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They Thought It Was a Gator. Then They Saw Its Tongue

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They Thought It Was a Gator. Then They Saw Its Tongue


A mother-daughter car ride in Florida’s Sarasota County led to quite a sighting last month. McClatchy News reports that Renee Aland was driving in the southwest city of North Port on May 20 when she did a “double take” at something she spotted along the side of the busy road: what looked to be an alligator, between 5 feet and 6 feet long. “It was seen coming out of the woods” behind a Kia dealership, where a canal was located, she posted on Facebook later that day, posting pics and a video of the strange animal.

“I look, and I see what I think is a gator,” Aland, who was driving with 15-year-old daughter Zoey Marzonie, tells NBC2. “When we got closer, I looked, and I saw his tongue… coming out, and I was like, ‘Oh crap, that’s not a gator.’” She added to McClatchy News that “I was a little taken aback at how many times it attempted to cross the street and turned around.” Her daughter added, per NBC2: “Have you heard of the show Jessie for Disney Channel? It was like that big lizard in Jessie.” As it turns out, Aland’s assessment that the animal wasn’t an alligator was correct: Local biologists say it’s some kind of monitor lizard, perhaps a Nile monitor but more likely an Asian water monitor.

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Asian water monitors can reach up to 8 feet in length when fully grown, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The invasive species isn’t native to the Sunshine State, instead typically brought there by people involved in the exotic-pet trade. Those lizards that escape or are let loose then spread via Florida’s canal system. Florida Gulf Coast University biologist Andrew Durso says people generally don’t need to fear monitor lizards. “Even though they’re carnivorous, they’re not dangerous to people,” he tells NBC2. “They’re not going to chase you; they’re not going to attack you.” Anyone who spots a similar creature wandering around should report it here, per Durso. (More lizard stories.)





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Florida

Boat explosion at a South Florida marina kills 1 and injures 5 others

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Boat explosion at a South Florida marina kills 1 and injures 5 others


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A boat explosion at a South Florida marina has left one person dead and five others injured, officials said.

The explosion occurred Monday night at the Lauderdale Marina, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said in a social media post.

Rescue workers transported five people to local hospitals, three with traumatic injuries, officials said. A sixth person was found dead in the water several hours later by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Fire rescue officials said they didn’t immediately know what caused the explosion.

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Florida has a sinking condo problem

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Florida has a sinking condo problem


For as long as humans have endeavored to build upwards toward the sky, they have also been forced to contend with inexorable laws of nature — ones that are not always so accommodating to our species’ vertical endeavors. In the modern era, that tension is perhaps best exemplified in Florida, where coastal erosion, sinkholes, and other environmental factors have become a constant challenge in the march toward upward construction.

Nearly three dozen structures along Florida’s southern coast sank an “unexpected” amount between 2016 and 2023, according to a report released this month by researchers at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. All told, “35 buildings along the Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach coastline are experiencing subsidence, a process where the ground sinks or settles,” the school said in a press release announcing the results of its research. Although it’s generally understood that buildings can experience subsidence “up to several tens of centimeters during and immediately after construction,” this latest study shows that the process can “persist for many years.” What do these new findings mean for Miami-area residents, and our understanding of how to build bigger, safer buildings in general?

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Tkachuk returns following collision with Kucherov

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Tkachuk returns following collision with Kucherov


SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk had to be helped off the ice and taken to the locker room in the first period after a collision with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov during Monday night’s game.

Tkachuk returned in the second period and received a standing ovation. He joined the Panthers’ power-play unit in his first shift back.

“We wouldn’t let him back in the game if we didn’t think he was OK,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said in his in-game interview on Scripps Sports. “But he’s tough.”

Kucherov crashed full speed into Tkachuk’s right leg late in the first period, causing Tkachuk to fall and grab his knee. He remained down for a couple of minutes until a team trainer helped him off. He didn’t appear to put any weight on the leg.

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Kucherov was assessed a five-minute major penalty, and after an officials’ review, a game misconduct for the hit.

Tkachuk, in his third season with the club, is second on the team with 13 goals and 22 assists in 30 games this season.

The Lightning led Florida 3-0 at the end of the first period thanks to goals by Kucherov, Jake Guentzel and Mitchell Chaffee. It was the second game of a back-to-back set for the two rivals, as the Panthers defeated the Lightning 4-2 on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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