Fossil hunter stabs alligator with screwdriver in vicious underwater attack 🐊

The weekend might not be here yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past few days. 

Here's what caught our eye this week...

• By any means necessary - Fossil hunter survives gruesome gator attack 🐊

• Spring cleaning - Minnesota DNR admits they were wrong, commits to cleaning up dynamite mess 🧨

• Bye-son! - Drunken idiot kicks a bison, somehow lives to tell about it 🦬

• Moose poachers busted - A pair of Alaskan man were busted for four wasted moose 🫎

• Quack addict - Caged bear annihilates baby ducks at kids birthday party 🐣

DUDE’S A FIGHTER
FOSSIL HUNTER STABS ALLIGATOR WITH SCREWDRIVER IN VICIOUS UNDERWATER ATTACK

An avid South Carolina fossil hunter found himself in the fight of his life last month as he ended up with more than he bargained for on one faithful dive. 

Descending into the Cooper River like he’d done many times before, it wasn’t long before William Georgitis was met by what he believed to be a 7 or 8 foot alligator. The large reptile grabbed a hold of the diver, death rolled him and eventually pinned him to the muddy bottom of the river. Without any air left in his tank, Georgitis fought back using the only weapon he had available to him: his trusty screwdriver.

“It’s a well-known spot and this [alligator] is huge,” he told KRQE News. “He didn’t even take a second to attack me. He was on me as soon as he saw me. Whoever else is out there diving please be careful.”

Recounting the story, Georgitis said he spotted the gator from about 20 feet away before the reptile instantly closed the distance and mounted its attack. Using his arm to shield himself, the alligator clamped down as Georgitis attempted to put the animal into a headlock with his free arm. As the two became entangled, the gator descended, bringing his victim to the bottom of the river. It was at this point that Georgitis reached into his belt for his hand tool in a last-ditch effort to save his own life…

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🧹 Cleaning up their mess - After Minnesota DNR officers dispatched a few old deer stands using dynamite last month, the department has decided to go back and finish what they started. As complaints about both the blasts and the remaining debris surfaced last month, the state’s DNR had to answer some tough questions posed by local residents. While they kind-of-sort-of apologized for the excessive use of force, nearby residents noted that the forestry department left quite the mess behind. In a show of good faith, officials announced that they’d be heading back into ground zero to remove and recycle the debris that was left after blowing a few old deer stands into the next millennium.

🦬 Bye-son! - The idiots of Yellowstone (or whatever that show is called) got an early start this season. In what might be the first incident of the busy summer season, a booze-fueled episode has left one man in handcuffs after an altercation with a bison. According to officials at YNP, a 40-year-old man who was heavily “under the influence” approached a wild bison and proceeded to kick the animal. Well, the bison responded as one might have imagined, leaving the perpetrator with sustained injuries and a set of handcuffs tightly fastened to his wrists. 

Park Rangers caught up with 40-year-old Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls and his driver, (who shouldn’t have been driving) Mckenna Bass not long after the incident took place. The driver was cited for driving under the influence, interference for failure to yield to emergency light activation, and disturbing wildlife. Yoder was transported to hospital for treatment before being taken to the Gallatin County Detention Center. The pair have since found themselves in court where they both entered a not-guilty plea to the pending charges.

🚨 Alaskan moose poachers charged - A pair of Anchorage men are about to face the music after officials have slapped them both with two misdemeanor counts of wanton waste of big game along with hunting season and bag limit violations. According to reports stemming from a lengthy investigation, Koua Vang, 36, and Kong Vang, 41, have been accused of killing four under-sized moose and leaving them to waste. According to witnesses, the two men were seen approaching the dead moose in a Can-Am six-wheeler and then driving away without salvaging the meat. The investigation confirmed the witness accounts using both photographic evidence along with matching shell casings and a bullet in at least one moose found at the scene.

The pair were issued summonses and are scheduled to appear in the Glennallen courthouse later this month. The investigation is ongoing and McDaniel said additional charges may be filed.

🫎 Moose tramplin’ - A 55-year-old Park City man is on the mend after being trampled by a moose. Last week while heading to his car after his morning swim at the Park City Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center, the man unknowingly startled a young moose and was soon trampled. 

“The moose was in the landscaping near the pool area and parking lot. The male accidentally startled the moose, at which point the moose ran over the male as it fled the area,” Park City police said.

The victim was treated for minor injuries and is otherwise believed to be in good health.

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🐣 Quack addict - Welp, if you happen to have planned your daughter’s birthday party at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle last week, you (and the kids) were in for a real treat. As partygoers were reveling at the size of the captive 2-year-old brown bear named Juniper, a mother and her brood of ducklings decided landing in her enclosure was a good idea. Much to their eventual dismay, the ducklings and their mother watched closely as the juvenile brown bear planned her attack before finally jumping in and devouring each of them, one-by-one.

🐂 Deep impact - There’s nothing like watching a pair of muskox collide with one another at speeds of over 35 miles-per-hour.  

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A day in the life of a bare-knuckle fighter and father of two. Those coffee beans in the cupboard…here’s how long they last. It was 120 years ago when Rolls met Royce. Here’s six places in the US where you can see dinosaur prints. And a question I often ask myself: at what age am I considered “old”?

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