Cryptozoology & Strange Nature – Page 8

Posted on January 25, 2013 by MOTW Admin

SATURDAY, 1/26/13: CRYPTOMUNDO NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM!

This event is going on this weekend at the Museum of the Weird in downtown Austin. We’re going to have several famous cryptozoologists and authors as well as maybe a surprise appearance by Bigfoot himself! It’s going to be an awesome event!

UPDATE: all advance tickets are sold out, but we’ll still be selling regular admission to the Museum. Even though our advance tickets to the lectures and the movie screening are already sold out, we will still have the museum open for general admission, and you’ll still be able to meet the guests and get some signed books and swag, as well as attend dinner and drinks with the group afterwards at the Chupacabra Cantina and The Jackalope Bar next door. Hope to see you here!

Saturday, January 26th, 2013

3:00pm to 10:00pm

Museum of the Weird, in conjunction with the world’s foremost website on all things cryptid, Cryptomundo.com, will be hosting a very special event on January 26th at the Museum of the Weird in Austin, TX:

Cryptomundo Night at the Museum!

Featuring an all-star line up of world famous cryptozoologists, experts and authors, it’s sure to be a night of entertainment, intrigue and mystery as we explore the unknown creatures that lurk in the darker corners of the world we live in! Please come out and join us for the festivities!

Speaker presentations and author book signings include:

Lyle Blackburn, frontman for rock band Ghoultown, writer for Rue Morgue magazine and author of “The Beast of Boggy Creek”

Nick Redfern, author of “Wildman! The Monstrous and Mysterious Saga of the British Bigfoot”, “Monster Diary: On the Road in Search of Strange and Sinister Creatures”, “The World’s Weirdest Places,” “Memoirs of a Monster Hunter,” and “Monsters of Texas.”

Ken Gerhard, author of “Big Bird! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters” and “Monsters of Texas.”

Dave Coleman, author of “The Bigfoot Filmography”

The event starts at 3:00pm and goes until 6:00pm, then a break for dinner and to explore 6th Street and downtown Austin.

It resumes again at 8:00pm with a special screening in the Museum’s Weird Theater of the ’70s drive-in classic “Creature from Black Lake.”

Posted on January 11, 2013 by MOTW Admin

ENORMOUS WALL OF SAND HITS AUSTRALIAN COAST

Brett Martin, a tugboat worker, captured this amazing photograph of the incoming dust tsunami.

Check out these amazing photos coming out of Australia today. They depict an enormous wall of dust and sand carried by a cyclone as it approaches the coast of northwestern Australia.

MOTW-2013-01-10-Sandstorm_2 — Dwarfed by the enormity of the dust cloud, these ships are about to be overcome.

These are not Photoshopped, folks. Just another reminder of the power and grandeur of mother nature. These truly awe-inspiring pictures depict a category-three cyclone as it carries tons of sand particles picked up by strong winds in the Indian Ocean.

MOTW-2013-01-10-Sandstorm_3 — Terrifying, yet beautiful, the dust storm is about to reach the Australian coast.

SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260560/Wall-sand-whipped-Tropical-Cyclone-Narelle-hits-Onslow-Western-Australia.html

Posted on January 8, 2013 by MOTW Admin

GIANT SQUID FILMED ALIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Discovery Channel will air the first-ever footage of a live giant squid.

For the first time ever, we finally have video footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat, deep in the ocean’s abyss. The footage, which will air on a future Discovery Channel special, was captured by a film crew approximately 3,000 feet down in the Northern Pacific Ocean.

According to Richard Ellis, author of The Search for the Giant Squid, “It’s an exciting, exciting discovery.”

“We can learn how this thing moves, how it swims, what it does with its arms when it swims… Because it’s the first time anybody has ever seen one alive, it is an enormous breakthrough for science — and for mythology, of all things — because for a long time people didn’t even think they existed.”

I think this is great news for the field of cryptozoology, since here is a perfect example of something that has been described in sightings and legends like that of the Kraken (a giant tentacled sea monster); for centuries people dismissed it as fantasy, but yet modern scientists, who took great steps to seek out the creature, actually succeeded in proving and documenting its existence.

Here’s the CNN interview with Richard Ellis, unfortunately they don’t show any of the actual footage of the giant squid, just a few stills (I guess we’ll have to wait for that Discovery Channel special):

SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/world/2013/01/08/exp-early-ellis-giant-squid.cnn

Posted on December 27, 2012 by MOTW Admin

IS THIS ‘FIGURE OF INTEREST’ THE BIGFOOT OF OREGON?

McKenzie_river — What is this figure highlighted on the left? *Photo credit to bigfootlunchclub.com and YouTube user Matt Stansberry.*

Back in 2010 a very interesting video was posted by Youtube user Matt Stansberry. Now, what he thought he was uploading was just a some footage of him and some buddies rafting a river in Oregon but, upon further inspection realized he got a little, or should I say a BIG, something extra! I can’t seem to find any updates to this story so, if you have any info, leave it in the comments below.

You can watch the video here:

BIGFOOT Lunch Club writes:

On August 30th 2010, BFRO.net posted a video that was filmed nearly two years ago during a fishing trip on Oregon’s McKenzie river.

Preview of the post here:

“This YouTube video shot in 2008 briefly shows what may be a sasquatch in central Oregon, on the McKenzie River. At this stage it is just a “figure of interest”. A dark, long-armed figure stood up and walked away from the edge of the river as the two whitewater row boats passed by. The cameraman was shooting a YouTube installment for a fly fisherman’s blog site.

Oregon bigfoot investigator Cliff Barackman will find out the technical details from the cameraman, and ask him to submit a full report to the BFRO’s database. That has not happened yet, so we don’t know all the details at this point.”

In our minds it seems very little to go on, but when we saw Cliff Barackman was to investigate, it peaked our interest. The video below is cued 5 secs before the the appearance of the dark figure.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DNA STUDY CONFIRMS EXISTENCE OF BIGFOOT!

This incredible news was released today by Dr. Melba Ketchum, the head of the Bigfoot DNA study:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‘BIGFOOT’ DNA SEQUENCED IN UPCOMING GENETICS STUDY

Five-Year Genome Study Yields Evidence of Homo sapiens/Unknown Hominin Hybrid Species in North America

Contact: Robin Lynne, media@dnadiagnostics.com, 231.622.5362

DALLAS, Nov. 24–A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” living in North America. Researchers’ extensive DNA sequencing suggests that the legendary Sasquatch is a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.

The study was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX. In response to recent interest in the study, Dr. Ketchum can confirm that her team has sequenced 3 complete Sasquatch nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid:

“Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples. The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.

Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which includes all members of the genus Homo. Genetic testing has already ruled out Homo neanderthalis and the Denisova hominin as contributors to Sasquatch mtDNA or nuDNA. “The male progenitor that contributed the unknown sequence to this hybrid is unique as its DNA is more distantly removed from humans than other recently discovered hominins like the Denisovan individual,” explains Ketchum.

“Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA.”

Ketchum is a veterinarian whose professional experience includes 27 years of research in genetics, including forensics. Early in her career she also practiced veterinary medicine, and she has previously been published as a participant in mapping the equine genome. She began testing the DNA of purported Sasquatch hair samples 5 years ago.

Ketchum calls on public officials and law enforcement to immediately recognize the Sasquatch as an indigenous people:

“Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry. Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a ‘license’ to hunt, trap, or kill them.”

Full details of the study will be presented in the near future when the study manuscript publishes.

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Guest Blogger

STUDENTS IN IDAHO CAPTURE BIGFOOT ON FILM (VIDEO)

The area of Idaho near Mink Creek where this film was captured. Plenty of natural resources.

While filming a project in the hills of Idaho, a couple of students captured something, something they’re not so sure they can explain.

The television show “Finding Bigfoot” on the other hand, thinks they know what it could be and are heading there now to see what they can find. Watch the video below, stay tuned for updates and leave any ideas of what you think it could be in the comments!

The Idaho State Journal writes:

What appears to be a large dark figure disappearing into the brush and trees on a hillside near the West Fork of Mink Creek was captured on a brief video clip made by Pocatello students recently.

The clip has spawned Bigfoot speculation and provides more data for an Idaho State University professor who has become a Bigfoot expert.

The students who chose to remain unidentified told Local News 8 they were on a field trip for a school project when they spotted a dark figure watching them from a ridge above them. One student took the digital video clip with his camera.

“It just didn’t look human like. I don’t know what that is, it’s not a bear, it’s not a moose or anything. It was big and bulky and black,” the student told Channel 8.

The students also told the television station that they climbed up the ridge and took photographs of large footprints they discovered.

‘FINDING BIGFOOT’ FOUND A BIGFOOT …IN AUSTRALIA?

The cast of 'Finding Bigfoot" as they decide where to take the 'hunt' next.

Did the cast of ‘Finding Bigfoot” finally capture some real evidence of Bigfoot?

If the newest claims are true, they most certainly have except, it’s in Australia!

The Telegraph writes:

The four-member team from Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot series were on an expedition through remote forests spanning the Queensland and NSW border when they made the recordings.

Bigfoot Field Research Organisation member James “Bobo” Fay said that of the more than 20 expeditions conducted around the world by the TV team, this was “maybe the best one as far as audio recordings”.

While he was reluctant to give details ahead of presenting their evidence on the still-to-be-completed third season of the US show, Fay said that in two different locations they had activity that they had attributed to a yowie – the fabled ape-like creature of the Aussie bush.

“We got some really compelling audio,” he said.

“It is not a known species, I can tell you that. One of the details (convinces us) there is nothing else it could have been.”

‘FRAKENFISH’ CAUGHT IN CAMBRIDGE

Where did this mystery fish come from? ...besides this lake.

While fishing in Magpie Lake of Cambridge, editor of the Angling Times, Mark Sawyer caught something a little unusual.

The pro angler knew something was off when he pulled the golden fish from the water, he’d never seen anything like it!

Daily Mail writes:

Most anglers’ tales revolve around the improbable size of their catch – but this specimen really does look fishy.

Mark Sawyer, 53, hooked the bizarre creature while fishing for carp in a lake.

At first he thought it was a common brown goldfish but on closer inspection he realised it appeared to have the head of a roach, the body and tail of a brown goldfish and the rear fin of a bream.

Those who fear falling hook, line and sinker for a hoax should bear in mind Mr Sawyer is the tackle editor of the Angling Times with a reputation to protect.

And experts who have seen images of the ‘Frankenfish’ agree it is the offspring of more than one species.

The fish, which weighed a little under 2lb, was caught in Cambridge earlier this month.

‘It is a proper oddity,’ said Mr Sawyer, who returned the fish to the lake.

‘The head resembles more of a roach, its lips aren’t quite right.

‘It has the body of a normal goldfish, its anal fin resembles a bream and the tail is of a fan-tailed goldfish.’

A “BABY” BIGFOOT?

The hunt for Bigfoot shall never end, not as long as curious and adventurous humans are out there, slogging through the mud and rain, climbing up the biggest hills and traversing desert plains, all in the name of science!

A few of these adventurers have found crypto-gold in the form of a set of well preserved foot and hand prints, all of a juvenile Bigfoot and an older one, possibly a parent, that left behind a few tracks as well!

Who knows if anything more comes of this or even if they ever catch the elusive ‘squatch. Either way, I’m more than happy to follow along with the rest of the world, eyes wide open, waiting for the next sign of a mysterious creature lurking in our lands.

What do you think is out there?

David Claerr at Yahoo Voices writes:

The vast ecosystem formed by the Red River watershed on the borders of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana affords a habitat comprised of many micro-climates with an incredible diversity and richness of plant and animal life. In many of the deep ravines where the creeks and waterways have cut through the the limestone cap rock, the vegetation has a nearly tropical aspect. Towering, ancient cypress trees form a canopy above the underbrush and thick hanging vines. These ravines are like a primordial oasis, seldom traversed by humans. Often in remote wildernesses, surrounded by thousands of acres of temperate woodlands and meadows. The ravines are a favored living quarters for the Sasquatch or “Bigfoot”

From one of these ravines, a very significant group of footprints of a “Baby Bigfoot” were cast in plaster, along with a hand- and footprints from a more mature Sasquatch, most likely the juvenile’s older sibling or mother. The prints, pressed into the fine clay of the creek bed are rare specimens, since not only are they from a rarely documented young juvenile, but the casts also retain detailed anatomical features that are not generally preserved in other types of soil.

SCIENTISTS TO TEST RECENT BIGFOOT DNA EVIDENCE

A team of scientists will use DNA testing to investigate the remains claimed to be from a yeti, or bigfoot.

Hopefully, some exciting news is heading our way from a set of UK and Swiss scientists that plan on doing some serious testing of as much ‘evidence’ of the bigfoot, or yeti, as they possibly can.

They’re even asking for anyone to submit anything they think might be helpful! So, if you didn’t know what to do with all those bigfoot parts you have laying around, send ’em on in!

BBC News writes:

A UK-Swiss team will use DNA testing to investigate the origins of remains claimed to be from yeti and bigfoot.

The project will examine hair, bone and other material from a collection amassed by a Swiss biologist – and will invite submissions from elsewhere.

Many cultures relate legends of hairy, humanoid creatures that lurk in the wilds, rarely seen.

But material claimed to be from such creatures have never been subjected to modern scientific techniques.

“It’s an area that any serious academic ventures into with a deal of trepidation… It’s full of eccentric and downright misleading reports,” said Prof Bryan Sykes, from Oxford University.

The researchers will apply a systematic approach and employ the latest advances in genetic testing, aiming to publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals.