Weird News: Dastardly Ducks

End of an Era

On May 28, 90% of the village of Blatten in Switzerland was buried after the Birch Glacier collapsed, the Associated Press reported. Rock and ice tumbled down the mountainside as predicted; the village had been evacuated of people and livestock earlier in May as a precaution. However, one 64-year-old man was missing after the avalanche. Police said the search-and-rescue operation to find him had been suspended on May 29 because of falling debris. Local officials said a lake is forming where the accumulated debris blocked the Lonza River; “The challenge lies in the behavior of this accumulation of water and the Lonza River, which could cause a torrential lava flow if the river flows into the deposit.”

High Ambition

On May 24, Forest Ranger Robert Praczkajlo responded to a 911 call from Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks, the Associated Press reported. Two hikers told a steward at the mountain’s summit that the third member of their party had died and that they were lost. The steward, however, realized that the hikers “were in an altered mental state,” and Praczkajlo escorted them to an ambulance. Turns out the hikers had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms, and their friend wasn’t dead at all. After being treated at a hospital, the trio met up at their campsite.

Dastardly Ducks

Residents of one Cape Coral, Florida, community may want to start shouting “Duck!” at their neighbors, Fox4-TV reported on May 23. That’s because an aggressive Muscovy duck is terrorizing them. James Sepulveda, who likes to catch sunsets from a chair on his front porch, said he had his eyes closed when, “All of a sudden, I felt a jab on my hand and it was bleeding.” The fowl has even tried to follow Sepulveda into his home. Another resident, Richard Guy, said, “I stood up and I made some noises ... Next thing I know, its wings come out, you know, like it’s going to attack me.” Sepulveda said he wants to “get rid of” the duck, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the species is “protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” As such, they have to be removed humanely or by “use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission.” That’ll work.