Here are a few times when animals have taken over the local neighborhood!
9 - Bamboo Strikes Again Imagine having kids and also a giant 6 foot
lizard in your backyard.
Yeah, not a pretty sight!
An Asian water monitor nicknamed “Bamboo” was found in a South Florida neighborhood
by the Lieberman family back in late summer 2018.
At first, the family thought it was an alligator because he was so massive, but then he flicked
his skinny, forked tongue!
Much to the family's horror, Bamboo didn’t appear to be afraid of people.
Like most non-native reptiles throughout Florida, the Asian water monitor is an invasive species
introduced to the area by people who kept them as pets and released them into the wild
when they became too much to handle.
These gigantic lizards have been breeding throughout Florida, and are an amphibious
menace to many native animals.
Apparently, Bamboo was someone’s pet, but the owner just wasn’t responsible enough
to keep Bamboo in control.
The 6-foot, 100-pound lizard had been going around the neighborhood thwarting all attempts
of capture for weeks.
Asian water monitor are a breed of gargantuan lizard native to Southeast Asia.
They have an outstanding sense of smell and have even been used in Asia for missing persons
and death investigations.
Water monitors typically feast on rodents, birds and eggs.
Theoretically, Bamboo could eat a small dog!
8 - Goose attack We often see Geese depicted as symbols of
elegance and peace but they also can be your worst nightmare.
A Canada goose deciding to unleash a surprise-attack on a high school golfer in Michigan is a prime
example of the testy relationship between Man and fowl.
Canadian geese nest near ground ponds which are mostly found in parks and on recreational
grounds such as golf courses.
Nesting so close to humans means that interaction is inevitable.
When we sometimes venture into their territory…..that means the geese juuuust might retaliate!
Male Canadian geese are most likely to attack those that get too close to their mates, eggs,
or hatchlings.
Their methods of attack include biting or whacking someone with their wings.
Males can weigh anywhere from 7 to 14 lbs and have a wingspan of 4 to 6 feet.
Years of interactions with humans have allowed these animals to become less fearful thus
making interaction more common.
And that’s why one particular goose went after a Michigan high school golfer in his
purple pullover!
7 - Snakes in a Library Imagine just relaxing and reading at your
public library and all of a sudden noticing a snake slithering past your feet!
You would think you’d be safe from snakes in a library in the middle of a city but apparently
you’re not.
Back in 2018 a D.C.
Public Library branch was briefly closed when snakes were found having a meeting in the
basement!
Although this sounds like it could be an awesome premise for a Snakes on a Plane sequel, Samuel
L. actually wasn’t a part of this.
A staff member found a live snake in the library, and obviously wasn’t that impressed nor
surprised, because he captured it and released it outside.
However, hours later, a different library employee spotted two new snakes in the downstairs
area of the building.
The library called pest control and shut down the building until the all clear was given.
Snakes often find themselves inside by accident while searching for a place to nest.
Depending on their size, they can slither in through gaps in doors or vents and possibly
stay long term!
It’s unclear how the snakes got into the library but the next time there’s another
gathering of snakes, they’re gonna have to be invited!
6 - Raccoons in Central Park Who doesn’t like a little crew of raccoons?
When you’re in Central Park in New York, you may be able to meet them!
An estimated 22 raccoons lived on the southern end of the park by the pond, and they’re
not afraid to be approached by any New Yorker posing as raccoon paparazzi.
However, we definitely don’t recommend feeding any wild animals anywhere.
Pictures from a safe distance?
Why not!
Every night back in 2016 the raccoons emerge and prowl the path leading to 59th Street,
waiting for visitors to leave them food in exchange for a photo or video.
From what we can tell, these guys are well-fed.
The raccoons of Central Park had become something of a tourist attraction, with unofficial visiting
hours every night.
Raccoons are known to live in urban areas, but they’re traditionally more likely to
be found eating from a garbage can than a tourist’s hand.
Although feeding animals isn’t illegal, it’s not the smart thing to do.
Not only is approaching potentially rabid raccoons dangerous, it can interfere with
the “natural” wildlife in Central park.
Being fed a steady diet of tourists’ leftovers can alter animal’s natural behavior patterns
and eventually put them at greater risk.
5 - Deer Friends It’s not really uncommon to see wildlife
when you’re driving along the road.
However, it’s another thing when they come into a store and act like they own the place!
At a store inside an RV park in Fort Collins, Colorado, a deer actually went inside to shop
around!
The doe decided to stroll in as if she actually had some shopping to do on her own.
Shopkeeper Lori Jones assumed that the deer had lost her way, and she was able to lure
the doe back outside to the field with a peanut bar.
However, she was in for another surprise later on that day.
The doe had actually returned to the shop, not just by herself, but along with her three
kids!
Apparently her kids were just standing in the doorway like, “Can we come in too?”
She was able to successfully lure the mama deer and her kids back towards the field with
another peanut bar again.
Once the deer were back in the safety of their field, the shopkeeper clapped her hands and
bam, just like magic, they returned to the forest.
Well, at least for the day.
Usually, you have to go looking for animals, but on this special day, the wildlife came
looking for fun themselves!
4 - Cat on Tape Mountain lions, panthers, cougars or whatever
you want to call them, were completely driven out of Mississippi over 100 years ago.
However, even with that bit of news, people still have reported sightings all over Mississippi.
The presence of mountain lions has yet to be confirmed in the state.
Back in 2017, a cat captured on video near a Wendy’s back in Hernando Mississippi has
many people thinking the big cats are back in Mississippi!
However, most biologists credit these big cat sightings to misidentification, released
exotic pets, or animals passing through from places such as Texas, where these big cats
still live.
The video was viewed by a biologist from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries,
and Parks.
He concluded that the video was just a common house cat.
We’re not too convinced that it’s just a regular cat……..what do you guys think?!
Mountain lions or cougars are large cats that can weigh between 140 and 220 lbs and can
run as fast as 50 mph!
We’re not saying that’s the size of that cat on the video, but it definitely looks
a lot bigger than just a regular housecat!
3 - Snake vs Pigeon Snakes are common pets these days.
They’re all over the place!
They can be seen in people’s homes or hanging around people’s neck at some show for example.
But who would think you’d see one scarfing down a pigeon on your daily walk?
This is what people in London got to see on the street back in the summer of 2018.
A boa constrictor, thought to be an abandoned pet, was seen on the sidewalk in London with
its jaws opened and wrapped around a pigeon.
We’re guessing it was because the snake was looking for lunch that day.
Spectators say it seemed as if someone had found a pigeon and gave it to the hungry boa.
Feeding a wild animal, especially a snake, obviously isn’t something smart to do!
The incident was filmed by spectators and shared more than 4,000 times on multiple media
outlets.
The snake was later removed by an RSPCA inspector and taken to a wildlife center where they
were trying to find out how the boa made it to the street.
It’s becoming more common for exotic pets such as boas to be abandoned by their owners
for reasons ranging from money to simply not wanting such a large responsibility.
Who are these people and why’d get pets in the first place?!
2 - Birds of Brooklyn Residents of Brooklyn cry fowl!
Brooklyn residents have said they’re afraid to leave their homes and it ISN’T because
of crime.
Two red-tailed hawks had aggressively terrorized people in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood
in Brooklyn back in 2014.
The hawks chose to make a home on a sixth-floor fire escape, and also decided to harass residents
up and down the block.
Because Red-tailed hawks are actually protected under federal and state law, the nest couldn’t
be disturbed!
Because of the stories of the red-tailed hawks attacking and scratching people, many residents
had actually decided to not walk down Gates Ave!
Imagine walking outside on a beautiful day only to be the victim of a fly by scratching
or pecking by a giant bird in the middle of New York City!
Red-tailed hawks have a wingspan of up to almost 5 feet!
It was roughly around 2004 that a red-tailed hawk called Pale Male became a media sensation
after taking up residence on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park.
There are now more than a dozen red-tailed hawk nests in Manhattan alone.
How pesky do you guys think are birds in New York City?!
Let us know in the comment section!
1 - Coyote Ugly
When we think of Chicago we think of tall skyscrapers, big sidewalks, annnnd da Bears!
However, coyotes are definitely something that wouldn’t make the list.
It’s estimated that more than 4,000 coyotes make a comfortable living in the Chicago metropolitan
area.
Based on research, the coyote population in the area has about doubled since 2005.
Researchers chalk that growth to two factors: high survivability and high reproductive rates.
Downtown coyotes, which roam among the towers and traffic of the Chicago Loop, thrive in
the city by hunting enough small rodents to feed themselves and their young.
Some urban coyotes have even been spotted crossing streets in busy traffic—at the
light, looking both ways, just like human Chicagoans.
It's reasonable to assume that coyotes are moving to the city because they're being displaced
by habitat destruction, but that's only part of the explanation.
One of the biggest factors is actually because of successful conservation efforts Humans
pose the only real threat to coyotes in the city, and since Chicago doesn’t allow hunting
or trapping coyotes, their population continues to grow!
Here’s what’s next!