Japanese whalers to face new enemy in 'Godzilla'

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society battles whaling with Godzilla:
Japanese whalers to face new enemy in 'Godzilla'

Dolly the Sheep 'reborn' as four new clones created - Telegraph

Dolly never left us; she lives on, in scientific Dr. Evil terms, in the "quads" -- four sheep with Dolly genes.

Dolly the Sheep 'reborn' as four new clones created

A Man And His Hobby

One scientist's hobby: recreating the Ice Age:

CHERSKY, Russia – Wild horses have returned to northern Siberia. So have musk oxen, hairy beasts that once shared this icy land with woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Moose and reindeer are here, and may one day be joined by Canadian bison and deer.

Later, the predators will come — Siberian tigers, wolves and maybe leopards.
Russian scientist Sergey Zimov is reintroducing these animals to the land where they once roamed in millions to demonstrate his theory that filling the vast emptiness of Siberia with grass-eating animals can slow global warming.

"Some people have a small garden. I have an ice age park. It's my hobby," says Zimov, smiling through his graying beard. His true profession is quantum physics.

Brown Pelicans on the Oregon Coast

This is a sort of update to my previous post on the pelican sighting in Yachats. According to this site, brown pelicans migrate from California to the NW then leave the NW before the storms hit. But very recently, some pelicans have decided to stay in the PNW and not migrate:

Until recently, it seemed safe to say that the pelicans arrived in June and left in September. That was before the summers of 2008 and 2009, when they flew in massive flocks and roosted by the hundreds, even thousands, in the rocks and bays of the Oregon coast. One observer, in July 2009, counted 22,000 pelicans on East Sand Island, in the Columbia River.

Then, in the winter of 2009-10, some pelicans chose not to migrate at all. An estimated 1,000 pelicans stayed on the Oregon Coast until the early spring, when they began to sport their breeding plumage. Some biologists wondered if they might establish a new breeding colony here in Oregon, 1,000 miles north of their usual rocks in sunny southern California.

Brown pelicans hanging around the Oregon coast concern some biologists. The following is from a January, 2010 article; Pelicans Lingering on Oregon Coast:

The flocks of about 20,000 brown pelicans that live on the Oregon coast in summer usually fly south before winter. But during the past three years, they've lingered -- perhaps another sign of climate change.

"I think it does have to do with big picture eco-change," said Deborah Jaques, a wildlife biologist in Astoria who contracts with the state and federal government. "They're a good indicator of that, but we don't have enough data yet."

And from March of this year; Brown Pelicans won't fly south from Oregon coast and that worries scientists:

Biologists are worried. Birds have starved to death and been pummeled by storms. Scientists are also perplexed about why they've altered their habits. Climate change could be a factor -- no one really knows for sure.

But last week, birders counted dozens on the coast. Lowe said there have been sightings of 60 in Newport, 25 at Charleston and seven in Depoe Bay.

"Maybe some of them will survive the spring," he said. "I haven't heard of any moralities. They haven't looked good for a long time, but they continue to hang in there."

Image: public domain

Omens on the Coast

Of dead birds, pink starfish, and Stonefield Beach . . .

We had a wonderful time on the coast over Thanksgiving. We stayed in Yachats, and took a lovely, if a bit spooky, walk on the beach. This particular beach is one in front of the motel (The Silver Surf) where we stayed, and very different from the surrounding beaches. That's one of the things I enjoy about the Oregon coast: it's diversity within a small area.

There isn't much area between ocean and where property sits. You really have to be aware of when the tides come in or you're in trouble. We saw several of these little niches or "cave-lets" as Jim called them; little grottoes within the sandstone. Hide aways for Bigfoot? :) But as always, when exploring the coastal area, my thoughts turn to Bigfoot!

A pink sea-star washed up on the shore, which is not necessarily unusual, but it reminded me of the odd story back in October back about the hundreds of pink sea-stars washing up in the area. It's been a few years since I'd seen sea stars washed up on the beach, this was my first one in a long time.

It's not unusual to see dead birds on the beach either; I often come across a dead gull or some other type of bird while walking on the beach. But this time, I found four dead birds: three gulls and one crow, in a sort of curved row. Very odd to see so many birds in the same spot like that; in a long line, about five feet from each other. The next day, about a quarter mile from the motel, we saw a gull standing in the middle of the highway. Birds always fly off when you get close, but this gull just stood there, and Jim had to swerve to avoid hitting it. The gull was standing over -- and eating -- a gull carcass. About an hour later, as we were driving back, we saw what we assumed was the same bird, dead on the road, near the cannibalized gull.

I also had the joy of watching a pelican hover, swoop and hunt above the sea, among all the gulls. At first we didn't know what we were looking at; one very large dark bird among all the whitish gray gulls. Was it a large gull, an osprey? We couldn't tell at first, then realized it was a pelican. I'd seen pelicans before of course, but usually, they're just sitting around. I'd never seen one fly about and "fish" before. I don't know, but it seems like it was unusual to see it by itself; I've always seen pelicans in flocks.

I had wanted to explore Stonefield Beach; but when we turned onto the drive we found a sign announcing  that the park was closed. Very interesting; locals, according to this article, are annoyed at tourists in the area but I find that a strange response. The whole coast is a tourist area, particularly around there; plenty of areas to hike, hunt, fish, explore. I didn't notice other beaches in the area that were closed. It's possible Stonefield was closed for other reasons having to do with safety; I can't see authorities giving in to locals who might complain about peole on the beach. If that were true, the whole coast would be closed down. My interest in the checking out that area has to do wtih local lore about UFOs, aliens, and other high strangeness.

We have a great time, and the motel we stayed at was very nice but we had some odd moments of electrical high strangeness. (Not a complaint at all, just observation.)  The phone in the room kept beeping; we finally had to disconnect it. My camera did something it had never done before; I went to turn it off, and all this static happened; lots of weird bands and a kind of strobing effect. WiFi was out, but that's not unusual on the coast; I did get it fine the next day, to my surprise, because it was much stormier this morning than it had been the last two nights.  A light wouldn't come on at all, we gave up, but the next day, it was fine and  came on with no trouble. Topping things off, I found the strangest message on my answering machine when I got home; electronic buzzings and beepings, a computerized voice telling me I was being sent a text message on my land line, a string of numbers, and it wasn't from anyone I know, yet did have something to do with an interest of mine, though no one I know who's aware of that interest  has my land line number... very odd.

Related posts
Stonefield Beach on Oregon L.O.W.F.I.
On Orange Orb: Oregon Coast: Bird Omens, Sky Weirdness

Korean Cryptids

Loren Coleman at Cryptomundo has a post on Korean cryptids.

High Desert Musings: World's Largest Owl and More Inspire, Amaze

A neat entry on the Eurasian eagle owl on High Desert Musings:

High Desert Musings: World's Largest Owl and More Inspire, Amaze: "Aurora, the world's largest owl, is making her debut this week at our new Owl Legends show and visitors are raving. Meeting this Eurasian e..."

Nick Redfern on Crypto-Rats at Roswell; Areas of Animal Weirdness

Strange connections; for example, on the heels of the recent radioactive mouse found at the Hanford nuclear site,  Nick Redfern has a fantastically juicy Fortean crypto article about "crypto rats" at Roswell.  This is just a great read; something so bizarre it even "flummoxed" Nick, and I would guess he's not easily flummoxed. As he writes:

... the following, which is beyond any shadow of doubt one of the strangest stories I've ever heard - and, I can say for certain, I've heard some very strange ones!

The story concerns "crypto-rats" at Roswell:

... a pack of large, rat-like animals, that appeared to be very intelligent, moved and acted in group-fashion, and that were highly vicious and very weird. And that was about it: a fragmentary story of truly weird proportions.

This reminds me of a Dean Koontz short story; I don't recall the name of the story, I think it appeared in his collection of short stories, Strange Highways, about highly intelligent rats (or mice, forget which) with great strength and almost supernatural abilities who escape from the lab (military, I want to say, but it's been awhile since I read the story) and invade a nearby farmhouse.

Another comment Redfern made in his post I found interesting:
...interesting stories about large, exotic cats seen around Texas, a tale of a giant-catfish, and several more accounts of out-of-place or over-sized animals in the Lone Star State.

And, as Nick points out in his story of the Roswell crypto-rats, the rats were sent to Carswell, Texas. Other animal weirdness as well; I just posted here about the high number of black deer seen in Texas.  

As Nick writes, Texas is home to a lot of animal weirdness!

(hat tip to Boing Boing for the cover art image)

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...

Radioactive Mouse Found at Hanford

A couple of weeks ago, a radioactive rabbit found on the Hanford nuclear reservation; now they've found a radioactive mouse. Radioactive mouse hunt at Hanford, from the Tri-City Herald:

RICHLAND, Wash. -- After catching a radioactive rabbit just north of Richland, Hanford workers now are on the hunt for a radioactive mouse.
Radioactive mouse droppings have been found in the same area where radioactive rabbit droppings were found earlier this month. About 60 mouse traps have been set, but the two mice caught so far have not been contaminated.

Both articles stress that there's no danger; from the first article from the Tri-City Herald on the radioactive rabbit:

but there is no sign any people were exposed to the animal . . . 

and:

. . . workers with the Office of Radiation Protection have been searching for contaminated rabbit droppings. None have been found in areas accessible to the public, regional director Earl Fordham said Thursday.  

From today's item on the radioactive mouse:

The Washington State Department of Health is monitoring the situation, but does not believe there is a danger to the public...

(Doesn't "believe" there's danger? Reassuring.)

Fox urine used by Hanford workers to discourage animals from entering the contaminated area, along with

"steel plates to cover identified potential areas of contamination."

(Love that: "potential" bits of land containing dangerously toxic materials.)

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

Frame 352: Levels of "Intelligence", Supernatural Sasquatch, and the No Kill/Kill Debate

Frame 352: Levels of "Intelligence", Supernatural Sasquatch, and the No Kill/Kill Debate

Frame 352: On UFOs, et al: Stan Johnson Encounters a Sasquatch

Item up at my blog Frame 352, commenting on a story at the UFOs, et al blog about Stan Johnson:
Frame 352: On UFOs, et al: Stan Johnson Encounters a Sasquatch

Forget Pink Plastic Piggy Banks: Get the Real (Dead) Thing

Animal activists, as well as just, well, sane people, are creeped out by TheCheeky.com's offering of a piggy bank. (See Animal Activists Aflutter Over Real-Piglet Piggy Bank.) New take on a classic and iconic "toy" -- this one is a real pig. A dead pig, er, piglet, one that's been properly taxidermied. And they cost only $4,000.00 apiece. 

The company insists they find piglets that have died of "natural causes," and that's partly why the price tag is so high. Takes time to find a pristine piglet newly dead from natural causes.


The Winnipeg Humane Society commented that the bank is "a particularly callous and demeaning exploitation of a baby animal's dead body."

Again, the company insists no piglets are killed or abused, and the company seems baffled by the outcry, misunderstanding the general aura of Dr. Evil Gratuitous creepiness about the whole thing:

For some reason, people think we're breeding pigs with slots in their backs," he said. "Either these people are kids, or they're really, really special adults."

Hart, one of the founders of the company, is not for animal cruelty and agrees with animal welfare activists:

"It's important for people to back up animals, who can't speak," he agreed, "but we're not killing any animals."
 

But back to that creepy vibe; it seems Hart and his partner Ryan McCormick don't get it, or, maybe are just misunderstood in their twisted sense of humor view of the world, for another one of their products are "Glory Hole stickers." These tasteful items can be used thusly:

The stickers can be slapped on the walls of bathroom stalls to give the impression that the occupant is being watched.

At least they don't cost $4,000.00. I don't think. Unless they're made from pigskin maybe.

Frankenfish: Animal Drug

Frankenfish may be a pop culture catch phrase that elicits images of a Simpson's episode, but it's a serious area of concern for all of us. This artificially manipulated super salmon speaks to our consumerism, our greed, our insatiable appetites -- literally and figuratively. Global control of our food supply and quality, profits, and control of us. The latter may be entering the paranoid conspiracy realm, but so be it. Private corporations having major say in what goes in our bodies (swallow a chip lately, anyone?) without our input, and without our knowledge.

In June of this year I posted on my blog Octopus Confessional,   about "Frankenfish" in 'Dr. Evils Mess With Fish':

While many no doubt see this as a good thing, I find it chilling. Maybe I'm just too paranoid in my old age. I love salmon, so who wouldn't want bigger and more? Not me, I don't trust it, and it is so wrong on many levels. The following New York Times article Genetically Altered Salmon Get Closer to the Table, gives us the happy news about genetically messed with salmon, still to be approved by the FDA.

The developer of the salmon has been trying to get approval for a decade. But the company now seems to have submitted most or all of the data the F.D.A. needs to analyze whether the salmon are safe to eat, nutritionally equivalent to other salmon and safe for the environment, according to government and biotechnology industry officials. A public meeting to discuss the salmon may be held as early as this fall.

This Giant Salmon was developed by the happy sounding titled "AquaBounty Technologies" which raises the Giant Salmon (a mix of the Atlantic, Chinook and pout salmon) in fish farms.

If approved and the Giant Salmon clears various environmental and other hurdles, other genetically modified animals will be offered to us, such as the "enviropig."

The FDA isn't treating the Giant Salmon like food, exactly:

Under a policy announced in 2008, the F.D.A. is regulating genetically engineered animals as if they were veterinary drugs and using the rules for those drugs. And applications for approval of new drugs must be kept confidential by the agency.

Critics say the drug evaluation process does not allow full assessment of the possible environmental impacts of genetically altered animals and also blocks public input.

“There is no opportunity for anyone from the outside to see the data or criticize it,” said Margaret Mellon, director of the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. When consumer groups were invited to discuss biotechnology policy with top F.D.A. officials last month, Ms. Mellon said she warned the officials that approval of the salmon would generate “a firestorm of negative response.”

Some within the infra-structure are well aware of the politics and implications involved. In an understatement to be sure, an individual who wants to remain anonymous said:

Government officials and industry executives say the F.D.A. is moving cautiously on the salmon. “It’s going to be a P. R. issue,” said one government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the issue.

Genetically modified foods do not have to be labeled; consumers apparently don't have the right to know.

Foods must be labeled, it says, only if they are different in their nutritional properties or other characteristics.

 Ignoring, among other things, that altering and modifying foods, splicing them with say, glowing fish or spider webs, affects the "nutritional properties."

In a display of spin and topsy turvy thinking, AquaBounty representative Mr. Stotish says he's not against "voluntary labeling" but gee, it's not up to him:

but the matter was not in its hands because it would only be selling fish eggs to fish farms, not grown salmon to the supermarket.

He said the company had submitted data to the F.D.A. showing that its salmon was indistinguishable from nonengineered Atlantic salmon in terms of taste, color, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, proteins and other nutrients.

“Our fish is identical in every measurable way to the traditional food Atlantic salmon,” Mr. Stotish said. “If there’s no material difference, then it would be misleading to require labeling.”

And finally, no need to fear the impact of  Giant Salmon on the environment, because all the fish are:

female and sterile, making it impossible for them to mate.

Today's news brings us the following: From 10 Freakiest Things About Frankenfish

Obama's FDA is regulating genetically engineered salmon, a genetically modified organism (GMO) that is the first of its kind, not as an animal, but as an animal drug. Normally, a veterinary drug would be used for health purposes, but there's no therapeutic benefit associated with jacking up an Atlantic salmon with the genes of a Chinook salmon and the eel-like ocean pout to make it grow twice as fast. On the contrary, genetic engineering increases the salmon's mortality, disease and deformity. So, why would the FDA treat a the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption like a drug? The idea came from the biotech industry. They knew that the FDA's animal drug process would keep companies' "proprietary" information secret, while limiting public participation and downplaying food safety concerns. Genius.

The above is from a slideshow of Frakenfish related facts and links about the FDA, genetically modified foods, engineered DNA, and the surreal reasoning behind laws governing such.

From slide 3; Frankenfish DNA Could Change the Bacteria in Your Gut:

A human study conducted by the UK's Food Standards Agency found that consuming genetically engineered soy can result in "horizontal gene transfer," where the bacteria of the gut takes up the soy's modified DNA. With GMO salmon, the bacteria of our digestive tracks could take up the engineered salmon genes, but the FDA isn't looking into whether this would happen or how it might effect our health.

And the afore mentioned surreal realm of regulations and laws: slide 7: If It Swims Like a Salmon, FDA Says its Safe to Eat. Slide 6 informs us that AquaBounty, the company hoping to control sales of altered salmon, is the place where the FDA has gathered its data on the safety of Frankenfish salmon:

The FDA's food safety review of GMO salmon consists of collecting data produced by AquaBounty, the company that wants to sell it. Not surprisingly, that data is seriously flawed. * AquaBounty did not always segregate, or even collect, data specific to their AquAdvantage GMO Salmon. And, FDA did not require AquaBounty to produce data in the actual conditions under which the salmon will be commercially produced, so we don't have food safety data on the Panama-raised, triploid, monosex AquAdvantage Salmon that people will be actually be eating if the FDA grants approval. * FDA did not require AquaBounty to show that AquAdvantage and normal salmon were similar when raised under the same conditions. AquaBounty's food safety data for genetically engineered salmon did not have to match data for its control salmon. [For the rest go here.]

Besides the overall bizarro world, surreal nature of all this, along with the greed, is the sheer arrogance of the FDA and others promoting shoving Frakenfish upon us:

The FDA notes evidence of "increased frequency of skeletal malformations, and increased prevalence of jaw erosions and multisystemic, focal inflammation" in the tissues of GMO salmon. Most people wouldn't be too surprised to learn that genetic engineering can mess a fish up. What might shock you is that the FDA dismisses these findings as "within the range observed in rapid growth phenotypes of non-genetically engineered Atlantic salmon." [ Slide 9]

At the risk of sounding like a paranoid Tea Party-Bagging Illuminati wacknut, there is a lot to ponder when it comes to greed, arrogance, -- sheer hubris -- and control. Would Dr. Evils and mad politicians go so far as to destroy natural habitats to gain power and profit?:

Two months ago, a copper mine failure in China's TingRiver killed millions of fish. A similar disaster at Pebble Mine could mean the destruction of a quarter of a billion pounds of salmon, curiously, about the same amount of GMO salmon Aqua Bounty hopes to produce. The EPA could stop Pebble Mine through the Clean Water Act but has failed to act. Greenberg writes, "More transgenic fish, less wild fish. You have to scratch your head at a government that's planning that kind of seafood menu for its citizens. Instead of endorsing a risky experiment in genetic salmon modification wouldn't it be better if our leaders protected wild salmon habitat? In the end we'd have just as much fish on our plates and a safer environment to boot." [Full item here.]

You can sign a petition here urging Obama to stop the creation and sale of altered salmon.

Nick Redfern on KOKH FOX 25 :: Special Reports - Chupacabra sighting in Oklahoma

Nick Redfern on a segment of Oklahoma Fox news about the "chupacabra" -- canine variety. As Redfern points out, while this version of the so--called Chupacabra are probably mange infected canines, there are still anomalies that need to be addressed. As is the way of things Fortean, it isn't so simple!
KOKH FOX 25 :: Special Reports - Chupacabra sighting in Oklahoma

Lizard as Food, Lizard as Self-Cloing Discovery

New Self-Cloning Lizard Found in Vietnam Restaurant: All-female species reproduces via virgin birth, new study says.

Leiolepis ngovantrii, is the Latin name for a lizard that, unfortunately for the lizard, is a popular food item in Vietnam, and has been for a very long time. But just discovered by science, and found to be self-cloing, which isn't all that unusual in the world of lizards:

Single-gender lizards aren't that much of an oddity: About one percent of lizards can reproduce by parthenogenesis, meaning the females spontaneously ovulate and clone themselves to produce offspring with the same genetic blueprint.

For the full length article go here.

Round Up of Eerie Events on Oregon Coast: New TR Column at BoA

Yachats, Oregon, photo by Regan Lee 2010

My latest Trickster's Realm column is up at Tim Binnall's BoA: Round Up of Eerie Events on Oregon Coast. Some of those eerie events include animals:

Tillamook
A November 6th item in local news: Oregon crabbers in the Tillamook area are facing a dangerous season, more so than the usual: Dangerous crab season puts rescuers on alert  . . .  the crabbers in the Tillamook area, fishermen know of the dangers and that's not news, but the danger has been escalating:

We've lost a lot of boats," said Mike Saindon, master chief petty officer in Garibaldi. "It is a very dangerous place and it has been for awhile. Conditions are bad and they have been getting worse over the years. No one knows why that's happening."

Pink Sea Stars 

Hundreds of star fish -- "sea stars," more correctly -- have washed up on an Oregon beaches and scientists don't know why. Heceta Beach, well known to myself, since I live roughly fifty miles from there and visit that area frequently, witnessed the mysterious die off of sea stars this past Thursday. So far, no other Oregon beaches have reported mass beachings of sea stars; just Heceta Beach:

"We found it very curious," said Justin Ainsworth, shellfish biologist with the wildlife agency. "We haven't had any calls like this in my time here. We contacted past biologists from this office and they couldn't recall anything like it in the past 30 years."

Even more curious was the fact that, after they made calls to the coastal wildlife offices in Astoria and Coos Bay, they realized that Heceta Beach seemed to be the only place where the phenomenon occurred.

Infected Sea Lions

Sick, dying and dead sea lions are coming ashore along the Oregon coast. Rise in sea lion deaths traced to disease. The sea lions are thought to have leptospirosis. There are warnings to avoid wet sand, and to not touch the sea lions, dead or alive (which is a given anyway, one would think) as leptospirosis can be transmitted to humans.

You can read the entire article on Binnall of America. 

Baby Boar PIglet Adopted by Cattle

A wild boar piglet is adopted by a herd of cattle, and the baby boar has learned to moo:

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20101105-30983.html

Mothman Flutterings: New Look

Finally, a look I can live with over on my WordPress blog Mothman Flutterings. Check it out. Now that I have a new look I like and that says "Mothman" I feel inspired to bring more Mothy goodness to the blog.

Owl Haiku

the owls

owls are plentiful
these days, appearing where you'd
least expect them to

"UFO Pets" New Website out of Florida

Saw this link for a new website called UFO Pets on UFO Updates: a new website focusing on Fortean creatures, including of course Chupacabras, in Florida. I don't know much about the site, but from skimming it, it seems to be a collection of encounters and cases of cryptids in Florida, including Bigfoot sightings.

Frame 352: "Going to kill it in 3 mths"

In September I blogged about an email I received from someone calling himself Brian, who said he was going to kill himself a Bigfoot on Mt. Hood, on my paranormal Bigfoot blog Frame 352:

Frame 352: "Going to kill it in 3 mths"

Today, "Bigfootareus" stopped by to leave a comment on that post, who seems bored by Brian's intent to kill himself a BF, but isn't too worried, for BF is "invisible in the higher dimensions."

Octopus Confessional: Sick and Dead Sea Lions Washing Up on Oregon Coast

Octopus Confessional: Sick and Dead Sea Lions Washing Up on Oregon Coast

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.

Birds Attack

Starlings are responsible for an outage in a Portland area substation.

Did He Find a Tasmanian Tiger Pelt?

Bill Warren buys a pelt for $5.00 at a garage sale; thinks it possible it's the pelt of a Tasmanian Tiger. Hassles with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and negoiations with an auction house ensue. Adding to Fortean goodness: Warren is a singer, knew Sinatra, is a treasure hunter, and ran for Congress.

Radioactive Rabbit

Highly radioactive rabbit trapped at Hanford.

TRI-CITIES, Wash. (AP) - A radioactive rabbit was trapped on the Hanford nuclear reservation, but there is no sign any people were exposed to the animal.

Washington state Health Department workers with the Office of Radiation Protection have been searching for contaminated rabbit droppings. None have been found in areas accessible to the public, regional director Earl Fordham said Thursday.

Radioactive animals in the area are not uncommon. Radioactive wasps and nests have been found through the years, along with other animals:

Hanford has an extensive program to check for contaminated animals. In 2009, 33 contaminated animals or animal materials such as droppings were found on the site, the Tri-City Herald reported.

In Hanford's earlier years, contaminated animals were more common.

Liquid waste with radioactive salts was discharged into the ground near central Hanford during the Cold War. Rabbits and other animals were attracted to the salts and spread radioactive droppings across as much as 13.7 square miles of sage-covered land before the waste sites were sealed to keep out animals in 1969.

As the article mentions, there is on-going testing to this day to find radioactive animals in the area.