Archive for the ‘Critterz’ Category
July 12th, 2010
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Author: NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- A man is hospitalized in southwest Florida after an alligator bit off his left hand.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro says 18-year-old Timothy Delano of Naples was swimming with three friends in a Collier County canal around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the alligator attacked.
The men swam to shore and drove to a gas station, where they called 911.
A helicopter flew Delano to a Fort Myers hospital.
Ferraro says the 10-foot-2-inch alligator was captured. The hand was retrieved from its stomach and flown to the hospital.
Wildlife officials advise people to stay out of freshwater canals and lakes this time of year because alligators are more active, especially around dawn and dusk.
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© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted in 
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- A man is hospitalized in southwest Florida after an alligator bit off his left hand.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro says 18-year-old Timothy Delano of Naples was swimming with three friends in a Collier County canal around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the alligator attacked.
The men swam to shore and drove to a gas station, where they called 911.
A helicopter flew Delano to a Fort Myers hospital.
Ferraro says the 10-foot-2-inch alligator was captured. The hand was retrieved from its stomach and flown to the hospital.
Wildlife officials advise people to stay out of freshwater canals and lakes this time of year because alligators are more active, especially around dawn and dusk.
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© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NEW PORT RICHEY — A spat over prescription drugs turned ugly early Wednesday when Rachel Switzer lost a messy cat fight with her live-in girlfriend, authorities said.
Enraged that Switzer had refused to give her Roxicodone pills, Kristin Stiehler, 23, banged on the front door of their shared home and broke through the door of their bedroom, where Switzer was hiding, New Port Richey police said.
Then, police said, Stiehler picked up a cat litter box and attacked.
By the time the fight was over, Switzer was sprawled on the bed with cat feces on her face, hair and ears and cat litter coating her hair, police said.
Stiehler is being held at the Land O'Lakes jail without bail.
From tampabay.com.
Unwittingly, Bishop also left himself vulnerable to his rambunctious bulldog, Tassey.
According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report, Tassey hopped into the truck and jumped around in the front seat, knocking it into gear and causing it to roll over the left side of Bishop's body.
Bishop, 43, was transported to Pasco Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Homeowner Paul Smith, 56, said he heard quacking when he woke up Tuesday morning.
Smith found a beak sticking out of a dryer vent. It was attached to a duck.
"Its head was just bobbing up and down," Smith said. "I didn't know whether they could bite or not. I wasn't going to stick my hand up there."
Firefighters used tin snips to free the male quacker. Smith's house is a short distance from Crescent Lake, so he thought the duck must have flown on to his roof, went down the dryer vent Santa-style and got trapped.
The duck waddled back to the lake once it was freed.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue stressed that firefighters responded in a nonemergency mode, so they remained available for emergency calls while assisting Smith with his "stuck duck."
Times staff
ST. PETERSBURG — Renée Barth spotted what she thought was a large
dog walk by the sliding glass doors in her back yard around noon Sunday.
But when the creature sidled through an open screen door and swung onto a tree in the pool enclosure, she realized she was staring at a monkey.
"It was crazy," said Barth, 40, who lives in the Tropical Shores neighborhood in southeastern St. Petersburg. "It was exciting."
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Read the rest of the story @ Tampabay.com.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- SeaWorld Orlando's trainers will stand farther away from the killer whale who drowned a trainer at the park last month when brushing his teeth.
Now trainers will have a 2-foot extension to brush Tilikum's teeth three times a day.
Forty-year-old Dawn Brancheau was killed after being thrashed underwater by the whale after a performance.
After the Feb. 24 death, SeaWorld removed Tilikum from its daily shows and ordered its trainers to keep their distance from the animal. He is twice as big as any other orca at the park. The park imposed the restrictions while it reviews its killer whale safety protocols, which is now expected to extend into April.
Tilikum continues to live in the park's seven-tank orca complex and learns new behaviors now that trainers don't get close to him.
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- An American crocodile that lived on Sanibel Island for most of the last 30 years has died - either of old age or from the recent cold snap.
The almost 12-foot-long, over 300-pound female reptile was found dead a week ago on a trail along the Sanibel River. But she'll still be able to greet visitors at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Biologist Tara Wertz said Wednesday the crocodile's skeleton will be displayed in the visitors center with a small memorial display.
Crocodiles can live up to 60 years, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. This one was older than 30 and likely 50 to 60.
Professional naturalist Mark "Bird" Westail says she was the largest breeding female crocodile know of in the wild in Florida.
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Information from: The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- An American crocodile that lived on Sanibel Island for most of the last 30 years has died - either of old age or from the recent cold snap.
The almost 12-foot-long, over 300-pound female reptile was found dead a week ago on a trail along the Sanibel River. But she'll still be able to greet visitors at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Biologist Tara Wertz said Wednesday the crocodile's skeleton will be displayed in the visitors center with a small memorial display.
Crocodiles can live up to 60 years, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. This one was older than 30 and likely 50 to 60.
Professional naturalist Mark "Bird" Westail says she was the largest breeding female crocodile know of in the wild in Florida.
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Information from: The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com
© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.SPRING HILL — The arrest report gives the following account: Mark Nycel, 55, became angry with his daughter early Wednesday for having her music too loud and when her cat ran into his bedroom.
He told her he was going to strangle the cat, and when she protested, he kicked down his door, grabbed a loaded 9 mm pistol and walked toward her.
His wife intervened to stop him, but Nycel pointed the gun at her then pushed her out of the way and headed toward his daughter. He pointed the gun at her head, and tapped her on the chin with the gun.
Deputies on their way to the scene were told that Nycel had several firearms, including assault weapons, inside his house and had said that he would kill anyone who came to the front door.
The wife and daughter managed to get out of the house before Nycel barricaded himself inside. A deputy had Nycel on the phone and a short time later, he walked out with a bayonet at his own throat. He then stabbed at a trash can before deputies subdued him using a Taser.
Nycel was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and domestic battery and was held in the Hernando County Jail without bail.
Times staff