Nessie in Devon?

A LOCH NESS monster-type creature has been snapped at sea off Paignton — just days after the sighting of a sperm whale in Tor Bay.The mysterious Plesiosaur-like creature was spotted just 30 yards off shore by locals who reported a sighting of what they first thought was a turtle.But pictures taken by one of the baffled witnesses reveal its neck may be far too long for any known sea turtle.A sperm whale was also been seen in the bay last week, but the description of the Paignton creature does not match that of the whale.Boffins at the Marine Conservation Society say the creature may be some kind of turtle, but at present it remains unidentified.Gill Pearce photographed the creature following a shoal of fish at Saltern Cove near Paignton at 3.30pm on Tuesday.She at first thought it was a large sea turtle but baffled experts say it doesn't fit the description because the greenish-brown beast with a small reptile head has too long a neck.Mrs Pearce reported her sighting to the Marine Conservation Society where it was studied by sea life experts.Peter Richardson, MCS biodiversity programme manager, said that the creature may be a leatherback or green turtle which are known to visit coastal waters in the South West.But the creature did not match the usual description of such creatures.Mr Richardson said: "At the moment it's an unidentified mystery creature and we don't know what it is."Two people have reported seeing a creature about three metres long with a small head on a two-and-a-half foot neck."From the photographs it looks like it could be a basking shark and the tail fin could have been mistaken for a head but the people who saw it said it had large flippers and was about the size of a sea lion."It would be great to find out what it is so we are asking people in the area to look out for it."Asked if it could have been a rare sighting of the Loch Ness monster, Mr Richardson replied: "That would not be my official explanation."The MCS said the mystery creature was reported to be chasing a shoal of mackerel when it was first spotted part of which was said to be so scared it swam in to the shallows close to shore to escape.Another eyewitness Graham Oxley, 63, from Paignton, was also just as baffled.He said: "I went down to the beach with my dog and I saw what I thought was a turtle."I saw a black dome which was more rounded than a turtle's shell and its head kept popping out of the water every five minutes."It seemed to lurk over some weeds in about four foot of water for around half an hour."The semi-retired electrician rushed home to get his camera but when he returned the creature was swimming away."That was when I realised it wasn't a turtle at all," he said."What I thought was the shell was actually the creature's back and it seemed to change colour like a chameleon."When it was in the shade it was a black colour and then when it swam off it changed to a greeny-brown."It seemed to camouflage itself."That's probably why not many people have spotted them."It was standing feeding on the weeds and had its back arched."My eyesight is perfect, I don't drink and I'm not on drugs."Just six days previously angler Trevor Smart, of Leicestershire, reckons he spotted a sperm whale, first seen in Tor Bay at the end of June.Mr Smart, who was staying on his boat in Torquay harbour, had gone out fishing early on July 21 when he says the creature surfaced near him in flat calm conditions a quarter of mile from shore.He said: "I was totally enthralled. I don't think I would have seen it if the sea hadn't been so flat. I hadn't got a clue what it was."I have visited this area since the early 1960s and fished all my life, seeing dolphins and basking sharks and other sea life in our seas, but I've never seen anything like this."The marine conservation charity Sea Watch sightings officer Gemma Veneruso said: "We do have some concerns that it might strand itself."Sperm whales feed on deep sea squid and fish close to the edge of the continental shelf in the North Atlantic but rarely come into shallow waters."It is very rare for a sperm whale to travel as far east as this in the Channel and to come so close to shore."Meanwhile, the unexplained creature is causing a stir on the MCS website where theories range from sea serpent to salt water crocodile.An MCS spokesman said: "It was reported as a turtle but was also said to have a small head on a thin neck about two feet long which craned above the surface like a Plesiosaur. It's described as being as long as a sea lion with a long neck. This is not a fake."

Source:http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Sea-monster-spotted-Bay/article-2475547-detail/article.html

 posted by J on behalf of tabitca. She thought you wouldn't want to miss this!The summer silly season has started .

a last blog and thanks

I Just Saw a Frightful Monster

By Jeff Smith | Published Wednesday, July 28, 2010 

Extract from article:

“I just saw a frightful monster,” said Charlesworth, “fully thirty feet in length, shaped like a snake, with three sets of fins, a tail like an eel’s.” He paused to catch his breath. “The head, like an alligator’s, was a bit wider than the neck” but “very thick at the base.” A film covered the small eyes. The dark body had “mottled skin spotted something like a trout,” the belly a “yellowish cast.”The fins looked like a sea lion’s, between 3 and 4 feet in length, the forward pair heaviest and situated about 2 feet back of the neck. The first 12 feet were “at least 2 feet thick.” Then it tapered toward the tail.The monster lay on wet sand. When he first saw the long brown sprawl, Charlesworth couldn’t believe his eyes. “At the captain’s approach,” writes the Union, “the serpent-fish raised its head” and arched it toward the intruder. Since Charlesworth wasn’t far away, “His only thought was to increase that distance.

Read more including flying devils and Lake Hodge Monster  here:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/jul/28/feature-i-just-saw-frightful-monster/

Thank you for the nice comments. I shall leave the blog but put comments on moderation.Hopefully when I have good days I will be able to post but in the meantime be good whilst I am away and keep looking .xx

good bye

I am afraid due to my continuing ill health I am going to have to stop posting blogs. Due to the spam that I keep attracting on the blog I am not sure whether to delete it completely or leave it for people to read. If anyone would like to write a comment on how they feel about that, please do. I will make a decision later in the week. Thank you so much for following the blog and reading my stuff. I have had some insightful and lovely comments since the blog started and I can't tell you how much it was appreciated that people took the time to post something.Keep researching and looking fellow cryptozoology enthusiasts , one day you may find something wonderful xx

Two Bigfoot Shows

Utahns tell of Bigfoot encountersHUNTSVILLE -- Tales of Bigfoot come to life during "Dave's Bigfoot Show" on Monday.
Live music will also be featured during the event, beginning at 5 p.m. on the lawn behind the Texas Pride Barbecue restaurant, 235 S. 7400 East.The Bigfoot show, which runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., features Ogden and Huntsville residents sharing their "unexplained experiences" with the mysterious creature, said organizer David Carver of Eden.Each of the 30 people will be interviewed on stage in a talk-show-style format. Most of their encounters took place in the Top of Utah, Carver said, although some happened in the Uintas and Montana."No one's ever had a chance to hear (the stories) from the real people -- real people and real experiences, it hasn't been done," Carver said.And, he added, "Some of them are spectacular encounters."The event isn't out to prove or disprove the Bigfoot phenomenon, Carver said, but will show there are encounters with no logical explanation and "for sure, it was not a guy in a suit!"Carver himself hasn't had any run-ins with the furry legend: "Nope, I haven't seen one and I'm standing around waiting. And I sure hope something's going to happen before I die."Music during the show will be presented by Theresa Ellis, a Liberty violinist and fiddler, and Danielle Vaughn, a Huntsville singer/songwriter.Dark Horse the Band, an Ogden Valley group, will perform at 5 p.m.Advance tickets are $2, or $10 per family; tickets at the door are $3, or $15 per family. Proceeds from the event will be donated to youth soccer groups.Guests should bring their own lawn chairs.
Source:http://www.standard.net/topics/features/2010/07/22/utahns-tell-bigfoot-encounters

Comins Bigfoot Bash to offer serious look at legend

COMINS — Legend and reality will meet come Friday at a first-ever event called “Bigfoot Bash” hosted by the Michigan Magazine Museum in Comins, about 90 miles north of Bay City.The three-day event will provide a serious study of Bigfoot in Michigan with dashes of fun and live entertainment. Comins is the "heart of Bigfoot country," with 35 documented sightings, said event organizers.Friday’s festivities start at 10 a.m. with most of the schedule dedicated to anyone who wants to share their Bigfoot sightings at the museum, 3309 North Abbe.“This gives people who have had sightings a forum to share those stories with others without being criticized,” said Nelson Yoder, the museum’s curator. On Saturday, several scholars will appear during the weekend festivities to share stories of their own Bigfoot sightings and research.Phil Shaw will lead the stream of guest speakers at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a presentation on the historical and amusing side of Bigfoot. Shaw graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in science.At 1 p.m., architect Sanjay Singhal will share his childhood stories of seeing Bigfoot in South Dakota.Yoder said the event can serve as a forum for serious discussion on the subject.“There’s skepticism, but once you do the research, you realize there’s definitely something valid to the subject,” he said.The event will also include presentations featuring unpublished sighting reports and rare audio recordings. A sketch artist will attend Friday’s guest testimonials to draw the creature described by those sharing their Bigfoot sightings.
For more event information, call (989) 826-3169.

 Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/07/comins_bigfoot_bash_to_offer_s.html

I am in two minds about these things. On the one hand people get to discuss their experiences and share them with others and that may encourage others to come forward with their stories but on the other hand  I think should cryptids be made into a show? What do you think?

A P.S. There will no blogs this weekend as I am not well and need a rest and also it is my birthday on Sunday and I will be the ripe old age of 55 years. Daughter is arriving today to fend off any party goers as I am really not up to any sort of frolics . We have had some good parties in the past. So keep the place clean and tidy and don’t forget to lock the door and turn off the lights. I will be back on Monday hopefully !

Strange beast killing cattle in Ecuador

Strange beast killing cattle in Ecuador

This a Google translation of the article so not brilliant:

Strange animal kills livestock in Nero

Two dead and three calves with severe injuries is the result of the attack of a mysterious animal that Monday night alarmed the residents of the community La Cuadra, belonging to Nero.

….Luz Brito narrated that, residents armed with flashlights, searched around the night and witnessed  a strange animal, large and black, ran into the bushes. An account that coincides with the flesh and bones left on and near a barbed wire fence in the stables where the cattle were attacked.

Nobody knows what kind of animal is that is killing the animals, however,  the residents suspect that it can be a cougar who escaped from a private zoo, or was abandoned by owners of circuses. Others talk of a possible panther, still others relate to the legend of the chupacabra.It is believed to be a beast with great force, because it kills easily steers and cows, eats lots of meat and leaves deep prints of nails and teeth.

This episode recalls the deaths of sheep and Czech Tutupali between September and October 2007, and occurred on August 21, 2009, in Gullanzhapa of Tarqui. (ASQ). (ASQ).

Source: http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/45494-extraa-o-animal-mata-al-ganado-en-nero/

Egyptian Cryptids?

I have always been intrigued by the Egyptian depictions of monsters. They are found everywhere on ceremonial slates, plaques ,knife handles, inside tombs particularly at  Hierakonpolis and Naqada in Upper Egypt. These are early depictions and include winged griffins and what looks like leopards with long, winding necks (see photo) . They are thought to be inspired by models found in Mesopotamia. What if the images were also inspired by travellers and their stories? The long winding neck creature reminds of stories from other parts of Africa of prehistoric looking creatures such as Mokele- Mbeme.

There are also modern monster stories from Egypt, such as the strange carcass washed ashore in 1950 called the  Ataka animal because of the place it was found.

In January of 1950, following a gale, which raged along the banks of the Gulf of Suez, Egyptian authorities discovered huge carcass decomposing on the beach. A team of scientists were sent to try and identify the carcass.It was described as the size of a whale with two  huge walrus-like tusks, which protruded from either side of its large mouth. There was some evidence of a blow hole but no apparent eyes and a row of cilia like appendages circling its maw.

This led some to speculate that the animal may have been an unknown species of marine mammal. Eyewitnesses, at the time, claimed that there was  a large, whale-like creature swimming in the gulf just ten days before the storm. Experts could not positively identify the creature at the time , which seems odd considering that in modern times it has been dismissed as a Baleen Whale. Surely marine biologists in the 1950s knew what a Baleen whale looked like? The appearance of "walrus-like tusks" on the Egyptian carcass have been said to be the lower splayed jaws of the whale. Surely the experts in the 1950’s would have realised if it was a whale carcass , even decomposed. It has been a matter of speculation for years and there is no definite answer. So another Egyptian mystery.

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chupacabra mystery solved?

by JONATHAN BETZ  WFAA Posted on July 20, 2010 at 8:21 PM

DECATUR — The sightings of strange animals suspected to be the mythical chupacabra have puzzled North Texans for months.But Kathleen Forth calls them pets."So I raise chupacabras, I guess," she said.

They're actually dogs — rare, hairless dogs. The Decatur woman has been breeding and showing them for 16 years.Although some of the chupacabras found in the wild turn out to be sick coyotes, Forth is convinced that ranchers have been shooting at hairless dogs."I believe all of those things are deceased Xolos," she said, referring to a breed of hairless Mexican dog. "That's why people are concerned they are the chupacabras, because they've never seen them; they're not used to something like this, and it scares them."

The Xolos may not win any beauty contest, but they're actually quite friendly, and largely harmless.

Mexican hairless dogs are very rare, and certainly unlike any other. "They have a good chin, good look," Forth said. "They look in the distance and they look majestic.

Majestic? Perhaps. But on some ranches, they are certainly not getting the royal treatment. 

source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Meet-the-Xolo-Chupacabra-mystery-solved-98885759.html

A busy day at Loch Ness in 1975

It was a busy day on Loch Ness in July 1975 , one person saw the Loch Ness Creature 4 times and filmed it at least once.

.

On the 18th of July 1975, Alan Wilkins was on holiday with his family at   a caravan site at Rubha Ban, near Invermoriston.

Wilkins, a teacher, and his son were scanning the loch at 7:20 am when they saw  a black shape appear and disappear several times .They were one and half miles south of Invermoriston . They  estimated the shape was 20 feet( 6.6metres) long and showed about 2 feet (0 .6 metre)out of water. It then disappeared and  left  a swirl of water behind

At 10:12am , the same teacher and his wife, photographed three large triangular humps in same area.. The humps disappeared on the  approach of a  motorboat. He at first thought it a black rubber boat with an outboard racing across the Loch, but then his wife pointed out the one hump had become 3.Others watching agreed there were 3 triangular humps in the water . Wilkins filmed the  object using his 16mm camera which  was fitted with a 300mm lens.

At 9:25 p.m,From the same position  Wilkins and several people saw a black spot emerging from the water and forming two humps.The  water seemed to be boiling around it.Some watchers  said it looked like a whale rolling in the water . Then it disappeared

At 10.25pm one of the group of watchers including Wilkins ,saw 3 closely spaced humps about 4 feet(1.3metres) high moving out of Invermoriston Bay about a mile away. The humps now being watched by  several others . They reported the humps altered from 2 to 3 humps several times and then they disappeared.

So what I we to make of this. Putting the sceptics’ argument first. The third  sighting of the water boiling could have been some volcanic eruption from the Loch’s Basin, it is known to happen occasionally and it does throw up debris. The second and fourth sightings could have been boat wakes.. As there had been that first sighting that morning people were expecting to see something so that could also be a factor.

The first sighting however is not so easily dismissed. There were no boats around and the way it appeared and disappeared suggest an animate object. What do you think, is it possible to see a cryptid 4 times in one day or after the first sighting does the mind play tricks?


A PS for Wuff
There has been minor volcanic activity recorded around the Loch for about 150 years some info here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jun/27/highereducation.physicalsciences

http://www.fortaugustus.org/wildlife-nature/geology.php

http://www.lochnesswelcome.co.uk/sectionDetail.asp?sid=104

http://geology.about.com/cs/odds_and_ends/a/aa070101a.htm

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/highlights/glendoeHydroelectric.html

Chinese Sasquatch and Chupacabra Lady in the news

Chinese Sasquatch suspected

English.news.cn   2010-07-19 09:03:21           

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Bears or Bigfoot? That's what villagers in Shennongjia, Hubei Province are wonder-ing ever since one man named Ding Fei, 33, found mysterious thick curly hairs with transparent roots on July 9 at a location called Swallow Hole on a local mountain.After Ding reported his discovery to the neighborhood committee, some professional researchers found additional hairs and a 30-centimeter-long footprint at the same place on July 11.According to their research, the hair isn't human or livestock, but the possibility of bears could not be ruled out.

(Source: Global Times) http://life.globaltimes.cn/odd/2010-07/553049.html

'Chupacabra Lady' in high demand after latest sightings

BY KAYLA BELLOriginally published July 18, 2010

 When Phylis Canion returned Thursday from a trip to South America, the woman nicknamed "The Chupacabra Lady" was shocked to find hundreds of missed calls and e-mails. While Canion was away, two chupacabra-like animals were spotted in Hood County. And everyone wanted to know what the nutrition-expert-by-day, chupacabra-enthusiast-by-night thought of the latest sightings.Canion gained notoriety in 2007 when a chupacabra-like animal died near her ranch near Cuero. Since then, Canion has tested the animal's DNA at five different universities, and discovered the animal is a hybrid: coyote on its maternal side, Mexican wolf on the paternal side.Canion has received international attention for her bizarre discovery and said she enjoys the discussions she has with some of the nation's "most intellectual scientists.""I get an average of 100 calls a month and probably 150 e-mails," Canion said Sunday. "People want to know the latest, and they send me pictures, asking me what I think about what they found."Despite all the inquiries, Canion hadn't seen photos or video of the Chupacabra-like creature until Sunday night.After seeing a link to a news story, Canion confirmed the creature looked like the one she found and ultimately mounted."Sure wish I knew if it was male or female," she said, adding that she'd like to see its paw print to compare to the one she found.Canion said she always asks people if their Chupacabra find has the two characteristics that stumped scientists when it came to her creature.Normal canines have four nipples on each side, Canion said. Hers only had two on each side and no mammary glands. Canion's find also had unexplainable "pouches" on each side of its tail, which she opened up to reveal "pink-looking meat.""Oh my gosh, it's bizarre," she said, still referring to her chupacabra. "I don't think any have been as bizarre as the one I've found." 

Source:http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/jul/18/kb_chupacabra_071910_104102/?news&dewitt-county

Cryptozoological chat, listen first, then investigate, don't dismiss out of hand.

This post by Nick Redfern gave me food for thought:

Lair of the Beasts: Monsters in Town

Creature Tales By Nick Redfern     July 17, 2010

Occasionally, I’m asked: where do you get your information from when it comes to investigating sightings of weird creatures? Well, sometimes, it comes via people who just email me, or phone me, out of the blue. On other occasions it’s via old newspaper archives, colleagues, and ancient books and pamphlets.But, sometimes, when you’re in a particular area that has a rich history of monstrous strangeness in its midst, the best thing to do is engage the locals in conversation. Indeed, this is an approach that I have found to be very profitable on many occasions. And, I’ll give you a perfect example

Read the rest here:

http://www.mania.com/lair-beasts-monsters-town_article_124071.html

Nick is quite right of course you pick up information from lots of sources but the  stories you hear by just chatting  is amazing. Apparently I have the sort of face that makes people want to talk to me. The number of life stories I have heard on trains lol. I must look harmless or something  or have MUG tattooed on my forehead. It has it’s advantages though as people confide in me and I get to hear stuff that you wouldn’t find documented elsewhere. When I was interviewing people for some research I  was doing on oral history ,I also got lots of stories about strange things and local legends. If I had a £1 for everyone who said to me “I’ll tell you but I haven’t told anyone else” I would be rich! The point of this little diatribe is, don’t dismiss stories you are told as hearsay, investigate  them first, you never know what little gems you might find or where it may lead. 

Monsters of Texas 

There's Something in the Woods 

Real cryptids or tricks of the mind?

I thought in view of the Texas mangy critter thing I would look at a couple of cryptid sightings that were said to be hoaxes, but people swore were real.
The Enfield Monster.
The creature was first sighting in 1973 in Illinois in Enfield, a small town.It started on April 25^th when  a young boy, Greg Garrett, had been playing in his yard when suddenly, a creature had appeared and stepped on his feet. Not much you might think but the boys soft tennis shoes where torn to shreds Greg ran into the house, crying hysterically. Now most parents would think it was a cover story for the boy ruining his shoes and dismissed it  but half an hour later the creature was sighted again. Henry McDaniel was at home on the same evening  when he heard a scratching on his door. When he opened it, he was met by a strange vision. He described it as  "It had three legs on it,a short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half to five feet( 1.6 metres) tall and was greyish coloured. It was trying to get into the house." McDaniel got his gun and   opened  the door and  fired. After his first shot, McDaniel said he knew that he had hit it. The creature "hissed like a wildcat" and scampered away, covering 75 feet( 25 metres) in three jumps. It disappeared into the brush along a railroad embankment near the house. McDaniel called the police and they on searching the property ,found tracks "like those of a dog, except they had six toe pads." The tracks were four inches (10 cms) across on average. Then on May 6, Henry McDaniel was awakened in the middle of the night by local dogs howling. He looked out and saw the monster again. It was standing out near the railroad tracks. "I didn't shoot at it or anything," McDaniel reported. "It started on down the railroad track. It wasn't in a hurry or anything. The local White County Sheriff Roy Poshard Jr. threatened to lock McDaniel up  for spreading stories , but McDaniel stuck by his story. Word got out and people starting arriving at the town, the curious, the reporters and some researchers, all hunting the monster. Five young men  were arrested by the Deputy Sheriff Jim Clark as "threats to public safety" after they had opened fire on a grey, hairy thing that they said they  had seen in some underbrush on May 8. Two of the men thought they had hit it, but it sped off, moving faster than they could.
Rick Rainbow,  was then the news director of radio station in Indiana and  three other people  also saw the monster near an abandoned house, just a short distance from McDaniel's place. They only caught a glimpse as it was running away from them, but they later described it as about five feet tall(1.6 metres), grey and stooped over. Mr Rainbow did manage to tape record its cry. A short time later, the sightings ended .
Loren Coleman investigated and said this :"I travelled to Enfield, interviewed the witnesses, looked at the siding of the house the Enfield Monster had damaged, heard some strange screeching banshee-like sounds, and walked away bewildered." see : http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/enfield73/

So was it hysteria as some suggested or was it a sort of bigfoot or even as some had put forward an alien connected to UFO activity that was also reported in the general area at that time? Well the strange thing about it all is that  in the summer of 1973, the town of Murphysboro in Illinois was also in the news for sightings of a strange creature. The creature, called  the “Murphysboro Mud Monster” appeared and then disappeared just two weeks later Just as the Enfield monster had done. That story is here :

http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/06/bigfoot-or-muddy-bear.html

Most bigfoot sightings seem to occur in clusters over a period of time  so could the sightings have been related bigfoot type creatures or just mass hysteria? We can all mistake things especially in bad light. And just to add to the strangeness in 1941 and 1942, in the Mount Vernon area (about 40 miles away from Enfield) there was a spate of reports about a  "leaping" beast that was claimed was responsible for several animal deaths in the region. Eyewitnesses said it was vaguely baboon-like.

Read more: http://americanmonsters.com/site/2010/03/enfield-horror-illinois-usa/

From England we have the story of :

The Brentford Griffin
In 1984 Kevin Chippendale spotted an unknown creature flying near the rooftop of a block of flats in the town of Brentford UK.  He described it as looking like "a dog with wings" and "having a long muzzle and four legs with what looked like paws and a beak."  He said it looked like a griffin. Incidentally he was walking  along Braemar Road near  to the aptly named Griffin Park and the block of Flats was called Green Dragon Flats (apartments for our USA readers). Mr Chippendale saw the creature again in the February of 1985 and said that it bore some resemblance to the creature painted on the sign of the Griffin Public House.A friend of Kevin's, an Angela Keyhoe also claimed to have seen the flying monster. She was on a bus journey when she saw it sitting on the gasometer next to the Waterman's Art Centre. She said it resembled a giant black bird. Several passengers on the bus apparently saw the creature, and so did psychologist John Olssen, one morning whilst he was jogging near to the Thames. The story was featured in the press and also on The Six O' Clock news. Then a letter appeared in the  Fortean Times magazine, during the May of 1998, from a Mr Martin Collins who believed that such a monster may well have been more than local hoax.
He wrote: “I first encountered the story of the Brentford Griffins while I was at St John’s School in the 1950s (note: some thirty years before the first sightings!). St John’s in those days sat in the shadow of Brentford’s football ground, Griffin Park. Inquiring why there were so many griffin references in Brentford, I was told that it was due to the family of griffins that lived on Brentford Eyot, an island in the Thames.The story of how they got there was that the first griffin was brought to Brentford by King Charles II as a gift for his mistress, Nell Gwynn, who had a house in the Butts at Brentford. One day the griffin was playing on the banks of the River Brent, which flows past the Butts, and fell in. The hapless creature was washed down the Brent into the Thames, finally being washed up on Brentford Eyot. As it was assumed to have been killed, it was left alone and was able to live on the Eyot for many years – griffins having a lifespan of centuries.Then Sir Joseph Banks brought back a griffin from a Pacific island where he had been with Captain Cook. This griffin was originally housed in the Pagoda in Kew Gardens, which is on the opposite bank of the Thames from Brentford Eyot where it found a mate awaiting it.There was soon a whole colony of griffins and they spread out from the Eyot all over the town of Brentford, where they can still be seen to this day, if you look closely enough..

Extract from :http://beastsoflondon.blogspot.com/2007/04/brentford-griffin.html

The popular writer Robert Rankin who grew up in Brentford noted that the town sits within a mystical triangle formed by the Thames, the Grand Union Canal and the M4 Rankin suggests that Brentford is a portal to the underworld and there fore seeing griffins is not all that odd.

Most people thought it was a hoax  or our old friend mass hysteria. At the time the sign for a local bank was a Griffin and so it could well have been that on a hoarding which people had mistaken for a real creature.

The thing with both stories is that all the eye witnesses swore what they saw was true and real. But we all know that suggestion plays a big part in our minds and once someone sees something, often others follow. The mind acquaints what it is seeing with what it has been told and therefore what it can’t identify must be that strange creature that everyone is talking about. We can fool ourselves some thing is real or happened when it didn’t because our memories are fallible. We will swear it is true because we think it is and will pass any lie detector test, but it doesn’t mean it really happened or was really there  It is not a lie because we have convinced ourselves . Or the alternative is these  things are real and then we should really be worried!  

Bonavista Newfoundland Sea Creature

 What was the sea monster of Bonavista? Here are two article from the time :

Bonavista Newfoundland Sea Creature 2000            

By GLEN WHIFFEN of The Telegram April 6 2000

The ocean pressing against the ancient shores of Cape Bonavista carries its share of stories and mysteries. From shipwrecks and acts of courage to unexplained voices and lights, Cape Bonavista has been the stuff of Newfoundland folklore.Bonavista resident Bob Crewe says sea monsters can be added to the legend. While driving along the cape one morning last week, Crewe came upon a creature like nothing he’s ever seen before. “I saw its body in the water measuring about 30 feet across, just lying there and moving slightly,” said Crewe, who had stopped his truck on a cliff overlooking the ocean, in an area not far from an attraction known as The Dungeon and an old rock formation known locally as the Viking. “It looked something like a rock in the water, but I knew there was no rock there. I blew the horn and it stuck its head out of the water. It had a long neck about four or five feet.”Crewe said from what he could see of the creature amid ripples in the water, it looked something like a huge snake which had some kind of “snout” on its head. “I wish I had a camera aboard,” said Crewe. “It took off towards the lighthouse (at the tip of the cape) with its head still out of the water, tilted slightly forward. It seemed like it was using its body to push itself along and it was going very fast.”In May 1997 in Little Bay East, Fortune Bay, fisherman Charles Bungay described seeing a creature with a long neck and gray, scaly skin. Bungay and a fishing partner spotted what they thought were floating garbage bags and decided to haul them aboard their boat. When they got close, however, the creature reared up its head. He described it has having a neck about six feet long, a head like a horse, horns, and dark eyes. He estimated an overall length of about 30 to 40 feet. The creature slipped under the water and disappeared.A Bay L’Argent fishermen saw a similar creature four or five years prior to that sighting. He described it as being like a dinosaur. At the time, some people suggested the Fortune Bay fishermen actually saw a giant squid.Crewe, however, says what he saw was nothing as simple as that. “It wasn’t a giant squid. I know that for sure,” he said. “I wasn’t close enough to see scaly skin or eyes or any detail like that. All I know is that was a strange creature, and it’s a big ocean that could contain a lot of strange things we’ve never seen.”

Newfoundland fishermen snag sea monster in nets
Lance Cove fisherman says he's seen one
ALISHA MORRISSEY The Telegram

The depths of the Atlantic Ocean are filled with all kinds of strange critters and creatures - maybe some we've never seen or heard of before.Maybe John Marsh has discovered one of them.Marsh, a fisherman in Lower Lance Cove, Trinity Bay, for nearly 60 years, says he's never seen anything like the animal found caught in his son and nephew's caplin traps last summer.In a letter to The Telegram, Marsh describes in detail the creature he tried to help out of the trap, from its rounded teeth and camel-like lips to the end of its three-pointed tail."It's almost too strange to talk about. It almost don't sound real, but I told you the story of it and we've seen it," Marsh says over the phone from his Lower Lance Cove home.The day his son and nephew were out fishing, Marsh says he was called to help them cut something out of the nets - a whale got caught, they thought.But he immediately noticed its eight- to 10-foot-long neck and the fact that it didn't have a blowhole like a whale.It was "smooth as glass," with pretty green and blue skin, he says."If it was a whale or anything like that he would have had old barnacles and scratches on it and stuff like that, but this was perfectly clean just like he come from a washer," he says, explaining that leads him to believe it was probably living near or in fresh water.He didn't have a camera with him and had to leave to go to a doctor's appointment, Marsh says, explaining he'd hoped to go back for the carcass, but when he did it had sunk."I could have made a fortune on it," he says. "It's amazing I'm telling you."Jack Lawson, a marine mammals research scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, says he wishes Marsh had of taken a tissue sample of the animal so testing could have been done.He read the letter Marsh sent to The Telegram and says he's never heard of anything with that combination of traits."Obviously, if he saw something, it would have been great if he could have cut a piece off it or kept it. That's the frustrating part for me. I would have loved to have seen what it was," Lawson says. "I love mysteries."If it were a new species it would be really exciting for something that large to have never been seen before."Although he'd love to have proof of a new sea monster, Lawson says it's possible what Marsh saw was any one of number of things that are already known to be in the Atlantic Ocean."I know that some of the large whales that we've seen off shore that have been vessel struck end up having unusual shapes to their bodies. The configuration that we're used to seeing for a whale gets quite changed when they decompose," Lawson says."We do occasionally get unusual things cast up. Usually it turns out to be dead sharks or dead whales that have decomposed to the point where they're not easily identifiable. And we've had - for instance on the south coast - my supervisor was down there in 2002 looking at a sea monster down there, and it turned out to be a sperm whale, but you wouldn't have known it until they did the DNA on it."It's also possible Marsh saw a cadborosaurus, says Lawson, citing a much-rumoured, long-necked creature spotted hundreds of times on the west coast of Canada.But after being shown descriptions and artist renderings of the cadborosaurus, Marsh said that's not what he saw.Either way, Lawson has hope there are other things out there to discover, and perhaps Marsh's monster is one of them."They certainly seem to be discovering new animals every year," Lawson says."It's possible that we have things out in our waters that just haven't cast themselves up on shore yet."Sea monster sightings certainly aren't a rarity in this province.In April 2000, Bonavista resident Bob Crewe swore he saw something similar to what Marsh says he saw last summer.Crewe said at the time he was driving along the cape when he spotted something in the ocean. He stopped his truck and got out for better look at the animal, which he described to be like a wide snake with a snout at the end of its long neck.Crewe also didn't get pictures of the creature he saw swim off towards the lighthouse.In May 1997, in Little Bay East, Fortune Bay, fisherman Charles Bungay described seeing a creature with a long neck and gray, scaly skin.Bungay and a fishing partner spotted what they thought were floating garbage bags and decided to haul them aboard their boat. When they got close, however, the creature reared up its head. He described it has having a neck about six feet long, a head like a horse, horns or long ears, and dark eyes. He estimated its overall length at about 30 to 40 feet.The creature slipped under the water and disappeared.At the time, some people suggested the Fortune Bay fishermen actually saw a giant squid.A Bay L'Argent fishermen saw a similar creature four or five years prior to that sighting. He described it as being like a dinosaur.Anyone spotting anything strange from under the sea can get in touch with Jack Lawson at whalesighting@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or jack.lawson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
source: http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=330630&sc=79

Even with the long neck I was inclined to think it was some sort of seal or walrus. Or was it some thing unknown? What do you think?

just one more Chupacabra

Tioga Police Chief May Have Shot a Chupacabra

July 16, 2010 TIOGA, TX -- The myth of the Chupacabra continues. Thursday, after airing a story about a Texoma woman who claims she owns a Chupacabra-like pet, the Tioga Police Chief called saying he may have shot one. Deeda Payton has his story.

It's the stuff legends are made of, tales of a Chupacabra shot but not killed in Texoma. It made for some interesting lunch conversation in Tioga, TX.Police Chief, Dick Rodgers, says he has come face-to-face with a beast fitting the description of the mythical Chupacabra. "Since I confronted it within 10 to 15 feet and it aggressively came toward me. I would have to believe that it's a fact," said Rodgers.But, local residents have mixed emotions. "They could be all over Texas!" said Tioga resident, Charles Kemp. "Lots of things need to be shot, but I don't know about this animal," said Tioga resident, Robert Lawton.It all started when Rodgers got a call about an aggressive animal out on Lakeshore Drive. "The head and the snout of the animal are very much different from any animal I've ever looked at," said Rodgers.He says he chased it down the street and along a fence, cornering the animal. That's when he said the animal lunged at him. "I shot it, shot at it with a shotgun, wounded it in the face, shoulder and leg and then it ran off in another direction about 15 to 20 feet and collapsed," said Rodgers. But, the beast took off leaving only a puddle of blood.Rodgers says he doesn't know if it was in fact a Chupacabra because it all happened so fast, but believes it is the same thing a Hood County, TX man shot earlier in the week. "We'd like to capture it if possible or find it if anybody sees it lying around dead before they remove it so we can get pictures and determine what it is."

Regardless of whether or not it is the mythical beast, Rodgers says it is a beast nonetheless and a real threat to the community.If you have seen or know anything about the animal Rodgers is describing, you are asked to call Tioga Police at 903-870-6215.

Deeda Payton, KTEN News

.source: http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=12816037

Sorry just couldn’t resist one more story. If you want to follow or read back all the news stories go to:

http://www.unknown-creatures.com/cryptozoology-news.html

Wildman Research in China

A good article on the history of the research into the Chinese Yeren.  Worth a read.

The Status of Wildman Research in China 

Zhou Guoxing

Chinese historical documents contain many references to Wildman, a supposed large unknown primate reported today in numerous provinces. Scientific interest in Wildman in modern China began in the late 1950s, and intensified in the 1970s with fieldwork in northwest Hubei and southern Shanxi provinces sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. No physical evidence has been uncovered, with the exception of the hands and feet of a supposed Wildman. Morphological analysis indicates that they had belonged to a very large monkey species, possibly a macaque, still unknown to science. These undescribed monkeys may account for sightings of the "smaller" Wildman. A number of reported morphological and ecological characteristics are reviewed, and Wildman's possible affinities to the fossil ape Gigantopithecus are discussed. The discovery of an actual specimen of Wildman could shed light on the classificatory status of Gigantopithecus, and would certainly enhance knowledge of the origins of human evolution, particularly bipedalism.

Earliest historical records and folklore

Chinese historical documents, and many city and town annals, contain abundant records of Wildman, which are given various names, such as "manbear," "hairy man," "shangui" (mountain monster), "xingxing" (orang-utan), and "feifei."In the period of Warring States (475-221 B.C.), Qu Yuan, a great poet, wrote a poem about "shangui" (mountain monster). Some scholars believe that the theme of the poem corresponds to the legend of Wildman. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), the great pharmacologist Li Shizhen mentioned several kinds of Wildman in the 51 st volume of his monumental work Compendium of Materia Medica. One of them was called "feifei," an account of which is quoted as follows:
"Feifei," which are called "manbear," are also found in the mountainous areas in west Shu (part of Sichuan Province today) and Chu division, where people skin them and eat their palms. The You mountain of Sha county, Fujian province, sees the same ones, standing about one zhang (equal to 3.1 meters) in height and smiling to the people they come across, and are called "shandaren" (men as big as mountains), "wildmen" or "shanxiao."
Even today, in the area of Fang County, Hubei Province, there are still legends about "maoren" (hairy men) or "wildmen." A local chronicle, about 200 years old, says that "the Fang mountain lying 40 li (2 li equals one kilometer) south to the county town is precipitous and full of holes, where live many maoren, about one zhang high and hair-coated. They often come down to eat human beings and chickens and dogs, and seize those who fight them." A lantern on which there is an ornament of a "maoren" figure was unearthed in this area during an archeological excavation. It has been dated at 2,000 years.
futher down in the article:
(4) Investigation of "Manbears" of Jiolong Mountain of Sui Chang, Zhejiang Province, in the Early 1980s"Manbears" in the Jiolong Mountain Natural Reserve Area were recorded long ago in local chronicles. Li Shizen wrote in his Compendium of Materia Medica that there were "manbears" in Chu Zhou, which covers the Sui Chang area today, to the southeast of Li Shui County.Scientific investigation of "manbears" on the Jiolong mountain is mainly under the direction of the Science Committee of Li Shui Prefecture, and participants are personnel in specific fields at scientific research institutions and universities. Preserved hands and feet (two of each) were recently obtained from a middle-school teacher of biology. He obtained them in 1957, when local peasants reportedly killed a "manbear." These remains represent the first instance of physical evidence obtained during investigations of Wildman in China (Fig. 3).In December 1980, I went to Sui Chang to study these hand and foot specimens. I concluded, beyond any doubt, that they belong to a higher primate, and have morphological traits of both ape and monkey. The eye-witnesses thought that they had belonged to a Wildman, or of a manlike "strange animal," but after examining the specimens, I determined that they were not the hands and feet of a Wildman. They might possibly belong to an enormous monkey (perhaps a species of macaque not previously recorded in this area). These hands and feet could not have come from the legendary "manbear," which is said to be about 2 meters in height, and leaves large footprints. However, there is no denying the possibility that they came from an unknown primate in the Jiolong Mountain area.There are similar legends about Wildman in places other than the Jiolong Mountain area, such as the Wuyi Mountain in Fujian Province, the Huang Mountain in Anhui Province, and the nearby counties of Sui Chang, Zhejiang Province.In summary, since the end of the 1950s, China has organized a series of on-the-spot investigations of Wildman in Tibet, and the provinces of Yunnan, Hubei, Shanxi, and Zhejiang. Among the participants in these investigations have been a number of professional scientists, such as anthropologists, geologists, zoologists, and botanists, as well as personnel in specific fields of zoological parks and natural history museums. Taking part in the investigation in the Shennongjia forest area are experienced huntsmen and skilled scouts.Up to the present time, apart from the above-mentioned hand and foot samples obtained in the Jiolong Mountain areas of Zhejian Province, no direct physical evidence has been found to support the existence of Wildman. That is to say, all we know about Wildman is based on indirect evidence, such as folklore, eyewitness accounts, footprints, hair samples, and feces samples. Legends about Wildman in these areas have a long history, however, and there are numerous eyewitnesses. More significantly, the ecological and morphological aspects of Wildman are consistently reported. Thus, it can be inferred that these unknown animals are not mere creatures of fiction. What Chinese scientific workers seek on thickly forested mountains may actually be unknown animals, yet to be scientifically described.

Read full article here: http://home.clara.net/rfthomas/papers/zhou.html

Ben Radford discussing Nessie with Steve Feltham

Life on the Loch The lonely hunt for truth and monsters

By Benjamin Radford

Steve Feltham’s eyes and smile grow wide when the subject of the Loch Ness monsters comes up. “I think they’re out there, certainly,” he says, though he adds with a hint of sadness that it may not be true for much longer. He estimates there are probably a half-dozen creatures left in the lake (down from dozens in earlier eras) and will be fewer each passing year: “Sightings have declined. They’re gradually dropping off of old age, I think.”I found Feltham more or less by accident. I was at Scotland’s famous loch for about a week in 2006 following a speaking engagement in London. There I discussed my original research into “America’s Loch Ness Monster,” the creature supposedly inhabiting Vermont’s Lake Champlain. I had spent much of the day near Inverness, conducting a series of experiments to judge the size and distance of unknown objects in lake waters. But by mid-afternoon, the weather had grown too Scottish, and I had to pack it up. Instead of experiments, I walked along a chilly beach near the town of Dores, where, to my surprise, I found about 20 Loch Ness monsters. They were mostly red, green, purple and blue. Some were perched on rocks, others on little clear acrylic ice cubes, all on a wooden shelf supported by a waist-high tree stump. They were only a few inches high, and had big, cute eyes. Above them was a multicolored, hand-drawn sign that read, “Nessie Models For Sale.” Just behind that lay a converted minibus with faux wood paneling and a giant logo that read, “Nessie-Sery Independent Research.” It’s part tourist shack, part library, part monster research facility and all home to Feltham, the world’s only full-time Loch Ness monster researcher. Feltham, with his easy grin, a shock of gray and white hair, and clipped British accent, is a fixture at Ness. He’s lived on its shores since 1991, when he abruptly moved from England. The vehicle, which is not much bigger than some walk-in closets, has everything he needs: a sparse bed, a desk, a tiny sink and a cooking burner. The walls are plastered with posters, photographs, maps and shelves with Loch Ness-related books and papers. (I was pleased to see some of my own Loch Ness has been searched for more than 70 years, using everything from miniature submarines to divers to cameras strapped on dolphins. In fact, just three years earlier, a team of researchers sponsored by the BBC undertook the largest and most comprehensive search of Loch Ness ever conducted. They scoured the lake using 600 separate sonar beams and satellite navigation. One of the lead searchers, Ian Florence, was quoted in a BBC news release: “We went from shoreline to shoreline, top to bottom on this one, we have covered everything in this loch, and we saw no signs of any large animal living in the loch.” No monsters, no nothing. I asked Feltham what he thought about that. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “It was flawed,” he sniffed. “Yes, it made the papers, but they didn’t scan [the loch] all at once, so to me the results are suspect. They searched it over three days in three parts, so the animals might have moved around between the searches.”I understood his point, though it seemed unlikely to me that such a thorough search had somehow missed a half-dozen or more large creatures. I didn’t challenge him on it. Though I was used to being the skeptic when it came to eyewitness reports, Feltham shared my doubts about many sightings. One of the most popular theories about what the Loch Ness monster might be is a dinosaur-like plesiosaur. There are myriad problems with this theory, including that plesiosaurs died out millions of years ago and that Scotland’s lochs are only about 10,000 years old. Feltham rejects that suggestion, offering instead his best guess: Nessie are probably fish, most likely catfish.I asked how he would feel if he was proven correct—if, after all the monstrous speculation and blurry photos, the world-famous Loch Ness monster really did turn out to be an ordinary catfish (albeit a large one). How would he feel if, after spending 20 years of his life searching for the mysterious beast, the monster turned out to be something most people can find in their local supermarket? He thought for a few moments and answered in a soft voice. “I guess I’d be philosophical about it,” he said as his sweatered shoulders betrayed a slight shrug.
Read the full article  here: http://alibi.com/index.php?scn=feature&story=32962