Month: March 2021

The victim apparently first had been attacked by a larger knife. At least, that’s the supermarket tabloid version of a testimonial for a new knife being touted by Backpacker.

According to authorities such as iNaturalist, and common sense, there are no cabbage palms in northern California, leaving investigators puzzled regarding the circumstances that led to this inexplicable scenario.

The weapon, a Leatherman “FREE” K4X, (shown below) actually costs less than $100, and is not “free” in the common usage of the word, adding another wrinkle to this bizarre report.

The condition of the victim and location of the assailant, known only as A. Tester, are not known at this time. Hikers in northern California are advised travel in groups and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. The victim, described only as “tough and stringy” could be anywhere. Do not attempt to render aid — get a GPS location and report it to iNaturalist.

This post expands a single sentence on page 134 in Chapter 12 Birds and Bees: Wildlife in the Palms in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.

I mention in passing that vultures roost on cabbage palms, “breaking down the leaves with their weight.” I recently visited Hontoon Island State Park, near Deland, Florida and before taking the free ferry ride over, I noticed what appeared to be some very stressed cabbage palms on Google Earth.

It could have been a disease outbreak or some other mortality event, but I suspected it was a vulture roost. Vultures like to perch in dead oaks, but their roosts are frequently in cabbage palms.

It was easy to find, more or less south of the developed dock area. One clue was guano-spattered palm fronds that had been trimmed from the roadside (for clearance).

Continue reading “The Vulture Roost of Hontoon Island”