Saturday 30th of March 2024

a crocodile enters into a pub...

bismark

Two drunks, bob and Phil, seated on stools in an Aussie pub, converse at the bar….

Bob: — A kangaroo walks into a pub…


Phil: — Hang on, kangaroos don’t walk… They hop!
— Okay. A kangaroo hops into a pub…
—Hang on. Kangaroos don’t go into pubs…
—Okay, okay… A wombat walks into a pub…
—Hey, wombats don’t walk either, they bob along…
— Sure. A wombat hobs along into a pub…
— That’s bullshit. Wombats never go to the pub…
— Well.... What about a horse going into a pub?
— Stop.... I already know that horse joke… I’ve seen it on TV…
— What about a priest walks into a pub?
— Hum, I've seen Father Mulcahey… He was not walking in.
— Yes?
— He was being thrown out on his arse for being pissed out of his B-Jesus!
— So what about a crocodile walking into a pub?
— Looking for his mate stuffed on the wall, there?
— You know this joke as well?
— I’ve seen more crocodiles than I care to say walk into this pub…
— What about a Jew?
— Hey don’t be racist!
— What if I add a Muslim and a Protestant coming into a pub?
— Ecumenism?… That’s okay with me.
— So the three men…
—No sheilas? That’s sexist.
— Okay. A woman, a trans and a bloke of various denominations enter a pub.
— Do they walk in, hop or hob along?
— I don’t know. I wasn’t there…
— What about the Prime Minister? He is a pintocastol, no?
— Into this pub?
— He visited one pub in each town he went to…
— So he could come here in…in…  Hey! Where the bloody hell are we?
— You tell me… 
— I asked first…
— Dunno. 
— Ah, the good old town of Dunno…
— Certainly the best beer on the other side of the black stump…
— Hey George! (the bartender, whose name is John, but looks like Dubya)
— What's this town we’re in again?
George: (thoughtful) — Hey, here comes a kangaroo, a wombat, a crocodile, some weirdos and the prime minister for a beer in this Dunno pub…
Phil: — You’re taking the piss out of us, aren’t ya? Free beer!…
George: — just ran out…
Bob: — Bugger! We’re in the pub with no beer in the town of Dunno…
George: — Just ran out of FREE beer… Plenty of the other stuff…
Phil: — And we still dunno where we are, then?
George: — The mystery of the universe is unfathomable…
Bob: — At least we know where the carpet stains come from…
Phil: — Hey, look! Here comes a yellow dog with a live stick of gelignite in its muzzle…
Bob: — Don’t mix the stories here. I know this one.


They soon realise that this is no joke and they fall off their stools, George picks both of them by the scruff of the neck at great speed and all get out… The pub explodes, leaving a heap of broken wood, and rusted corrugated iron bits. Outside, the stifling heat is around 50 degrees Celsius. A kangaroo, a wombat, a priest, three weirdoes, a prime minister, a crocodile, an obviously shaken dog, two gold prospectors and a flock of galahs, join Bob, Phil and George in the sands of the desert, which stretches for miles around. A beer keg leaks and they all come around this beer oasis to refresh themselves in this dunno town with only one pub that's no more…

Story collected by Julian Melon.


see: The Loaded Dog by Henry Lawson…
https://www.alldownunder.com/australian-authors/henry-lawson/loaded-dog.htm


Picture at top by Gus Leonisky. Bismarck was (is?) an old croc about FIVE metres long. A HUGE beast...

the battle of the yellow pup....

yellow

Extract from a Norman Lindsay cartoon about clerical matters...

ding dong...

croc


can't wait for summer...

summer

a rich alligator...

In May, more than 330 coins were found in the stomach of a dead alligator at the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens located in the Chikusa Ward of Nagoya, Japan.

The alligator, which had been at the zoo since 1965 and died in May at the age of 54, is believed to have eaten the coins over the years. Visitors typically throw coins into the alligator pond for good luck. An autopsy revealed that the alligator did not experience any kind of organ failure as a result of the swallowed coins.

According to the Japan Times, the alligator was only viewable through a glass screen for the first 20 years of its life in the zoo. However, visitors had been able to view the alligator without the barrier since 1989.

The reptile may have swallowed the coins together with pebbles, as alligators typically store pebbles in their stomachs, possibly to help with digestion. 

According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, many animals, including birds and reptiles, swallow small stones that are referred to as gastroliths, although their function is not entirely understood.

“For a long time, scientists have assumed that swimming animals swallow rocks to help control their buoyancy. For example, many crocodilians like to float in the water with just their eyes and nostrils showing so they can ambush their prey. A stomach full of rocks might help them keep their bodies under the water and out of sight. Many seals and whales dive deep in the ocean to feed, and the gastroliths might help them dive deeper,” the Museum of Paleontology explains.

However, further study has cast doubt on that hypothesis, with researchers now assuming that gastroliths help stabilize crocodiles bodies in water “so they have less of a tendency to roll from side to side.”

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/environment/201910031076948359-autopsy-reveals-a...

 

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even small, their bite can inflict serious injury...

Authorities have ordered upgrades to fencing at a crocodile park in Broome after a mass escape of hatchlings, most of which are still on the run.

Key points:
  • Two out of 11 baby crocodiles that escaped from an old crocodile farm in Broome have been found
  • In a separate recent incident, a slightly older 20cm crocodile escaped and was found in a roadside drain
  • Parks and Wildlife have ordered fencing be repaired at the old site to prevent further escapes

 

The baby crocodiles are thought to have slipped through a fence, with two discovered by locals at nearby Cable Beach in mid-April.

Nine other hatchlings from the same nest remain unaccounted for.

In a separate incident, a slightly older crocodile — around 20 centimetres long — escaped its pen and slipped out a gate, and was found in a roadside drain.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-26/upgrades-ordered-baby-crocs-escap...

 

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big guy has died...

An ageing crocodile affectionately known as “the big guy” of Port Douglas has met a tragic end after becoming tangled in crab pots.

The hefty reptile, believed to be about 80 years old, was found dead in the Queensland tourist town’s Dickson Inlet on Friday morning.

 

Port Douglas Yacht Club manager, Sam Leo, told Guardian Australia the 4.5-metre croc was found “entangled, floating and bloating” after being caught up in two crab pots and a stainless steel mooring line.

“After getting stuck in the crab pots he got caught in a death roll, where the mooring line wrapped around him five or six times.”

Leo said the community was saddened by the death of the “big fella” who was pulled from the water on Monday.

“We live within a croc community, and respect them. They are part of our nature and our habitat. It was a tragic outcome for the big fella. And everyone is saddened by it.”

Widely known as “the big guy”, he was the town’s dominant resident croc and was regularly spotted by crew and patrons of Lady Douglas River Cruises, with some describing him as the “star of the show” and the “king of the inlet”.

Leo said it was upsetting to learn from Queensland’s environment department that crab pots left in the water had killed the reptile because the sailing community was “croc wise and understanding from an environmental position”.

Christian Miller is the CEO of Parley for the Oceans, an organisation that removes discarded equipment from the water and raises awareness about marine waste. He said the croc’s death was sad, but unsurprising.

Miller said 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste finds its way into oceans around the globe each year, and more than 500 species of marine animals are affected by plastic pollution.

“It is a massive issue, and all marine life is at risk. Discussion needs to happen, because most Australians are still in disbelief that we have these issues on our own shores.”

 

 

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/10/king-croc-of-port-douglas-dies-after-crab-pot-encounter

 

 

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