Vicious duck described by expert as young ‘punk' terrorizes Florida neighborhood, attacking elderly residents
What the duck?!
An aggressive duck has been terrorizing a sleepy Florida neighborhood and attacking its elderly residents — even bloodying one local, according to reports.
The federally protected Muscovy duck — who's since been named Jimmy — has chased several people with its wings spread out in attack mode and brazenly bit a resident while he was sleeping on the otherwise quiet street in Cape Coral, according to Fox 4.
Advertisement
5 The Muscovy duck chases Fox reporter Bella Line across a street in the South Florida neighborhood.
Fox 4 Now/YouTube
James Sepulveda was bitten by the vicious waterfowl last week.
He has lived in the neighborhood for nearly three decades – but it was the first time a duck has ever drawn blood on his own porch, he told the local station.
Advertisement
'I sit on my porch, 7 to 7:30 at this time of the year to catch a sunset, you know, some sun, and I had my eyes closed. All of a sudden, I felt a jab on my hand and it was bleeding,' Sepulveda told Fox 4.
The black duck — which is native to Texas and several Latin American countries, but not Florida — was the culprit, he said.
Although the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects the breed of duck, Sepulveda said that if it attacks and injures people, it should be shown no mercy.
'They should be gotten rid of,' he said.
Advertisement
5 The duck was captured by animal wrangler Mark Quadrozzi before any other attacks.
Fox 4 Now/YouTube
5 The black duck is native to Texas and several Latin American countries, but not Florida.
Fox 4 Now/YouTube
Sepulveda unwrapped his bandage to show the Fox reporter the injury to his hand. During his interview, he also squared off with the duck, which was menacing him on his driveway.
'You want to walk,' Sepulveda asked. 'Walk the other way.'
Advertisement
At one point, Fox 4 reporter Bella Line needed to run away from the duck as it chased her.
5 Although the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects the breed of duck, if it attacks and injures people, it should be shown no mercy, one resident said.
Fox 4 Now/YouTube
Sepulveda wasn't the only one outraged by the foul fowl. His neighbor, Richard Guy, also had an encounter with the belligerent bird.
'I stood up and I made some noises, thinking it would go away, duck, you know, next thing I know, its wings come out you know like it's going to attack me,' Guy told Fox 4.
Luckily for the local residents, Mark Quadrozzi with 'Remarkable Resques' saved the day.
He captured the unruly duck, whom he has named Jimmy, on Wednesday and brought him back to a sanctuary where he can live with other Muscovy ducks, according to the station.
5 The duck was captured and placed in a cage with hay and water.
Fox 4 Now/YouTube
Advertisement
Quadrozzi told Fox 4 that the reason Jimmy was acting out was because he was a young male, 3 to 4 months old, but also because he was most likely raised by humans.
'This is a young male. Yes, that's why he's being such a punk,' Quadrozzi said. 'When you have a duck that wants to actually make physical contact with a person like that…it's kind of a given that it was hand raised by someone,' he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
a day ago
- News24
Catnip for content creators? Diddy trial becomes digital stage for hungry influencers
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' high-profile trial has become a hotspot for influencers and YouTubers, who provide recaps and personal narratives on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Since cameras are not permitted inside the courtroom, they step outside to stage and share their 'hot takes.' Content creators, some with no formal journalism training, capitalise on the trial's drama and celebrity involvement to grow audiences and earn revenue. The criminal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs is now in its sixth week of testimony - and interest among influencers and YouTubers is still soaring as online personalities flock to the Manhattan federal courthouse to livestream their musings. Every day, it's the same routine: content creators on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube rub shoulders with legacy media organisations as they set up cell phone tripods and stage their shows, enthusiastically relaying their hot takes. The trial of Combs, once a titan of the music industry who faces life in prison if convicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, can't be broadcast. The federal courthouse doesn't allow cameras, laptops, phones or even wireless headphones inside. So, alongside the many journalists covering the trial, influencers hustle in and out of the courthouse throughout the day to recount the proceedings beat by beat, dropping off and picking up their electronics at security each time. AFP One woman who goes by the TikTok name 'KealoHalika' said that in the first two days of testimony, she earned an estimated 10 500 followers; her account now has 40 500 followers. 'It was like craziness,' she told AFP outside the courthouse. 'It's been a lot of moving pieces. It's definitely changed my life.' Combs is incarcerated and doesn't enter or exit the courthouse publicly. But some of the high-profile attendees and witnesses do, including members of the music mogul's family and figures like Kid Cudi, the rapper who testified that Combs's entourage torched his car. These paparazzi-esque arrivals and exits are catnip for content creators to, in turn, feed their followers. The brief cameo of Ye, who stopped by to lend his 'support' to Combs amid the proceedings, was a particular field day for the chronically online. Donat Ricketts, a 32-year-old artist from Los Angeles, was a regular at the high-profile Tory Lanez and A$AP Rocky trials in California. He told AFP he makes between $8000 and $10 000 a month, including through YouTube's ad revenue program and fan donations. 'This is my first time travelling to another state to cover a case,' said the creator with about 50 000 YouTube subscribers. 'It feels like a vacation, plus I'm able to work and make money from YouTube.' Ricketts didn't study journalism - but he thinks his 'big personality' and ability to relate to online viewers set him apart. 'This case is the turning point where mainstream media knows that the 'independent journalists' are a force to be reckoned with,' he said. 'Personal narrative' According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, one in five Americans get news from influencers online; for people under 30, the share jumps to 37%. Reece Peck, a professor of political communication and journalism at the City University of New York, called the competition among content creators 'Darwinian.' 'They're so scared of losing their clientele or their audience. And so with that logic, that you have to constantly create content, the news cycle is such an attractive source of material,' Peck told AFP. And the Combs trial is a fount, he said: 'It's sex, it's violence, and it's celebrity.' Emilie Hagen said she does have a journalism degree but these days publishes via her Substack, also putting out content on Instagram and TikTok. 'I'm there every day providing humorous updates,' she told AFP of the Combs trial. Dozens of traditional media outlets are providing coverage and analysis of the trial. But Hagen said she's 'able to go down rabbit holes that they're not allowed to go down.' AFP 'I don't have to stick to the daily recap,' she said. 'I can insert a personal narrative.' Many of her most fruitful videos are of 'me interacting with all of the wild people that come to the trial outside the courthouse,' she added. Hagen said she's notched 12 000 more Instagram followers and 10 000 more on TikTok since proceedings began. She said some fans have donated, which recently allowed her to hire a linesitter. Getting into the main courtroom, as opposed to overflow rooms with video feeds of the trial, can require either arriving overnight or the day prior, and many influencers, along with media outlets like ABC News and The New York Times, hire people to hold spots. But even with the deluge of news updates from media outlets and content streams from influencers, some people still want to see the trial for themselves. Val Solit, a teacher from Los Angeles on vacation to New York, dropped by the proceedings after having lunch in nearby Chinatown with her partner. 'I like crime and dramas,' she told AFP, likening the hype to the 1990s-era trial of O.J Simpson. 'It was kind of fascinating to come and see it.' 'It's history in the making.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Panama declares emergency over banana region unrest
Panama has declared an emergency in its main banana-producing region, after shops were looted and buildings vandalised in ongoing protests over a pension reform. The government says constitutional rights will be suspended for the next five days in the north-western Bocas del Toro province. The measure restricts freedom of movement and allows the police to make arrests without a warrant. Troubles in the region began a month ago, when the local banana workers union joined a nationwide protest against proposed pension cuts and declared a strike. "In the face of the disruption of order and acts of systematic violence, the state will enforce its constitutional mandate to guarantee peace," said Juan Carlos Orillac, minister of the presidency. The measure, he added, would allow to "rescue the province" from radicals. Protests across the Latin American nation erupted back in March over the pension reform. In Bocas del Toro, the unrest has been largely led by workers at a Chiquita Brands banana plantation. The confrontation escalated last month after the company sacked thousands of striking employees. Protesters have been setting up roadblocks in the province, often clashing with police. Earlier this week, crowds damaged one of Chiquita Brands' facilities as well as a local airport. Panama country profile
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Close ally of drug kingpin ‘El Mencho' gets 30 years in prison as U.S. ramps up pressure on cartels
WASHINGTON — A close ally of fugitive Jalisco New Generation boss known as 'El Mencho' for years orchestrated a prolific drug trafficking operation, using a semi-submersible and other methods to avoid detection, and provided weapons to one of Mexico's most powerful cartels, prosecutors say. On Friday, José González Valencia was sentenced in Washington's federal court to 30 years in a U.S. prison following his 2017 arrest at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name. González Valencia, 49, known as 'Chepa,' along with his two brothers, led a group called 'Los Cuinis' that financed the drug trafficking operations of Jalisco New Generation, or CJNG — the violent cartel recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. His brother-in-law is CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, whom for years has been sought by the U.S. government. Meanwhile, El Mencho's son-in-law, Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, appeared in the same courtroom earlier Friday to plead guilty in a separate case to a money laundering conspiracy charge. Gutiérrez Ochoa was arrested toward the end of the Biden administration last year in California, where authorities have said he was living under a bogus name after faking his own death and fleeing Mexico. Together, the prosecutions reflect the U.S. government's efforts to weaken the brutal CJNG cartel that's responsible for importing staggering amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S. — and track down its elusive leader. The Trump administration has sought to turn up the pressure on CJNG and other cartels with the foreign terrorist organization designation, which gives authorities new tools to prosecute those associated with cartels. 'You can't totally prosecute your way out of the cartel problem, but you can make an actual impact by letting people know that we're going to be enforcing this and showing that Mexico is being cooperative with us and then ultimately trying to get high-level targets to sort of set the organization back,' Matthew Galeotti, who lead the Justice Department's criminal division, said in an interview with the Associated Press. Trump's Justice Department has declared dismantling CJNG and other cartels a top priority, and Galetotti said the U.S. in recent months has seen increased cooperation from Mexican officials. In February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures — including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985 — to the U.S. for prosecution. The Trump administration has already charged a handful of defendants with terrorism offenses since designating CJNG and seven other Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations in February. Galeotti said several additional indictments related to CJNG and other cartels remain under seal. 'We are taking a division-wide approach to this,' Galeotti said. 'We've got money laundering prosecutors who are not just focused on the cartels themselves ... but also on financial facilitators. So when we're taking this broad approach … that's why I think we've had some of the really significant cases that we've had, and we've seen a very significant pipeline.' González Valencia pleaded guilty to international cocaine trafficking in 2022. Authorities say he went into hiding in Bolivia in 2015 after leading Los Cuinis alongside his brothers for more than a decade. He was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration after traveling to Brazil, and was later extradited to the U.S. Los Cuinis used 'air, land, sea, and under-the-sea methods' to smuggle drugs bound for the U.S., prosecutors say. In one instance, authorities say González Valencia invested in a shipment of 4,000 kilograms of cocaine that was packed in a semi-submersible vessel to travel from Colombia to Guatemala. Other methods employed by Los Cuinis include hiding drugs in frozen shark carcasses, prosecutors say. He's also accused of directing the killing of a rival. He appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit and listened to the hearing through an interpreter over headphones. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sealed part of the hearing, keeping the press and public out of the courtroom while lawyers argued over the sentence. It was not clear why the judge determined it had to be sealed. González Valencia's lawyer declined to comment after the hearing. In the other case, Gutiérrez Ochoa was wanted in Mexico on allegations that he kidnapped two Mexican Navy members in 2021 in the hopes of securing the release of El Mencho's wife after she had been arrested by Mexican authorities, prosecutors have said. Authorities have said he faked his own death and fled to the U.S. to avoid Mexican authorities, and El Mencho told associates that he killed Gutiérrez Ochoa for lying. El Mencho's son, Rubén Oseguera — known as 'El Menchito' — was sentenced in March to life in prison after his conviction in Washington's federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for U.S. importation and using a firearm in a drug conspiracy. Richer writes for the Associated Press.
