#he reads as a man who illegally raise gators

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

Why is Roy harper giving me bayou boy/swamp man vibes.

[orbemnews]

Murder suspect seen with tiger in west Houston arrested on evading charges HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities have arrested the man who was seen taking in a tiger that was spotted roaming loose in a Houston neighborhood on Sunday. That tiger has yet to be located. Multiple police sources identified the man as 28-year-old Victor Cuevas. Cuevas, who is currently out on bond on an unrelated murder charge, is known to possess several exotic animals. The search for Cuevas began Sunday after he evaded police. But on Monday, he was taken into custody to the Fort Bend County jail. He was supposed to turn himself in at 8:15 p.m. at the Harris County jail. Instead, Cuevas’ lawyer said Houston police picked him up at his mother’s house in Richmond and took him to the Fort Bend County jail. UPDATE #2: Victor Hugo Cuevas is in custody. The whereabouts of the tiger are not yet known. Anyone with information on the tiger is urged to contact HPD Major Offenders at 713-308-3100.#hounews https://t.co/TkaAtK45MC — Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 11, 2021 Cuevas is charged with felony evading arrest after allegedly fleeing from HPD Monday. Cuevas’ lawyer, Michael Elliott, was furious as he talked to the media Monday night. “Fifteen minutes before he leaves to surrender, (HPD) go and arrest him, and the result is they get to keep him there for 10 days now,” said Elliott. Elliott said the tiger is not his client’s but that he knows the owner. He added that he and his client were apparently working with authorities to locate the tiger and the owner. WATCH: ‘It’s not his tiger’ Attorney of alleged tiger owner says “There’s a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications and a lot of things put out there falsely that’s very troubling,” Elliott said. “First off, The Houston Police Department here. I know they��re trying to do their job. Everyone wants to know about the tiger and their safety. Make no mistake, there’s no crime of having a tiger in the state of Texas.” In the City of Houston, there is an ordinance that says you can’t have a tiger. But, as Elliott points out, it is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. On Sunday, Houston police responded to a call about a tiger in a neighbor’s front yard on Ivy Wall Drive, in the Highway 6 and Memorial area. When officers arrived, the alleged owner was loading up the tiger in his Jeep. “The owner put the tiger in a white SUV and drove off from the scene, there was a brief pursuit, and the man got away with the tiger,” said HPD Commander Ron Borza, who focuses on animal abuse cases for the department. “My main concern right now is focused on finding him, and finding the tiger, because what I don’t want him to do is harm the tiger. We have plenty of places where we can take the tiger and he can spend the rest of his life.” Video of the incident shows off-duty Waller County Sheriff’s Sergeant Wes Manion coming to the aid of his neighbors, and trying to keep the tiger at bay. Moments later, a man in a white shirt emerges from his house and grabs the tiger by what appears to be a collar. “An individual came out and said, ‘Don’t kill it, don’t kill it,'” recalled Manion, who also lives in the area. “I didn’t know who this individual was, told him to get in the house. He stated that was his tiger, and I instructed him to take his tiger back inside, which he did.” HPD believes the man in the white shirt was Cuevas, who later put the tiger in his white Jeep Cherokee and fled from the home at a high rate of speed. Our Animal Cruelty Unit, along with @BARC_Houston are currently investigating the incident in which a tiger was seen at 1103 Ivy Wall Drive about 8 p.m. on Sunday (May 9). The male owner was seen escorting the tiger to the residence then putting it into his vehicle. 1/3 — Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 10, 2021 Monday morning, both HPD’s Animal Cruelty Unit and Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) were investigating the incident. A sweep of the house yielded no additional animals. However, ABC13 reviewed multiple Instagram videos and pictures on Cuevas’ account which indicated he is no stranger to exotic animals. The videos show him playing with a baby bear, feeding it with a bottle, and giving the bear kisses in his home. There are also videos of at least two monkeys. Cuevas is seen taking one monkey with him while he was having dental work done, and taking another monkey to a convenience store, where the clerk was not pleased. In addition, several videos show Cuevas cuddling with a young tiger. Police say even though it is against city regulation to keep a tiger, this particular tiger does appear well fed. WATCH: HPD reveals the tiger’s owner has been out on bond in a murder case The murder charge tied to Cuevas involves an alleged shooting at a strip shopping center in Fort Bend County. According to records, Cuevas is accused of shooting and killing a man in July 2017 and is out on a $125,000 bond. ABC13 spoke with Cuevas’ attorney on the matter. He said his client is up to date on all court appearances as it relates to the murder charge. Meanwhile, back in the west Houston neighborhood, Cuevas and his girlfriend are described as living a quiet, fairly secluded life. “They didn’t bother anybody,” neighbor Jorge Ramos said. “They are very private, I have to say.” He said this is not the first time he’s seen a wild animal at the residence. WATCH: Neighbor once saw monkey at home where tiger was seen roaming “I did notice one time, and this is something interesting, that I was walking by my driveway. There was a capuchin monkey that showed up in the window,” Ramos recalled. “I figured, ‘OK, this is a small animal. It could be domesticated.’ But I never thought they would hold a tiger in their house.” Previous wild encounters in Houston While Houston for the most part may be a sprawling cosmopolitan city, we’ve had our fair share of tiger instances. In May 2019, a tiger was found caged in a southwest Houston garage. Houston police arrested the former owner, Brittany Garza, who at the time faced animal cruelty charges. She told ABC13 at the time that she had raised the tiger, whom she called “Rajah,” since he was a cub. But once Rajah started getting big, she knew it was time to find him a new place to live. Garza claimed two years ago that she had made arrangements with a sanctuary in College Station and put the animal inside a friend’s home until the transfer could be made. But someone else found the tiger in the garage before he could be moved. The tiger was eventually taken to Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, where he is said to be living the rest of his life. FROM MAY 2019: Tiger owner arrested for leaving wild cat caged at vacant Houston house Can you even own exotic animals in Texas or Houston city limits? We looked at this back in 2019 as well and found that, in Texas, owners of “dangerous wild animals” must register with their municipality or county animal office or sheriff. A dangerous animal includes a lion, tiger, ocelot, cougar, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, bobcat, lynx, serval, caracal, hyena, bear, coyote, jackal, baboon, chimpanzee, orangutan and gorilla. SEE ALSO: How did a cow end up on the East Freeway? However, municipalities can also ban ownership of these animals. And for anyone hoping to own a dangerous wild animal in Houston city limits, no can do. It is illegal. Violations are misdemeanors punishable by fines of $500 to $2,000. Texas’ exotic pet laws: The furry friends you can’t have in Houston You can read more about the laws pertaining to wild animals in Section IV of this website. You can also find more on dangerous wild animals from the Texas State Law Library. TIMELINE: Houston area exotic pet incidents since 1998 Animal encounters: That time a gator was on the Fred Hartman bridge Follow Courtney Fischer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Follow Miya Shay on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Copyright © 2021 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '301587867451487'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); Source link Orbem News #Arrested #CaughtOnCamera #caughtonvideo #Charges #evading #Houston #memorial #Murder #Suspect #Tiger #tigerfoundinhouston #tigerinhouston #tigerloose #tigerlooseinhouston #VictorCuevas #west #WestHouston #wildanimalshouston

[ezatluba]

Alligators make terrible pets: 'You're basically dealing with a dinosaur.'

New Mexico officials seized this seven-foot American alligator (seen here at his new home, the ABQ BioPark Zoo) from a private home, where he'd been kept illegally for a decade.

A rise in the abandoned reptiles around the United States—including two recently found in a Kansas creek—has raised concern among experts.

JULY 31, 2020

Something unusual was lurking in Wildcat Creek, in Manhattan, Kansas, a small college town on the prairie. In June, townsfolk spotted two American alligators swimming in a body of water better known for reptiles such as garter snakes and painted turtles.

Further investigation revealed that a thief—still at large—had stolen the gators from a local pet shop and released them into the creek. Rescuers set humane traps to catch the animals, but the female, Pebbles, died after falling into the water inside one of these traps. The male, Beauregard, eluded capture until late July, when a construction worker caught and returned him to his owners at Manhattan Reptile World, according to their Facebook page.

The two gators, kept at Manhattan Reptile World under a state zoo permit, had previously been illegal pets, living in a pool and a bathtub in Manhattan and Kansas City, according to a news release. (Learn more about why people want exotic pets.)

The incident—particularly the female’s untimely death—highlights the often problematic, yet not widely known, phenomenon of keeping pet American alligators, which are native to the U.S. Southeast, experts say. (Read more about the exotic pet trade.)

Formerly endangered, American alligators reached their nadir in the 1950s because of overhunting and habitat loss, but conservation efforts returned the species to healthy numbers by the mid-1980s. Weighing up to a thousand pounds, these behemoths live in wetlands, rivers, lakes, and swamps, feeding primarily on fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals. (Watch alligators on the hunt.)

Official numbers on how many American alligators are kept as pets don’t exist, but some states have estimates. There are likely 5,000 in Michigan; at least 50 in Phoenix, Arizona; and as many as 52 of the prehistoric reptiles are surrendered to the city of Chicago each year.

American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis

TYPE: Reptile

DIET: Carnivore

GROUP NAME: Congregation

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 35-50 years

SIZE: 10-15 feet

WEIGHT: 1,000#

In recent years, wildlife officials across the nation have noticed an uptick in alligators abandoned in parks, creeks, and other public places. In 2019, six pet alligators went on the loose in Detroit (one was shot to death), and in August, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish seized an alligator from a Santa Fe man who had kept the animal illegally for 10 years.

Gator laws

Ownership laws for alligators vary by state and municipality. While keeping them is legal in Michigan, parts of Detroit ban private ownership. In other states, such as New Mexico, pet gators are illegal without a permit, and in Arizona and New York, private ownership is banned.

Such regulations don’t faze many collectors who covet palm-size baby gators. A quick search for pet alligators turns up dozens of websites that sell juvenile alligators for anywhere from $150 to $15,000 (for an albino animal). Most of these young reptiles come from legal alligator breeders in the Southeast who sell the animals wholesale to vendors.

The black market trade of these animals has long been “a big problem,” according to Matt Eschenbrenner, director of animal care and conservation at the Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s likely that most of these animals originate in Florida, says Russ Johnson, president of the Phoenix Herpetological Society.

Florida has strict alligator farming laws and inspection protocols, but not all breeders play by the rules. In 2018, the state reported 21 active alligator farms that produced legal hides and meat. Not present on this list are unlicensed operations that illegally breed gators as pets. (Read about the largest seizure to date of illegally caught reptiles.)

Bone breakers

Most gator pet owners are unprepared to care for an adult animal that can reach 14 feet and live 80 years, Johnson says. When that cute baby gets bigger and less manageable, the owner faces a real conundrum. “It’s not like owning a cat or dog that will return love,” he adds. “You’re basically dealing with a dinosaur.”

To capture their prey, alligators are armed with strong jaws lined with up to 80 teeth. If captive gators don’t get enough food—a common problem—they can get cranky and bite, easily breaking through human bone. “It’s not the alligator’s fault,” Johnson says. “The alligator was just being an alligator.”

This happens, he says, because feeding an alligator is expensive. Adults need nourishment such as whole chickens or pork with the bone, and Johnson says he pays about $150 a month to feed each adult alligator at his rescue facility.

Alligators also need a large pool of water to thrive. Bathtubs and kiddie pools, preferred by many pet owners, aren’t good enough, Eschenbrenner says. Buoyancy relieves the weight of an alligator’s internal organs, and if the water isn’t deep enough for a gator to float, it can suffer pain and even die from the pressure of its own internal weight. Plentiful water helps alligators feel safe and calm in their environment, he adds.

The right temperature is a requirement too. As natives of the U.S. Southeast, alligators are used to living in a warm-to-hot environment, and pet owners may need to use several heat lamps to keep the cold-blooded animals warm, Eschenbrenner says.

Health woes

Because many people keep pet alligators illegally, the animals miss out on routine veterinary care. As a result, serious health problems may go unchecked for years.

Eschenbrenner recalls one alligator rescued from a home in New Mexico that had been kept in a kiddie pool for a decade. The animal was obese, but even so, poor nutrition had stunted its growth and caused dental problems—it was unable to fully close its mouth because the top and bottom jaws were misaligned.

Many pet alligators develop weakened bones because of a nutrient-poor diet, such as hamburger meat or deboned chicken. One alligator rescued in Arizona was so low on calcium that its jaws were “like a rubber band,” Johnson says. Another was so malnourished that it broke its back leg while trying to escape rescuers.

Unnatural surfaces can be harmful: One alligator raised on a glass platform had a disfigured skeleton because of improperly settled bones.

Considering the difficulties of keeping an alligator, much less a healthy one, it’s no surprise that when the animals become too difficult to care for, their owners abandon or kill them—or surrender them to the authorities, Johnson says.

Good homes for gators

There are people trying to make life better for abandoned alligators. For example, the Phoenix Herpetological Society, in Arizona, provides a natural, semi-wild habitat for 15 rescued alligators at its 2.5-acre sanctuary—along with a number of other abandoned, abused, and confiscated reptiles. The facility, which has an on-site reptile clinic and research center, aims to find permanent homes for many of its animals, often sending them to other reputable sanctuaries around the country.

Female crocs lay their eggs in clutches of 20 to 60. After the eggs have incubated for about three months, the mother opens the nest and helps her young out of their shells.

Alligators' heads are shorter and wider than crocodiles'. Although heavy and slow on land, they can ambush their prey from the water by lunging at speeds of 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour.

Nile crocodiles are the largest crocodilians in Africa, sometimes reaching 20 feet (6 meters) long.

Saved from the brink of extinction, the American alligator now thrives in its native habitat: the swamps and wetlands of the southeastern United States.

Critically endangered, the prehistoric-looking American crocodile struggles to survive in pockets of shrinking habitat.

The largest crocodilians on Earth, saltwater crocs, or "salties," are excellent swimmers and have often been spotted far out at sea.

American alligators are found in freshwater coastal wetlands across the southeastern United States, from Louisiana to the Carolinas.

Mother Nile crocodiles lay their eggs in a buried nest, opening it when high-pitched squeaks are heard from within. The sex of baby crocs is dependent upon the temperature of the nest rather than genetics.

The best solution, Eschenbrenner says, is not to own an alligator in the first place. “I would never have an animal like this as a pet, period.”

A good option for alligator enthusiasts is to appreciate them from a distance by supporting conservation groups or a certified zoo that keeps the animals properly for public education, he says.

Owning one is “doing an injustice to this animal,” Eschenbrenner says. “You’re causing it more harm than good.”

Wildlife Watch is an investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation. Read more Wildlife Watch stories here, and learn more about National Geographic Society’s nonprofit mission at nationalgeographic.org. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to NGP.WildlifeWatch@natgeo.com.

[agonizingjest]

Crocs and Gators and Poachers, Oh My!

The elder poacher swings out his arm and smacks the younger poacher in the chest. “Whoa there, buddy. We got trouble.”

“What, that?” The younger poacher refers to the sign that his elder partner-in-poaching is looking at. It reads DANGER in large letters, and has a crudely crafted characterization of a crafty, cumbersome, considerably cross creature. “I ain’t afraid o’ no crocodiles.”

“Now see here.” The elder poacher plops his bag down on a slimy stump, turns to his callow counterpart, and points to the awful art of an aggressive, ample, alarmingly adroit, atrocious animal. “That there’s an alligator, and they’re not to be messed with, you hear?”

The younger poacher is busy setting up a rusty leg trap in the soft grass between two large rocks. He’s already disinterested in the conversation; he doesn’t just think he’s right, he knows he’s right.

A soft wind blows past the two men. The wet, salty air of the nearby ocean and the sickly sweet scent of the muddy marshland mixes with the two men’s foul body odours. It creates a cocktail of smells that would make most people wish they had an old boot to strap over their nose, but these two are used to it. Still, the younger one lights a cigarette to act as his own personal incense stick. He throws the match into some foliage. “I’m just sayin’, I could take down one of them big, dumb lugs, gator or no. Like my pappy used to say, ‘they got the bite, but you got the bullets’.”

“Your old man was a fool.” The elderly gentleman snatches the boy’s cigarette and takes a long drag. That chattering child doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and this wise sage is ready to impart his wisdom on him, whether the incredulous little clod likes it or not. He flicks the smouldering tobacco stick into the thick line of trees behind him, then takes two cans of beer from his backpack. He tosses one to his young protégé and opens the other. He takes a big swig before continuing. “Only reason he ended up alligator droppings is because he thought bullets were fool-proof.”

The young poacher chugs his beer, throws the can into the air, pulls out his Glock 18 pistol, and fires away. He misses. The empty can lands in the boggy swamp, safe from the spray of bullets.

“Don’t matter,” the young one says. “I’m quicker’n he was, and there ain’t no alligators ‘round here any none. Salt water.” He raises an eyebrow, taps the end of the gun to his forehead, and smirks. “See? Smarter’n he was, too.”

The elder poacher drops his empty beer can on the ground and starts looking through his backpack. He digs past a stick of dynamite, some deer bait, a canister of tear gas, and the currently empty travel thermos where he keeps gasoline. He mumbles something about cap always being at the bottom as he pulls it out -- his lucky otter skin cap. He puts it on and says, “This water’s brackish at worst. Alligators can--”

“Besides,” the young fellow adds, “lookit the maw on that there sign. Definitely V-shaped, y’see? It’s a croc.”

“Let me stop you right there, because even if that were V-shaped, which it’s clearly U-shaped, it doesn’t have enough teeth sticking out. Alligator.”

The young poacher bites his tongue. The stupid old man thinks he’s right, but he’s not. It’s obviously a crocodile. Not that there’s any point in arguing with such a narcissistic prick. He pulls a flare from his soggy bag, lights it, and throws it into the thick row of trees. Green, lush Cedars; vibrant Oaks; beautifully blooming Southern Magnolias. They burst into flames as the gasoline ignites. A wall of flames drives the desperate animals from the safety of their homes. Raccoons scurry, wild turkeys flap their wings as they hobble for shelter, deer and bears race away from the flames. Birds of all kinds fly into the smoky sky. Until they’re murdered in cold blood on a warm day. It’s a hot mess.

The young poacher focuses on the animals on the ground. Raccoons are light and easy to carry, and deer antlers make good trophies. The elder poacher uses his rifle and careful aim to bring down the birds. He doesn’t know a single buyer who doesn’t love a nice stuffed eagle poised over his mantel. Chaos is everywhere as the heat burns. Then, just as quickly as the chaos dies down, so does the fire.

The area is too wet to burn long, especially in this rainy season, and the swamp has prevented the fire from spreading too far. These poachers know what they’re doing. Once the fire is nothing but a cloud of smoke and ash, the poachers set about putting away their tools of war.

Just when the elder one thinks that green, little boy of a man-child has finally shut his stupid trap, he hears him mutter “it’s a crocodile” under his breath.

The elder poacher throws the dead duck he’s examining into the ground. “Damnit, are we still having this damn argument? The damn thing’s an alligator. I’ve damn-well seen alligators. I damn-well know alligators. That damn thing right there on that damn sign, that’s a damn alligator! You damn bullheaded child.”

“Your eyes are failing you, old man! That sign right there--” he kicks a Southern Black Racer into the swamp as it tries to slither by. “--that’s a sign of a crocodile. There’s a big difference. It’s a croc, and I’ll bet my snakeskin boots on it! You ain’t gonna find no gators ‘round here!”

“And you’re damn lucky at that! You’re just asking to be eaten with that tiny little gun of yours.”

“This ‘tiny little gun’ fires off more rounds a second than you could count, you old fart.”

“Which would be dandy if you could hit a damn target with it.”

“I could hit a crocodile from twenty yards with my eyes closed!”

“You couldn’t hit an alligator if it was standing twenty inches in front of your damn face!”

“Well it’s a good thing there ain’t no al-ee-gei-tors ‘round here, then!”

“More alligators than there are croc-oh-diles, fool!”

As the two men squabble while they clean up any poaching gear that could be traced by the authorities back to them, the blood of their deviously dispatched, brutally bullet-riddled prey flows into the swamp. The bickering becomes heated as the water darkens.

“Crocodile!”

“Alligator!”

The argument -- an argument that neither of the deeply-distracted, perversely persistent poachers is bound to win -- is cut short.

“Another dead deer over here,” says the officer. “Damn poachers. What’d you find over there?”

“Couple of bags, some illegal hunting tools, and a travel thermos that smells like it had gas in it,” says the fireman.

“Since they were in such a hurry to leave, I doubt we’ll find them. Let’s pack it up. The crocodiles can take care of the animal carcasses.”

“I think this is more of an alligator area.”

Across the acres of swampland, next to a half-chewed snakeskin boot and a shredded otter skin cap, a large, carnivorous reptile and its young ones enjoy a delicious meal.