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

Thursday, June 28, 2012

piglipstick: Anyone Else See These Things Coming?

The aftermath of genetic energineering. Mutated insects immune to the toxins bred into the crops we use, wear and ingest: piglipstick: Anyone Else See These Things Coming?
"Genetically modified crops are often designed to repel hungry insects. By having toxins built into the plant itself, farmers can reduce their use of environmentally unfriendly insecticide sprays. But as any first-year evolutionary biology student can tell you, insects are like the Borg in Star Trek: they quickly adapt. And this is precisely what is happening – but in ways that have startled the researchers themselves.

Snowy Egret in Eugene

On our walk at Delta Ponds (Eugene, Oregon by the Willamette River) a few days ago, we saw what we thought was a white egret. But, while it looked very much like one there were differences as well. We weren't sure what the bird was. The next day, the local paper had an article, with photo, of a snowy egret at Delta Ponds. So there it was; what we saw. Very cool. A beautiful bird.

According to the article snowy egrets in this area are not very common. We almost always see herons and egrets in that area; yet we haven't lately. Only the one snowy egret. I tried to get a good photo but I have a cheapo camera and the images didn't come out -- the bird was too far away. (The image posted here is a public domain image, not the bird we saw at Delta Ponds.) But fortunately, I found these images of the bird taken by a local photographer, Thomas Meinzen, who posted them on his Picassa account. 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Rogue Dolphin, Alone After Katrina, Menaces Lake Area

Rogue Dolphin, Alone After Katrina, Menaces Lake Area - Yahoo!A menacing animal is terrorizing residents of an upscale waterfront community just outside New Orleans. But it's not your run-of-the-mill beastly wild animal. Instead, it's a sweet-faced bottle-nosed dolphin and hospital officials say he's already taken a bite out of three people who have entered the waters of Lake Pontchartrain in Slidell, La.

BP's spill wouldn't have anything to do with this I wonder? But NOAA and other officials suggest the dolphin's behavior is due to a combination of factors: being used to humans, young male, in distress from pain, illness. . .

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Coyotes on the Beach

Oregon beaches have been experiencing coyotes on the beaches for awhile now. (I wrote about coyotes in the Newport area in May of 2010,) for Oreogn L.O.W.F.I. I've heard them at night; it's both a cool and an eerie sound to hear them so close, and right on the beach. But, like bear and deer in the area, the coyotes in human developed areas are a problem, for both humans and animals. There's the reason why bear, deer, coyote, etc. are "infringing" in human populated areas. The animal's habitat is being decreased, the animals move in. There are other reasons as well: for example, humans feeding wildlife, particularly bears. (A Yachats, Oregon women was found guilty of feeding bears on her property; she was banned from living in the area) as I also blogged on L.O.W.F.I.

On Thursday, a five year old was bitten by a coyote on the beach in Nehalem State Park. (Nehalem is on the coast.) Wildlife authorities shot and killed the coyote; the child is undergoing a rabies shots series.

Friday, June 22, 2012

MSNBC: Judge OKs federal seizure of dino skeleton

The obvious question: why is Department of Homeland Security, created in the wake of 9/11 to ostensibly protect us from terrorism,  want with a dinosaur skeleton? Judge OKs federal seizure of dino skeleton - Technology & science - Science - msnbc.com

Monday, June 18, 2012

Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

Nick Redfern brings a neat little comparative exercise to Mothman, using the pop culture classic film Mothra and specifics of the Mothman phenomena. Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman Vs. Mothra

And, just because Mothra is one of my favorite films, here's a clip!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Farmer blames heat rays for cows' deaths - New Brunswick - CBC News

Farmer blames heat rays for cows' deaths - New Brunswick - CBC News

Cattle deaths, and the rancher is accused of animal abuse, for of course any Fortean or otherwise esoteric explanation would be ignored. Who knows what the real story is. I don't know what is worse; aliens with evil intent abusing animals, or humans abusing animals. The latter (and I suspect humans are involved in cattle mutes in most cases) is, in my opinion, covert ops.

A cattle farmer from the Petitcodiac area is facing a charge for failing to give his cows adequate medical attention but he argues there is a conspiracy against him that involves heat rays harming his animals.

Werner Bock is charged with failing to give his cows adequate medical attention but he told a Moncton provincial court on Monday that someone is after him and his animals.

Bock accuses the RCMP and veterinarians of ignoring what's happening on his eastern New Brunswick farm.

He said he's lost up to 200 animals in the last 10 years and he's posted a video on the internet where he claims to expose the mystery. The farmer says heat rays are to blame for his cows’ deaths.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Cars collide with roaming cattle in zone around Fukushima plant-

Cars collide with roaming cattle in zone around Fukushima plant
FUKUSHIMA -- Several collisions have been occurring between cars and roaming cattle in the no-entry zone around the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, it has been learned.

According to the Futaba Police Station, of the 25 cases it has processed, 23 were at night. With street lights in the zone out, cars appear to be not noticing black cows and running into them. No injuries to people have been reported.

The first collision between a car and a cow in the zone was in Kawauchi in early July, 2011. Recently, there were collisions on National Route 6 in Tomioka between a car and two cows on May 31, and another collision there on June 1. According to police, there have been eight collisions in Okuma, seven each in Tomioka and Naraha, two in Namie, and one in Kawauchi. Nineteen have been on National Route 6. In all cases, the cars were driven by nuclear plant-related workers. Most of the cattle were black-haired, and half of them died immediately in the collisions.

According to the Fukushima Prefectural Government, after the nuclear disaster began, around 2,000 cattle in the no-entry zone were euthanized or otherwise disposed of. Prefectural workers and others have been catching cattle that escaped from barns or otherwise ended up roaming, but as there are also cattle that have been born amongst roaming cattle, the prefecture estimates there are over 200 cattle roaming in the zone. There was one case of a police car with its red light on being surrounded by cattle and attacked by bulls with horns.