Iron Granny Strangles Bobcat!

Posted June 20, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animal occurrences, furry, scavengers and predators
Tags:

 

In a Charlie Daniels song, the devil went down to Georgia.  He just better not mess with the women there, because they’re a pretty tough bunch…

In a true story, DeDe Phillips, a 46-year-old grandmother living in Hart County, Georgia wandered out of her house with her cell phone in hand to see why a neighbor’s dog was barking.  She had just put a “Women Who Behave Rarely Make History” sticker on the back of her new truck.  Met with a bobcat, the woman took a picture before the bobcat went for her, targeting her face!

Well, when the going gets tough, the tough get going…and knowing that the large feline would go for her upper body, she protected herself by squeezing on its throat.  After a pitched battle in which the woman suffered a broken finger and numerous bites and claw wounds to her face, hands, chest, and legs, Phillips managed to strangle the big cat.  How very metal of her!  She didn’t even call for help because her 5-year-old granddaughter was in the house, and she didn’t want her endangered by coming outside. — This was one granny who could lick her weight in wildcats!

It wasn’t until the next day that she found out that the bobcat tested positive for rabies, and she had her first round of rabies shots. Although bobcat sightings are rare, the animals have been known to attack humans and are especially aggressive when they are sick.  One clearly met its match in Georgia…  

Comments: 2 Comments

Mysterious Wolf-Like Creature Identified!

Posted June 19, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, events involving animals, furry, science
Tags: ,

 

Well, campers, we had earlier reported how a large, wolf-like creature was shot and killed by a rancher in Montana, with its identity puzzling local wildlife experts, and causing a social media tizzy around the nation.– Was this creature a dire wolf?– –  An unusual bear? – – A hybrid?- – Bigfoot?  Following DNA testing at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory In Ashland, Oregon the results are finally in, and our mystery wolf-like creature is…(drum roll, please)...a wolf!

Hah! – – Bet you never saw that coming!  Confusion over the animal’s identity may have been caused by it’s external appearance, with the creature appearing to have short legs and big ears, but otherwise found to be a gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains.  According to a geneticist for the U.S. Wildlife Service, physical variations aren’t unusual for animals.  As with humans, we tend to have unrealistic expectations about animal appearances.  

So move along, folks…nothing to see here!  And there are still around 900 wolves roaming Montana…

Comments: 3 Comments

Raccoon Climbs St. Paul Skyscraper!

Posted June 13, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animals, events involving animals, furry
Tags:

 

Like some kind of furry ninja, a raccoon drew major attention for scaling an office building in St. Paul, Minnesota. Making it all look easy, she took a nap on a window ledge over 200 feet up, and later took a break to do some grooming…

…by this point the ‘coon was a social media sensation, but her career was cut short when she succumbed to the charms of traps set on the roof and baited with cat food. The daring lady Rocket Raccoon was safely released, none the worse for the wear…

(Please note: earlier press versions of this saga misreported the raccoon’s sex and the outcome due to available information at the time.)

 

Comments: 3 Comments

Godzilla vs. Kong!

Posted June 12, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, creature features, famous furries, furry, furry film classics, scalies, sci fi
Tags:


Deep inside me, there abides a ten-year-old fox-boy who never grew up.  For that reason, I can still get excited about a Godzilla vs. King Kong remake, even though it will have been 58 years since a movie bore that title.  Hopefully the special effects will have improved significantly in that time interval.  Just don’t get your popcorn out yet or try to buy movie passes; Godzilla vs. Kong isn’t slated to arrive until May of 2020…

For what is sure to be an epic addition to the MonsterVerse, the film director promises a dark film in which there will be a clear winner!  That’s right, no ambiguous ending for once.  Kong, last seen in Skull Island set in the 1970’s, will have weathered the intervening decades by becoming older, battle-scarred, and bigger. His size will accordingly be more of a match for the redoubtable Godzilla, my personal fave.  I’m sure that there will be an abundance of fires, explosions, and destruction of real estate…look, they’re lowering property values!  Perhaps the battling behemoths can level Trump Tower…

 

Comments: 2 Comments

Reptilian Mammal Fossil Found!

Posted June 3, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, discoveries, evolution, extinct species, furry, science
Tags: ,


Evolution is perhaps coolest when we can discover examples of its transitional phases, and this little guy whose cranium was discovered nearly intact in Utah fits that bill.  Small but mighty, he weighed in at under three pounds and stood only about three inches tall.  He could probably give you a nasty bite on your ankle…

Resembling fossils previously found only in Eurasia and North Africa, the 130-million year old remains indicate that the supercontinent Pangea held together for about 15 million years, considerably longer than previously suspected, allowing for the spread of early mammals such as these and for their exploration of ecological niches.  Cifelliodon wahkarmoosuch here was fur covered and suckled their young but laid eggs, similar to the modern-day platypus.  

Described as snout-bearing and catlike with buck teeth, the critter was discovered by accident amidst a cluster of larger dinosaur bones as they were being extracted, under the foot of one of them…ouch!  Just don’t dig up your basement looking for another one…

Comments: 5 Comments

Death of an Unknown Montana Furry…

Posted May 26, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, furry, predators, unidentified
Tags: ,

 

A rancher recently shot and killed an unknown wolf-like animal on his property near the town of Denton, Montana.  The animal was a young canid female, although it did not fit the profile of either a wolf or a domestic dog.  The presently unidentified canine differs from a wolf in having longer claws, shorter canine teeth, large ears, short legs, and unusual fur.

No, it’s not a dire wolf!  Some animal experts have suggested that the creature could be a wolf-dog hybrid.  The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department has sent DNA samples out for testing at an Oregon Lab, but it could be weeks to months before the results come back…

Comments: 5 Comments

“We Are Gone,” The Terror, Episode 10

Posted May 22, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: anomalies, anthropomorphic, creature features, cryptozoology, furry, historical perspectives, horror, sci fi, television
Tags:

All good things must come to an end, and so The Terror wrapped up its tenth and final season episode (“We Are Gone”) with more than a bit of Grand Guignol, complete with cannibalism and the Tuunbaq ripping into Hickey and his rebellious men, literally tearing the sadistic psychopath in two before succumbing to its poisonous diet. You are what you eat, after all…

We were given more of a close-up of the Inuit monster in this conclusive episode, his countenance a disturbing mixture of human and bestial elements, almost resembling someone’s crazy old uncle; maybe Uncle Fester of The Addams Family. A “spirit who dresses itself as an animal,” the mythological creature was said to consume not only the flesh but also the soul of its victims. 

Where human flesh eating was concerned, there are suggestions in the historical evidence that some cannibalism occurred in the actual Franklin Expedition, although it was ramped up for horrific effect in the Dan Simmons novel as well as the series adaptation of it. In this television adaptation, surgeon Goodsir poisoned himself unknown to his captors and slit his wrists, his body then becoming a fatal feast for them. Other subtle differences between the book and the screen adaptation occurred as well, and without issuing spoilers I did find the novel’s ending more satisfying. If you were captivated by the televised series, check out the book as well as a really well done and worthwhile horror tale…

Comments: 2 Comments

Vintage Sci-Fi Delights, or Nasty Things from Venus…

Posted May 21, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: aliens, animals, anomalies, anthropomorphic, creature features, furries, furry film classics, furry horror, movies
Tags: ,


I recently revisited Ray Harryhausen’s 20 Million Miles to Earth, which I first saw as a kid and which hooked me on science fiction for life.  The 1957 black and white film featured Harryhausen’s stop-action creature features, and was filmed in Italy because that was where Harryhausen wanted to vacation.  He wanted the film to be in color, but they didn’t have the budget to do so at the time although a later colorized version was made. The name of the snake-tailed Ymir creature from Venus was not mentioned in the film because they were afraid people would confuse the name with “Emir.”

The film included many memorable scenes such as a fight to the death between the Ymir and an elephant, which traumatized the young me as the elephant lost.  Then there was the grand finale scene which featured a show-down with the creature in the Roman Coliseum; what could be better staging?!

Equally epic was Harryhausen’s stop-action filmed fight with the skeleton army in Jason and the Argonauts.  That one creeped me out as a kid for some time…

 

 

Comments: 2 Comments

The C, the C, the Open C on “The Terror”

Posted May 14, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, anthropomorphic, creature features, furry, paranormal, television
Tags: ,

 

Watching a late episode of The Terror series is somewhat like regarding a mummy; there are things here that are distinctly unpleasant to see, but not only can’t you not look away, but you keep on going back for more!  As someone who is also reading Dan Simmons’ novel as they watch the series, you might even say that I’m double-dipping, a true misery porn junkie.  This is depressing and disturbing stuff, but I can’t stop returning to it because it’s so well done!

As people with an understanding of what actually happened to the historical Franklin Expedition, we know what the characters do not know as the story unfolds, namely that they are all doomed and that this doesn’t end well for them, regardless of what they do.  When faced with extreme and desperate conditions, we are shown the polarities of how people can respond to dire circumstances in the now separate camps of Captain Crozier versus the mutinous and psychopathic rebel leader, Hickey.  Crozier has become elevated as the series has progressed, whereas Hickey has gravitated towards the bestial.  Whereas Crozier has remained a civilized man and become almost a spiritual leader, for Hickey cannibalism is now literally on the table.

We say goodbye to Commander Fitzjames in this episode, his condition deteriorating rapidly and an assisted suicide conducted by Crozier.  Captive in Hickey’s camp and witness to a murder, surgeon Goodsir (pictured) is forced to butcher the body for consumption lest Hickey kill another for failure to comply.  And Ice Master Blankey, already minus a lower leg from a previous confrontation with Tuunbaq, goes out solo in a suicidal mission against the creature to buy his compatriots some time.  Ingeniously, the guy wraps himself in forks so as to make the monster’s job less easy, and perhaps enact revenge from within should he be ingested…the guy’s going down, but you gotta love his spirit!

Betrayed by a double agent in his own camp, Crozier is captured by Hickey’s men, with the final outcome to this and other hanging issues to find resolution in episode 10, the last of the season.

 

Comments: 4 Comments

“Terror Camp Clear” Episode of “The Terror”

Posted May 8, 2018 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal presence, anomalies, anthropomorphic, creature features, paranormal, sci fi, television
Tags: ,

With all hell breaking loose both within and without on episode 8 of The Terror, Captain Fitzjames unleashed a rocket on the rampaging Tuunbaq running amok in their camp, hitting the over-sized, long-necked polar bear-like creature a good shot but basically just changing its course.  This was a very cool use of retro technology, and Fitzjames looked good while deploying it, showing courage under extreme duress.  Mid-19th century weaponry just wasn’t up to the job, sadly…

The climatic battle scene followed an episode fueled by paranoia and rebellion in which seaman Hickey almost staged a successful mutiny after blaming his slaughter of two crew mates on an Inuit family who were then killed in reprisal by the Erebus/Terror crews.  Hickey then whipped the camp into a frenzy by rumors that an Inuit counter-attack was imminent, using it as justification to seize arms and distribute them among his followers.  When Hickey’s ruse was discovered and countered, we were fixing to see a hanging when a cocaine-addled crewman Collins posed a distraction, staggering in and closely followed by the Tuunbaq monster, who was either irate that natives had been killed or was uncontrolled by the departure of the shaman-like Lady Silence.

Anyways, Hickey escaped in the confusion of the Tuunbaq’s killing spree together with sympathizers and captives, and in alienating the Inuit population the expedition’s members have lost their best remaining chance of survival. With their bodies becoming covered with loathsome sores from scurvy and lead poisoning, things will continue to go downhill from here in the two episodes remaining of The Terror…

Comments: 2 Comments

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »