Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Animal Wednesday - a Massachusetts River Alligator

I went kayaking on Sunday and had a tough paddle up river. Tired out, I finally turned around and floated back downstream. Imagine my surprise when I turned a corner and found this very strange Alligator in the middle of the river. My first thought was "there are no alligators up here - is this guy lost?"
As I got closer I could see he was a friendly little fellow - and quite placid. He didn't react at all in fear...just stayed sunning himself with his head above the water.


I contacted the "Office of New and Strange Animals" who informed me that I had just seen the elusive wood-headed Massachusetts Alligator, a shy quiet vegetarian alligator. I was amazed to have seen this reptile; and will look for him again on this river. Rumor has it that they frequent the same spot over and over; only moving in times of high water...drought or big storms.

17 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What a hoot. I bet it did give you a start seeing that alligator in the river. Great capture. HAW

sukipoet said...

cute post.

sukipoet said...

ps love your bookcover. i mailed my addition forward on Monday.

marianne said...

What a find!
HAW!

caseytoussaint said...

This was fun to read - nice to know tha Massachusetts alligators are so civilized!

Barbara/myth maker said...

You had me going for a minute there!

studio lolo said...

I'm SO glad I now have a friend who can share my rank of reporting wooden animals!
I was working at a vet when we first moved out here and this particular year we had floods from all the rain. I saw this poor matted dog tied out with no shelter, his rope just swinging in the wind. I called the SPCA but they were so busy with all the flood victim rescues so they asked if I could get a closer look. I took my binoculars with me and zoomed in on a tree stump!! What looked like mats to me was the strips of bark, and what look like his leash was a long, thin branch!!
I made an appointment for an eye exam the next day ;P
HAW!!!

Teri said...

That looks SO real!! I love the way you discovered the background. Perfect for HAW!!!!!!

HAW

Lynn Cohen said...

I think I would have just died of fright before I realized his name was Woody! OY VEY!!!!

soulbrush said...

you got me! totally! my heart started beating in my chest...you don't wanna meet a real on of those. haw 'cool' friend.and gosh, i remember those bags i made out of plastic with the kids in my knitting club...must dig them out one day and give them away!one of the best things was meeting you right here in london!!! a very precious hour to me!

kj said...

oh jeez mim! i believed this entirely until i read lisa's comment!!! i'm thinking to myself 'oh sweet jesus! i live in new england and i can't imagine coming across an aligator." then i blew up the photo and saw the wide rim mouth and i said 'oh sweet jesus' again. then i saw lisa's comment.

you imp, you. has anyone ever told you you don't have a great sense of humor? because if they did, they were very very wrong.

xoxo!
kj

Mim said...

someday I'll tell you all my Dog-in-the-ocean story ....well...maybe for next wednesday!

Katiejane said...

Gosh, it DOES look like an alligator, doesn't it? I certainly would have given me pause, that's for sure!

Katiejane said...

Gosh, it DOES look like an alligator, doesn't it? I certainly would have given me pause, that's for sure!

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

Oh what a hoot. I would have died seeing it there. It really does look real. LOL

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Ha, made me look! I though...just like snakes in city sewers coming up the toilet...but I can now relax when thinking of you kayaking again!

Michele said...

OK, I was totally scared and freaked out when I first started reading this. Were you scared at first?