Young boy watches creature eating wild grapes near Florence witnessed in Rankin County, Mississippi

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During the late 1970's and early 1980's Central Mississippi experienced a series of pretty serious floods, one of which was dubbed the "Great Easter Flood" (there were even T-shirts made that boasted "I survived the flood of '79."). On the occasion of these floods the Pearl River which runs though Jackson overflowed it's banks for miles north and south of the capital area. Florence is a small town and community about 10 miles south of Jackson. Although the town is rather small the commumity reached across a great deal of the southwest corner of Rankin County to the Pearl River. During these floods there were countless reports of displaced animals fleeing the rising flood waters so my friends and I had all been warned by our parents to watch out for animals while we were playing outside. The reason I mention the flood, the river, and the proximity of the Town of Florence to the river is because I noticed that several of the sightings reported on this site in Mississippi are in the gener...