Friday, April 07, 2017

A plea to Local 10's social media editor....




....please stop trying to scare the crap out of people with your asinine click bait!



Sir, we live in South Florida which is also home to lots of wild animals.

Some inhabited our peninsula before we arrived. Other came later.

But here's a fact...not all wild animals are dangerous. Respect them and keep your distance and you'll be fine. Wild animals aren't dangerous unless they're threatened or lose their fear of humans. But for some reason you and your reporters never reveal this information when you report one of these stories.

Alligators fall into this category. Wild 'gators become dangerous after humans encounter them and try to feed them. And when 'gators associate humans with food, then it's all over.

So, headlines like this don't help the situation:



 No, Jeff, the only thing that scares me is rampant ignorance.

And writing crap like this isn't very helpful, either: "Rhinoceros Iguanas can grow in size up to 54 inches, and while some are tame, others can be aggressive.

"A bite from a Rhino Iguana can become infected and cause serious health issues."

Perhaps you should have followed up by providing examples of people who have been bitten by rhino iguanas.  But then folks would start comparing your work to journalism.And then where would you be?

By the way, I just checked with a Miami-based urban wildlife trapper and he assures me that a giant Rhino Iguana has never attacked anyone in South Florida. So, what's with the scare headline?

As a matter of fact, rhino iguanas appear to make great pets and excellent breakfast companions.






No comments:

Post a Comment

Feel free to comment on anything you read here.

All comments must first be approved. Spam and spam links will not be tolerated or approved.