more snake news

A 15 ft( 5 metres) , 60 lbs python reported caught  Riverside lake: 

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=7379407

(includes pic)

The Beast of Bynoe Harbour.

There is very little information about the Beast of Bynoe Harbor near Darwin in North Australia. It has been described as being like a plesiosaur . Sightings of the creature have supposedly taken place through out the area’s history. There are cave paintings said to depict the creature. A picture of a creature , nicknamed the Bynoe Harbour Monster, appeared in a Darwin newspaper after occasional sightings by fishermen. The newspaper is I presume the North Territory News but a search has not turned up the article. There were apparently reports claiming that a Mr. Burge Brown saw three plesiosaurs swimming off Bynoe Harbor, but again I have been unable to trace the newspaper report.

An Anyuna native from the Northern Territories is said that after seeing the picture in the newspaper he realised that one of the drawings by the indigenous peoples looked like a plesiosaur. I have posted it here. The creature looks to have been disembowelled. Whether that is it’s intestines next to it or another creature I am not sure. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the area and culture may know.

Without much evidence to go on I think we could mark this up to misidentification, though the cave painting is intriguing. There are sharks, crocodiles and various other large marine creatures in the waters around Northern Australia that could account for misidentifications.

Dark shapes in the water -Is it Tahoe Tessie?

Dark shapes in the lake: Tahoe Tessie legend remains alive for visitors

Keith Sheffield . April 29th 2005

TAHOE CITY - Each report of a Tahoe Tessie sighting adds to the mythology of the lake's legendary creature. The legend is so prevalent that Beth Douglas, of Sacramento, thought Tessie sightings happen every day in Tahoe. That's why Douglas didn't blink at her friend Ron Talmage's reaction last Friday afternoon to a dark shape undulating at the lake's surface about 100 yards off Tahoe Park Beach. "Does that look solid to you?" Talmage, of Rocklin, said to Douglas. When Douglas replied that the shape - with three to five humps along its back - did look solid, Talmage flatly said "Damn, that's Tessie."
"It was so cool," Douglas added. "The way he said it was so calm, I thought it (the Tessie sighting) was an everyday occurrence." What Talmage and Douglas described was the subject of a talk - "USOs: Unidentified Swimming Objects" - in January 2004 by Dr. Charles Goldman of the UC Davis Tahoe Research Group. At that lecture, sponsored by the Squaw Valley Institute, Goldman spoke of a conference he held 20 years ago at the University of Nevada, Reno on the subject of USOs. A number of scientists there testified they had seen Tahoe Tessie. All Tessie sightings have one thing in common, said Goldman - no one ever sees the head or tail, only dark objects in the water. To illustrate his point, Goldman decided to conduct a number of experiments. He created a photo of "Tessie" by capturing the splash from rocks thrown in the water. Another photo he uses shows what looks like a series of humps in the lake, which in reality are only waves. Other theories postulate Tessie could be a large sturgeon. Despite the speculation, Tessie was no less real for Talmage and Douglas. "There were no big boats (on the water)," Talmage added. "I thought 'Whoa, this sucker's real.'" No photographic evidence was obtained.
- Tribune News Service reporter Melissa Siig contributed to this article.

Source :http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20050429/News/104290045

So is Tessie just an optical illusion? The people who have seen something don't think so. What do you think?

nessie in the news again

I should have said this was an April fool lol. Don't feel bad about it some rather prominent people were taken in.

Monster spoof nets Nessie prof

By Laurence Ford Published: 08 April, 2010

A LEADING world authority on the Loch Ness monster has slammed plans for a floating sea plane terminal on the world's most famous stretch of water.But what emeritus professor of chemistry and science studies at Virginia State University in the USA, Professor Henry H Bauer did not realise the proposal, reported in the Highland News last week, was an April Fool's Day spoof. The good professor was not alone in being taken-in hook, line and sinker, as the BBC and an Inverness-based newspaper also fell for our fictitious tale and phoned our partner in the prank, Loch Ness Marketing director Willie Cameron, seeking more details. Last Thursday, to mark April Fool's Day, we told how plans for a giant floating terminal that would attract well-heeled tourists from around the world by seaplane were being submitted to Highland Council. And we revealed a top Italian designer, Rolf Lapio, had been recruited by a consortium, headed by Willie, to create an iconic floating seaplane terminal. Another tongue-in-cheek clue was the pressure group Flights Off Our Loch, which hit out at the proposal. We also listed a website link which revealed an "April Fool!" message. But several of our colleagues in the media were taken in and tried to follow up the story on Thursday morning. And after the article was posted on the HN website for the day, a number of people responded, including Professor Bauer, who wrote: "UNBELIEVABLE! Nessie is the attraction, and there's already too much boat, jet-ski, etc, traffic on Loch Ness. What's wrong with the Beauly Firth or the Moray Firth for seaplanes?" When we contacted the professor, whose book The Enigma of Loch Ness: Making Sense of a Mystery is recognised as an authoritative work, to verify he had responded to the story and not someone using his name, he confirmed he had. How we reported the 'plan' to build a floating airstrip on Loch Ness. Professor Bauer hit out at the imaginary plans. Professor Bauer, a self-confessed Nessie fan who has also written several scientific papers on Loch Ness and its secretive inhabitant, went on to expand on his opposition to the seaplanes plan because of its threat to tourism and also to Nessie, if the creature or creatures exist. He also told of his 50-year fascination with the beauty of Loch Ness. When told he'd been had, Professor Bauer replied with good grace: "Unfortunately it could so easily have been genuine, given the continuing expansion of salmon farms and boat harbours... please try to remember that it's a joke when such a proposal is actually made in the future. "Meantime, I'm greatly relieved." When told the professor had been taken in, Willie Cameron said: "Brilliant - that's even better than the BBC. I do not know the professor personally, but I have heard of him. In fact, I have got a copy of his book. "He is a recognised authority on the Loch Ness monster. It just shows what a good story it was." He added that people in the Drumnadrochit area had enjoyed the fun and even been humming the Dambusters theme tune over the phone to him, as well as calling him Biggles. He said children in the village were running about with their arms out pretending to be seaplanes. "Locally, it went down very, very well indeed," he said. "Quite honestly, it was the spoof of the year."

Source:http://www.highland-news.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/7265/Monster_spoof_nets_Nessie_prof.html

new big cat sighting

Panther pounces as woman walks her dog

Apr 8 2010 Kevin Edge

A Heath Hayes woman got the fright of her life when she was confronted by what she believes was the Chase Panther while walking her dog. Kerry Goodyear said she had just began to walk her Springer Spaniel when she spotted the figure of a large black cat at the bottom of the driveway of her home. The shocked woman said the mysterious animal immediately took flight when it saw her and the dog. Kerry said the dog gave chase, but soon came back looking ‘terrified.’ Big cat experts say there is a high possibility of a Panther prowling the Chase, and residents near the forestland have reported a raft of sighting of large cats over the last few months. Kerry said her house backs on to the conservation area and she’s accustomed to foxes and hedgehogs in her garden. But her latest encounter with the wildlife of the area was something completely new. I believe I saw a large black cat at the end of my drive,” Kerry said. It was scared off by me and the presence of my dog, I watched it run away up the road. “My dog, being a springer spaniel, was off his lead and picked up the scent of the animal and started following him. “I was trying to call him back but when he’s got the scent of something he often ignores me.” Kerry said her dog soon came back after dashing into the undergrowth .“He followed the scent up off the drive and out of sight, I didn’t follow him as I was scared,” Kerry said .“I then heard a bump and the sound of claws scratching as though the animal was running away, to which my dog ran back to the house looking terrified. “I live in Heath Hayes and my house neighbours the conservation area.” Last year residents of Hawks Green reported seeing a big cat moving near disused units close to residential areas. But wildlife experts say there is no cause for concern and attacks from big cats on humans are unusual.

Source: http://www.chasepost.net/news-in-cannock/cannock-burntwood-news/2010/04/08/panther-pounces-as-woman-walks-her-dog-93633-26202115/

big snake news

Research news from the Warners on big snakes.

http://www.bigsnakes.net/Research.htm

Nessie used to stop planes?

Loch Ness sea planes terminal row

By Donald Wilson Published: 01 April, 2010

PLANS for a huge floating terminal which could rival Tyneside's famous "Angel of the North" have surfaced on Loch Ness to bring in well-heeled tourists from around the world by seaplane. But the controversial idea could be scuppered by a determined campaign by the green lobby, which is even enlisting the protection of Nessie to its cause.A new and ambitious plan by a consortium of Highland businessmen will be submitted today (Thursday) to Highland Council's planning department which the developers say will complement two new harbours planned on the loch at the Clansman Hotel and further south towards Drumnadrochit. A top Italian designer has been recruited by the consortium, headed by Willie Cameron of Loch Ness Marketing, to create an iconic floating seaplane terminal. Speaking exclusively to the Highland News about the proposals, Willie said: "This is a golden opportunity to tap into a new market to bring tourists to the loch and put Loch Ness on the international aviation map." Apart from the legend of Nessie, the loch is in a stunning setting which few people get to see from the air. We hope we can fill that gap in the market for niche holidays which will bring millions of pounds in additional revenue to the area." Designer Rolf Lapio has been hired to create a terminal which in itself could become a tourist attraction. He was behind two failed aviation platforms on Lake Garda and Lake Como in the North of Italy. But Mr Cameron has no doubts that the plan for Loch Ness would be a success. "Rolf Lapio is a genius and I am convinced he can design a floating iconic structure for Loch Ness which could possibly become as famous as the Angel of the North," he said. Two local businessmen, Fraser Campbell and Rory Cameron, of Cobbs Bakery, are already taking flying lessons in anticipation of being able to fly out of Loch Ness when the new terminal opens. Mr Cameron said: "It's a very exciting development and it has inspired me to learn to fly. Hopefully if we get the go-ahead we will have international clientele from all over the world flying into this iconic loch and they will be able to enjoy the spectacularly scenery around Loch Ness and the Highlands. "What a fantastic experience it will be to offer visitors and indeed business people visiting the area who may be inspired by what they see to invest their money in the Highlands." Mr Cameron added: "From the environmental and safety perspectives, I don't see any major issues. Seaplanes already fly out of Loch Lomond, so why not Loch Ness? "The loch is 24 miles long and nearly two miles wide - a one-mile floating airstrip will have little or no effect on the visual impact."Rolf Lapio is an expert at getting his designs to blend in with the local landscape and I am sure he will produce something really special for what is a very special place." But a spokesman for the newly-formed protest group, Flights Off Our Loch, said: "This is outrageous. Apart from ruining the scenic imagery of the loch, Nessie will never surface again if she's going to be buzzed by planes. The tourist industry would be ruined if there are no more sightings." Source: http://www.highland-news.co.uk/news/printpage.php/aid/7242/Loch_Ness_sea_planes_terminal_row.html

Interesting that Nessie is being used as an excuse to stop tourism instead of promoting it.I must admit being buzzed by a seaplane wouldn’t do much for the peace and quiet of the Loch.