Florida

No Longer Weird: alligators in Florida. BUT this story caught our eye: Not one but two motorcyclists were injured on May 31 in Volusia County, Florida, after they hit an alligator crossing I-4, WFOL-TV reported. Cameron Gilmore, 67, said he and Brandi Goss, 25, were riding with a larger group when he saw a “big blob in the road.” Goss elaborated: “I just seen something and … it was too late,” she said. Goss sustained a concussion and cracked wrist bone; Gilmore had a broken foot and toes. The alligator’s fate is unknown. [WFOL, 6/2/2025]

Animal Antics

A 30-year-old elephant named Plai Biang Lek escaped Khao Yai National Park and went shopping on June 2 in Bangkok, Thailand, the Associated Press reported. The enormous male pachyderm ducked through the door of a grocery store and helped himself to snacks while park workers tried to shoo him out. When he was ready to go, he backed out the door, still holding a bag of treats with his trunk. The only damage to the shop was mud tracks on the floor and ceiling. Kamploy Kakaew, the owner, said he ate nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich, and some dried bananas. This isn’t his first offense: He’s been known to enter homes in search of food. [AP, 6/4/2025]

The Continuing Crisis

The Montclair Elementary School in Oakland, California, is celebrating 100 years, and as such, the school’s PTA historian dug back into the archives to find historical items for the 2025 yearbook. But, as ABC7-TV reported, she might have been a little lax in her editing. One photo in the yearbook distributed to kindergartners through fifth graders shows a picture from the 1940 carnival, held annually at the school. “Boy and Girl Scouts will have charge of booths and many attractions,” read the caption, before providing one example: a game named after a racial slur. What?! Principal David Kloker sent an apology to families and suggested parents remove that page or put a sticker, supplied by the school, over the photo. The historian explained that she “made the critical error of only reading the first paragraph before including it.” The PTA will offer refunds for the yearbook to families. The historian said she will pass the baton to another volunteer for next year. [ABC7, 6/2/2025]

Bright Idea

Here’s one way to disrupt government: At a Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) commission meeting on June 3, a protester released an “unknown” number of crickets, WBTV reported. “She dropped something from the balcony,” one commissioner said. Crickets were “everywhere on the walls, on the stairs,” and “in the balcony,” commissioners said. Board Chair Mark Jerrell stopped the meeting, saying, “It’s shameful. Shameful. You can leave, thank you very much, we appreciate it.” After protesters were removed, the meeting continued, but commissioners were forced to take a 10-minute recess so the environmental services staff could come in and vacuum up the critters. Jerrell said the commission was familiar with the protesters but that they lost all credibility with the stunt. [WBTV, 6/4/2025]

Weird in the Wild

On May 29 at Wekiva Island, Florida, one man was transported to the hospital after suffering a bite from … nope, not an alligator, but rather an “aggressive” otter. WSVN-TV reported that after biting the victim, the otter ran off, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers couldn’t find it. Megan Stolen, a senior scientist at the Blue World Research Institute, advised area residents to keep their distance. She said the otter may have felt the person was too close or it could be suffering from rabies, which makes them more aggressive. [WSVN, 6/4/2025]

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