Whether it’s changing weather patterns, animal migration caused by human encroachment on their habitat, or the dumping of chemicals into the environment, or all three, something disturbing has bene going on. Traditionally safe swimming beaches have now been met with numerous shark attacks in Florida where Hammerheads, reef sharks, and bull sharks have invaded these once quiet and uneventful waters presenting dangers to swimmers and surf boarders alike. These areas along the Florida gulf shore have been proven to be risky now. Why? Researchers are unsure.

In large cities like New York and LA, an apparently super-sized species of rat has evolved.  The rat normally about twice the size of a mouse has become frighteningly huge. Homeless people dwelling in large sewers have reported these large and aggressive rats that make loud squealing noises that are chilling! For a long time we’ve known of “Super Rats” capable for holding their breath for miles in sewer lines coming up in tenement toilets and getting into apartments. They can eat wire casing and live off of it! They can even gnaw on concrete to get through barriers! Yet, the dog sized recently developed rat is a monster! How did this happen? What triggered an apparent genetic anomaly? Some scientists think that rats consuming food that has traces of growth hormone that is used to fatten up cattle and chickens faster, may have had an effect on the large vermin!

We are now seeing in many nation forests from Alaska to the Continental United States strange behavior from Bears. What was once a relatively elusive species though apex predators that one could maintain a safe distance from are now acting strangely! Grizzlies and Brown Bears generally hunt Moose, Elk, Deer, and even smaller animals when not foraging for fruit or insects. Humans have enjoyed a response of fear or caution among animals who do not see us normally as prey, but things are changing now. Grizzlies have been observed hiding along hiking paths in wait for human traffic! They will hide in ditches alongside hiking trails and ambush people, something that has not been seen before among wild Grizzlies and Brown Bears. Previously, Bear attacks usually occurred if s person stumbled upon a female protecting her cubs or if a bear was feeding and a person got too close, but Bears are inexplicably active hunting people.

One couple a number of years ago were hiking in Yellow Stone and being followed by a large Black Bear. The only defense they had was a compressed air horn to be used to scare off a Bear. After a couple of miles the bear broke off the pursuit, but there is a cardinal rule that the couple broke that cost them their lives. As the Bear veered off in a different direction, the man sounded off his horn, which not only startled the Bear but enraged it. Golden rule # 1) never try to change a Bear’s mind! It won’t end up well. Both hikers were mauled to death.

In Australia, there are entire stretches of coast line that are strictly marked as not safe to swim in! Great Whites hunt these waters and often mistake a man in a wet suit on a surfboard as a seal, and the result is a horrid way to die. Many surfers who have arrogantly ignored warnings by the locals to stay out of the waters have ended up as part of the latest Darwin Award recipients! Australia is surrounded by massive stretches of shore line with the Pacific Ocean, but some areas are apparently shark picnic grounds and swimmers are the main course!

Along the coast of California is the infamous San Andreas Fault line that runs from the southern region all the way into the North Pacific along the coast. Recently the Redondo Trench not far offshore of Redondo Beach in Southern California is host to odd animal behavior that scientists claim is a result of the seismic activity, something that animals domestic as well as wild seem to be sensitive to. Their behavior often predicts major earth quakes! California is almost constantly under tectonic stress and minor quakes at any time! There is a theory that states that even people can be influenced by these seismic waves and can be psychologically affected. Perhaps this would explain the confusing politics of the state with the crazy government rule over people that don’t seem to behave rationally.

In South Texas a curious trend in animal behavior has been noted. Due to the growth of Mexican residents encroaching into the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula and other heavily wooded areas the migration of jaguars has been observed! The jaguar is a powerful voracious hunter but is now in the territorial boundaries of another big cat that doesn’t agree with the visitation of the Jaguar, and that’s the largest species of cougar in the world, what Texans call Mountain Lions. A normal sized puma or cougar is about 120 pounds but the larger mountain lion who feeds on south Texas cattle rancher sheep, goats, and other livestock can get up to 200 pounds! There have been numerous clashes between the two big cats and even though the Jaguar is pound for pound the most powerful cat even more so than lions or leopards, it is the cougar, who more often than not, drives away the Jaguar! This big cat known to drag anacondas out of rivers and kill them is an unwelcome species in south Texas! However, there is an unmistakable migration of Jaguars northward from Mexico.

Feral hogs have become more than nuisance causing millions of dollars in crop damage and even dangerous to humans when in packs. They began as domesticated pigs who were farm animals who escaped and once in the wild quickly turn feral and become an omnivorous predator. They are so intelligent that large numbers of them can migrate unseen through the woods and off lake shores where they feed. They are so keen on human threat that their herds remain on the move and rarely remain in one spot very long! Hunters who are paid mercenaries by farmers or state wildlife agencies have to exercise extreme caution when hunting the wild pigs. If an armed man shoots one of the group, they may all charge him at once, and these feral hogs have been known to eat people! There is an actual delicacy market for feral hog meat that some people swear by, so there are hunters who will trap those using mobile fences and feed left on the ground as bait. Only in recent years have we seen a sudden rise in this species!

In parts of the world where wild animals lose their fear of humans we see things like panthers making nests under wooden porches of homes in southern Louisiana as well as Eastern Oklahoma in the Kiamichi Mountain Range where zoologists told us for years that big cat was not migrating into the region, but we see this in countries like India, Malaysia, and Indonesia where human residents are too close to the jungles where panthers, tigers, and leopards roam. That pressure begins to unleash that predatory instinct upon domesticated dogs, cats, even children and parents! There is no doubt that human influence altered normal animal behavior!