Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
"Oh my God, I'm in a whale's mouth"
Lobsterman Michael Packard says he was diving in Cape Cod, US, when he was gulped and spat out by a humpback whalehttps://t.co/m90SwWqpXy pic.twitter.com/IUA0DO5vOo
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 12, 2021
Whale: You think it’s bad, getting a fly in your soup?…
I have no idea where all the other front pagers have been since Tony Jay’s guest post. I know where I’ve been. I had a teleconference on a project I’m involved in, then I went and ran an errand for the Mominator, then I came home and worked out, then I walked the dogs in the steam room we call the outdoors here, and now I’m typing this. As soon as I hit publish I’m going to go get the grime off, turn on the Avs game, and have something to eat.
In the meantime, I have baby wild turkeys!!!!!!!!
They’re SOOOO CUTE!!!!
Also, I really think I have a chance to win this year!
Annual Pyongyang Burrito Eating Contest begins in 57 minutes.
— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) June 4, 2021
I don’t care what the odds makers say!!!
Odds makers say Marshal Kim Jong-Un is heavy favourite.
— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) June 4, 2021
Open thread!
SHE SHOVED A BEAR pic.twitter.com/a46vljFNV7
— cat (@9livesrock) June 1, 2021
Goddess protect her, if her mom has a service dog, presumably this kid has not had the luxury of waiting on further instructions. And, in retrospect, she advises against shoving bears, per NPR:
A 17-year-old Southern California girl got in a shoving match with a bear to protect her dogs and walked away nearly unscathed.
Hailey Morinico and her mother were gardening in their backyard in Bradbury, Calif., on Monday afternoon when a bear and her cubs began walking atop a cinder block wall at one end of the garden…
Video of the terrifying encounter shows that the appearance of the family of California black bears on the short wall set off one of Morinico’s dogs, which began barking and lunging at them. Mama bear, in turn, started swatting at the large dog and three small ones that had joined the canine vs. ursine confrontation…
“I see the bear, it’s grabbing my dog, Valentina, and I have to run over there. She’s a baby,” Morinico said. “And the first thing I think to do is push the bear. And somehow it worked.”…
The teen said she is lucky to have walked away with only a sprained finger and a scraped knee.
Her advice: Do not push bears. “Don’t do what I did — you might not have the same outcome.”
Do *Not* Try This At Home Open Thread: <em>She Shoved A Bear!</em>Post + Comments (144)
There’s a funny little daily drama that plays out in the house. The video is of Neighbor Cat, Ginger. I believe that is a girl but it could be a boy. Ginger is fascinated by my house as I have 2 cats. Which means he/she gets to pick fights safely from the outside of the window and attack the window until I tell Ging to bugger off. Odo has decided this challenge shall not stand, so he is eternally vigilant by my shoes, so he doesn’t fall off the window sill again (& again) when Ginger attacks the window (again). Hime, as any sensible female would feel, thinks both of these 2 are silly, so she focuses on her obsession with… me. At this point, I’m glad everyone has a hobby, I just wish it involved a space not right next to my computer & my recording mic.
And in other news, trying to organize myself before the big debut movie script table read on Saturday and I’m hoping to get all the pre-panic done today so tomorrow is relatively calm. How’s your day going? 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!
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)
Obligatory COVID-19 sheltering in place selfie:
Open thread!
* The person responsible for this post knows what they did…//