large paw prints in the Burragorang Valley

Paws for thought  by Ben Pike
TWO Nattai bushwalkers who discovered large paw prints in the Burragorang Valley believe they could belong to the Macarthur panther - but experts are not convinced.Photographed in September last year by Gavin Noakes and friend Rick Inskip - and submitted to the Macarthur Chronicle last week - the paw prints could be evidence of what cryptozoologist Rex Gilroy says is either a large cat or a descendant of an ancient marsupial creature.Mr Gilroy believes the paws may be evidence of a relative of the extinct thylacoleo-carnifex owen, known as a marsupial lion.“Because the prints are quite deep it appears as if this creature would have to have been quite heavy, and they are consistent with other prints that I have,” he said.“Until one of these animals is actually captured we can’t say for sure what it is.”Mr Noakes described the paw prints as 12cm to 15cm wide, a “bit larger than a man’s fist”.“The soil by the water was quite hard when we came across the prints,” he said.“I spend a lot of time in the bush and have seen plenty of animal prints, but I’d never come across anything like this before.”Without an indication of the scale of the prints, some experts were reluctant to speculate.

Read rest see pics here : http://macarthur-chronicle-camden.whereilive.com.au/news/story/paws-for-thought1/

I am not sure how long this story has been around and it may be quite old but interesting nonetheless. 

The search for bigfoot goes on.

The missing link is out here'

More than 30 people show up in Wilkes County to try to find Bigfoot

By Annette Fuller Published: March 06, 2011

MILLERS CREEK --

Rick Lunsford didn't want to take his vision of Bigfoot to the grave without sharing it, and that's why he arranged an outing in Wilkes County Saturday to try to find the big guy."I had a serious gallbladder infection a year ago, and the doctor gave me three to five days to live," said Lunsford, 52. He had an operation and recuperated, but the near-death experience convinced him that he had to come out with it — that he had seen Bigfoot in rural Wilkes County when he was 20."I've got five grandyoung'uns, and I wanted them to know about Bigfoot before I go. The missing link is out here in these hills," Lunsford said Saturday afternoon, surrounded by about 30 other Bigfoot adventurers who came out on a gray, rainy day to seek the creature.Lunsford described Bigfoot as between 6 and 8 feet tall, as broad as a refrigerator, with an oval head and dark eyes, and a hand similar to a human's, with a thumb and four fingers.The group met at the Millers Creek Food Lion parking lot at noon Saturday, in a drizzling rain."I honestly don't believe, but I could always be made a believer," said Matthew Billings of Hayes, a turkey hunter.Bobby Lee of North Wilkesboro said if Bigfoot is out there, "he's smart, because he's avoiding bear traps that can easily take a man's leg off."Logan Baker of Hayes said he wanted to come see what all the fuss was about. "We'd like to believe it; we'd like to find proof," said Baker, who is a deer hunter.Gary Pilkenton of Millers Creek said he is 75 percent sure that Bigfoot exists. "I believe that all these witnesses who have seen him, all these years, can't be lying. They come up with the same descriptions, by and large."Bigfoot is a species of animal that hasn't yet been recognized officially, Pilkenton said."He's a mammal, a primate of some kind."The group would look for footprints or broken limbs — anything that would show that a big creature had been there.About 12:30, the group got into their vehicles, and a caravan of trucks and cars headed toward the Roten Creek area, about 12 miles away. Vehicles slowly drove on a winding, misty mountainous road beside a wide creek, past Christmas tree farms, wood and brick bungalow houses, cows and churches, including Poplar Cove Baptist and New Light Baptist.

Extract:

Lunsford said that when people tell him what he saw was probably a bear, he answers that "a bear has a neck, and this thing I saw, his head rested right on his shoulders."

Lunsford said after he saw Bigfoot, he didn't tell many people, only his wife. He said he waited 20 years to tell his mother, so as not to upset her.

Read rest here : http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/mar/06/wsmet01-the-missing-link-is-out-here-more-than-30--ar-837552/

last months news from loch Ness in case you missed it.

Fifteen years after first sighting Gary is still looking for Nessie

founder of fan club has been joined by 366 believers worldwide

By Mel Fairhurst Published: 19/02/2011

It is 15 years since Gary Campbell spotted a creature lurking in the mysterious waters of Loch Ness.When the Inverness father-of-two attempted to share his exciting experience he found sightings of Nessie had not been logged officially since 1972.This prompted the chartered accountant to launch the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club and since its inception in 1996, he has been joined by 366 fellow believers from across the world.More than 80 sightings have been logged by Mr Campbell, the club’s president, over the past 15 years.His wife Kathleen, 42, is secretary for the club and the couple receive about 10 inquiries a month from individuals and organisations interested in keeping the legend of the Loch Ness monster alive.Although the myth behind the monster is synonymous with a photograph taken by Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson, published in 1934, Mr Campbell says the legend dates back centuries when folk tales of water nymphs, kelpies and lake creatures in Scottish lochs were common. Mr Campbell, 45, of Milton of Leys, said: “I am happy that I saw something in the water, but I am not happy that I have not found the answer yet to what I actually saw. I was sitting in my car doing some paperwork on a layby south of the loch when I saw something coming out of the water.“It was about a quarter of a mile out and it had a hump. I thought I was seeing things but then it came up again. You didn’t have access to mobile phone cameras back then and it was all over in about four seconds, so I didn’t get a picture.“We just keep everything up to date, it is important to keep the whole thing going. This is not just about a grainy black and white photo taken in the 1930s. We still get photographic and video evidence, the search is still going on. In the 90s we would get 10 or 12 sightings every year, but we had just one last year and one the year before. “This is not because interest in Nessie has waned, it is because photos taken 15 years ago were taken on face value, but now with the onslaught of digital cameras and videos, a lot of pictures can be discounted.”Mr Campbell says interest in the monster heightens about every 10 years and he predicts 2011 will be a bumper year for Nessie spotting.This week a film crew from the National Geographic Channel was filming a documentary entitled The Truth Behind Loch Ness to be broadcast in September.

The club can be accessed at www.lochness.co.uk
Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2143430#ixzz1FdEeffkf

Monster delay over Loch Ness layby

Anger at Transport Scotland as tourism roadside hotspot still out of action after three years

By Mel Fairhurst Published: 17/02/2011

Inverness councillors have vowed to hold Transport Scotland to account after repairs to a layby at a Highland tourism hotspot has still not been done – three years after it was closed amid fears it might collapse.Transport Scotland said options to rebuild a large layby which gives tourists their first glimpse of Loch Ness were still “being reviewed” but not a priority.

The only work earmarked so far for this financial year is drainage work to maintain the integrity of the structure.The layby is known as the Wellington layby because it is beside the spot where divers in 1985 salvaged a World War II Wellington bomber. An information board in the layby tells about the difficult operation to recover the aircraft that ditched in the loch in 1940.The delay was described as a “disgrace” by Aird and Loch Ness ward councillor Helen Carmichael.She said: “I am extremely disappointed Transport Scotland hasn’t followed up what it promised nearly a year ago. We were confidently told last May the work would be carried out in two months and we were given fortnightly updates. “This has fallen by the wayside. I expect that the funding for the layby to be budgeted for.“The spot is so important because it gives people the best view of the loch.”Ward councillors are now set to make the repairs to Wellington layby on the A82 Inverness to Drumnadrochit road a top priority.Fellow ward councillor Drew Hendry said: “There were commitments made to ward councillors and I think these commitments should have been budgeted for. There has been a bit of work but the impetus does seem to have waned. I would have liked to have seen the work further along.“It is a very important spot because it is one the few laybys which you can get a bus on to and where you can access the water. It is an important space for tourism and we don’t want to go through another summer without it being made fully available to the public.”The layby was closed for safety reasons in 2008 when an ageing retaining wall collapsed. A mixture of mortar and drystone construction, it had been under more pressure than would have been intended when it was built. It was partially reopened last year.A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said the reconstruction of the layby was being reviewed and would be considered in line with competing priorities and budgets.
Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2139820#ixzz1FdFMdKlw

That layby has fond memories for many nessie watchers .Lets hope it can be repaired.

Live science discusses cryptids

Mythical Creatures: Beasts That Don't Exist (Or Do They?)

Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor

Date: 03 March 2011

When scientists visit a tucked-away part of the planet—say, a deep-ocean hydrothermal vent or an isolated jungle mountain—they routinely find dozens of species that have never been documented. It's discoveries like these that allow folks who believe in mythical beasts such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and El Chupacabra to hold out hope that these creatures actually do exist.In most cases, hope is all they have, as the scientific evidence for these 10 animals of urban legend simply isn't very convincing.
Read about the ten cryptids listed here :

http://www.livescience.com/13059-mythical-creatures-beasts-exist.html

Cryptozoology A To Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature 

Monster Hunt: The Guide to Cryptozoology 

The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology: Werewolves, Dragons, Skyfish, Lizard Men, and Other Fascinating Creatures Real and Mysterious 

Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers 

Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation 

Evolution and humans

1 March 2011

Are humans still evolving by Darwin's natural selection?

By Olly Bootle Producer, Horizon

n 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a book which transformed our understanding of how life on Earth developed - but ever since then, scientists have wondered whether humans were resourceful enough to remove themselves from the grip of natural selection.There is no question that humans are unique in the animal world. We have developed technologies that shelter us from the harshness of the environment in a way that no other creatures have managed. While polar bears evolved thick coats of blubber to insulate them from the Arctic cold, humans could skin that polar bear, and use the pelt as clothing to keep warm. Does this mean that, at some point, technological advances have stopped us evolving? Much of the story is in our genes and the sequencing of the human genome has helped unlock the answers.By comparing the genes of people from all around the world, scientists can see how different we all are, and therefore how much we have evolved apart from each other since our species first appeared. 

We see rapid evolution when there's rapid environmental change and the biggest part of our environment is culture, and culture is exploding," says Prof Stearns."That's I really think the take-home message of the Framingham study, that we are continuing to evolve, that biology is going to change with the culture and it's just a matter of not being able to see it because we're stuck right in the middle of the process right now.

Read rest here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12535647

When I was asked by my psychology students were we changing/ evolving , I would suggest they thought about their toilet habits. We now like to sit on a toilet alone with the door shut, once it would have been a much more communal affair. It may be our culture that drives these changes but changes they are.However that also begs the question why have some cryptids have seemingly not evolved but are described as still being prehistoric etc. It may of course be that isolation would stop evolution in its tracks but climate changes cannot be avoided and they surely must have some effect? It is a question I muse about in the wee small hours.

Origins: Human Evolution Revealed 

Human Evolution and Culture: Highlights of Anthropology (6th Edition) 

Human Evolution (A Brief Insight) 

The Evolution of Human Societies: From Foraging Group to Agrarian State, Second Edition 

Evolution and Human Behavior, 2nd Edition: Darwinian Perspectives on Human Nature (Bradford Books)

extraordinary claims about giants

The Enigma of the Giants by JD Adams Salem-News.com

The Russians have their Almastis, in the Himalayas it is the 'Yeti', within China it is known as the 'Chaing Mi', there is the 'Mie Tie' of Malaysia, and the 'Kiboornee' of New Guinea...

Extract:

It is from the mysterious wilds of Australia that the most compelling finds have originated. Cryptozoologist Rex Gilroy has recovered from areas near Bathurst, New South Wales, several mega-tools of such weight and size that only giant hominids could have wielded them. The artifacts include knives, chisels, hand-axes, and clubs. A giant molar of dimensions 67mm x 50mm x 42mm excavated from a depth of 6 ft. indicated an individual approaching 25 ft. in stature, according to Gilroy. Prospectors working independently in the Bathurst district years ago also found several huge footprints preserved in red jasper.

Several foot imprints of amazing size have been discovered in the Blue Mountains of Australia. One remarkable specimen was found by Mr. P. Holman, which measured 7 inches in width, with an estimated length of 2 ft. The largest fossilized footprint ever found in Australia suggests a stature in excess of 20 ft. Generally, the foot imprints in the New South Wales area are 2 ft. long, and are spaced with a stride of 6 ft., indicating a height of around 12 ft.

Some are preserved in volcanic flows that are millions of years old, clashing with the conventional wisdom that the Aborigines are the first inhabitants of Australia, arriving there about 40,00 years ago. An explanation for this conundrum is that during past Ice Ages the sea level dropped enough to connect North Australia with Asia over a land bridge where the islands of Southeast Asia exist today. During this period it's possible that Gigantopithecus migrated to the Australian continent.

Read full thing with pics here :http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february282011/enigma-giant-jda.php

TRUE GIANTS: Is Gigantopithecus Still Alive? 

GIGANTOPITHECUS 

Prehistoric Orangutans: Gigantopithecus, Sivapithecus, Lufengpithecus, Ouranopithecus, Ankarapithecus Meteai 

Gigantopithecus blacki von Koenigswald, a giant fossil hominoid from the Pleistocene of southern China (Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History) 

Other Origins: The Search for the Giant Ape in Human Prehistory