I may have to eat my words, or at least, some of them. Turns out that rampaging animal escapes can happen and go on for several days. The Charlotte Observer reports that a dangerous rodeo bull escaped from a stockyard in Norwood, North Carolina this past Thursday and is still on the loose as far as I can tell. That bull is not to be trifled with; but so far, there are no sightings! The top speed of bulls and elephants is pretty close (30 for Dumbo and 35 for Ferdinand), though an elephant has less endurance for long runs. Either way, I’m standing out of their way!

This week we saw Mark the Worry-wort communicating with Diana (wherever she is) about how to save Rex, when Mark suddenly got a phone call from Bill Ellis saying that the rampaging elephant is possibly headed for the Tiger Touch Center. If this were a dark comedy, the elephant will break through the perimeter and squash both Tess and Rex, solving Mark’s problem and satisfying many readers.

Logically, if this elephant has been sighted, why can’t it be trapped or tranqed? Some of you should recall that that’s what Mark did to an escaping elephant a few years back when a circus train derailed, disgorging inebriated clowns and a variety of animals. But enough of that. Here is today’s nature talk.

It is politically backward and destructive for politicians to oppose dealing with climate change, for whatever reason they care to claim. Of course, the first thought is that they do it to pander to their voter base, rather than help them understand the problem. I reckon a lot of this opposition is based on reinforcing our country’s long-standing distrust of experts and education, as we have seen in other areas of life. It’s an amazing statement of faith in the glory of ignorance and a cynical reliance upon authority. It’s good to be skeptical when addressing new or important concerns. It’s another to be intransigent when the overwhelming evidence says otherwise.