April 14, 2006
URBAN LEGENDS: WILD DOG PACK TAKES DOWN ALLIGATOR
A reader sends this picture, from one of those annoying chain emails, which purports to show a wild dog pack taking down an alligator, & questions its authenticity. My immediate reaction is skepticism. Can a dog pack really take down an alligator? Quite the contrary, as the reverse is often the case.
I am aware of no alligator or crocodile species with a lemon yellow stripe. It's possible the creature in the photo is a caiman, the juveniles of which are yellow with black spots, but then where are the black spots? A gavial is another possibility, but, as they are largely aquatic & confined to the Indian subcontinent, unlikely.
My guess is the photo depicts a cephalopod, probably a squid. In the sea, squid are extremely aggressive & do hunt in packs, but this one appears to have been out of the water for some time. Most likely its carcass washed ashore, & as dogs' fondness for calamari is well-known, we can conclude the photo has been staged, & is a fake.
See also Cephalopods in a Blanket
URBAN LEGENDS? CONTACT BEAUTIFUL ATROCITIES!
Posted by Jeff at April 14, 2006 07:04 AM
Comments
Save the cephalopods!!! How much longer can we tolerate these random acts of violence?
Posted by: phin at April 14, 2006 08:14 AM
I am aware of no species of alligator that has fur.
Posted by: bobgirrl at April 14, 2006 09:20 AM
Good point
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at April 14, 2006 09:35 AM
Thats not an alligator, THATS BABY BOP!!!!
Posted by: Jane at April 14, 2006 09:43 AM
GOOD!!!! And that shit-eating purple dinosaur is NEXT!
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at April 14, 2006 09:50 AM
Such a cute photo. I vote no, the dogs cannot take an aligator. I own a Rhodesian Ridgeback and she is supposed to hunt lions. Lions. Yet, if the wind takes a simple plastic bag near her, she gets all scared.
Posted by: Queer Beacon at April 14, 2006 10:38 AM
"As dogs' fondness for calamari is well known..."
One more example of how life in the Bay Area continues to warp your perspective.
Posted by: utron at April 14, 2006 12:58 PM
The guy in the middle? Hand him over!
Posted by: TC Lynch at April 14, 2006 01:14 PM
I am aware of no species of alligator that has fur.
That doesn't necessarily mean that no such species exists. I think I've got you there.
Posted by: dorkafork at April 14, 2006 01:24 PM
My Basset Hound was bred for hunting wabbits. But he's a-scared of lil spiders.
Posted by: serpentineshel at April 15, 2006 06:13 AM
Looks Cthulhuvian to me.
Posted by: ForNow ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 15, 2006 11:13 AM