Living Dinosaurs in Chile?

There were  reports of possible raptor like creatures seen in the Arica area of Chile in 2004

The first sighting occurred at around 9:40 p.m on Thursday, July 29, 2004. Dario Riquelme was driving a vehicle from Iquique to Arica. Chilean Army official Hernan Cuevas, his wife, and his two young children were with him in the car. The sighting happened when  they were only a few minutes away from arriving at Arica. They saw something strange darted across the road in front of their car. Riquelme then stopped the vehicle.It was followed by another a few minutes later. This time they could clearly see the creature and thought  that it was around 2 meters.( 6 feet) Riquelme stated that the creature was  like a dinosaur, walking on two legs and was grey and hairless .The daughter ,Tania ,said that the creatures  had  short arms and moved very fast.

  Then another sighting two weeks later by the  Abett de la Torre Diaz family who described how four “dog faced kangaroo like” creatures  surrounded their car as they travelled home. Carmen Diaz described how one of the creatures stared at them while they were seated in their car.She drew the footprints of the creatures from memory, and it showed a three-toed foot with claws on the tips of the toes.

 Other people have also reported sightings Other motorists have also reported coming into contact with a creature  that looks a raptor, with thick leathery skin,  three-toed feet, an upright stance and razor sharp teeth.Sounds like a creature from Jurassic park but there may be an explanation.

S IGHTINGS IN ARICA: "DINOSAUR-LIKE" OSTRITCHES?

By Mauricio Silva El Mercurio (Santiago de Chile) August 5, 2004

Amazement spreads over accounts from drivers claiming to have encountered strange beings like Jurassic Park animals.   ARICA -- The alleged dinosaurs allegedly seen in the desert by some drivers and their passengers, whose stories have caused certain expectation in the city, would have been no more than simple and peaceful ostriches. Claims of strange, enormous creatures galloping across the Pampa come from drivers who were making their way at night on the road linking Arica with Iquique. The local press has broadcast these stories profusely, causing both wonderment and some incredulous smiles. Ricardo Arancibia, a breeder of these African flightless birds, located in the vicinity of the alleged sightings, has 12 specimens on Lot 53 of Acha, very near the road and area where the apparitions occurred.  It is believed that some 200 ostriches exist in the Pampa today, distributed in scattered pens in northern communities such as Acha, Chaca and Lluta. Concerned by these accounts, Arancibia contacted the media to offer background information that could bring an end to the mystery and turn what threatened to become a new modern myth, like the so-called Chupacabras or UFOs, into a harmless episode. He acknowledged that the birds can escape from their pens and give the wrong impression, especially if seen at night.  A total of 11 people claim having seen alleged dinosaurs in two separate incidents--last Thursday and two weeks ago--both at night. The descriptions agree that the apparitions were dog-headed birds, standing nearly 2 meters tall with long legs, developed thighs and small, inverted upper extremities. It is said that they moved swiftly with wide strides.  Municipal Veterinarian Alfrodin Turra ratified that said characteristics coincide with those of ostriches. But Dario Riquelme,44, a fiberglass contractor who has been driving the same road for 10 years and made the first sighting, rejects this explanation. "I know what ostriches look like and there's no deal. [It] crouched in front of my pickup truck, I saw it clearly. They were just like the ones from Jurassic Park."  

Translation (c) 2004. Scott Corrales, IHU.Special thanks to Liliana NÒez.

 So people who have seen them reject the big bird explanation. It is however easy to be fooled at night in the light of car headlights. Raptors and large birds are very alike in the way they move, so what do you think, escaped Ostrich or Raptor?

Since the sightings some new discoveries of fossils have been found.

New Tyrannosaurus-like vegetarian dinosaur discovered in Chile 2015

Anatomical comparisons have shown that the bipedal Chilesaurus had relatively short but strong forelimbs similar to the T.rex and other carnivorous therapods. However its hands had two blunt fingers, unlike the sharp, dagger-like claws of meat-eaters such as Velociraptor.

Read it here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-tyrannosaurus-like-vegetarian-dinosaur-discovered-in-chile-10207503.html

Unknown DINOSAUR' bones discovered 2018

A young man discovered some strange bones.

Read it  here : https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/708270/Jurassic-World-uknown-dinosaur-bones-discovered-Aysen-Region-Chile-video

In view of these discoveries could the creatures sighted   be  descendants  of the early dinosaurs? They sound so similar and bird like but would have evolved somewhat hence anomalies in descriptions  from any original creatures. There have been no sightings since 2004 that I could find reported so where did they go? One can only hope that they reappear and are seen again so an investigation may turn up answers .

Famous Cryptid and Alien photos

A collection of some of the famous  photos taken over the years of monsters and UFOs. If you haven't seen them ,worth a look,from Nessie to Bigfoot .

https://www.pocket-lint.com/cameras/news/141531-29-of-the-most-famous-alien-and-monster-photographs-ever-taken

Mysterious creature of Lake Tota

Lake Tota  is, the largest lake in Colombia, situated deep in the mountainous region of Boyaca, it is the source of the Upia River which flows into the Orinoco River basin. It has a length  of 7 miles (55 kilometres), 4 miles wide (6 kilometres) and a depth of 58 metres (190 feet).The average water temperature is 13 °C.

It is the habitat for rainbow trout and several threatened bird species Including the Least Bittern and Apolinar’s Wren.The area around Lake Tota is one of the major onion producing regions and  the western shore  is a popular tourist destination. The river was considered a religious centre for the local Muisca  indigenous community, who once inhabited the area.

 Since the 16th century the story goes that a monster inhabits the lake, often referred to as the diablo ballena (devil whale). For centuries the Muisca tribe believed in the mysterious animal and  passed the tale down through generations. It is described as  ‘a big black snake, with eyes that shine’.

The earliest note of it was by the  conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Later it was written  down by priest and historian Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita in 1676 who described the monster as a ‘fish with a black head like an ox and larger than a whale’ Then the  French explorer Gaspard Théodore Mollien wrote in 1823, an  ‘evil creature inhabits its depth in dwellings’ in his book The Journey of Gaspard Théodore Mollien by the Republic of Colombia.

In 1852 Manuel Ancízar a Colombian writer and politician recorded the monster in his book The Pilgrimage Alpha for the northern provinces of New Granada. He wrote in his introduction ‘this tall story involved the freshwater devil’.

José Jerónimo Triana, a Colombian physician and explorer, noted the monster’s presence in his book Myths, legends, traditions and folklore of Lake Tota, when referring to the lake he wrote the ‘lagoons were the residences of a sublime divinity and the soulful Indians’.

The monster was also defined as "a monstrous fish", "a black monster",and even as "the Dragon" and as a "divine animal archetype" In 1880, Lilia Montaña de Silva stated in her book, that the story that a black monster lived in the enchanted waters of the lagoon still persisted among the residents surrounding Lake Tota, in the town of Cuitiva."

Tourists who flock to the Western shore of the lake still look out for sightings of the creature. There are no recent sightings I could find. The creature sounds like a large eel or snake or even a primitive whale. It may have long since died if it existed. If a sighting is reported of course ,then it still perhaps inhabits the lake.

New Ogopogo Sighting

Pretty creepy’: Okanagan man believes he’s captured ‘definitive Ogopogo sighting’ on video

A south Okanagan man is convinced he’s captured the most conclusive piece of evidence yet of the legendary and elusive lake monster in the Okanagan known as the Ogopogo. Jim La Rocque was enjoying his mother-in-law’s lakefront property with his two children in Kaleden, B.C. on June 1 when he says he noticed an inexplicable wake on Skaha Lake.La Rocque scrambled to record the mysterious ripples breaking through the lake’s glassy surface.His son was wading on a paddle board nearby.

“Eventually he turns and sees a flipper come out of the water and hit the water, and that’s when he… turned around and started coming back in,” La Rocque said.The longtime Okanagan resident said he couldn’t believe his eyes.

La Rocque believes he witnessed a giant, serpentine creature swimming across the lake with at least seven fins paddling in sync.He estimates it was at least 36 metres (120 feet) long.“I’d describe it as like a dragon boat race, like with oars, so if you flipped the dragon boat upside down, you would see all those oars coming out of the water,” he said.

See film read rest here :https://globalnews.ca/news/5381999/pretty-creepy-okanagan-man-believes-hes-captured-definitive-ogopogo-sighting-on-video/?fbclid=IwAR3ymwYSjrCWp8KvZi7LZA34vXcDE-ddV2Ae7akmTpdpTahyTSnOnC0xqrk

Lake Okanagan in Canada is said to be the home of a water monster called Ogopogo The lake is approximately 120 kilometres long; 3.5 kilometres wide and is 235 metres at its deepest point. Indigenous people have legends about a monster in the lake. Sightings are reported of a creature 20 to 50 feet long, with a horse shaped head and an undulating serpent like body.The first recorded sighting was by John Allison in 1872.

In 2000 marathon swimmer, Daryl Ellis, reported being accompanied for a short distance during his swim by two large creatures as he passed Rattlesnake Island. He described them as one being 6 - 9 metres (20 - 30 feet) long and the second being smaller. They followed him for quite awhile and then disappeared. When he swam near Okanagan Lake floating bridge in Kelowna, a creature with a large eye the size of a grapefruit came within 9 metres to get a close look at him."

The most recent search for Ogopogo was on Okanagan Lake the week of November 3rd, 2008. A documentary was filmed for the History Channel

New Nessie Sighting.

Loch Ness monster filmed by holiday couple and she's 'definitely black and a fair size'

A husband and wife on holiday in the Highlands have had a monster surprise - Nessie !

Gloria and Ian Davison saw a dark creature with a head and neck as they drove alongside Loch Ness on Tuesday.It was seventh sighting of the Loch Ness monster this year.

The stunned couple stopped their car by Urquhart Bay and watched the creature for a minute before it disappeared beneath the water.Stunned Gloria, 57, from from Corbridge in Northumberland, who retired from a career in medical sales, said:"We have been to Loch Ness many times, but never seen the monster before."But I always like to look at the loch - I can't imagine how many pairs of eyes are on that loch at any one time. But I have spent periods looking at the water, because you never know.But at around 1.30pm just after we had lunch, my husband was driving and I was in the passenger seat gazing out at the loch.

"Then I suddenly saw something and I said to Ian 'there's something down there.'"He turned around and we got out of the car and there it was. We were very excited. It was about 300 metres away and definitely black. It seemed to have a neck and head."I could definitely see its back and it was a fair size. It disappeared after a minute beneath the water.

"I had hoped there was something (Nessie) in the loch - you always want to believe in something. All I can say is that we saw something we cannot explain. But it was animate and it was definitely not a seal.

Read rest here and see photo: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/loch-ness-monster-filmed-holiday-16510890

Loch Ness Monster may be real

For years and years, there have been theories that a monster lived in Loch Ness -
 but there has been no real proof that it existed - save for a faked photograph of the 'monster' in 1934.

But now, a research group from the University of Otago, New Zealand, has found some
 'surprising' evidence that would suggest that a monster might have existed.

Read Leader of the team, Professor Neil Gemmell, has explained that they took DNA 
(that's genetic information) from creatures that have lived in the lake.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48499253

Be interesting to see what the results show in September .I have my doubts about it though as surely if it was that definite ,they would be shouting it from the roof tops.If it says it is a sturgeon I would be asking what happened to the one Adrian Shine had in a pool in his garden? Was it released into the Loch?

Could jumping genes produce some cryptids?

Thoughts on Cryptid evolution part two.

This recent article caught my attention:

‘Jumping’ genes let fish move from sea to fresh water

One of the most important omega-3s is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an essential compound for animal health. DHA is abundant in marine ecosystems but is scarce in freshwater environments. In saltwater, various algae that comprise the diet of fish produce DHA, but it can also be manufactured in small amounts by fish themselves.Given how necessary DHA is, how then do marine fish species colonise freshwater ecosystems – something that has happened repeatedly over evolutionary history?Lead author Asano Ishikawa of the National Institute of Genetics and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), in Shizuoka, Japan and a team of international scientists set out to discover the answer.

The team noted that the marine fish known as the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) had successfully colonised freshwater habitats many times and in many continents over its evolutionary past.

Intriguingly, jumping genes, known more properly as transposons, might be the cause of the repetition of Fads2 in the genome of the three-spined stickleback and thus their ability to adapt to freshwater habitats.Transposons, say Jesse N. Weber and Wenfei Tong of the University of Alaska, in the US, “are repetitive sequences that can insert themselves, and any DNA in between them, into other parts of the genome”.This metabolic gene then, might be one of the key elements that has facilitated the adaptive radiation of fish species from marine to freshwater habitats.

Read full article here : https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/jumping-genes-let-fish-move-from-sea-to-fresh-water

If some marine  creatures can change to be freshwater creatures could this mean there may be fresh water Octopii? The Oklahoma Octopus creature springs to mind. It has always been thought that it could not exist as fresh water octopii are unknown but perhaps this species had the jumping genes  to adapt?

Read about it here :https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2010/06/more-on-oklahoma-octopus-creature.html