Tuesday, July 23, 2013

AN ALLIGATOR, AN ALBINO NUTRIA, AND A 3-FOOT IGUANA

By Juan Montoya
Guests at the arts show of Toni Hudson were recently treated to the sight of a rare albino nutria swimming across the resaca next to her and Bills' guest quarters behind the main house.
Likewise, the local cops and Brownsville Animal Control officers were called on April 2011 to investigate the discovery of a 10 foot alligator floating upside down in the water. The resaca is off of Alton Gloor near Tandy. Officials with the Health Department first responded to the report and found alligator. The Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said at the time that it looked as though the alligator was purposely killed and had the evidence to prove it.
We don't know whether the culprits were ever found, but in this semitropical area, as local chamber of commerce types like to call it, you find some critters you wouldn't find roaming in the waters and montes you wouldn't find almost anywhere else.
Add the Gladys Porter Zoo to the mix and you you're bound to run into something different than the scurrying of a shy possum once in a while.
For some reason or other, Robert (Capt. Bob) and Lorrie Sanchez always seem to attract some of these wayward fauna. Maybe its because their home is along a resaca bank and there's food for the beasts.
We remember when they reported that they were leaving their Calle Jacaranda home and were driving toward Palm Boulevard when they spotted zoo personnel trying to net a huge brown Mexican eagle down from some trees behind the old King Mart store (now the Dollar Store and the old Ho's Restaurant). The child-sized raptor had made good its escape from the zoo aviary and was never heard from again. For days after, parents were wary of letting their kids walk through the neighborhood alleys fearful lest the bird of prey with its razor-sharp talons would make a quick snack of a kid.
Today, as Bob was checking out his plants along the resaca, his eye caught a flash of bright green with a spiky head and neck and sunning itself on the bank.
"It was a three-foot iguana," he said. "It looked huge and green with yellow spikes on its head. I called the zoo to see whether they could send someone to get it, but they didn't sound too interested. They said it was probably somebody's pet which had gotten loose."
Bob and Lorrie took a picture on their cell phone (at a respectable distance, of course) and forwarded it to us.
Iguanas, we have learned, are harmless to humans and in fact are regarded as a delicacy in some countries. This one probably will wander about until there's nothing left for it to eat and seek greener pastures. But it had to be a surprise to see the big green lizard hanging out around your house.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Y el COCOdrilo de 250 lbs que vive adentro de la casa nadie se lo quiere llevar...

flora said...

A month ago, while exiting El Gran Salon at UTB after a quinceanera, I almost crossed paths with a huge skunk! Thank god he decided to run across the street towards the Barnes and Noble book store and hide behind the brick posts. I must have frightened him when I was yelling "A SKUNK, A SKUNK!"

Anonymous said...

Juano dosfrias says youve lost it or never had it

Anonymous said...

Did anyone see the BISD meeting, where the Atty was belittling caty and Lucy.

Anonymous said...

YES I SAW THE MEETING AND LUCY LET HIM HAVE IT.
POBRE PENDENJO ABOGADO

rita