|
September 23, 2005
In tears, I admit I'm in denial! (And this is no croc!)
A friend just sent me an email which included this large photograph, purportedly of a crocodile killed in "New Orleans": The caption read: This crocodile was found in New Orleans swimming down the street. 21 FT long, 4,500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum. Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals. This crocodile was killed by the army last Sunday at 3:00 pm, currently he is in the freezer at the Azur hotel. The contents of it's stomach will be analyzed this Friday at 2:30pm.Immediately, I recognized the offender as a Nile Crocodile. Definitely a man-eater, but definitely not found anywhere near New Orleans. Like denial, the Nile is more than a river in Egypt; it runs through central Africa, and I told the emailer I'd be willing to bet that the men in the picture are from some central African country. My view found confirmation at Snopes.com: These photographs actually show a crocodile that was shot and killed on 6 July 2003 at Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. According to an article in allafrica.com, the reptile was a Nile crocodile whose vital statistics fell a bit short of the claims made above: he was estimated to be 50 years old, about 16 feet in length, and about 1,900 lbs. (not quite the 80-year-old, 21-foot, 4,500-pound monster described in e-mail). The local mayor reportedly insisted on preserving the crocodile's carcass against the efforts of locals who wanted to eat it and arranged for it to be shipped to a taxidermist.OK, OK, but even if it didn't happen in New Orleans and there aren't any crocodiles there, it might as well have, and there might as well have been, and wasn't Bush responsible anyway? And what about the man eating alligators that everybody's been talking about? Why do I keep bringing up this story? Am I stuck on stupid? Or just stuck on my man eating alligator denial? Well, with great reluctance, the time has come for me to admit that there's more than one man eating alligator, and probably many more than one reported case. There! I said it! My denial is over! In fact, there are plenty of outlets to supply the man eating alligator -- or, for that matter, the many men who eat alligators. Here's one: Where's the meat? you ask? It comes packaged, looking like this: Of course, there'd be no man eating alligator without the man butchering alligator -- and that spectacle looks like this: Recipe, you say? I thought you'd never ask! No more denial about man eating alligators. But let me make one thing perfectly clear: my coverup is not a croc! MORE: In case any doubting types remains skeptical about the existence of a man eating alligator, here's the real thing: More about gator nutritional value: For health-conscious consumers, alligator meat is an excellent choice. High in protein and low in calories, fat, saturated fat (the one that's bad for you), and cholesterol, alligator offers flavorful, succulent options to the usual dining fare. It also is a superb source of Omega-3 fatty acids, the kind that have people clamoring for salmon and cold-water fish that protect against heart disease.What more proof would anyone need?
American crocodiles inhabit areas where fresh and salt waters mix, such as coastal wetlands and canals. They are found in southern Florida, the Caribbean, southern Mexico, and along the Central American coast south to Venezuela.The range of the American crocodile, of course, does not extend anywhere near Louisiana. posted by Eric on 09.23.05 at 09:15 AM |
|
March 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
March 2007
February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
War For Profit
How trying to prevent genocide becomes genocide I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight Wind Boom Isaiah Washington, victim Hippie Shirts A cunning exercise in liberation linguistics? Sometimes unprincipled demagogues are better than principled activists PETA agrees -- with me! The high pitched squeal of small carbon footprints
Links
Site Credits
|
|
Even if the picture was a fake, the story is absolutely true...just as Dan Rather!!