alligator

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Ancient Crocodile Species Discovered

It roamed the planet 100 million years ago

(Newser) - A fossil that had been sitting in a museum has been identified by scientists as that of a previously unknown species of crocodile—which is believed to have lived 100 million years ago, the AP reports. Analysis of the six-inch-long skull fossil, which a scientist stumbled upon in 2006, led...

Alligator Surfaces In NYC
 Alligator Surfaces In NYC 
Aug 23, 2010 2:00 AM CDT

Alligator Surfaces In NYC

What danger lurks below?

(Newser) - Hold the phone: it's not a croc; there are alligators in the New York City sewer system—at least in Queens. The alleged urban legend turned out to be the real thing when Joyce Hackett pulled over to find a group of passers-by and a cop staring, agog, at a...

Alligators Caught on Tape in Rare Feeding Frenzy

So Georgia man drove his boat through them

(Newser) - A Georgia man set out this month expecting a normal day of fishing. Instead, he encountered hundreds of writhing alligators in a canal in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in what biologists believe may be a strange feeding ritual. Ray Cason witnessed the gator gathering, which wildlife officials term a...

7-Foot Alligator Kicked Out of School

Tampa middle school attracts unexpected visitor

(Newser) - A Tampa middle school had an unexpected and unwelcome visitor before classes started today: a 7-foot-long alligator. "Here he comes, walking around the corner," a teacher tells the Tampa Tribune . "Walked right down here and then he stopped." After loitering around the cafeteria door—maybe he...

Kids' Gator Pal Goes Missing
 Kids' Gator Pal 
 Goes Missing 
May 11, 2010 11:56 AM CDT

Kids' Gator Pal Goes Missing

Florida cops warn against feeding 'alpha predators'

(Newser) - A 10-foot alligator is on the loose in North Miami Beach, which sounds bad enough—but it turns out local kids have been feeding the beast meat. They named the storm-drain resident Patrick and treated him to hot dogs and ham, which is a seriously bad idea, a police sergeant...

Missing Girl Found Alive in Alligator-Filled Swamp

Nadia Bloom of Florida had been gone for 5 days

(Newser) - Nadia Bloom is covered in mosquito bites—a welcome reality, considering what the 11-year-old could have been bitten by in an alligator-infested Florida swamp. Bloom, who is believed to have a mild form of autism, disappeared from her Winter Springs neighborhood 5 days ago and was found today.

13-Foot Alligator Kills 11-Year-Old Girl

Victim was swimming in shallow water of Brazilian river

(Newser) - An 11-year-old girl who was swimming with friends in a river in Brazil was attacked and killed by a 13-foot-long alligator, according to local media reports. The girl was playing in shallow water in the northern part of the country, near the Amazon, when the alligator struck. The reptile was...

How Birds, Crocs Escaped Prehistoric Extinction

One-way breathing pattern points to common ancestor

(Newser) - In the midst of the planet's worst-ever wave of extinction some 250 million years ago, the ancestors of birds and alligators managed to survive thanks to a shared breathing mechanism that enabled them to weather low oxygen levels. New research shows that when birds and alligators breathe, air flows in...

Alligator Market Collapses; Farmers Fault Hermès

Prices rise even as sales of alligator-skin shoes and bags plummet

(Newser) - Of luxury markets hit hard by the economy, one of the strangest is Louisiana alligator business, which dried up so fast it went from hatching 500,000 eggs last year to none this year. The speed of the collapse is raising suspicions that there's more to it than consumers shunning...

The World's 10 Weirdest Eats
 The World's 10 Weirdest Eats 
YES, THOSE ARE UDDERS
Nov 7, 2009 5:50 AM CST

The World's 10 Weirdest Eats

From chicken knees to grub guts, someone considers them a delicacy

(Newser) - In an adventurous mood? You might want to try one of the world’s top 10 culinary challenges, compiled by Eddie Lin for the Times of London:
  • Alligator cheesecake, New Orleans: Yes, real alligator, mixed with cheese and shrimp.
  • Blood tongue, Germany: Exactly what it sounds like: Cow tongue and
...

Gator Biz Caught in Jaws of Recession

Egg collection shrinks

(Newser) - No industry is safe from the recession, no matter how many teeth it has. The demand for alligator-skin accessories like handbags, watches, and belts has plummeted this year, leaving even top US gator farmers in danger of going out of business, USA Today reports. “This is, by far, the...

Floridians Gang Up on New Neighbor: 8-Foot Gator

Said to have come from local canal

(Newser) - Residents of a South Florida town found a surprise visitor in their pool last night: an 8-foot alligator. Someone—nobody owned up—tied the creature to a tree with an extension cord before calling for help, the Miami Herald reports. When deputies arrived, a crowd of 30 was ogling the...

Southern Gator Hunt Draws Fire

Population control should be left to experts, critics say

(Newser) - Complaints about alligators creeping into people's pools and resting in roadside ditches have prompted several Southern states to allow hunters to track down the dinosaur descendants, the Christian Science Monitor reports. South Carolina hopes its first public hunt in decades will prevent dangerous gator incidents. But critics say the hunt...

Fay Brings Floods&mdash;and Gators
 Fay Brings Floods—and Gators  
Aug 21, 2008 7:03 PM CDT

Fay Brings Floods—and Gators

(Newser) - Florida residents bailing out amid four days of relentless rain from Tropical Storm Fay now have a more hair-raising worry: alligators and snakes. The storm has dumped about 30 inches of rain on the state this week, sending gators and others critters into flooded streets and neighborhoods in search of...

South Jersey Man Finds Gator on Side the Road

No explantion where 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast in cage came from

(Newser) - A South Jersey man spotted something unusual on his way to work yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports: a caged alligator on the side of a road. Fred Schubert decided to help out the 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast, loading the cage into his pickup. After calling several wildlife agencies, an official came...

Gator Caught&mdash;in Chicago?
 Gator Caught—in Chicago?  
Jun 21, 2008 5:32 AM CDT

Gator Caught—in Chicago?

Five-foot reptile apprehended in the Chicago River; probably a discarded pet

(Newser) - Alligator wranglers may not be the busiest of folks in metro Chicago, but they came through yesterday by yanking a 5-foot unwelcome visitor out of the Chicago River, the Tribune reports. The healthy female, probably a discarded pet, is on her way to a sanctuary in the Southeast.

'There's an Alligator in My Kitchen!'

Florida woman calls 911 after 8-foot gator invades house

(Newser) - A 69-year-old Florida woman called 911 after finding an 8-foot gator in her kitchen. The beast apparently crawled in through a porch screen door and an open sliding door, making its way through the living room and down a hall, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Authorities called a trapper, and...

For Infections, Try Gator-cillin

Scientists probe reptile's impressive immune system

(Newser) - Scientists are trying to harness the power of alligator blood to fight disease, bacterial infections, and even HIV, Cox News reports. Proteins in the reptiles' blood have antibiotic properties thanks to the animals' long evolution and frequent exposure to bacteria; their exceptionally effective immune systems can fight off invaders without...

Balmy, With a Chance of Pythons
Balmy, With a Chance of Pythons
Feb 21, 2008 9:16 AM CST

Balmy, With a Chance of Pythons

Dumped American pets thriving in wild on global warming

(Newser) - Burmese pythons could rapidly establish a stranglehold on the southern US due in part to snake-loving global warming, according to a new government report. With climate change and more pet owners releasing unwanted snakes into the wild, the adaptable serpent could soon call home any area from Northern California through...

Gator Goes to the Beach—on Long Island

Traveling pillowcase proves to contain 2½-foot male reptile

(Newser) - And you thought your Halloween costume was scary: A pillowcase found wriggling in a Long Island parking lot early yesterday turned out to contain a 2½-foot male alligator. An official from the town of Babylon found the creature near a beach, Newsday reports, with a message on the pillowcase:...

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