• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Out Of Place Animals

Stowaway Egyptian gecko found in Manchester Lidl strawberries.
A gecko has made a journey of nearly 3,000 miles (4,828 km) stowed away in a punnet of strawberries.
A woman made the surprise discovery of the Egyptian lizard when she opened her fridge in Manchester to find a "little head" popping up.
1674662894718.png

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-64400729
 
Leopard gets into Indian court

6 people injured. Leopard eventually locked in cage.

Chaotic footage from journalists and witnesses showed the leopard prowling around the court and attacking lawyers.

Video tweeted by Bharat Samachar reporter Lokesh Rai showed a victim with deep bite marks on his left forearm, while another cradled a cloth on his left ear as blood stained his shirt.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhishek Srivastav said per India Today: ‘Around six people have sustained injuries after being attacked by the animal, which is still on the court premises.’

Three have been taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.

Brave animal welfare officials managed to tranquilise the leopard and place them into a cage to put a stop to their rampage four hours after the break-in.

Videos showed the cat inside a cage in the gallery outside the courtroom growling at onlookers.
Click to expand...
 
Interesting how unimpressed the shoppers seem, as if ponies show up everyday for the Low Everyday Prices on oats.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, there is a very different approach to out of place fauna:
Feral Cattle in New Mexico
"The US Forest Service will move forward with killing feral cattle in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest, officials say.
The agency issued its decision in a news release on Thursday, stating the feral cattle “pose a significant threat to public safety and natural resources.”
Click to expand...
 
kesavaross said:
The firework display was actually canceled so as Thor the Arctic Walrus could 'self pleasure' in peace and quiet.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/techno...s/news-story/bc08e936c536e5c78a6af6cdc2b5a2e7
Click to expand...

Thor is back home (?) in Iceland, he beat off attempts to capture him.

A walrus that drew crowds when spotted on the south and east coasts of England appears to have arrived in Iceland.

The mammal, named Thor, appeared in Hampshire in December before spending New Year in Scarborough and heading 70 miles further north to Blyth, Northumberland.

The walrus was reported as in Breiðdalsvík, Iceland, on Friday.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue said it could confirm from markings that it was Thor.

"After Thor's visit to the UK we wondered if we would ever see him again," a spokesman said. "We are delighted to have been informed that he is in Iceland."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-64765003
 
Another walrus mulls over moving to Scotland.

A walrus has been spotted off Mull in the Inner Hebrides.

Creel fisherman Lorn MacRae came across the Arctic animal hauled out on rocks at the Treshnish Isles on Monday.

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT), which has been alerted to the sighting, described the walrus as "massive".

In December and early January a walrus nicknamed Thor was seen on the south and east coasts of England, before turning up in Iceland last week.

HWDT, a marine charity that has been monitoring wildlife off Scotland's west coast for more than 25 years, said Monday's sighting was the first record of a walrus on its database.

Walrus at Kinlochbervie
IMAGE SOURCE ,KINLOCHBERVIE SCIENCE/KINLOCHBERVIE HIGH SCHOOL. Image caption, An image of a walrus taken in 2018 by Kinlochbervie High School's science department

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-64793768
 
hunck said:
Leopard gets into Indian court

6 people injured. Leopard eventually locked in cage.
Click to expand...

Leopards are - to my mind - the spookiest of the big cats. Jim Corbett's memoirs of hunting maneaters in India contain descriptions of incidents where leopards have opened doors or window shutters, sauntered through rooms full of sleeping people, taken an individual sleeper, and then returned the same way with their prey - no-one in the room being any the wiser until they wake in the morning. Such incidents are also, I think, mentioned in Patrick Newman's absolutely fascinating book, Tracking the Weretiger: Supernatural Man-Eaters of India.

Reading these books, and the experiences contained within, really gives an inkling as to how some animals occupy a territory between apex predator and supernatural being, at least to those that share their habitats; more so than watching any documentary film footage, I think.
 
Last edited:
Serval found up tree tests positive for cocaine

Dog wardens responded to reports of a leopard on a tree in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cell phone video showed a cat with a spotted golden coat and large ears perched on a tree branch. Officials, suspecting it was a F1 Savannah house cat, managed to capture it and took it to an animal shelter.

Cincinnati Animal CARE ran some tests on the cat and found out its species – which wasn’t even the biggest surprise. It was found to have cocaine in its system.

‘Toxicology came back the animal was positive for narcotics in its system,’ Troy Taylor, chief of the Hamilton County Dog Warden’s Office, told WKRC.

‘And DNA came back positive illegal serval.’

African servals are allowed to be kept as pets in neighboring Indiana and Kentucky, but are illegal in Ohio.
‘These types of animals are considered dangerous. They are on the dangerous wild list for Ohio,’ Taylor said.

The serval, known as Amiry, sustained a broken leg during the capture episode. Medical staff at the animal shelter began tending the feline that is unlike any other they worked on before.

‘He got some good pain medications, kept a camera on him so we could monitor in that night and in the morning we were able to get a hold of the Zoo to take over care,’ Taylor said.

Amiry was transferred to Cincinnati Zoo for further treatment and supervision.

‘We’re extremely proud of the work done in this case by the dog wardens and medical staff and are immensely appreciative to the Cincinnati Zoo for getting Amiry the care he needs,’ Cincinnati Animal CARE community engagement manager Ray Anderson told WLWT.

Amiry’s owner was found and cooperative and will not face charges for the January 28 incident partly reminiscent of the comedy thriller Cocaine Bear in theaters now.
Click to expand...
1678366009407.png
 
He wouldn't have driven a JRT from it's bed!

Arizona family discovers bobcat has taken over their dog’s bed​

Owner finds unruly visitor in place of chihuahua-dachshund, Squeakers, who narrowly survived encounter with wildcat

At first, Nikola Zovko thought the creature curled up in his dog Squeakers’s deluxe, heated dog bed was just one of his cats. “I said, ‘Fuzzerhead, what’re you doing in Squeakers’s bed?’” he said. And that’s when it registered. “Oh that’s not Fuzzerhead. That’s a real life bobcat.”
In the week since, Zovko and his family lost and found their beloved pup Squeakers, a 10-year-old chihuahua-dachshund mix. After discovering that he had been mauled by the bobcat who stole his throne, they raised enough money for surgeries to restore him to health. The local game and fish department has used their story as an example of what to do when wildlife wander in to your home.

“Don’t handle entrapped/hurt wildlife yourself,” the Arizona Game and Fish Department Tuscon tweeted. ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ndoff-after-finding-the-animal-in-his-dog-bed
 
ramonmercado said:
…their beloved pup Squeakers… had been mauled by the bobcat …what to do when wildlife wander in to your home.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ndoff-after-finding-the-animal-in-his-dog-bed
Click to expand...

“In Arizona, open bobcat hunting season runs from August 1 to March 31.”

https://thepredatorhunter.com/laws-for-hunting-bobcats-in-arizona/

:sneaky2:

Though as it’s reported in the Groan - note their reference to the animal as “who” - I’m surprised that they didn’t recommend that the family abandon the house and leave it for the bobcat.

maximus otter
 
Dumped due to energy costs?

A bearded dragon has been rescued after being found in freezing temperatures at a cricket ground in Sussex.

A member of the public found the lizard near the pavilion at Hailsham Cricket Club on Thursday before contacting the RSPCA who took it into its care. The RSPCA said the reptile, native to Australia, would not have survived for long in the cold weather if it had not been found. The animal charity has named him Dave.

Bearded dragons are endothermic which means they cannot generate their own body heat and need warmth to survive, according to RSPCA inspector, Rachel Smith.

"When they are kept in this country they require a heat lamp to keep temperatures high. Had he not been found he would have been at death's door before long," she said. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-64931720
 
Possibly a tiger shark. Head and tail probably eaten by Lepe beach locals, likely known as Lepers.

A shark thought to be rare in the UK has had its head and tail cut off after it was found dead on a beach.

On Saturday, locals walking on Lepe beach in Hampshire discovered a dead shark which was later spotted without its head, tail and fin.
Broadcaster and historian Dan Snow saw the shark and tweeted that a biologist he knew said it was an "exceptionally rare visitor to these shores".

He asked for the head to be returned so scientists could study it.

Skip twitter post by Dan Snow

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Dan Snow

Mr Snow tweeted a video at 01.00 GMT from a road near the beach where he and a group of local people had dragged the 8ft-long (2.4m) shark to try to safeguard it .

"We have recovered a good chunk of it but some trophy-hunters got there just before us and they took the head and the dorsal fin on the tail," he said.

This was "really disappointing", he added, since he and the group had been asked by scientists "to secure this carcass of this once-in-a-lifetime find in British waters".

Mr Snow put out a plea on Twitter for whoever had the head to bring it back temporarily so the scientists could examine it, adding that the individual could then keep the head.

He told the BBC that researchers were hoping to see the teeth and head as they believed the animal could be a smalltooth sand tiger shark, usually found in warmer waters.

He said it was a rare opportunity to have access to the shark and that scientists who contacted him wanted to study it to "help us learn about our oceans and the ocean health and climate change".

Dead shark head
IMAGE SOURCE, SASHA WHELLER Image caption, Broadcaster and historian Dan Snow said scientists wanted to have access to the head and teeth for research

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-65006363
 
Skunk on the loose in Muswell Hill.

An early morning commuter was heard saying ‘f***’ as the black and white striped animal ran past her at a bus stop in Muswell Hill on Monday.

Lauren O’Hara, 34, who was on her way to her retail job, said she thought it was a cat at first.

The RSPCA has confirmed the creature was ‘definitely a skunk’.
Click to expand...
1680094335566.png

 
So many weird animals are being found or spotted here now. Does the assembled multitude think people are keeping loads of exotic pets now? And are they legal?
 
I thought it was usually 'drug dealers' that got 'exotic pets'? And that they had no idea how to care for such an animal after acquiring it, so they got released into the wild.
 
staticgirl said:
So many weird animals are being found or spotted here now. Does the assembled multitude think people are keeping loads of exotic pets now? And are they legal?
Click to expand...
On looking it up it seems that

It is currently legal to keep skunks as pets in Britain without a license.

Are skunks friendly? When born and raised in captivity, skunks can make friendly, intelligent, and unique pets. They can learn to be comfortable when handled by people and can be quite playful and cuddly.

It's legal to keep skunks as pets in the UK however it is illegal to have the scent glands removed.
Click to expand...
 
I guess skunk owners would soon get used to the unbearable stench.
I have a 'friend' that keeps ferrets. She stinks. Also, she doesn't notice the smell. Everyone else does.
 
ramonmercado said:
Possibly a tiger shark. Head and tail probably eaten by Lepe beach locals, likely known as Lepers.

A shark thought to be rare in the UK has had its head and tail cut off after it was found dead on a beach.

On Saturday, locals walking on Lepe beach in Hampshire discovered a dead shark which was later spotted without its head, tail and fin.
Broadcaster and historian Dan Snow saw the shark and tweeted that a biologist he knew said it was an "exceptionally rare visitor to these shores".

He asked for the head to be returned so scientists could study it.

Skip twitter post by Dan Snow

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Dan Snow

Mr Snow tweeted a video at 01.00 GMT from a road near the beach where he and a group of local people had dragged the 8ft-long (2.4m) shark to try to safeguard it .

"We have recovered a good chunk of it but some trophy-hunters got there just before us and they took the head and the dorsal fin on the tail," he said.

This was "really disappointing", he added, since he and the group had been asked by scientists "to secure this carcass of this once-in-a-lifetime find in British waters".

Mr Snow put out a plea on Twitter for whoever had the head to bring it back temporarily so the scientists could examine it, adding that the individual could then keep the head.

He told the BBC that researchers were hoping to see the teeth and head as they believed the animal could be a smalltooth sand tiger shark, usually found in warmer waters.

He said it was a rare opportunity to have access to the shark and that scientists who contacted him wanted to study it to "help us learn about our oceans and the ocean health and climate change".

Dead shark head
IMAGE SOURCE, SASHA WHELLER Image caption, Broadcaster and historian Dan Snow said scientists wanted to have access to the head and teeth for research

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-65006363
Click to expand...

Now one has been found on an Irish beach.

A rare shark has washed up on the Wexford shore in what scientists believe to be the first record of the species in Irish water.

A Swiss tourist came upon the smalltooth sand tiger shark at Kilmore Quay while out walking on Saturday.

The man contacted shark biologist Dr Nicholas Payne about his discovery who took no time to get down to Wexford.

"I couldn't believe it when I got this random email from Martin, because as soon as I saw the photos he sent I knew we had to get down there urgently to sample this rare animal," said Dr Payne, an assistant professor in Trinity's School of Natural Sciences.

The species, known as Odontaspis ferox, is rarely seen by humans as it is normally found in deep water in temperate and tropical seas. Scientists are surprised to find it so far north.


The distinctive snout and teeth help distinguish the smalltooth sand tiger shark from other species. Picture: Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi and Kevin Purves


The distinctive snout and teeth help distinguish the smalltooth sand tiger shark from other species. Picture: Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi and Kevin Purves


The maximum recorded size for a female of this species is around 15ft which puts this shark — a female — at the upper end of its size limits.

Dr Payne and his Trinity team, including postdoctoral researcher Jenny Bortoluzzi and PhD candidate Haley Dolton, and accompanied by UCD scientist Kevin Purves, took as many measurements and samples as possible.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41108836.html
 
hunck said:
Dunno but apparently they can be quite playful & cuddly! Who’da thought?
Click to expand...
Used to keep ferrets when younger, very playful, should think skunks are similar, same family (Mustelids).....as long as you don't scare them.And god forbid any nearby cat gets white paint on it's back.
 
ramonmercado said:
help distinguish the smalltooth sand tiger shark from other species
Click to expand...
What kind of person would carry around a steel tape measure when swimming in case they get attacked by a shark and want to determine it's exact species by checking the size and spacing of it's teeth?
 
Trevp666 said:
What kind of person would carry around a steel tape measure when swimming in case they get attacked by a shark and want to determine it's exact species by checking the size and spacing of it's teeth?
Click to expand...

The picture was by the scientific team who followed up the report, the tape measure is theirs.
 
Last edited:

A moose was apparently hungry, so he went inside an Alaska hospital and began chewing on plants​

An apparent hungry moose caused quite a stir when it walked through the doors of Alaska's largest hospital in Anchorage Thursday — and began munching on plants in the lobby.

Video posted to social media showed the young moose chewing the leaves nonchalantly as security guards approached the moose inside Providence Alaska Medical Center.

"There's a moose in our hospital, guys," one witness said in a video posted on Facebook. "It's just chilling. Hungry."
Click to expand...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/moose-...nt hungry moose caused,on plants in the lobby.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top