Replies

LOL. All kinds of critters are making their way to God's Country: See An Armadillo, Turn It In It used to rare to see a coyote in Tennessee. Now there is a liberal hunting season on this non-native species. Turns out now there may be another new animal, typically found in the western U.S., calling Tennessee home. Lee Griggs, an undergraduate senior at Belmont University researched the exotic and possibly invasive animal species as part of his research class at Belmont last summer. Griggs talked to many people and decided to research the rare and fairly unfamiliar Nine banded armadillo, according to officials with the Tennessee Wildlfie Resources Agency. A few people had spotted the armadillo in different areas such as near I-40, on Highway 100, Belle Meade Blvd., and even downtown Nashville. Armadillos are so rare in Middle Tennessee that many zoologists, environmental professionals, etc. know only a little about the strange creatures, and about how many are here. "Lee decided to hopefully set the foundation for further research or knowledge about these animals by asking the question, 'How prevalent are the armadillos in Middle Tennessee and to what extent,'" said TWRA officials. Griggs also is planned to set up a recorded database of armadillo sightings to help learn about where they could be researched in the future. TWRA officials said persons can e-mail Lee regarding any sightings griggsa@pop.belmont.edu and he will enter the information in the database. His plan was to gather valuable results from July through December 2005. Most sightings to this point have been in areas of Warner Parks, near water, since they seem to be found there more often. The armadillo has become well established in many southern states; it is even the state mammal of Texas. They are best known for being roadkill as well as digging up people's gardens, but Lee believes that knowing more about them now will help in controlling/monitoring them in the future. Most importantly, he hopes the information derived from his project will be informative and helpful to various wildlife agencies in managing these animals as they progress into Middle Tennessee, said TWRA. Does Tennessee Have An Alligator Population? Surrounding states like Mississippi and Georgia have established alligator seasons the past few years, and Alabama wildlife officials are considering one. Arkansas has reintroduced the animals, and officials there hope to have a hunting season someday. Here in Tennessee alligator sightings are becoming more frequent around the Memphis area, making one wonder if there might one day be an established population here in the Volunteer State. News reports from Memphis television stations have described recent sightings of alligators near the Mississippi River and McKeller Lake. According to TWRA officials there have been about five alligator sightings around these areas, the first reported last April. They have confirmed two sightings, one about 6 1/2 feet long, the other about five 1/2 feet. Alan Peterson, TWRA wildlife biologist said officials have expected alligators would show up in Tennessee, since the state of Arkansas released these in a federal refuge several years ago. He said officials knew it would be just a matter of time until the reptiles made it here.

Yikes!!! What happened to my paragraphs?

I have seen a lot of the changes caused from Katrina but when hard headed critters such as armadillos and gators decide that it was too big a blow to ever have go through again that really gives me reason to respect hurricanes like never before. Yes’um, they is right up there at the top with earthquakes and tornados now, at least in my book.