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.

Cryptomundo:New Musk Deer Discovered in Nepal

Cryptomundo: New Musk Deer Discovered in Nepal

A new species of endangered Musk deer—differed from all three species found in the country—has been discovered in Mustang district.

Interestingly, the genetic testing (DNA test) conducted to identify the new species found that the gene sequence significantly differed from all other musk deer gene sequences in the global genetic database, indicating that the new member of the Musk deer family is a unique species discovered so far.

“The new species has brown body part with white portion towards the lower side and legs,” said Joshi, the researcher who used genetic tools on the pellets and tissue samples collected from Lupra village as a part of her Master thesis.

'We are trying to re-establish an animal that is native to the US' | Politics | Eugene News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KVAL CBS 13

Pretty cool but also disturbing. One question is: why? 'We are trying to re-establish an animal that is native to the US

Woodland caribou, rarely-seen creatures that with their antlers stand as tall as a man, are struggling to survive in the United States, precariously occupying one remote area of the Northwest as a final toehold in the Lower 48.

The federal government has proposed designating about 600 square miles in Idaho and Washington — roughly half the size of Rhode Island — as critical habitat in an effort to save this last U.S. herd of fewer than 50 animals.

Locals are for the most part angry over the introduction of caribou into Idaho, Washington and other states. If the caribou are protected at the cost of jobs and monies going to humans, then the animals are not seen as a precious thing, but an intrusive and disruptive element. Jobs,tourism, etc. affected by laws in place to protect caribou. Understandable.

On the other hand...

It's a wait and see situation right now; will the government designate areas for protection of the species or not?

Animal Sacrifice: Two Sad, Strange Events of Animal Slaughter | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

My new article for Monster Tracker:
Animal Sacrifice: Two Sad, Strange Events of Animal Slaughter | MonsterTracker.com since the year 2000 has been investgating cryptozoology, cryptids, and other mysterious creatures.

Two weird and very sad events, hard to read about, juxtaposed in animal news. This one in Ohio, a state that has its share of spooky, Fortean events in general: Ohio wild-animal killings renew call for ban on exotic pets - latimes.com.
The owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio, apparently flung open the reserve's cages, slashed open its pens and then killed himself. Dozens of wild and dangerous animals -- including grizzly bears, lions, tigers and a baboon -- were then free to roam the area. Most of them were gunned down by public safety officers.

Texas Cryptid Hunter: Are Deer Omnivorous?

An interesting report from Mike at Texas Cryptid Hunter on meat eating deer. With video and photos.

Texas Cryptid Hunter: Are Deer Omnivorous?

Black Deer in Texas

thanks to Lesley at The Debris Field for this item.

I would never know about this if it weren't for Forteans, like Lesley, who posted this link on her The Debris Field blog, for it appeared on the Buck Manager Deer Hunting and Management site, a site I would never visit. But it's interesting news, about black deer (melanistic deer) being seen in Texas. Black deer aren't unheard of, but according to the site are rare. The number of these black deer are increasing however, and why is a mystery. I can't help but see a connection between the increase in black deer and the "blue dogs" also called "chupacabras" in Texas (as well as other parts of the U.S.) There has to be, one would think, an environmental cause for these animals. A signal, that something is wrong, a signal us humans need to pay attention to.

It turns out Texas has more black deer in the area than other places:

Dr. John Baccus, director of the wildlife ecology program at Texas State University, has been studying melanistic deer for over 13 years now. And as it turns out, Texas is a good place to study the dark colored deer. That’s because there just happens to be more black deer in eight Texas counties than in the rest of the world combined!

Very interesting...

November Brings Plethora of Window Crashing Deer

Plethora of Window Crashing Deer Stories
November has been quite the month for news items from around North America of deer crashing through windows and doors, causing a lot of damage and chaos, as well as fright and confusion for both human and deer.

On November 10th, a deer crashed through a window in a Winnipeg school: Deer crashes through school window in Winnipeg:

Staff managed to contain a male deer after it crashed through a window beside the school's front entrance, said Terry Borys, the school district's superintendent.

"There are a lot of trees in the vicinity, and what we're thinking is this deer might have been in the trees overnight and with the increased activity around the start of school, it panicked and jumped through the window," Borys said.

Another crashing through the window deer episode from November 10th, in Ohio. See the video, with article, here.

A day later, November 11th, a deer “smased through a business window” in a showroom in Nebraska. Sadly, this deer was shot and killed by police, as it was “wedged between a wall and a bed.” Story here.

Earlier in November another deer was killed, after it crashed through a glass window on the DeSales University campus.

Another story, of a deer crashing through the windshield of a car:

A deer crashed through the car windshiled of a car in Minnesota:
ncredibly, Chris Blake of New Ulm, his wife and their 17-year-old daughter survived to tell the tale.

The State Patrol said the Blakes were blasted by the deer Saturday evening after it was first smacked by a Ford Taurus coming at them on Highway 68 west of Mankato.

The deer careened off the Taurus into the windshield of their Pontiac Vibe, went through the glass and then crashed through the back window.


There are many more items like this, from November and going back ... increased population of both deer and humans, human habitats ever growing and invading wildlife habitat, as well as signals that us humans aren't always noticing.

Related Animal Forteana posts:
Deer Are Stealing Xmas

Increase in Wild Animal Attacks

Elk in the City

Aggressive Deer Attacking Oregon Residents

Lola’s Deer: Deers and the Anomalous

Deer are Stealing Xmas

Here's another example of deer and human colliding: A Rogue Valley (Oregon) Christmas tree farmer says deer are causing damage to his crop. Other xmas tree farmers are having the same problem.

Larry Ryerson with the U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm in Medford estimates that deer have gotten to about 1,000 of their 10,000 trees. They say bucks can even ruin some trees beyond repair.

It seems there's been a "deer meme" what with reports of aggressive deer -- termed so because they're attacking humans on our own turf -- crashing through windows, chasing after dogs, etc. Despite commenting that xmas tree farmers still expect a good crop this year, even with the deer damage, the idea of deer causing trouble for humans seemed noteworthy enough to write an article about it, no matter how short.


My point here isn't that I'm not sympathetic to those losing their livelihood. I'mjust struck by the Fortean irony and juxtapositions of Christmas trees and deer as iconic symbols on the one hand, and a would be battle between human and deer on the other, as one tries to earn a living by ensuring the availability of one product (xmas tree) while fighting against another (deer) who has been invited, even though unintentionally, by the plethora of trees in its habitat.

More here.

Increase in Wild Animal Attacks

 "There are strange things lost and forgotten in obscure corners of the newspaper." ~ Arthur Machen

It seems we've been hearing about a lot of strange animal behavior the past few years; increases in some animal populations, like bear, wild hogs and deer for example, and an increase in attacks on humans by these animals.

As we know, as we humans expand our habitats, we are also intruding on animal habitats. Combined with a plethora of events: climate changes/global warming, decrease in food supplies, mange and other diseases are just some of the reasons for this. Animals become more aggressive, more used to, and unafraid of, humans, more aggressive due to hunger, disease, loss of habitat, etc.

Two recent events (one fatal) from the Pacific Northwest illustrate this almost apocalyptic aggressive animal behavior.

In Washington state, Robert H. Boardman was on a hike in Olympic National Park. He was killed by a mountain goat as he tried to get the goat off the trail as his companions had walked on ahead: [Mountain goat kills man in Olympic National Park]

Other acquaintances — Jessica and Bill Baccus and their three children — were hiking the same trail. When they reached the saddle at the top of the trail, they found Willits, frantic and cellphone in hand. Willits told them a mountain goat had attacked Boardman and that the goat wouldn't let people get near him.

Boardman was lying motionless farther up the trail, about 100 feet away, while the animal stood over him, Jessica Baccus said.
"The mountain goat was terribly aggressive," she said. "It wouldn't move. It stared us down."

Bill Baccus, a park scientist, had his park radio and immediately called a dispatcher. Because Baccus has spent a lot of time around mountain goats, he led the effort to try to lure the goat away from Boardman.
Three people spread out along a slope, shouting and pelting the animal with rocks, Jessica Baccus said. The goat, distracted by the reflective light of a hiker's silver space blanket, finally backed away after about 15 minutes.

Today, in Umatilla, Oregon, a bird watcher was attacked by a buck mule deer. Quentin Hinds was bird watching near McNary Dam. He began to take photographs of the deer, who attacked him. Hinds was taken to the hospital and treated and released.

It is mating season, as the article points out; [Deer attack sends Oregon bird watcher to hospital] people are urged to be aware of this and be respectful and wary of their surroundings.


There are so many odd stories, often downright strange and tragic ones, of animals behaving very unusually indeed. Sign of the times -- yet another signal from the earth, our environment, consciousness, that things are dreadfully wrong?


These stories remind me of the classic Arthur Machen story The Terror,[1917] where animals commit acts of murder upon humans. The story was a metaphor but regardless, it also stands on its own as an eerie portent.


Responding to aggressive wildlife, authorities and citizens also become aggressive. Again in Oregon, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Ashland encourage bow hunters to go hunting for deer. Some residents agree it's a good idea and something needs to be done to combat deer attacks; Ashland has had deer attacking humans and/or their pets as they walk their dogs, deer crashing through glass doors and windows, deer conflicting with humans on the street. . . (and I know it's in bad taste but I can't help but think of Monty Python here.)

Other Ashland residents are not welcoming of the bow hunting idea:

A handful of residents at the meeting said they didn't think Ashland had a deer problem and they were strongly against killing the animals.

"I have never had a problem with any of the deer," said Sallie Rose Sandler. "Is there no animal that can live without fear of humans, or do we have to kill them all?"

Cougars are another animal that are a problem for many areas in the country, including Oregon. Once unusual to see cougar in human populated areas, cougars are becoming more visible in urban areas. Just today an item appeared in the Register Guard about a cougar seen twice during the afternoon -- unusual time of day for a cougar sighting -- in a residential area. While this particular neighborhood is  "wild and isolated," it's still habitated by humans and, as the article points out, residents are worried because school buses pick up and drop off students in the area. We've also had recent reports of cougars seen in local parks, and, a few years ago, the Register Guard published a photograph of a cougar sleeping in a tree -- on the University of Oregon campus.

Odd Beams and Objects Caught on Trial Cams

Lon Strickler at Phantoms and Monsters has a good post on some weirdness caught by trail cams. Red glowing lights, strange objects, beams of light . . . and the unusual reaction of deer to those things. For Lon's post and images visit Phantoms and Monsters: Trial Cam Strangeness

The above reminded me of the strange beam of light that appeared to stop just above the ground caught on camera by Margie Alvarez in Stephenville, Texas, during the Stephenville UFO flap. (Other events came to mind, like the Skinwalker ranch, etc.)


In these cases; the ones Lon refers to, Stephenville, there is a lot of property available for "them" whoever "they" may be, to do their thing. Private property, rural, hard to get to, at night -- all good conditions for conducting covert activities.

I'm always interested in the reaction of animals to the anomalous; the animals responses are excellent clues -- and data -- in working towards figuring out what is going on.

Elk in the City

And I was just over there in that area earlier today! Missed it; more odd animal tales.
"Randy Pape Beltline" (recently changed the name from I-5 for one of Eugene's rich citizens. . .) is the freeway!  Fortunately, sounds like the elk is all right.

Elk runs through north Eugene neighborhood before crossing Beltline

By Jack Moran

The Register-Guard
Posted to Web: Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010 02:48PM

A bull elk ran through a Santa Clara neighborhood and ran across Randy Pape Beltline this afternoon, prompting a police search for the animal.

The elk reportedly swam to an island on the Willamette River, but later left it. Police at the scene said the animal was last seen in thick vegetation north of the river.

Read more in Wednesday’s Register-Guard.

Aggressive Deer Attacking Oregon Residents

Deer are attacking residents in Ashland, Oregon. Deer have been attacking humans and dogs; one crashed through a store window.

"Oh deer."

The message written on a boarded-up window at the high-end downtown clothing store Nimbus early this week is a sentiment many people share in the city, where dozens of deer roam.

During this summer's fawning season, which ends late this month, does have continued to cause problems in Ashland. One crashed through Nimbus' window Saturday and several have attacked people walking their dogs in recent weeks.

"Part of the concern is that deer in towns like Ashland have lost their fear of humans, and if they're not afraid of humans anymore, they're going to come closer and there's going to be more of these encounters. In reality, we need to be hazing the deer, by chasing them or spraying them with garden hoses."

Vargas and Don Robertson, the city's parks director, said their agencies have no plans to reduce the deer population.

Lola's Deer: Deers and the Anomalous

Another Trickster's Realm column for Tim Binnall's  Binnall of America, from April 2007.

Last Trickster's Realm column I wrote about my friend "Lola" who lives near the Oregon coast, and her odd experiences on their property which included a deer appearing from nowhere and running alongside her truck as she was driving on the road. 

As I mentioned in that piece, the part about the deer didn't feel right; there was something very unnerving about it. Just hearing Lola tell the story gave me a strange feeling, and when I told it to my husband, he too had a strange feeling. 

I spoke to Lola the other day, and asked her if there was anything new to report on the weird deer front. She said no, but that something strange happened in the house again, though she couldn't remember just what it was. She just knew it was very strange. That in itself is weird. 

As to the deer, she said she didn't remember the deer leaving. "I didn't see it go anywhere, run off" she said. "It seemed like it should have run off into the woods, or down the road, or something -- it just wasn't there."

She also said she was "really scared" and couldn't park the truck fast enough. She ran all the way from the truck to their deck, and up to their front door. Fumbling with the keys as she tried to hurriedly get into the house. "I was really scared, the kids were really scared," . . .  and none of them could really say why. A deer on the road isn't at all unusual. So why the intense high tension and surrounding anxiety? 

I told Lola about animals appearing in many UFO encounters and anomalous events; as sort of guides, or go between. There are many cases of deer appearing in these screen memories in the context of UFO events. 

Budd Hopkins, in his book Sight Unseen: Science, UFO Invisibility and Transgenic Beings writes:

The screen memory phenomenon is another pattern that I uncovered shortly after I began my investigations. A screen memory results when UFO occupants somehow substitute more palatable conventional imagery for an abductee's traumatic recollections. Instead of recalling unnerving alien faces with large, impenetrable black eye and gray, hairless skin, abductees have frequently reported conscious, pre-hypnotic memories of such things as five-foot - tall wingless owls, gray, hairless, upright cats, or deer with expressive black eyes that communicate telepathically. . . The idea that these images are not self-generated but are implanted in the minds of abductees by their captors is supported by the fact that two or more people in the same encounter saw exactly the same (impossible) five-foot-tall owl starring at them, the same pileup of six empty cars on a deserted roads, or the same telepathic deer.

UFO researcher Raymond Fowler discovered he had his own UFO experiences. Like many UFO researchers, Fowler himself experienced many unusual UFO encounters, including those containing deer imagery. In his book Synchrofile: Amazing Personal Encounter with Synchronicty and Other Strange Phenomeana, Fowler recalls dreams of deer, after experiencing bride episodes of missing time, and "clicking sounds.�"(Strange sounds, such as buzzing, clicking, etc. sometimes occur within UFO events.)

I dreamt that I was walking by an apple tree in the woods. There were several deer eating apples off the tree. They stopped and looked at me but did not run. I thought that was strange. Stranger still was when the larger deer walked over to me. It looked at me face-to-face and began nuzzling me. I do not remember any more of the dream. I wish that I could be sure of the clock and apparent missing time, but it is hard to remember. I had entirely forgotten about the dream of the deer until something brought it to mind after breakfast. ~ Fowler,

In The Custodians: Beyond Abduction, Dolores Cannon writes about UFO witnesses and anomalous animal encounters. She recounts "Eddie's experience with many animals throughout his life, including:

In another incident while he was hunting in the woods a deer allowed him to walk up and touch it. It had no fear element whatsoever. At these times he felt as though something happened to slow him down. It made him look at things differently.

An interesting account (and author's perspective) in UFO Religions, by Christopher Hugh Partridge, relates this experience of a Finnish woman who was abducted:

The experience begins one evening at 11:00 p.m. . . driving home from the school she saw, three times, a red UFO in the sky. After seeing if for the third time, she records that she felt sleepy but, at the same time, inspired. She also remember that ht night appeared extremely black and that she felt more alone than ever. Suddenly she encountered a thick, strange fog, in the middle of which she saw two white and shinning reindeer-like animals running in front of her car.

The account goes on to describe her encounters with humanoid entities.

There are many more accounts of deer not behaving like normal deer in UFO encounters, as well as other kinds of animals; notably owls, ravens, etc.

And there is the glowing raccoon -- the glowing, talking raccoon -- that Dr. Kary Mullis met in 1983. His encounter included missing time. Other highly strange encounters were experienced by other witnesses.

Who knows what is happening on Lola's property out there near the Oregon coast, and we can't say if her deer is indicative of anything UFO or paranormal related. Maybe, as I mentioned in the previous column, there is a Sasquatch tie-in, maybe it's UFOs, maybe it's general high strangeness, or a haunting. One thing for certain: something very weird is going on out there!