Some CCHS students may not be aware, but wild animals roam the Cathedral Catholic campus throughout the day and night.

According to night-time security guard David Dorado, animals including coyotes, raccoons, spiders, skunks, white-tailed bunnies, owls, and most infamously, lizard-snakes, roam our school’s campus.

Just recently, a peculiar lizard-snake ventured into the Attendance Office and caught senior Joseph Richardson’s eye.  Richardson alerted the office staff of the alligator lizard’s presence as the animals slithered towards Mrs. Rogers. Immediately, Assistant Dean of Students Mrs. Conroy saved herself by taking refuge on a nearby table.

“It was just wrong. Either you’re a snake or a lizard, but not both. Knowing something like that was here, I felt deep fears,” said Mrs. Conroy. “I can take anything under pressure, yet not a lizard-snake. It wasn’t a flight-or-fight reaction, it was flight reaction.”

During another frightening animal sighting, a former security guard accidentally totaled his golf-cart while attempting to avoid a raccoon. The raccoon ran away unharmed, while the golf-cart crashed into the posts of the front gate.

There are also sightings near the CCHS pool, where ducks lurk. Luckily, history and speech teacher Mr. Jeff Owen coaches brave and heroic swim athletes that chase them away so they won’t go to the bathroom in the pool.

When the swim team is in the pool, sometimes the athletes swim underwater to catch the ducks from below “…but it never worked because they’re used to hunting fish underwater,” said Mr. Owen.  “John Morgan was the closest [to catching one] but he graduated last year.”

“They’re the cutest things ever seen, but don’t feed the ducks because they’ll keep coming back and they’ll bring friends like Chester or Copperpot” he said.

Mr. Owen has named some of the ducks.  Names include Donald, Daisy, Senior Chazwozzle, and Pickle Weasel.   When asked why he chose these names, Mr. Owen responded, “The clowns told me in my head”.

According to Mr. Owen, when nobody’s watching, the ducks “…take freshmen at night.”