wild beasts once common in Victorian England

When wild beasts roamed the UK

The Victorian period witnessed a huge surge in the number of exotic beasts in the towns and cities of England - as creatures were imported from the far reaches of the British Empire. But Victorians' enthusiasms for wild and dangerous animals had some very unpleasant consequences, says Prof John Simons. If you were born in rural England in 1837 and never travelled more than a few miles from your home, you would have been surprisingly likely to see a hippopotamus before you died.

The reign of Queen Victoria saw a surge in the construction of all manner of places where exotic animals could be viewed. And as well as formal, educational settings - private and public zoos, natural history museums - the period brought animals for entertainment to the masses. Travelling menageries would tour towns and cities, featuring performers and their animals.

People could walk into a shop and purchase anything, from an elephant to a bear to a kangaroo.

Read rest here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20166624

So exotic big cats may have been around longer than thought.

Crocs and Rare Whales in the news

Crocodile terrorizing Gaza Strip

GAZA, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A crocodile has been roaming the sewers below Gaza Strip, and efforts to capture it have so far been unsuccessful, officials say.The crocodile, which is more than 5 feet long, has been living in the sewers for about two years, al-Arabiya reported Sunday."The crocodile most likely escaped from one of the nearby zoos and sought refuge in the sewers," said Rajab al-Ankah, head of the Northern Gaza Sewage Station."Ankah said the crocodile has escaped capture several times."The nets were set up to capture the crocodile, but it managed to escape. The slippery ground in the area around the swamps near Beit Lahia in northern Gaza made the escape easier and the crocodile disappeared once more," he said

                                                                   
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2012/11/04/Crocodile-terrorizing-Gaza-Strip/UPI-83981352061165/#ixzz2BQunY2Uq

World's Rarest Whale Seen For First Time, Washed Up Dead On Kiwi Beach; 'We Know Almost Nothing About Such A Large Mammal'

by Underwatertimes.com News Service –

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- A whale that is almost unknown to science has been seen for the first time after two individuals—a mother and her male calf—were stranded and died on a New Zealand beach. A report in the November 6th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, offers the first complete description of the spade-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon traversii), a species previously known only from a few bones.The discovery is the first evidence that this whale is still with us and serves as a reminder of just how little we still know about life in the ocean, the researchers say. The findings also highlight the importance of DNA typing and reference collections for the identification of rare species.

Read rest here: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=02854971610

nessie dragged into politics

Independence fans turn Nessie into Yessie

Hugh Ross

THE world famous Loch Ness monster, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Highlands ever year, has become embroiled in the yes drive for an independent Scotland.
A children’s T-shirt has been produced by the Yes Scotland movement which is emblazoned with the word "Yes" with a picture of a green Nessie-like creature. Underneath the picture is the name "Yessie".The garment is for sale on the Yes Scotland’s website shop along with other pro-independent merchandise including retro Scotland football type T-shirts with the number 14 on the back, mugs, keyrings and shopping bags.Ken Gowans, convener of the SNP’s Inverness city branch, told the North Star that the garment had proved popular with youngsters and his three-year-old daughter has been proudly wearing her Yessie.
Read rest here: http://www.north-star-news.co.uk/News/Independence-fans-turn-Nessie-into-Yessie-29102012.htm

Bigfoot seen in Utah?

A Bigfoot sighting in Provo Canyon?

by Brittany Green-Miner

PROVO CANYON, Utah – A Utah man camping in Provo Canyon caught sight of a black creature in the woods.

The video’s description, named “Provo Canyon Bigfood Encounter?” on YouTube [LINK], says the man was camping near Squaw Peak and Little Rock Canyon Overlook when they saw deer up on the hill.n their way up, the spotted what appeared to be a bear. But when “the monster stood up and looked right at us,” they fled.“We had actually been standing there for awhile. We had thought it was a bear up to that point but when it stood up and looked at us it was just massive animal,” said the video’s uploader, who goes by the name Bear Card on YouTube.

Read rest see video here: http://fox13now.com/2012/11/03/a-bigfoot-sighting-in-provo-canyon/

Row over Yeti find

'They have an acute sense of danger': Yeti expert defends lack of sasquatch sightings as row erupts over his claims that 200 live in Siberia

    Professor claims scientific tests, such as DNA checks, prove hair samples from remote cave belonged to human-like mammal unknown to man

By Will Stewart

A row has erupted in Russia over a biological scientist's claim that some 200 Yeti live in a large area of southern Siberia.Professor Valentin Sapunov has infuriated academics with his assertion that scientific tests, including DNA checks, found that hair samples from a remote cave belonged to a human-like mammal unknown to man.Now he has gone further by claiming a population of 200 Yeti exist in the forested Kemerovo, Khakassia and Altai regions of Siberia.This number allows them to successfully reproduce, said the academic from the Russian State HydroMeteorological University. 'He claims there have been no confirmed sightings of the Yeti because they have an acute sense of danger,' reported the Siberian Times.But other Russian experts are deeply unimpressed by Professor Sapunov's theories, saying he has put his Big Foot in it with claims that there is DNA backing for the existence of the Yeti.Far from finding the Abonimable Snowman, his scientific claims on the subject amount to abominable lies, Oleg Pugachev, director of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science, told state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226903/Yeti-expert-defends-lack-sasquatch-sightings-row-erupts-claims-200-live-Siberia.html#ixzz2B9bKE539

 due to a house move I had no internet access for two weeks. Abnormal service is now back.