My God! Rick Scott did something right. Florida’s governor announced yesterday he will veto a bill, approved by the state Senate and House, that would raise the speed limit on much oft the state’s highway system. Though law enforcement mostly supported the plan — Scott proposed the veto after attending…
Fed up with what they see as stonewalling by local officials, a group of Coconut Grove residents has filed a petition with a the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The petition calls for a formal investigation into the health risks associated with lingering contamination from the former…
Last week a local 21-year-old made international headlines for snagging a 13-foot hammerhead while fishing off the pier at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. After his friend’s line bent hard and the huge fish was pulled in closer, Ryan Bolash dragged the shark onto a beach full of stunned onlookers. “It was flailing around,…
It’s Earth Day, which at the very least means you should figure out some time to be outside and be one with nature today. Miami, of course, is the only major city sandwiched between two national parks (Everglades to the west, Biscayne to the east), but there’s plenty of green…
Is there anything more glamorous than Florida’s aquatic preserves? Yes, darling, lots of things, but a new proposed bill hopes to bring a bit of a ritzy touch to the areas by allowing and promoting the idea of “glamping” on islands and “uplands” in the preserves…
Isis, a four year-old baboon at Jungle Island, is experiencing her first joys of motherhood after giving birth to a newborn baby yesterday. Which means obviously that she already wants to share the baby photos with you. See also: Tiny Florida Panther Kitten Rescued from Abandonment Is Adorable…
Ever imagined that exact, excruciating moment when an American crocodile closes its iron jaws around your face and clamps out the last dying embers of your life with its array of razor-sharp teeth? No? Well, here’s a GoPro video shot in Homestead to help fuel your newest croc nightmares…
The raccoons of Cauley Square will nibble on your shoe laces, crawl over your feet and brush up against your legs. They are wild but not rabid. They are cuddly but also conniving. Emboldened by decades of free reign, these intelligent creatures have turned treacherous. And they are legion. That’s…
So we all know what happens when a python tries to eat an alligator, but what about when one of those adorable little otters tries? Well, the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge has photographically answered that question on Facebook …and apparently otters ain’t nothing to mess with…
Coconut Grove is known for its trees: Giant oaks, hammocks of hardwoods, and leaves the size of an NBA player’s palm. Wild foliage is part of what makes that quaint neighborhood charming. Also notable are the shotgun-style houses that line Charles Avenue, such as the Stirrup House, which is the…
A Florida panther kitten has only been alive for one month but has already had quite an eventful life. The kitten was found in late January in Collier County while biologists were conduction field research. The one-pound kitten was found curled into a ball and suffering from dehydration and low…
You would not want to come across one while snorkeling. They are bloated, malignant-looking, wretched things worth a buck apiece. They feel and taste like boogers. This horrifying, gelatinous creature is known as the sea cucumber and — at first glance — looks like something in a medical textbook designed…
Miami is bizarre enough of a place already that sometimes we forget it’s one of three corners of the Bermuda Triangle, the purportedly supernatural stretch of the Atlantic Ocean where, according to myth, ships go missing under mysterious circumstances. Well, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency has released a statement…
With the popularity of the documentary Blackfish, which focuses on captive orcas at SeaWorld, public debate over keeping the endangered species in captivity has reignited. For years, activists have tried to have Lolita, an orca held captive at the Miami Seaquarium, released. Today, federal officials announced that they are taking…
On first glance, the image to the right looks like an alligator with a laser strapped to its back, which is surely some evil genius’s biggest dream. In reality, it’s a camera placed there by University of Florida biologists. That may not be as exciting as laser-armed gators, but getting…
Prior to yesterday, most Floridians’ experience with the Richter scale was limited to the former Universal Studios attraction, Earthquake: The Big One. At around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a rare, 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck outside Cuba leaving residents of the seismically stable country — and some South Floridians — slightly confused…
If you’re a working stiff like us, you might have noticed a slight change in your routine this morning. You hopped out of bed ready to take on the day, your planned outfit of cut-off shorts and flip-flops neatly arranged atop your dresser. Next, you sat at your computer and…
A 2006 image of the aftermath of an Everglades showdown between an invasive Burmese python and a native alligator has become oddly iconic in all its gruesome glory. Neither animal survived the encounter. Well, authorities in the Everglades recently discovered a rematch, and let’s just say this time it was…
Over 800 manatees have died this year in Florida waters; the highest number of deaths recorded since records were initiated back in the ’70s. That’s sixteen percent of the state’s total population, and more than twice the number of manatees that died last year…
It began December 6 when a boat captain discovered a pelican on Summerland Key that was all but sure to starve. Someone had cut two six-inch lacerations in the bird, which exposed the creature’s trachea and prevented it from swallowing food. Since that gruesome find, at least ten other birds…
Mark Quartiano has drawn many comparisons to famous fishermen throughout history. In August 1991, Life magazine called him a modern Captain Ahab. Exactly 20 years later, author Juliet Eilperin coined the name Captain Quint (from Jaws) for him. But Quartiano didn’t make waves this weekend over a shark or a…
While Burmese pythons have gotten all the attention, the Everglades now faces a threat from another foreign reptile menace: Argentine tegu lizards. When scientists first detected their presence in the swamp back in 2008, they thought they had a good chance to eradicate them, but it’s too late now. Much…
