Kalanoro, Spirit or Real?

 

The Kalanoro 

Kalanoro is a humanoid cryptid, which is believed to live  on the island of Madagascar. Some say they are spirits of the forests. It is said to have lived on the island for 2000 years before the first human settlers.

They  are described as small and hairy  with fangs.Their legs are said to be backwards, with backwards facing feet. Their eyes glow red. Thy have long hair and fingernails looking unkempt. They are said  eat raw meat, and make a whining sound as if conversing.

Some tales show them to be malevolent and stealing children or robbing people. Others show them as loyal to humans they befriend.

In a 1964 , the author Bacil Kirtley wrote that the Kalanoro were dwarfish creatures. He compared them to  elves and trolls .He further said that they stole food, replaced human children with their own children .However many  of  the Madagascar people refute  that description.

Professor Joe Hobbs studied   the local tribes in the Ankarana Special Reserve, Madagascar. On May 15, 2000 Hobbs wrote that the  people of the village of Ambalakedi consider Andoboara Cave “sacred because on three separate occasions, most recently just two years ago, grief-stricken parents whose children had wandered into the forest had recovered them alive here” after food was left out for the Kalanoro in exchange for their children’s return.

 

So spirits or small hominids? The people of Ambalakedi believe they are real and the finders of lost children. It could be the children sought shelter in the caves and they were found when they came for the food left . One can only speculate without definite evidence. Lots of people in Europe believe in the little people so the tribes people are not alone in that belief.

 

 

Stump Pond Serpent

 

Stump Pond

Stump Pond  in Illinois contains a variety of fish including Bluegill, Carp, Channel Catfish, Drum (Sheepshead), Largemouth Bass. It’s a .shallow lake only a few feet deep popular for fishing.

In 1879, a man  fishing from his boat on the  pond  noticed a very large submerged object travelling  through the water. The boat was rocked by the waves.. The fisherman made for the shore as fast as he could..He swore he wouldn’t go fishing alone again.

Then in July 1880, two men reported seeing a serpent approximately  12 feet (4 metres)  long in the pond. They described it as dark green  and  as long as a telephone pole. The creature headed towards them and they fled..

Over  the years there have been several reports of the long green serpent with black fins.In 1968 there was an attempt to partially drain the pond and use electricity to stun the fish.. The largest fish found in the water weighed about 30 pounds ( about 14 kilos).

People however stuck to their stories and refused to be swayed by the lack of evidennce. Allyn Dunmeyer, stated “I was in my boat fishing for bass when it happened. Something came up from the bottom, struck the boat underneath so hard I nearly tipped over.”

He asserted there was more than one serpent  in the pond and that he had seen them so near the surface that their dorsal fins were sticking out of the water. Other witnesses reported seeing what looked like  alligators.

In view of the shallow nature of the pond it seems unlikely a large  creature could hide there .However there is an abundance of food to sustain any serpent. Perhaps a large catfish  or large snake could be responsible for the sightings. It remains a mystery.

 

 

Apologies

 I apologise for lack of posts last couple of weeks. I am having internet connection problems which are still ongoing. Will get back to posting asap. Hopefully will soon be resolved .

Film of Sea Monster?

 

Irish Sea Nessie?

Report of sea monster filming.

A beach walker says he filmed a mythical Nessie-like sea monster that has featured in legends for centuries.

Dean Beattie saw the bizarre long-necked creature a few dozen yards off shore.

The bemused barber managed to video the apparition for a few seconds before his phone died.

But the clip shows what appears to be a large, serpent like creature with its head clear of the water.

The strange sighting was made off the coast of Donegal, Ireland.

It’s not the best of videos as my phone died when I started to record but it wasn’t a swan a seal or anything I’ve ever seen.

“We sat and watched it for 20 minutess at least – going under water then resurfacing a minute or so later, around 20 yards away.

“Then it just disappeared from sight.

“I’m as curious as anyone would be.

“The more I compare the more it looks like the original Loch Ness monster photo.

“I feel like going back to see if I can see it again.”

Read rest see film here :

https://whatsthejam.com/strange-and-bizarre/mythical-nessie-like-sea-monster-spotted-emerging-from-water-in-front-of-stunned-beach-walker/

 

There have been stories of Irish Sea Monsters for many years see one story here :

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2020/11/irish-sea-monster.html

Strange Encounter in Loch Ness.

  

Loch Ness Encounter

An Australia swimmer swimming across Loch Ness had a strange encounter .

‘Swimmer hit by 'something big' in Loch Ness in terrifying encounter 'worse than coming up against great white shark'

Duncan Roberts was taking on a charity swim and reckon anyone who enters the water is 'lying if they say they haven’t thought about the monster'

A wild swimmer has recounted his terrifying experience in the waters of Loch Ness, during which he was hit by "something big" coming from the depths. Australian daredevil Duncan Roberts reckons the encounter was scarier than coming up against a great white shark as he described how he felt a "big thud in the chest".

It has sparked speculation it may have been the mysterious monster Nessie, said to lurk beneath the waves of the world-famous loch. The 39-year-old was in Scotland for a charity challenge in the icy waters when the incident happened, reports the Daily Star.

He said: "The depth and the darkness of that water plays tricks with your mind. There is some weird energy at play in that water.

"And during my swim I experienced a bump halfway across. It was something big. The water is pitch black and I had my eyes closed a lot of the time as the depth and darkness terrified me so I didn’t see anything. I just felt it, a big thud in the chest."’

Source::https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/weird-news/swimmer-hit-something-big-loch-33695607

I must admit I wouldn’t want to swim in Loch Ness ,apart from the cold ,its very deep and then there is Nessie!

The Ogua Monster

 

The Hoult Monster or Ogua.

The Ogua, also known as the Rivesville Monster or Hoult Monster, is a freshwater monster from the West Virginia and Pennsylvania area. It is said to live in the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers.

In ancient times giant snapping  turtles roamed the area . The Ogua is said to be like one of the ancient turtles. It is described as 20 feet (6.6 metres) long and estimated to weigh 500 pounds.Some say it has two heads. It is seen on land as well as in the water. It can catch deer and crush them whole.Some say it is more alligator like with four stubby legs rather than fins and agressive.Its colour is brown or reddish brown.

The first sighting of the creature was in 1745. Eye  witnesses reported seeing a giant 2-headed turtle come up out of the Monongahela River, and pull a 12 year old boy who was fishing on the bank under the water.

Early settlers to the Hoult area told  of a monstrous beast, bigger than a bear, with a 15 foot ( 5  metres) long tail.  An Amphibian  it would live in the waters of the Ohio and Monongahela rivers by day, and by night, come on land  to hunt.  Lashing at the deer with its massive tail, it would then pull the prey under  the water to eat it. It would dart out of the water in pursuit of prey.

There have been no recent sightings but large turtles are not unknown. Maybe it will make another appearance if not extinct.

 

Giant South African Snake The Grootslang

The Grootslang is a legendary huge snake that lives  in a deep cave in the Richtersveld, South Africa.Described as being 40–50 feet (12–15 metres)long  and leaving  a track 3 feet (approx 1 metre) wide.

The  cave is  known as the "Wonder Hole" or the "Bottomless Pit" locally and said to be connected to the sea.It is also said to be full of diamonds. It is approximately three miles from the Orange River. Some locals say the Grootslang  takes cattle from the river bank.

 Belief in the snake is strong locally among Khoikhoi  people  and some local living Europeans and they fear it.

Prospector Frederick Carruthers Cornell (1867 — 1921) collected information on the grootslang He wrote that many  Khoikhoi in the area claimed to have seen  it.

 A pastor,Father  Wolf of the Pella Mission also reported that the Khoikhoi spoke of a huge snake preying on their cattle. He took the stories seriously, but his attempts to find the Grootslang were not successful.

South African pioneer Doctor Hans Sauer (1857 — 1939) claimed in his book Ex Africa (1937) to have encountered a grootslang when he was  ten years old at the source of the Orange River.

A general dealer named G. A. Kinnear also claimed to have seen a grootslang in 1899, whilst shipping  goods across the Orange River in a flat-bottomed ferry boat

In 1910 some men were  camped some twenty miles below the Augrabies Falls. One was an American named Kammeyer, The Orange River was in flood and  Kammeyer, had been bathing in a quiet backwater near a herd of cattle. He returned to the camp in an agitated state, claiming that an enormous snake had emerged from the water and dragged one of the calves into the river. It was  confirmed that a calf was missing from the heard, and Kammeyer stuck to his story.

While searching for treasure in the Richtersveld of South Africa in 1917, the English businessman Peter Grayson disappeared. Rumors said  that the Grootslang had taken him.

In June 1950, a G. K. Atherstone claimed that local people had showed him to a spot on the Orange River where a huge snake had been seen. Some hundred yards out on the water, a black serpent's head appeared ahead of the undulating rings of a large body.

There were several reports of sightings between 1960 and 1963

In January 1960, Oranjeville locals Mr and Mrs C. J. Reyneke, and their two children, claimed to have seen a pair of "swimming monsters" in the Vaal Dam.. The Reynekes estimated that the animals were some 200 feet ( 65 metres)   long, but only around 4feet  1.3 metres)  in diameter. The creatures , which the Reynekes believed were playing, eventually dived underwater and disappeared.

Large snakes are not unknown. Largest  living green anaconda snake measured 6.3 metres/20.7 feet), The  largest reticulated python from  Indonesia, was measured at 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) and weighed 59 kg (130 lb 1 oz) .

A very large snake is not impossible but 200 feet sounds like an exaggeration. The Grootslang may indeed be real. 

Lake Erie Monsters?

 

A Lake Erie swamp monster? Alligator sighting begs question: What else is Lake Erie hiding

With a fisherman catching an unusual salmon in Lake Erie and a group of people reporting an alligator on the Great Lake, you may be wondering what else has been hanging around this 210-foot deep waterway.

On July 28, Colton Alex of Erie caught a 10.4 pound Atlantic salmon that is believed to have been stocked hundreds of miles away in Lake Huron. On Aug. 4, people believe they saw an alligator swimming near East Avenue. As of Friday, the reptile has not been captured.

However, it’s not the first time an alligator was released in Erie.

“We caught a 3-foot long alligator at the mouth of Elk Creek,” said Capt. Jim Smolko of the Northwest Region of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Smolko believes it happened about a dozen or so years ago. It was in late September or early October and was spotted near the access area in a pile of trees. “The water was getting cold. If somebody didn’t catch it, it was probably going to end up dying.”

The reptile was caught and given to someone in North East Township who could care for it.

Read the rest of the story of strange things in the Lake here :

https://eu.goerie.com/story/sports/outdoors/2024/08/12/did-peope-see-a-swamp-monster-aliens-alligators-and-sharks-in-lake-erie/74740504007/

There is said to be  another resident of lake Erie, a lake monster called South Bay Bessie.

Lake Erie is 241 miles long( approx 389kms) and 57 miles(approx 90kms) at its widest point.It is shallow compared to other great lakes but is said to be over 200 feet(over 65 metres) at its deepest.

The lake creature, now known as Bessie, was first reported in 1817 when the crew of a schooner reported seeing a large serpent like creature swimming in the lake. On July 8th, 1898, the Daily Register Newspaper, of Ohio reported that the lake monster was able to live on both land and in water and  was a fierce, ugly, coiling creature between 25(8 metres) and 30 feet long ( 10 metres)and at least 12 inches thick( .3 metres).

It became a bit of joke in 1912 when some hoaxers tried to pass off an exotic snake as the creature. Then more sightings began to be reported.

In 1960, Ken Golic was fishing off a pier in Sandusky when he heard what he thought were  rats. He decided to throw a couple of rocks at them but then when he got close he saw a cigar shaped creature.

In 1969, Jim Schindler was startled by a snake like creature came near South Bass Island. He said it appeared to be about 2 feet ( .6 metre)wide.

In September 1981, Theresa Kovach of Akron watched a snake like creature  from a house on the shore.She said  that "was so large that it could easily capsized a boat."

In 1983, Mary M. Landoll saw Bessie off Rye Beach in Huron. Mary was out to the front porch just before dawn when from the lake she heard a rowing sound and saw what looked like a capsized boat, but realised it was animate. It was a greenish-brown and about 50 feet( 18metres) long . It had a long neck and an eye was visible on the side of the head .

In 1985,there were two reported sightings . Tony Schill of Avon, Ohio was boating with friends north of Vermilion when they saw a dark brown snake like creature with a flat tail. Tony stated that "five humps came out of the water. No way it was a sturgeon." .In 1985, Dale Munro of Lorain was also boating when he saw something strange. He stated that it had three humps and was black.

In 1989, Gail Kasner had a soner reading graph a graph from a boat owned by Ken Smith of Streetsboro. It appeared to show cigar shape object about 35 feet ( 11 metres)in length at a depth of about 30 feet.(10 metres)

Then there were several sightings in 1990 including:

Susan Seeson, of Salem saw a  creature two miles from Cedar Point. In September , Bob Soracco was jet skiing when he saw something.. He told reporters that he saw humps with gray spots. "It was very long as I moved closer and it was going down.". In the same month, Harold Bricker and his family were fishing north of Cedar Point Amusement Park when a creature swam by their boat .They described it as being 35 feet ( 11 metres)long and having  a snake like head. It moved as fast as their boat.Also in  September  Fire inspectors, Jim Johnson and Steve Dircks of Huron, saw the creature from a window facing Lake Erie. They described it as  black at about 30 feet( 10 metres) long.

In September 1991, Dennis Szececinski,was fishing in the bay when something long and black slithered in front of him. Also in In 1991, George Repicz shot  some video footage which he claimed showed  Bessie.

In the summer of 1998, Leslee Rasgaitis reported seeing 3 black humps moving in the water of the shore of Huntington Beach, Ohio.

There are some more recent sightings I believe but the explanation given is that it is a sturgeon. I have never seen a sturgeon undulate so it has humps .Perhaps it is a giant eel or water snake? Whatever people are seeing it should be investigated.

Skinwalker Ranch

 

Skinwalker

In Navajo culture, a skinwalker  is a type of  witch who has the ability to turn into or  possess  animals. They are considered evil and  can be male or female.  The nearest creature in western mythology would be a werewolf, The Navajo are reluctance to talk about them,

"We as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of questions about these beliefs and traditions ... but these are not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders. At all. I'm sorry if that seems 'unfair', but that's how our cultures survive.”

(Keene, founder of the website Native Appropriations on being asked about skinwalkers in literature.)

The legend came to the notice of the wider world with the story of the skinwalker ranch.

The so called Skinwalker Ranch, previously known as Sherman Ranch, is a property located southeast of Ballard, Utah,Claims about paranormal events at the ranch first appeared in 1996 in the Salt Lake City, Utah, Deseret News,

Robert Bigelow, founder of the National Institute for Discovery Science, purchased the ranch for $200,000 in 1996, after being convinced by the stories of cattle mutilations, and strange lights told by the family of former ranch owner Terry Sherman.Bigelow set up round-the-clock surveillance of the ranch, hoping to get to the bottom of the paranormal claims.

In 2005, Colm Kelleher and co-author George Knapp published a book, Hunt for the Skinwalker, Kelleher and Knapp, reported they saw evidence of  incidents that include vanishing and mutilated cattle, sightings of unidentified flying objects or orbs, large animals with piercing red eyes and invisible objects emitting  magnetic fields. However, the investigators admitted to "difficulty obtaining evidence consistent with scientific publication".

There was a TV series made of the investigations at the Ranch which further extended its fame.

The  Sherman’s family ranch was 400 miles north of Navajo Nation so skinwalkers unlikely..

Author Robert Sheaffer believes the events  at the Skinwalker Ranch to be "almost certainly illusory", as the previous owners of the property, who had lived there for 60 years, say that they saw no strange things of any kind . Sheaffer considers the "parsimonious explanation" to be that the Sherman family invented the story "prior to selling it to the gullible Bigelow", with many of the more extraordinary claims originating solely from Terry Sherman.

All I can suggest is read the literature and watch the TV series and make up your own minds.In view of the lack of Navajo nation in the area ,the skinwalker legend seems unlikely. However as I have said in the past certain areas seem to attract strange phenomena .Or do they attract the people that see them? You decide.

 

 An article for those interested in the ranch:

https://www.history.com/news/skinwalker-ranch-paranormal-ufos-mutilation

Pitt Lake and its creatures

 

  Pitt Lake Creatures

Pitt Lake is lake in  British Columbia. It is approximately 25 km (16 miles) long and about 4.5 km (2.8 miles .) wide. It is one of the world's  tidal lakes, The lake has  a reported maximum depth of  468 feet.

There are many strange things about the lake including the report of the so called Pitt Lake Giant. Described as 10 -15 feet tall ( 3-5 metres) ,covered in hair with long arms . Prints show 4 toes and are 2 feet long( .66 metre).

On June 28th, 1965,  two prospectors Ron and Loren Welch, followed a track of large  footprints to a smaller ice bound lake.where they encountered a large bigfoot like animal estimated to be 10-15 feet tall (3-5metres). They returned later but it had gone.

In late 1975 a man deer hunting saw what looked like a bear walking on its hind legs

In 1995,  there was  a report from the owner of the Pitt River Lodge who spotted a set of large tracks alongside a creek whilst hiking in a remote area.

The strangeness doesn’t end there the lake also has a monster, the Pitt Lake Lizard, a.k.a. Canadian Alligator .It is reported to be between 5 and 10ft long (1.6 and over 3 metres),with a dark skin,a long snout and four legs with webbed feet.

In June 1973 couple Warren and Sharon Scott watched as a large number of creatures that resembled huge reptiles swam slowly through the water looking like a family group.. While the couple watched from shore, Warren reportedly captured a baby one and sent one it to the Simon Fraser University biology department for study. Records of what became of this collected specimen have not been found.

In 2002 the Pitt River Lodge owner, Dan Gerak claimed to have seen a creature that was over 5ft (1.6 metres) long and possessed dark black skin . He described the creature as resembling that of an oversized salamander.

There have been stories of giant salamanders in the USA but no proof was found.

See: https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/07/does-new-discovery-give-hope-to.html

Then there is the legend of the lost gold mine.

Local newspapers claimed that since 1900 some two dozen prospectors and treasure hunters looking for Pitt Lake’s gold mine died. It was said to be Slumach’s curse. An old man  who  put a curse on the mine in the Chinook language  “Nika memloose, mine memloose”. Loosely  translated it reads “No man who finds the gold will live long enough to bring it out.”

I have often said some areas seem to attract strangeness and more than one phenomenon is found there…..Pitt Lake appears to be one of those areas.

Lake Superior Serpent collided with Ship?

 

Lake Superior Serpent Responsible?

A freighter ship in Lake Superior collided with something underwater, Coast Guards says

The U.S. Coast Guard says a freighter in Lake Superior has hit something underwater and started taking on water.

The Coast Guard Great Lakes district received reports about 6:53 a.m. that a 689-foot-long (210-meter-long) ship called the Michipicoten had collided with something about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Isle Royale, which is part of the state of Michigan. The ship was carrying taconite, which is a low-grade iron ore, and had 22 people aboard.

Authorities say the cause of the collision will be investigated.The collision occurred in the northwest part of the lake, which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border and is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.

ByThe Associated Press June 8, 2024, 4:18 PM

Source :

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/freighter-ship-lake-superior-collided-underwater-coast-guards-110954409

Could it have been the Lake Superior Serpent?

Lake Superior or Gitchigumi (meaning Great Water or Great Lake) is a fresh water lake. It is 1,333 feet deep in places , with an average water temperature of 34 degrees F and is 350 miles long and up to 160 miles wide in parts. The lake is almost an inland sea. It is said to house a lake serpent ,Pressie, named after the Presque Isle River where one of the best sightings occurred .The native indigenous people called the serpent Mishipishu and it is seen in pictographs at various shoreline sites, either as a spiky cat-like creature or as a serpent .Modern sightings cite a serpent type creature up to 75 feet long with a horse-like head on a longish neck and a bilobate (whale-type) tail, and described as dark green to black in colour. The reported sightings go back centuries

Read rest here :

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/07/pressie-lake-superior-serpent.html

 

The Billiwhack Creature

 

Billiwhack Monster

This creature is said to be sighted around the former Billiwhack Dairy in Santa Paula, California

 Its described as a tall  goat/ape/ human hybrid with twisted horns and grey or  white fur.Sightings started  in the 1940 and it has been seen multiple times. Most sighting have been reported by local students to the area. Some say it carries  a large club and throws  large rocks at cars leaving dents.

The Billiwhack Dairy was once owned and operated by the Ruble family. It closed in the mid 1920's and has since been sold many times .The abandoned buildings of the old dairy still dominate the land.. In the fifties, a nine year old boy reported being attacked and clawed by a weird animal near the Billiwhack Dairy. He had scratches across his arms and back. Then  in 1964  it terrorized several hikers for a few  hours and made headlines in a local newspaper.

The Ventura Star Free Press published the first article about the Monster on November  4th 1964. It was the main source of news coverage of the Monster.

The Billiwhack Monster is reputed to  have been the creation of secret experiments during World War II that were intended to create super soliders by the Office of Strategic Services or the OSS. The OSS was the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. The story is that the OSS had Ruben performing experiments beneath the dairy. The Billiwhack Monster is apparently a product of this research and experimentation that escaped to roam the local area.

A secret organizations, the OSS was involved in all sorts of experiments ranging from brainwashing techniques, use of  drugs on unsuspecting  victims, studies of diseases for use in warfare, and other immoral practices.

 The creature seemed to mainly be attracted to attacking young people.The last sighting I could find was in the 1970s , a woman  and her husband saw it crossing the highway in front of their car.It was over 100 yards away so they could have been mistaken.

So super soldier or urban legend? Maybe someone will make an investigation of the diary buildings and reveal the answer.

Moberly Lake Monster

 

Moberly Lake Creature

Moberly Lake is  east of Dawson Creek, British Columbia .Like many Canadian Lakes it is said to have a resident monster. 65 million years ago, Moberly Lake was part of the shore of a great inland sea.

There have been various sightings of the Moberly Lake monster over the years, It has an abundance of fish such as Trout and Pike.

Moberly Lake is special to the Dane-zaa First Nations people, they call it  “the lake you can depend on.” Food sources there were always plentiful and reliable.The Dane-zaa First Nations also know , Moberly Lake as “the lake with a hole through it” or “the lake with no bottom.” There is a legend that is often told of an ancient creature that surfaces sometimes. The average depth of the lake is 18.3 m (60 ft) and maximum depth said to be 42.7 m (140 ft).Deep enough to hide a monster even if it is not bottomless.

In 1989 a local  resident reported seeing a creature in the lake with a horse like head.It seems the first nation legend may not be a legend after all.

Since then there seems to have been no sightings reported but possibly people are reluctant to report it because of fear of ridicule. If anyone knows of any more recent reports of the creature please post in comments .

(n.b. it can take 24 hours for comments to appear as they are moderated)

A living Dragon or a lizard?

 

Artrellia ,a dragon ?

 

Papua New Guinea is the area of  the eastern half of the island of New Guinea .It is north of Australia and still has unexplored areas being largely tropical jungle .It is thought there may be undiscovered tribes living there .There is a huge diversity of wildlife.

 Artrellia is a creature ,dragon-like  in appearance that is said to be found on the island.Described as a lizard up to 40 feet long (13 metres),a carnivore which would eat human flesh.It climbs trees and some say breathes fire. More likely is it spits venom.

In 1933, Richard Archbold ,an American zoologist ,led a scientific expedition into Papua New Guinea. They were there to  map the environment, and study the  plants and animal life. The locals warned them about the dragon and said they would not survive an encounter with it.

During World War 2 allied soldiers stationed on the island  began reporting that they were seeing giant lizard-like creatures in the jungle. They were described as being up to 20 feet long( over 6 metres) and very agile.

In  1960, the last district commissioner of Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, David Marsh made an  official  report  about his sightings of giant lizard-like dragons  within the jungle during the 1940’s while stationed as a patrol officer

In 1961, two men,Robert Grant and David George were exploring the Strachan Island District when they saw an Artrellia.. They described it as having grey skin, a 3foot (1metre) long neck and an estimated  26 feet  ( over 8  metres)long.The men were understandingly afraid and did not follow it when it went back into the jungle.

In 1970s an expedition team  known as the Operation Drake Expedition arrived . Operation Drake was an international, round-the-world scientific journey  that included  young researchers between the ages of 17-24 years from different countries. The leader of this part of the  expedition was Colonel John Blashford-Snell.

While in Papua New Guinea, Col. Blashford-Snell became interested in the Artrellia. After interviewing a variety of witnesses, the team went into the the jungle searching for nearly two months. Eventually they trapped what they thought was a baby Artrellia but it turned out to be a monitor lizard known in the area.

Then a team member, Ian Redmond ,was sitting on the ground and resting in an old creek bed when he began to hear large footsteps breaking twigs and crushing underbrush in the jungle up and behind him. He assumed it was one of his fellow  team members walking along the top edge, but then he  turned around to see what was making it. He saw the giant head and shoulders of a large lizard looking down at him. He later described the dragon-like lizard head as being almost as large as a full grown horse head, and the shoulders were equal in size. Redmond tried to reach for his camera but the lizard turned and was gone before he could reach it. A search was conducted but no sign was found of the creature.

There are still occasional reported sightings but still no proof.  It is quite possible there are unknown creatures in the dense rain forests/jungles still waiting to be discovered or could it be a sort of Kimono dragon that people are seeing ? Further expeditions may yet bring back proof of this living dragon.

Some Scottish Sea Serpents

 

The Sea Serpent on the Firth of Clyde

Where the Western Ferries Terminal is in modern times is said to be  where The Gourock Sea Serpent was seen.

In 1942 and Council worker, Charles Rankin spotted something washed up on the beach at McInroy’s Point. It was like nothing he recognisesd.He described it as about 30feet long ( 10 metres) with a long neck .It had a seal like head with large eyes and  pointed teeth in both jaws.The tail was rectangular and it had two pairs of flippers. The skin was covered in rough hairs.

Mr Rankin said it resembled a huge lizard.  ‘The Gourock Times’, reported the sighting. However it was wartime and there was a navy base in the Clyde so it was hushed up. It was thought the body was dissected and either incinerated or buried on Municipal grounds.

Was it a prehistoric creature or an unknown sea serpent or just a basking shark ? Maybe a relative of Nessie who got stranded.

The Firth of Forth Monster.

In September 1903 the crew of the Fraserburgh fishing steamer Glen Grant saw something strange about  80 miles off the coast.

They thought they saw a whale but a huge dark body arose and made for the boat. The men froze  with fear as the huge creature approached them while making an intimidating swaying motion.

It got within 20 feet ( 6 or 7 metres), of the boat then it rose to a great height, hissed and plunged back into the sea. The beast plunging caused the bow of the boat to dip and the engine room filled with water.

It then reappeared and came racing back at them.One of the crew shot it and it sunk below the waves.They said it was 200 feet long (66 metres) and a head like a horse.

In 1903.a few weeks before this , the men of Montrose trawler, Rose, were off Arbroath when they saw a monster  for approximately 15 minutes. They described it as being like a huge snake.

Two fishermen William Christie and George Salmond, claimed to have come  face-to-face with a beast in the Firth of Forth in July 1939.

Described as having  a horse shaped head with a long neck and protruding eyes.They  circled the beast in their boat and it kept staring at them .If they got too close it would submerge.It was about an hour before it departed.

.Dolphins seals and other marine mammals are  often seen in the area. On 16 Apr 2021 a  46 foot (15 metres) whale was spotted .

“Incredible moment giant rare Sei Whale seen splashing around in Firth of Forth at South Queensferry” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/6975655/sei-whale-firth-forth-south-queensferry/

However one would presume fishermen would recognize these creatures are familiar. So what did they encounter ?

More on Scottish sea serpents:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/04/saturday-sea-serpent-from-scotlnand.html

 

Scottish Bigfoot?

 

Bigfoot investigator claims he has proof legendary monster is hiding out in SCOTTISH forest

Robert Shankland, 56, has shared snaps of what he claims is a 14-inch footprint left by the giant creature in Dumfries and Galloway

Part-time labourer and gardener Robert Shankland has shared snaps of what he claims is a 14-inch footprint left by the giant creature in Dumfries and Galloway.The 56-year-old has spent two years hunting for evidence of a "bipedal hominid creature" in Galloway Forest Park, which spans 300 square milesAs well as pictures of the "footprint", Robert, from Burnside, Lanarkshire, reckons another image could show the creature staring at him from trees. Scotland already has a Bigfoot legend in the shape of "The Scottish Wildman” - Am Fear Liath Mor, in Gaelic - which haunts the summit of Ben Macdui, the highest peak in the Cairngorms.

Robert's theory is that the Galloway creature could be a relative and may even use a "green corridor" of woods to travel between the south-west of Scotland and the Cairngorms. Robert’s photographs show a large footprint-shaped mark outlined in gravel near to Corson Cone in the Craigdulyart Forest, New Cumnock.Using a four-inch long phone for scale, the “footprint” is at least 14 inches long and seven inches wide.He also highlighted parts on the creature that he believes are pressure points on the ground and show the curve of its heel.

Speaking about his encounter with the beast, Robert said: “I actually didn’t realise it was there until I got home and looked at the pictures.

Read rest see photo here:

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2920940/bigfoot-spotted-legend-scotland-dumfries-galloway-forest-park-robert-shankland/

I live in this area and there have never been reports of wildmen or bigfoot type creatures according to locals. There have been reports of big cats and a friend of mine found a paw print in the forest (see link below).I would be more inclined to believe in a big cat living in the forest than a bigfoot. It’s a busy tourist area and surely someone would have reported something before this?

What is also interesting is this appeared after my crypto fiction book came out set in this area which has a bigfoot like creature in it. (The Weird Helmet ) They say life imitates art or something.

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2014/01/has-galloway-puma-left-paw-print.html

Sea Wolf, myth or killer whale?

 

Wasgo or sea wolf

Sea-Wolf, is a creature believed in by the Tlingit and Haida peoples of British Columbia and Alaska .It is said to be  a sea-monster who was once a human being. The Sea-Wolf was said to bring  luck and wealth to anyone who sees it, or hears its  call.

It is described as a  long ,sea-going creature with a horned or crested  head.It has large  eyes and a mouth full of  sharp teeth, like a crocodile  .Some describe fins or flippers with a long powerful tail for swimming.

It is supposed to be represented on a totem pole which was purchased by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Field Museum restored the talking stick to the pole, where it now protrudes from the forehead of the lowest of two Wasgo (or Sea Wolf) figures. The myth associated with this pole is that of the Wasgo, who lived in the lake behind Skidegate village and had the ability to transform between the form of a Wolf and a Killer Whale. The pole shows the Wasgo in two states, with and without his Whale attributes.

So is the Wasgo simply a killer whale or something else? Descriptions sound more like a prehistoric beast ,a plesiosaur.Could it simply be a myth or another mysterious beast as yet unidentified?

Pterosaur Sightings.

 A reprint of an old post from 2009  by request.

Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs sightings 35 years later

A report 35 years later of a prehistoric bird sighting:

LONG BEACH, Calif./EWORLDWIRE/June 8, 2007 - A psychologist at a university in Central China asserts that he saw, in 1971, a prehistoric-looking creature flying in Papua New Guinea. Brian Hennessy of the Chongqing University of Medical Sciences described the creature as black or dark brown with a "longish narrow tail" and a beak that was "indistinguishable from the head." In the daylight of an early morning on Bougainville Island, on a dirt road that led down to the coast, Hennessy heard a slow "flapping" and looked up to see a "very big" creature with a "horn" at the back of its head. There was "not a feather in sight." After thirty-five years, in the summer of 2006, a friend of Hennessy referred him to the American, Jonathan Whitcomb, author of the book "Searching for Ropens," who interviewed him. The eyewitness account was added to the second edition of the book, which was published on May 30, 2007. Until 2006, Hennessy had been unaware of cryptozoological expeditions related to what he had seen. (Whitcomb's book tells how, in the 1990's, a few Americans began investigating, in Papua New Guinea, creatures described like living pterosaurs, commonly called, by Americans, "pterodactyls.") Hennessy was also unaware that many natives have names for giant flying creatures: One of those names is "ropen."
The American author noticed similarities between Hennessy's description and that of a creature reported 500 miles to the west, near Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea, twenty-seven years earlier. In 1944, Duane Hodgkinson, now living in Montana, saw a giant "prehistoric" creature flying over a clearing where he and another soldier were standing. Whitcomb had interviewed Hodgkinson in 2004 and realized, two years later, that both the American veteran and the psychologist had seen a dark flying creature with a long tail but no sign of feathers. Both men used the word "prehistoric." In 2006, Whitcomb showed Hennessy a series of sketches for determining the shape of the head, including the beak and the head appendage. (A similar questionnaire had been given to Hodgkinson two years earlier.) Whitcomb then drew a sketch based on Hennessy's answers, and concluded that Hennessy had seen, in 1971, the same type of creature that Hodgkinson had seen in 1944.

Jonathan Whitcomb, the author of Searching for Ropens, and Live Pterosaurs in America, interviewed Hennessy by email in 2006 and made up a composite sketch of the head from the descriptions. Whitcomb said it was very similar to a composite sketch from another interview two years earlier with Duane Hodgkinson who described a "pterodactyl." Hodgkinson talked about the size of the creature he saw saying it was similar in size to that of a "Piper Tri-Pacer airplane" .In the second edition of the book Searching for Ropens, Brian Hennessy was quoted as saying : “It was so unusual. I actually heard it before I saw it. A slow flap . . . flap . . flapping sound. The air was still, and our truck had stopped on our downward journey from the top of the range to the coast way below . . . it was very big (wingspan at least two metres, probably more . . . possibly much, much more). It was black or dark brown. I had never seen anything like it before. . . . I recall seeing this creature with a longish narrow tail . . . the head was disproportionately large compared to the body [no feathers in sight]."

Both the 1944 and 1971 sightings were in daylight and Whitcomb's book asserts that Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs live in Papua New Guinea and that they are larger than the normally discovered Rhamphorhynchoid fossils.

Although I don’t dispute the men saw something , I am not sure that it could the Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs that Whitcomb asserts it is. The world has changed so much that creatures would have had to evolve and would not look exactly the same as the fossil record. Plus bear in mind we can only guess a lot of the time what creatures looked like from fossils. Very few complete skeletons are found and often no tissue so colour and texture is often guesswork. There may be an unknown species of giant bat as some assert or it may be some evolved creature from the Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs .

Free Cryptozoology Conference

 Free Cryptozoology Conference UK

Sign up at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecfz/permalink/10160270872597013/?comment_id=10160272112482013&notif_id=1707132494959046&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

A great opportunity to chat with like minded people.

Mongolian Lake Monsters

 

Mongolian Lake creatures

Several lakes are said to have lake monsters dwelling in them in Mongolian.

Lake Hovsgol

Thought  to be between  two to five million years old, Lake Hovsgol in is northern Mongolia is the home of a large creature..It is Mongolia’s largest freshwater lake, with depths of over 800 feet. The lake  drains via the Egiyn River, which feeds the Selenge River in the Lake Baikal drainage basin.

Lake Baikal has its own monster.See link below.

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2021/03/mysterious-lake-baikal.html

South of the lake lies the Hövsgöl Mountain Range. In October 2007  a report appeared in some Chinese newspapers. Diver Dave Woodward and sonar operator Gregg Mikolasek were  boating on Lake Hovsgol when they saw  a giant 'trace', or shape, suspended about 35 metres below the surface in the freshwater lake..

'I think we saw something and I think it was about six metres long,' Woodward recalls telling his diving buddies back at the camp later that afternoon. About three metres wide in the middle, whatever was down there exhibited the half-moon shape typical of the image of a fish on sonar. Its thick central section glowed red, indicating density, another pointer that whatever it was, it was probably a single entity and not a school of fish. Woodward thought about going in, hesitated, then decided not to.

(I cannot show the link to the newspaper articles as it contains a virus.)

It sounds typical of a lake creature description . I was unable  to access other reports.

Could the creature be the same one as in Lake Baikal perhaps travelling from one lake to another.

 

Lake Uureg.

 

The Lake is a saline lake in western Mongolia. It has a maximum depth of 42 m (138 ft).

A Mongolian traveller  saw a huge creature, which he captured on video whilst he was taking a trip around Uureg Lake .Traveller Mr S. Sodnomdorj said “Foremost I thought there was a timber floating on the lake. Then I asked from a local man who was joining with me if it was possible or not. The local said ‘It is not possible’. We were in the distance of 250 meters away from the object. After that I tried to see that thing carefully, and then it seemed like an animal. I switched on my camera and started to record. I was running to the lake while recording because it was too far to capture it. That animal began to move its body and turned to the centre of the lake. Finally I realized it was an animal”.The creature’s fin appeared on the surface of the lake and it was approximately 7-8 meters.

Local people tell of a myth about a giant creature in the Uureg Lake. They call the giant creature  “Khukh bukh” (Blue bull).It is said to moo like a bull and appear once in 60 years. Elderly people used to say “I will give you to ‘blue bull’, if you behave naughtily” to children. They also used to warn people not to swim in the lake.

Mr. Sodnomdorj who captured the creature wants to have the video analysed  to prove if it is a creature or not.

As it is a salt water lake it could be  a sea creature that somehow entered the lake.

Near by is another lake with a creature. Uureg Lake lies a 150 kilometers from the Khyargas Lake.

Khyargas Lake.

This is also a salt water lake and is 50 metres( 150 metres approx) in depth

There was news released about Russian researchers working on a mysterious trace that was on the lake shore. A group of Mongolian and Russian geological researchers  team led by Victor Yarmoluk, discovered a huge trace on the shore of the Khyargas lake in the 1980’s. (Voice of Russia Aug 31, 2013).

The researchers  discovered several newly made footprints on the shore  1.5 km ( 5 feet approx) from the lake. It seemed like many reptiles came out and were lying on the shore for some time.

Writer and public figure Igor Grishin and a team visited Khyargas Lake in 2013 for a second time. They visited the lake first time in 2010.

“We found different sizes of traces and also bones which are cannot belong to the animals in Mongolia. However fishes that bitten by big teeth were caught from the lake many times, but there is only a species called ‘toothless Osman of Altai’ exists in the lake as known. We afforded the observation of the footprints on the ground and bed of the lake with echometer. Those footprints can be divided into 3 groups. There can be different sizes of several animals or those footprints can be traces from different parts of one animal.”

Researchers found out that some prehistoric animals such as plesiosaurs were not able to digest its food unless to swallow stones.

Valery Nikolayev is a zoologist and scientist of Valdai protected area. He stated that he agrees the prediction on existence of the prehistoric giant reptiles The Uureg Lake belongs to the same region of geography. It raises the assumption of existence of the similar giant creatures in both lakes or travelling from one lake to another.

Lake Kanas

Kanas Lake means 'a gorgeous and mysterious lake' in Mongolian. Local legend has it that there is a huge 'lake monster' in the lake, which often drags horses drinking by the lake into the water.

Read more here:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/07/kanas-lake-monster-china.html

Lake Khaiyr

 Its depth is yet unknown. It is called "Khaiyr" (meaning "to love" in modern Mongolian) 

In1940 there was a sighting of "two large black creatures" by the polar aviator, Ivan Cherevichny and a  polar helmsman Valentin Ivanovych Akkuratov . They  saw two large animals when flying over the lake at the height of 800–1000 metres. Getting curious, they got down to 50 metres and observed the animals, but the noise of the plane scared the creatures and they submerged.

In 1964 when a group of scientists from Moscow University, claim to have encountered an animal with prehistoric biology whilst on an expedition surveying mineral deposits.An article written in Komsomolskaya Pravda by G. Rokosuev explains that the "monster" was initially seen by N. Gladkikh, the deputy leader of the expedition team.Gladkikh went out to the lake to draw water and saw a creature that had crawled out onto the shore, apparently to eat the grass - a small head on a long gleaming neck , a huge body covered with jet-black skin and a vertical fin along the spine.Gladikikh's story was at first met with incredulity by the rest of the team. However, the creature then reappeared to be seen by the leader of the expedition and several other members.

Rokosuev wrote:

“Suddenly a head appeared in the lake, then a dorsal fin. The creature beat the water with its long tail, producing waves on the lake. You can imagine when we saw with our own eyes that the stories were true”

The descriptions sound like a  a plesiosaur, which became extinct  66 million years ago. Some researchers think that this creature represents a mammalian herbivore related to the hippopotamus. Due to the isolation of this northern lake,a unique adaptation could arise.

The 1964 story has since been reported as a hoax however the 1940 sighting has not been debunked.

Being so isolated it needs an expedition of neutral scientists to get to the truth.

It seems Scotland is not the only country with  lots of lake monsters or water kelpies .Interestingly  both are in the northern hemisphere.