his right ear was torn in half.”

Authorities say Poggi was charged with allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal and was cited for maintaining captive wildlife in an unsafe condition.

Attempts to speak to Poggi at his home have been unsuccessful.

Authorities say he is licensed to have the leopard. They say Poggi admitted to them what he did was illegal.

Yes, in Floriduh! you can get a license for a leopard. Who knew? Floriduh! Man knew…

I would think the lesson here is not to play with, rub the belly of, and take pictures with an actual leopard.

Best wishes for a full recovery for the leopard, who I’m sure was traumatized by all of this stupidity. And also for Mr. Turner.

Open thread!

Floriduh! Man Decides To Investigate the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party!Post + Comments (266)

Bigfoot Is Real*

by Adam L Silverman|  August 18, 20209:37 pm| 32 Comments

This post is in: Faunasphere, Nature, Nature & Respite, Open Threads

Bigfoot Is Real

Obligatory COVID-19 sheltering in place selfie:

My First Personal Covid Disaster 1

Open thread!

* The person responsible for this post knows what they did…//

Bigfoot Is Real*Post + Comments (32)

So About That Third Party Spoilers Thing… The Libertarian Presidential Candidate And A Possibly Rabid Bat Edition

by Adam L Silverman|  August 7, 202011:13 pm| 104 Comments

This post is in: America, Domestic Politics, Election 2020, Faunasphere, Free Markets Solve Everything, Glibertarianism, Healthcare, Humorous, Nature, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Politics, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It)

The 2020 Libertarian Party presidential nominee has been bitten by a possibly rabid bat.

— Jim Antle (@jimantle) August 8, 2020

I will not be able to attend the campaign rally tomorrow morning. I will be getting a rabies vaccine as a precaution after having been bitten by a bat near the start of this campaign tour! I have every intention of participating in the FLAME march and I will deliver remarks at…

— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) August 8, 2020

What effect might his have on Ms. Jorgenson’s views on the US healthcare system? Well let’s just say kvetching was involved!

Not with the health care system we have now!

And I'm not stopped…I'm just pausing for a few hours.

— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) August 8, 2020

Or maybe we should have a free market in which doctors could travel to the patient outside of a hospital or their offices.

— Jo Jorgensen (@Jorgensen4POTUS) August 8, 2020

There is, as of 11:10 PM EDT, no word on the condition of the bat and whether it has contracted anything serious or life threatening from coming into contact with Ms. Jorgenson.

Open thread!

Obligatory:

So About That Third Party Spoilers Thing… The Libertarian Presidential Candidate And A Possibly Rabid Bat EditionPost + Comments (104)

Floriduh! Man Never Takes a Day Off! Even During a Pandemic!

by Adam L Silverman|  April 9, 202011:03 pm| 32 Comments

This post is in: Faunasphere, Humorous, Lizard Blogging, Nature, Nature & Respite, Open Threads

From WPTV Channel 5 in West Palm Beach:

Florida authorities tracking a stolen car also discovered heroin, cocaine, guns and a baby alligator when they went to make an arrest.

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma announced details of the bust at a news conference Friday.

He said a deputy ran the plates on a car, learned it was stolen and followed it to a Lake Mary house.

That’s where deputies found the drugs and a baby alligator that was being kept as a pet.

Since it is Floriduh!, I can pretty much guarantee that the baby alligator will be charged and tried as an adult!

Open thread!

Floriduh! Man Never Takes a Day Off! Even During a Pandemic!Post + Comments (32)

Birb! (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  December 4, 20193:50 pm| 26 Comments

This post is in: Birdwatching, Faunasphere, Nature & Respite, Open Threads

A little birb told me we’ll be treated to some spectacular bird photos later this week, featuring a photographer who produces images far superior to mine. But in the meantime, I’m sharing this Belted Kingfisher I saw a while ago:

I love these bad-ass little birds for their punk ‘dos, pugnacious attitudes and ratcheting calls. If they think you’re getting too near their young, they’ll swoop on your ass with the fury of 10,000 valkyries.

Let this photo also dispel the notion that Florida doesn’t experience seasonal foliage changes. It’s not as dramatic as it is up north, but there are subtle changes everywhere, and trees in the central to northern part of the state display beautiful fall colors.

Anyhoo, open thread — impeachment hearing thread is downstairs, though that’s up for discussion here too if you like.

Birb! (Open Thread)Post + Comments (26)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Here’s Hoping for A Quiet Weekend…

by Anne Laurie|  August 30, 20194:55 am| 116 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, Faunasphere, How about that weather?, LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, Open Threads, Sports, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

I give u two trash panda kits swimming in circles in our pond. Have an awesome day. pic.twitter.com/yHsZvv41NS

— Chris Esaki (@LoungeToy) August 27, 2019

*Especially* that Florida, and our beloved Floridian Jackals, will come through Dorian as unscathed as possible!

Who’s got plans for the last official weekend of summer?

***********
Other snippets:

When it comes to “2nd choice” preferences, Sanders voters clearly like Warren over the others.

But the feeling isn’t mutual. Warren fans like Harris most, followed by Sanders and Biden, per @pewresearch.https://t.co/zqypFHcz15

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 27, 2019

64% of voters believe that the level of hatred and prejudice in the United States has increased since the 2016 election.

56% of voters say that Trump's language and behavior have played a role in motivating white supremacists to commit violence. 40% disagree.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 29, 2019

NFL veteran comes out as bisexual https://t.co/fzJOrg6UM9

— Federico Chispas (@dfsparks) August 30, 2019


(Sorry, Raven, I know you’d prefer we not bring up football here)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Here’s Hoping for A Quiet Weekend…Post + Comments (116)

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