Rare calico-colored lobster spared the boiler pot, donated for research

Rare calico-colored lobster spared the boiler pot, donated for research

Scientists with the New England Aquarium were glad to receive Calvin as a donation and are pondering whether to put him on display before he can be shipped to Biomes Marine Biology Center in Rhode Island.

"Calicos are considered a rare color. They used to say 1 in 30 million," aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said. He added, however, that for whatever reason, several were discovered during the summer of 2009.
 

Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

A beautiful story that literally made me cry, about our interconnectedness with other animals.Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

Zoo lioness tried to maul toddler | Orange UK

This has been making the rounds; a video of a lion in captivity at an Oregon zoo pawing at a little child in a striped outfit. Obviously the lioness thought of the child as prey: small, striped, etc. The mother, who filmed this, has been quoted as saying she thought it was "hilarious." I think it's very very sad. It's things like this that cause me not to visit zoos anymore, and I even have a hard time with larger more humane places, like Wildlife Safari, where the humans are in cars, and drive through open areas to view animals. Literally, in that case, I have been afraid of the humans -- like the ass clowns who honked at the bears, in spite of the large signs everywhere warning visitors to not honk their horns at the bears. Or the idiots who drive through with their windows open, ignoring the signs once again, and waving their hands out ... ah, tragic news clip waiting to happen. But this: just so damn sad. Zoo lioness tried to maul toddler | Orange UK

Canibal Shrimp Invasion

Cannibal shrimp: The invasion has begun

---

TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast

Now they have a name for it: "grolars" or, alternately, "pizzly": TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast

"The disease which is turning British cats into living robots... and experts say there's no cure"

Creepy, surreal, and very sad: The disease which is turning British cats into living robots... and experts say there's no cure | Mail Online

One comment left at the article suggested microchips as being the cause, although, if so, why haven't more cats with this disease been seen in other places around the globe? Whatever the cause, very strange and very sad.

Indian politicians place $2000 bounty on vampires

Does India have a chupacabra in its midst? Indian politicians place $2000 bounty on vampires | Mail Online

Indian politicians are offering a $2000 reward for the capture of vampires which terrified locals claim have been sucking the blood out of their cattle.

Villagers around the town of Dharampuri in Tamil Nadu have been staying off the streets after sunset following the reports of strange goings on in the night.

Residents have painted holy signs outside their homes and written messages on doors begging the monsters, known locally as Ratha Kaatteri, to spare their lives.

But the reward is a way for politicians to say it's a hoax -- there are no vampires, no blood sucking creature as the Ratha Kaatteri. Criminals are working in the night, and the authorities know it:

Politician O. Jayaraman said: 'It is a big hoax. Anti-socials whose illegal night activities such as bootlegging and liquor brewing have been disturbed are spreading rumours and killing cattle.

'Since people are not willing to believe us, we have challenged them with this reward.'

Does Your Computer Have Crabs?

One Per Cent: Computers powered by swarms of crabs

The Aztecs and their 400 Rabbits | The Complete MesoAmerica… and more

A very interesting and cool blog from The Daily Grail:The Aztecs and their 400 Rabbits | The Complete MesoAmerica… and more

Frame 352: From Bigfoot Evidence: Sasquatch Conversations

Frame 352: From Bigfoot Evidence: Sasquatch Conversations

Mysterious Animal-Shaped Structures Are Oldest Known - Yahoo! News

Mysterious Animal-Shaped Structures Are Oldest Known - Yahoo! News

Manmade mounds shaped like orcas, condors and even a duck may be the oldest evidence of animal mounds outside of North America, according to former University of Missouri anthropologist.

Writing in the magazine Antiquity, Robert Benfer, a professor emeritus, describes a series of mounds, some more than 1,300 feet (400 meters) across, in coastal valleys in Peru. Archaeological evidence at the sites pegs some at more than 4,000 years old.

"It's going to shake everybody's views," Benfer told LiveScience. "The previous oldest animal figures were at Nazca and they're 2,000 years old."

UFO Magazine's Nancy Birnes on Paratopia (and lets David Jacobs have it, apparently)

Update: I just noticed I had posted this on the wrong blog, but I'm leaving it here anyway since it's so important:

UFO Magazine's editor Nancy Birnes is the guest on Paratopia, and lets David Jacobs have it -- and those that still support him. I can't wait; I'm just listening now. Promises to be excellent: Nancy Birnes episode 162

Nancy Birnes comes out swinging against the latest shady David Jacobs hypnosis tapes. Then she fields some tough questions from The Jer. Finally, she… takes over the show? Yes, that’s right, Nancy Birnes confiscates the show and interviews Jeff about his life as an experiencer. This is one heck of an interesting episode and it is an extended one. Our longest show yet, clocking in at just over 3 hours!

cryptozoo-oscity: who are the monsters?

Tabitca at cryptozoo-oscity writes about the use of the term "monster" in describing the unexplained, mysterious creatures, like Nessie. She makes good points -- we call them "monsters" when they're not. We debate their very existence but even while doing so call them "monsters." As to creations made by humans, Tabitca writes:

cryptozoo-oscity: who are the monsters?: The so called monsters created by scientists recently such as goats crossed with spider DNA and huge ants , are not monsters either. The monsters are those that made them. They did not ask to be made freaks of nature but no one treated them with the respect they deserved , and said do not to tamper with them.

We also make "monsters' out of animals that are minding their own business. The new program on National Geographic's  Wicked Tuna comes to mind; there's nothing "wicked" about tuna, it's just a tuna, living its life, until we come along and kill it to eat it. (And I do eat tuna, but I am aware of how it came to be on my plate and I am thankful and respectful of the tuna giving its life so I can eat it.) As far as the tuna is concerned, what is "wicked" are the humans chasing after it and killing it.

Definition of Zooform: Centre for Fortean Zoology on Wikipedia

Centre for Fortean Zoology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Zooform phenomena:

The third cryptozoological category consists of zooform phenomena. These are not animals at all, but entities or apparitions which adopt or seem to have (quasi)animal form. This is where we (at least to some extent) enter science fiction territory. In many ways, these elusive and contentious entities have plagued cryptozoology since its inception, and tend to be dismissed by mainstream science as thoroughly unworthy of consideration. Zooform phenomena seem to be a strange blend of paranormal manifestation and mythology.


However, Jonathan Downes, who first coined the term in 1990, maintains that many zooform phenomena result from complex psychosocial and sociological phenomena, and suggests that to classify all such phenomena as "paranormal" in origin is counterproductive. A good example of a zooform phenomenon would be the Owlman of Mawnan.

---

Echoes of Hunger Games and Mothman: Possible Disinfo?

The film version of Hunger Games has just been released, and as most of you know, the trilogy has been extremely popular. There is a man made created wasp creature in the Hunger Games called tracker jackers whose sting causes extreme madness -- if you survive, that is -- or a painful death. The following recent real life discovery of a giant wasp in Indonesia reminded me of the fictional "tracker jackers" in the Hunger Games:

Monstrous New Wasp Species Discovered in Indonesia | Trending Now - Yahoo! News: Discovered in the Mekongga Mountains on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the wasp is 2 1/2 inches long and greater than three times the size of an average wasp. Its jaws are so big that when its mouth is open, its jaws are bigger than its legs. Kimsey admitted she's surprised it can even walk with those kinds of proportions.

(More on the wasp discovery here.)

The scientist who discovered the wasp calls it "Garuda" which is a sacred enitity and, as Mothman researcher Andy Colvin writes in his work, he finds parallels between the Garuda and Mothman:

Kimsey has named the monstrous insect "Garuda," the national symbol of Indonesia that is part human, part eagle, and known as the "king of birds."

An interesting thing to note is that this wasp is not a bird, nor human, yet its nickname is "Garuda." The negative connotation of Mothman continues, in a round about way, as well as the Garuda. Insects often invoke a visceral negative reaction in humans. (I know they do in me, to the point of a literal phobia. I have vomited and almost passed out in the presence of some insects.) Although for Dr. Kimsey, it's assumed she has a love for insects since she studies them.

Another observation: The Hunger Games is seen by disinfo by some para-political, conspiracy researchers. The spin on the books is dismaying;it's being turned into nothing more than teen fluff vampire romance junk. But I loved the books and didn't realize they were written for "children" at first. I had overheard co-workers discussing the books and thought I would read them. So what is the disinfo, if any? (And I don't doubt there is.)  Basically, The Hunger Games and the other two books are anti-war books. Anti fascist. All sides are suspect: the rulers, the ones in charge of the rebels. Sacrifice upon sacrifice. So what message from this popular series is being spun, digested, and misinterpreted, and what message has been lost?

I will speculate that the romance of the individual warrior as well as the teen romance between characters are the segments put forth, and everything else pushed back. Is the spin focused on those things, while the grim poverty and totalitarian society of The Hunger Games is marginalized, serving only as backdrop? If so, is this part of the preparation, along with staged school events where mock crimes of violence are committed?

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: NEIL ARNOLD: The Satanic Ape

I am intrigued by this thoroughly spooky account of Devil's House on Wallasea Island:CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: NEIL ARNOLD: The Satanic Ape:

In the case of some zooform phenomena, it seems that we are dealing with negative energy as a conjurer of monsters. For instance, the county of Essex has several cases of weird manifestations presenting themselves, but they are forms which clearly are not of some biological or zoological order. At Wallasea Island there was once a place called the Devil’s House which sat on the bleak marshlands flanking the River Crouch. The house, was more for a farm-like abode and took its sinister name from its owner, a chap named Daville, although author Eric Maple notes that’, according to the old records it was known as Demon’s Tenement as far back as the time of Charles II.’

Trapping And Killing Wolves With A Smile…. Howling For Justice

So goddamn tragic and disgusting. Please share and do what you can; the blog Howling for Justice has many links to resources. Trapping And Killing Wolves With A Smile…. Howling For Justice

Wizardry & Strange Creatures - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

Wizardry and Strange Creatures - on  Coast to Coast AM

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: SO FOXES ARE THE NEW SCAPEGOAT

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ONLINE: Still on the Track: SO FOXES ARE THE NEW SCAPEGOAT Jon Downes writes:

In the past few years the tabloid papers have blamed paedophiles, immigrants, and benefit claimants for society's ills. Now they have a new scapegoat. It is the turn of Vulpes vulpes...

Indeed. Like those poor mange ridden (most likely) canines mistaken for "Chupacabras" and are shot on sight just for being there, foxes are the "new scapegoat" as Downes comments.

(Speaking of foxes, listen to these fox vocalizations captured by Stan Courtney.)

Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Selenium - NYTimes.com

Two headed trout? Why that's normal. More for your buck...
Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Selenium - NYTimes.com

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Yet the company’s report concluded that it would be safe to allow selenium — a metal byproduct of mining that is toxic to fish and birds — to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines.

---