Cryptozoology & Strange Nature – Page 9

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Guest Blogger

MYSTERIOUS MARINE CREATURE CAUGHT ON FILM

What is this underwater creature that's been caught on film?

This oddly shaped thing is said to be a new, undiscovered creature filmed in the depths of an as of yet, unamed ocean and has been dubbed the “Cascade Creature”.

It resembles a silk sheet, floating on the currents flowing underwater but, doesn’t look like much other creatures that are known to science. Some say it’s a jellyfish, while others say it’s just a whales embryonic sack floating around.

Luckily for us there’s a video for us to take a look ourselves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-8_wDgN7c

Discovery News writes:

A strange creature allegedly filmed by underwater drillers in the deep ocean on April 25 has sparked intrigue and controversy on the Internet. Theories about the mysterious animal range from a jellyfish to an unknown marine version of the Loch Ness monster to a whale placenta.

Neither the source of the video nor the location where it was filmed have been revealed, leading some people to suspect a hoax.

Others note that the video seems authentic, and that a hoaxed video would likely be much more dramatic. Scale in the video is unclear, and without more information about the drill site (for example the diameter of the pipe the animal moves in front of), it’s impossible to know exactly how big it is.

…There are a few clues to this creature’s identity. First, it should be noted that (contrary to some sensational news headlines) the object isn’t really a “blob” at all, but instead composed of what appears to be a fairly thin membrane. It more closely resembles a satin bedsheet than a blobby monster.

This suggests that the animal has no skeleton and little or no musculature; whatever it is, it’s not a big, strong monster but likely something fairly fragile.

CREEPY INSECT CARRIES VANQUISHED FOES ON ITS BACK

The Assassin Bug carries dead ants on it's back to ward of predators.

Evolution has a funny way of coming through in certain situations, take the Assassin Bug for example. Although it may be called assassin, it isn’t actually that deadly. It feeds on ants and very small insects by injecting them with an enzyme from it’s needle-like snout, then sucks out the juicy innards. Only this bug doesn’t have much else to defend itself with, so what does it do? It carries around it’s dead food on it’s back to confuse and scare off any would-be predators! How fascinating!?

Daily Mail writes:

This bug looks like it’s made a killing carrying a remarkable number of dead bodies on its back to stop it becoming lunch. As this gruesome picture shows this insect has at least 20 ants on its back which according to scientists confuse potential predators like jumping spiders.

The aptly named assassin bug uses the dead bodies, as a defence mechanism to fend off enemies.

Photographer Hock Ping Guek, from Malaysia, decided to document the amazing camouflage strategy using macro photography. He said: ‘These assassin bugs are quite small, less than 1 cm, so the camera I used really comes in handy here as it allows me to go beyond the 1:1 maximum limit of the usual macro lenses without the need for any add-on tubes.

‘The behaviour is indeed absolutely fascinating. They prey on ants, inject enzyme into the ant preys and suck the ants dry, then put the dead bodies on their back for camouflage, most likely as a form of defence against other predator like jumping spiders.

‘I spent about 30 minutes photographing these assassin bugs every time I find one. I try to shoot as many shots as I could from many different angles, and pick only a few that I like best in terms of angle, moment, composition etc.’

Assassin bugs kill in a rather gruesome way by injecting them with an enzyme and then sucking out their insides. Despite their fearsome reputation the insects are actually quite small measuring just 1cm in length.

GIANT CRAB IS GIGANTIC, AND STILL GROWING!

"Claude the Crab" here, weighs in at an astounding 15lbs!

Three very lucky Tasmanian King Crabs were plucked from the pot this weekend in Australia, for when a worker of the Sealife aquariums spotted the ginormous beauties at a market, she had to save them!

Claude, shown above, and 2 other of his friends will get to live the rest of their days out in a nice relaxing, and what could even be called luxurious, environment that the Sealife crew take great lengths to ensure, for all their aquatic creatures.

The Sun writes:

The Tasmanian King Crab was snapped up alongside two others for £3,000 by a SeaLife worker during a trip to Australia.

The one pictured was named Claude and is 15in wide while weighing 15lbs.

He will grow to 30lbs and could produce up to 20lbs worth of meat — or 325 crabsticks.

He and the other crustaceans — a delicacy Down Under — are being quarantined before going on display.

One will go to Weymouth, another to Birmingham, while a third will be sent to Berlin, Germany.

Rob Hicks, SeaLife’s head marine biologist, said: “They are such impressive creatures we thought that it was worth the cost and effort of flying them half-way round the world to so they can flourish in an aquarium display.

“They had a stopover in Hong Kong and arrived with us a week ago.

“It took them a few days to get over the jet-lag but now they’re feeding happily and don’t seem any the worse for their trip.”

EXPEDITION LOOKS FOR LIVING DINOSAURS IN THE CONGO

Does the vastly unexplored Congo of Africa hide the legendary Mokele-mbembe?

An adventurous man and some friends of his have decided they are going on a mission. A mission that involves traveling to the most remote, dense, and dangerous part of the Republic of Congo’s very own jungle to discover and catalog hundreds of new species of insects, plant life, and oh yeah… to hunt for a living dinosaur that eats hippos. You know, everyday stuff.

According to the legends and stories told be natives, he shouldn’t have much trouble. They tell of a creature that resembles the species of dinosaurs known as Sauropods, with short legs, long necks, and even longer tails.

Yahoo News writes:

A young Missouri man has turned to the Internet in search of investors for his expedition into the remote jungles of Africa seeking to document undiscovered flora and fauna. That is not so unusual, but one of the creatures he hopes to find is: a living dinosaur.

The region Stephen McCullah, the organizer of the expedition, has chosen to explore is the reputed home of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, a dinosaur-like creature said to be up to 35 feet long (11 meters), with brownish-gray skin and a long, flexible neck. Many locals believe that it lives in the caves it digs in riverbanks, and that the beast feeds on elephants, hippos and crocodiles.

McCullah posted his pitch on Kickstarter.com asking for $27,000 in donations so that he and his friends can launch the Newmac Expedition, “one of the first expeditions in this century with the goal of categorizing plant and animal species in the vastly unexplored Republic of the Congo.” The preliminary four-man venture is slated to launch June 26.

CHICKEN BORN WITHOUT EGG!

This story flips science, and the age old question of “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” right on it’s head!

The chick shown above was born out of its’ mother alive and hopping around, not inside an egg which, as we all know, is not how chickens are supposed to be born.

BBC news writes:

A Sri Lanka hen has given birth to a chick without an egg, in a new twist on the age-old question of whether the chicken or the egg came first.

Instead of passing out of the hen’s body and being incubated outside, the egg was incubated in the hen for 21 days and then hatched inside the hen.

The chick is fully formed and healthy, although the mother has died.

The government veterinary officer in the area said he had never seen anything like it before.

PR Yapa, the chief veterinary officer of Welimada, where it took place, examined the hen’s carcass.

He found that the fertilised egg had developed within the hen’s reproductive system, but stayed inside the hen’s body until it hatched.

NESSIE CAPTURED ON SONAR

Has the Loch Ness Monster known as 'Nessie' been caught on sonar?

This mobile phone photo supposedly shows the sonar read-out of what is said to be the Loch Ness Monster herself, Nessie.

Has she finally been discovered or has someone gotten a little ahead of themselves?

The sonar image showing a large, unidentified, living object deep underwater was recorded by Loch Ness boat skipper Marcus Atkinson.

Cryptomundo writes:

Questions are being raised a day after news of the new sonar image became widespread.

First off, it has been brought to my attention, as noted at the “Loch Ness Investigation” site of Dick Raynor’s, that,

“From time to time people on boats see unusual images on their fish-finder sonar screens, and if they are on Loch Ness there is always the possibility of accidental misinterpretation.”

Exampled explanations are shown here.

But perhaps truly damning, this year “Cruise Loch Ness” are running special monster hunting trips with underwater cameras on the boat skippered by…Marcus Atkinson – the man behind all the publicity of this new “discovery.”

Therefore, some locals are questioning Atkinson’s big splash in the media this week. Is it a marketing move?

IS THERE A WHITE BIGFOOT?

A recently released video has re-sparked some interest in the all mighty cryptid, Bigfoot. Yet, this time instead of being silver or brown, he’s solid white.

Our friends over at Cryptomundo.com have posted an extensive video breakdown of some fantastic footage that has surfaced of a white bigfoot captured on a trail camera the property owner had set up.

Cryptomundo writes:

We’re not sure how recent this alleged Bigfoot footage is that M.K. Davis has in his possession, but it shows an amazing white Bigfoot on all-fours, and then getting up on two legs, sprinting out of view at an incredible rate. According to Davis, this alleged white Bigfoot came from the southern part of the United States. Davis also points out the sheer size of the Sasquatch compared to the cow in front of it.

Accompanying the footage is a “howl” audio lasting about 3 seconds. You can listen to this towards the end of the breakdown.

GIANT WHALE-EATING WHALE FOUND WITH TEETH OVER A FOOT LONG

A depiction of a prehistoric whale-eating whale.

This is just one of the many reasons I will not go into any amount of water I can’t see the bottom of.

A giant prehistoric whale that was capable of eating other whales has been discovered by Paleontologists in Peru, with teeth that are over a foot long used to eat whales the size of some of the biggest ones alive today!

Discovery News writes:

The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru.

The extinct cousin of the modern sperm whale is the first fossil to rival modern sperm whales in size — although this is a very different beast, say whale evolution experts.

“We could see it from very far,” said paleontologist Olivier Lambert of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, who led the team which found the fossil.

The giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull of what’s been dubbed Leviathan melvillei (in honor of the author of “Moby Dick”) was found with teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long. The discovery is reported in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature.

CLEAREST PHOTO OF BIGFOOT EVER RELEASED?

Is this the clearest photo of bigfoot ever?

Has the best and clearest photo of bigfoot finally been released?

Are the skeptics finally going to admit the truth?

Why can we only see his back?

Whether you believe in Bigfoot or not, this photo makes you take a moment to think hard about what exactly the creature in this photo could be.

Ghost Theory writes:

A blogger by the name of Melissa Hovy has been maintaining a Bigfoot blog for quite some time now. It wasn’t until recently that the Sasquatch community caught wind that Melissa could be holding the ultimate photo of all ultimate photos depicting the big guy.

The story goes that four years ago Melissa was contacted by someone who claimed to have a clear picture of Bigfoot on a trailcam. The witness sent Mellisa the picture but wouldn’t allow her to publish it….until now that is.

A message released from the blogger herself:

This witness asked for my (Melissa Hovey) help in seeking protection for what he/she claimed was a Bigfoot that had been coming onto his/her property.

The witness broke contact after becoming concerned for his/her privacy and the safety of the animal. He/she was concerned people would discover who he/she is and that he/she would be called, “crazy”. The witness also expressed concern that if his/her identity were discovered the alleged animal would be in danger of being killed…

The photo has been examined…But, rest assured I have no desire to “string this out” any longer than I must – and that is only to make sure the information and the opinions given are published properly.

SIX-LEGGED CALF BEATS THE ODDS

Lilli the six-limbed calf is happy and healthy at seven weeks old.

Beating a veterinarians’ prediction of not being able to live beyond 7 weeks, happy and healthy Lilli the 6-legged calf has hit that mark and then some, defying the odds!

Daily Mail writes:

Being born with two extra legs may not the best start in life for a cow, but Lilii, the six-legged calf, refuses to be cowed into hiding away because of her disability.

The plucky seven-week-old has defied the odds by thriving despite a vet’s prediction at birth that it wouldn’t survive. She has now gone on to become a minor celebrity after Swiss media splashed with images of the calf frolicking across a sunny field.

Farmer Andreas Knutti from Weissenburg, which 19 miles (30 kilometres) south of the capital Bern, says he couldn’t bring himself to euthanize the animal because she was ‘so full of life.’

He told Swiss daily Blick Thursday that a curve in her spine means Lilli may never become a normal milk cow. Knutti says if the calf stays healthy she’ll still be allowed to join the others when they head for their Alpine pastures this summer.