When the news gets wild

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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Folks who have been following my (and WSIL) social media today know that one of our reporters, Dave Davis had a run-in with a deer on live TV. The incident was caught on camera as Dave was updating viewers after a morning of heavy rain and storms. Sadly, the deer died as a result. You can see the whole incident via this link.

That look you have after a coworker hits a deer on live TV.

The situation reminded me that after years of having animals on the morning news, we've had a few interesting incidents. Of course, there was the llama drama of 2011. That story can be read here. But I've had some other fun moments with wildlife on News 3 This Morning. Unfortunately, these were in an era before social media and smartphones so the clips aren't available.

Not the deer in question

About a decade ago we had a guest from the Free Again Wildlife Rehabilitation in Williamson County on with a baby deer. Bev Shofstall has been caring for injured or orphaned animals since 1988. She and her team help the animals become strong enough to go back into the wild. One morning she brought in a baby deer. We were doing the segment outside and the little guy wiggled his way out of the enclosure and took off for the busy highway several hundred feet from our studio.

This was moments before we were to go live. But more importantly, I was worried this fawn was going to become road kill. So I sprinted behind the little fella and did a slide tackle to stop him from running into rush hour traffic on Route 13. I carried him back to the enclosure with time to spare. 

Another moment that sticks out was the morning Bev brought a vulture on the set. I commented on how ugly this big bird was and he started flapping his wings, sending the scripts flying. Then for good measure, after the segment was over, he pooped all over the floor of the set. I never insulted another animal on the show after that.

We've had snakes, rodents and other critters on countless times before. With these few exceptions, there have been no incidents. The deer today wasn't a scheduled guest, but will probably be our most memorable since the last three seconds of his life were seen on air. 

Llama Drama

November sweeps, new meaning

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

We recently had a story on the news out of Houston, where a capuchin monkey was on the news set and smacked the anchor in the face.  The discussion we had after the story included a brief mention of the "llama drama" we had in our own newsroom in 2011. 

We were doing a weekly "Wild Wednesday" segment for November sweeps.  It was a chance to showcase some unusual pets in our region.  Years prior, we had had a woman who has llamas and alpacas come in with one of her critters, so we extended the invitation for her to return.

I thought we'd do the interview outside, as I worried that the llama would do his business on the studio floor.  We had to move the desk for the segment, and I figured we wouldn't have time to clean up and get the desk back in place.  Everyone else thought it would be okay, so I relented, after all, it was only three minutes, surely the llama would empty his bowels and bladder upon arrival, right? 

Wrong.  The woman and her llama stood in the newsroom waiting for the Wild Wednesday segment.  As Emily and I read other news stories, we heard a loud commotion coming from the newsroom and then into the hallway.  It sounded like someone was hitting the wall with a sledgehammer.  

Llama drama to the extreme

When we went to commercial, we went to the hall to see what happened.  Before I could even see anything, my nose told me what was going on.  I can't even come up with a description to give that odor justice.  It was like a zoo, farm, and truck stop bathroom merged in the hall.  Llama pee and poop were all over the floor.

Apparently, the gentle beast started peeing on the carpeted newsroom floor.  The owner grabbed his harness to lead him out, and when his wet feet hit the tile floor he slipped and slid like he was walking on a sheet of ice.  I'm not sure if that then triggered the bowel movement, but the interview had to be shot tight because his tail ended was a matted mess of feces and urine.

Cleanup, aisle 1

We worked to clean it up during the commercials, but that smell lingered for a long time.  I used my steam cleaner, and that potent piss smell stayed with it for a long time.  The carpet in the newsroom still bears the reminder of that memorable morning. 

Live llamas have been banned from inside the building.  But we take our chances with the occasional pooch.