A Bird in the Hand…

A Maine animal control officer had been on a mission to find a loose chicken when he decided to whack a few branches, exposing a black fowl lurking below.

The Kennebec Journal reports that Paul Frye one Thursday solicited the help of another officer and two nearby citizens to wrangle the bird, saying it took four people to not “look stupid doing it.”

The bird was captured and is being cared for at Officer Brad Chase’s home. Police say it had been roaming the area for weeks. They’re not sure who it belongs to.

Frye says the department has received more calls about loose chickens in recent years because more people are raising birds at home farms, and lack the knowledge to house and care for them. Chase had to catch another escaped chicken in March.


Reptile Revenge

Florida authorities have caught a huge lizard that has terrified residents of a suburban Miami neighborhood for months.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the Asian water monitor lizard measures more than 8 feet (2.5 meters) long.

The lizard is an escaped pet. It was first reported loose in August in a Davie neighborhood. Residents said it lurked in their backyards and scratched at their patio doors.

Wildlife officers and Davie police officers caught it one Tuesday after getting a tip from a resident who said the lizard frequently appeared on his property around midday.

A wildlife commission statement says the lizard will be returned to its owner, who received a criminal citation for its escape.

Owners must have cages to keep these lizards as pets. It’s illegal to release nonnative species in Florida. 

There is a growing problem with invasive non-native species with few natural predators in suburban areas bordering waterways, and the Everglades National Park.