Lake Pepin

The Lake City (MN) Tourism Board is offering a $50,000 reward for "undisputable photographic and scientific evidence" of their local lake monster, from Lake Pepin. Of course, they don't want DNA evidence, as they don't want to "hurt" the creature, whatever it is. Just what we need, more stupid publicity ploys exploiting cryptozoology for tourism dollars. (News source.)

Woodpecker

There's an independent documentary-style movie out, Woodpecker, on the ivorybill.

Palau Documentary

National Geographic Channel will be airing "Mystery Skulls of Palau" on Monday, March 17. For some debate on whether Palau officials were given notice about the study, and the preservation of the PLoS embargo, see here.

Attenborough's Ten Rules

David Attenborough offers ten rules for wildlife presenter hopefuls.

Journey Remake

A new adaptation of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth will be shown on ION television on Sunday, January 27. Starring Ricky Schroder and Peter Fonda, it's two hours long and features a mysterious underground passage in Alaska leading to a lost world, "complete with prehistoric creatures, primitive tribes and amazing discoveries."

Beyond Loch Ness

Yep, it's another SciFi Saturday night flick, this one on the Loch Ness Monster. (Emphasis on Monster, of course.) Airs Saturday, January 5, 2008. Website. Only a brief plot note is mentioned, so hard to say if it'll be better than average. (And, apparently, "beyond" means the hunt is now on Lake Superior.)

End of an Era

David Attenborough has filmed his last wildlife series, Life in Cold Blood, about reptiles and amphibians. (News source.)

Sherpa Suggests Bear

Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, suggests that the publicized "yeti" prints discovered by Destination Truth may be bear tracks. (News source.)

"Similar" to Yeti Tracks

The television show Destination Truth is reporting that they've found tracks "similar" to those of ABSMs. Which, of course, doesn't mean anything: they may have already identified them as something else, but you just won't find out until the episode airs. (News source.)

More From Loch Ness

A television personality (the paper says "cult tv presenter," but I don't know how accurate that is) is taking advantage of the recent Nessie publicity. From the news:

"A cult American TV presenter arrived at Loch Ness this week pledging to woo a whole new generation of Nessie hunters.
"For glamorous former model Sonia Uribe is making a documentary on the mystery which will target younger audiences around the world." ...
"And US TV personality Sonia Uribe believes she can also introduce thousands of youngsters to the legend of Nessie in an hour-long programme and ensure the enduring mystery of the loch continues." ...
"'I firmly believe Nessie exists and I don't want the mystery to die out. So this is why my documentary, whilst appealing to every generation, will particularly appeal to the young.'
"To achieve that Sonia is going scuba diving in the loch, camping out over night on its shores, and flying over the loch in a bid to capture further evidence of the existence of the monster of the loch."

Doesn't want the mystery to die out? Same old, same old...

Expensive Image

The photograph of an alleged yet footprint taken on a 1951 expedition was sold at Christie's yesterday, for £3,500. (News source.)

Snake Isn't Boa

A snake scare near Chicago turned out to be caused by a native fox snake, not an exotic constrictor. (News source.)

Rumors and Big Cats

Stories and rumors in Southern Illinois have government helicopters dropping cougars into woodlands to take the deer population down. What's the farm-country counterpart to an urban legend; a rural myth? (News source.)

Some People Like a Good Story

From a news column on tale-tellers (who do appear in the odd investigation):

"Junior Jones could tell a good story.
"As a college student, I worked at a Min-A-Mart where Junior was a regular. He'd stand around drinking coffee. I didn't charge him because I didn't want him to leave.
"Co-workers would get annoyed and go fill the beer cooler.
"I'd listen to Junior tell tales.
"Later, I learned that Junior was the one who created a minor media frenzy a few years earlier when he reported seeing Bigfoot in the woods near Dansville.
"He got the cops involved and the newspapers wrote about him and TV crews interviewed him.
"Soon, others piped up to say that, indeed, they'd seen it too.
"What a character."

Catlike Beasts

A couple recent media items:

Westford, CT, police have issued a warning to the public following a "credible" sighting of a mountain lion-like feline. (News source.)

A "mystery beast" is prowling around Camden, New York. Claw marks on trees have been noted. (News source.)

Mississippi "Kangaroo"

A kangaroo-like marsupial (let's be honest, most likely someone's pet wallaby) has been reported along U.S. 90 near Bay St. Louis, MS. I'd print more details, but it looks like most of the news article was lifted from a Wikipedia article on kangaroos.

Snake Decapitates Kittens (or not)

Among a recent outbreak of exotic species running loose, there is a report from Bucks County, PA, about big snakes (pythons or boas). One quote from the news article bears mention:

"Bristol Township officers caught a nine-and-half foot snake Wednesday, but another it [sic] believed to be on the loose after the remains of several kittens were discovered." ...
"Two kittens, ironically named Miracle and Lucky, escaped their deaths after their owner discovered the bodies of four others in their litter.
"'They decapitated it, [sic] it was disgusting,' said the cat's owner Lisa Remer."

OK, here's the difference between how a snake eats its prey, and how a small predator (say a rat, a weasel, a canine, etc.) eats. A snake swallows its prey whole... They don't bite chunks off of kittens.