BioFortean Review: 2006

An Additional Account of an Alleged 'Long-tailed Wild Cat'

Chad Arment

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(Nov. 2006, No. 1)

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In Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation (2004), I reviewed accounts of felines that were supposed to be long-tailed "wild cats" or "bobcats." Most of these accounts have come from Pennsylvania, so it was not particulaly surprising when I came across the following story, to see that it is from Ohio, just west of Cleveland.

What interests me about these reports is that they hint to an undercurrent of folklore that may be overlooked by even outdoors enthusiasts when given the "educated" plausible choice of feral housecats. Whatever the root cause of the folklore, there does appear to be a consistency in physical description (these aren't stray calicos or gingers) that produces the appearance of a truly wild small cat. This description, by the way, is not all that different from several recognized species of smaller felines with bushy ringed tails: the European wildcat, the Chinese mountain cat, the Andean mountain cat . . . (Maybe this should be called the Appalachian mountain cat.)

In any case, the account that follows is from the Elyria, Ohio, Chronicle-Telegram, January 14, 1966, in an outdoors column, 'Don Miller's Afloat and Afield.' This states:

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Ohio Division of Wildlife officials are interested in getting a look at pictures, and possibly the pelt, of a "wild cat" killed recently by Joseph Filipiak, 1060 Cleveland St., Grafton.

A number of persons are convinced it was a wildcat rather than a domestic cat which has turned wild—or gone feral, if you like $10 words.

To me, it wild cat is a bobcat or lynx, short tail and all. But two callers this week were shocked at my lack of knowledge of long-tailed wild cats.

In all honesty, I have to admit to never having seen one or knowing about them, although I've hunted and taken a few cracks at bobcat, lynx and cougar.

The obvious thing to do is turn to a biologist, preferably one versed in Ohio's game population. Don Thompson, game management supervisor of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, was my contact.

"It's been 15 or 20 years since we've had a verified bobcat in Ohio," Thompson said. "And in my terminology, wild cat is synonymous with bobcat or lynx. Use two words, and put quotation words around 'wild cat'," Thompson said.

Thompson joined me in one thought. He never heard of a long-tailed cat, either, which was a true wild cat.

"Mark it down as a feral domesticated cat," Thompson advised after a description, relayed to this corner by two persons who saw the cat, was given to him.

According to Filipiak's son, the cat had pointed ears and a tail similar to that of a raccoon. It was treed three times, squalled, and apparently was a young cat, probably aged around a year and a half.

Wells Mole Jr. also saw the cat, and described it as having about an 8-inch tail, quite furry but about half the size of that of a coon; big feet; fairly heavy; long, sharp claws; and having stripes all around the body.

The cat had the start of tufts on the ears, Mole said, and was of gray tiger coloration.

"Skip" Banks, Crook St., Grafton, took some movie footage of the cat, and maybe those can help lead to a positive identification, one way or the other.

To keep the record straight, we're not trying to belittle anyone or to identify with conviction anything we haven't seen. But I never heard of a long-tailed wildcat, and it was comforting to have a veteran biologist say the same.

And if that sharp-clawed character really was a bobcat a bit out of shape and with a long tail, it's the first in Ohio for many years.

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I haven't yet been able to track down any remaining evidence for the animal, so there is no way to determine whether this story concerns a potential unknown species or an odd-looking feral domestic. I'm wondering if this region might supply further reports of a similar animal within the hunting-trapping community, so I will add it to my list of areas to explore as I have time.

Historical Record of a Giant Otter from Maine

Chad Arment

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(Nov. 2006, no. 2)

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Oversized otters are occasionally suggested as possible candidates for certain aquatic mystery animals. This newspaper account suggests that North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) have the genetic potential to achieve larger sizes, or at least may historically have done so.

Obviously, when we think Giant Otter, we are thinking of the South American species, Pteronura brasiliensis, which is recognized to reach lengths of 1800 mm or 70 inches (just under six feet). While the North American river otter averages smaller sizes, it is recognized to have an upper length of about 60 inches. In the following article from the Portland, Maine, Press Herald, December 4, 1949, a trapper caught an otter with a pelt of 66 inches, and may have been larger in life.

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Giant Otter Trapped at Portage
Believed Biggest Ever Caught

Portage, Dec. 3. (AP)—The otter Walter Bolstridge trapped may have been the giant of the otter world.

Game Warden Wilfred L. Atkins said the animal's glossy pelt measured 66 inches long. The average otter is about 40 inches.

And Bolstridge said that before being skinned, the huge otter was about 76 inches long from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail.

State Fish and Game Commissioner George J. Stoble said an otter as big as Bolstridge's trophy may be a world's record.

Bolstridge caught the otter recently on the Big Fish River, between Portage and St. Froid Lakes, in Northern Maine.

Mink trapping was disappointing in the area in the month-long season that ended last Wednesday. Rain and snow hampered trappers.

At Hollis, Alfred Hall, 78-year-old coon hunter, also took a good-sized otter this week that his coon dogs had tracked for some distance at night through the brush.

The dogs cornered the animals in a thicket and Hall shot it with a 22-caliber pistol, after one of his two hounds had been badly mauled by the animal.

Zaweaksh, The Prince Rupert 1934 Sea-Monster

Craig Heinselman

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(Nov. 2006, no. 3)

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The creature was about 30-feet long with red flesh, a horse-like head, rough skin, and hair-like appearances. It was found on a beach at Henry Island, just south of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. A “sea-monster” or “sea-serpent” had been found; it baffled a local doctor and spurred newspaper accounts throughout North America, if not the world. The year was 1934 and the Prince Rupert Monster was born.

For a week during late November of 1934, the idea that it was a dead “sea-monster” was alive. Had the mysterious “Cadborosaurus” been found? In a time when the Loch Ness Monster was making headlines, and a region where a history of “sea-serpent” reports originated, the story slowly unfolded.

The brief history of the “Henry Island Stranding” or “Prince Rupert Monster” has appeared in various other reports: a small snippet includes Sea-Monster or Shark? An Analysis of a Supposed Plesiosaur Carcass Netted in 1977 (Glen Kuban in Reports of the National Center for Science Education Vol. 17, No 3, 1997) and Mark Chorvinsky’s Gallery of Globsters that appeared on the Strange Magazine website. The intent herein therefore is not to recount this history, but to follow the time-line as the story unfolds and is reported to the continent (if not the world). As you read, remember what it may have been like then, to see such a story unfold and hold one's breath at the possibility of a true “sea-monster.” The articles that follow are the actual newspaper accounts from that time.

So, a history of a find, transformed in the course of a week from “sea-monster” to a “basking shark.” Although the event became a declared stranding and misidentification, it did bring out some additional information. Namely, a word that at this time the chronicler herein has not been able to correlate elsewhere. That word, SAWEAKSH or ZAWEAKSH. A name that is outlined in the newspaper accounts as being translated to mean “monster of the sea,” a word applied by the Native Americans of the area for what we today call Caddy or Cadborosaurus.

A piece of history in the British Columbia area, and “sea-serpent” history, but one that does have connections to a more commonly known mystery animal of the area, Cadborosaurus. After all, reading through the entry we are introduced to Hiaschuckalick Cadborosaurus, the 80-foot serpent called Jorda and his 60-foot mate Penda, a truly bizzare family tradition in the waters of British Columbia, and the annals of the newspaper morgues.

Sources:

Centralia Daily Chronicle (Washington), 11-23-1934
Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia), 12-8-1934
Chorvinsky, Mark Gallery of Globsters - Internet (http://www.strangemag.com/globhome.html)
Fresno Bee (California), 11-23-1934
Galveston Daily News (Texas), 11-24-1934
Gettysburg Times (Pennsylvania), 11-24-1934
Ironwood Daily Globe (Michigan), 12-5-1934
Kingsport Times (Tennessee), 11-22-1934
Kirk, John – personal communication, 10-30-2006
Kuban, Glen, Sea-Monster or Shark? An Analysis of a Supposed Plesiosaur Carcass Netted in 1977, Reports of the National Center for Science Education Vol. 17, No 3, 1997
Middlesboro Daily News (Kentucky), 7-29-1935
Ogden Standard Examiner (Utah), 11-27-1934
Ogden Standard Examiner (Utah), 11-25-1934
Port Arthur News (Texas), 11-25-1934
Spokane Chronicle (Washington), 11-24-1934
Reno Evening Gazette (Nevada), 11-23-1934
Reno Evening Gazette (Nevada), 11-27-1934
The News (Maryland), 12-3-1934
Ubyssey (Vancouver, BC), 10-20-1933

Wahhoo, it's a Whoahaw!

Craig Heinselman

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(Nov. 2006, no. 4)

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“. . . He rose from his bed and, putting on an additional garment, he stepped forth into the rheumy and unpurged air of midnight. The moon was shining from a cloudless sky, and by its bright beams he saw what at first sight seemed a large bull dog. The animal stopped in its walk, and turned two brilliant, fiery eyes upon Mr. Adams. They glowed with an unnatural brightness; looking more like hot coals than visual organs. He noticed too, that its 'snoot' was very long, like a pig’s; and its tail if surprising length, stuck straight out behind. Mr. Adams clearly saw that, whatever his strange visitor might be, it was no bulldog. After looking at him steadily for over a minute, the beast slowly retreated to the fence, which it climbed by means of its claws, after the manner of a cat. Perched upon the top of the fence, the creature sat, and resumed its survey of the astonished German . . .” (Reno Evening Gazette, September 2, 1879)

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In August and September of 1879 a series of events occurred in Nevada, around the Deeth and Halleck areas. These events, reported in the Reno papers Reno Evening Gazette and The Weekly Reno Gazette, surrounded the strange reports of an animal, or creature, called the Whoahaw or more commonly the Wahhoo.

Perhaps the first to bring forth the story of the Wahhoo was Richard and H.R. Smith. During August of 1879 the two brothers were hunting in the Deeth and Halleck areas of Nevada, when they were told stories by local ranchmen of an animal that was supposed to be “. . . a cross between the grizzly bear and the coyote . . . this hybrid display the courage and ferocity of the grizzly joined to the cunning and treachery of the coyote. . . .” While the brothers did not see this animal, as “. . . he has never been distinctly seen, but some of the ranchers, have caught glimpses of him prowling about the darkness. . . .” While the brothers did not see this animal, they did report hearing a cry one night:

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“. . . they heard far off an echoing sound like “whoa—haw,” which the ranchmen said was the cry of the monster, and from which they gave him his name . . .”

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A classic story of the west, one that has bee reported previously and in connection to Bigfoot and other “Wildman” type reports (see Scott Maruna's BioFort blog). But, this is not the only report from that area, and the saga of the Whoahaw continues with further descriptions and reports into 1879.

The chronicle continues, with the manicure of WHOAHAW changing to WAHHOO, with the account of a German named A.A. Adams. Mr. Adams, reported to be “… not superstitious, and never clouds his mind with ardent spirits. His temperament us if the phlegmatic rather than the nervous kind...," recounted his sighting of a Wahhoo in the opening of this article herein. Mr. Adams does have some additional observations that are important, and later create some unusual complications—these include hearing a four-footed animal, as well as it claws on the boards outside his residence and the animal also having a long slender neck. A later article from September if the same year though claims that what Mr. Adams saw was actually a skunk!

Wahhoo fever was spreading it seems. An odd animal was seen by two gentlemen near Penvine in September. It was reported to be “… not unlike a coyote but larger, yet too small for a bear. It was running on the side of a hill with wonderful speed…” As the fever spreads so do the stories and extrapolations of unusual attributes of superstitions, from a sudden cold arising to loading of guns to shoot “spectres” (this is the loading of shot into a gun, followed by powder, the inverse of the standard loading methods).

But, what is the Wahhoo? Is it a misidentification, a spectre of the night, an unusual animal, or something else? We know, the following information from the Smith brothers, Mr. Adams (assuming what Mr. Adams reported was not a skunk), and the two men near Penvine:

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“. . . the beast has been known to carry off a horse. Cattle and sheep are often borne away by the monster. Mules he never attacks. . . .” – Smith brothers account

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“. . . they heard far off an echoing sound like “whoa—haw,” which the ranchmen said was the cry of the monster, and from which they gave him his name. . . .” – Smith brothers account

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“. . . its eyes glaring at him like the red lights of a railway train. . . .” – A.A. Adams account

“. . . it had a long, slender neck. . . .” – A.A. Adams account

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“. . . its “snoot” was very long, like a pig’s; and its tail of surprising length, stuck straight out behind. . . .” – A.A. Adams account

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“. . . the beast slowly retreated to the fence, which it climbed by means of its claws, after the manner of a cat. . . .” – A.A. Adams account

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“The creature was not unlike a coyote but larger, yet too small for a bear. . . .” – Penvine account

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These accounts and descriptions do not give a lot of detail, nor do they definitively correlate to any one animal. Red eyes can be an indication of “eye shine,” common in many nocturnal animals. The size of the animal is also unclear. We know from the Penvine account it is larger than a coyote, smaller than a bear, but we also have it (if it is the same animal) sitting on Mr. Adam’s fence. The length of the tail Mr. Adams recounts cannot be correlated either, as the body size is unknown. We are left then to speculate, as it appears that the animal or animals seen are different, but assigned the same monikers. What happens next further complicates the scenario of an unusual animal.

According to an entry in the September 12, 1879, issue of the Reno Evening Gazette, the animal known as the Wahhoo, Wahoo or Whoahaw, is described by those around the town of Deeth as follows, based on examination of killed specimens:

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“The legs are short, and the paws very large proportionally, furnished with strong projecting claws of great length. This formation enables the creature to dig with ease and rapidity. The body is long and slender, the tail of medium length and usually curved over the back, the neck short, the head broad, and the jaws provided with formidable teeth. The skin is covered with long, fine hair. Its prevailing color is black, spotted with white. In weight it varies from fifty to seventy five pounds. The creature is larger than a coyote, and in appearance, when seen at a distance, not unlike a large dog . . . found that the left legs of each were some what shorter than the right legs…for the inequality in the length of the creature’s legs, that the Wahhoo was found only upon the hills, along the sides of which it was constantly traveling. The unequal length of its legs would be advantageous to the animal in traversing the hill-side. . . .”

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And therein are the characteristics ascribed to the Wahhoo. While the beginning description is more reminiscent of known wildlife of Nevada, though not in 100% correlation, the ascribing of the off-set legs is more associated to another creature known commonly in folklore as the Side-Hill Gouger, Side-Hill Dodger, Hoofer or other variations (Gwinter, Guyiscutus, Side-Hill Toggler, etc.).

What could the Wahhoo be then? Nevada does have some native animals that could perhaps account for some sightings—these include (or would have included in the 1800s):

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Coyote, Canis latrans
Gray wolf, Canis lupus
Mountain lion, Felis concolor
North American lynx, Lynx canadensis
Bobcat, Lynx rufus
Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Black bear, Ursus americanus
Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos horribilis
Kit fox, Vulpes macrotis
Sierra Nevada red fox, Vulpes vulpes necator

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The description seems to rule out a bear, as their tails are not long. Similarly the bobcat, lynx, coyote, wolf, and fox are not associated with the longer tails. This leaves then the mountain lion, which has a tail inline with the description. But, the totality of the Wahhoo descriptions does not account for the characteristics of any one animal. This leaves the possibility therefore that what was seen were known animals that were misconstrued due to the interest in the Wahhoo at the time, further connected when the off-set leg association is coupled in. If we add in the spectre and extra-sensory associations, we have the potential for the appearance of the Wahhoo. A mystery creature of the night that will take livestock, dig up graves, make an unearthly call and posses glowing eyes that cause shivers to run down the backs of hardened westerners.

Then again, some of the correlation does seem to be inline with reports of other odd beasts around the country, from the Dwayyo to the “Bearwolf” in Wisconsin. So was there a mystery animal in Nevada in the 1870s? Was it just a Nevada mystery, as the accounts from the time attribute the Wahhoo to being in Idaho and Montana as well? Or should we simply say “Wahhoo, it’s a Whoahaw, the Whatzit from the West.”

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Sources:

Daily Nevada State Journal, January 12, 1880
Reno Evening Gazette, October 14, 1879
Weekly Reno Gazette, September 25, 1879
Reno Evening Gazette, September 20, 1879
Reno Weekly Gazette, September 18, 1879
Reno Evening Gazette, September 12, 1879
Weekly Reno Gazette, September 11, 1879
Reno Evening Gazette, September 2, 1879
Reno Evening Gazette, August 26, 1879
Frederick Post (Maryland), December 2, 1965
Big Piney Examiner (Wyoming), November 14, 1929
Maruna, Scott. BioFort (blog). http://swampgasbooks.com/blog1/2006/11/12/the-whoahaw-in-wisconsin/
Godfrey, Linda, Hunting the American Werewolf, Trails Media Group, 2006

The Pterodactyls of Fresno County, California

Chad Arment

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(Nov. 2006, no. 5)

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One of the strangest newspaper stories from the latter years of the nineteenth century came from California. It began in the summer of 1891. Several persons from Fresno County were reported to have seen a pair of large flying creatures that resembled pterosaurs (being featherless, with reptilian snouts and fifteen foot wingspans). The details were first published in the Selma, California, Enterprise, to which I don't currently have access, but it quickly spread to outlying newspapers. So, we can reconstruct the story from articles published by other newspapers.

First, the general details from corresponding newspapers:

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"Dragons in California

"A number of persons living in the vicinity of Reedley, Fresno county, Cal., all reputable citizens, too, according to a Chronicle correspondent, swear that they have seen and hunted two dragons with wings fifteen feet long, bodies without covering of hair or feathers, head broad, bills long and wide, eyes not less than four inches in diameter, and with feet like those of an alligator somewhat, though more circular in form. They had five toes on each foot, with a strong claw on each, and its track is eleven inches wide and nineteen inches long. These strange creatures were first seen southeast of Selma, on the night of July 11, and their peculiar cries and the rustling of their mammoth wings were heard as late as 10 o'clock, when all became still. The dragons were last heard that night crying in the direction of King's river.
"Two nights later, A. X. Simmons's poultry yard was visited by the monsters, many of the hens being bitten in two and left partly devoured. Those who examined the dead chickens say the teeth marks on them resemble those made by a very large dog. On July 19 a carriage loaded with picnickers was returning from a picnic on Clark's bridge, and in the clear moonlight saw the monsters plainly circling in the air and heard the rush of their pinions, snapping of their jaws and fearful cries overhead. On Monday, July 21, Harvey Lemon and Major Henry Haight, who live just outside of Selma, going after their hogs, who fed on the tules, heard a strangling noise in the deep swale under a bridge, and in a moment, with a heavy flapping of wings, the queer creatures rose slowly from the water, flying so close to the men that the wind from the tremendous wings was plainly felt. Their description of the monsters tallies with that of the persons who saw them on the 13th and 19th." [sic] (Frederick, Maryland, News, August 11, 1891.)

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A second paper adds the following details to the account:

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"After they had made several appearances a party was organized to hunt them. One of them was wounded and tracked several miles and his track in the mud secured." (Salem, Ohio, Daily News, October 24, 1891.)

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Next, we have a newspaper writer who has some fun with the story:

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"It is the silly season of an off year and the natural consequence is an unusually heavy crop of the summer story. Ever since Judge Widney discovered the remains of a bobtailed sea serpent at Redondo beach, which stimulated the celebrated Calaveras ophidian to swallow a sixteen inch iron drill and secrete himself in a bale of hay, the thing has been going from bad to worse. On all sides frightful monsters of the sort that figure in the well worn controversy between science and religion are reported red with [ravin] and the blood of innocents. Fresno appears to be more than usually fertile of this sort of contribution to the lore of science. It was there the famous stone man and later, the stone woman—presumably the man's wife—were discovered, and it is from there that we hear of the high handed outrages done by a brace of pterodactyls in the swamps near Selma. We are told that the monsters were seen on a recent moonlight night by a party of young fellas returning from a dance, and as they flew through the air 'with a fearful rush of pinions' they uttered 'weird and discordant cries which were accompanied by snapping of jaws.' A little later a Fresno county major, engaged in herding hogs in the tule, heard a 'strange strangling noise under a bridge.' In a moment there was a heavy flapping of wings and the two monsters rose from the water and flew so near the gallant officer that 'the wind from their wings was plainly felt.' He stood it like a major.
"The major describes the dragons as resembling birds without feathers. They have long and wide bills and wings not less than fifteen feet across. Their eyes are fully four inches in diameter, although as to this particular there is a grave suspicion that the major is describing his own fine eyes.
"The scientific investigators of Fresno were not to be daunted by anything that a mere major could tell them and they made up a party to pursue and if possible, bag the monsters. Having arrived at the scene they took the wise precaution to dig holes in the ground in which they hid, no doubt to avoid any appearance of intrusion on the revels of the dragons. What they saw is best described in their own words:
"The ominous yells drew nearer, and in a few moments we heard the rush and roar of wings, so hideous that our hair almost stood on end. The two dragons came swooping down and circled round and round the pond in rapid whirls, screaming hideously all the while. We had a good view of them while flying. Two or three times they passed within a few yards of us, and their eyes were plainly visible. We could also see that instead of bills like birds, they had snouts resembling that of the alligator, and their teeth could be seen as they snapped their jaws while passing us.
"At length they came down with a fearful plunge into the pond, and the mud and water flew as though a tree had fallen into it.
"They dived and floundered around in the water, and as nearly as we could judge at the distance of thirty yards, they were about six feet long, and while wading in the water they looked not unlike gigantic frogs. Their wings were folded and appeared like large knobs on their backs. Their eyes were the most visible parts, and seemed all the time wide open and staring.
"They were very active, and darted about among the tules and rushes catching mudhens. One of these fowl was devoured at two or three clamps of the jaws.
"This cannot be other than the offspring of the famous cross between the bulldog and the window shutter. But the wise men of Fresno are agreed in believing them to be two of the Mistakes of Moses.
"They fired a shot at the monsters, but did not insist on further hostilities. Professor Snodgrass of Selma, however, with remarkable intrepidity and at some personal risk succeeded in capturing one of their footprints in the mud, which he dug out and brought home to confound the unbeliever. The footprints have five toes and a strong claw on each. They are eleven inches wide and nineteen inches long. The theory that this was the impression of a Fresno girl's foot is rejected by Professor Snodgrass, although his reasoning is not at all conclusive on this point. Nevertheless, his explanation of the phenomenon is most interesting to the scientific student. I quote:
"The most probable solution of the matter is that these dragons are solitary specimens of some geological animal supposed to be extinct. It most nearly fits the description of the pterodactyl, a weird nocturnal vampire, half bat, half lizard, that infested the vast swamps of the earth in the carboniferous age. The pterodactyl is described by geologists as attaining a size often four times as large as the eagle, while the bill became a snout, and its mouth was set with ghastly teeth that devoured birds, reptiles and all small animals that came in its way.
"The professor does not explain whether the footprint was left by the half bat or the half lizard, but it is understood that in Fresno scientific circles the bat comes first and the lizard is seen later. Some of them see jackass rabbits, but it is always the same old prehistoric bat." (Extract from: Edward F. Cahill. "The Animals. Splayfooted Monsters of Fresno." Oakland, California, Tribune. August 8, 1891.)

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This is followed by general notes or witticisms in various papers:

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"The Selma pterodactyls have taken their place alongside of the wild man of Kings river canyon and both should be buried in that icy grave of the mountain suicide, with the Chronicle's learned editorial on the paleozoic monsters thereon as a winding sheet." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 7, 1891.)

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"Those Selma Dragons.

"What is said about them at home.

"The Selma Enterprise, which first gave currency to the dragon story, now has the following on the subject:
"'The Enterprise's article on the pterodactyl monster has been copied far and wide by nearly every newspaper in the country. The writer, quite naturally, has been called a liar, 4,000,000 times the last two weeks, and we are prone to believe that were there are so many of one mind, the majority must rule. But an explanation is in order. This is how it came about. The writer, a literary man from near Sauders, like all literary men, undertook at a recent picnic to drink up all the refreshments and ice cream on the grounds.
"'After a lively time on the green he took a refreshing snooze near the labyrinthean precincts of the Rockwell marsh, solitary and alone. Awaking, his normal condition compelled him to imbibe freely of the waters of the stagnant pool, after which he sank into a slumber, interspersed with dreams of fairy land, pterodactyls, hades and damnation. The next day he recalled with vivid reality his experience in dreamland and readily, with fluent pen, added it to his stock of literary manuscripts. It was sent in with instructions for the Enterprise editor to look over and pronounce upon it. The foreman took it to be a correspondence from a regular contributor and ordered it printed; hence this apology. But subsequent events prove that in the vast intellectual area of this state and especially this county, there are more downright liars than you can shake a stick at.
"'Nearly every paper which printed a rehash of the monster business added a few flourishes of its own until now we have a whole drove of pterodactyls who threaten to depopulate the country. A Fresno liar sent a column and a half to the San Francisco Chronicle, which is a rank steal from the literary man over near Sanders on his pterodactyl. Another Selma fabricator was solicited to send a thousand words on the monster, but his courage failed him and the Examiner got left, while the yell of the newsboys, "All about the Great Monster," was profitable music to the ears of the Chronicle publishers. [Hereon] when our contributors volunteer contributions about monsters, serpents and reptiles we want them to distinctly understand that no ordinary pterodactyl yarn goes. We want a real genuine flock of icthyosaurous or nothing.'" (Fresno, California, Daily Morning Republican, August 11, 1891.)

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"Our scientific contemporary speaks of 'the overlapping of geological epicycles.' This lapping is supposed to have produced the pterodactyls of Selma. That's pretty good, but Harry Watson will be amused." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 14, 1891.)

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"The Tulare County Times thus quietly pokes fun of the Chronicle and its story of the Selma dragons: 'The dragons found near Selma, Fresno county, of which much has been written within the last week or two, are not dragons at all, but simply two Australian birds known in their native country as Boa. They are a very destructive species and have not been hibernating in the "vast tule swamps of Tulare county," as the San Francisco Chronicle puts it, for the reason that there are no such swamps in this county. The birds were imported to this country by the Kaweah colonists, at great expense, and were expected to work their destructive arts on the government horses and mules in the Sequoia national park, but having been ordered "off the grass" in that section by a United States [herd] agent, wandered into Fresno county in search of something green. As they are working toward San Francisco, the Chronicle editor will do well to keep indoors.'" (also, Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 14, 1891.)

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"What has become of the pterodactyls?" (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 28, 1891.)

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Like so many reports of mystery animals, there were no additional sightings and interest died down. For the next few years, though, the pterosaur story became part of a running gag among regional newspapers.

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"A San Bernardino man with the d.t.'s has seen a monster twenty times as large as J. B. Daniels' pterodactyl." (Fresno, California, Bee, June 5, 1892.)

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In speaking of a yarn involving a November field of wheat and poppies, one paper declares, "This takes the stocking off old man Maxwell and his pterodactyl story." (Fresno, California, Bee, December 4, 1892.) Then, a pseudonymous writer (Consomme), describes in a letter to the editor some of the strange fauna of Fresno county, including:

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"First—the pterodactyl, of Fresno dragon (latin, dragonis alligatis wingis), found only in the neighborhood of Selma, is a reprehensible, hirsute winged alligator. In size about equal to the common 2-year-old Durham heifer. Is carnivorous and lives mostly on mud hens and the spawn of the house cat. It has an elongated body covered with fur like the sealskin of commerce. A tail similar to the musk-ox. Its most curious feature is a pair of bat-like wings growing out of the middle of its back and from twenty to thirty feet in length.
"The animal's head is almost exactly like that of the alligator. Its mouth is armed with eight rows of teeth about three inches in length. It is supposed to be the descendent of the ancient pterodactyl, crossed with the gnu or horned horse, known to have once been common in these parts. It can be tamed and is very useful, when chloroformed and its wings clipped, as its fur is as fine as the fur-bearing seal, while its pedal extremities (it has legs like those of the wolf) are a great delicacy, highly prized by the natives of Selma." (Extract from Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, December 23, 1892.)

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"Editor Dewey of the Sanger Herald, was in Fresno yesterday. He says the quality of Sanger's whisky has improved and no more pterodactyls are seen there now." (Fresno, California, Bee, October 3, 1893.)

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"A committee of the board of supervisors, accompanied by County Surveyor Hoxie and N. L. F. Bachman of The Republican, left Fresno yesterday morning on route to the Sequoia mills, where they will view the new mountain road completed there, with the object of determining whether it has been constructed according to contract. . . . Bachman is on a tour of adventure, and is expected to slaughter a grizzly or capture a pterodactyl alive ere he returns." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, November 17, 1893.)

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"C. J. Walker is here from the town of the pterodactyls." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, October 5, 1894.)

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"This is a great county for productiveness. It produces raisins, grain and pterodactyls for the rest of the world. . . ." (Fresno, California, Bee, November 20, 1894.)

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At present, the story shows certain hallmarks of classic newspaper fiction, but whether this is due to embellishments as the story passed from paper to paper is uncertain. Without seeing the original story, I can't rule out the possibility that the initial sighting was based on misidentification of a known bird species (e.g., sandhill crane). The description sounds too much like an early paleontologist's imaginative recreation to be given serious consideration as a "living pterosaur." It was easy enough for an enterprising writer to make up a story with details like five-toed feet and large eyes from Cuvier's work or other commonly published material. (And, often, that's what they did, even with non-fiction "scientific" essays.)

It would be interesting to track down the original Enterprise story; it should answer a few questions. The trouble with newspaper research is access—and this one is not yet online. (If anyone lives near Selma, California, the public library there should have it on microfilm. I'd appreciate a copy.)

One name in the above notes is of particular interest, though there is little to go on for definitive conclusions. J. B. Daniels was a local real estate agent who earned the nickname "Pterodactyl" Daniels. At this point, I don't know whether he was responsible for the original story (as witness or writer), or just began telling tall tales related to the pterodactyl story. (I suspect he was the pseudonymous Consomme.) Whatever the connection, within a few years of this event, Daniels ran afoul of the law with some real estate dealings and disappeared, just like the pterodactyls of Fresno County, California.

Eclipse of the Saola?

Dwight G. Smith and Gary S. Mangiacopra

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(Nov. 2006, no. 6)

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The so very recently discovered saola is already facing imminent extinction according to the recent issue of Science magazine which hit the newsstands dated 1 December 2006. Formally identified only in 1992 in the pristine forests of Vu Quang Province of central western Vietnam, the saola is justifiably viewed as one of the most important animal discoveries of the late 20^th century. Now, less than a score of years later, the saola faces increasing habitat disruption and hunting pressures that make its future problematic at best. Even its celebrity status has heightened its vulnerability, as natives sometimes capture and hold specimens in hopes of financial rewards.

The saola was CITES listed in Appendix I shortly after its discovery and also accorded formal protection by the governments of Vietnam and Laos. Both governments took the initiative to protect this forest dwelling icon by enlarging the size of the Vu Quang Nature Reserve and Pu Mat Nature Reserve in which it occurs. Unfortunately, this new artiodactylid is already facing extinction brought about by encroachments from agriculture pressures, logging, and expansion of the local peoples into the forests that the saola depends on. At least part of its habitat area is also threatened with inundation from the construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong River, now in the planning stages.

Cryptozoologists justifiably take a keen interest in the saola, not least because it—along with subsequent discoveries—represents a triumph for the field. As a matter of fact, the Science article specifically mentions cryptozoology in reference to Do Tuoc, the scientist who discovered the saola in the following passage:

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"With three (previously undiscovered) mammal species under his belt, Tuoc has become a legend in cryptozoology, the study of previously unknown, presumed, or mythical creatures." Science 314: 1381

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The article ends with another cryptozoology containing statement in referring to a statement by Tuoc:

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"Maybe I’ll never see one in the wild," admits the cryptozoologist extraordinaire.

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To my knowledge, these two references represent only the second time and third time that a major science journal has cast cryptozoology in a favorable light. The first specific cryptozoology reference was by Dr. Gee, the editor of the prestigious British science journal Nature, who noted that the discovery of hobbit people (Homo floresiensis) permitted cryptozoology to “come in out of the cold.”

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Discovery Events

Also called the Sao La or Vu Quang ox, the saola is the largest terrestrial mammal species discovered in over a century and ranks alongside the okapi and gorilla for its impact on the science of cryptozoology as well as the science of mammalogy. Like these earlier discoveries, and eerily reminiscent of the discovery of the coelacanth, the first hints that a new species of bovid awaited discovery could be found in the forest meats placed upon market tables in villages. Further inquiries revealed that local hunters had long hunted this species for its goat-like meat, although the saola is not a goat and some natives consider its flesh to taste more like beef. Identification was initially based on three pairs of Saola horns found in possession of native hunters. Its discovery was officially announced in the June 3, 1993, issue of Nature magazine by Vietnamese and American scientists who bestowed the native name saola on this beast along with the scientific name (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). Its native name refers to the “spindle horns” which were thought to be similar to the spinning wheel posts used by local weavers. Its generic scientific name Pseudoryx, created specifically for the saola, refers to its relationship to the true oryxes while its species name nghetinhensis places the saola in the Vietnamese provinces of Nghe an and Ha tinh.

The Mekong Delta region where the saola was first “discovered” by modern scientists is also the home of other species new to science, including the kouprey, discovered in 1937, and even more recently, the giant muntjac or barking deer discovered in March 1994. Other possible new species in this remote part of Southeast Asia include a smaller version of the kouprey known from Vietnam and Cambodia and the large-antlered muntjac and the dwarfish Truong son muntjac in the nearby scrub forests. To these were added a small rodent, the Kha-nyou, first described in 2005 on the basis of a single specimen offered for sale in the meat markets of Laos.

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Appearance and Taxonomy

The saola is a medium-sized artiodactylid mammal belonging to the Family Bovidae. Males weigh about 100 kilograms and females weigh slightly less at 85 kilograms. Sexes are similar in size and coloration, averaging around 160-175 centimeters in length including tail and standing at the shoulder about 80-90 centimeters in height. The hair is short and coarse. Its coloration ranges from a rich chestnut brown to lighter and darker browns. There are white facial markings along the chin and a white eye liner above the eyes. A thin black stripe runs nearly the length of the back which is replaced by a white strip that runs along the tail.

Two unusual features of the saola include its horns and a pair of maxillary scent glands. The horns are rounded in cross section, about 35-50 cm in length and thin and spindly in appearance and very long, about twice the length of the head. The large scent glands are reminiscent of the maxillary musk glands of certain cervids. They occur along the upper muzzle just in front of the eyes and secrete a thick paste that emits a foul and pungent odor. The odor has been compared with the musk secreted by weasels and other mammalian mustelids.

Despite extensive considerations, including genetic analysis based on mitochondrial DNA and rRNA, the taxonomy of the saola remains unresolved. The species is considered a bovine and nestled within the subfamily Bovinae, tribe Bovini, and appears to be most closely related to the cattle and buffalo, each of which are placed in a separate subtribe. Perhaps the saola will be placed in its own subtribe, the Pseudoryina, as suggested by Hassanin and Souzery in 1999. However, recent DNA work has suggested that cattle are its probable cousins.

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Ecology

The saola is a shy and retiring forest dweller that avoids human modified habitats. It is an animal of pristine tropical rain forests that cover the elevated terrain of parts of southeast Asia. The saola apparently exhibits a seasonal elevational migration, summering in the higher (to 2000 meters) moist coniferous forests and wintering downslope in the mixed tropical woodlands of lowlands at elevations of 150-200 meters. Ecologically they are considered to be browsers, primarily foraging on leaves, twigs, grasses, and forbs.

Reproduction has been inferred rather than directly observed. It is thought that the saola has a gestation period of about 33 months with breeding taking place from late August to mid-November and the young are born in the monsoon season from April into June.

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Desperate Measures to Avoid Extinction

By all accounts the saga of the saola is almost over before it has begun. The population is small in number and greatly restricted in distribution. Estimates of population size vary greatly. Scientists originally placed the number somewhere between 500-1000 individuals but more recent and more conservative estimates suggest a population size of 200, maybe fewer. Population decline is attributed to continued hunting, habitat fragmentation, and accidental deaths that occur when saola are caught in snares set for bears and forest deer.

Information regarding the distribution of the saola is even less precise. The range map that appears in Stone’s Science article shows the probable distribution extending from Pu Mat and Nghe An in the north of Vietnam and Laos south along the hilly spine almost to Quang Nam.

In addition to hunting and habitat fragmentation pressures, the saola population now faces a disconnect when the Ho Chi Minh Highway linking South and North Vietnam is completed.

On a brighter note, the cumulative threats to the critically endangered saola have brought cooperative efforts to preserve the species which is considered to be both bellweather and icon of Vietnam conservation efforts. Vietnam has initiated the National Saola Conservation Action Plan which calls for a complete hunting ban and other measures such as protecting the species from being captured and held by locals. Habitat preservation is also considered a premium measure of protection. Towards this end, the Vu Quang Nature Reserve was designated in an effort to afford additional habitat protection for perhaps 250 saola thought to occupy the Truong Son Mountains of central Vietnam and Laos. Protective efforts are being concentrated in a portion of this landscape that has been designated as the Saola Conservation Landscape.

Protection and habitat preservation may not be enough to save the saola, however. Bui Xuan Nguyen of the Institute of Science and Technology is advocating an even more ambitious plan that involves cloning the saola. Despite the highly controversial nature of Nguyen’s cloning proposal, he is proceeding with obtaining tissue samples of captured individuals. Takashi Nagai of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan, is Nguyen’s most important ally in the ambitious project to save the saola by cloning new individuals. The two scientists are determined and dedicated in their efforts to clone the saola.

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Cryptozoologists and the Saola

The saola saga represents both triumphs and travails of cryptozoology. On the one hand, the discovery of this and the other larger mammal species found in a part of the world that has been settled for thousands of years provides positive proof that large animals can and do exist right under our noses, so to speak. Conversely, the plight of the saola paints a portrait of the problems that await future cryptozoological discoveries as well. We can take some comfort in all the positive attention accorded one of our newest and most spectacular species, such as measures taken at so many levels aimed at protecting the remaining population.

Given the brief history of our encounter with this extraordinary animal, however, it seems that enlightenment at the scientific level does not warrant sufficient protection. The very notoriety of the species has led to its decline as hunters kill more specimens and villagers capture live animals to hold for ransom. Unfortunately, the dichotomy of such measures has always been a problem for cryptozoologists. No less a singularity than the fabled Gloucester Sea Serpent was subject to its measure of admirers that flocked to see it and those men-in-their boats that chased it and shot at it until the serpent disappeared, never to be seen again.

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References

Anon. 1993. Body found; mystery Vietnamese horns gain head and legs. BBC Wildlife 11: 60.
CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna). 2003. Appendix I, II, III as adopted by the Conference of the Parties, valid from 16 October 2003.
Dung, V.V., P. M. Giao, N. N. Chinh, d. Tuoc, and J. MacKinnon. 1993. A new species of living bovid from Vietnam. Nature 363: 443-445.
Dung, V.V., P. M. Giao, N. N. Chinh, d. Tuoc, and J. MacKinnon. 1994. Discovery and Conservation of the Vu Quang ox in Vietnam. Oryx 28: 16-21.
Hassanin, A., and E. J. P. Douzery. 1999. Evolutionary affinities of the enigmatic saola (Pseudoryz nghetinhensis) in the context of the molecular phylogeny of Bovidae. Proceedings Royal Society of London B 266: 893-900.
Robichaud, W. G. 1998. Physical and behavorial description of a captive saola. Journal of Mammalogy 79: 394-405.
Schaller, G., and A. Rabinowitz. 1994. The saola or spindlehorn bovid Pseudoryx nghetinhensis in Laos. Oryx 29: 107-114.
Stone, Richard. 2006. The Saola’s Last Stand. Science 314: 1380-1383.

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