Archive for the ‘unexplained’ category

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The Jersey Devil

July 26, 2008

–The Jersey Devil, also known as The Leeds Devil, is a cryptic animal reputed to inhabit the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey.  The creature was first described in the 1700’s, with sightings reported as recently as 2008.  Most accounts describe the Jersey Devil as having a long neck, wings, and hooves.  The long neck has brought comparisons to the giraffe, while the head is elongated and horse-like.

Legend is rich surrounding the origins of the Jersey Devil, with a Mother Leeds in colonial times reputed to have had twelve children while learning that she was pregnant with a thirteenth child.  “Let it be a devil!,” the woman is reported to have said with understandable exasperation, and so it was!  The product of Mother Leeds’ thirteenth pregnancy ate its mother and siblings, and then burst into the outside world.

By some accounts, the Jersey Devil is said to have red eyes with hypnotic or paralyzing impact.  Some locals regard the Devil affectionately as a protector or kind of area mascot, and it is a source of attraction for tourists and related merchandising...

Categories: animals, anomalies, cryptozoology, furry, science, unexplained
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El Chupacabra

July 24, 2008

–In 1995 a creature called “El Chupacabra” (Spanish for The Goatsucker) was reported to have drained the blood of hundreds of farm animals in Puerto Rico.  The animals attack had their blood completely drained, but their flesh was not eaten!  The beast was described as being a gargoyle-like animal who had walked on his hind legs.  More recent sightings of Chupacabra in Texas have reported a vicious canine-like creature that walked on four legs.

An episode of MonsterQuest covered the discrepancies in these reports, plus a variety of possible explanations such as Chupacabra was a wild dog or hybrid with mange!  Experts kinda discounted this lame explanation.  Several corpses have been produced, most of which are canid-like but with teeth and skin unlike your garden-variety fido.  The jury’s still out on this one…Draw blood!

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, science, unexplained
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Cryptozoology…

July 21, 2008

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals, with the animals studied referred to as cryptids, a term coined in 1983 by John Wall.  The are two fields of study in Cryptozoology:  *  The search for living examples of animals identified through fossil records and believed extinct.

*The search for animals for which anecdotal records exist in the form of myths, legends, or undocumented sightings.

Mainstream science doesn’t much support Cryptozoology as it tends not to employ the scientific method.  Conventional science does accept, however, that there are thousands of species yet to be identified, with most of them likely to be invertebrates.

We who want to believe, however, would die happy if one of the major cryptids were discovered in our lifetimes, say Bigfoot or Nessie!  In this hope, I offer this little poem:

Cry of the Cryptids

I’m a Cryptid.– Who are you? — Are you another Cryptid, too?

Then there’s two of us. –Don’t tell!

They’d publicize us, you know.

How dreary to be known!–How public, like a frog!

To be exploited, skinned, worn, or eaten

By those in the hyooman bog!

(With apologies to Emily Dickinson)

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, science, unexplained
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Mothman!

July 19, 2008

—Mothman—a winged creature with a human-like body and glowing red eyes–was seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 and 1967.  After the appearance of this creature, men in black also are reported to have appeared.  There are eyewitnesses who have claimed to have seen Mothman, and a German Shepherd’s death attributed to him.  Mothman was so named by a fan of the Batman series following reports of the creature’s appearance, and the name stuck.  Some speculate that Mothman was a bird or another natural creature mutated by exposure to chemicals in a town plant.

Mothman was reported to have been seen flying over the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant immediately prior to its collapse in December of 1967; some accordingly say that the beast portends disaster, or has prophetic powers.  A movie called The Mothman Prophecies and starring Richard Gere was made in 2002.  The Mothman continues to be a cottage industry in Point Plesant, West Virginia where a statue of Mothman has been erected.

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, unexplained
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Dragons?

July 12, 2008

— The dragons in many European myths are thought to be based on the Nile Crocodile, and a few churches in France and Switzerland actually feature stuffed crocodiles as dragon remains!  The world was smaller then, and full of wonder, unsubstantiated belief, and superstition.

Then in China of an earlier time and elsewhere, discovery of fossilized dinosaur bones was seen as proof of dragons, creatures found historically in the mythologies of many major cultures throughout the world…

Categories: animals, furry, science, unexplained
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The Black Beast of Exmoor!

July 9, 2008

–The Black Beast of Exmoor is a large, wild, cat-like creature held responsible for the killing of many farm animals in Devonshire, England.  Report of the predator began in the early 1970’s.  In the spring of 1983, one farmer lost over 100 sheep over 2-1/2 months of time.  The slain animals were not killed in the fashion of a dog or fox (I didn’t do it!), having their throats ripped out. In 1987, the Beast was blamed for killing over 200 farm animals.  More recent attacks occurred in August of 1995 and January of 2001.  The Black Beast looks like a large panther, measuring almost 8 feet long from its nose to its tail.  Some say that witnesses have exaggerated the size of a domestic or feral cat, or that the big feline escaped from a zoo and bred others.  Still others contend that the Beast is from an alternative dimension, and can phase in and out of ours, thereby eluding hunters and capture!

Anyhow, what’s the big deal about The Black Beast of Exmoor? — I roam the countryside and mutilate livestock…alright, maybe I just rough them up real good…would you believe that I give them a good Dutch rub and wedgies…oh alright, I annoy them to tears!

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, science, unexplained
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The Dogman of Wisconsin

July 8, 2008

—A centuries-old myth, a tall, hairy creature has been reported in Wisconsin and Michigan described as a dogman, also known as The Beast of Bray Road. A kind of American werewolf or possibly Bigfoot variant, witnesses of the Dogman have been found not to be lying under lie detector examination.  Alledged hair samples of the beast, however, have been found to be from a bear or a housecat.–Watch the Dogman on Monster Quest, the most current new episode!

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, unexplained
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The Grassman Cometh…

June 24, 2008

—Bigfoot is known by many names dependent on the region; Sasquatch, Yeti, even the Skunk Ape.  In Ohio, MonsterQuest reports that he is known as The Grassman. No, he isn’t a pot smoker, and he does show some variations from the usual Bigfoot traits, such as a habit of building “nests” on the forest floor.  These nests are crafted so well that two researchers trying to duplicate one could make only a pitiful simulation.  Other Bigfoot traits seem almost universally reported; e.g., the bad odor and the abundant hair.

I profess a weakness for the JackLinks “Messing With Sasquatch” commercial series in which Bigfoot is portrayed sympathetically as more sinned against than sinning, and gets his revenge on his tormentors!

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, science, unexplained
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Vampire Beast of North Carolina?

June 5, 2008

— MonsterQuest in a current new episode presented a story of a “vampire-beast” killing goats and dogs in the small North Carolina town of Bladenboro.  In some cases, the dogs killed were pit bulls; no easy kill!  Slain animals in some cases had their skulls crushed flat with blood pretty much extracted from the victim’s body.  What’s additionally intriguing was that similar slayings occurred 50 years ago, drawing hunters from a wide area in search of the predator.

The episode came to the conclusion that the killings most likely resulted from a mountain lion relocated to the area, although this explanation didn’t seem to cover all of the incidentals of the cases reported…

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, unexplained
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Monster Hogs!

May 29, 2008

— I found the season premier of Monster Quest rather disappointing. It was about monster hogs, giant pigs supposedly a growing problem in certain southern states like Texas. Investigative techniques were used like attaching a camera to a wild pig and releasing it in the hopes that it would lead to these giant pigs…that’s right, a hog cam! Despite amusing close-ups of pig bristles and bouncing countryside, no giant hogs were found.

And what about the people who investigate and capture wild hogs, the so-called hog wranglers? Would you like a job like that, or would you eventually get boared?

(This blogger not responsible for mental anguish caused by atrocious puns…)

Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, science, Uncategorized, unexplained
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Comments: 6 Comments

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