big cat or big foot and bigfoot pulled my finger, claims man.

Big cat ... or Bigfoot?

Submitted by John Kanelis on Thu, 12/30/2010 - 11:05am

Reports out of Carson County of a large cat preying on goats are beginning to have a Bigfoot feeling.I am not dismissing the pain of the folks who have lost the livestock in what has been described as a brutal attack. I mourn the loss of the animals.Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry has talked about a "large cat" that reportedly entered a pen the other day near Skellytown and killed several goats. He said one of the animals was torn in half."Everyone thinks its a mountain lion, but we don't have a way to verify that," the sheriff said.No one has actually seen the animal, he said. But authorities have found footprints that they believe belong to a large cat. Residents have reported seeing a creature that stands about two feet high.You've heard of Bigfoot, yes? I hail from the Pacific Northwest and Bigfoot has been part of my vocabulary for as long as I can remember. I recall the first time I saw the grainy film of what was believed to be the creature. I once thought it was real, only to realize that it's probably just someone in a gorilla suit traipsing through the Douglas fir forest.People found footprints in the woods of Oregon and Washington, too. Why, they even made plaster casts of them. But no one ever has actually produced physical evidence of the beast.Unless someone can prove beyond a doubt that mountain lions are prowling along the High Plains, I have to remain somewhat skeptical that they're actually here.Coyotes, though, do roam all over the place. They're known to kill livestock at random. And come to think of it, don't they also stand about two feet tall?

 Source: http://amarillo.com/blog-post/john-kanelis/2010-12-30/big-cat-or-bigfoot

On the trail of Bigfoot

Twists and turns mark a Grants Pass man's decade-long search for the famed creature

By Sanne Specht Mail Tribune

The first time Matthew Johnson spotted Bigfoot, the Grants Pass psychologist was answering nature's call on a hillside near Oregon Caves National Monument in summer of 2000.The last time the 6-foot-9,300-plus-pound man made contact with a Sasquatch was just a few months ago, he said. And he even pulled the hairy beast's finger.Rickman, Crater High School grad who won "Make Me a Supermodel" in 2009"I held onto it for about 10 seconds and then he slowly pulled it away," said Johnson, 49, who still lives in the Grants Pass area.Late in the afternoon on July 1, 2000, Johnson, his wife and three kids, freshly arrived in Oregon from Alaska, had already toured the caves and were out on the 3.3-mile Big Tree Loop Trail when everyone got a whiff of a particularly pungent musky odor. Then their ears picked up the sounds."Whoh, whoh, whoh." The strange noise continued in cycles of five to six repetitions, he said.Johnson began putting the pieces together and immediately felt his "fight-or-flight" response kick in.Telling his family to stay put on the trail below, Johnson climbed up a hill to do his duty, keeping a wary eye out for danger even as he hunkered, and that was the precise moment Johnson spied his first Sasquatch.The huge hairy creature appeared half-man, half-ape. It was standing about 60 feet away, peering at his wife and three kids. First from behind one tree. Then again, after walking upright to another tree, Johnson said.Fearful for his family's safety, Johnson buckled his britches and made his way down the hill. He told his wife to take the kids and get ahead on the trail while he lagged behind. An hour and a half later, and with no further sightings, Johnson and his family were all safely back at the caves.

Johnson spent the next decade chasing Bigfoot and was instrumental in forming the Southern Oregon Bigfoot Society.Members went on overnight camping trips in remote areas of Josephine County, where Johnson said he's found plenty of trails, bedding areas and footprints."I've been growled at, screamed at, and had pinecones thrown into our camps," Johnson said.Several months ago Johnson had a close encounter with Bigfoot in a "new research area outside of Grants Pass," he said."We're keeping the location a secret," he said, adding the area is bordered by federal land and is near a pond where they have found bedding areas and tracks of a "Bigfoot family group" consisting of an adult male, adult female and an adolescent, he said.Johnson can tell Bigfoot family relations by the size of their footprints and the bedding areas, he said."One print was 22 inches long, nine inches at the toes and five inches wide at the heel," he said.Johnson was just drifting off to sleep when Bigfoot poked Johnson's shoulder through the tent wall that night a few months ago, he said. On the third poke, Johnson grabbed the creature's finger and gave the digit, which he described as "a fat cigar," a good pull, he said."I bent it to see if it was jointed," Johnson said. "I wanted to know if he was poking me with his finger or a stick."About two minutes later, Bigfoot was back at the tent, this time poking at Johnson's own size 16 feet."The next morning we found two tracks by the side of the tent and all around the foot of my tent," Johnson said.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.

Read full story here : http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101230/NEWS/12300318/-1/NEWSMAP

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The Historical Bigfoot 

New Loch Ness exhibition and news of a film about the Yeren

A monster of a mystery at MK Gallery

Wednesday 29^th December 2010 TEN years of research into stories surrounding the Loch Ness Monster will culminate in a new exhibition at Milton Keynes Gallery from next Friday, January 14, until April 3.In his first major solo event in a UK public gallery, Irish artist Gerard Byrne will present Case Study: Loch Ness (Some possibilities and problems) 2001-2011 in the form of a conceptual art exhibition.The project, which makes use of subtle humour and a degree of ambiguity, aims to blur the line between fiction and documentary, and demonstrate how images shape our understanding of myth and reality.As well as eighty of Byrne’s photographs, the exhibition includes a new film composed of material gathered around Loch Ness, played to the sound of eyewitness accounts. The film documents the fauna of Loch Ness and the region’s unique landscape. Varying in scale, the photographs also feature landscapes and landscape details, newspaper front covers, texts, and photographs of original material, all relating to the Loch Ness monster. Large, gnarled tree sculptures will also be on display.A spokesman for the Milton Keynes Gallery said: “Intrinsic to any account of this subject is a story of make-believe, fabrication and hoaxes – a famous historic photograph of the monster which turned out to be a toy submarine; others of drifting wood. “Through his own footage and research, Byrne questions the ways in which images are constructed, transmitted and mediated and asks: is it possible to capture an image of something that does not exist?”Drawing on his accumulated work, Byrne draws direct parallels between one of the world’s most enduring modern myths and the rise of commercial mass media. Born in Dublin in 1969, Byrne is regarded by critics as one of the most important artists of his generation. He represented Ireland in the 2007 Venice Biennale. Other major presentations of his work include Gwangju and Sydney in 2008, Lyon in 2007, the Tate Triennial in 2006 and the Istanbul Biennale in 2003.A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, Byrne has also won the Paul Hamlyn Award and the PS1 Studio Award.Entry is free. Visit www.mkgallery.org for more information. Source:http://www.buckinghamtoday.co.uk/news/a_monster_of_a_mystery_at_mk_gallery_1_2215975

Home of China's "Bigfoot" plans to shoot Avatar-like 3D film on the elusive beast

English.news.cn   2010-12-30            WUHAN, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Shennongjia Forest District, the rumored hometown of a Bigfoot-like ape-man, plans to shoot an Avatar-like 3D movie about the district's elusive beast, said a spokesman for the district government's information office Thursday.The movie, tentatively named "Primary Zone," will cost more than 100 million yuan (about 15 million U.S. dollars) to produce, the spokesman said, adding that a Beijing-based entertainment company will be responsible for film's financing.Located deep in remote mountains in Hubei Province, the Shennongjia area has long been rumored to be the home of the "Yeren," literally "Wild man."It is also referred to as "Bigfoot," like the legendary North American ape-man.Since last century, more than 400 people have claimed to have seen the creature, which is said to walk upright, be over 2 meters tall and have a hairy gray, red and black body. But no hard evidence of the creature's existence has been found.A group of scientists have said they are considering launching a high-profile search for the mysterious creature. The last organized search for the beast was conducted about 30 years ago.

 Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-12/30/c_13670939.htm

Cryptid Greetings

Lost World found in Scotiish Highlands

'Lost world' is home to rare species

Published:  17 December, 2010

DISCOVERIES of rare and endangered species on an Inverness-shire estate are putting it on the map as the "lost world" of the Highlands, according to a conservation charity.During the year, Trees for Life has unearthed a number of notable finds on its 10,000 acre Dundreggan Estate, including:

    * The strawberry spider (Araneus alsine), a nationally scarce species previously only recorded seven times in Scotland.

    * A rare sawfly (Pristiphora borea), an arctic-alpine species only identified in the UK three times before, and only once since 1931.

    * The Juniper sawfly (Monoctenus juniperi) classified as rare in the UK's Red Data Book of endangered species.

    * The nationally scarce, a species that enslaves other ants.

Alan Watson Featherstone, the charity's executive director, says the discoveries are beginning to capture the imagination of the public.Today, to mark the end of United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, the charity says it will seek more funding to carry further surveys for the Glen Moriston estate, which lies to the west of Loch Ness.Mr Featherstone explained the "remarkable discoveries" at Dundreggan were rapidly establishing its reputation for nurturing an important range of species that are rare or were once thought to be extinct locally."Given the loss of biodiversity globally, the richness of life on the estate highlights the importance of on-the-ground conservation projects, and the urgency of restoring Scotland's Caledonian Forest to the Highlands."People are realising biodiversity is not just exotic creatures in tropical rainforests or coral reefs - there is actually a lot of interest here in our own country but we haven't really looked enough in the past."The charity is half way through a dragonfly survey and plans to look at slugs and snails as well as other invertebrate groups in the future.It purchased the estate in 2008 for £1.65 million and is planting half a million trees, developing scientific research and education programmes and supporting the return of rare woodland wildlife and plants.See www.treesforlife.org.uk for more information on the International Year of Biodiversity and its finds, or www.biodiversityislife.net    

Source: http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/14075/_Lost_world__is_home_to_rare_species.html

Book Review:.Tony Harmsworth new book about Loch Ness.

I bought Tony’s new  book through his website : http://www.loch-ness.org/

Loch Ness, Nessie and Me arrived within a couple of days of my ordering it, signed by the author ,with a sticker saying limited edition 10 of a 100 and a nice postcard of the tour sites around Loch Ness(makes a useful bookmark) .It will make a nice present for anyone who is interested in the Loch Ness Story.

It contains some history of the Loch and a nice tour of the Loch ,so if you have never been or are planning a visit ,you will find this interesting. I enjoyed it and I have been there loads of times.

The book is written in  an easy style and different aspects of it are interspersed so you will get a bit about Tony’s life around the Loch and then a chapter on the Nessie. I have to admit my personal preference would have been to have 3 separate sections. The history and tour and then either Tony’s story and the monster hunting stories and analysis ,rather than go from one topic to another, but that is just me.

The front cover claims “The Truth Revealed” but apart from Tony’s  story of his life around the Loch , there was nothing new I hadn’t read before. There is the analysis of Tim Dinsdale’s film saying it is a boat(Apparently you can do this yourself by taking photos of the film being shown on a TV programme. However I do wonder if showing the film , an old cine film, on a modern TV network ,wouldn’t distort it in some way? Wouldn’t it have to be altered to show on the TV? I  don’t know and will leave you to think about that when you read the book. )Robert Rines photos are analysed ,but no new revelations, the usual tree stump and folded polythene argument. The only qualm I have with this ,as all evidence should be open to scrutiny and analysis, is that neither men are around to defend their work and therefore cannot explain how they came to their conclusions and argue back .So this makes the analysis one sided and I think everyone should read different points of  view and make their own minds up and not be swayed by just one view point. There is also , of course, Tony’s encounters with Frank Searle, who if nothing else was a real character and whatever you may think after reading Tony’s book, it still makes me smile every time I hear his name. The locals had a soft spot for him so he must have had some good characteristics, but I just saw him as some sort of showman with a bad temper.It is amazing how fast people could run when they suggested to Frank his photos weren’t genuine. lol

Tony says he believes there is something in the Loch but more likely to be a big fish, which is fair enough, I think most people would agree it is not some remnant prehistoric beast.

I enjoyed the book ,read it in one afternoon ,and if nothing else I have learned from Tony, always get things in writing. There are lots of black and white illustrations , some that you may not have seen before and yes it is a worthwhile read but keep an open mind.

More big cat sightings in the Highlands

Big cat on prowl in Fort!

By Stuart Taylor

Published:  16 December, 2010

PARS have been replaced by purrs and bogeys by moggies at Fort William Golf Club, after a series of "big cat" sightings on the fairways and greens.The mystery animal has been spotted several times in the last fortnight by members, the club steward and greenkeepers. Its paw prints have also been discovered in some of the bunkers on the scenic 18-hole course which nestles at the foot of Ben Nevis on the outskirts of town.It is thought the recent heavy snow may have forced the animal down the slopes to forage for food, with club members noting a coincidental disappearance of hares which are usually spotted in twos and threes at every hole at this time of year.Greenkeeper Michael Lopez found the paw marks in a bunker and then spotted the animal from distance as it ran across the large car park near the clubhouse."I was a good bit away but it was definitely a big cat," said Mr Lopez, of Caol. "It's a bit of a mystery but I do believe there's a good possibility that something's out there."Within days of Mr Lopez's sighting, the animal was seen by club steward James Duncan.He told the Lochaber News: "I first saw it bounding across the car park. It disappeared under the bridge which carries the railway line across, and ran on to the course."It was a dark brown/black colour, with a long tail. The tail was the same length as its body. It was about 18 inches to two feet tall off the ground.

Read rest with pics here: http://www.lochaber-news.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/5721/Big_cat_on_prowl_in_Fort!.html

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