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Out Of Place Animals

A reported sighting (with blurry photos) has started a ruckus over whether there are out-of-place alligators in an Iowa lake.
Alligators in Council Bluffs' Big Lake? DNR says 'highly unlikely,' but investigating

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is skeptical of certain toothy creatures currently calling Big Lake home. But a Council Bluffs man is emphatic -- he saw an alligator at the park.

With reports of several alligators inhabiting the Council Bluffs body of water flooding social media feeds within the past day, Alex Murphy, director of communications for the Iowa DNR, told the Nonpareil Wednesday just before 1 p.m. through an email that the sighting hadn’t been confirmed. ...

“The conservation officer didn't locate an alligator, but did see some logs in the water that may look like the back of an alligator,” Murphy said. “There were also fish swimming close to the surface that may have given the appearance of what the reports were of baby alligators, as well.”

Andrew O’Dell, who said he saw “six or seven” total alligators -- including a bigger mother gator -- said it’s frustrating that many are doubting his story.

A Florida native, O’Dell firmly said he knows what an alligator looks like. There’s no way he was mistaken, he added.

“I was born and raised in Florida, and I wrestled gators my whole entire life when I was growing up,” he said. “Same with iguanas and all sorts of other exotic animals; black racers, rattlesnakes -- pretty much any kind of reptile I could get my hands on catchin’ ‘em.

“And there are logs out there, quite a few railroad ties and a whole bunch of other debris out there … But I know the difference between a turtle and a log and a gator and a frog and a fish.” ...

“And now everything is blowing up, and now they are saying it’s a hoax and that we saw a log and all this other crap,” he said.

The solution in O’Dell’s mind is simple: go back out to Big Lake and wrangle a small gator into his kayak. ...

FULL STORY: https://nonpareilonline.com/news/lo...cle_8a3ceeca-dcca-11ea-b334-774a283fa8bd.html
 
This must have been posted but I can't find the thread : imaginary big cat with pointed ears walks across Coldham's Common in Cambridge on Sunday.

ABC_Coldham Common.jpg

And video.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/12/large-wildcat-strolling-park-13117109/
 
Bearded vulture spotted in the Peak District

Only the second time the bird has been seen in the UK

Aka a Lammergier, it's flown from the Alps where the endangered species is being reintroduced, and may have been caught up in bad weather.

Around 2 years old & larger than a golden eagle, with wingspan of nearly 3m.

Bearded Vulture
Absolutely beautiful, those big birds of prey really are absolutely beautiful. But then again so are the smaller ones, I can watch a kestrel hunting for ages.
 
A Boa at Barnes Bridge.

A large boa constrictor which was spotted slithering beside the Thames in south-west London has been captured.

The snake, which was about 5ft (1.5m) long, was caught by the RSCPA on Sunday after being seen in undergrowth near Barnes Bridge.

Jade Guthrie, who collected the reptile, said that due to its size, she believed it had been recently abandoned rather than it being a stray.

She said it was in a good condition and would be taken into specialist care.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-53803976
 
Huge catfish removed from Diss Mere, Norfolk

The Environment Agency said it removed the catfish with specialist equipment and took it to an undisclosed location.

The non-native 122lb (55kg) catfish was "dropped in illegally" at Diss Mere about 10 years ago and was caught on Tuesday.

Ben Wilby, from Diss and District Angling Club, said angler Phil Spinks "unintentionally" caught it while carp fishing, five years after the last known catch.

"The Environment Agency made it clear that if it was caught again we had to let them know and they would remove it so that's what we've done," said Mr Wilby.

A post on the club's Facebook page congratulating Mr Spinks on catch, which was estimated to be more than 6ft (1.8m) in length, but said it was "unfortunately, not one which should be in the mere".

Phil Spinks and catfish
 
Police in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany have been searching a river after three local men reported seeing a crocodile there on Friday. No pictures, but according to some sources they were able to give a detailed description of the animal. The search continues today, but so far there have been no further sightings or other updates.

Link to news article (German)
 
Thank you Sharon, I searched under alien big cats and ABC and got the Star Trek thread.
(I try to find the RIP thread and get every thread with an r or an i or a p in it except for the RIP thread).
Maybe someone could do me a tutorial in a forum searching.
I think I’m correct in saying someone recently changed the title to add Rest in Piece to get around that problem.
 
Another crocodile sighting in Germany, this time in Hessen. According to news sites, a young crocodile about 1m in size was spotted on the 27th of August near a brook. The man who saw it also took a picture, which has been confirmed as being authentic. There have been no further sightings of the animal since then.

I couldn't find anything showing the actual photo, so I'm assuming it hasn't been released to the public.

Link to news article (German)
 
Apologies in advance - this won't be as dramatic as some of the other episodes related here.

The weekend of the 8th 9th August - that ridiculously hot one - I was in London, staying within spitting distance of Marylebone Station.

I'd gone out for a pint and an evening stroll and was walking back along the north side of Dorset Square towards Balcombe Street when out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement on the road just under the front end of a car I was about to pass.

I thought at first that it might have been a fox’s brush, sweeping the road as the animal sidled away from me, but as I got closer and focused, I realised it was something else: A rat – no. A rabbit - hmm? Then I noticed the black tips to the ears.

I would swear it was a brown hare! In central London?

It looked like a young animal, a fairly well grown but not yet mature leveret, but I would swear to my dying day that it was a hare.

All the references I can find to hares in Central London claim that they were there were once, but are no more. Regent’s Park is mentioned as having been home to a population, and that’s pretty close to Dorset Square (the central private green space of which is relatively small).

I’m farm born – and spend a lot of my time in the countryside. I would still entertain the possibility that I got it wrong, or that maybe I spotted an escaped pet rabbit of some breed that has black tips to it’s ears and looks like an immature hare. But I really hope I’m right. I love brown hares – if I ever need a totem, they would be it.
 
I love brown hares...

I like 'em too.

I was out on the farm a week or two ago, when I spotted one of the many hares on it moving steadily in my direction. On a whim, I froze in place. Despite the fact that I was standing in plain sight, away from any hedge or cover, on came Mr. Hare. Long story short, he strolled by so close to me that I could have nudged him with a barely-outstretched foot. As he passed I smiled, and felt compelled to say to him "Good morning, Mr. Hare!" He just paused for a heartbeat, gave me a quizzical look and ambled off.

I love nature.

maximus otter
 
I love brown hares – if I ever need a totem, they would be it.
Nice accurate posting.
I'm a bit like that with deer, raptors and ravens, see them wherever I go.


As he passed I smiled, and felt compelled to say to him "Good morning, Mr. Hare!" He just paused for a heartbeat, gave me a quizzical look and ambled off.

As a kid I would go to Rye Harbour and just sit with my back to the old tank traps and watch the hares in Springtime going mad,they'd come right up to you if stayed still.
 
On a walk round the Isle of Sheppey a few years back we came across a sort of hare sanctuary - must've seen about 20 or 30 young ones. Never seen so many.

I almost trod on one once on another walk. It was in a shallow scrape in the ground & I never saw it until it shot off at a rate of knots from almost under my foot.

I think they're the UK's fastest wild animal.
 
...I almost trod on one once on another walk. It was in a shallow scrape in the ground & I never saw it until it shot off at a rate of knots from almost under my foot...

I remember as a wee crumbsnatcher walking one wild autumn afternoon with my grandad and his brother in law. We were up by a small reservoir - a place which had a slightly unsettling atmosphere at the best of times, not helped by the low frequency hum from the machinery in the pump house and the wind whistling through the ragged woods that surrounded it.

A hare broke cover and bolted when we were almost on top of it. We all jumped right out of our skin - off the ground, I reckon. My grandad and his brother in law were both veterans, who had gone on to work in very heavy industry - and would most likely have punched a marauding tiger right up its bracket under normal circumstances. I however was probably around six years old, and therefore had an excuse.

We're going off on a tangent, I know - but for anyone who is fascinated by the animal, I would recommend George Ewart Evans' classic, The Leaping Hare, and also Simon Carnell's Hare, from Reaktion Books lovely Animal series.
 
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Lammergeier spotted in Norfolk

The "bearded vulture" - dubbed "Vigo" - was snapped by photographer James Lowen near Dereham, Norfolk, on Monday.

The RSPB said the bird hatched and fledged in southern Europe last year, but had "wandered up" to the Peak District for the summer.

Mr Lowen said he saw "a huge bird surrounded by crows", and "pulled over and took a photo".

The bearded vulture eats only bones, which it is known to drop from high points onto rocks to break up

bearded vulture
 
Now, this looks pretty damned Fortean at face value ... :thought:

ElephantSeal-Chile.jpg

Disoriented elephant seal wanders streets of Chilean town

A large elephant seal that took a wrong turn and ended up wandering the streets of a Chilean town was guided back to the water by a group of police, navy officers and concerned locals.

Residents of Puerto Cisnes said they sometimes spot elephant seals far out in the water, but it came as a shock to see one wandering down the middle of a street several blocks from the shore. Witnesses said the seal was not acting aggressively, but appeared confused and frightened. ...

Police, navy officers and neighbors used black tarps to get the large animal to turn around and head back toward the water. ...

SOURCE (With Video): https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/1...anders-streets-of-Chilean-town/1141602101505/
 
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