latest on Mongolian deathworm

Artist Rob Farrier's death worm illustration

David Farrier to embark on hunt for Mongolian death worm

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 3:22p.m.

Two New Zealanders will leave for Mongolia's Gobi Desert next week on an ambitious expedition to find the fabled acid-spitting and lightning-throwing Mongolian death worm.The worm has never been documented but some Mongolians are convinced it exists. They call it Allghoi Khorkhoi, or "intestine worm" because it resembles a cow's intestine and is about 1.5m long. They say it jumps out of the sand and kills people by spitting concentrated acid or shooting lightning from its rectum over long distances. Auckland-based journalist David Farrier, who is organising the expedition, and Motueka-based cameraman Christie Douglas, leave on Tuesday to spend two weeks in the Gobi, trying to verify the worm's existence and making a documentary about it. They will hire local Mongolians to help them; a guide, translator and cook. Farrier, who works for TV3, told NZPA he had always been fascinated by cryptozoology, or the search for hidden creatures. The expedition and documentary, which would cost him between $15,000 and $20,000, would take a serious look at the worm and what it was, Farrier said.He said he was interested in the death worm because it was one of the most outrageous creatures that were rumoured to exist. However, it was also one of the mythical creatures that had a better chance of being real.Rumours could inflate the reputation of things such as the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot, but sparsely populated Mongolia was not a place where rumours were going to propagate, Farrier said. "If a Mongolian says they have seen a big worm-like creature out in the desert they haven't really got any reason to lie." A number of experts have dismissed the worm's existence, putting it down as a rumour, but Farrier was not put off. "I think it won't be a worm, obviously a worm can't survive in a desert. I'd say it would be some sort of snake that's not meant to be there. It's very out of place and a bit new." Farrier said there been up to four unsuccessful expeditions searching for the death worm in the last 100 years, the last two in 2003 and 2005, which had used night vision goggles to look for the worm. However, the New Zealand team planned to bring the worm to the surface with explosives, as it is said to be attracted to tremors. Farrier put his chances of finding the worm at between 5 and 15 percent. "They are high for a ridiculous creature like the death worm but the area I am going to is a very specific place in the southern Gobi where all the sightings have been." He only plans to capture the worm on film."I have no intention of grabbing it, capturing it, stuffing it, or anything like that. I just want to prove its existence and if I can get it on film, that's all I need to do."

NZPA source:http://www.3news.co.nz/David-Farrier-to-embark-on-hunt-for-Mongolian-death-worm/tabid/418/articleID/114087/cat/55/Default.aspx

The Irish Lough Monster ,Muckie of Muckross Lake.

There is apparently a lake monster in Muckross lake in Ireland of the serpent variety. Muckross Lake is up to 70m deep, and is said to be Ireland’s deepest lake and is one of three lakes that make up an area known as the Lakes of Killarney. Scientific research points to a large and mysterious creature living in Muckross lake. People have already christened it “the Muckross Monster” or more affectionately “Muckie”.

It is estimated to measure almost 80m in length and the object or creature has scientists puzzled. Irish and international scientists have been working with the Irish Char Conservation Group to find out more about the fish life in the Ice age lakes around Co. Kerry. They carried out the first fish survey in Muckross Lake in September 2002 and identified the presence of the Arctic char. Then when they analysed the data collected by hydroaccoustic or sonar gear they found something anomalous.

Dr. Fran Igoe, scientific adviser to the Irish Char Conservation Group stated “ what we do know is the fish fauna in Muckross is very ancient indeed. We have confirmed the presence of a good population of Arctic char, and the lake is known to hold ferox trout, ordinary trout and Atlantic salmon as well as lamprey species and eel, all of which attest to the ancient origins of this lake. This latest discovery is very exciting and the Irish Char Conservation Group is keen to continue our investigations in this area. Talk that these images may be that of a mysterious prehistoric monster like that reported for Loch Ness may be a bit premature.”

The sonar picked up something the size of a two story house in about 75 feet of water near the south eastern portion of the lake. The team was unsure as to what the object or creature might be, but they were able to rule out computer errors as everything was functioning well.

Mr. Patty O’Sullivan, Killarney National Park manager for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, stated that he was very excited about the findings and delighted that the ancient fish of these lakes are being examined by International and Irish scientists.

It has been seven years since the initial sonar contact was discovered, no sightings or new evidence has been found to adequately explain what it was the sonar picked up, so a mystery remains..

The original story : http://www.charr.org/news/muckrossmonster.htm

And more about Irish Lake Monsters: http://www.stickyfingerstravel.com/Lakeshores/Lakeshores.705.html

new bigfoot sighting reported.

From McDowell news.

For a long time, this column has featured some weird stories about Bigfoot sightings in the western North Carolina mountains. It seems that folks in Burke, Buncombe, Caldwell, Rutherford, Ashe and Macon counties have some strange tales to tell about a mysterious monster in their mountains. Many of these tales can be found on the Web site for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO). The BFRO's Web site is a place where folks can post their sightings anonymously and be taken seriously by qualified investigators. The good people with the BFRO will look into the matter and follow up on your sighting, no matter how unusual it may be. The Web site now lists 50 reports from North Carolina. Recently, someone submitted a report about a possible Bigfoot in McDowell County. Apparently, the weird incident happened in Little Switzerland near the Blue Ridge Parkway during the fall of last year. The man who submitted the report states he has a keen interest in the subject and has read hundreds of reports on the BFRO Web site. He is a member of another Bigfoot research group and has investigated an alleged sighting in another state.
Last fall, he was invited to visit an elderly friend who lives in Little Switzerland. "I arrived after dark on a Tuesday and discovered that my friend's summer home is located at the top of a mountain," he writes on the BRFO site. "Her 'development' consists of about 60 homes tucked away in the woods on steep slopes accessed via a series of narrow gravel and macadam roads." His first thought was that this development was built in a likely Sasquatch habitat. "Indeed, as we sat watching TV after dinner, I began to have the creepy sensation of being watched, although my friend told me that neither of her neighbors was in residence that night," the man wrote. "After the news, about 11:30, I told my friend I was stepping outside from some night air, when in fact my intention was to have a look around and listen to the woods." The man wasn't outside for more than five minutes before he was startled by what sounded like wood knocks coming from the woods. He reportedly heard a single thump that came from the woods, followed by another "answering" thump five to 10 seconds later, coming from a different direction. The sounds were repeated every couple of minutes for perhaps 15 minutes and it sounded as if the second knock changed positions slightly. He estimated that they were a couple of hundred yards away from where he stood. The man noticed a nearby woodpile. He picked up a log and added a third knock to the mix by hitting a nearby tree. The first knock was heard again quickly, almost as an answer to the man's knocking against the tree. After few more times, the knocks stopped and the man went inside for the night.
The next day, the man went out running for some exercise. As he ran through an undeveloped area, he again had the feeling of being watched. While he was out, he found two, human-like footprints in the soft dirt of a nearby hillside. The next night, he again heard the knocking sounds coming from the same general direction. But this time, he also heard "a plaintive, eerie howling" coming from behind the house. "It sounded every 30 seconds of so for perhaps 20 minutes, he wrote in his report. "I told myself it could be a dog tied outdoors. I decided not to interact that night. I just had a feeling that it was not the thing to do." That night, the man was awakened from his sleep by the sound of a heavy thumping on the roof. As he sat up in bed, he heard another couple of thumps that sounded as if they came from the area over the closet."Soon I was fast asleep again, only to be scared awake by what was clearly pounding on the walls of my room that was so loud, my first thought was, 'Someone is breaking into my room!,'" he wrote in his report.
He sat up in bed and turned on the overhead light in his room. He felt like this sound had to be caused by a Bigfoot because of the loudness and the height of the outside walls. The sounds soon died down and the man had the feeling that the creature was leaving for the night. He heard nothing more.
"Next morning over breakfast, my hostess asked me if I had been awakened by that that 'awful pounding' on the roof," reads his report on the BFRO site. "We traded our stories. My friend told me that nothing of the sort had happened before in the 25 years she and her husband had lived in the house." The elderly woman was concerned about the noise and asked what it could have been. The man said he didn't quite know but would confer with some neighbors." Before leaving my friend to continue on my trip towards eastern NC, I inspected the area around her house for footprints," reads his report. "I found none, but I discovered that a tall tree grew up through the back deck through a hole that had been cut for it. The tree would provide easy access to the deck and roof, while the low roof in front would make the roof accessible from that position.".

Contact Mike Conley at 652-3313, ext. 3422 or e-mail nconley@mcdowellnews.com.

http://www2.mcdowellnews.com/content/2009/jul/22/mike-conleys-tales-weird-man-describes-possible-bi/

Lake Windermere's monster ?

Swimmer hit by 'monster' wake

10:24am Thursday 23rd July 2009 By Matthew Taylor

A BIZARRE swimming incident on Windermere coincided with the announcement that a paranormal investigator will plumb the lake’s depths in search of a giant creature. Thomas Noblett, 46, was swimming the lake this week when he was suddenly swamped by a three-foot wave of unknown origin. A spate of eyewitness sightings reported by The Gazette during 2006-2007 described a 50-foot long serpent-like animal surfacing on Windermere. Psychic Dean ‘Midas’ Maynard, who came to prominence by accurately predicting sports score lines and X factor winners, will hunt for the beast in September. Mr Noblett trains on the lake for four hours every day in preparation for a channel swim. Never having had to deal with anything more than the odd passing trout, the 46-year-old said he had since reconsidered the legend of the Windemere monster. “I didn’t entertain it before. Now when I’m in the lake it has my full attention,” he said. Mr Noblett, managing director of The Langdale Chase Hotel, was swimming close to Wray Castle at 7am on Wednesday morning when the 3ft swell hit. He and swimming trainer Andrew Tighe – paddling in a boat beside him – were the only people on the lake. “We had gotten up early and Windermere was crystal clear. The lake was totally empty apart from us and all I could hear was the slapping of my arm against the water,” explained Mr Noblett. “All of a sudden this wave just hit us. Andrew said ‘where the hell did that come from?’ and it made the boat rock from side to side,” he continued. Treading water, alone, in the centre of the lake, Mr Noblett watched as two large waves sped towards either shore. “It was like a big bow wave; a three-foot swell at least. There was two, as if a speed boat had sped past, but there were no boats on the lake,” he said. Previously an escape from the jellyfish he dodges while training at sea, Mr Noblett said the lake’s depths were not so inviting anymore. “I always look forward to swimming in Windermere, now I’m starting to get the fear. Twice I have looked down and seen fish, but only small trout. The reeds sometimes scare you, because they suddenly appear like triffids.” Dean ‘Midas’ Maynard will search the lake for the monster in September. Mr Maynard, with a background in ghost hunting, is currently searching for a sonar-equipped boat to use in the search. “It’s a fascinating subject. I’m not saying there is or isn’t something down there. Most eyewitness accounts describe some sore of eel, which if living in open water can grow very big,” said Mr Maynard. Mr Noblett is swimming across the English Channel in mid October. He hopes to raise £10,000 for Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle and the Cyctic Fibrosis Trust. See the article here : http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/4508477.Swimmer_hit_by__monster__wake/

Another mystery is that CFZ have no knowledge of this see here:

http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/07/news-cfz-expedition-takes-place-without.html

It is not the first time a creature has been seen in Windermere and CFZ did think it may a large sterile eel. They have been to the lake before, but this not this time.

Cryptozoological finds

Cryptozoology can be a lonely hobby. Cryptozoologists are often the butt of significant ridicule from both inside and outside the scientific community.While not every cryptozoologist thinks critically or is scrupulous about methodology, most are quite serious about what they are doing. The periodic reappearance of species formerly thought to be extinct is the kind of event that keeps cryptozoologists going. The truth is, whatever might be said about cryptozoologists and their quirks, ancient animals and plants really do vanish and the reappear with surprising frequency. Such animals and plants are discovered so often, in fact, that paleontologists have a term for them: They are called 'Lazarus taxa' (after the man raised from the dead in the Gospel of John), meaning they were thought to be extinct for some extended period, then suddenly reappeared, alive and well. Many people believe that cryptids may actually be extinct species that have found a way to survive. Lake Monsters are especially likely to be attributed to an actual reappearing species, most often, specifically, the Plesiosaur, an aquatic dinosaur with a long neck and fins that lived during the Cretaceous period and disappeared from the fossil record about 65 million years ago. Could a 65 million year old dinosaur have survived undetected in landlocked glacial lakes? The Plesiosaur was a carnivore and a large one, so it does seem to be fairly unlikely. Such lakes usually do not have enough fish to support a huge predator. (Lake Okanagan, the home of the 'Ogo Pogo' lake monster is one notable exception). Still, weirder things have happened. Here are ten of them:

The Coleacanth. This large prehistoric fish was thought to have gone extinct 80 million years ago until a live specimen was found in 1938.

Monoplacophora Mollusks. These innocuous shellfish from the prehistoric Devonian period (circa 380 million years ago) were found happily alive (well, however happy a mollusk can get) in deep waters off Costa Rica in 1952.

The Pygmy Tarsier. This odd, gremlin-like animal was thought to have gone extinct 80 years ago until a Texas A & M researcher found three of them alive and well in Indonesia.

The Laotian Rock Rat. Thought to be extinct for 11 million years, this early mammal was discovered in 1996.

The Lazarussuchus. This very small crocodile was common the late Triassic period and was assumed to have gone extinct about 170 million years ago. So far two living varieties have been discovered, the first in 1982.

Gracilidris. This species of 20 million year old ants, thought to be extinct, was discovered by a team of scientists in Brazil in 2006.

The Dawn Redwood. A small cluster of this extinct prehistoric redwood tree was discovered in 1944 in China by Zhan Wang.

The Wollemi Pine. This tree was only know from fossils between 2 and 90 million years old until it was discovered alive in 1994.

The Chacoan Peccary. This small piglike animal was only known from the fossil record until scientists discovered living specimens in 1975.

The Mountain Pygmy Possum. Australia's only hibernating marsupial, this little animal was only known from fossils until its discovery in 1966. It is currently facing extinction once again due to global climate change.

Are all cryptids examples of reappearing animals? It is completely possible that no cryptids are examples of reappearing animals.It's just as possible, however, that at least some of them might well be living examples of animals thought to be long gone from planet Earth, animals that may well one day turn up as live specimens.
In the meantime, just knowing that such animals are regularly found is enough to keep cryptozoologists actively looking for more of them.

http://www.examiner.com/x-16975-Grand-Rapids-New-Age-Examiner~y2009m7d23-Cryptozoology-and-reappearing-species-Ten-formerly-extinct-animals

Cryptozoology and reappearing species: Ten formerly 'extinct' animals

July 23, 7:58 AM Author: Pamela Grundy

Invasion of the giant jelly fish!

The Nomura, also known as the Echizen jellyfish, would not look out of place in a Godzilla film. They can weigh up to 200kg and measure up to 2m in diameter. For the past four summers, they have mysteriously materialised in the Yellow Sea off China and the Korean peninsula before drifting across into the Sea of Japan. Experts expect large numbers to arrive this year – which could spell disaster for Japan’s fishermen.Six adults can completely destroy a fishing net, as well as poisoning the fish inside, leaving them inedible.Fishermen are also liable to get stung trying to remove them.The last time Nomura jellyfish were seen in Japan’s coastal waters was in 2007, fishermen made more than 15,000 complains about damage done to their nets. The Nomura’s Jellyfish (エチゼンクラゲ echizen kurage, Nemopilema nomurai) is a very large Japanese jellyfish. It is in the same size class as the lion’s mane jellyfish, the largest cnidarian in the world. The width of the Nomura’s Jellyfish are slightly larger than the height of most full grown men.Growing up to 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) in diameter and weighing up to 220 kilograms (ca. 450 pounds). Nomura’s Jellyfish live in the waters between China and Japan, primarily centralized in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Source : http://cryptoworld.co.uk/japan-prepares-for-giant-jellyfish-invasion/

mysterious blood sucking creature reported

ONGWEDIVA – Unknown creatures that reportedly devour and suck blood from livestock are haunting villagers at Onheleiwa, Oidiva and Oikango of Ongwediva constituency. Over 20 goats have been killed at Onheleiwa and Oidiva villages and an unknown number at Oikango, where the situation is said to be worse.Villagers are convinced that the creatures have something to do with witchcraft. They are now accusing an elderly man who has a house at Onheleiwa village and his sister who has a house at Oikango village of being the owners of these strange, blood-sucking beasts.
Oshana Police spokesperson, Christina Fonsech, said the police were called at Onheleiwa last week where they followed the creatures’ footprints. According to her, the creatures’ footprints are bigger than a dog’s footprints, and police could not identify the creatures.
“We followed them but they walked until a spot where they just vanished. It’s difficult to explain what happened to those footprints because they looked as if they climbed onto something but it was in an open space, so we don’t know what happened,” she said.
Olivia Shikongo had her whole kraal wiped out by the creatures, leaving her with only two kid goats.According to Shikongo, on July 3 five of her goats were eaten up. All that was left were traces of hooves and heads of some of the goats, while other goats had their stomachs cut open and had no intestines or liver. “Last Wednesday they came to the kraal again. When I heard the goats making noise, I started to scream. It seems that they could no longer kill the goat that they had bitten so they left. When we went to the kraal in the morning, there were only three goats. One goat, which is the bigger one, was fighting for its life. There was no trace of five other goats that were also at the kraal the previous night,” she explain According to her, when she and other villagers looked around all they could find were the footprints of the unknown creatures while her five goats seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Shikongo lost a total of 11 goats in two nights.
“I’m only left with two small goats that we now lock up inside a room in the house,” she said. Another villager who also lost a goat said he saw the creatures when he ran to the kraal after he heard his animals making noise. According to him, he found four animals at the kraal but when they saw him, they ran away. The villagers that claim to have seen the unknown creatures, said they look like tigers. Although the community members are also scared for their lives, they said they understand that the animals do not attack human beings. “If you find them at night, they just sit still on the side of the path and wait for you to pass by,” said another villager. see the original story here : http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=5628

Mysterious Beasts Torment Villagers - by Helvy Tueumuna 21 July 2009