ANIMAL FORTEANA


In the beginning of things men were animals and animals men. ~ Algonquin saying

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much — the wheel, New York, wars and so on — whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons." ~ The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Finding Bigfoot: A Lovely Comment

I posted on my blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch the other day a link to Nick Redfern's article Lair of the Beasts: Proof of Bigfoot. Nick muses on the question: if we find Bigfoot, then what? What would that mean, how would it impact all of us, including Bigfoot of course.  I wrote that, in the end, I hope we never do find proof of Bigfoot -- proof exists, for the witnesses that have been fortunate to see one, as to the rest, I fear for the aftermath and the welfare of said Bigfoot. Anyway, I thought the comment left by visitor "eunoterpsiac" to the blog was lovely, in part:
For me, I'm content to believe that we have a supernatural entity that is happy to exist on the fringes of human understanding, perhaps just to observe or monitor our progress (if we dare call it that) and maybe even step in to our reality once in a while to keep us on our toes. . . . if we accept that our hairy compatriots are not simple, corporeal critters, but a race of beings who must live here with us (even if it's in part an interdimensional relationship) then I think it's best to just share the woods with them respectfully and be thankful for any encounter we may be graced with.
You can read the full post and comment at Frame 352.

Whale in the Park

While walking along the Willamette River in Skinner's Butte Park a few days ago I saw a whale. Not a real whale of course, a whale play structure on the little playground. Actually it's been there for decades; I remember when it was a plain sand colored object.  Over the years it's been painted in various ways; this is the latest.



Thursday, July 28, 2011

South Korean scientists create glowing dog: report | Reuters

Mad scientists and Dr. Evils have a penchant for glowing creatures. Years ago the glowing green pig was developed. Now we have glowing dogs: South Korean scientists create glowing dog: report | Reuters

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Honobia Bigfoot Festival 2011 Schedule

Among the speakers and music at the Honobia Bigfoot Festival in Oklahoma: Thom Cantrall, author of The Ghosts of Ruby Ridge. (Which, after all this time, I'm just about finished reading. Just too many books out there; hard to catch up.) You can check out the schedule of events at the festival site: Honobia Bigfoot Festival 2011 Schedule

Odd Skeleton Find

I had an odd and creepy thing happen to me today. I parked in the large parking lot at the Goodwill. After checking out the Goodwill, I walked across the parking lot to go to the St. Vincent de Paul's, which is right next door. The Goodwill parking lot extends all the way to a little patch of grass, then the much smaller St. Vinnie's parking lot.

So I'm walking along, hot day, and see this skeleton just spread out on the blacktop, next to the patch of grass. You can see a bit of the grass in this photo:


The placement is very odd. What's it doing there, right off the sidewalk and close to the parking lot entrance by a heavily trafficked street? A decomposing body would very likely have been moved by any number of businesses around there. It takes a bit of time for a body to decompose, so I'd think it would have  been noticed long before it got to the state I found it in.  It looked staged, as if someone had brought it there. Maybe another animal dragged it there somehow. But, why? Overall, seems odd.

That parking lot gets a lot of traffic every day, lots of people going by in cars, and on bikes, as well as pedestrians.  The area is an industrialized area with lots of stores around; right across the street from a large grocery and department store, fast food places, etc.


When I looked closer at the photo it looked like one of the legs had been cut off, or detached. Either intentionally cut or by natural process, hard to know. And its other back leg bent and sticking up, then the long tail, which you can see in the first photo. At first I thought the leg sticking up on the left was a tail, but I think it's a rear leg. I'm not sure what this animal was.  At first I thought it was a cat, but what looks like a tail (on the left) is awfully long; too long for a cat.  Then I thought possum, but the head doesn't seem the right shape.


This is the first picture I took; sun was bright but the image has a spooky artistic  vibe, don't you think?

Say, maybe this is the skeleton of a chupacabra!

I don't mean to be flip, it's both creepy and sad, as well as a bit weird. A mundane explanation -- possum, say, -- but I can't figure out what it is. And it is strange how it got there.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Praying Mantis Man on Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena

As always, Lon Strickler brings us very excellent stories of strange encounters of all kinds. I really liked this one:Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena of one man's encounter of a praying mantis type creature:
Humanoid. Tall. 6 foot at least --no reference points-- but I sense 6'6" - 7'. Moving away from me back up the bank. (I am chest-high in the river) The first thing I see was the 'grasshopper' thigh, but bending forward like a human. Then the whole form. He is looking at me over his shoulder, moving up the bank, astonished, amazed. What, that I am in the water in a strong current, that I can see him? But yes we lock eyes and this creature is astonished-- I get the sense that he can't believe I am in the water, that he can't believe I have seen him, that I am not perturbed at all-- something of all three, I still don't know-- just astonishment and he is actually trying to get away from me and the water!


Triangular Head. Huge, slanted black eyes. Just like a Praying Mantis. It's whole body was gangly, nobby, ((Nobby!) but you could still sense it was powerful, and no-- I would not say it was a "Big Bug"-- it was definitely humanoid despite the mantis/insect qualities...

Barred Owl sounds

At the SKOOKUM QWEST: Barred Owl blog, a clip, and links, of owl sounds. Good to know what it is what you're hearing out there in the woods.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Entering the Orb: The Big Bird | MOTHMAN FLUTTERINGS

At my blog Mothman Flutterings, a post about something Jim said tonight about a possible cover memory:
Entering the Orb: The Big Bird | MOTHMAN FLUTTERINGS

Killing "Chupacabra" -- a Felony?

Thank you to The Anomalist, and Still on the Track for linking to my item on the young Texas teen who killed himself a "chupacabra." Skeptic Benjamin Radford (who've I had a contentious exchange over chupacabra in the past) has an article on this shooting at Live Science: In Killing Chupacabra, Did Teen Commit a Felony? | El Chupacabra and Paranormal Creatures .

Radford writes that it's possible the thirteen year old Carter Pope may face felony charges for killing the creature. We all know it's not a chupacabra, as Radford correctly points out (*my god, I'm agreeing with a skeptic! fancy that) this animal will turn out to be a canine. Why the boy, and others who've killed such animals misidentified with chupacabras feel the need to blast away when they see one is beyond me, except that some of us humans shoot first, ask later, when confronted with an unknown. Pope's shooting is considered animal cruelty under Texas law, as Radford comments:
Carter Pope may end up getting in trouble with animal rights advocates — or even the law. Pope, a minor, presumably had his parents' written permission to carry the rifle he used as required by Texas law. But just because a person sees an animal he or she doesn't recognize doesn't necessarily mean they have the right to shoot and kill it on a whim. The animal was not attacking anyone or anything, nor being a nuisance. And while the creature was probably a feral dog or coyote, it could be a neighbor's missing, sick pet. If the animal turns out to be a dog, Pope could potentially be charged with a felony. Texas Penal Code 42.09 on animal cruelty states a person who "kills, seriously injures, or administers poison to an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's effective consent," could be charged with a felony offense.
*Actually, I don't agree with him; Radford, while making good points about shooting an animal just because you don't know what it is, and that it is a canine, cannot resist going the skeptoid route and making snarky comments about UFOs, etc.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska?

Started to watch this, and was sorry right from the beginning, because I didn't like the two guys much -- too gung ho yee haw for my tastes. But when they started loading up on giant hooks and nets and guns, I turned off the TV. What, they're going to kill themselves a "monster?"

No idea what happened, but let me guess. They didn't catch one.
The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska? | The Upshot - Yahoo! News

Fear of the Unknown: Another Hairless Creature Killed | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

I've been a contributor to Dirk Vander Ploeg's UFO Digest for a few years, but this is my first post for his Monster Tracker blog. I hope to contribute many more! Fear of the Unknown: Another Hairless Creature Killed | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Cat Rescue Haven in California

 I love this! (Thanks to Skylaire Alfvegren for link.) Wonderful woman and crew who run a cat rescue in California. Go to here to vote for them; if they win, they get some very badly needed cat food. (type in Cat House on the Kings, in California, hit search, and they'll pop up. So far they're number one.)

The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska? | The Upshot - Yahoo! News

Video taken in 2009, airing now. Does look pretty interesting!

The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska? | The Upshot - Yahoo! News

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Owl Imprint



Amazing image of an "owl imprint" -- full image of an owl on glass. Was it alien technology that caused this magical like owl apparition to appear on glass? Or Mothman, maybe... no, there is a more mundane explanation: BBC News - Owl leaves imprint on Kendal woman's window

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

BBC News - Gorilla adopted by French couple

French zoo keeper couple bring home female gorilla at night: BBC News - Gorilla adopted by French couple

Firecrackers Startle Birds...

Is what they told us last December and January of this year when we witnessed bird falls. Startled by fireworks, birds fell from trees. We had a flurry of stories for several weeks, of mainly bird falls then, the stories just went away.

So we just had our 4th of July, and so far, no stories of bird falls.

Black macaque takes self-portrait: Monkey borrows photographer's camera | Mail Online

Great story, with pics:
Black macaque takes self-portrait: Monkey borrows photographer's camera | Mail Online