Doggie-chupie in Texas

In Texas, a recent sighting of a chupacabra:SPOTTED: Chupacabra sighting in San Antonio city limits on Bitters | kens5.com San Antonio Except, of course, this isn't a real chupacabra, it is Chupacabra, Version 2. The canine variety; those mange ridden, coyote looking animals (often shot dead) that, for intriguing folkloric reasons, have come to be called "chupacabra." Linked to item includes video clip.

SAN ANTONIO -- Margaux Huckabay said her brother spotted the legendary chupacabra on Bitters.

"At first he thought it was a coyote," said Huckabay. "It definitely looks weird."

"De-extinction"

Some scientists want to bring back long dead animals. (Scientists Want to Bring Some Animals Back from Extinction - Yahoo! Finance) (Odd this article was listed in the "finance" section.) This is called "de-extinction." Dinosaurs are not on the list of creatures these Mad Scientists would like to bring back from the dead, but not for the obvious reasons, one being: Jesus Fucking Christ, they're dinosaurs!! Did you SEE Jurassic Park?! but because the dinosaur DNA is too "degraded." However, "ethics" or really "criteria" are a part of the process for deciding what gets reconstituted:

They chose the animals using the following criteria: Are the species desirable — do they hold an important ecological function or are they beloved by humans? Are the species practical choices — do we have access to tissue that could give us good quality DNA samples or germ cells to reproduce the species? And are they able to be reintroduced to the wild — are the habitats in which they live available and do we know why they went extinct in the first place?

"Beloved by humans?" Dodos seem pretty cute to me but who can say; that seems hardly the point. And how can one possibly be sure a reactivated animal could be safely introduced into the wild? Astounding that there are conferences where mad scientists gather to seriously ponder such possibilities.

The article includes a list of potential animals on the Dr. Evil Wish List. Among them: the DoDo, the Wooly Mammoth, the saber-toothed cat, and that Fortean mascot, the Thylacine.

The Dodo and the Quagga, among others, were hunted to extinction by man. Will these animals be brought back, only to have that happen again? Will it be legal to hunt these animals? Is it moral to bring back animals just so we can use them for our enjoyment, for example, open "De-extinction canned hunt camps?"

BBC News - "No evidence of mermaids, says US government"

This may seem to be a fluff piece but I can't help myself, I sense an undercurrent (no pun intended) of disinfo and distraction. No, I don't mean to suggest mer-people literally exist. But in this article: BBC News - No evidence of mermaids, says US government it is made clear the National Ocean Service took the time to respond to supposed public inquires about the existence of mermaids after Animal Planet aired Mermaids: The Body Found. In the BBC news article, we have this quote from NOAA's Carol Kavanagh that the NOAA article (see below) "was written from publicly available sources..." and that is  due to their lack of a  "mermaid science programme."

Here is the official article from NOAA: No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.  It's a very short piece -- three paragraphs and concludes:

But are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found. Why, then, do they occupy the collective unconscious of nearly all seafaring peoples? That’s a question best left to historians, philosophers, and anthropologists.

I haven't seen Animal Planet's program. According to the press release at their site, they reference the Aquatic Ape Theory:

The Aquatic Ape Theory makes it possible to believe that while we evolved into terrestrial humans, our aquatic relatives turned into something strangely similar to the fabled mermaid. As evidence that humans once evolved into aquatic creatures, the Aquatic Ape Theory cites some of the striking differences between man and other primates and the many features we share with marine mammals, including the following:

• Webbing between fingers (other primates don’t have this) Subcutaneous fat (insulating from cold water)

• Control over breath (humans can hold breath up to 20 minutes, longer than any other terrestrial animal)

• Loss of body hair (hair creates drag in water) Instinctive ability to swim (human babies are able to do this)

• A highly developed brain, which depends on nutrients provided by seafood  Here's a blog about the program from Cryptozooogy the Science of the Unknown, with link kindly provided to the full program on YouTube.  
•  (Image found at Vintage Clip Art.)

Frontiers of Zoology: Winged Reptoids And More Flying Horribles

From Dale A. Drinnon, this truly fascinating article of Reptilian sightings from around the world:Frontiers of Zoology: Winged Reptoids And More Flying Horribles

A creepy yet intriguing area: the subject of Reptilians!

Cyclops Shark & Other Cryptic Creatures Make October Creepy - Yahoo! News

Sad, creepy, crypto:Cyclops Shark and Other Cryptic Creatures Make October Creepy - Yahoo! News

Bigfoot Research: Demonizing Long Term Witnessess | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

I have a new article at Monster Tracker:Bigfoot Research: Demonizing Long Term Witnessess

Frontiers of Zoology: Chupacabras SOLVED

In-depth, insightful, and very interesting, and goes way beyond the pop culture, pedestrian, and  non-esoteric attempts by skeptic Benjamin Radford:Frontiers of Zoology: Chupacabras SOLVED, by Dale Drinnon.

There's much there, and this is just a little bit from Drinnon's post:

For the most part, the traditional creatures later being CALLED chupacabras in Mexico are referred to under the blanket terms of 'Nahual' or 'Nagual.' This was originally the name of an Aztec magical practitioner and healer but more usually means the same thing as witch or demon any more. The term 'Brujo' is also used. The idea behind Naguals originally was that they had certain animal totems, which granted them powers and allowed the practitioners to assume animal form - any of a number of different forms. I suppose even hairless coyote would count. So more recently the term includes shapeshifters in general AND the totem power animals as well. The name also has a more positive meaning of protective spirits in animal form. In the case of the reptilian chupacabras, I am not certain as to what the native name of the totem power animal supernatural lizard originally was, but different recent references call it the King Lizard or King Iguana, Dragon or Dragon Lizard, Cipactli and possibly Chan. 

I chose the above because it resonated with me: totem animals, Naguals, shape-shifters. Note Dale's remark about shape-shifters: "...allowed the practitioners to assume animal form ... I suppose even hairless coyote would count." Interesting take, given the number of hairless canine creatures seen, and all too often killed, that fit this description. I've always looked at the two types of chupacabra from a more social-folkloric perspective concerning the way language (names and labels) change. But Drinnon's theories go further, and deeper, presenting us with a parallel esoteric, or living myth via symbolism in the shape of a chupacabra.

Video of "Chupacabra" Capture

Another hairless, blue-gray hued creature that's become known as "chupacabra" has been captured. No one can say what the animal is, (at times it looked like a fox, or some kind of strange little fawn, etc.) Fortunately, no one took a shot at it and they let even let it go. Which annoyed the hell out of the highly irritating hostess on the clip, but typical MSM patter and trivializing of events. That aside, (what else can we expect) interesting to have film of one of these creatures: Chupacabra Captured? Recap - Yahoo! TV

Data Mapping, Cryptids, ET and Us: Nickell Provides the Answers

The ever disingenuous Joe Nickell, self-described "paranormal investigator" debunker, has discovered answers to all myths of a crypto nature in the following article by Ed Grabianowski:  Paranormal Investigator Joe Nickell Reveals the Truth Behind Modern Cryptozoological Myths. (All of them? Impressive.)

Regarding Bigfoot, Nickell combines finding patterns in sightings data, his theories, and the usual skeptic based psychology: us humans love to make stuff up. We create myth and don't want to solve mysteries -- well, you know the routine.

"Bigfoot is our stupid cousin from the past."

That's humans for you, projecting our fears and dreams onto made up entities. As far as ET goes:

"The alien is the future version of ourselves."

Which alien version would that be? Reptilian? Bug eyed gray? Gigantic praying mantises? Good looking long haired blond Nordic Space Brothers and Sisters? Lizard Men? Hairy dwarf? I don't know about you, but that's a future self I want nothing to do with. (Well, maybe the good looking Space Sister but I don't look good as a blond. And I prefer the swarthy types to Nordic guys.)

Nickell looked at "convergent iconography" which led him to the conclusion we've simply created Bigfoot and aliens out of our own heads; the two are modern living myths. We did the same with Santa Claus and Jesus:

"The same convergent iconography can be seen in artists' depictions of Jesus Christ and Santa Clause."

There is some truth in the idea that we shape our gods and heroes and they ultimately morph into a sort of set version dependant on the culture. To suggest to a religious person however that Jesus, the BVM, or angels are just in their head, based on agreed upon cultural imagery is both insulting and missing the point. And while I am not a Christian or believe in any sort of monotheistic god that watches over us like a somewhat authoritarian parent, using Jesus Christ and Santa Clause in the same sentence subliminally suggests they are one and the same in terms of fantasy.


Grabianowski asks Nickell about cryptids that don't look anything like human beings. Using  "data mapping" once again, Nickell finds that reports of water monsters coincided with otter activity.  People mistaking otters for a sea serpent: "It really happens," (I love that) Nickell says. Of course it "really happens" people mistake things all the time. Not every weird light in the sky is a UFO, not all strange creatures in the forest are Sasquatch and so on. 


Nickell distances himself from combative skeptics and says he treats witnesses with respect; they're not liars or insane, just mistaken.

The article ends with a dismissal of paranormal programming which is "like wrestling" Nickell says. I'll agree with much of that sentiment, to a point. All TV is "like wrestling" when you think of it. For his arguments on how he's treated by producers as a skeptic, UFO researchers and other paranormal investigators can cite the same. It's about ratings, and whatever angle the show wants to present. Researchers and skeptics both can be damned; it's not about the individual ghost hunters, UFO investigators or cryptid chasers, it's about the producers, the station owners and their own agendas. Skeptic, paranormal investigator, or witness: they're all just the talent. Fodder for the program.

For some reason, most programs that deal with fringe topics believe that having skeptics on is "balance." To me it's just annoying. But it's not balance they want; it is, indeed, "like wrestling." There's an innate belief that conflict and tension is necessary for entertainment. Like wrestling.

From Lisa Shiel:The Myth of Bigfoot DNA

Author Lisa Shiel (Backyard Bigfoot, etc.) tells us why finding Bigfoot DNA is impossible: The Myth of Bigfoot DNA | Lisa A. Shiel

Minnesota: Mystery Roadkill Prompts DNR Investigation | KSAX.com

Comments in clip include speculation it's a human created experiment, a wolf, and, yes, a chupacabra:Mystery Roadkill Prompts DNR Investigation | KSAX.com

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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

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

Coleman Comments on Redfern: Cryptids Are Not Totally Elusive, Actually

At Cryptomundo, Loren Coleman comments on Nick Redfern's recent Monsters and Proof article on elusive cryptids:Cryptids Are Not Totally Elusive, Actually. Coleman doesn't think much of what Redfern has to say, not surprisingly. Comments that follow are interesting --- Redfern's thoughts have generated controversy.

I think Nick's views have been misunderstood. Coleman comes from a place where cryptids -- all cryptids -- are "real" in a flesh and blood sense. Like nuts and bolts UFO researchers, the idea of an "other" is not to be entertained. I'm not sure I agree 100% with Redfern, but I do think that some high strangeness events involving weird creatures do have a paranormal component. It is possible these entities are of both worlds, manifesting as physical beings one moment, behaving as phantoms the next.

Colemanm in his response, offers the standard definitions of cryptozoology and cryptids; maybe a new term should be offered so as not to offend the flesh and blood types who are stuck in their assertion that only "real" animals exist. The belief is that, while so far elusive, they are not in any way preternatural.

Nick responds to Coleman at Cryptomundo.
I found the following comment by Redfern very interesting:

One last point: some people (although certainly not you) seem at times to react with barely concealed hostility to my Tulpa-style views. But why? If Bigfoot exists, what does it matter if it’s some sort of ape, or something infinitely weirder that is connected to the human mind?

I think it's because (again making a connection to UFO studies)the idea there is more than just the concrete and tangible in our world conflicts with a worldview, a mindset, that doesn't allow for such "silliness." People are people, and our beliefs, including the pride some hold in stating they have no beliefs, color how we approach things. As to Bigfoot; those that think of Bigfoot as simply an animal (forgetting that we too are animals) places Bigfoot in the lesser than category. Bigfoot is a "giant ape," and so, still just a big dumb animal. Not as dumb as most, but still less than us. And since it's less than, we can do what we like with it. Bigfoot as a big old ape is familiar, we get it. It's something we can handle. Tulpas, shape shifters, aliens, fairies, Djinn, tricksters, are truly elusive and something we cannot get a hold of. It's gotten ahold of us, not the other way around. Much safer to deal with the flesh and blood thing we can grab onto, and possibly, control.

On The 'C' Influence: When a Creature's Not a Creature

Excellent piece by Erich Kuersten on science, cryptids, the way we perceive and why we think we see what we see -- or don't see, and so much more.

"I'm not advocating cryptozoologists would be happier taking LSD than hunting for skunk apes, but it might be a start."

The 'C' Influence: When a Creature's Not a Creature

MonsterTracker.com

UFO Digest publisher Dirk Vander Ploeg has a new site dedicated to cryptos, cryptids, monsters and beasties at MonsterTracker.com. 

Chupie Solved Post-script

In discussing this episode with my spouse, he made the observation that Radford was looking for something to "solve" the mystery, and found it by latching onto the fact the witness had seen the movie Species some weeks prior to her sighting. How much earlier did she see the movie? What other potential things could account for the chupie sighting? Did Radford go looking for this and pulled it out -- er, "lead" the witness in other words, akin to what UFO abduction researchers who use hypnosis are accused of doing? Asking the leading questions until you find yourself where you want to be in the explanation paradigm?

Interesting thoughts. But, as Radford commented on my first post on this topic, there are about "two chapters" worth of analysis that I am unaware of, not having read his book.

Strange Frequency: Beeping, Bird Visitation, Radio Noise

I had a very strange experience last night. I spent much of the night sleeping little; listening mainly to Coast to Coast and the news coming in on the earthquake in Japan, and soon after, the tsunami warnings. Earliest reports were warnings for Hawaii and the Washington and Oregon coasts; later, California and Alaska.

I was compelled to listen through the night because of the sheer tragedy and immensity of another overwhelming earth disaster, and also, because we had planned to drive to the coast that day (approximately fifty miles from our home) and spend the weekend there. I was also concerned about my mother and friends on the Oregon coast, as well as family living up and down the Pacific coast.  I tried to sleep, managed to doze off for a while but kept waking up, turning the little transistor on again. Throughout Coast to Coast local tsunami warnings came through, announcing beach and school closures for the Oregon coast.

At one point, a deep beeping sound woke me up. This beeping was deep within me; not from an external source, not an acoustic anomaly. It was inside of me. It became louder, and with it, I saw a large dark bird come flying towards me. All I could see was the shape, no details. Slowly flapping its huge wings as it came towards me, as the beeping got louder and louder. A glowing whitish-blue light or "halo" surrounded this bird. This bird vision was indie my head, not external, but it was definitely connected to the beeping sound. At first I thought the bird was an owl; and it might had been, but it seemed to be something else as well. What, I'm not sure. I had conflicting responses to this bird; one, that all this was pretty damn interesting but as the owl, or bird-creature, came closer, along with the light, I became a little scared and tried to shut it out. It sort of exploded when I did that, and I had the feeling this bird-like creature was both frustrated with me and disappointed that I chose to ignore it.

Then, I heard, again from that same, deep-within place inside me, the sounds of voices talking on the radio. So I told myself it was the radio; I still had it on, the ear buds in my ears. But the radio and ear -buds were both on the night table, and the radio was off.

I cannot describe how this was not a dream. It was not a dream that I awoke from, it was not a hypnogognic dream, it was not a dream then I awake to find I'm really still dreaming, ... none of that. None of that. I was completely awake. The radio talk within continued; I tried very hard to listen to make sense out of it but the voices were indistinct.

Thunderbird Synchronicity
After I wrote this, I visited The Anomalist to find this link to a post from Loren Coleman at Cryptomundo: Tsunamis and Thunderbirds, which explores the stories of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest and earthquakes:

It is amazing what Thunderbird folklore may tell us about past tsunamis, says Ruth Ludwin, a University of Washington scientist. Her research has found that Thunderbird and other cryptid stories and traditions “could relate to a large Seattle fault earthquake around A.D. 900 and specific eyewitness accounts linked to a mammoth 1700 earthquake and tsunami in the Cascadia subduction zone.”

“Along the way, I picked up a lot of stories about landslides,” she said. But she couldn’t find anything that seemed to match the 1700 event, until she took a closer look at the story of Thunderbird and Whale.
“It’s a story of the underworld versus the over-world,” Ludwin said.
The Whale was a monster, killing other whales and depriving the people of meat and oil. The Thunderbird, a benevolent supernatural being, saw from its home high in the mountains that the people were starving. The great bird soared out over the coastal waters, then plunged into the ocean and seized the Whale.
A struggle ensued first in the water, the tribal tale says. “The waters receded and rose again. Many canoes came down in trees and were destroyed and numerous lives were lost.”
The Thunderbird eventually succeeds in lifting the evil Whale out of the ocean, carrying it “high into the air (and then) dropping it to the land surface at Beaver prairie. Then at this place there was another great battle.”

On the Coast
After phone calls back and forth and following news reports we decided to drive to the coast, which turned out to be a beautiful drive. The tsunami warnings for this area have been lifted. As I'm typing this I'm looking out at the shore, listening to the ocean.

Another Animal Washes Up on Long Island

Lon Strickler at Phantoms and Monsters shares photos that were sent to him of an animal washed up on Long Island. A dog, or something else? Even if it is a dog or some other mundane creature (but, with six toes, as Lon points out) it is beyond coincidence creatures are found in that area. Where are they coming from?
Phantoms and Monsters: Paranormal, UFOs, Cryptids and Unexplained Phenomena

From Mysterious Universe:Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished? | Mysterious Universe

Micah Hanks writes on the chupacabra: Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished? I've posted here and on my Sasquatch blog Frame 352 about the trigger happy people in the U.S. who happily blast away at creatures they think might be the "chupacabra." Of course, as I and others have pointed out many times, the chupacabra is a spiny backed, red eyed, high jumping creature of the Fortean kind. Stories of the blood sucking cryptid came out of Puerto Rico, migrated to Mexico, Florida, elsewhere in the states and South and Central America, retaining its eerie high strangeness nature. No one spoke of mange ridden canines, or other mundane animals. Until, it seems, maybe three years ago or so, where reports of the latter creatures came in, mainly from the southwest but other states as well. People persisted in calling these poor creatures "chupacabra" and killed one as soon as they saw one.

So now the meme has been firmly planted: chupacabra of the true cryptid high strangeness variety, with all its conspiratorial theories -- government projects gone horribly awry, alien pets, inter-dimensional travelers, etc. -- are forgotten, and blue-gray skinned, hairless canine type creatures, probably foxes and or coyotes, etc. with mange or some type of disease have replaced the chupie of legend.

The fear persists however. Fear at seeing something unfamiliar. And so naming it with a handy pre-labeled moniker (chupacabra) and insisting the creature is unknown, a strange interloper, gives one justification for kill first, ask later.

As Micah correctly points out, the media that gladly reports on these stories, and the people that shoot away, are the same ones who laugh at the subject of cryptids, cryptozoology, and the like. Hanks quotes from a recent Fox "news" segment on a recent killing of a "chupacabra"

The legendary chupacabra has been spied, shot and killed — will bigfoot be next?

And rightfully points out the disgusting exploitative implications:

Wonderful to see that some odd-looking little creature (likely a possum, or perhaps a varmint of some sort, as we’ll get to in a moment) has been shot and killed, rather than the diminutive, lizard-like little monsters from the early Puerto Rican reports back in the 1990s. To be clear, this is not a “chupacabra” in the truest sense by any means. However, before we go any further with the report from today, is it too much to ask also that the word “Bigfoot” be capitalized? To quote Loren Coleman, author of Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America, since “words like Sea Serpent, Nessie, Bigfoot, Yeti, and related forms all have not been technically ‘accepted’ by systematic zoology, as of this date, the capitalized form (should) be employed.” (Curiously, the same does not typically apply to the use of the term chupacabra in Fortean literature, hence my use of the lower case… but I digress)

Startling Chupacabra Kill, or Merely Another Varmint Vanquished? | Mysterious Universe
Thank you Lesley at The Debris Field for link.