There were a few in a pen at a convalescent home at which I worked summers and vacations in CT. More than once I wondered if someone was in trouble! Killed many work hours chasing them through the woods when they escaped! There are also several on Pine Island here in SW FL.
Strangest non native species you've seen in your area.
- Thread starter WarEagle00
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Well, Here in AZ, everything either sticks, stings, or bites, We have Wolves, Coyotes, Mountain Lion an even Jaguar, but every once in awhile we will have a Pelican that has been blown off course by our summer thunderstorms. The most unique non-native creature we get are these humanoid specie, that drive funny, have very white skin, blonde or gray hair, blue eyes, and say Youu knoooow, and youuu betcha, and ya ya. I think the technical term is "humanoidius snowbirdicarious" We simply call them snow birds. They usually migrate here during the months of October to November and set up their nests in the more affluent areas of the community and migrate home usually early to late May. They have become quite adept at causing major traffic issues during their daily sojourns from the nest, foraging for food, and shiny trinkets of the Southwest. We do see a large increase in Buicks, and Oldsmobiles during that time. Being the gracious community we are, we also have noticed that once they reach the age of maturity, many stop migrating and make Arizona their final home. We have a ceremony and convert them to a native specie. The tell-tale sign of becoming native is when this specie begins to wear jackets and coats at about 70 degrees.. just kidding, we love our winter visitors. They bring money.
Ugh. #florida
Saw one of these last fall in the Chicago suburbs but near forest preserves. I looked ahead down the road and my first thought was that is the ugliest cat I have ever seen... dark camo spots on its flanks... chopped off tail... waitaminute... tufted ears... that's a Bobcat! WHERE'S THE CAMERA????
Well, Here in AZ, everything either sticks, stings, or bites, We have Wolves, Coyotes, Mountain Lion an even Jaguar, but every once in awhile we will have a Pelican that has been blown off course by our summer thunderstorms. The most unique non-native creature we get are these humanoid specie, that drive funny, have very white skin, blonde or gray hair, blue eyes, and say Youu knoooow, and youuu betcha, and ya ya. I think the technical term is "humanoidius snowbirdicarious" We simply call them snow birds. They usually migrate here during the months of October to November and set up their nests in the more affluent areas of the community and migrate home usually early to late May. They have become quite adept at causing major traffic issues during their daily sojourns from the nest, foraging for food, and shiny trinkets of the Southwest. We do see a large increase in Buicks, and Oldsmobiles during that time. Being the gracious community we are, we also have noticed that once they reach the age of maturity, many stop migrating and make Arizona their final home. We have a ceremony and convert them to a native specie. The tell-tale sign of becoming native is when this specie begins to wear jackets and coats at about 70 degrees.
Dave, as you know I went from one type of snowbird in FL to another in AZ. You can tell them apart, however, by their plumage. The ones in FL have been cosmetically altered to have their parts enhanced. Plus, their song is somewhat different. The east coast birds have a distinct NY song. The ones on the west coast use "eh" quite a bit. Plus, they can only "fly" at about 25 mph.
That's what they said in New Hampshire but it was a cougar that crossed the road about 50 yards ahead of us when we were walking our dog.
Our dog was not a sissy (pit bull, Colby stock) but it whimpered and hid behind us when that big cat showed up.
HAHA Jim, I was wondering when you were going to comment LOL
In Ohio, almost hit a mountain lion with my car. Not many people believed me. A couple months later, someone did hit one.
I live in a college town . . . .
Several years ago--in West Virginia--I'm pretty sure I saw the tail-end of a mountain lion as it crossed the back road I was driving on. There had been sightings in the area, and I saw plaster cast of a track.
Saw one of these last fall in the Chicago suburbs but near forest preserves. I looked ahead down the road and my first thought was that is the ugliest cat I have ever seen... dark camo spots on its flanks... chopped off tail... waitaminute... tufted ears... that's a Bobcat! WHERE'S THE CAMERA????
They may look like overgrown housecats, but don't try to pet one...even if it's caged (long story LOL!)
It may seem like a benign event, but for me it was a mockingbird. They're not a normal resident here in the upper midwest. I spotted it when it was doing that wing flashing thing they do while it was hopping around on my sister's deck. Memorable sighting for an avid birder like me.
Don
Don
I wish that I had something to add here! In NM, we have all sorts of odd creatures, but our climate varies so much, that the only things that survive here, are the things that have been here forever. We have 100° summers and 0° winters. I've seen bobcats, black footed ferrets, deer, elk, antelope, wild boar, horned toads, tons of snakes and lizards, lots of birds of prey, waterfowl likes cranes, egrets, geese, etc. We have bear, mountain lions, jaguar, coyotes, etc.
Lots of local folklore about aliens, chupacabra, skin walkers, and other spirit realm type things, which I guess could fall into the "nature" category as they can't be made up in a lab. I've had weird encounters with odd things, but chalk it all up to being inebriated in one way or another.
Lots of local folklore about aliens, chupacabra, skin walkers, and other spirit realm type things, which I guess could fall into the "nature" category as they can't be made up in a lab. I've had weird encounters with odd things, but chalk it all up to being inebriated in one way or another.
Me too...I once saw an SU co-ed who wasn't from New Jersey.
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I used to work in Baldwin Park, CA...just another faceless concrete and asphalt patch in the LA conglomeration. Walking outside one day I looked up to see a flock of about a hundred bright green parrots fly over and perch on a power line, creating such a racket you'd think you were deep in the Costa Rican jungle. Apparently some old resident had died years back, and all her parrots were released into the city, where they bred and thrived.
Really? They're very rare. I didn't know there was a population again in New Mexico.
Actually, I didn't even know what it was at first. But sure enough, there are some roaming around on the mountain I grew up on about 30 miles east of our metro, Albuquerque. My uncle still owns the mountain and is one of two families living in the area that is about 100-150 acres of otherwise undisturbed forest. Next time I'm up there, I'll see if I can drag my camera along and snap some pictures of them.
A guy once caught a fairly good sized piranha here in our local river. This wasn't just some guy saying, "Hey, I caught a piranha." There was a story and pictures in the paper. The state wildlife agency was involved and verified that's what the fish was. The only conclusion is that someone had imported it illegally, had it in an aquarium for a while, then dumped it in the river. They didn't know if it had been living in the river for days or years before somebody just happened to catch it.
You occasionally hear of an alligator that has made its way into the waters here in the Pittsburgh area. Often dumped pets, but back in the day when river boating was still thriving, I guess they would occasionally hitch a ride. They don't last through the winter, though...
The big thing now in this area is the wolf/coyote hybrid. A coworker's father-in-law shot one on his property a few months back.
The big thing now in this area is the wolf/coyote hybrid. A coworker's father-in-law shot one on his property a few months back.
When I was a kid(mid the late 1980s, IIRC) a similar thing happened here with a piranha. One of the local theories was the piranha might have lived in a warmed canal that ran up to a factory along the river.
Off topic but I ran into a guy in Valley Forge National Park who was harassing a snake on one of the wooded trails. I felt I should intervene because he shouldn't be teasing the wildlife and he was messing with the biggest copperhead I'd ever seen in the area and I don't see that many around here anymore. I told the guy to stop because the snake was a copperhead and they are venomous. He laughed at me, called me an idiot and told me there aren't any venomous snakes in Pennsylvania. While talking, the snake took off into the weeds and brush along the trail. I didn't argue with the guy and hoped Darwin would sort him out at a later date.
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