Here we are in 2018 with our first Friday Smorgasbord of the new year. While compiling some great stories, we noticed a bit of a dark theme emerging, therefore we dubbed this the “Death and Taxes” edition. Hopefully you will enjoy….
Octopus Gets Last Laugh
As they say, the only think certain in life are death and taxes. The animal kingdom may be free from taxes, but death can be hiding right around the corner. Case in point, this battle between a dolphin and an octopus that left both dead. You see, this Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin name Gilligan, thought an octopus would make a tasty treat, but decided to swallow it whole. This is where fate stepped in. The octopus wrapped a tentacle around the dolphins larynx effectively suffocating the animal. RIP little buddy…
[via The Concourse]
Taking a Bite
A woman from Port Douglas, Australia, was mauled by what may have been a trigger fish just seconds after jumping into the water and needed a skin graft for the gruesome wound. Julie Pochet had just got in the water at a local beach in late November when a fish bumped into her ribs. When the fish swam towards her she reached her hand out to touch it and it attacked, taking a chunk out of her hand. The 39-year-old described the creature as a dark-colored fish that looked like a wrasse and was the size of a parrotfish. Professor David Bellwood, a coral fish expert from James Cook University, suspects the fish was either a triggerfish or parrotfish, both are known to bite humans. Be careful out there!
[via Daily Mail]
Sad News from Rhinelander
Petco, the owners of Drs. Foster and Smith, will be cutting 55 jobs from the Drs. F&S HQ in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, after a “failure to meet growth expectations.” The positions are mostly front-office function in marketing, merchandizing and e-commerce support, will be moved to Petco’s National Support Center in San Diego in the next six months. Petco acquired the company three years ago. The good news is the company expects growth in its Live Aquaria businesses.
[via WAOW-TV]
Sunfish 1, Yacht 0
A racing yacht that sank in Australia may have met its match after hitting a large sunfish — a species that can grow over 3 meters in length. The yacht, called Hollywood Boulevard, was heading back to NSW. The six sailors on board were winched to safety by helicopter amid high winds and swells as the 16-meter racing yacht sank in freezing waters, 150km east of Flinders Island.
[via The Age]
Monsters are Raging
Waves are surging in Northern California and creating some insane waves along the coast. In fact, they’ve produces 60-foot waves at the famed big surf site Maverick’s, just south of San Francisco on the edge of Half Moon Bay. The waves were so big the other day, four boats went out to watch surfers attempt to ride the giant swells, but only three returned after one capsized.
[via Grind TV]
