Gordon Grice's Blog, page 97

Eating a Rattlesnake

I received this interesting series of pictures in an email forward. The email identifies the predator as a black snake, though I find claims on the web that it is actually an indigo. The victim is a Western diamondback rattlesnake. 

Honeybees in Mortal Combat

Here are images by the great illustrator Edward Detmold depicting life inside the beehive. That last image shows queens locked in mortal combat. The winner gets the hive.

See Me at the Fox Cities Book Festival

The Fox Cities (Wisconsin) Book Festival is coming up April 9-20. I'll be there April 12 to tell some Tales from the Deadly Kingdom and sign books. This is a huge event that would be worth attending even without the world's deadliest nature writer. Come see us.

http://www.foxcitiesbookfestival.org/

Eagle Ray Collides with Woman

Leaping ocean life strikes again. The woman is fine. 

The Sting of the Honeybee

My friend Brian recently took up beekeeping. He's enjoyed it, but it does have its downside.




Brian is philosophical about getting stung. They're only defending their honey against a thief. "I would do the same," he adds.

Big Cat Attacks in the Gir Forest

The Gir Forest of India is best known as the only place in Asia to find wild lions. This small population of lions in the area, just over 400, is carefully managed. The lions frequently take livestock, and that brings them into conflict with people. Sometimes the lions, particularly the males, deliberately choose humans as prey. As noted in this article, lions and other wild animals have attacked 162 people and more than 6000 head of livestock there in the last three years. In one case, a lion injured seven people before they killed it with axes.

Those axes really bring home the cultural differences between India and the US. Here, in the rare instance of a need to protect ourselves from wildlife, guns and armed police are never too far away. I try to imagine 50 attacks a year in a comparably-sized slice of the US--say, the eastern third of Rhode Island. The lions aren't the biggest part of the problem, though--leopards are far more likely to attack people.

Deadly Kingdom nominated for award

Good news: Deadly Kingdom has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award. I'll let you know what happens, unless I lose, in which case I'll ignore the whole affair. 

Autopsy Results from Ohio Bear Attack

A keeper killed by a bear near Cleveland last year was the victim of a "workplace accident," according to the coroner's report. His body had more than 200 puncture wounds. Exotic animals turn up more often than you might expect in "workplace accidents," with captive tigers and elephants both figuring in US government statistics. 

Wild Boar Destroys Hair Salon

In the French city of Nancy, a wild board invaded a shopping center and unleashed mass destruction inside a supermarket and a salon. This animal, the untamed and hairy version of the domestic pig, has a long history of harrassing people in locales as diverse as Vietnam and Germany. 

World's 10 worst shark attacks

With the exception of the Indianapolis, these aren't even close to being the worst. Still, it's an interesting list.
World's 10 worst shark attacks - Telegraph


"In 1985, Shirley Ann Durdin was diving for scallops in Australia's Peake Bay when she was attacked by a great white shark, said by witnesses to have been 20 feet long. The mighty fish tore the 33-year-old in half in its first strike as her husband and four children watched in horror from the shore. By the time rescuers arrived, all that remained was her headless torso floating in the water. Within moments, the shark returned and devoured that too."