NATUREBOY
Apr 16 2006, 05:24 PM
QUOTE(JayleeD @ Apr 16 2006, 01:24 PM)
Oh crap you guys! Snakes....**shudder**....
:icon_stressed:
Speaking of snakes, saw a show on I believe Animal Planet or maybe Discovery Channel with that Swedish guy, or actually he's South African, can't think of his name. The show was the 10 Deadliest Snakes In Africa. He's the guy that always has his camera and makes the snakes strike at him to get good pictures. Anyways, he gets bitten twice on the show, once by a Cobra and the other was a Adder of some kind. The funniest part was when he found a Rinkalis, which plays dead very convincingly. He picked that snake up, stepped on it, ect, ect, and that snake didn't blink an eylid (if snakes had eyelids). He finally walked off, pretended like he was leaving and that snake started to bug out. He walked back up to it, and the danged thing started coming after him. He played with all the snakes by hand, until he got to #1, THE BLACK MOMBA. Then he used the long metal tongs!! :new_lmaosmiley:
WereScrib
Apr 17 2006, 05:02 AM
Hey, wildlife encounters? Well, I live out in the sticks so I get alot of the normal stuff, cougars, coyotes, weasles, coons, bears, bobcats..etc But as far as unusual ones go.. Here they be:
When I was pretty young, me and my family saw a huge snake, like a pet Boa Constrictor size in our laurel tree (I know they are bushes.. but this was has some groath issues) We didn't get a good look at the thing, but it quickly slipped away into the dense spring foliage. We witnessed this on Easter I believe, as I was walking to my grandmothers house. The odd thing is the only snakes i know of around here are Garter Snakes, which just don't get very big.. and Rosy Boa's.. which I have only seen one, and that was rather small. I would say this was around '93-'95
The next odd encounter, was with a Ferret, and then another, and another. Ferret's aren't wild in Washington. But from talking to locals, the area near Kingston/Poulsbo has an odd population of wild ferrets. A couple of old timers recall seeing them, beliving they have turned feral from pet polecats. first sighting was '95, my grandmother saw one in the 30's, and my most recent was '03
I have also seen a beaver, which is pretty odd. Also, for some reason in the last two years, oppossoms are suddenly common sights flattened in the road, no one I know remembers seeing one before.
I saw a Wolverine up on mount Rainier.. I don't know anyone else who's seen one recently. this was about '02
And as far as other odd things go.. I spoke to an old-timer and a church, he mentioned seeing a black cougar. He said it was back in the 40's.
Well thats about it, other then one abnormally large bat. And if it counts as a wierd sighting.. I had a friend with a cat named Tigger, who brought back the corpse of a grey fox, and placed it on his doorstep.
Savage30L
Apr 17 2006, 05:36 AM
QUOTE(WereScrib @ Apr 17 2006, 07:39 AM)
And as far as other odd things go.. I spoke to an old-timer and a church,
You spoke to a church? Did it reply?
BigAlx
Apr 17 2006, 05:43 AM
QUOTE(jimf @ Apr 16 2006, 06:20 PM)
That's pretty funny. :laugh: I had half a mind yesterday to run screaming through the Atlanta airport " I still have my lighter !!! Nyaa nyaa nyaaa!!! " I mean really, what am I gonna do with it ? Bic someone to death ?
I don't understand that one either, they take my nail clippers but I have a bic lighter.
They took a long handled comb from my carry on (metal) but left me with my kubotan (self defense keychain type thing)
go figure
cheers
Alex
JayleeD
Apr 17 2006, 07:00 AM
Welcome to the BFF WereScrib!
BTW, don't worry about the mistake you made in your post. I'm sure most people who read it clearly understood that you were talking to an oldtimer at church, and most didn't feel the need to point out your error.
:new_tiredsmiley:
Huntster
Apr 17 2006, 09:08 AM
Well, it kinda appears that spring is here. No snow around my home, and the moose are congregating on the Flats; I saw several grazing out there this morning.
But the migrating waterfowl aren't here yet. Although I've heard a few reports, I haven't seen the geese in the field out in front of my home yet.
For the past 16 years I've been keeping track of their appearance. The earliest I've seen them out there was April 4th, and the latest was April 13th. Today is the 17th.
I've also noticed that their overall numbers have dwindled dramatically. The field used to be literally covered for days with many, many thousands of geese. Last year we saw very few.
I'm not sure I want them to pass through.
This is a rather disturbing concern.
We have 4 ducks that have been living in our yard for the past year. I think I'll put the knife to them soon.
Huntster
Apr 17 2006, 09:38 PM
QUOTE(Huntster @ Apr 17 2006, 09:45 AM)
...But the migrating waterfowl aren't here yet. Although I've heard a few reports, I haven't seen the geese in the field out in front of my home yet.
For the past 16 years I've been keeping track of their appearance. The earliest I've seen them out there was April 4th, and the latest was April 13th. Today is the 17th.....
They're back!
I heard them before I saw them; a flock of 15 or so geese, flying in with a spring snow squall.
Spring is officially here...........
Ionfreeze
Apr 18 2006, 06:53 AM
Hello everyone, I stumbled across this site about 2 weeks ago. And Ive been an avid reader since. Ive really enjoyed going through all the posts and finally decided to register. First, I want to say that Ive never had a BF encounter of any kind. Ive never seen or heard anything out in the woods I couldnt identify. That doesnt mean I dont believe something could be out there. When I lived in CO my friends and I used to go camping alot. We'd just pack up on a friday night and not come back until sunday afternoon. I really miss those days.
I had one event that I remember clearly that, at the time, spooked me. A friend of mine and I "volunteered" to go hunting with our fathers. So we set out with 3 older men and ourselves, 5 in the group total to hunt mule deer. I wont give the specific location but its located in the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. So the older guys drop us off to drive deer to them. They drove on to set up a location from which they could shoot. So my buddy and I waited about 30 mins to give them time to get into position. It was early in the morning and the sun was up, the weather was clear but cold. We decided to start out and we seperated from each other about 50 yards and started walking. Most of the time we were in eye sight of each other and could communicate through gestures or yelling out to each other. About an hour into our hike I came across some large boulders clumped closely together, I could still walk through them easily. And without a second thought I went right on in. The first thing that I saw inside was a freshly killed fawn, and I thought how odd that was. Then the smell hit me, it was cat urine and it was strong! Well, you can imagine what my next few thoughts were, and I decided to back out of there PDQ. I remember trying to look in every direction at once. Once I was clear I headed over to my buddy, I didnt run but kept a wary eye over my shoulder. I told him what I had found, he wanted to go see for himself. And we discussed the pros and cons of walking into a moutain lions den. We decided to leave well enough alone and continue on.
I never saw the big cat, but I knew he was close. Just a feeling I got. Just like the feeling I got telling me I really didnt want to be there. Instinct maybe? Something left over from our days of roaming the Savannah? Who knows.
I really dont know how to explain my fascination with BF. Truth be told, the idea of running into something 10 foot tall and 600 pounds, covered in fur, freaks me out. On the other hand, Im very interested in hearing from those people who have had an encounter with BF. I know 2 friends that went hunting and heard a strange vocalization. But I'll share that in another post. Maybe Im a freelance junior grade investigator of sorts. I dont know what to lable myslef as, maybe just another interested person.
Ionfreeze
Sunflower
Apr 22 2006, 08:43 AM
I'll put this here because for some reason armadillos popped into my head.
Back in the 70's, there were four of us driving home to Oklahoma from Texas, been to Dallas all day and it was late, around midnight when we all decided we needed a pit stop. So we found a rest stop and my two girlfriends headed to the rest rooms. I was half asleep in the back seat but then realized I probably should follow because it's still a couple hours to home. As I was walking up the path I saw one of my girlfriends chasing something through the trees and a man yelled out to her "Hey lady, your dog went that way" (I'm thinking "What dog?") She came back to the path, out of breath, red faced and definitely excited. We asked her "What the hell were you chasing?" She said "an armadillo." She then asked me if she had caught it, could she have put it in the trunk of my car. I said "NO! But you can ride in there if you want." NOTE: There was no alcohol involved, this was her regular behavior, I really miss her.
Sunflower
JayleeD
Apr 23 2006, 06:56 PM
I saw two of the neatest things at the river today. I was fishing down this bluff bank and noticed something just down the river from me on a little sand bar. It was a turtle about the size of a plate and it looked like she had been trying to climb a pretty steep bank, had slid down the bank and landed on her back. It looked like she had been there a while, trying to get turned over. The sand was all kicked out from her efforts. I reached out with the boat paddle and flipped her over. She took off into the water.
The other thing was, on the same side of the river, I noticed movement up on the side of the bank. It was a wood duck hen and her 9 little ducklings. They looked like they were just hatched a few days ago....tiny little things. She was bringing them down to the water, and as I watched her, she wadded into the water, and the little ducks followed her. They swam around for a few minutes and back up the bank they went.
Yesterday, we saw a gator in the oxbow lake we were fishing in. It looked about 6 or 7 feet long. Strange thing, I wanted to get closer to the gator for a good look, but when a 12" snake swam close to the boat, I was ready to quit fishing. :laugh:
OKBFFan
Apr 23 2006, 07:35 PM
QUOTE(JayleeD @ Apr 23 2006, 08:33 PM)
Yesterday, we saw a gator in the oxbow lake we were fishing in. It looked about 6 or 7 feet long. Strange thing, I wanted to get closer to the gator for a good look, but when a 12" snake swam close to the boat, I was ready to quit fishing. :laugh:
ok not afraid of the gator but afraid of the snake?
JayleeD
Apr 23 2006, 07:39 PM
QUOTE(OKBFFan @ Apr 23 2006, 09:12 PM)
ok not afraid of the gator but afraid of the snake?
Yup, crazy ain't it? :new_weirdsmiley:
OKBFFan
Apr 23 2006, 07:46 PM
QUOTE(JayleeD @ Apr 23 2006, 09:16 PM)
Yup, crazy ain't it? :new_weirdsmiley:
Hmm no. I know of others that feel the same. We ran over a snake today. I was upset, but hubby was doing all he could to contain his glee.
NorwegianBigfoot
Apr 23 2006, 09:34 PM
I was fishing with my back to a bush. early morning, foggy. we'd been out all night trying to get the big one. Suddenly 2 feet behind me a tremendous ruckus and my heart went straight to :eek3dance:. Suddenly two rather large birds flew over my head, I almost left the dinner of the entire week in my pants.....
Mystical Hominid
Apr 23 2006, 10:04 PM
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak in my backyard today. Came right to the feeder! :ohmy: They summer in the mountains a couple of hundered miles away and on up into the northeast and Canada. Must have been on the way. A male in full plumage, looked just like this:
Huntster
Apr 23 2006, 10:56 PM
QUOTE(OKBFFan @ Apr 23 2006, 08:23 PM)
Hmm no. I know of others that feel the same. We ran over a snake today. I was upset, but hubby was doing all he could to contain his glee.
Your hubby is a true gentleman.
Did he swerve to run over it?
Ionfreeze
Apr 24 2006, 06:29 AM
I was raised in Texas. And there was only 2 kinds of snakes. Dead snakes, and those snakes about to become dead snakes. Did you know that rattlesnakes dont always make that rattling noise? Just something to keep in mind when your out hiking.
Ionfreeze
Sunflower
Apr 24 2006, 06:58 AM
You're absolutely correct, they don't always make the rattling noise. I was sitting with a friend of mine, she on her chaise lounge and I on mine. We were not beside each other though, her chaise was headed out straight and mine was cocked a little to the side. The conversation was intense (heavy subject) so neither one of us noticed until afterwards that a rattle snake had slithered between the two chaises and headed away from us. We saw it about the time it was ten feet away going through some grass about 4 inches high. Only after did we notice the trail it left in the wet grass and we both got really big eyed and said, "Holy Sh*t!!" That rattler did not make one sound as it passed us!!!
OKBFFan
Apr 24 2006, 07:05 AM
QUOTE(Huntster @ Apr 24 2006, 12:33 AM)
Your hubby is a true gentleman.
Did he swerve to run over it?
Actually, we were on one of those narrow bridges over a creek, and we couldnt swerve anywhere to miss it or we would have ended up in the creek. He really had no choice but to run over it. I was horrified, but he was pleased <sigh>. This was one BIG snake!
NATUREBOY
Apr 24 2006, 08:23 AM
QUOTE(Mystical Hominid @ Apr 24 2006, 12:41 AM)
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak in my backyard today. Came right to the feeder! :ohmy: They summer in the mountains a couple of hundered miles away and on up into the northeast and Canada. Must have been on the way. A male in full plumage, looked just like this:
Now that's a great picture. And a pretty bird. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 24 2006, 09:20 AM
I went for a walk in the Pineywoods yesterday, and took my new digital camera along to try it out. Saw, and got pics of, lots of waterfowl, a few birds, gators (one maybe 14'), two deer, and on the ride home , I saw an amradillo, and stopped and photographed him for about 5 minutes on the side of the road. Also got a few shots of an awesome longhorn in a pasture on the ride back. I also saw a large snake (maybe 48'). but it disappeared into the canebreak before I was able to identify or photograph it. I will post a few pics after work, if anyone is interested.
JayleeD
Apr 24 2006, 09:30 AM
Oh yeah, please post the pictures. I love wildlife pictures, and wish I had put my camera in the boat so you guys could see the cute baby ducks. :icon_bang:
Looking forward to your pics.
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 24 2006, 06:59 PM
Click to view attachmentHere are a few of the pics I took, Jayleed. I am a little busy at the moment, so I just picked them at random. Maybe I will post a few of the better ones later. Hope you enjoy.
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 24 2006, 08:49 PM
A few more:
Click to view attachmentA Texas Longhorn I saw on the way home
Click to view attachmenta bird
Sasquatched
Apr 24 2006, 09:59 PM
New Trail Cam Pics Are Up.
Might have got a wolverine! Dunno - it's hard to say with any certainty... would be a gem of a shot if it is...
Like to hear some opinions:
Trail Cam Pics
Mystical Hominid
Apr 24 2006, 10:40 PM
QUOTE(bigstinkyfoot @ Apr 24 2006, 11:26 PM)
lol - nicely understated. Yes, it's a bird. Lets go ahead and say its an Egret. Probably a Great Egret.
Nice pics. That gator is boo scary! :ohmy:
QUOTE(Sasquatched @ Apr 25 2006, 12:36 AM)
New Trail Cam Pics Are Up.
Might have got a wolverine! Dunno - it's hard to say with any certainty... would be a gem of a shot if it is...
Like to hear some opinions:
Trail Cam PicsImpressive. The Fisher is really a nice one! And I think you could be correct on the Wolverine. Wow! :eek3dance:
Squatchaholic
Apr 25 2006, 12:56 AM
Nice pics BSF and Sasquatched. Keep em' coming. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
JayleeD
Apr 25 2006, 07:20 AM
Great pictures BSF and Sasquatched!
I do believe you have yourself a wolverine picture there Sasquatched. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 25 2006, 07:29 AM
Thanks, JayleeD. One more pic (of the wildlife).
Click to view attachmentYours truly, Tarzan
Sasquatched
Apr 25 2006, 08:33 AM
QUOTE(JayleeD @ Apr 25 2006, 09:57 AM)
Great pictures BSF and Sasquatched!
I do believe you have yourself a wolverine picture there Sasquatched. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
I checked with the US Forest Service - Field Biologists in the PNW division with specialty in Wolverine research... they said the photo was intruiging... but also said they couldn't definitively say it was Wolverine as the photo resolution isn't quite good enough to confirm.
I agree with that I guess... the size and shapes look dead-on, but there is not enough detail to be 100% sure..
JayleeD
Apr 25 2006, 08:44 AM
Are you planning on leaving the camera in the same area?
If it's not a wolverine, I can't imagine what else it would be. The head looks exactly the same. Whatever it is, I love seeing pictures from trail cams. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
Cool hat BSF....I mean Tarzan!
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 25 2006, 08:45 AM
When was the last time a Wolverine was spotted there? Would be pretty cool if there were Caracajou in that area again.
BSF
Sasquatched
Apr 25 2006, 09:10 AM
QUOTE(bigstinkyfoot @ Apr 25 2006, 11:22 AM)
When was the last time a Wolverine was spotted there? Would be pretty cool if there were Caracajou in that area again.
BSF
I think pre-1900 was the last time Wolverines were confirmed in the lower eastern 48... tho I've read a couple of varying opinions on this... some experts say that the Wolverine range extended into the Adirondacks at one time...others say it stopped at the St. Lawrence River and portions of Maine... I'm not sure why their is a discrepancy on this...
That said, I've also read that these animals can be prolific travelers... Bronx Zoo biologists recently GPS tagged a Wolverine in the Pacific NW and over the course of a month it traversed three states and traveled over 500 miles.
Not to mention that parts of of the Adirondacks can be downright sub-arctic in the Winter.
If there are a few wolverines poking around, I would not be surprised...
Sasquatched
Apr 25 2006, 09:25 AM
QUOTE(JayleeD @ Apr 25 2006, 11:21 AM)
Are you planning on leaving the camera in the same area?
If it's not a wolverine, I can't imagine what else it would be. The head looks exactly the same. Whatever it is, I love seeing pictures from trail cams. :new_thumbsupsmileyanim:
Cool hat BSF....I mean Tarzan!
Cams back there again?...Not right away... tho I will be up there taking some site measurements to extrapolate the size on that critter... Location seems to be a fairly active game trail (19 pics in a week and a half) so I may re-deploy cams there again soon
The cams will be going into a Squatch hotzone area we have been researching this weekend and will be hung up there for a week... then we have our investigation team going into that area the following weekend for a weekend research outing...
Hopefully, I'll have some bigger, hairy images this next time! :eek3dance:
JayleeD
Apr 27 2006, 02:39 PM
I did get one picture of the gator last Saturday before my battery died.
Moonlite
Apr 28 2006, 07:45 AM
[quote name='JayleeD' date='Apr 23 2006, 07:33 PM' post='310595']
I saw two of the neatest things at the river today. I was fishing down this bluff bank and noticed something just down the river from me on a little sand bar. It was a turtle about the size of a plate and it looked like she had been trying to climb a pretty steep bank, had slid down the bank and landed on her back. It looked like she had been there a while, trying to get turned over. The sand was all kicked out from her efforts. I reached out with the boat paddle and flipped her over. She took off into the water.
This has got to be my most favorite thread on BFF...
Here is a shot of a little guy I found while working one day recently...
bigstinkyfoot
Apr 28 2006, 07:50 AM
Nice pic, Moonlite. Jay, lot of gators in Ark? While it's hard to judge in the pic, that one looks sizeable. The one in my pic above had just eaten a duck not long before I took his pic sunning on the bank with his mouth open, but naturally, my camera was in the pack.
dogu4
Apr 28 2006, 12:42 PM
QUOTE(Sasquatched @ Apr 25 2006, 12:36 AM)
New Trail Cam Pics Are Up.
Might have got a wolverine! Dunno - it's hard to say with any certainty... would be a gem of a shot if it is...
Like to hear some opinions:
Trail Cam PicsWolverine trail pic looks very convincing to me. I've had a number of very close sightings over the years. Also I noticed the other mustelid pic; the fisher. Interesting how it came to be called a fisher, don't you think? Much the same way North America's bison became known as buffalo. I really have to recommend that you read Farley Mowat's "Sea of Slaughter" to gain an insight as to historical ranges of the critters we now find sometimes re-inhabiting their old original landscape. Old reports from Central Pennsylvania in the mid 1700's describe some rather interesting "by-catch" when large numbers of hunters would surround a likely place in which to drive animals for miles; "the glutton" as it was called, seemingly was among the exterpated. Perhaps with the continued de-facto de-population of the continent's wide-open spaces we can hope for a return to something like the pleistocene...I wish. .
17x7
Apr 30 2006, 12:08 AM
I saw 2 piebald deer yesterday along the interstate. Piebald deer have either all white or white spotted coats. This area has many such deer, though I've never seen an all white one. They were standing right along I-5 eating grass. These 2 where standing broadside giving me a view of their left sides as I passed. One had a white neck and shoulder with random 2-3" white spots on the rest that I could see. The other had white spots along it's hindquarter like an Appaloosa horse. Both looked normal in all other ways. Weird.
17x7
Sunflower
Apr 30 2006, 11:34 AM
Hubby said a white deer crossed the tracks in front of his locomotive yesterday between Guthrie and Mulhall, Oklahoma. Also, he added that there is more than just one. Seems like there are several, and not sure if it's just hearsay or what? Is there a breed of white deer out there? Anybody.....
Sunflower
17x7
Apr 30 2006, 11:04 PM
It's a genetic mutation. That's why there are several in one area. It gets passed down to the fawns and becomes more prevalent unless predation takes over as it is an obvious disadvantage when trying to avoid detection.
17x7
Sasquatched
May 1 2006, 08:57 AM
QUOTE(17x7 @ Apr 30 2006, 02:45 AM)
I saw 2 piebald deer yesterday along the interstate. Piebald deer have either all white or white spotted coats. This area has many such deer, though I've never seen an all white one. They were standing right along I-5 eating grass. These 2 where standing broadside giving me a view of their left sides as I passed. One had a white neck and shoulder with random 2-3" white spots on the rest that I could see. The other had white spots along it's hindquarter like an Appaloosa horse. Both looked normal in all other ways. Weird.
17x7
Might be some escaped farm-raised deer perhaps??
I'm not sure how prevalent the genetic mutation is in the wild, but I came across a deer farm a couple mos. ago and whatever the domestic strain of deer at this farm was, they included some white spotted coats and complete white coated deer as well as typical tan coats:
Deer Farm 1Deer Farm 2Deer Farm Buck
Sunflower
May 1 2006, 01:47 PM
Thanks, I'll tell hubby about the mutation. He said he'd watch for more white deer at that area, maybe catch a couple of pics if he can manage while driving.
I also reminded him to take pics of "anything else" unusual (now he already knows what I'm talking about) so he's promised if he sees a sasquatch he'll try to take a pic for me.
Wouldn't that be something!!!
Sunflower
17x7
May 1 2006, 10:24 PM
No farm raised deer. They are Columbian Whitetail. This Whitetail sub-species was nearly extinct and survived only in a few areas, including central Douglas County (here). Only a few dozen were left, but have since repopulated. The small breeding pool resulted in the genetic flaws. Since they are mostly in populated areas, they are pretty safe from the preditors that would normally remove animals with such weaknesses.
They still look weird.
17x7
bigstinkyfoot
May 2 2006, 07:58 AM
Supposedly taken at lake Conroe, Texas. This area is where most of my wildlife photo's are taken, where I hunt and fish most often, and where my (possible) encounters occurred.
Sunflower
May 2 2006, 09:18 AM
bigstinkyfoot,
Is that a deer in its mouth?
Sunflower
Moonlite
May 2 2006, 09:18 AM
QUOTE(bigstinkyfoot @ May 2 2006, 08:35 AM)
Supposedly taken at lake Conroe, Texas. This area is where most of my wildlife photo's are taken, where I hunt and fish most often, and where my (possible) encounters occurred.
So, that is what happened to Bambi!!! :icon_stressed:
bigstinkyfoot
May 2 2006, 09:28 AM
QUOTE(Sunflower @ May 2 2006, 10:55 AM)
bigstinkyfoot,
Is that a deer in its mouth?
Sunflower
Yes, Ma'am, that is a deer in the gator's mouth.
JayleeD
May 2 2006, 10:48 AM
QUOTE
Water Skiing on Cross Lake
This was taken by a KTBS helicopter flying over Cross Lake! That has to be a HUGE gator to have a whole deer in its mouth! What do you think? Are you ready to go skiing on Cross Lake?! If you ski at the west end of the lake — try not to fall.
(For those of you who are not local, Cross Lake is in Shreveport, La. 30-40 miles from Marshall)
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/gatordeer.aspApparently there have been quite a few other stories to go along with the gator/deer picture.
QUOTE
Origins: I really didn't care for venison the few times I tried it, but the gator in this picture appears to like it just fine.
These photographs of an alligator swimming across a lake with a deer clutched in its jaws circulated on the Internet in mid-2004, accompanied by several different versions of text crediting them to different sources:
* A photographer flying over Cross Lake (or Lake Conroe) in a news helicopter belonging to TV station KTBS of Shreveport, Louisiana.
* An "Alabama Forest Service guy on daily fire patrol" at Lake Martin, Alabama.
* An employee of the Texas Forestry Commission took the photograph while flying in a helicopter with the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
* A worker at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first explanation was out, as KTBS said they haven't had a newscopter since their chopper crashed in 1990, and Leslie Johnson with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries noted that the vegetation was all wrong and the water too clear to be Cross Lake. And officials with the Alabama Forestry Commission disclaimed the Lake Martin explanation:
Although the caption indicates that the alligator is in Lake Martin, officials at the Alabama Forestry Commission said that's not true.
"It's a legitimate photo, but it wasn't taken on Lake Martin," said Regina Miller, assistant to the state forestry commissioner. "It was taken in South Carolina, and I suppose someone thought it would be more interesting here if it was on Lake Martin, Alabama."
Jim Spradley, the pilot for the Tallapoosa County office of the state's forestry commission, said he too received the e-mail, but he was never fooled by the photo.
"I've got that e-mail myself, and as far as I know, I'm the only one who flies Lake Martin," he said. "I didn't take it."
In August 2004, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) finally cleared up the issue by issuing a press release identifying the photographs as having been taken in south Georgia (near the Georgia/South Carolina border) by a USFWS officer in March 2004:
The sight of a 12 to 14 foot-long alligator is something south Georgia folks see occasionally, but few have seen one take an adult deer out to lunch. Actually — for lunch.
The photographs of this deer-eating alligator were taken from the air by Terri Jenkins, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service District Fire Management Officer. She was preparing to ignite a prescribed fire at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, about 40 miles south of Savannah, Georgia, on March 4, 2004.
"One advantage of fire work is you get to see that 12-14 footers are common from Santee National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina to Coastal South Carolina to Georgia’s coast," said Jenkins. "It looks like the alligator population is doing extremely well."
This one was at least 12-13 feet long. Jenkins said that some bull alligators have a 35 inch girth.
Last updated: 27 August 2004
bigstinkyfoot
May 2 2006, 11:05 AM
Thanks, jay
Don't know why people have to change facts when something is already so amazing, but glad I know the truth.
BSF
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