The lusca is a name given to a sea monster reported from the Carribean. It has been suggested by cryptozoologists, that the lusca is a hypothesised giant octopus of immense size (Octopus giganteus). Many reports of the creature are from the blue holes, off Andros, one of the Bahamas. They are not to be confused with the known giant octopus, which is a member of the scientifically defined genus, Enteroctopus, and grow to about thirty feet in size.
The Lusca said to grow over 75 feet long, or even 200 feet long, although many skeptics dispute these claims as there are no proven cases of other species growing to half these lengths. Also to attack properly on the surface, the octopus would have to have one tentacle on the sea floor to balance itself, this would mean that such accounts, if real, would have to take place in relatively shallow water.
Other descriptions also mention that it can change colour, a characteristic it has in common with smaller octopuses. The supposed habitat is rugged underwater terrain, large undersea caves, the edge of the continental shelf etc, where large crustaceans can be found, which it is supposed they feed on.
P/S:i think Lusca is the same with the one appeared in the Pirates Of The Carribean 2..
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The Champ
Reports of the Lake Champlain monster named Champ date back over a hundred years. The creature, which is said to resemble a plesiosaur, has been compared to the Loch Ness Monster in its appearance. Through the years, though, the description of Champ has changed drastically- from a gigantic snake-like creature to the now common plesiosaur body structure.
The first report of Champ stems from a New York Times article from July 9, 1873. The story outlines an encounter several railroad workers had with the creature as they laid track around the lake. The crew claimed to see the head of an enormous serpent, which was rapidly approaching their location. The creature then turned away and allowed the men a better view. The body "seemed to be covered with bright silver-like scales" and water would occasionally flow out of the creature's nostrils, like a fountain, up to twenty feet into the air. The head was snake like, with "small and piercing" eyes and a mouth with "two rows of teeth." The creature's tail resembled that of a fish.
The characteristics reported by the workers do not match up with modern day sightings or evidence. Missing are the now the commonly reported flippers and thick body. Soon after the initial sighting by the railroad crew, farmers began to report missing livestock. Upon investigation, tracks had been found which suggested the cattle had been dragged into the lake. Locals claimed to see "bright and hideous looking eyes" in caves around the lake. Hunting parties were created to help locate and kill the creature but after searching the shoreline and local farms, they came up fruitless.
In August 1880, a small steamship named the W.B. Eddy struck a creature and nearly capsized. The head and neck of the beast surfaced about one hundred feet away, giving passengers quite a fright. On August 9 of the same year, the crew of the Molyneaux thought they had captured the creature in a clump of weeds. Although hidden below the water and out of sight, the crew fired upon the area to kill the animal. After a strange howl, the creature escaped only to be chased down and shot repeatedly. The crew claims the creature sank into the blood red water and "would never to rise more by its own exertions." The body could not be recovered- even after P.T. Barnum placed a $50,000 bounty on the carcass.
On July 31, 1883, Clinton County Sheriff Nathan Mooney reported a snake, or other water creature, which was about twenty-five to thirty feet long. Sightings continued almost daily for several weeks.
Champ took on a new form in the 1970s- the creature began to resemble the Loch Ness monster. The frequency of reports has died down considerably and each report seems to include a different creature.
The biggest breakthrough in the Champ investigation came from Anthony and Sandra Mansi as they were driving past Saint Alban's Bay in early 1977. They decided to stop and let their children play in the water as the couple relaxed on the beach. The Mansi's parked their car and walked about one hundred feet across a field before descending a six-foot bank. The children began to play in the water as Anthony rushed back to their car to retrieve a pair of sunglasses and a camera. As Sandra watched the water, she noticed turbulence about one hundred fifty feet into the lake. Moments later, a gigantic creature rose from the abyss and slowly swam forward. The creature had a small head, long neck and a humped back. The couple ushered their children from the water as Sandra quickly took one photograph before the beast could slide beneath the waves.
Fear of public reticule led the couple to remain secretive of the sighting as Sandra placed the photo in a family album. The negative was soon lost as the family forgot of the encounter. Years later, Sandra showed the picture to several friends and coworkers.
Eventually a Wilton, New York social studies teacher learned of the picture and sighting and started to investigate. The teacher, known as Zarzynski, studied the photo and determined it had not been doctored. A Vertebrate Zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History concluded the creature did not resemble any known animals of the area. Since the photograph included no reference points, Paul LeBlond had to create an equation based on the waves and wind of the lake. LeBlond found the creature was between twenty-four and seventy eight feet in length. Another analysis of the waves determined the creature came up from beneath the water and had not been dragged to the location.
Due to the amazing clarity of the photograph and such a close and vivid encounter, it seems strange Sandra did not come forward sooner. It seems even stranger, though, that she only took one photograph. In the 1970s, Zarynski formed the Lake Champlain Phenomena Investigation but there studies have to yet to determine anything conclusive.
P/S:i believed that if the Champ is real..it will also hoping for a peace life..without human's disturbance..
The first report of Champ stems from a New York Times article from July 9, 1873. The story outlines an encounter several railroad workers had with the creature as they laid track around the lake. The crew claimed to see the head of an enormous serpent, which was rapidly approaching their location. The creature then turned away and allowed the men a better view. The body "seemed to be covered with bright silver-like scales" and water would occasionally flow out of the creature's nostrils, like a fountain, up to twenty feet into the air. The head was snake like, with "small and piercing" eyes and a mouth with "two rows of teeth." The creature's tail resembled that of a fish.
The characteristics reported by the workers do not match up with modern day sightings or evidence. Missing are the now the commonly reported flippers and thick body. Soon after the initial sighting by the railroad crew, farmers began to report missing livestock. Upon investigation, tracks had been found which suggested the cattle had been dragged into the lake. Locals claimed to see "bright and hideous looking eyes" in caves around the lake. Hunting parties were created to help locate and kill the creature but after searching the shoreline and local farms, they came up fruitless.
In August 1880, a small steamship named the W.B. Eddy struck a creature and nearly capsized. The head and neck of the beast surfaced about one hundred feet away, giving passengers quite a fright. On August 9 of the same year, the crew of the Molyneaux thought they had captured the creature in a clump of weeds. Although hidden below the water and out of sight, the crew fired upon the area to kill the animal. After a strange howl, the creature escaped only to be chased down and shot repeatedly. The crew claims the creature sank into the blood red water and "would never to rise more by its own exertions." The body could not be recovered- even after P.T. Barnum placed a $50,000 bounty on the carcass.
On July 31, 1883, Clinton County Sheriff Nathan Mooney reported a snake, or other water creature, which was about twenty-five to thirty feet long. Sightings continued almost daily for several weeks.
Champ took on a new form in the 1970s- the creature began to resemble the Loch Ness monster. The frequency of reports has died down considerably and each report seems to include a different creature.
The biggest breakthrough in the Champ investigation came from Anthony and Sandra Mansi as they were driving past Saint Alban's Bay in early 1977. They decided to stop and let their children play in the water as the couple relaxed on the beach. The Mansi's parked their car and walked about one hundred feet across a field before descending a six-foot bank. The children began to play in the water as Anthony rushed back to their car to retrieve a pair of sunglasses and a camera. As Sandra watched the water, she noticed turbulence about one hundred fifty feet into the lake. Moments later, a gigantic creature rose from the abyss and slowly swam forward. The creature had a small head, long neck and a humped back. The couple ushered their children from the water as Sandra quickly took one photograph before the beast could slide beneath the waves.
Fear of public reticule led the couple to remain secretive of the sighting as Sandra placed the photo in a family album. The negative was soon lost as the family forgot of the encounter. Years later, Sandra showed the picture to several friends and coworkers.
Eventually a Wilton, New York social studies teacher learned of the picture and sighting and started to investigate. The teacher, known as Zarzynski, studied the photo and determined it had not been doctored. A Vertebrate Zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History concluded the creature did not resemble any known animals of the area. Since the photograph included no reference points, Paul LeBlond had to create an equation based on the waves and wind of the lake. LeBlond found the creature was between twenty-four and seventy eight feet in length. Another analysis of the waves determined the creature came up from beneath the water and had not been dragged to the location.
Due to the amazing clarity of the photograph and such a close and vivid encounter, it seems strange Sandra did not come forward sooner. It seems even stranger, though, that she only took one photograph. In the 1970s, Zarynski formed the Lake Champlain Phenomena Investigation but there studies have to yet to determine anything conclusive.
P/S:i believed that if the Champ is real..it will also hoping for a peace life..without human's disturbance..
A Brief History of the Devil's Triangle (Bermuda triangle)
Limbo of the Lost. The Twilight Zone. Hoodoo Sea. The Devil's Triangle. The vast three-sided segment of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, did not receive its most famous nickname until 1964, but reports of bizarre happenings there, or nearby, have been recorded for centuries. In fact, many claim that Christopher Columbus bore witness to the Bermuda Triangle's weirdness.
As the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria sailed through the area in 1492, it is reported that Columbus's compass went haywire and that he and his crew saw weird lights in the sky, but these events have mundane explanations. From the account in Columbus's journal, it is thought that his compass's slight inaccuracy stemmed from nothing more than the discrepancy between true north and magnetic north. As for the lights, Columbus wrote of seeing "a great flame of fire" that crashed into the ocean -- probably a meteor. He saw lights in the sky again on October 11, which, of course, was the day before his famous landing. The lights, brief flashes near the horizon, were spotted in the area where dry land turned out to be.
Another historical event retroactively attributed to the Bermuda Triangle is the discovery of the Mary Celeste. The vessel was found abandoned on the high seas in 1892, about 400 miles off its intended course from New York to Genoa. There was no sign of its crew of ten or what had happened to them. Since the lifeboat was also missing, it is quite possible that they abandoned the Mary Celeste during a storm that they wrongly guessed the ship could not weather. But what makes it even harder to call this a Bermuda Triangle mystery is that it the ship was nowhere near the Triangle -- it was found off the coast of Portugal.
The Bermuda Triangle legend really began in earnest on December 5, 1945, with the famed disappearance of Flight 19. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished while on a routine training mission, as did a rescue plane sent to search for them -- six aircraft and 27 men, gone without a trace. Or so the story goes.
When all the facts are laid out, the tale of Flight 19 becomes far less puzzling. All of the crewmen of the five Avengers were inexperienced trainees, with the exception of their patrol leader, Lt. Charles Taylor. Taylor was perhaps not at the height of his abilities that day, as some reports indicate that he had a hangover and failed in his attempts to pass off this flight duty to someone else.
With the four rookie pilots entirely dependent on his guidance, Taylor found that his compass malfunctioned soon into the flight. Taylor chose to continue the run on dead reckoning, navigating by sighting landmarks below. Being familiar with the islands of the Florida Keys where he lived, Taylor had reason to feel confident in flying by sight. But visibility became poor due to a brewing storm, and he quickly became disoriented.
Flight 19 was still in radio contact with the Fort Lauderdale air base, although the weather and a bad receiver in one of the Avengers made communication very spotty. They may have been guided safely home if Taylor had switched to an emergency frequency with less radio traffic, but he refused for fear they would be unable to reestablish contact under these conditions.
Taylor ended up thinking they were over the Gulf of Mexico, and ordered the patrol east in search of land. But in reality, they had been heading up the Atlantic coastline, and Taylor was mistakenly leading his hapless trainees much further out to sea. Radio recordings indicate that some of them suggested to Taylor that Florida was actually to the west.
A search party was dispatched, which included the Martin Mariner that many claim disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle along with Flight 19. While it is true that it never returned, the Mariner did not vanish; it blew up 23 seconds after takeoff, in an explosion that was witnessed by several at the base. This was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, because Mariners were known for their faulty gas tanks.
No known wreckage from Flight 19 has ever been recovered. One reasonable explanation is that Taylor led the planes so far into the Atlantic that they were past the continental shelf. There the ocean abruptly drops from a few hundred feet deep to several thousand feet deep. Planes and ships that sink to such depths are seldom seen again. The deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the 30,100-foot-deep Puerto Rico Trench, lies within the Bermuda Triangle.
Combining the circumstances of the failing compass, the difficulty of radio transmissions, and the absence of wreckage, tales of mysterious intervention befalling Flight 19 began to take form. Theories involving strange magnetic fields, time warps, Atlantis, and alien abduction began to appear. Even an official Navy report intimated that the Avengers had disappeared "as if they had flown to Mars."
About 200 prior and subsequent incidents have been attributed to the inherent strangeness of the area, which was forever christened the Bermuda Triangle by writer V. Gaddis in a 1964 issue of Argosy, a fiction magazine. Public interest in the "phenomenon" was whipped into a frenzy by Charles Berlitz's 1974 bestseller The Bermuda Triangle, a sensationalized and thoroughly inaccurate account that shunned the facts in favor of mysterious excitement.
There are two major obstacles to taking the Bermuda Triangle legend seriously. The first is that most of the associated mishaps can be explained by rational means. The second is that most of the associated mishaps did not occur within the Bermuda Triangle. If you plot all of the alleged instances of the area's malevolent influence on a map, you find that only a handful have actually happened within the Triangle's borders. Sea disasters as distant as Portugal, Ireland and the Pacific and Indian Oceans have been blamed on the Bermuda Triangle. We might then just as well rename it as "The Worldwide Curse of All Seas." Some have turned this fact on its head by proposing this as evidence that the Devil's Triangle is expanding in scope.
P/S:Others may respond that it is evidence that accidents will happen,no matter where exactly on the land, on the sea or in the air they take place.
As the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria sailed through the area in 1492, it is reported that Columbus's compass went haywire and that he and his crew saw weird lights in the sky, but these events have mundane explanations. From the account in Columbus's journal, it is thought that his compass's slight inaccuracy stemmed from nothing more than the discrepancy between true north and magnetic north. As for the lights, Columbus wrote of seeing "a great flame of fire" that crashed into the ocean -- probably a meteor. He saw lights in the sky again on October 11, which, of course, was the day before his famous landing. The lights, brief flashes near the horizon, were spotted in the area where dry land turned out to be.
Another historical event retroactively attributed to the Bermuda Triangle is the discovery of the Mary Celeste. The vessel was found abandoned on the high seas in 1892, about 400 miles off its intended course from New York to Genoa. There was no sign of its crew of ten or what had happened to them. Since the lifeboat was also missing, it is quite possible that they abandoned the Mary Celeste during a storm that they wrongly guessed the ship could not weather. But what makes it even harder to call this a Bermuda Triangle mystery is that it the ship was nowhere near the Triangle -- it was found off the coast of Portugal.
The Bermuda Triangle legend really began in earnest on December 5, 1945, with the famed disappearance of Flight 19. Five Navy Avenger bombers mysteriously vanished while on a routine training mission, as did a rescue plane sent to search for them -- six aircraft and 27 men, gone without a trace. Or so the story goes.
When all the facts are laid out, the tale of Flight 19 becomes far less puzzling. All of the crewmen of the five Avengers were inexperienced trainees, with the exception of their patrol leader, Lt. Charles Taylor. Taylor was perhaps not at the height of his abilities that day, as some reports indicate that he had a hangover and failed in his attempts to pass off this flight duty to someone else.
With the four rookie pilots entirely dependent on his guidance, Taylor found that his compass malfunctioned soon into the flight. Taylor chose to continue the run on dead reckoning, navigating by sighting landmarks below. Being familiar with the islands of the Florida Keys where he lived, Taylor had reason to feel confident in flying by sight. But visibility became poor due to a brewing storm, and he quickly became disoriented.
Flight 19 was still in radio contact with the Fort Lauderdale air base, although the weather and a bad receiver in one of the Avengers made communication very spotty. They may have been guided safely home if Taylor had switched to an emergency frequency with less radio traffic, but he refused for fear they would be unable to reestablish contact under these conditions.
Taylor ended up thinking they were over the Gulf of Mexico, and ordered the patrol east in search of land. But in reality, they had been heading up the Atlantic coastline, and Taylor was mistakenly leading his hapless trainees much further out to sea. Radio recordings indicate that some of them suggested to Taylor that Florida was actually to the west.
A search party was dispatched, which included the Martin Mariner that many claim disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle along with Flight 19. While it is true that it never returned, the Mariner did not vanish; it blew up 23 seconds after takeoff, in an explosion that was witnessed by several at the base. This was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, because Mariners were known for their faulty gas tanks.
No known wreckage from Flight 19 has ever been recovered. One reasonable explanation is that Taylor led the planes so far into the Atlantic that they were past the continental shelf. There the ocean abruptly drops from a few hundred feet deep to several thousand feet deep. Planes and ships that sink to such depths are seldom seen again. The deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the 30,100-foot-deep Puerto Rico Trench, lies within the Bermuda Triangle.
Combining the circumstances of the failing compass, the difficulty of radio transmissions, and the absence of wreckage, tales of mysterious intervention befalling Flight 19 began to take form. Theories involving strange magnetic fields, time warps, Atlantis, and alien abduction began to appear. Even an official Navy report intimated that the Avengers had disappeared "as if they had flown to Mars."
About 200 prior and subsequent incidents have been attributed to the inherent strangeness of the area, which was forever christened the Bermuda Triangle by writer V. Gaddis in a 1964 issue of Argosy, a fiction magazine. Public interest in the "phenomenon" was whipped into a frenzy by Charles Berlitz's 1974 bestseller The Bermuda Triangle, a sensationalized and thoroughly inaccurate account that shunned the facts in favor of mysterious excitement.
There are two major obstacles to taking the Bermuda Triangle legend seriously. The first is that most of the associated mishaps can be explained by rational means. The second is that most of the associated mishaps did not occur within the Bermuda Triangle. If you plot all of the alleged instances of the area's malevolent influence on a map, you find that only a handful have actually happened within the Triangle's borders. Sea disasters as distant as Portugal, Ireland and the Pacific and Indian Oceans have been blamed on the Bermuda Triangle. We might then just as well rename it as "The Worldwide Curse of All Seas." Some have turned this fact on its head by proposing this as evidence that the Devil's Triangle is expanding in scope.
P/S:Others may respond that it is evidence that accidents will happen,no matter where exactly on the land, on the sea or in the air they take place.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Indonesia mysterious stone carvings
A remote rainforest in Sulawesi, Indonesia is now at the centre of a study into hundreds of mysterious stone carvings that only a few foreigners in the world have seen.
No one knows who built them or why, but the "megaliths" are believed to be built anywhere from 500 to 2,000 years ago.
There are over 400 pieces scattered around the rainforest.
Till now, nobody has been able to find the tools that carved them, or any clues to who could have built them.
These carvings include birds that laugh like humans and primates three inches high, but the most mind-boggling of them all are the statues that locals say were once humans.
Local legends tell of criminals long ago turned to stone but beyond that, little is known about the megaliths of Central Sulawesi.
"As part of the punishment after he was accused of rape, he was attacked and was cut on his shoulder, and that's what this scar is, which we presume is really just a crack in the rock," said Edward Pollard of The Nature Conservancy, referring to the Tokala'ea megalith.
Park officials are trying to protect them as the national park faces the threat of an encroaching population.
And that remains the biggest mystery yet, as experts cannot relate them to anything else in the world.
While locals say some of the megaliths were coffins for nobles or cisterns for water, there is no evidence to prove either.
So anyone's guess could be the answer to the riddle of Indonesia's ancient statues.
P/S:From: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/53684/1/.html
No one knows who built them or why, but the "megaliths" are believed to be built anywhere from 500 to 2,000 years ago.
There are over 400 pieces scattered around the rainforest.
Till now, nobody has been able to find the tools that carved them, or any clues to who could have built them.
These carvings include birds that laugh like humans and primates three inches high, but the most mind-boggling of them all are the statues that locals say were once humans.
Local legends tell of criminals long ago turned to stone but beyond that, little is known about the megaliths of Central Sulawesi.
"As part of the punishment after he was accused of rape, he was attacked and was cut on his shoulder, and that's what this scar is, which we presume is really just a crack in the rock," said Edward Pollard of The Nature Conservancy, referring to the Tokala'ea megalith.
Park officials are trying to protect them as the national park faces the threat of an encroaching population.
And that remains the biggest mystery yet, as experts cannot relate them to anything else in the world.
While locals say some of the megaliths were coffins for nobles or cisterns for water, there is no evidence to prove either.
So anyone's guess could be the answer to the riddle of Indonesia's ancient statues.
P/S:From: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/53684/1/.html
Reptile Men
Reports of Reptile Men are few and far between but the stories that do surface are truly strange. Although most people know of these creatures only by movies such as "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," the truth about these strange bipeds may be stranger then any movie magic.
On August 21, 1955 Darwin Johnson was swimming in the Ohio River when she felt a clawed hand grab her knee from the murky depths and pull her under. Darwin struggled to get free from the unseen attacker only to be pulled under again. After throwing herself upward Darwin was able to grab a friend's inner tube and get to safety. A green stain marked her leg with several clawed gashes.
Several sightings took place around the Miami River near Loveland, Ohio in 1955. On May 25 a driver was returning home at about 3:30 AM when he saw a trio of reptile-like bipeds. The man later claimed the creatures had lopsided chests, wide and lipless frog-like mouths and wrinkles instead of hair. One of the creatures held a spark-generating bar. The driver claimed to have watched the creatures for about three minutes before leaving to inform the local police. Police Chief John Fritz investigated the area but could find nothing.
Seventeen years later on March 3, 1972 at 1:00 AM, two different Loveland police officers claimed to have come in contact with a four-foot tall frog faced creature that had leathery skin. The duo saw the biped jump a guardrail and splash into the Little Miami River. About two weeks later one of the police officers caught sight of the creature and fired at it only to miss. Local farmers claimed to see the creature for some time.
Few other reports have surfaced with as much detail as the Ohio reports. Although limited these claims are just as amazing as the similar reports of hairy bipeds.
P/S:my god..seem like reptile men suppose is a mutant?
On August 21, 1955 Darwin Johnson was swimming in the Ohio River when she felt a clawed hand grab her knee from the murky depths and pull her under. Darwin struggled to get free from the unseen attacker only to be pulled under again. After throwing herself upward Darwin was able to grab a friend's inner tube and get to safety. A green stain marked her leg with several clawed gashes.
Several sightings took place around the Miami River near Loveland, Ohio in 1955. On May 25 a driver was returning home at about 3:30 AM when he saw a trio of reptile-like bipeds. The man later claimed the creatures had lopsided chests, wide and lipless frog-like mouths and wrinkles instead of hair. One of the creatures held a spark-generating bar. The driver claimed to have watched the creatures for about three minutes before leaving to inform the local police. Police Chief John Fritz investigated the area but could find nothing.
Seventeen years later on March 3, 1972 at 1:00 AM, two different Loveland police officers claimed to have come in contact with a four-foot tall frog faced creature that had leathery skin. The duo saw the biped jump a guardrail and splash into the Little Miami River. About two weeks later one of the police officers caught sight of the creature and fired at it only to miss. Local farmers claimed to see the creature for some time.
Few other reports have surfaced with as much detail as the Ohio reports. Although limited these claims are just as amazing as the similar reports of hairy bipeds.
P/S:my god..seem like reptile men suppose is a mutant?
Roswell Rods
Here is a bizarre new life form for cryptozoologists and skeptics to fight about - Rods! What are rods you ask? Rods are thin, unidentified organic life forms that fly (or ride air currents) in the sky. They range from 4 inches to over 100 feet long, some having short appendages. They fly rapidly and are almost impossible to see with the untrained eye. There are three distinct types of rods: centipede rods, white rods, and spears. They have been reported throughout the United States, Canada, and worldwide, and are visible in all seasons. They appear to be living, breathing organisms playing among the clouds.
Sightings of "rod-like" creatures in the sky date back to early history. Large, flying serpentine creatures were reported in China in 747 AD, in Europe during the late middle ages, and in the United States in 1894. However, these "rods" do not resemble serpentine creatures; instead, they look like string or rope floating in the sky.
At the Rods Web Site (www.roswellrods.com), one can view numerous photographs of alleged rods. Most pictures show what appears to be hairs on the camera lens, or possibly even string, twigs, yarn, and straw which had been caught up in air currents, and mistaken for rods. The web site provides a detailed instruction manual on how to best photograph rods. The clearest photos come from a cave in Mexico. Stills from the video show a small, bright white "line" which appears to be flying, using its appendages like fins to propel themselves in the air (much the same way a ray would do in water).
So, perhaps rods are insects, lens flares, birds, or reflections from the ground. Depending on the distance that "long" birds such as the heron or stork is from the camera, it could be misidentified as a rod. Also, a swarm of insects forming a line could be mistaken for a rod, as hundreds of insect bodies appear to be a single solid object. And yet another possibility is that unphotographed rods are visual hallucinations, or eye "floaters."
The web site shows many other "rod" photographs, one of which was taken by a Mrs. Linda Hewett over Canada in 1972. The picture shows a long, shadowy streak in the orange sky that was not noticed until the photo was developed. It looks more like something on the lens, or a shadow on a cloud, than a so-called rod.
Nevertheless, many people have claimed to have seen and photographed rods. Those who are convinced of their existence, make desperate claims that the skeptics will have "no other option but to agree that Rods are something unknown and...join us (the believers) in the investigation". They claim to have "solid evidence" to prove the existence of rods, however, the evidence is fuzzy, inconclusive photographs. What is needed is an actual body of a rod to be captured.
P/S:I am not necessarily dismissing the idea that rods are a strange new life form, but I feel we need more conclusive evidence before jumping to the conclusion that they are indeed real.
Sightings of "rod-like" creatures in the sky date back to early history. Large, flying serpentine creatures were reported in China in 747 AD, in Europe during the late middle ages, and in the United States in 1894. However, these "rods" do not resemble serpentine creatures; instead, they look like string or rope floating in the sky.
At the Rods Web Site (www.roswellrods.com), one can view numerous photographs of alleged rods. Most pictures show what appears to be hairs on the camera lens, or possibly even string, twigs, yarn, and straw which had been caught up in air currents, and mistaken for rods. The web site provides a detailed instruction manual on how to best photograph rods. The clearest photos come from a cave in Mexico. Stills from the video show a small, bright white "line" which appears to be flying, using its appendages like fins to propel themselves in the air (much the same way a ray would do in water).
So, perhaps rods are insects, lens flares, birds, or reflections from the ground. Depending on the distance that "long" birds such as the heron or stork is from the camera, it could be misidentified as a rod. Also, a swarm of insects forming a line could be mistaken for a rod, as hundreds of insect bodies appear to be a single solid object. And yet another possibility is that unphotographed rods are visual hallucinations, or eye "floaters."
The web site shows many other "rod" photographs, one of which was taken by a Mrs. Linda Hewett over Canada in 1972. The picture shows a long, shadowy streak in the orange sky that was not noticed until the photo was developed. It looks more like something on the lens, or a shadow on a cloud, than a so-called rod.
Nevertheless, many people have claimed to have seen and photographed rods. Those who are convinced of their existence, make desperate claims that the skeptics will have "no other option but to agree that Rods are something unknown and...join us (the believers) in the investigation". They claim to have "solid evidence" to prove the existence of rods, however, the evidence is fuzzy, inconclusive photographs. What is needed is an actual body of a rod to be captured.
P/S:I am not necessarily dismissing the idea that rods are a strange new life form, but I feel we need more conclusive evidence before jumping to the conclusion that they are indeed real.
Alien Felines: Eastern Panther
The "alien feline" mystery is a worldwide phenomena. Although the big cats are not as supernatural as the chupacabra, or as widely celebrated as bigfoot, the existence of such animals is as thoroughly debated. The eastern panther is one such cat that is officially listed as an extinct animal since the mid-late 1800s. However, this "ghost cat" is still reported through much of eastern Canada and the New England States in America.
Also known as the mountain lion, cougar, Klandagi, and catamount, the eastern panther generates dozens of sightings a year throughout its northeastern US range; and according to a December 5th National Post article, up to 40 sightings a year are recorded by the wildlife branch of the New Brunswick (Canada) government.
The animal is commonly described as a large predatory cat with a muscular body weighing about 100 pounds. It is about 4-7 feet long and is tawny coloured. Another species (or colour variation) is the all-black panther which has been reported in the state of Vermont several times.
In his book "Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls, and Unsolved Mysteries", Joseph Citro describes an encounter with a black panther by Marian Harpan Peduzzi in 1946. Peduzzi was walking on a dirt road in Berlin, Vermont, heading home for dinner at around 4 pm. She noticed what she thought was a black labrador, but when she studied it further, she realized it was a large cat...just 100-150 meters away. She quickly reached a friend's house. Her friend confirmed the sighting of the mysterious cat. After watching the panther for a few minutes, it got up and ran in the direction of the house, coming within 10 meters of the startled pair before changing directions and disappearing into the woods. The two women described the cat as being 4 feet long with a long tail and glossy black fur.
Evidence for the eastern panther is quite limited. Despite the large number of hunters that annually scour the woods, not one of these cats has been captured or shot. Not one cat has been hit by a car on any of the thousands of miles of highways all over the northeastern US and Canada. There are no live specimens, no plaster casts of tracks, no clear photographs. The only piece of tangible "evidence" is some grainy, black-and-white video footage taken by Roger Noble (Canada) in 1990.
Several theories attempt to explain the feline enigma. Some say the cats are transplanted western cougars or illegally purchased black panthers, which either escaped, or were released when their owners discovered they make poor pets. Nevertheless, the number of annual sightings suggests a larger population of cats than science is willing to support.
P/S:SOURCE: The National Post (Canada)
"Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls, And Unsolved Mysteries" by Joseph Citro
"The Eastern Panther" by Gerry Parker
Also known as the mountain lion, cougar, Klandagi, and catamount, the eastern panther generates dozens of sightings a year throughout its northeastern US range; and according to a December 5th National Post article, up to 40 sightings a year are recorded by the wildlife branch of the New Brunswick (Canada) government.
The animal is commonly described as a large predatory cat with a muscular body weighing about 100 pounds. It is about 4-7 feet long and is tawny coloured. Another species (or colour variation) is the all-black panther which has been reported in the state of Vermont several times.
In his book "Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls, and Unsolved Mysteries", Joseph Citro describes an encounter with a black panther by Marian Harpan Peduzzi in 1946. Peduzzi was walking on a dirt road in Berlin, Vermont, heading home for dinner at around 4 pm. She noticed what she thought was a black labrador, but when she studied it further, she realized it was a large cat...just 100-150 meters away. She quickly reached a friend's house. Her friend confirmed the sighting of the mysterious cat. After watching the panther for a few minutes, it got up and ran in the direction of the house, coming within 10 meters of the startled pair before changing directions and disappearing into the woods. The two women described the cat as being 4 feet long with a long tail and glossy black fur.
Evidence for the eastern panther is quite limited. Despite the large number of hunters that annually scour the woods, not one of these cats has been captured or shot. Not one cat has been hit by a car on any of the thousands of miles of highways all over the northeastern US and Canada. There are no live specimens, no plaster casts of tracks, no clear photographs. The only piece of tangible "evidence" is some grainy, black-and-white video footage taken by Roger Noble (Canada) in 1990.
Several theories attempt to explain the feline enigma. Some say the cats are transplanted western cougars or illegally purchased black panthers, which either escaped, or were released when their owners discovered they make poor pets. Nevertheless, the number of annual sightings suggests a larger population of cats than science is willing to support.
P/S:SOURCE: The National Post (Canada)
"Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls, And Unsolved Mysteries" by Joseph Citro
"The Eastern Panther" by Gerry Parker
Trapping Selma
American researcher Cliff Crook is in "friendly pursuit" of Bigfoot. Canadian researcher John Kirk is, as he put it during my interview with him in 1998, "searching for Ogopogo purely for the pleasure we derive from looking for it". Myself I´m trying to prove Selma, the Seljord Serpent and into the third year, I´m willing to try the rather controversial method of trapping the creature.
Call me gullible or whatever you like, but I sincerely believe that Selma and her relatives are down there. I have seen her performing on the surface. I have seen outlines of her on an echosounder and a side scan sonar. I have heard her on our recently introduced hydrophones. And some 500 witnesses to date are backing me and have told GUST what they have seen of her, too.
However, Selma, like other monsters around the world, is uncooperative when someone wants to prove them real, and I´m sure there are a number of perfectly normal reasons for this, the most likely one being a lack of adequate resources and professional personnel to handle the often very specialized equipment needed. We´re building up such a qualified team right now, and it´s becoming more operational for every new expedition.
Pictures, video, or film footage are good and not as easy to fake as some sceptics are telling us, but science requires a specimen alive or dead, and nothing less. With a captured animal, probing scientists can get tissue, blood and DNA samples, can examine them thoroughly, and catalogue them in the appropriate genus.
GUST2000 will use the COMET to try to capture a specimen of the Seljord Serpent. COMET is an abbreviation for Co-Operative Monster Eel Trap. This name is used to get us around the fact that these animals are protected and illegal to catch, or so the Norwegian authorities claim. In reality, no animal unproved by science can be protected; but we don´t want to lose the support we have in Norway, both from the public and the authorities.
Besides, a number of reliable witnesses have told us they have seen what they interpreted as "monster eels", both on the surface and under it. Either they are right and the Seljord Serpent is a strange eel species unknown to science; or there is a much stranger creature in the lake that, at some stage during its metamorphosis, changes from an eel-looking creature into a more established cryptid, i.e. a Nessie, Ogopogo or Storsie-type of creature, thicker in the middle, with a long neck and a small or large head, etc.
COMET is professionally made by InnFisk AS at Hornnes outside Kristiansand on the coast of southern Norway. It´s six metres long, 5 meters (15 feet) in circumference, and has a conelike opening where we expect a catch to enter, attracted by the live fish that are seemingly awaiting it further inside the trap. But a possible serpent will never reach these fish since they are in a section by themselves; and when it tries to find its way out again, it won’t.
Stein Uhleberg of InnFisk AS explained to us that common fish are unable to avoid getting trapped in a fishing-net, but eels are too smart for that and require an eel-buck. What we need to trap Selma is, of course, anyone's guess; but you´ve got to start somewhere, and Stein Uhleberg thinks that COMET is a good beginning
The idea to use a trap originally came from limnologist Dr. Atle Hindar at The Norwegian Institute for Water Research. At my interview in 1999 for our CD-ROM, "The Search for Selma", Dr. Hindar told me that this was what he would do if he were to prove a serpent in Lake Seljordsvatnet, adding they had used fish traps to catch known species that they wanted to examine further for one reason or the other.
COMET is meant to capture a baby serpent between 1-5 meters (3-15 feet) long. Two molecular biologists at a Norwegian university are standing by to take DNA and other samples. After that the creature will be released again into the lake. If this happens at GUST2000, we can promise that we have the connections to let the entire world know within 24 hours. Hold your breath!
P/S:Jan Sundberg is the President and founder of GUST (Global Underwater Search Team) and has been searching for the serpent in Lake Seljordsvatnet, Norway, since 1977, and will continue to do so in August 2000 with the sea serpent trap.
Call me gullible or whatever you like, but I sincerely believe that Selma and her relatives are down there. I have seen her performing on the surface. I have seen outlines of her on an echosounder and a side scan sonar. I have heard her on our recently introduced hydrophones. And some 500 witnesses to date are backing me and have told GUST what they have seen of her, too.
However, Selma, like other monsters around the world, is uncooperative when someone wants to prove them real, and I´m sure there are a number of perfectly normal reasons for this, the most likely one being a lack of adequate resources and professional personnel to handle the often very specialized equipment needed. We´re building up such a qualified team right now, and it´s becoming more operational for every new expedition.
Pictures, video, or film footage are good and not as easy to fake as some sceptics are telling us, but science requires a specimen alive or dead, and nothing less. With a captured animal, probing scientists can get tissue, blood and DNA samples, can examine them thoroughly, and catalogue them in the appropriate genus.
GUST2000 will use the COMET to try to capture a specimen of the Seljord Serpent. COMET is an abbreviation for Co-Operative Monster Eel Trap. This name is used to get us around the fact that these animals are protected and illegal to catch, or so the Norwegian authorities claim. In reality, no animal unproved by science can be protected; but we don´t want to lose the support we have in Norway, both from the public and the authorities.
Besides, a number of reliable witnesses have told us they have seen what they interpreted as "monster eels", both on the surface and under it. Either they are right and the Seljord Serpent is a strange eel species unknown to science; or there is a much stranger creature in the lake that, at some stage during its metamorphosis, changes from an eel-looking creature into a more established cryptid, i.e. a Nessie, Ogopogo or Storsie-type of creature, thicker in the middle, with a long neck and a small or large head, etc.
COMET is professionally made by InnFisk AS at Hornnes outside Kristiansand on the coast of southern Norway. It´s six metres long, 5 meters (15 feet) in circumference, and has a conelike opening where we expect a catch to enter, attracted by the live fish that are seemingly awaiting it further inside the trap. But a possible serpent will never reach these fish since they are in a section by themselves; and when it tries to find its way out again, it won’t.
Stein Uhleberg of InnFisk AS explained to us that common fish are unable to avoid getting trapped in a fishing-net, but eels are too smart for that and require an eel-buck. What we need to trap Selma is, of course, anyone's guess; but you´ve got to start somewhere, and Stein Uhleberg thinks that COMET is a good beginning
The idea to use a trap originally came from limnologist Dr. Atle Hindar at The Norwegian Institute for Water Research. At my interview in 1999 for our CD-ROM, "The Search for Selma", Dr. Hindar told me that this was what he would do if he were to prove a serpent in Lake Seljordsvatnet, adding they had used fish traps to catch known species that they wanted to examine further for one reason or the other.
COMET is meant to capture a baby serpent between 1-5 meters (3-15 feet) long. Two molecular biologists at a Norwegian university are standing by to take DNA and other samples. After that the creature will be released again into the lake. If this happens at GUST2000, we can promise that we have the connections to let the entire world know within 24 hours. Hold your breath!
P/S:Jan Sundberg is the President and founder of GUST (Global Underwater Search Team) and has been searching for the serpent in Lake Seljordsvatnet, Norway, since 1977, and will continue to do so in August 2000 with the sea serpent trap.
De Loys Ape - Mono Grande
Unknown hominoid creatures have been reported numerous times throughout the South American jungles. Legends of the Didi, Vasitri, and the Mono Grande circulate in the region. One piece of evidence supporting the existence of a South American version of bigfoot is the famous photograph of de Loys Ape, photographed by a Swiss geologist, Dr. Francois de Loys sometime between 1917 and 1920. According to de Loys, he and his expedition were resting near the Tarra River on the border of Venezuela and Columbia. They were suddenly attacked by two 5-foot-tall ape-like creatures that waved branches menacingly and threw feces at the men. In defense, de Loys’ men fought back, shooting and killing the female. The wounded male escaped back into the jungle. The ape had strange human-like characteristics, prompting de Loys to photograph the creature sitting on a crate, it’s dead body propped up with a stick. It is said that the creature was eaten by the starving men, thus destroying all evidence except the one controversial photograph.
Nearly a decade passed before the image was made public. Fascinated by the photograph, a friend of de Loys, Dr. George Montandon published the image claiming it was a type of South American ape he dubbed "Ameranthropoides loysi".
Scientists were quick to debunk Dr. Montandon’s claims. One such skeptic, Sir Arthur Keith, proclaimed that the photograph was a hoax picturing nothing more than a spider monkey with it’s tail hidden behind the crate upon which it sat. He also pointed out that the photograph had no indications of the creature’s size. Many speculated that the crate was 20 inches tall, and based on that calculation, the ape would be nearly 5-feet-tall. However, the average height for a spider monkey is between 15 and 27 inches, its tail measuring 20-35 inches long.
Ivan T. Sanderson, respected Fortean researcher and author of several books on the subject, also finds fault in Montandon’s claim. Sanderson writes in his book, Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come To Life, "...this picture produced by Dr. Francios de Loys is obviously that of a spider monkey...". After calculating the creatures actual size, he goes on to say, "Thus this animal, with its head poked up to an unnatural degree by a stick, measures about 27 inches. This is a fair-sized spider monkey but not even a large one. The original photograph is not just a case of mistaken identity; it is an outright hoax, and an obnoxious one at that, being a deliberate deception..."
Despite the skepticism surrounding this photograph, others maintain that the creature is not just a normal spider monkey. Anomalist Michael T. Shoemaker writes: "Examination of the photo reveals a strange, but logical, mixture of characteristics from different genera. The flat nose, with the nostrils widely separated and flared outwards, is characteristic of New World monkeys...Other characteristics that strongly suggest a spider-monkey are the round ridges surrounding the eye sockets, the long hair, and the extremely long fingers and toes. On the other hand, many of its characteristics contradict such an identification...Compared to other anthropoid apes, the creature's body is like a gibbon's, but its limbs and reduced thumbs are most like those of an orangutan...The most extraordinary characteristics lie in the shape of the head. Spider monkeys have a distinctly triangular face, with a pronounced prognathism. The creature's face is oval, with its lower half much heavier, and with more powerful jaws, than a spider monkey's. The creature also has little or no prognathism...Although many New World monkeys tend to have a more prominent forehead than do Old World monkeys, none has a forehead so highly developed as this creature's forehead."
It is interesting to note that Dr. Montandon was a known racist and grossly anti-Semitic, and held a belief that different races evolved from different apes. In a letter to the Anomalist Magazine published in the Fall 1996 issue, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman writes that Dr. Montandon used the photograph to provide evidence for his racist hypothesis, suggesting that the Native Americans descended from the Ameranthropoides loysi.
So it appears that one more cryptozoological enigma bites the dust. Although, as de Loys's photograph has been thoroughly debunked, it does not allow for the case of South American Apes to be officially closed. Numerous sightings of the Mono Grand (or "large monkey") have been reported throughout the jungles of South America. Natives speak of a 5-foot-tall, bipedal ape-like creature that is often said to be dangerous. Credible witnesses reported encounters with these creatures as well, the most recent report from Gary Samuels in 1987. As a mycologist working for the New York Botanical Garden, he was gathering specimines of fungi in Guyana. After hearing footsteps, Samuels looked up to see a 5-foot-tall, bipedal ape nearby.
P/S:SOURCES:
Clark, Jerome, Unexplained!
Coleman, Loren and Raynal, Michael, "De Loys's Photograph: A tool of Racism" The Anomalist, (1996)
Sanderson, Ivan T., Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come To Life.
Nearly a decade passed before the image was made public. Fascinated by the photograph, a friend of de Loys, Dr. George Montandon published the image claiming it was a type of South American ape he dubbed "Ameranthropoides loysi".
Scientists were quick to debunk Dr. Montandon’s claims. One such skeptic, Sir Arthur Keith, proclaimed that the photograph was a hoax picturing nothing more than a spider monkey with it’s tail hidden behind the crate upon which it sat. He also pointed out that the photograph had no indications of the creature’s size. Many speculated that the crate was 20 inches tall, and based on that calculation, the ape would be nearly 5-feet-tall. However, the average height for a spider monkey is between 15 and 27 inches, its tail measuring 20-35 inches long.
Ivan T. Sanderson, respected Fortean researcher and author of several books on the subject, also finds fault in Montandon’s claim. Sanderson writes in his book, Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come To Life, "...this picture produced by Dr. Francios de Loys is obviously that of a spider monkey...". After calculating the creatures actual size, he goes on to say, "Thus this animal, with its head poked up to an unnatural degree by a stick, measures about 27 inches. This is a fair-sized spider monkey but not even a large one. The original photograph is not just a case of mistaken identity; it is an outright hoax, and an obnoxious one at that, being a deliberate deception..."
Despite the skepticism surrounding this photograph, others maintain that the creature is not just a normal spider monkey. Anomalist Michael T. Shoemaker writes: "Examination of the photo reveals a strange, but logical, mixture of characteristics from different genera. The flat nose, with the nostrils widely separated and flared outwards, is characteristic of New World monkeys...Other characteristics that strongly suggest a spider-monkey are the round ridges surrounding the eye sockets, the long hair, and the extremely long fingers and toes. On the other hand, many of its characteristics contradict such an identification...Compared to other anthropoid apes, the creature's body is like a gibbon's, but its limbs and reduced thumbs are most like those of an orangutan...The most extraordinary characteristics lie in the shape of the head. Spider monkeys have a distinctly triangular face, with a pronounced prognathism. The creature's face is oval, with its lower half much heavier, and with more powerful jaws, than a spider monkey's. The creature also has little or no prognathism...Although many New World monkeys tend to have a more prominent forehead than do Old World monkeys, none has a forehead so highly developed as this creature's forehead."
It is interesting to note that Dr. Montandon was a known racist and grossly anti-Semitic, and held a belief that different races evolved from different apes. In a letter to the Anomalist Magazine published in the Fall 1996 issue, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman writes that Dr. Montandon used the photograph to provide evidence for his racist hypothesis, suggesting that the Native Americans descended from the Ameranthropoides loysi.
So it appears that one more cryptozoological enigma bites the dust. Although, as de Loys's photograph has been thoroughly debunked, it does not allow for the case of South American Apes to be officially closed. Numerous sightings of the Mono Grand (or "large monkey") have been reported throughout the jungles of South America. Natives speak of a 5-foot-tall, bipedal ape-like creature that is often said to be dangerous. Credible witnesses reported encounters with these creatures as well, the most recent report from Gary Samuels in 1987. As a mycologist working for the New York Botanical Garden, he was gathering specimines of fungi in Guyana. After hearing footsteps, Samuels looked up to see a 5-foot-tall, bipedal ape nearby.
P/S:SOURCES:
Clark, Jerome, Unexplained!
Coleman, Loren and Raynal, Michael, "De Loys's Photograph: A tool of Racism" The Anomalist, (1996)
Sanderson, Ivan T., Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come To Life.
When Lake Monsters Attack!
The majority of lake monster and sea serpent reports describe large, serpentine creatures that may startle observers, but rarely do these reports describe violent behaviour. However, there are numerous legends and eyewitness accounts that suggest some of these cryptids may be "sometimes" predatory. You may want to be wary next time you’re enjoying your favourite lake, river, or swimming hole on a hot summer day...the pool may be safer!
Lake Erie Monster - USA
Bessie, the large, serpentine creature that haunts Lake Erie in the USA and Canada, has been sighted numerous times. There is an unconfirmed rumor which tells of a lethal encounter with a creature who’s head was the size of a car and killed 3 people in 1992. Although Bessie is generally benign, a more sinister creature has been attacking swimmers near Port Dover, Ontario, Canada in August 2001. News headlines last week covered three bizarre incidents where swimmers were bitten by an unknown fish - or something. Dr. Harold Hynscht, who treated one of the bite victims, has ruled out some of the theories attempting to put a face to the bite marks. Released pet Pirranhas, Lamprey eels, snapping turtles, walleye, goby, and muskellunge fish have been ruled out, prompting Dr. Hynscht to suggest the attacks were caused by a Bowfin fish protecting its territory. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
The Lau And The Lukwata - Africa
A giant, 100 foot-long lake serpent that lurks in the swamps, rivers, and lakes in Uganda, Africa has been feared by natives because of its predatory nature, often taking large mammals or fishermen. Explorers of the region heard these bizarre tales that became more credible as some of them observed the creature themselves.
Dobhar-Chu - Ireland
A strange creature of the Irish lakes is the Dobhar-Chu of Lough Mask. Also called the dobarcu or dhuragoo, this "water hound" has been reported to attack people. It is described as sort of looking similar to a large otter, white in colour with black ear tips and black across the back. It is said by some to look like "half wolfdog/half fish".
In Roderick O’Flaherty’s book, A Description of West Connaught written in 1684, he recalls a startling incident of the dobhar-chu.
"There is one rarity more, which we may term the Irish crocodile, whereof one, as yet living, about ten years ago had sad experience.
The man was passing the shore just by the waterside, and spyed far off the head of a beast swimming, which he took to be an otter, and took no more notice of it; but the beast it seems lifted up his head, to discern whereabouts the man was; then diving swam under the water till he struck ground: whereupon he run out of the water suddenly and took the man by the elbow whereby the man stooped down, and the beast fastened his teeth in his pate, and dragged him into the water; where the man took hold of a stone by chance in his way, and calling to mind he had a knife in his jacket, took it out and gave a thrust of it to the beast, which thereupon got away from him into the lake.
The water about him was all bloody, whether from the beast's blood, or his own, or from both he knows not. It was the pitch of an ordinary greyhound, of a black slimey skin, without hair as he imagines."
Underwater Mystery Attacker - USA
Mrs. Darwin Johnson had a terrifying encounter with a strange creature while swimming in the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana on 21 August 1955. Something with a claw-like hand under the water grabbed her knee. She struggled in vain as the thing dragged her underwater twice. She eventually fought off the unseen attacker with a friend's inner tub. The only evidence of Mrs. Johnson's ordeal were some scratches and a green palm print on her knee.
Thetis Lake Monster - Canada
Thetis Lake, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is said to be home to a silvery-scaled humanoid with gills that lurks in its waters. Sporting webbed feet, hands, and ears, the Thetis Lake Monster adds to its fearsome appearance with a razor-sharp fin or crest on its head. Its large, fish-like eyes are said to penetrate the murkiest of water.
Two teenagers were allegedly attacked by the monster on 19 August, 1972. After seeing the scaly creature rise from the lake, the boys fled in terror, with the monster in pursuit. It caught up with one of the boys, cutting his hand with its barbed head-fin. The boys escaped, and told the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the incident. The RCMP launched an investigation that yielded no evidence despite other residents coming forward with their sightings of the creature. The investigation was soon called off.
African Brain-Sucker (Mamlambo) - Africa
The "half horse, half fish" Mamlambo inhabits the Mzintlava River in the Mount Ayliff area of South Africa. Eyewitnesses describe this creature as being 20 meters (67 ft) long, with short stumpy legs, crocodillian body, and the head and neck of a snake. It is said to have a hypnotic gaze, and shine at night with a green light. It drags human and animal victims in the water, drowning them, and sucking their blood and brains out.
The Mamlambo is described in Xhosa tribal mythology, and is said to bring great wealth to those brave enough to capture it.
Government sources say that the creature has claimed 7 human victims in 1997 alone, along with several goats. But freelance journalist, Andite Nomabhunga, says that 9 human deaths have been blamed on the Mamlambo, including a school girl.
Mount Ayliff police claim that most of the alleged victims which have been found had simply drowned. Sometimes, crabs have eaten away at the soft tissues of the face and throat. Despite police explanations for the deaths, villagers claim that they are not just superstitious tribe people, but educated people who are being terrorized by the Mamlambo.
Bunyips - Australia
According to Aboriginal legend, Bunyips are creatures that lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. They emerge at night, making terrifying, blood-curdling cries, and devour any animal or human that dare venture near its abode. The Bunyip's favourite prey is said to be women.
Fearing to go near suspected Bunyip haunts, the Aborigines shared their fearsome legends with early white settlers. After hearing such tales, they became fearful of strange, loud noises at night, and seriously considered the existence of the Bunyip Monster.
Descriptions of Bunyips include a wide spectrum of appearances from animal to spirit. Some describe the Bunyip as a gorilla-type animal (kinda like bigfoot, or the Australian Yowie), while others say it is half animal, half human or spirit. Bunyips come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are described to have long tails or necks, wings, claws, horns, trunks (like an elephant), fur, scales, fins, feathers...any combination of these.
P/S:SOURCES:
Blackman, W. Haden, The Field Guide to North American Monsters
Bord, Janet and Colin, Unexplained Mysteries of The 20th Century
Clark, Jerome, Unexplained!
Lake Erie Monster - USA
Bessie, the large, serpentine creature that haunts Lake Erie in the USA and Canada, has been sighted numerous times. There is an unconfirmed rumor which tells of a lethal encounter with a creature who’s head was the size of a car and killed 3 people in 1992. Although Bessie is generally benign, a more sinister creature has been attacking swimmers near Port Dover, Ontario, Canada in August 2001. News headlines last week covered three bizarre incidents where swimmers were bitten by an unknown fish - or something. Dr. Harold Hynscht, who treated one of the bite victims, has ruled out some of the theories attempting to put a face to the bite marks. Released pet Pirranhas, Lamprey eels, snapping turtles, walleye, goby, and muskellunge fish have been ruled out, prompting Dr. Hynscht to suggest the attacks were caused by a Bowfin fish protecting its territory. However, this has not yet been confirmed.
The Lau And The Lukwata - Africa
A giant, 100 foot-long lake serpent that lurks in the swamps, rivers, and lakes in Uganda, Africa has been feared by natives because of its predatory nature, often taking large mammals or fishermen. Explorers of the region heard these bizarre tales that became more credible as some of them observed the creature themselves.
Dobhar-Chu - Ireland
A strange creature of the Irish lakes is the Dobhar-Chu of Lough Mask. Also called the dobarcu or dhuragoo, this "water hound" has been reported to attack people. It is described as sort of looking similar to a large otter, white in colour with black ear tips and black across the back. It is said by some to look like "half wolfdog/half fish".
In Roderick O’Flaherty’s book, A Description of West Connaught written in 1684, he recalls a startling incident of the dobhar-chu.
"There is one rarity more, which we may term the Irish crocodile, whereof one, as yet living, about ten years ago had sad experience.
The man was passing the shore just by the waterside, and spyed far off the head of a beast swimming, which he took to be an otter, and took no more notice of it; but the beast it seems lifted up his head, to discern whereabouts the man was; then diving swam under the water till he struck ground: whereupon he run out of the water suddenly and took the man by the elbow whereby the man stooped down, and the beast fastened his teeth in his pate, and dragged him into the water; where the man took hold of a stone by chance in his way, and calling to mind he had a knife in his jacket, took it out and gave a thrust of it to the beast, which thereupon got away from him into the lake.
The water about him was all bloody, whether from the beast's blood, or his own, or from both he knows not. It was the pitch of an ordinary greyhound, of a black slimey skin, without hair as he imagines."
Underwater Mystery Attacker - USA
Mrs. Darwin Johnson had a terrifying encounter with a strange creature while swimming in the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana on 21 August 1955. Something with a claw-like hand under the water grabbed her knee. She struggled in vain as the thing dragged her underwater twice. She eventually fought off the unseen attacker with a friend's inner tub. The only evidence of Mrs. Johnson's ordeal were some scratches and a green palm print on her knee.
Thetis Lake Monster - Canada
Thetis Lake, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is said to be home to a silvery-scaled humanoid with gills that lurks in its waters. Sporting webbed feet, hands, and ears, the Thetis Lake Monster adds to its fearsome appearance with a razor-sharp fin or crest on its head. Its large, fish-like eyes are said to penetrate the murkiest of water.
Two teenagers were allegedly attacked by the monster on 19 August, 1972. After seeing the scaly creature rise from the lake, the boys fled in terror, with the monster in pursuit. It caught up with one of the boys, cutting his hand with its barbed head-fin. The boys escaped, and told the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the incident. The RCMP launched an investigation that yielded no evidence despite other residents coming forward with their sightings of the creature. The investigation was soon called off.
African Brain-Sucker (Mamlambo) - Africa
The "half horse, half fish" Mamlambo inhabits the Mzintlava River in the Mount Ayliff area of South Africa. Eyewitnesses describe this creature as being 20 meters (67 ft) long, with short stumpy legs, crocodillian body, and the head and neck of a snake. It is said to have a hypnotic gaze, and shine at night with a green light. It drags human and animal victims in the water, drowning them, and sucking their blood and brains out.
The Mamlambo is described in Xhosa tribal mythology, and is said to bring great wealth to those brave enough to capture it.
Government sources say that the creature has claimed 7 human victims in 1997 alone, along with several goats. But freelance journalist, Andite Nomabhunga, says that 9 human deaths have been blamed on the Mamlambo, including a school girl.
Mount Ayliff police claim that most of the alleged victims which have been found had simply drowned. Sometimes, crabs have eaten away at the soft tissues of the face and throat. Despite police explanations for the deaths, villagers claim that they are not just superstitious tribe people, but educated people who are being terrorized by the Mamlambo.
Bunyips - Australia
According to Aboriginal legend, Bunyips are creatures that lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. They emerge at night, making terrifying, blood-curdling cries, and devour any animal or human that dare venture near its abode. The Bunyip's favourite prey is said to be women.
Fearing to go near suspected Bunyip haunts, the Aborigines shared their fearsome legends with early white settlers. After hearing such tales, they became fearful of strange, loud noises at night, and seriously considered the existence of the Bunyip Monster.
Descriptions of Bunyips include a wide spectrum of appearances from animal to spirit. Some describe the Bunyip as a gorilla-type animal (kinda like bigfoot, or the Australian Yowie), while others say it is half animal, half human or spirit. Bunyips come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are described to have long tails or necks, wings, claws, horns, trunks (like an elephant), fur, scales, fins, feathers...any combination of these.
P/S:SOURCES:
Blackman, W. Haden, The Field Guide to North American Monsters
Bord, Janet and Colin, Unexplained Mysteries of The 20th Century
Clark, Jerome, Unexplained!
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