News of the Weird: Beware of falling iguanas

It’s that time of year again in Florida: falling iguana season. Accuweather reported on Jan. 8 that as temperatures drop along the Gulf Coast and southeast Florida, cold-stunned iguanas are likely to fall out of trees after losing their grip on the branches. Fully grown iguanas can be up to 5 feet long and up to 25 pounds, so falling iguanas present a danger to unsuspecting humans walking along the sidewalk. Professional iguana remover Michael Ronquillo warned against handling the lethargic animals, saying they can become defensive when they warm up. Plus, their droppings can contain salmonella.

In Beeston, Nottinghamshire, England, locals are perplexed about a monthly offering at a street corner, United Press International reported on Jan. 6. Starting over a year ago, on the second day of each month, a plate of peeled bananas has appeared at the intersection. Resident Clare Short put up a sign reading, “Please, respectfully, no more bananas! The uncollected plates and rotting bananas leave such a mess.” But on Jan. 2, a new plate appeared. “I think it’s a special thing for someone, and I wish them well,” Short said. “But if they could come back and clean up the mess a few days later that would be lovely.”

On Jan. 5 in rural Norton, Kan., temperatures fell into the teens and the wind chill was 5 below zero, KAKE-TV reported. Residents noticed that on top of a utility pole, a bobcat and her kitten were frozen to the line and the pole. Two linemen climbed up the pole and came to the rescue. Dominic Urban and Eric Hartwell worked for about two hours to free the frigid felines. “I couldn’t knock them off,” Urban said. “(The mother) was frozen down to the top of the pole ... I beat the ice loose then lowered her to the ground. I had to do the same with the kitten.” He said the mom and kitten ran off immediately after reaching the ground.

A pair of porcine perpetrators have run afoul of the police department in Pataskala, Ohio, after a horrendous incident on Christmas Day, WOIO-TV reported. According to Chief Bruce Brooks, family members called for a welfare check on 75-year-old Rebecca Westergaard when they couldn’t reach her. Police found the woman dead on her property near her home. Westergaard had been mauled and eaten by two pigs that belong to her neighbor, police said. Brooks said it’s unclear whether charges will be filed, because the animals are livestock rather than pets. “It’s just not something we’ve ever dealt with,” Brooks said.

The Summit County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Department responded to a call on Jan. 7 on the slopes of Keystone Resort: not an injured skier, but a wayward car that had taken a wrong turn and ended up on the ski run. United Press International reported that the abandoned car had a note on the windshield, explaining that the driver had been following the GPS and ended up stuck in the snow. A tow truck removed the car, which was returned to the owner.

A small Welsh village has been inundated by shoppers looking for an Aldi supermarket that doesn’t exist, Oddity Central reported on Jan. 6. A pin on Google Maps, probably dropped as a prank, directs shoppers and delivery drivers to Cyffylliog, leaving locals unamused, especially after a milk tank truck became stuck on a narrow village street while trying to locate the store. Aldi is working with Google Maps to get the pin removed.

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