Seasons Greetings

 Merry Christmas to all. I hope you all find some joy in the holidays. I hope for lots of new cryptid sightings in 2024 and a better year for us all.xx

Christmas Monsters

 Christmas is also for Monsters!

 Not all Christmas creatures are benign like Santa Claus. Krampus looks like a demonic goat who walks on its hind legs like a human. He punishes naughty children, beating them with birch branches and carries a basket on his back so he can carry off a child to eat later.The 5th of December is Krampusnacht ,men in homemade Krampus costumes run around Alpine villages causing havoc. These 'Krampus Runs' continue today. The Karakoncolos looks like a cross between the Devil and a Sasquatch. In Turkey, the legend says he would stand at street corners on winter nights setting riddles for passers-by. If the traveller gave an answer that included the word ‘black’ they were free to go on their way. If not, he would strike them dead .Sometimes the Karakoncolos would just put them in a trance and leave them to roam free. In Serbia, the story says the Karakoncolos jumps on the victim’s back and uses them as a ride. The exhausted person was only released at dawn. Jólakötturinn is the Icelandic Yule Cat or Christmas Cat. Jólakötturinn, who first appeared in the 19th century, a huge, ferocious beast with razor-like whiskers, blazing eyes and terrible claws who consumed any child who did not receive new clothes on Christmas Day.It is tied into an Icelandic tradition in which those who finish their work on time received new clothes for Christmas, while those who were lazy did not . Jólakötturinn could tell who the lazy children were because they did not have at least one new item of clothing for Christmas and these children would be eaten by the Yule Cat. Then there is the macabre skeleton mare of Welsh tradition,Mary Lwyd, which rises from the dead and wanders the streets with her undead attendants, to remind the living of their existence. Mary Lwyd wants to to get into your house. To keep the zombie horse out, you must engage in a battle of rhymes . Usually singing the rhymes to which the zombie horse replies.On New Year’s Eve, the undead mare is represented by a puppeteer parading a horse skull on a pole draped in white cloth around the towns and villages. Next there is a creature from Scandinavian folklore who looks like a gnome and lives among the dead inside burial mounds called the Tomten.He can act as a caretaker of the household, that is if you keep on his good side. The Tomten has quite the temper and is known for biting people who upset him. The bites are poisonous and deadly. People leave a gift of food out on Christmas Eve for the Tomten. One of Iceland’s creatures associated with Christmas is Gryla a giant troll who is bad tempered with an insatiable hunger for children. Each Christmas, Gryla comes down from her mountain dwelling to hunt for naughty children. She catches them in a sack and takes them back to her cave where she boils them alive for her favourite stew.

Could plans for Loch Linnhe be the end of monster sightings?

 

End for Loch Linnhe Monster?

Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. It is about 50 kilometres (31 miles ) long and about 2km (1 and 1/5 miles) wide  It opens into the Firth of Lorne at its south-western end and  the town of Fort William lies at the northeast end of the loch, at the mouth of the River Lochy.There have been several reports of a creature in the Loch over the years. Plans for the loch could put an end to food stocks for any marine life .

West coast locals horrified at inevitable damage to Loch Linnhe

Alarmed locals are calling for government action to halt plans to create Scotland’s largest fish farm in a loch known for its dolphins, otters, seals and sea eagles.

Local divers, fishermen, wild swimmers and even a rock band have voiced opinions and are outraged by Loch Long Salmon’s [LLS] proposals to bring “semi-closed” fish pens to the renowned shores of Loch Linnhe – using technology never tested before in the UK.

The eight proposed pens would hold millions of fish – with a total live weight equivalent to 11,000 cows – and unlike conventional fish farms would need a large shoreside installation running 24 hours a day in support.

James Standley, a retired professional diver with 25 years of experience, lives on the boundary of the proposed site, and has raised concerns about the project’s impact on the loch’s wildlife and surrounding community.

Local angler David Gunn, who has fished these waters for 61 years, fears the proposed fish farm will all but end the wild Atlantic Salmon population in the area.

Source:

https://thehighlandtimes.com/community-bands-together-to-stop-mega-fish-farm-plans/

 

The first documented sighting appears to be in the 1940’s.A witness said that she had seen a creature with a long neck swimming in the loch. It was dark brown, had small black eyes, and stubby rounded horns.In June 1954, a Mr. Eric Robinson said he observed three humps which he estimated were moving at 30 mph and the water was churning behind the creature. He only saw it for a few minutes.In June 1964, 10 years later a Mrs. Preston saw the head and neck of a creature in the Loch.Then in July  1967, John Rankin Muir, William S. Muir, and others said they saw a snake like head and neck with two or three humps. They watched for approximately 10 minutes.

There are ample fish stocks in the Loch .The southern end around Lismore is  known for  big pollack, giant skate, wrasse and conger eels and during the summer months people expect to see shoals of mackerel, porpoises, dolphins and even occasionally a Minke whale. The Loch Linnhe Artificial Reef was completed in 2006,to study tides I presume but as far as I am aware its construction did not prompt an appearance of the monster.The Loch is open to the sea and as it attracts dolphins etc , it could have been a shoal of these that people have seen or some other large marine creature passing through. As Fort William is a popular tourist area it would be expected that photos would appear of the creature or more sightings would be reported.

This is the last reported sighting :
Unknown said...3 August 2019 at 08:14

Dos familias españolas (4 adultos y 4 niños) hemos visitado Escocia durante 9 días. En el camino entre Glencoe y Fort William paramos en un área de descanso para admirar las vistas del fiordo Linnhe. 4 niños y 2 adultos vimos avanzar por el fiordo, en dirección a Fort William, la cabeza por fuera del agua de un animal que avanzaba rápido. Poco tiempo después se sumergió mediante un movimiento circular dejando ver lo que pareció un largo cuello.

translation:Two Spanish families (4 adults and 4 children) have visited Scotland for 9 days. On the road between Glencoe and Fort William we stop at a rest area to admire the views of the Linnhe Fjord. 4 children and 2 adults saw the fjord move towards Fort William, head out of the water of an animal that was moving fast. A short time later he submerged himself in a circular motion, revealing what looked like a long neck.

 

Lets hope the local protest is successful for the sake of all the local wildlife not just the alleged monster.

A Serpent in Eel River

 

Eel River Serpent

The Eel River is a major river that runs through north Western California. It is  about 196 miles (315 km) long.

In the 1870’s there were reports of a strange creature being seen in the Phillipsville area of the river

ALL SNAKE AND NO STORY

About three months ago as I was on my way to Garberville, not far below what is know as Phillip’s Flat I saw what I thought was a foot log coming down the South Fork [of the Eel] river, and was not a little surprised to see such a thing adrift at that season of the year.

I was on a cliff of rocks, about 50 feet above the river, and stopped to watch the curious looking object, when I saw to my surprise it was a large serpent. The monster was at least 20 feet long in the water, and its head was raised about 3 feet above the surface of the stream, and was about as large as a dog’s head. It saw me, but did not seem to be alarmed, for it headed for the last cliff on which I was standing.

It was one of those hot days that we are accustomed on the South Fork, and the monster seemed to be hunting shade. It was about a foot in diameter; its color a dark brown, with large light and yellow spots. I watched him until he came under the cliff where the rocks hid him from view. It was seen twice more at the same place and once again further up the river. It seems to go to the woods for food, as there can be no other inducement.

West Coast Signal August 19, 1877

Three other people wrote to the newspaper to say they had seen it too.

The local native Americans believe such a creature exists  and is called Kamoss. It has been seen in the  river and is a monster serpent that is capable of swallowing a child .The legend is that it has done so.

Some say it is a sturgeon fish but sturgeon have bony plates which would be obvious.Also unlikely it would swim with its head above water.

Since then there have been no reports unless someone reading this knows of any more recent sightings.

Have we lost our way?

 

 

What is happening to Cryptozoology?

Its over 50 years since I started my interest in cryptozoology. It started as a teenager with a visit to Loch Ness.Then as an adult and becoming an academic I tried where ever possible to apply scientific research methods to my study of unknown animals.

It was hoped that cryptozoology would be accepted as a discipline such as psychology or zoology. To that end scientific enquiry methods were essential. However I find myself and fellow academically qualified crypto enthusiasts have become disillusioned.

We have wobbly webcams at Loch Ness being cited in the media every weeks as photos of Nessie,only for them to be a swimmer ,canoeist or birds.Photos said to be taken years before and just now discovered that have not been submitted for professional analysis so cannot be proved or disproved to be an animate creature.

Big cat photos that are domestic cats or obviously fakes  appearing in the media as true .IF you believe you shouldn’t need to make up proof ,instead you go out and try and find it.

Cryptozoology is becoming a laughing stock,a media circus. What is the point of these hoaxes? They only serve to put off the genuine witnesses from coming forward for fear of ridicule and destroy any chance of proper scientific study.

What do readers of this blog think? Comments can take 24 hours to appear so don’t be put off. Has cryptozoology lost its way ?

Cryptid or Hybrid?

 

New Hybrid

I have often written that a cryptid may be a prehistoric creature that has evolved and changed to cope with the modern world and its pollution or a hybrid. Dog/fox hybrids are not unknown but more rare are aquatic hybrids

Meet The Wholphin, The Unlikely Hybrid Of Intermingling Cetaceans.

It's exceptionally rare, but the world has seen a number of cetacean hybrids.

The "wholphin" is the nickname for a hybrid born as a result of some unlikely canoodling between different species of cetacean, most often a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. However, this isn’t the only known example of interspecies mingling that’s been documented among this infraorder of animals. From the narluga to dolphin hybrids, a handful of examples of cetacean hybridization have been documented in recent decades

The birth of cetacean hybrids was especially surprising given the size difference between the two parent species: common bottlenose dolphins are typically 2 meters (6.5 feet) long while a male false killer whale can be over 5 meters (16.4 feet) long. Evidently, the creation of this hybrid offspring must have required some impressive physical feats.

Read rest here :

https://www.iflscience.com/meet-the-wholphin-the-unlikely-hybrid-of-intermingling-cetaceans-70843

The size difference did not prevent mating and therefore it is possible that some large lake monster  mated with a smaller creature that then survived the age of the dinosaurs and adapted to live in the modern world. Unlikely perhaps but more plausible than a living plesiosaur .It could also be why lake monsters are often not a recognizable creature but described as eels,snakes, dinosaurs etc. Food for thought as we enter October and the winter means less sightings are reported as people remain indoors.Please comment if you have any thoughts on the subjcct.

( just a reminder it can take 24 hours for comments to appear as they are externally moderated)

The first LNIB Expeditions (1962-64) from one who was there.

 

Loch Ness Expeditions 1962-64

Quite a few years ago now I met a man called Tom McMahon. He was retired and  in his 60s .If he is still alive,and I sincerely hope he is,he will be at least 80 now. Why is he important? Tom was on the first three LNIB expeditions at Loch Ness. It occurred to me that if I didn’t record this his version of this piece of history would be lost.

Tom and I got talking and he told me about Loch Ness so I asked him to write down anything he could remember from that time.He couldn’t remember everyone’s  names but he did remember quite a lot.

The story started with the guy who was the film person for the expedition, a priest called Clem who was a friend of Tom’s father. They lived in Slough at that time. Tom’s father was invited to go to Loch Ness but couldn’t go ,so Tom then  aged about 19/20 years went in his place.It was October 1962.

Tom travelled up in David James’s land drover with two other young men.David James MP had organized this first expedition.It was sponsored by Norman Collins of ATV, a friend of David James.Another friend John Profumo was Minister For War and helped to get a loan of army search lights.

They stayed in a hotel and were there for two weeks. Tom said he thought there were 24 of them all together.There were two sites to watch from,one at Cobbs Landing and one on Drumnadrochit beach.Tom was mainly on night watches ,shining search lights on the Loch to attract Nessie.He missed some of the hunt after injuring his hand and having to go to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.One of the other people there was Sir Archibald James,David’s father,who would keep them entertained with stories of big game hunting on the long watches.Also he remembered Lional Leslie the sculptor,a vet David Hall,Professor Porteous and a girl called Emma who went on to be a costume designer for films.

One night they heard a splash and turning the lights in that direction were shocked to see two eyes shining back at them. They got the row boat out and rowed to investigate (rather brave of them I thought).They found a glass bottle bobbing on the waves from the boat reflecting the lights back to shore. They had a laugh about it later but at the time they were all hyped up to meet Nessie.

On October 11^th ,seven of the party saw 2 humps in the water. It was too far for the camera range and they couldn’t get a clear picture. A few days later something large was seen diving but again too far away for the camera’s range.Cameras were primitive compared to today and this one had a 6 inch lens (15cms) which was inadequate for the task. They learned from this and took a bigger one the next year.

In 1963 there were a lot more people and there were campsites along the Loch,the main one being at Drumnadrochit.Tom thought there could have 75 people involved.There were 10 watching stations around the Loch. Tom shared a camper van with Professor Peter Blake a biologist from Cambridge. ( Peter sadly died very young in his 40s) , a Welsh man who owned a quarry and set off explosions to mimic the 1930’s road building .They hoped it would bring the creature to the surface.He remembered Sir Peter Ogilvie Wedderburn Bart,a New Zealand racing driver,a BEA air hostess and the artist Sylvia McCartney. Also Sir Pater Scott visited ,landing his gilder in a field near by.The cockleshell hero Blondie Hassler sailed up the Loch to see them .

The Cuba Crisis was on at that time and there was much talk of nuclear war .They were tense times. He said there was much pacing about and discussion about it by the older members .Two films of what looked like an upturned boat were taken but even with a bigger lens they were unclear.

He went again  in 1964 and stayed in a caravan at Drumnadrochit. They had cameras nearby at Urquhart castle. His main memory was of a Major Haig playing the bagpipes.

The feeling at the time was it was a great adventure, even though it was boring just sitting watching .I wonder how many of those at the time realized they would be part of the history of Loch Ness.For those who were too young to remember or be around at the time,this is written down for you. There was an amazing mixture of people interested in Nessie hunting and the recent search (2023) with lots of volunteers shows that interest is still there.

New Search For Nessie

 

Hundreds of participants expected to join the Loch Ness monster hunt with thermal imaging drones and underwater gadgets

Hundreds of volunteers are set to descend on Loch Ness, Scotland, for the search of a lifetime.

The volunteers will spend a weekend trying to confirm the existence of the Loch Ness monster.

After high interest in the search, the Loch Ness Centre invited others to livestream the action.

For the first time in over 50 years, hundreds of people will descend onto Loch Ness, Scotland, with modern-day gadgets, in hopes of locating a mythic creature known to locals as "Nessie."

This weekend, volunteers and researchers will meet up in Inverness, Scotland, at the site of the Loch Ness freshwater lake, trying to find "Nessie," the Loch Ness monster.

The Loch Ness Centre, a group of researchers and enthusiasts organizing the trip, claims participants will help to "scientifically investigate Loch Ness and its famous monster mythology." The organizers invited participants to join the "hunt for truth," where they will attempt to locate the mythical beast.

According to CNN, at least a hundred participants are joining from as far as New Zealand, and Japan. Part of the purpose of the trip is to get to the bottom of the folklore surrounding the mythic creature, but there is yet to be any physical proof of the animal.

Read full story here:

https://www.insider.com/the-loch-ness-monster-search-reached-volunteer-limit-hundreds-join-2023-8

 

Classic Text Free to Read Online.

 MYSTERIOUS CREATURES

A Guide to

Cryptozoology

George M. Eberhart

You can read it at the link below. I am not sure if it is permanent so best get in early,also it may not read well on all formats.

https://archive.org/stream/Cryptozoology_201608/Cryptozoology_djvu.txt

Hessie Norway's Giant Sea Worm

 

Hessafjorden Lake in Norway has a lake monster, nick named  Hessie.

It is said to be a huge sea worm or snake. It is claimed to be 80–100 feet (24–30 meters) in length and 1.5 ( 5 feet) metres thick.Also sporting a square dorsal fin .a massive snake like head with  brown coloured skin.

In June 1999 a local person saw Hessie eating a whale carcass through his binoculars. He ran home to get a camcorder but unfortunately the distance from shore meant little detail can be seen on the film. Other sightings had been reported in that era,the  1990s,  but most want to remain anonymous.

There is little other detail available but its size would make one think it would be spotted more often. Perhaps someone will get a clearer film in the future.

More on the Kootenay Lake Monster

 

Kootenay Lake Creature

“Kootenay Lake is  located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River.

Its  65 miles (104kms) long and approximately 3 miles (5 kms) wide.It varies in depth from 33 feet (approx 10 metres)    to a maximum of 490 feet ( 160 metres) . Large enough to house a few monsters. In  October 1900 a Captain WJ Kane reported seeing a lake monster in the lake. He described it as being large and bulky.  A 12 year old boy also saw something on October 10th 1900, on the shore of Kootenay Lake, George Goudereau saw a 12ft ( 4 metres) creature that looked like an alligator  crawl  out of Crawford Bay and made its way towards a pile of rubbish on the shore. George watched  as it used its  claws and its snout to search through the pile. After a while it went back into the lake leaving a trail of tracks of  webbed feet. The creature  became known as the Canadian Alligator.

The area also has another prehistoric creature ,Big Bertha,a 10-foot Kootenay white sturgeon that weighs over 350 pounds. However sturgeon don’t normally come out of the water to forage.”

Since writing this I have discovered more information. Another  sighting “The monster…is ten feet long, six inches in diameter at the largest part and has a most hideous head.” Dec. 1900, George Graves and son, of Nelson.

In July 1937 Naomi Miller and family saw something :

“We…were barely out of sight of Kaslo…a black head reared followed by at least one hump above the water some eight feet behind… We sat hypnotized until the ‘Ogopogo’ dived….”

Then in 1953 two men from Boswell reported a sighting “The visible part about twenty feet long, showed brownish in the sunlight, and the surface looked rough like a tree trunk with moss growing upon it.”

Naomi Miller stuck to her sighing and when interviewed in 2015 wrote:

“My alternative thought is that the “thing ” that I saw may have had the form of a dinosaur . (We did not have pictures of dinosaurs when I was a child.) The water monster beside our boat turned in front of us toward shore, Had it long enough legs proportionate to its length it might have walked a few steps before diving under!”

The local indigenous people have a legend that in ancient history there was a sea monster Yawunik that ate the local livestock and was chased up the river and back to the lake. It was eventually killed by a giant.

So the lake has a history . As for the large sturgeon:

The story of Big Bertha, a monster of a sturgeon who calls Kootenay Lake home! https://kootenaymountainculture.com/koogopogo-super-sized-sturgeon/

How ever most of the sightings do not sound like a fish but something amphibian. The mystery remains.

 

Giant Turtle or Fish?

 

A Giant Turtle?

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is said to the home of a large sea creature called the Moha Moha.

 It is described as  8 feet wide( 2.7 metres) and about 5 feet high(1. 6 metres) with a long-necked and  a large, dome-shaped back ending in a  huge  tail.Some say it is 30 feet(10 metres) long. Locals say it is aggressive and had attacked and killed tribe members.

James Cook was said to have seen it in the 1770s swimming around the ship.

In 1890 a school teacher called Lovell saw it on Great Sandy Island.It was reported as being seen 9 times over the following days. In January 1891, an article about the sighting was published in Land and Water Magazine.It stated the Moha-Moha had a saurian face with teeth. The skin was glossy and smooth  and it had no visible nostrils,Its colour varied from greeny white to shades of grey.

In 1964 Jacob Lack reported seeing a decomposing carcass on the rocks of the Moha Moha.There is no proof of this.

In general the sightings were treated with derision but the locals believe it exists.It appears to be a combined fish and turtle. I was reminded of the first descriptions of plesiosaurs from fossil remains as a snake threaded through a turtle .Food for thought perhaps.

 

 

Russian Wild men.

 

Russian Bigfoot and Smallfoot?

In the Kola Peninsula is said to reside a large bigfoot like creature called Afonya.Described as 7 or 8 feet (about 2.5 metres) in height with grayish hair over its body. Its stride is reported to be over 4 feet (1.3 metres) in length and is mainly nocturnal.

A  legend of the area talks of  a terrible giant Kuiva, who in ancient times attacked the inhabitants of the peninsula, another claims that small people live under the ground there .

In 1988 six teenagers fishing at Lake Lovozero said the creature threw stones at their cabin .A local warden /ranger also saw it and said it had a call like a moo sound.A team of researchers the following year recorded whistling sounds and saw footprints.The prints were 15 inches (37 cms) long.

In 1996, a man looking for pieces of meterorite,illegally, heard strange sounds near his tent. He claimed he saw three furry creatures with human faces .He said they had fangs and green eyes and he fled the area.

So could both legends be true? Both large and small human like creatures have been reported.Unfortunately like many of the stories that come from remote areas it is difficult to get proof.

 

 

New film of Canadian Lake Monster ?

  

Return of a Lake Monster?

June 23, 2023

A family called McRae on vacation at Lake Shuswap in British Columbia filmed  what appeared to be a creature that could be a  lake monster known as Shuswaggi. They reported seeing a a large shape like  a whale, briefly surface and then submerge, which caused "these massive ripples" to radiate from the spot out on the lake. The subsequent footage largely shows "little mysterious-looking grey blobs," the protrusions were "as if a circle was spinning in the water, one hump after another, in a perfect line.When they saw a motor boat in the area later that day, they were able to compare the wake that it created and indicated that it paled in comparison to the ripples created by the creature.

You can read the full story and see the video here :
https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/watch-vacationing-family-films-legendary-lake-monster-in-canada/

Shuswap Lake is  located in  British Columbia, Canada. The  Lake consists of four arms, forming the shape of the letter H.It has a depth of over 500 feet at its deepest point.Shuswap Lake is reputed to have  a monster called  Shugumu or Shuswaggi.

The earliest encounter with the creature was from a Secwepemc First Nations hunter in 1904 who claimed to have killed a strange creature in Shuswap Lake.

Then in 1948, a man fishing on the lake said  a large  creature swam under his boat, clipping the bottom and almost tipped it over.

On July 27th the same year ,  a farmer by the name of  Sinclair had let his cattle out to graze on his property next to Shuswap Lake. He saw something in the water and as he moved closer for a better view a large black creature begin to move farther out and started submerging.

In 1970, a family having  a birthday party next to Shuswap Lake reported seeing a long, grey-green object moving under the lake water that appeared to move quickly before rising out of the water, turning around and heading away.

In 1984  Linda Griffiths and her family  were out on the lake when she saw something and  grabbing her binoculars she saw a serpent-like creature swim in front of the boat. After the sighting, Linda described it as being about  25ft long with greyish-brown skin and no scales.

In 2018 Larry Roberts and two others reported a sighting .It had flat bumps on its back and was estimated to be 60 feet long. You can read his eyewitness report here : https://pinebarrensinstitute.com/user-submitted-encounters/2018/8/19/user-submitted-cryptid-encounter

On March  23rd 2019 Loren and his friend Brodie Blair ,fishermen, were filming another episode of  Two Guys With Flies for their Facebook page when they encountered  the creature.

“Out of the blue from behind us, what we heard was almost like the breach of a whale, like the water coming out of its spout,” Loren told Global News. “As I was videoing my buddy here fishing I turned the camera around and I started videotaping what we thought was… it was really weird like waves… but you could see the shininess of the humps.”

On the video, Blair could be heard calling what they’re seeing ‘The Shuswaggi’.

In May 2019 Dawn Dumont spotted something in the lake while she was driving her son to an appointment in Salmon Arm and then again at a public beach in Scotch Creek.

“I was kind of hoping to see it again and to my surprise I think that I did. Whatever it was, it was big. It looked like there were some kind of black humps. I had seen it twirling around a bit and then it went under,” Dupont reported.

So does the lake house a serpent like creature or is it a sturgeon as some claim? Could it be a giant eel or an unknown creature? The video films are, as usual ,difficult to accurately assess and could show anything from waves to a monster to birds in formation.

Apologies

 I apologise for the lack of posts in June due to my ill health. The heat wave in the UK did not help. I can only walk with the aid of a walking frame now and rely on  morning carers to get me set up for the day.Life is difficult but not impossible. I will endeavor to do better in July. x 

Lake Travis Monsters and UFOs.

 

Lake Travis Strangeness

Lake Travis is a large body of water  in Texas ,63.75 miles long, and  is 210 foot (70 metres)  at its deepest point.It was built as  a reservoir to deal with the Colorado River flooding the area which was then mostly argricultural.The Pedernales River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, flows into the lake. Fish in the lake include largemouth bass, guadalupe bass, white bass, striped bass and catfish .

 September 5, 2020, a boat parade took place . The Travis County Sheriff's office reported that they had received multiple calls involving boats in distress, and that several boats had sank.Was  it the wake of all the boats that caused it or something else?

Lake Travis is said to have a mysterious lake monster called  Ole Hippie.The name comes from many supposed sightings near Lake Travis’s Hippie Hollow area. Many reported sightings in the early 2000s mention something big below the water’s surface. There have been old legends about monsters in the area in the rivers.

  On Saturday, April 4 2009, Steve Jones,  reported seeing a strange creature while fishing on the   lake.He said it was about 8am and he was in his boat when a large shadow passed under the boat.He related that  it must have been 50 feet long (approx 16 metres) and  estimated it was about 20 feet ( 7 metres) below him but the water was murky so difficult to get a clear view. .It took off at speed.

Perhaps it was a large snake or a catfish. Very large Blue Catfish have been caught in the area.

However the strangeness doesn’t stop there .

In 2007  a biology professor and a student were at the lake at night. The professor wanted to test out the flash on his camera so took a photo. That photo when developed showed a human like figure in the back ground.Theories abound from a bigfoot type creature, to a mer-being from the lake to a camper caught unawares with his trousers down.It remains an unsolved mystery.

UFO sightings have also been reported around the lake so could it have been extra terrestrial? In 2018, a camper claimed to have filmed  a rod-shaped UFO when visiting the lake. In 2021 NFL player Baker Mayfield and his wife Emily claimed to have seen something unusual fly over the lake.

I have often said on this blog how some places seem to invite strangeness and maybe Lake Travis is another of those places.

Loch Long Monster

 

Long Long Mystery

Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Sea Loch  measures 20 miles (30 kilometres) in length and is 2 miles (3 kilometres ) wide at its widest. The loch is joined to  Loch Goil, on its western side.

In September 2022 A “monster”  was photographed in the Loch.

Strange creature spotted in Loch Long could be 'Nessie on holiday'

Jamie Houghton was bird-watching when he spotted the odd creature breaking the surface of the loch.A strange creature spotted at one of Scotland's most popular lochs has led to people asking if Nessie has decided to take a wee holiday. Jamie Houghton, 50, was bird-watching at Loch Long when he spotted something odd in the water.

The insurance broker from Derbyshire was shocked when he noticed a commotion on the surface on the loch, quickly grabbing his phone he was able to capture a few pics of the creature which appears to have dark mottled skin which is covered in seaweed.

Jamie explained he was visiting the loch in Argyll near the holiday lodges at Ardgartan in June this year when he snapped the intriguing images.

"It was difficult to say what size it was as it was some distance away," he said. "Sort of close to the middle of the Loch, the pictures I took are zoomed in and cropped heavily on just a basic camera.

See photo and read rest here :

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/strange-creature-spotted-loch-long-28123785

 However Long Long has several visitors including grey seals, pilot whales, porpoises, dolphins and  even a humpback whale has been spotted. So the monster could well be the fin or tail of a whale or dolphin.

Until you read Loch Goil was also said  to have a monster.It was called a sea dragon and according to folklore attacked strangers .A knight may have caused its demise but very little information is available. A few lines in an old text written by a traveller.

So a sea creature or a monster? We will see if any more sightings are reported.

Did a Huge Creature Move this Equipment?

 

Who — or what — moved this underwater observatory in the sea  off  Newfoundland?

An underwater observatory was disconnected last month and found 225 metres (75 yards)from its usual spot.

“You'd think an underwater observatory that weighs over a ton, is the size of a car and is tethered to fibre optic cable would stay put on the sea floor of Holyrood Arm, right?

Well, it hasn't — and researchers at the Marine Institute are left trying to figure out who, or what, moved it."We really don't know what happened. And there's been all kind of discussion around everything from, you know, the ice somehow impacting it. but of course … we're down almost 300 feet. There was no ice there doing that," Bill Carter, director of the Institute's Centre for Applied Ocean Technology, said Wednesday."There's also been discussion around marine animals, and could they have impacted that? And who knows at this point?"

The observatory had been stationary on the sea floor since February 2021, Carter said, but its video feed was acting up around 4 a.m. on March 27.One hour later, the feed was clear but wasn't shooting where it should be. Shortly after, Carter said, the observatory lost power and all communication with researchers."We've managed to get out with, I guess, three trips with autonomous, remote-operated vehicles," he said."We found the fibre optic cable and all was looking good with it. And when we finally traced our way out 4½ kilometres, the cable itself was sitting there but there was no observatory on the end of it.… [We] went back down on that mark with an ROV and discovered our observatory upside down on the sea floor."

The observatory was located 225 metres from its original position, Carter said.He said it's not uncommon for equipment to move around in bodies of water but he's perplexed as to what could have ripped the cable and shifted the observatory that far."It's … really important to get this thing back and repaired and back in position," Carter said."But I think the message really at the end of the day [is] working on the ocean is a complicated thing. And, you know, it's never predictable."Carter says researchers have been able to get a line out to the observatory and are waiting on ideal weather conditions to pull it from Holyrood Arm and assess the damage.

While the mystery remains, though, he's just happy they were able to get it back."You somewhat get used to losing stuff. But it's never a good feeling," he said."Fortunately I guess in my career I've always been fortunate enough to find the stuff.

Source:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/marine-institute-observatory-1.6815839

There is a long history of sea monster sightings in the Newfoundland seas, see links below:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/10/here-be-sea-monsters-legends-of.html

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2010/06/old-sea-serpent-reports.html

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2010/07/bonavista-newfoundland-sea-creature.html

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-fortune-bay-sea-serpent-1997.html

To say nothing of the famous lake monster:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/11/cressie-of-crescent-lake-monster-eel.html

So could a huge creature be responsible for moving the equipment, after all it was encroaching on its territory.

New Nessie Sightings

 

Nessie seen again in UK and USA

Nessie ‘sighting’ as tourist snaps mysterious shape with ‘huge neck’ on Loch Ness

John Payne, 55, from Newport in Wales, was admiring the scenery from his hotel window (Foyers area )when he noticed some strange movement on the loch.

John said: "I was looking out at the scenery from the window and this huge thing just appeared out of nowhere.

"I tried to get a picture but it was gone and then it popped up again further down the loch.

"I took another picture and then zoomed in on my camera in and waited to see if it would appear again and it did.

"It must have been something very large because we were about a mile away from the loch and I could see it clearly.

"You wouldn't have been able to see a bird or anything from that far away - it had to be something large.

Source ..read more see photos here :

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/nessie-sighting-tourist-snaps-mysterious-29688248

What is different here is that Nessie is described as having a huge neck, normally it is thought to have a slender neck.Perhaps it was not the head end but the rear end or a fin? Explanations put forward include a shadow on the water and a bird in flight.Have a look and make your own mind up.

Mean while in the USA:

Mystery 'Loch Ness' Fish Sets New Orleans Fishermen Buzzing

A bizarre creature spotted splashing in a lagoon in New Orleans City Park has mystified locals.

A video of the aquatic enigma posted online by the local Early Partners preschool shows the animal floating at the surface of the water, initially still, before it's seen slowly swimming off into the distance."We looked into the water and saw a mysterious serpent-like creature. It is nothing I have seen before land or sea," Kim Frusciante, a founder of the school, told news station WGNO. Frusciante spotted the creature while visiting the park with her family.

My children were a combination of terrified and excited as many children would be seeing a beast in City Park," she said. "It was quite long. I have a 4-year-old slightly smaller than it and it was weaving on the surface and [had] a lot of scales. The tail was red and it was swishing around aimlessly hanging out on the surface much longer than a normal fish."

One commenter claimed that they had seen the very same creature the week before in the same location, and were surprised that it was still alive.

Source and read rest here :

https://www.newsweek.com/mystery-creature-new-orleans-loch-ness-monster-1793882

Does New Orleans have its own Nessie or is it as some say just a large carp? It is described as serpent like which would suggest a snake not a fish.What do you think?

Wolverhampton Big Cat

 

Wolverhampton Panther

There have been reports for some years of an alien big cat in the Wolverhampton area.Some say it was a pet released into the wild when the laws changed over the keeping of wild animals domestically.This report from 1994 is very dramatic.

Black cat attacks hunters

From the Wolverhampton Express and Star, 1st February 1994

An article reported that a black cat the size of a Great Dane had attacked an alien big cat hunter Nick Dyke and a female  companion in a churchyard at Inkberrow, Mr Dyke and his companion were trying to attract  the animal with dead chickens when it leapt into a nearby tree. According to Mr. Dyke, the cat  slammed into his head and shoulders, sending him flying backwards, then reared up and lashed out at his companion, gashing her rib cage before running away.

I was unable to find out any further information.The story continues however over a number of years.

In 2001 a large black cat was reported as being seen in Prints Wombourne, near Wolverhampton .Then large cat like paw prints  were found in a garden in the village.The same year in Astley, near Stourbridge a  large cat was seen and people reported hearing strange rasping and  growling noises in the trees.

The headlines continued:

Panther-like cat spotted in Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton News Published: Nov 5, 2010

A large panther-like cat has been spotted in Wolverhampton, alarming eye-witnesses who have warned local dog-walkers to be cautious.Police are investigating the sighting in Wednesfield after retired union officer Andrew Hall alerted them to the potential danger. The 55-year-old was on the phone in his kitchen when he saw what he thought was a black bin liner stuck in a tree beyond his back garden.

"But as I talked I saw the shape move and realised that it was a living creature, about as big as a German Shepherd," said Mr Hall.

"People will probably think I'm a nutter but it was definitely a cat by the way it moved.

In Himley, near Dudley - A puma-like cat was spotted in the area. Around the same time two sheep were found savaged.

 

Then in 2018 :

A mysterious creature which some believe could be a lion, has been filmed roaming the streets of a West Midlands town.Dawn Paige said she got the "shock of my life" when she spotted the animal as she checked her security camera footage after someone had moved her bins at her home in Oldbury, near Birmingham. Standing at around a metre tall, the creature which moves in a manner reminiscent of a big cat, appears to have a long tail.

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/birmingham-big-cat-cctv-footage-oldbury-west-midlands-dawn-paige-a8357441.html

 

Panthers can live up to 23 years old in  captivity but tend to only survive 12 -15 years in the wild. However they would have no natural predators in the UK.So it could possibly be the same animal but unlikely.What do you think mistaken identity or living Panther ?

Mexico Lake Monster?

 

Lake Monster or Something Else?

An intriguing story about a Lake monster in Mexico has been in the news.

New Loch Ness monster 'spotted' by swimmers with police now searching lake

Story by Christopher Sharp

Extract:

Mexico are searching for a Loch Ness-style monster they say could be living in a reservoir near a dam in the city of Atizapan de Zaragoza. The creature has reportedly been seen by locals swimming in the lake. According to reports, the civic leaders and police have been inundated with sightings. One photo which is believed to show the monster has gone viral after being posted on the local town hall website. The photograph appears to reveal what appears to be a dark body which could have a fin or a curved back coming from the waters of Madin Dam Basin.

Local town hall officials have now ordered police to patrol the lake and find out the cause of the sightings. Local media quoted Atizapan Town Hall who said in a statement: "This fact adds to comments from residents of Atizapan, who assure that a dinosaur lives at the bottom of the dam, which protects the place.

Some believe it could be a huge crocodile or a large blob of faeces from sewage water.

Nevertheless, local authorities are taking the matter seriously and aim to get to the bottom of the sightings.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/new-loch-ness-monster-spotted-by-swimmers-with-police-now-searching-lake/ar-AA18TvvY?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2ab84d72beef4b00bdc188dc6c6eb9f2&ei=27

From the local Paper:

Reports of a strange animal in the Madín Dam, the municipal police of Atizapán announced that they will do special rounds.

The municipality of Atizapán de Zaragoza, in the State of Mexico, declared that it has received news of several alleged sightings of a large animal in the Madín Dam. Presumably, the neighbors would point out that it is a “dinosaur”.

The strange report was made on March 19 through the municipality’s official Facebook account. According to the publication, local authorities received intriguing reports about an animal in the dam.Neighbors of the area surrounding the Madín Dam reported the sighting of a large silhouette in the depths of the aquatic body.

The government of Atizapán also pointed out that several inhabitants “say that a dinosaur dedicated to protecting the place lives at the bottom of the dam.” Therefore, the local government will carry out patrols around the dam: , others commented that for at least 30 years there have been suspicions of “a large carp” living in the dam, 

https://mexicodailypost.com/2023/03/26/neighbors-affirm-that-there-is-a-dinosaur-in-atizapan-dam/

Science however may have the answer.

 “It was found that the polluted water of the Madín Dam gave rise to embryolethality, embryotoxicity, congenital abnormalities, and oxidative stress on the common carp embryos.”.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31103011/

I suspect a mutated large fish is the resident of the dam rather than a dinosaur. What do you think?

Wolf Pond Giant Snake?

 Wolf Pond Reptile

Wolf Pond is a  fishing lake in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.A 30 foot(10 metres) long creature is said to live there. Last reported in the 1800’s.  It's described as black with yellow bands and a green head, and measured about 6 feet ( 2 metres)  wide.One fisherman was said to have panicked on seeing it and he tried to hit it with an oar.The creature capsized his boat before disappearing back into the lake.It is mentioned in a book by  Charles Skinner “ Buried Treasure and Storied Waters” written in the 1900s.

It appeared to be a huge snake. Snakes are present in the area but none that large.Could it have been an aberration ,a one off that grew very large? No recent sightings have been recorded

Kootenay Lake Creature

 

 Kootenay Lake Monster

Kootenay Lake is  located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River.

Its  65 miles (104kms) long and approximately 3 miles (5 kms) wide.It varies in depth from 33 feet (approx 10 metres)    to a maximum of 490 feet ( 160 metres) . Large enough to house a few monsters.

In  October 1900 a Captain WJ Kane reported seeing a lake monster in the lake. He described it as being large and bulky.  A 12 year old boy also saw something on October 10^th 1900, on the shore of Kootenay Lake, George Goudereau saw a 12ft ( 4 metres) creature that looked like an alligator  crawl  out of Crawford Bay and made its way towards a pile of rubbish on the shore. George watched  as it used its  claws and its snout to search through the pile. After a while it went back into the lake leaving a trail of tracks of  webbed feet. The creature  became known as the Canadian Alligator.

The area also has another prehistoric creature ,Big Bertha,a 10-foot Kootenay white sturgeon that weighs over 350 pounds. However sturgeon don’t normally come out of the water to forage.

If it was an alligator how did it get to Canada or survive the winter there? It could have been a pet released into the wild but again the winter weather would surely have killed it.

No recent sightings are recorded but other lakes in British Columbia have had sightings of similar creatures so the mystery remains.