cryptozoo-oscity

year of the dragon

2012-01-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New year to Chinese readers of the blog. I believe it is the year of the water dragon? I am sure someone can post a comment and tell me if i got that wrong. Thought I would re-post this story of a dragon sighting in 2001.

I have often been intrigued by stories of dragons and didn’t realise people claimed sightings in modern times. I came across this from Karl Shuker:

This took place in Powys, Wales In March 2001.

A British naturalist and some colleagues were conducting some research in the area after being notified by a local of "something" strange that was seen earlier on the year. As they stood at the edge of some woods by a quarry they suddenly spied an extraordinary entity. Measuring 2.5 ft or son in length, it resembled a serpentine dragon with four short limbs, but its head was shaped very like that of a sea horse, and it was airborne---undulating and wriggling as it flew about 10 ft above the surface of the quarry in a wide circle. They were unable to recall seeing any wings, but it had a long tail that terminated in a pair of horizontal, whale like flukes. The entity was green in colour and shimmered somewhat, but appeared solid, not translucent or ethereal, and they watched it for 3-4 minutes, at a distance of approximately 50 ft, before it finally vanished into one of the numerous caves and large crevices pitting the quarry. The naturalist had the distinct impression while watching it that this creature was deliberately seeking to keep them at bay, warning them off from approaching further into its territory.
Source: Karl P N Shuker, Strange Magazine 22

Then in his book, Extraordinary Animals Revisited in a chapter entitled "The Unmentionables" he discusses it again, as the mysterious flying creature reported in 2001 near a quarry in Powys, Wales, which resembled a serpentine dragon with four short limbs, with a head shaped like a sea horse, and undulating as it flew about 10 feet (3.3 metres) above the surface of the quarry in a wide circle .Shuker wrote that this report came from came a bona fide naturalist (who was not named for obvious reasons, the academic world being as it is)), who was convinced that :

“it was neither an optical illusion nor a model, but was truly alive, although its appearance was so uncanny that he felt chilled by the encounter.” (Shuker 2007 :. 281)

Interestingly enough I came across this in historical records: Folklorist Mary Trevelyan interviewed many elderly people living in the Glamorgan area of Wales in the early 19thC. They recalled stories from their youth of a race of winged serpents that lived in the forest around Penllyne Castle. Supposedly they had crested heads and feathery wings. and were brightly coloured and sparkled as if covered with jewels. They rested coiled on the ground but if they felt threatened would attack by swooping down on the intruders. These flying snakes killed poultry and were described as "the terrors of farmyards and coverts" many were shot to protect livestock .

What is interesting is that both the accounts talk of the creatures shimmering or sparkling and swooping on intruders. Is it possible that some strange flying serpent still exists in Wales that gave rise to the dragon stories?

Ref: Karl P. Shuker. 2007 Extraordinary Animals Revisited: From Singing Dogs to Serpent Kings CFZ Press Bideford, North Devon:

A Welsh lake monster story

2012-01-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

The Afanc was a mythical water monster that originally abided in Llyn-yr-Afanc (The Afanc Pool) in the River Conwy. It was a huge beast who would cause flooding to the local area by its thrashing about. Attempts had been made to kill it but to no avail. It was decided to try and entice the creature from the pool and move it to a place where it could not cause any more trouble. Iron chains would be used to bind the creature and two oxen would then drag the creature to another lake. A local girl sang by the lake and the creature left the lake to get closer to her. Local men immediately bound the creature and started to drag it to Llyn Ffynnon Las (now called Llyn Glaslyn). The creature apparently jumped into the new home on arrival and is said to be trapped there.(Llyn Glaslyn in Wales is 126 feet (42 metres)deep)

Just a myth you would think but Oliver Vaughan , the architect, was walking with a friend up the slopes of Mount Snowdon in the 1930s.They stopped for lunch and were looking down on Lake Glaslyn. A grey line appeared in the lake and appeared to be a creature rising to the surface. A pale ,almost white head appeared on the surface. Mr Vaughan said it was not an otter or anything else he was familiar with and remained puzzled as to what it was they had seen.

So does the Afanc still lurk in the lake or is it more likely another unknown creature sighting? So many of these deep glacial type lakes have these sightings, but so far there has not been a definite explanation for them. Theories put forward include giant Fish, giant eel or prehistoric creature.
Does anyone know of any more recent sightings in lake Glaslyn? If so please post a comment.

Now in print

2012-01-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

My crypto Fiction book Dark Ness is now in print. Its on pre-order in the UK,Canada and EU countries but is available from amazon.com.(I have no idea why the difference...suspect it is something to do with printers)

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Ness-Tabitca-Cope/dp/1905723849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326963865&sr=8-1

in the uk :http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Ness-Tabitca-Cope/dp/1905723849/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1326963957&sr=8-5

The blurb:This book is the first of a trilogy, and as the title implies, it is set at Loch Ness - probably the most famous cryptozoological location in the world. However, the book is not just about monster hunting. It is what one can only call a ripping yarn, populated by likeable and intriguing characters. One suspects that the doughty heroine Laura Loomis has not a little of the author in her make-up. The author was, after all, one of the original Loch Ness chicks back in the Seventies when it was still politically allowable to refer the young ladies as 'chicks'. Laura and her motley band of academics and students find themselves immersed in an oddly satisfying adventure involving an ancient British secret, Merlin the wizard, a British secret society which one suspects - although one is never told - is a linear descendant of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, some elegantly nasty neo-Nazi villains, and a plot which would not be out of place in a novel by Jack Higgins. We cannot wait to see what happens in the next two instalments.

Does a large snake like creature live in the Altamaha River?

2012-01-19T01:01:00.001-08:00

The Altamaha river Creature ....The Altamaha-ha

There is said to be a creature living in the Altamaha river . The South Georgia coast is characterised by tiny islands, canals, waterways, deep rivers, and lots of inter-crossing creeks and streams. The Tama , indigenous natives to the area, told stories about the animal. According to Jim Miles in Weird Georgia, "Centuries ago, the Tama Indians first told tales of a huge water serpent that hissed and bellowed." The creature is called Altamaha ha, also known as Altie.”

The Altamaha-ha inhabits the Altamaha River and the surrounding waterways and marshes. This creature has been claimed to be seen stranded on the banks of the river, trying to free itself frantically, and has also been observed cavorting on the surface. Some have said it approached them in a menacing way and even attacked a boat. It has been described as having a horizontal tail, like that of a porpoise, which moves up-and-down. It’s size is estimated to be around 20 feet (6/7 metres) long. There have been some smaller creatures seen which are presumed to be youngsters and about 6 feet (2 metres )long. In appearance the creature is said to look somewhere between an alligator, an eel, and a dolphin, with large, protruding eyes and a pronounced alligator-like snout armed with large conical teeth. It has a serrated ridge across the back, like a series of small dorsal fins next to each other, and a true dorsal fin which is rather low. It is very elongated, grey on top and a white underbelly. There are said to be 350 sightings recorded.

In the 1920s, timbermen who rode the river reported sighting a creature , they described as a snake monster.

In 1935, a group of hunters spotted what they called a "giant snake" swim through the river.

A Boy Scout troop from the 1940s reported sighting a creature

In the 1950’s two officials from the Reidsville State Prison reported seeing a strange creature.

Then there is this from 1969:

On a night in July 1969 , Donny Manning and his brother embarked on his boat on the Altamaha River at Clark’s Bluff. The lights on the house boat allowed them to see for some distance. Fishing for catfish, Donny decided to use an old trick he had learned as a kid which was oatmeal and soda mixed on a three pronged hook. They were fishing in a little depression outside the rough water when something took the hook. It did not act like a regular catfish after a catch. Most catfish would take the hook, run and stop, and turn; instead it ran with the hook. Every once in a while it would come out of the water where they could see it. They say it measured about ten to twelve feet long and at first they thought it resembled a sturgeon, but after a few more jumps, they could tell it wasn’t. Donny claims it had a snout almost like an alligator, or, he thought, of a duck-billed platypus. He says it had a horizontal tail, instead of a fish like vertical one, and it also had a spiny kind of bony triangular ridge along the top of its body. The dorsal fin that was down, but he could see it on the back. The teeth were shining in the light were sharp pointed. The Creature was gun-metal gray on the top and oyster white-yellow on the bottom. It didn’t move along side to side like a snake either, but it moved up and down like a dolphin.” Mr. Manning says he has lived on the water all his life and has seen all kinds of creatures, but this was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. He also claims he was using a salt water rig with a 40 lb. test line and the creature snapped it like it was nothing. Mr. Manning estimates from the way it felt on the line and the way that it snapped it that it was at least 75 lbs.

During the summer of 1980 Andy Greene and Barry Prescott reportedly saw Altamaha-ha stranded on a mud bank near Cathead Creek. The creature lay halfway in the water, thrashing and trying to free itself from the bank. They described it as a dark coloured, with a rough skin and that it moved like nothing they had ever seen before. The creature was very large, three to four feet thick (1 metre) and twenty feet long( 6/7 metres). They observed the creature for ten minutes, before it freed itself, submerged, and disappeared.

In December of 1980 Larry Gwin spotted what he thought was Altamaha-ha in Smith Lake, located up the Altamaha River, while eel fishing. He described the creature as fifteen to twenty feet( 5-7 metres) long and snake-like, with two brown humps that protruded from the water. It disappeared and did not resurface. The creature was spotted several more times in the early 1980s, particularly near Two-Way Fish camp. One eyewitness, Ralph Dewitt, a crab fisherman of fourteen years, described Altamaha-ha as "the world's biggest eel".

One of the most recent reports was from 2002 when a man who was pulling a boat up the river near Brunswick reported seeing something over twenty feet(7 metres) in length and six feet wide( 2 metres) break the water. The man reported that the animal seemed to emerge from the water to get air and then submerge again beneath the depths.

The story is popular in the McIntosh and Glynn County areas, which both border the Altamaha River. The local newspaper , The Darien News has covered the story several times .

I can’t help thinking the description sounds like an alligator Gar. I may be wrong of course and some snake /eel like creature of an unknown species is still waiting to be discovered.

BIg Cat Evidence?

2012-01-17T00:39:00.003-08:00

Cotswolds big cat speculation mounts as second dead deer found

Roe deer carcass found a few miles east of animal discovered earlier on National Trust land, which is undergoing DNA tests

By Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

The remains of another deer have been found in an area of the Cotswolds where big cats may be on the prowl. Later this week the National Trust is expected to reveal the results of DNA tests on a deer carcass found at its Woodchester Park estate near Stroud.But it has emerged that a second roe deer's body has been found a few miles further east of Woodchester that experts believe could also be the victim of a big cat.Big cat experts in Gloucestershire said on Monday they were not surprised at the second account. Frank Tunbridge, who has studied sightings and examined carcasses of many supposed big cat catches, said he would expect such reports, especially during the winter months when cats — if they do exist — are forced out into more exposed areas. "This is the sort of report we get almost every week but it's attracting attention because of the Woodchester find," he said.

Read rest see pics here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/16/cotswolds-big-cat-deer-dead

Could be exciting discoveries from the Antarctic!

2012-01-16T01:28:00.000-08:00

Antarctic lake drilling mission edges closer

David Shukman By David Shukman Environment & science correspondent, BBC News

An ambitious plan to explore a vast lake trapped beneath the Antarctic ice is a step closer to becoming reality.An advance party has braved freezing temperatures to set up vital equipment and supplies at Lake Ellsworth.The project by UK engineers to drill through the two-mile-thick ice-sheet is scheduled for the end of the year.The aims are to search for signs of life in the waters and to extract sediments from the lake floor to better understand the past climate. It is is one of the most challenging British scientific projects for years. The task is so complex that preparations have had to be spread over two Antarctic summer seasons.

Read rest here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16538129

New species could be discovered so looking forward to hearing they are successful and their findings!

Flesh eating trees?

2012-01-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

A German traveller in the 1880s called Karl Lache (Spelling may not be accurate as different versions spell his name Carle etc) wrote to the Polish Doctor, Omelius Fredlowski, describing a human sacrifice he had seen in Madagascar , in which a woman had been devoured by a tree. His letter said that the Mkodos of Madagascar lived in caves ,were small in stature and sacrificed their fellow tribes people to the tree. The full text of his letter is reproduced in Searching for Hidden Animals by Roy P Mackal (1983 Cadogan Books London).Lache called the tree “Crinoida”. He described it as a truncated cone with right hooked or horned leaves That hung to the ground like hinged doors.The tree had a receptacle which contained a clear sweet treacly liquid and from this hung tendrils. Lache said he had witnessed the Mkodos take a woman to the tree,where she drank the liquid and the tree surrounded her with its tendrils and ate her.Ten days later all that remained was her skull.

The account was published in newspapers and magazines along with lurid illustrations and was purportedly published in a scientific journal. I could find records of the other articles but not a scientific journal.

Chase Salmon Osborn of the USA travelled all over Madagascar after reading these accounts to look for the tree. He published a book about his travels in 1924.He did not find the tree but heard lots of folktales he said about it from both indigenous peoples and missionaries.

I feel that the man eating tree is more fantasy than fact .The strangest thing I find about it is that the tree contains(when you read the account) so many elements of other carnivorous smaller plants which seems unlikely. You can understand it having two but not so many. Surely that would be evolution gone wild? Why would it need the receptacle element and tendrils and leaves? If the receptacle is on top of the tree where creatures would fall in, why would it also need the leaves? We do have lots of smaller plants such as pitcher plants. Venus fly trap, sticky sundew that attract and digest insects and more recently a larger plant was discovered that could digest a rat, but a plant that could digest a human would have to be very large and surely would be seen by many people? Sadly I think this is one we confine to old Tarzan films ,more myth than reality.

another witness found for 2011 Loch Ness creature sighting

2012-01-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

From Loch Ness Mystery Website:

New Witness Corroborates 2011 Sighting

I was going to post another item this weekend but I felt this partly finished article ought to go out now. The reason is because of the William Hill award for the best Nessie sighting of 2011 and there are four contenders including the sighting in this title. The winner will be decided at the end of January and I thought it best to complete the story on this sighting so that whoever judges will have a fuller picture.Note, I have no interest in who the eventual winner is and I do not stand to gain financially from it! The award candidates do not even know I am writing this. In fact I have been looking into this case since July and was awaiting further information, but so be it.

read full story here:

http://lochnessmystery.blogspot.com/

new snake discovered and chinese bigfoot's home classed 5A

2012-01-11T00:08:00.000-08:00

New viper snake species found

A new species of brightly coloured snake has been found in a remote area of Tanzania in East Africa.The striking black-and-yellow snake measures 60 cm (2.1 ft) and has horn-like scales above its eyes. The newly discovered snake, named Matilda's horned viper, has been described in the journal Zootaxa. The exact location of the new species is being kept a secret, because it could be of interest to the illegal pet trade.

Read rest see pics here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16486549

Central China's Shennongjia Nature Reserve named national 5A-Class Scenic Spot

English.news.cn

WUHAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Shennongjia Nature Reserve, the rumored hometown of a Bigfoot-like ape-man, was named one of the nation's 5A-Class Scenic Spots by the country's National Tourism Administration on Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

Located in the northwestern mountains of Hubei Province, the Shennongjia Forestry District, which administers the nature reserve, was established in 1970.The Shennongjia area has long been rumored to be the home of the "Yeren," literally "Wild man." The creature is also referred to as "Bigfoot," like the legendary North American ape-man. In the past 100 years, more than 400 people have claimed to have seen the creature, but no hard evidence of the creature's existence has been found.

Read rest here: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/travel/2012-01/10/c_131352760.htm

Nessie photo cash prize and extinct tortoise may still be around.

2012-01-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

Published: 10/01/2012

Cash prize offered for best Nessie sighting - voted by you

BOOKMAKER William Hill is preparing to shell out a £1000 reward following a bumper year for Nessie sightings.It follows several lean years for close encounters with Loch Ness’s most famous resident — leading to speculation about whether she was still alive, or had disappeared.But with three “good” sightings reported to the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club during 2011, the bookmaker is to present the Best Nessie Sighting of the Year Award for the first time in several years.Inverness Courier readers have the chance to vote on here for the winner who will receive £1000, plus a free £500 bet.In addition, a £100 bet will be placed on the Natural History Museum confirming the existence of Nessie by the end of the year — odds are currently 100/1.

Read rest here and see pics : http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/Cash-prize-offered-for-best-Nessie-sighting-voted-by-you-09012012.htm

Extinct' Galapagos tortoise may still exist

Richard Black By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News

A giant Galapagos tortoise believed extinct for 150 years probably still exists, say scientists.

Chelonoidis elephantopus lived on the island of Floreana, and was heavily hunted, especially by whalers who visited the Galapagos to re-stock.A Yale University team found hybrid tortoises on another island, Isabela, that appear to have C. elephantopus as one of their parents.Some hybrids are only 15 years old, so their parents are likely to be alive.The different shapes of the giant tortoises on the various Galapagos islands was one of the findings that led Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution through natural selection.The animals are thought to have colonised the archipelago through floating from the shores of South America.Colonies on each island remained relatively isolated from each other, and so evolved in subtly different directions.C. elephantopus is especially notable for its saddleback-shaped shell, whereas species on neighbouring islands sported a dome-like carapace.Three years ago, the Yale team reported finding some evidence of hybrids around Volcano Wolf at the northern end of Isabela Island, in amongst the native population of Chelonoidis becki.
Read rest here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16467397

sightings of orang minyak reported

2012-01-09T04:15:00.000-08:00

The Legendary 'Oily Man' Monster Terrorizes Malaysia

Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor

Date: 06 January 2012

Around Christmas, something unusual was seen in Malaysia, and it wasn't Santa Claus. Residents of the Kampung district of Melaka were alarmed over reports of the orang minyak (Malay for "oily man"), a bizarre monster said to abduct young women by night throughout Malaysia. The creature has been occasionally sighted for decades, but never captured.
According to a report in Malaysiannewspaper The Star, there were multiple sightings over the Christmas holidays. One eyewitness saw it "crawling up the stairs of the house, just like Spider-man. When it reached the top it suddenly jumped onto the roof. I don't think a human could do that. It then just disappeared... We can laugh and joke about it, but this is serious. All the families here have young girls."

Read rest here: http://www.livescience.com/17781-orang-minyak-malaysia.html

When did prehistoric marine reptiles die out?

2012-01-06T01:08:00.001-08:00

German marine reptile find rewrites fossil record

German experts have found a new species of prehistoric marine giant from a time when most of that family of reptiles were thought to have died out.The rare ichthyosaur find from the Braunschweig area, northern Germany, is 130 million years old, dating from the Lower Cretaceous era.Most ichthyosaur fossils date from the Jurassic era, millions of years before. The Braunschweig fossil revelations were reported in the science journal Plos One on Tuesday. The new type of ichthyosaur, discovered during roadworks in 2005, has been called Acamptonectes densus - "Stiff Swimmer"

Read rest here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16432364

virgin shark birth mystery

2012-01-06T01:00:00.001-08:00

Zebra shark at centre of 'virgin birth' mystery

A lone zebra shark in a Dubai aquarium has prompted scientific interest after laying eggs for the fourth year in a row which hatch into healthy offspring.Zebedee, who lives in the Burj aAl Arab hotel's aquarium, has never had access to a male shark but that has not stopped her producing numerous live offspring.
Philip Hampsheir reports from Dubai.

See video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16420848

Which begs the question :Does there have to be a breeding family of lake creatures in order for lake creatures to exist as some claim? Maybe in isolation, a female is all that is needed.

new ocean species discovered

2012-01-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

Researchers: 'Lost World' Discovered Around Antarctic Vents

by Underwatertimes.com News Service - January 4, 2012

OXFORD, United Kingdom -- Communities of species previously unknown to science have been discovered on the seafloor near Antarctica, clustered in the hot, dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents.The discoveries, made by teams led by the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and British Antarctic Survey, include new species of yeti crab, starfish, barnacles, sea anemones, and potentially an octopus.

Read rest see pics here: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=98613504271

'The Hoff' crab is new ocean find

Jonathan Amos By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

UK scientists have found prodigious numbers of a new crab species on the Southern Ocean floor that they have dubbed "The Hoff" because of its hairy chest. The animal was discovered living around volcanic vents off South Georgia. Great piles of the crabs were seen to come together. The creature has still to be formally classified, hence the humorous nickname that honours the often bare-chested US actor David Hasselhoff. It is, however, a type of yeti crab, said Professor Alex Rogers who led the research cruise that found the animal, and it will be given a formal scientific name in due course. Yeti crabs were first identified in the southern Pacific and are recognised for their hairs, or setae, along their claws and limbs that they use to cultivate the bacteria which they then eat.But the new species found around the vents that populate the East Scotia Ridge are slightly different in that they exhibit long setae on their ventral surface - on their undersides.

Read rest see pics here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16394430

Is here a lake creature in Lake Vattern?

2012-01-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Creature in Lake Vattern

Lake Vattern is in Sweden. It is said to be at least three-hundred and fifty feet (115 metres) deep and is Sweden’s largest freshwater lake. The lake contains both phytoplankton and zooplankton and several species of fish including the Vättern char (Salvelinus alpinus). There have been stories of a lake creature/ monster living there since the late 1800’s. It is reported that when in the water it has an upside-down boat shape( sounds like nessie). It is not so well known as other lake monsters in Sweden.Sightings include:

In 1897, an ugly creature walked out of the lake, onto the shore and terrified local swimmers. It had two short legs and later returned into the water.

In 1947 a Captain Egon Johansson of the tugboat “Hebe 3” was in the southern end of the lake on August 26. He reported that he saw two humps on the surface of the water. They were about forty-fifty feet ( 13- 16 metres)long and were about two feet( 0.6 metre) high. Then an airplane flew past and the humps vanished into the water.

In 1975, fishermen complained that “something large and unknown had ripped holes in their nets.”

On July 25, 2001, two people were watching the lake, when about one-hundred and fifty feet ( approx 45 metres) away, three humps appeared.

The two feet sighting is interesting and sounds more like a large seal of some sort, the feet being front flippers. The other sightings though are more typical of lake creature sightings.There was an investigation by GUST I believe but I have been unable to find any results. If anyone knows more please post.

weird stories about lakes and seas

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

Legend surrounds the mysterious 'Blue Hole'

Written by

Jim Peck | For NJ Press Media

It seems for centuries that humans all over the world have been obsessed with cryptids (legendary creatures) like mermaids, the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, dragons, werewolves, unicorns, and of course, our own Jersey Devil. I guess there is a fascination with the mysterious, romantic or frightening just beyond our reach .Although I’ve never seen the Jersey Devil, I was driving through the Pinelands years ago at 11 p.m. and saw, on an otherwise clear night, a line of mist lit up by my headlights going from the woods on one side of the road in a straight line across both lanes and into the woods on the other side. The memory of the incident has reminded me now and again of the place called “the Blue Hole”.This is a mysterious pond in Winslow Township thought to be an oft-visited place by the winged monster himself. The Blue Hole is supposed to be a bottomless pond (a portal to the underworld) with nothing living in it, where bathers often vanish.

Read rest here: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20120101/NJLIFE13/301010009/Legend-surrounds-mysterious-Blue-Hole-?odyssey=nav|head

For those who like looking back at previous years have a read of this:

UnderwaterTimes.com's Weirdest Underwater Stories Of 2008

by Underwatertimes.com News Service - December 29, 2008 16:25 EST

http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=87511062394

2012

2011-12-31T23:11:00.001-08:00

I wish you all a very happy new year and I hope 2012 is a successful year for everyone.xx

yeti film a hoax and bigfoot spotted in Kentucky

2011-12-30T01:31:00.001-08:00

Proof of Bigfoot? Not Yeti

MYSTERIOUS footage of a beast believed to be Bigfoot sparked a full-scale Yeti probe led by the Russian secret service – but turned out to be a hoax.

A video shot in a remote Russian woodland showed what appeared to be the fabled hairy beast - leading to claims the Abominable Snowman had been caught.Reports in the country – which is notorious for strange Yeti and UFO sightings – then said the creature was being held by the secret service

Read rest here :http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4026510/Proof-of-Bigfoot-Not-Yeti.html

Bigfoot in Kentucky? Witness reports '7-foot-tall man-like creature'

Roger Marsh, Paranormal News Examiner

A Kentucky witness driving along a dark residential street reports the vehicle's headlights lit up a "7-foot-tall man-like creature" that appeared to be a cross between a monkey and a man, according to December 29, 2011, testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database."It looked as if it had fur all over its body that was a medium red color," the witness stated. "What really looked odd to me was that it seemed to have a translucent aura around it. I had to focus very hard to see these details because it seemed like the creature was moving at a pace of nearly 50 mph."The witness was afraid, but had a feeling that the entity would not hurt anyone."It seemed scared more than anything else. I feel it was trying to hide or find a way home because it was running right toward a large wooded area. I lost sight of the object within 2-4 seconds of first seeing it because it was moving so fast."

Read rest here: http://www.examiner.com/paranormal-news-in-national/bigfoot-kentucky-witness-reports-7-foot-tall-man-like-creature

BIgfoot caught? and Finger not from yeti say scientists

2011-12-29T00:57:00.001-08:00

Bigfoot found in Ingushetia

In the woods of Ingushetia in the North Caucasus, border guards caught a strange creature resembling the legendary Bigfoot. The animal resembles a two-meter tall gorilla but unlike it stands upright and does not rely on its front paws. The beast is scared and is growling and making strange sounds, it eats mostly meat and vegetation. The strange animal was transported to a local zoo. After a few days it will be taken away by specialists and transported to Moscow.

INTERFAX

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/29/63087914.html

Infamous 'Yeti Finger' Flunks DNA Test

Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor

A finger long claimed to be from a yeti, once revered in a monastery in Nepal and taken in the 1950s by a Bigfoot researcher, has been identified after decades of mystery. Turns out, it's just a regular old human finger — albeit one with a very interesting history. The yeti is said to be a muscular beast weighing between 200 and 400 pounds and covered with dark grayish or reddish-brown hair. As in the case of its North American counterpart, Bigfoot, most of the evidence of its existence comes from fuzzy sightings, oversize footprints in the snow, or the occasional strand of funny-looking hair.But there has been one interesting piece of physical evidence of the yeti: a finger that was either bought or stolen from the Pangboche Buddhist monastery in the 1950s, depending on which disputed story you believe. It has been in London, among the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons, for more than half a century.

Read rest here: http://www.livescience.com/17670-yeti-finger-human-dna.html

the search for Mokele-mbembe

2011-12-28T00:38:00.001-08:00

The hunt for Mokele-mbembe: Congo's Loch Ness Monster

By Cordelia Hebblethwaite BBC World Service

The search for Scotland's Loch Ness Monster is world famous. Far less well-known is the hunt for a similar creature, Mokele-mbembe, which is reputed to live in the remote north of Congo-Brazzaville. But how strong is the evidence?"I checked maps, and the data on the maps was white. It said, 'insufficient data to delineate terrain'. Well that got me!" says Dr Roy Mackal, a retired biologist from the University of Chicago."It's the end of the world. It gives you a feeling of a surviving prehistoric time."In the 1980s, Dr Mackal led two expedition teams to the vast Likouala swamp and rainforest area of the Congo which is inhabited by pygmies, on the hunt for this mystery creature - Africa's version of Scotland's Loch Ness Monster.The Mokele-mbembe is reputed to be a large reptile-like creature, with a long neck, and long tail.

Read the rest here :http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16306902

happy holidays

2011-12-23T02:48:00.000-08:00

I just want to wish you all a merry and peaceful Christmas holiday. If there is any breaking news I will post it but other wise I shall be resting, feet up with a glass of sherry and a mince pie. Have a lovely Christmas everyone xx

is santa a cryptid?

2011-12-21T02:06:00.000-08:00

Do you believe in the cryptid Father Christmas ?

Is Santa Claus a cryptid?

You may laugh but think about the similarities between Santa and documented cryptids.

Cryptids tend to be seen in places with difficult terrain where they cannot easily be tracked or seen. -Santa lives in an icy wasteland.

Santa disappears and reappears. There are stories about bigfoot disappearing before people’s eyes and many cryptids are only spotted at certain times of the year when conditions are right .

Santa flies through the air on a sled with flying reindeer. There are many flying cryptids from thunderbirds to mothman.

Then there are his little helpers –the elves. They could be a descendant or offshoot of the Hobbit skeletons that were found in recent years.

He leaves gifts. There are old stories of wildmen who left food for the starving on their doorsteps.

Santa is rather hairy according to many depictions with flowing beard and locks. Ditto are many cryptids.

He has a distinctive cry-Ho Ho Ho. So do many cryptids including a species of giant bat that is said to make a similar noise.

Santa only exists in folklore stories, so do many crytids until people start to hunt for them. Nearly all cryptids from the Loch Ness Monster to the Yeti are first discovered in old stories when one looks back at the time line.

So Is Santa Claus a cryptid? Probably not as there is no eye witness testimony to back up his appearances that I am aware of (that does not include your parent in a red dressing gown and Santa hat and fake beard leaving presents at the bottom of the bed) but next time someone scoffs at your belief in cryptids, remind them they believed in Father Christmas once so don’t knock belief in the unknown.

what is Paddler?

2011-12-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Paddler is the name of the lake creature that supposedly inhabits Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. The lake is said to be Idaho's deepest lake at almost 1200 feet (400metres)and is 43miles long and just over six miles wide at it’s widest point. The creature has been described as over 20 feet long(6 .5 metres) and that it moves up and down in the water as it swims(undulates).

The first sighting was said to be in 1944, however there were also rumours that the navy were testing submarines in the lake.

In the 1970’s more stories appeared about a monster in the lake .In September 1977 a young girl was reportedly attacked by a strange creature near the Sandpoint City Beach.

Journalists called the creature the "Pend Oreille Paddler".

In 1984, an expedition to the lake by a North Idaho College professor , James R. McLeod, concluded that the creature was most likely to be a giant sturgeon.. While collecting testimonies McLeod noted that many people had reported seeing strange things on the lake possibly submarines.

The US Navy admitted to using the deep end of the lake for submarine research, albeit many years later . The International Submarine Engineering group (ISE) of Canada also used the lake to test the Pisces I minisub in the 1960's.

However the story doesn’t end there:

On Memorial Day, 1985, Julie Green and her friends set out for an afternoon on the Lake In the mid afternoon sun , the teacher from Coeur d'Alene reports, a large V-shaped wave crossed about 200 yards in front of her boat. "There was clearly something in the water ahead of us that was undulating, coming in and out of the water," she recalls. Green dropped her engine and gave chase, but the gunmetal-gray object, which rivalled the length of her 22-foot boat, soon outdistanced her.

Then in 2007 a photograph was published showing something that looked like humps surfacing in the lake.

So does the paddler really exist? There was speculation it was a story put about by the navy to cover their activities. A sturgeon is of course a possibility but in such a deep lake could there be something else lurking? Maybe the navy should use a minisub to find out.

There is a book on the creature by James R. McLeod, “Mysterious Lake Pend Oreille and its Monster”, 1984