Posted on 04/12/2005 2:04:38 PM PDT by franksolich
Crocodile seized in Oslo
Police captured a crocodile in the capital on Monday. The young Nile crocodile was over a meter (39.3 inches) long and was being kept in violation of exotic animal regulations.
Norway's Food Safety Authority and police went into action in Ulven and confiscated the animal, which they said behaved "aggressively" during the "arrest".
Preliminary checks indicate that the apprehended reptile is a Nile crocodile, which can grow up to five meters (16.5 feet) in length. The owner of the apartment where the croc was living has been charged with illegally keeping exotic animals.
"This is definitely a lively specimen with extremely sharp teeth. We have taken in some small crocodiles before, but never anything of this size," said FSA veterinarian Anne Christophersen.
According to police and city veterinarian Reidar Skjelkvål, the Aquarium in Bergen or Kristiansand's Dyreparken (Animal Park) are possible homes for the orphaned reptile.
"We don't know if the crocodile was hatched in Norway or smuggled here," said Oslo police lieutenant Rolf Erik Rotegård.
For such a tiny country--one of the smallest in Europe--Norway seems to have a little bit of everything, in this case crocodiles.
And it should be no wonder the animal behaved "aggressively" when picked up; the "Food Safety Authority" in Norway is the Humane Society, or something?
Probably the poor crocodile thought he was going to be cooked, or something. The "Food Safety Authority"?
Everybody looks at (and takes pictures of) the reindeer and arrested alligators in Norway, but no one pays attention to the bison in Norway.
I wonder if Nile crocodiles eat bunny rabbits? (Toby Alert)
I think the owner is the food....
Must have gotten a little snippy with the officer. One pair of handcuffs or two?
Pinin' for the fjords?
What, was the poor thing lost? What the heck are crocodiles doing in Norway? I didn't know they lived that far north.
Alas, Madam, as with the NATIVE bison of Norway, everyone pays attention to a foreign alligator or to cartoon-character reindeer, but no one in Norway pays attention to the most noble beast that ever graced the fjords, the bison.
ol' hoghead
I think you have one too many U's.
Dang, I had no idea Norway had bison, too! I thought bison were native to the "bread basket" area of the U.S.
Nope.
Bison have existed pretty much all over the world.
Bison ranged all the way through Scandinavia; I could never figure out why the Vikings and Suomis never put them to use, because they are more useful than reindeer or lynx.
There are still bison in Norway, but more of them in Sweden.
"...why they never do a story on a native species of life, such as the bison in Norway?"
Might I nominate the Viking Kittens as being worthy of such a story?
Well, actually, I would like to get this reporter from the Aftenposten, Per Annar Holm, interested in doing a story on bison in Norway--but I am still trying to figure out if Per Annar is a man or a woman, so I can figure out how to "word" the e-mail to him.....or her.
Never heard of that name, "Per," and so have no idea.
Per is a mans name.
Herr
Per is a male name as is Annar.
Okay, thanks--now I know how to "word" the e-mail to that reporter.
I once made a mistake of writing an employee of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C., as if she were male, thinking "Beate" was a male name.
Oooops.
Anyway, I get mail, both regular and electronic, from Beate in Washington, D.C. all the time now, so apparently that flub was forgiven.
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