You are here: home   Blogs   Heard around the West   Those cantankerous locals
Heard around the West

Those cantankerous locals

Document Actions
Tip Jar Donation

Your donation supports independent non-profit journalism from High Country News.

Enter amount:

$
Betsy Marston | Feb 17, 2009 07:05 PM

Visitors to a museum don’t usually expect to be attacked by wild animals, but then, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum close to Tucson is a very different kind of institution — outdoors, interactive and endlessly fascinating. Unfortunately, reports the Arizona Republic, a pig-like, tusked javelina that “did not belong to the museum” took a dislike to Rene Zegerius, a tourist from the Netherlands, and bit him in the calf and left hand, severing veins and arteries. Last summer, Zegerius spent eight days in a hospital and is now suing the museum and Pima County for $400,000.

Document Actions
Log in to comment (3)
"wild"javelinas
Carol Dayton
Carol Dayton
Feb 18, 2009 08:27 AM
Just another story about petting wild creatures, even in a "museum". Not a good idea to disrespect the wildness of creatures around us. Who told this yahoo it was OK to handle this seemingly small creature ? Javelinas in the wild where I live near the Tortolitas (many miles NE of the Desert Museum) are considered so tough, even dogs who will challenge coyote packs will turn tail & run from this one. Those tusks, and the fierce little beasts behind them, are not to be ignored.
Absolute ridiculousness!
JS
JS
Feb 19, 2009 10:19 AM
I have to admit, if a wild javelina attacked me I'd be pissed off too, but really, who is to blame here? Anyone? The javelina did not belong to the museum and I'm pretty sure Pima county does not have all wild javelins on a leash so I fail to see how this lawsuit has any merit whatsoever. This is the second time that I've read about this story, and while I haven't read anything that says the man tried to pet the javelina, thereby enticing it to attack him, I certainly wouldn't doubt it if that was the case! But don't expect him to ever admit to that even if it is so! Couldn't this be considered a random act of nature, kind of like a flood, or a tornado, etc! You can't sue for things like that (not yet anyway)! This is a perfect example of the ridiculousness that America contiunues to reward with handouts and monetary rewards and as a result we see more and more of it! Don't be surprised if he gets his money!
Javelinas
ETHAN
ETHAN
Feb 20, 2009 08:13 PM
On my walks in the Pinos Altos Mountains behind Fort Bayard in southwestern New Mexico I regularly cross paths with a little herd of Javelinas. On one occasion the male at the rear of the herd turned towards me stamped his feet and snorted,so I stamped my feet and snorted at him. He took off up the hill. Another day,walking along the same part of the trail, the little herd crossed the trail in front of me. I heard something coming up behind me,turned quickly and had the old male charging at me with his hackles up. I grabbed a rock,cocked it back and yelled at him. He did a quick about face and headed down slope.
  They can be aggressive little critters and do have some impressive tusks.

Email Newsletter

The West in your Inbox

Follow Us

Follow us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! Follow our RSS feeds!
Comments Most Commented Most Emailed
  1. In the field with a Montana couple hunting wolves | Amid bitter controversy over allowing hunters and ...
  2. How right-wing emigrants conquered North Idaho | Conservative transplants largely from California h...
  3. Seeking balance in Oregon's timber country | Can logging towns and old-growth forests both thri...
  4. Save our gauges | Important USGS stream gauges imperiled by austerit...
  5. Rants from the hill: Trapping the bees | What to do when 50,000 honeybees hive up inside th...
  1. Don't mess with the Forest Service | How a determined and feisty Forest Service held of...
  2. How right-wing emigrants conquered North Idaho | Conservative transplants largely from California h...
  3. How technology detected a huge mine landslide before it happened | Employees at a Kennecott copper mine outside Salt ...
  4. Seeking balance in Oregon's timber country | Can logging towns and old-growth forests both thri...
  5. The Forest Service battles placer mining with an obscure law | A little-known 1955 law gives the Forest Service a...
Subscriber Alert
HCN Classifieds
More from Flora & Fauna
Eat more insects The UN says we need to rear more minibeasts
BLM teams with researchers to protect midget faded rattlesnake Biologists and federal officials hope to direct booming oil, gas and wind development away from the rare reptile in southwest Wyoming and northwest Colorado
It's Endangered Species Day! 40 years on and the ESA continues to have growing pains
All Flora & Fauna
 
© 2013 High Country News, all rights reserved. | privacy policy | terms of use | powered by Plone | site by Groundwire | design by Ryan Foster

HCN Logo High Country News in your inbox!


Sign up now to receive our weekly email newsletter!

• The best weekly collection of Western environmental news

• An at-a-glance look at our latest news and analysis


This box was designed to only appear once. It uses a "cookie" (a small file stored on your computer) to remember that it has shown the box to you.

If you are seeing this box appear multiple times, then something is not allowing the cookie to be stored properly. Browsers can be set to not allow cookies, and some people choose to disallow cookies for security reasons. If your browser is setup this way, please consider adding "www.hcn.org" as an exception to your no-cookies rule. For information about how to do this, just search the Web for "browser cookie exceptions."

If you're sure this isn't the problem, then it could be related to how your browser has stored information from our site in previous visits. Browsers often "cache" images, text and other website content in order to make them appear faster if you ever go back. Sometimes the browser's cache can be corrupted or become outdated. The simplest fix for this is to try reloading the page. If that doesn't fix the problem, it may be necessary to clear your temporary items from your browser. Again, a web search will provide you with lots of options and instructions.

Either way, we're sorry to hear that this box is getting in the way of your enjoyment of the HCN website. If you continue to have trouble, please contact our Subscriber Services team.