Norman Bates He Aint
But apparently he's just as scary. A woman from Abbeville, Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart because the local store allowed their pet Nutria to run loose without alerting the shoppers. Rebecca White was so freaked out when she spotted Norman that she jumped back and her cart rolled over her foot, breaking two bones. This begs a number of questions... What's a Nutria? It's a large furry rodent (pictured, right). Why was one running around the store? Why did the employees name him Norman? And what the heck did she have in her cart that was so heavy? You can read more about it here.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Is this kind of like the birds that fly freely through the Walmart stores here in Illinois? They're just accepted? Did Norman somehow get inside and instead of capturing him they just shrugged and said, "hey let's keep him...AND name him Norman!" Somebody call Robert Downey Jr. and get him on the case, stat!
Posted by Reverend Ira in A cornfield in the midwest on 05/08 at 04:29 AM
Yet another case for the gracefully challenged to increase the size of their coffers and make some poor jerk of a lawyer take at least a healthy third!
Captcha: wa88nt
Captcha: wa88nt
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 05/08 at 06:08 AM
Normally I'd agree, Expat, but have you ever seen a nutria up close? If I suddenly spotted a dog sized rat running at me from under a clothing rack or something, I'd be slightly surprised.
Posted by Jmonkeh on 05/08 at 06:21 AM
Nutria are the bane of Louisiana wetlands. They destroy the plant life that helps to hold the soil, thus making the soil lose. When a storm comes through (not just hurricanes) the lose soil gets washed out making the wetlands shrink. The wetlands are our barrier from storm surges allowing more water to move further inland and causing more stress on a weakened levee system.
Not sure how much it is but there is a price on nutria pelts encouraging the killing of the pesky, non-indigenous, overgrown rats.
Not sure how much it is but there is a price on nutria pelts encouraging the killing of the pesky, non-indigenous, overgrown rats.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 05/08 at 06:27 AM
Hah, yeah, there was an episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike went on a ride along with a dude in LA who drives around in the back of a pickup and hunts nutria with a rifle, Maxx. I love that show.
Posted by Jmonkeh on 05/08 at 07:32 AM
I saw a show on Discovery (I think) not too long ago where they were talking about these and other large rodent things that they hope don't get to the mainland US (there was something just as icky looking moving through the Keys). These are truly ROUS's.
Posted by Rhi in Cubical in Cali on 05/08 at 09:05 AM
ROUS's? INCONTHIEVABLE!
Posted by little_baboo on 05/08 at 12:44 PM
Look again Jmonkeh. He hit it over the head with the stick he was using to steer the boat. They then went to his house and cooked it up. Mike even had some squirrel stew too. Which ain't half bad. Don't ask.
Posted by lazlong in funky town, tx on 05/08 at 04:21 PM
I think the situation with the birds is that they're almost impossible to keep out of stores with attached lawn&garden;sections and it's too much work to try and catch or kill them, so the stores just let them be.
The only reason for a nutria to be running loose in the store is if it just got in and animal control isn't there yet.
I'd like to know how she managed to get the cart on her foot, if the cart's light enough to move over your foot it shouldn't do any damage, and in my experience most shopping carts can't roll over an M&M;on the floor when loaded, let alone a foot.
The only reason for a nutria to be running loose in the store is if it just got in and animal control isn't there yet.
I'd like to know how she managed to get the cart on her foot, if the cart's light enough to move over your foot it shouldn't do any damage, and in my experience most shopping carts can't roll over an M&M;on the floor when loaded, let alone a foot.
Posted by Doug Pirahna on 05/08 at 05:31 PM
Y'see, that wouldn't freak me out too much. I'd be like "Oh, muskrat thingy from the swamp in back got in. Big fella. I'll have to shoo him out."
Farm upbringing. Nothing under five hundred pounds really creeps me out, unless you count those attack pitbulls some assholes around this city have...
Farm upbringing. Nothing under five hundred pounds really creeps me out, unless you count those attack pitbulls some assholes around this city have...
Posted by FHZ on 05/08 at 06:04 PM
omg i'd have been IN the cart screaming my head off! don't they have health depts. in la.? there is no way one of those monsters should have been in that store. 
Posted by patty on 05/08 at 08:43 PM
Thank you, Doug, for answering my question about the cart breaking her foot. You are absolutely right, too. Every shopping cart I've ever used had trouble rolling over dust specs on the floor, let alone someone's foot. If she pulled it towards herself so hard that it went up on her foot, that's her problem. She did it to herself and shouldn't get any compensation for it.
patty, I once got yelled at for trying to sneak a kitten into a restaurant. It was going to be a birthday present and the staff went nuts over my trying to bring it in. If that Wal-Mart had food in it, and most of them do nowdays, there's no excuse for that thing to be running around.
patty, I once got yelled at for trying to sneak a kitten into a restaurant. It was going to be a birthday present and the staff went nuts over my trying to bring it in. If that Wal-Mart had food in it, and most of them do nowdays, there's no excuse for that thing to be running around.
Posted by Nethie on 05/08 at 09:55 PM
If Norman the Nutria is a pet of the employees, as it appears in the article, they showed extremely poor judgement and irresponsibility in not somehow containing him. I don't know much about nutria behavior, but rodents, rats and skunks in particular, can be aggressive, and a 20 pounder would indeed be intimidating if it was purposefully heading in your direction, especially if you weren't expecting it, say in a pet store!
I can understand the woman's fear, BUT, a lawsuit is a pitiful, if predictable, way of insuring it doesn't happen to other unsuspecting shoppers. And from the sound of what all she's suing for, she sees Norman as her ticket to a comfy retirement. Poor Norman. I have a bad feeling he's headed for, at best, a live trap and relocation to the bayou. At worst... I don't want to think about it.
I can understand the woman's fear, BUT, a lawsuit is a pitiful, if predictable, way of insuring it doesn't happen to other unsuspecting shoppers. And from the sound of what all she's suing for, she sees Norman as her ticket to a comfy retirement. Poor Norman. I have a bad feeling he's headed for, at best, a live trap and relocation to the bayou. At worst... I don't want to think about it.
Posted by StarThrower in A Southern Planet on 05/09 at 05:15 AM
Expat: "some poor jerk of a lawyer" Isn't that a redundancy and an oxymoron rolled up into one?
Rhi: "ROUS's" I can guess what the "S" is
but what's the "ROU"? That's one I haven't run across before.
Rhi: "ROUS's" I can guess what the "S" is
but what's the "ROU"? That's one I haven't run across before.
Posted by StarThrower in A Southern Planet on 05/09 at 05:22 AM
Rodents Of Unusual Size ROUS. Haven't you ever watched The Princess Bride???
Posted by little_baboo on 05/09 at 09:54 AM
the princess bride, of course! i didn't even think of it but that's perfect guys. inconthevable! 
Posted by patty on 05/09 at 03:06 PM
If anything, the Nutria would be terrified of the Norman Baits the company would leave out to kill the poor little critter should the lawsuit succeed...
Posted by kamlem on 05/09 at 07:12 PM
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Category: Animals, Lawsuits