Invasive Fish Can Move Across Land And Eat Birds: Weird News & Oddities

An “alarming” invasive fish that can live for days out of water and prey on birds and mammals as it moves across land was recently captured in Pennsylvania, prompting a dire warning from wildlife officials.

The fish, a northern snakehead native to parts of Asia and Africa, was pulled out of the Schuylkill River in Chester County in early June. Because these torpedo-shaped fish can move across land and water, they can rapidly expand their range.

“They have been found in canals, ponds, lakes, and river systems in more than a dozen states,” Jamie K. Reaser, the executive director of the National Invasive Species Council, said in a Department of Interior publication. “The rate of new introductions and their spread within watersheds is alarming.”

Because of their overall strength and the size of their teeth, they can eat prey up to about a third of their own substantial body size (they can grow up to about 3 feet long and weigh as much as 20 pounds). Beyond simply outcompeting native fish who share the top of the aquatic food chain, the long, torpedo-shaped fish disturb the balance of the ecosystem wherever they take hold. They pose a significant threat to populations of largemouth bass and stocked fish like trout.

Anglers who catch a snakehead “must immediately kill the fish onsite” to limit its population and spread, officials said.

Read more: Invasive Fish Can Move Across Land And Eat Birds And Mammals

Bear Free Of ‘Cone Of Shame’

A young bear is finally free after ambling around northern Michigan with the equivalent of the “cone of shame” veterinarians fit on dogs and cats to prevent them from licking, biting, or scratching at wounds, surgical incisions, or irritated areas.

A veterinarian didn’t prescribe it, though. Wildlife biologists aren’t sure how the cub got its head stuck in a 5-inch hole in a plastic lid to a 55-gallon drum, but it has been his necklace for about two years.

Wildlife officials have known of the bear’s conundrum since 2023 and had spotted him on trail cameras since then. In May, a landowner reported seeing the hapless bear in the woods to wildlife officials, who set up a baited trap and safely caught him.

The bear was anesthetized, and the lid was cut off. The bear weighed 110 pounds, which is fairly standard for his age, and had an abscess on its back, but was otherwise healthy, officials said

Read more: Bear With Lid Stuck On Its Head For 2 Years Is Finally Free

‘Damn, That Is An Alligator’

Guests at a Fairfax County, Virginia, motel may have wondered if they had somehow been teleported to Florida just after midnight on Monday, June 16, when they saw an approximately 6-foot alligator walking about the property.

Virginians can sigh in relief that the large, semiaquatic reptile species hasn’t moved north from the Everglades and other swampy areas in the Southeast. The alligator was being transported from New York to a zoo in North Carolina when the owner stopped for an overnight stay in Fairfax County, Virginia.

“Damn, that is an alligator,” a responding officer said, according to police bodycam footage.

There was no vacancy at the motel for the alligator — or certain other exotic species Virginians cannot legally possess. So, in a scene right out of an old-timey Western, Fairfax County police escorted the alligator and its owner to the county line.

Read more: ‘Damn, That Is An Alligator’: See Video

‘Heavy Lift Assignment’

A record 6,300 pounds — or 3.15 tons — of invasive Burmese pythons were removed from Southwest Florida in a record-setting season, bringing the total to 20 pounds for the region since 2013, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

The organization said the latest record sets a new milestone for its python program. At least 20 tons of Burmese pythons have been extracted within 200 square miles since 2013.

“We have been on the front line of the invasive python battle for more than a decade,” Ian Bartoszek, wildlife biologist and the conservancy science project manager, said in a news release. “Removing more than 40,000 pounds of snake, carried out through some of Florida’s unrelenting wildlife habitats, is a heavy-lifting assignment. But, through years of dedicated research, we’ve developed science-based methods to track this apex predator more effectively and mitigate its damage to our native wildlife population.”

The organization is tracking 40 “scout snakes” from Naples through the Western Everglades to help biologists find reproductive pythons during the breeding season, which runs from November through April. About 20,000 python eggs have not hatched because of the program, the conservancy said.

“Burmese pythons are impressive creatures that are here from no fault of their own,” Bartoszek said in the release. “As wildlife biologists, we have tremendous respect for all snake species. However, we understand the impact invasive pythons are having on the biodiversity in our area, and we humanely remove them from the ecosystem as part of the conservancy’s commitment to protecting our water, land, wildlife and future.”

Read more: Record 6,300s Of Burmese Pythons Removed From 200-Square-Mile Area

Police Bust Open Counterfeit Scheme

More than $100,000 in counterfeit money from a Brighton, Michigan, home after a resident told state police she had been paid $800 in phony money for a drone she sold on Facebook Marketplace.

She discovered the money was fake when she tried to spend it. Her complaint triggered an investigation by Michigan State Police, who uncovered an elaborate scheme in which the perpetrators would troll various online marketplaces, then meet their victims in person and pay with fake currency.

Authorities in Livingston County, where Brighton is located, and nearby Oakland County were conducting similar investigations.

“There’s a lot of scammers out there, and Facebook is just another avenue for them to work off of. So what I suggest to people, just like banks and stores use, if you give them a hundred dollars, they’re going to take a pen out and draw a line across that bill to ensure that it’s real,” State Police Lt. Rene Gonzalez told Detroit news station WXYZ.

Read more: Drone Sale Leads To $100K Counterfeit Bust

A Foot In The Past And Future

People roaming the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts, can step from the past into the future and score a classic combination — a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee — with a pair of new openings.

Cinnabon offers a sweet treat and a massive dose of nostalgia for anyone who grew up within 50 miles of a shopping mall. Fast-forward about four decades to Robocafe, which offers “barista brewed coffee, with a dash of Artificial Intelligence.”

In short, customers customize their coffee through an app before watching a robot arm craft their beverage. Other Robocafe locations include Boston Children’s Hospital, Mass General Hospital and Tufts Medical Center, with the new location at South Shore Plaza serving as its first in a shopping center, officials said.

Read more: Step Into Both The Past And Future At This Mall

‘Not Your Standard Call’

First responders in suburban Detroit made an unusual lake rescue after getting a distress call on June 15. The life they are credited with saving is that of a Great Blue Heron that had become hopelessly entangled in a fishing line in the marshy area of Lake Louise.

If not for the call from a nearby resident who heard squawking, the majestic bird would have perished, according to Lt. Brian Burwell of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue team.

“There is no way the bird was going to get out of there,” Burwell said. “The fishing line was wrapped multiple times around its wings and there was no way it was getting loose. I’m sure the bird would have died there.”

Other agencies joined in the effort. Two Oakland County animal control officers waded into the thigh-deep water and put a towel over the distressed bird’s head to reduce its stress, then cut away the fishing line. They brought the bird to shore for a thorough examination, but it had no visible injuries. It quickly hopped back into the water and swam away.

“This was definitely not your standard call,” Burwell said.

Read more: A Successful But Unusual Water Rescue

Animals Know More Than You Think

Scientists have long known that many species of animals are cognitively aware, and that some of them are capable of analytical thought.

For example, a young Cooper’s hawk learned to read pedestrian crosswalk signals to launch sneak attacks on prey, according to a newly published paper in the journal Frontiers in Ethology.

There’s more. Crows remember faces and can carry grudges forever. One man who shooed them away from a robin’s nest was stalked by a murder of crows. They even figured out when he’d be at the bus stop.

A species of lizard shoots blood out of its eyes to ward off predators. Male seahorses get pregnant and give birth. Clownfish can change genders to gain dominance over a group. Hens expel the sperm of undesirable roosters. Owls get “divorced,” pigeons gamble and parrots name their offspring.

Read more: 9 Astonishing Things Animals Do That May Freak You Out