In July 1996, the family of 31-year-old Blair Adams became concerned about his mental state as he stopped collecting his paycheck at work and started talking about his fear that someone wanted him dead. Then, Adams abruptly withdrew all of his money from the bank, packed up his car, left his home in British Columbia, and headed for the United States. He was initially prevented from crossing the border due to his erratic behavior and the fact that he was carrying an enormous amount of cash, but he eventually made it across and wound up in Knoxville, Tennessee, some 2,000 miles from home. Once he got there, Adams' strange, paranoid behavior was documented by a number of witnesses. He was seen carelessly backing his car into another while on the road, and when he rented a hotel room in Knoxville, CCTV footage showed him entering and exiting the building multiple times nervously — but never even entering his room. Then, on the morning of July 11, his battered corpse was found in a nearby parking lot. He had been beaten so badly that his stomach ruptured, causing sepsis. Tufts of his hair had been torn out and he had a sole strand of someone else's hair still clenched in his fist. But to this day, no one knows who killed him or why.
Stunning portrait of a Secretary bird photographed in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya. The Secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large bird of prey endemic to Africa where it is found in the savannas, grasslands, and shrub lands. Its robust body is covered in whitish-gray feathers, with two long, black-tipped tail feathers and it has a dramatic black crest of feathers on the back of its head. It has a red-orange and yellow patch of skin around its eyes. It has the longest legs of any bird of prey, standing at a height of up to 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in), requiring the bird to bend in a crouch to feed or drink. These birds mainly move around on foot, although they can fly, but they only do so when necessary, such as to reach their nest in the trees and for courtship displays. It is estimated that Secretary birds walk anywhere from 12 to 18 miles (20-30 km) a day! 📷 anupam.thombre
@fopminui @fasc1nate Thanks for the synopsis of this weird birdie.
@fopminui @fasc1nate Such elegant flamboyance!