Weekly Weird News for 15 April 2022

It was a mostly quiet week for really juicy weird news but, as always, I picked through a number of worthless stories to bring you the most interesting weirdness of the week. Enjoy!

Return of the ivory-billed woodpecker?

An unpublished scientific article posted to a biology preprint server has caused a kerfuffle in the ornithology community as researchers suggest that the extinct Ivory-billed woodpecker may be surviving in Louisiana. The last accepted siting of the great bird was in 1944. There have been several notable reports of its continued existence but none have ever been confirmed. Researchers conducted surveillance in undisclosed locations from 2012-2021 that could be the bird’s habitat. While they say they saw and heard the birds, no good photographs were taken to confirm their observations. Drones were unsuccessful. Trail cameras produced less than definitive images. The researchers argue the images show traits of the bird but the lighting and lack of detail are problematic. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.06.487399v1.full

Other scientists did not react well to the paper. The evidence produced was not persuasive and they expressed serious doubt about the hopefulness that the bird can be brought back from its presumed death. If individuals still are out there, the numbers and their habitat are far too tenuous to recover. The bird is presumed extinct with a final determination to be made by the US Fish and Wildlife Service later this year. That is likely what is prompting this report. People really want this bird to still be alive. It’s possibly second only to the thylacine in the amount of extinction guilt the public feels about their loss. https://revkin.bulletin.com/fresh-analysis-hints-that-the-ivory-billed-woodpecker-is-still-not-extinct/

Meanwhile, you can readily find its similar-looking relation, the pileated woodpecker in abundant locations. It’s adaptive, impressive and loud - easy to spot. https://revkin.bulletin.com/a-tale-of-two-woodpeckers-vanished-and-abundant

Ivory-billed woodpecker pair. Singer Tract, Louisiana, April 1935, by Arthur A. Allen

Weird cloud over Alaska

A strange cloud sparked a social media frenzy by people with a bit too much imagination who aimed to insert their uninformed guesses into the comments about what it might be. The speculation about the long, ropey cloud that showed up in the morning sky included ideas that it might be a meteor trail, a Russian weapon, or a UFO. When some people thought it might be a burning aircraft, Alaska state troopers investigated. They even had a rescue team in a helicopter fly the area. The cloud was a condensation trail from a commercial jet that had tracked over the area. The rising sun created odd shadows and made the cloud look even more odd. Many readers didn’t buy the explanation. Contrails are at the root of many ridiculous conspiracy ideas. The sky is a busy place. https://www.bradenton.com/news/nation-world/national/article260230970.html

Goose blamed for deadly crash

Canada geese are everywhere. They have been known to cause problems at airports but prior to this story, I hadn’t heard of them being deadly. A goose flew into a motorcyclist in Croydon, PA causing him to lose control and hit an oncoming vehicle. The man, who was not wearing a helmet, died at the scene. https://levittownnow.com/2022/04/12/coroner-identifies-motorcyclist-killed-in-freak-collision-with-goose/

Javelina on the move

A javelina (a wild native desert peccary) jumped into a station wagon to get some of the food inside. The incident happened when the car was left open overnight. After the food was gone, it discovered the hatch was no longer open and it made quite a fuss trying to escape, knocking the car into neutral. Luckily, the vehicle didn’t roll far, just across the street. The police opened the car and the animal, uninjured, ran back into the woods. The car interior, however, was a bit worse for wear. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2022/04/11/javelina-looking-snack-cheetos-trapped-car-corneville/7281834001/

Polar bear on the roof

Polar bears along the north coast of Newfoundland and Labrador seem to become braver. One woman was unaware that a bear had climbed onto her roof to check out the house. After seeing the neighbor’s video, she was relieved the heavy animal didn’t fall through. The bears aren’t usually seen so close to town and researchers think that changing sea ice flows is leading them into new areas and into conflict with people. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-polar-bear-sightings-2022-1.6415937

Can’t resist those fresh-baked biscuits

A young rare Marsican brown bear returned to a small town in Italy 150km away from where he was relocated. The bear had been a regular visitor to the town where he broke into a bakery to eat biscuits. He had been captured and tagged so officials can follow his route which was back to “home”. The bear has not been the cause of any injuries. Officials will attempt to recapture him but it adds to the evidence showing that rehoming food-habituated bears is very difficult to accomplish. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/13/bear-famous-for-italian-bakery-break-in-reappears-after-attempt-to-rewild-himbear

Lost cockatiel identified via theme song

A wayward cockatiel was found on a church doorstep in Lancaster, PA. After arriving at a rescue facility, its image was posted on social media. Quickly, a family responded that it looked like their bird Lucky who had escaped 3 years ago. But they weren’t certain. The family said to test if the bird responded to the playing of the theme song from the Andy Griffith TV show to which they taught him to dance. Sure enough, the bird responded. Unfortunately, the family can’t take back the bird in their current situation and the rescue organization is looking to rehome the dancing bird. https://www.wgal.com/article/television-show-theme-song-helps-lancaster-county-family-reunite-with-lost-bird/39707048#

Police looking for pie-in-your-face attacker

Police in Greenville, South Carolina are looking for a man who pied a woman in the face with a plate of whipped cream while she was walking. She was pushing a child in a stroller at the time. Other similar incidents were reported. The police obtained the identity of the man via his YouTube channel that shows him pulling these “pranks”. The police call it “assault”. https://www.wyff4.com/article/greenville-south-carolina-whipped-cream-assault/39728551 

Thief pays the price for trying to steal catalytic converter

Two weeks ago, I posted a story about how catalytic converter thefts are on the rise. A man apparently attempting to steal one in California was run over by a car parked near a hospital. The circumstances provided did not say if the driver was aware that someone was under the car when the incident occurred at 4:45 a.m. The 28-year-old man was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead. https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article260327570.html

Headset worn by 18-yr old gamer takes a bullet

A kid playing PlayStation in his room late one night in Los Angeles was suddenly hit in the head by something. A bullet had come through the window and careened off his headset, hitting the wall and finally landing on the bed. The Razer headset was destroyed but he was not injured. No shooter was found. The police think the shot was not made at close range and no additional details are provided. In no case will a plastic headpiece stop a bullet. The object most likely had come in at an angle or from far away. However, there’s no doubt that he could have been severely injured or even killed if circumstances had been just slightly different. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/only-on-local-gamer-saved-by-headset-when-stray-bullet-flies-through-bedroom-window/

The bullet bent the metal band inside the headset.

Finally, the ultimately most stupid story of the week was rehashed by a terrible tweet… about whale penises and Nessie.

This is ridiculous.

It’s not ridiculous that observers at sea may have, on some occasions, misidentified amorous whales as strange monsters. But it’s not reasonable to suggest this in terms of common explanations for sea monster sightings. It particularly makes no sense to talk about it in terms of a lake monster report, and compare to a hoaxed photograph. Sweet, who stresses the importance of public engagement in science, missed the point that his presentation on social media, which has 100K likes, is more misinformation than science. It’s so common for scientists to exaggerate, dramatize or misrepresent the natural world in order to impress others. While it seems noble to get people interested in science and nature, this is a faulty method. This goofy topic appeared last year at this time. Here were go again. Check out a different Twitter thread on the topic by an actual expert, unrolled on my Modern Cryptozoology site. https://moderncryptozoology.wordpress.com/2022/04/14/the-whale-penis-as-sea-serpent-clarification/

Catch you next week!