I was surprised to hear of this story about a man snorkeling in a river in Oregon and being shot in the head by a gunman who thought the swimmer was a nutria.

I suppose that’s because I’ve shot my share of nutria in backwoods creeks and ponds.

And I wondered, how do you mistake a snorkeler with a nutria?!

A few more details clarified things a little bit. The shooter was a felon, and charged with the possession of a firearm as well as possession of meth and mari-joo-ana.

That explains things a little more!