Feline Sighting

Two women in New York reported seeing a large animal they thought was a cougar: "very muscular and a grayish color with short hair and estimated its weight between 100 and 120 pounds by comparing it to her 90-pound Rottweiler." (News source.)

Misidentifications

A woman new to Texas thought she had a lemur in her backyard; turned out to be a native ringtail cat. (News source.)

A video of a black "big cat" in Australia looks like a large domestic feline. (News source.)

Hairless Raccoon

A "chupacabra" body in Texas turned out to be a hairless raccoon. (News source.)

New Jersey Mustelid

Animal control in Princeton, NJ, ended up with an unidentifed mustelid that then died, probably from the stress of capture. They think it's either a mink or a fisher, neither of which is normally found in central NJ. (News source.)

Australian "Panther"

An alpaca farmer lost a female and her young when they were attacked by an unknown animal. (News source.)

Australian Panther-Like Creature

Another panther-like animal has been reported from near Logan, Australia. (News source.)

Normandy Nessie

A Florida witness claims to have seen a strange snakelike creature twice in a deep water canal along Normandy Road at Madeira Beach. (News source.)

BioFortean Review Articles

I am far behind in adding material to BioFortean Review, but I've just posted two articles:

The "Dirty Angel" and Other Nevada Paiute Folkloric Creatures

Johnston's "Third Mysterious Animal" from the Congo

Namibian Mystery Predators

In Oshakati, Namibia, villagers have lost livestock to several mysterious "tigers," which they are blaming on "owners" practicing witchcraft. (News source.)

Strange Life

Sightings of "hammerhead worms" (actually terrestrial planarians) up to 14 inches in length are freaking out some Alabama folk. (News source.)

A strange "blob" in the ocean off Alaska's northern coast turns out to be mostly marine algae. (News source.)

And, some videos here on a moth that clicks to jam bat sonar.

A Strange Fish from Yap

I recently ran across mention of a "mystery fish" from the Micronesian island of Yap, in Kenneth Brower's 1983 book, A Song for Satawal. Brower mentions that in a paper on ethno-ichthyology of the island, Dr. Margie Falanruw listed a fish the Yapese call galuf nu medai, translated as "monitor lizard of the sea." She noted: "Lives in mangroves, head like a crocodile, caught at night, has lizard-like skin and red meat that tastes like salmon. Three to four feet long."

It sounded interesting, so I contacted Dr. Falanruw to see if it was actually unknown. She was kind enough to provide an identification of the fish: Cymbacephalus beauforti, or crocodilefish.

But, she notes that she is currently working on the description of a new reptile from the region, so zoological discovery continues, even in a fairly well-known part of the world.

Sewer Creature Identified

A "sewer creature" in North Carolina turned out to be a colony of Tubifex worms. (News source.)

Photo Galleries

A hyena takes down a flamingo, here.

Camera traps in the Amazon show a few rare species.

California Lemur Sighting

Two boys near Calabasas Lake spotted what they believe to be a lemur. It was three feet in length with a foot long tail. "'It was giant,' Noah confirmed. 'I thought it was a squirrel at first but then he looked right at us. He was orange and had black on his tail. He had a lemur face and giant yellow eyes.'" (News source.)

Actually, I'm wondering if it wasn't a ringtail, native to California.

Cavy Seen Again in SC

Might be the same one spotted a few years ago, a Patagonian cavy was seen again loose near Aiken, South Carolina. (News source.)

More Siberian "Bigfoot"

"The local Shor people in Kemerovo Region, Siberia, are reporting that something is snatching up the wild leek crop that is a staple of their diet, Itar-Tass Siberia reports. The onion-lovers leave behind abundant large footprints with clearly defined toes, similar to the prints found in the area earlier this year, the news service continues." (News source.)

NZ Mystery Animals

A generic mystery animal article on New Zealand mystery animals, here.

Flying Snakes in KY and Elsewhere

As part of ongoing investigation into the cryptozoological phenomenon of "flying snakes" in North America, Nick Sucik has published a two-part article in a Kentucky newspaper, available online. Part I, and Part II.

UK: Big "Snakes"

Nick Redfern has an article on some large snake-like creature sightings. (News source.)

"Barreleye" Fish

Some interesting research by MBARI on a deep sea fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head, here.

Mountain Beavers

A column here on an often overlooked North American mammal.

I Never Saw a Purple Squirrel...

Until now... an odd-colored squirrel was seen outside a UK school. It's not known yet whether it's a dye job or a genetic freak. (News source.)

More on UK Mystery Animal

A 4-foot tall hairy creature continues to be seen in the UK, near the Epping Forest. (News source.)

Coupan?

An Australian mystery animal with a long fluffy tail was chased by a witness' dog:

"'It was as big as the dog (big) but skinnier and very muscular and it had very small ears close to its head and a large dark face.
"'It was the reddy gold colour of a setter.
"'It moved like a cat not a fox/dog and I am sure that if it had been a dog Zak would have approached it very differently as he is friendly, submissive and very polite in his dealings with other dogs'" (News source.)

Wanstead "Bear"

A UK man was fishing near Wanstead when he saw a hairy bear-like creature.

"'I looked over and saw this strange, dark figure that resembled a bear. It was hunched over and I could see it had a really hairy back. I think it must have heard me and scampered off into the bushes after a couple of seconds.
"'It was getting dark but I still managed to get a good look at it. It was about 4ft tall, so it was too small to be human, but not the right shape to be a deer, it didn’t have long legs or anything like that.'"

A park keeper in Wanstead doubted the sighting. (News source.)

Fiber Optics in Sponges

Spicules in many sponges transmit light deep into the organism, allowing them to grow larger and providing a home for other creatures inside the sponge. (News source.)

The 1910 Catawampus

Details here on an old catawampus story, with description of the odd animal that was shot.

Ugly Bearded Creature?

A Brunei nature documentary on Temburong has a "touch of mystery" to it. No real details, but the news article notes:

"The mystery started when one of our production crews fainted after she saw an ugly bearded creature in the jungle before we even started to climb.
"We have to leave her behind to be looked after by one of the guides."

Lots of known primates in Brunei, so would need better details to determine if this is an actual "mystery" or not.

Cannock Weirdness

Over in the UK:

A "black panther" sighting in Cannock. (News source.)

Theories of "cave men" under Cannock Chase. (News source.)

Texas Hairless Canine

Might as well be the state mammal. (Or state disease.) Some DeWitt County Sheriff's deputies photographed what looks like a short-limbed hairless dog, so obviously it must be a chupacabras. (News source.)

Alaskan Island Carcass

Photos of a beached carcass on a western Alaskan island are stirring some debate. Some local residents are suggesting it's an animal from Cup’ig lore. (News source.)

Colorado Varmint

A strange animal is roaming El Paso County, Colorado, some claim to be an African lion. Others say it is more likely canine. A photo taken of it is not confirmative, looks a bit more like a dog than a lion. (News source.)

Odd Bones

An odd carcass found on Longboat Key, in Florida, by a vacationing family, hasn't been positively identified by an experts, though they make several guesses. View slideshow here.

Jamaica: Scott Town Monster is Back

An odd hairy quadruped is upsetting residents of Scott Town, Jamaica, again. (News source.)

Burroughs on Varmint Stories

"Other animal sounds at night are the voices of the owls and whip-poor-wills. One night I heard a strange whistling, shrill and high-pitched, that I couldn't account for. I rather suspect it was made by a coon, but I'm not sure.
"A story circulated at one time that we had a strange varmint there in the woods. People said that the creature had killed a horse in one place, fought with dogs in another, and maimed a calf in a third. It was the talk of all the region for ten days or two weeks, and many persons really believed that some animal which had escaped from a menagerie was roaming about. The woods were avoided by the timid, but there was nothing to the yarn. People seem to have a hunger for that sort of thing, and to crave it as a sauce for the prose of their daily events. So the story grows wonderfully when it once gets started."

John Burroughs, from John Burroughs Talks: His Reminiscences and Comments (1922)

Hoax?

An odd little story out of Mississippi: (News source.)

"According to police, two postal workers and two parents picking their children up from school claimed to have seen a huge primate run into the woods behind the post office shortly after 2 p.m.
"Because all the accounts were separate instances, School Resource Officer Lt. Terry Sanford said he doesn’t doubt that people saw something, but he’s almost sure it wasn’t a gorilla.
"'We got a few calls about the gorilla, but we didn’t see anything,' said Sanford. 'People said they saw the animal run into the woods. I think what they saw was a person dressed in a suit trying to get a reaction out of people.'
"A local costume dealer said a man and a woman bought a gorilla head and hands Tuesday, stating that they already had a suit."

Mystery Mummy

A mummified animal has been dug up on an eastern Alberta farm, about 9 meters below the surface. (News source.)

"What the canine discovered still isn't quite clear, but it's a mummified head, hooved leg and top torso of an animal newborn or fetus."...
"The dense, clay-like nature of the earth the critter was buried in is likely the cause of its preservation, he added." ...
"Nelson's find could be the remains of a bovine, or cow.
"It could also be from a wilder animal, such as an antelope, deer or buffalo of post-ice age vintage -- less than 9,000 years old -- said Milot."

Beast of Bladenboro

It's Beast Week again, in Bladenboro. (News source.)

Colorado Critter Long Gone (Probably)

A brief note in the Colorado news about the "pond creature" (caiman or whatever it was) probably didn't survive the winter.

The Scott Norman Sighting

Loren has posted info on the sighting of a pterosaur-like animal in California by the late Scott Norman. I've just added Scott's own report and thoughts to BioFortean Review.

Dubai Beast Sighting

Whether an escaped pet, a misidentified native species, or something else, reports from Dubai claim that a "lion" or some other large animal is roaming the area around Fujeirah. (News source.)

"A woman collecting wood near mountains in Fujeirah said she was nearly scared to death after being confronted by a lion. The Emirati was with two female helpers collecting woods to burn at their home when she saw the animal staring at the three while perched on rocks ahead of them.
"She said: 'Suddenly I saw the animal just standing there. We were terrified and rushed to hide from it behind rocks fearing it would attack us. I was so scared and thought it would kill us. After a few minutes the animal disappeared and we could no longer see it. I know it was a lion as I can recognise them from other animals.'
"Police were immediately alerted to the area and conducted a search for the animal although no trace was found."

There were also reports of sheep being mutilated and killed in the area.

Missouri Monster

Stories of the Beaman Monster go back 100 years, according to a recent news article.

Hairless Coyote Back in News

The hairless coyotes from Cuero, Texas, are back in the news now that someone found Mexican wolf genes in their coyote DNA. (News source.)

Now, this isn't particularly unexpected, as we know that a) eastern coyotes have wolf genes, and b) Mexican wolves are the smallest of the gray wolf subspecies and there may be more likelihood of genetic transfer between them and coyotes. For some reason, this genetic oddity keeps gaining media attention, which would be fine if they wouldn't keep calling the animals "chupacabras." That's just ignorance playing on fears. (Further, there's been no confirmation, from what I've seen, that these coyotes are "draining blood" from their prey. So far, it's all speculation.)

No Pain

Apparently, mole rats are immune to the "burning pain" sensation, due to lacking Substance P and other factors. (News source.)

Beached

All kinds of weird species (like the lancetfish shown) wash up on Oregon's beaches. (News source.)

Strange Tracks

Here's an oddball little story about some unusual tracks found in a Farmington, Wisconsin, resident's yard. They travel in a straight line, were about two feet in length with a four foot stride. The newspaper brings up Bigfoot, but that doesn't appear applicable here. They don't appear to be rabbit tracks (there have been cases where the body of the rabbit creates an impression, overmasking the trackway), but it doesn't look like the journalist bothered to follow the tracks to see where they led. No closeups are given, so it's difficult to determine if boots were involved.

Capybara Tale

Residents of Grantville, Georgia, reported a large hairy animal roaming around which turned out to be a loose capybara. DNR refused to catch it, so the town got tips from a zoo and caught it themselves. It has now been sent to an out-of-state zoo that agreed to take it. (News source.)

Arkansas "Beasts" Kill Dog

A Faulkner Co., Arkansas, man was walking his dogs when they ran into four "wolflike" creatures. He doesn't think they were coyotes, but suggests they might be wolf-dog hybrids, though he hasn't found any photos matching what he's seen. They killed one of his dachshunds, and attacked him before being chased off by another of his dogs. (News source.)

Australian Strange Animal Sighting

A Freshwater Creek, Australia, farmer saw an unusual animal he wasn't able to identify. "It had a dirty grey coat with white stripes on its rib area," and "was about 1m tall with a small head, long legs and a slim build. He said the tail was upright and hairless, unlike anything he had seen before." Another individual also saw it in the area. A mangey fox has been suggested as the culprit. (News source.)

North Carolina Predator

An unknown predator (canine or feline, uncertain) is killing goats (13 so far this month) in southern Davidson Co., NC. It has also killed sheep, cats, and dogs. (News source.)

More from Baker Co., FL

The sighting of an "orangutan" or some other odd critter in Baker County, FL, has brought out more witnesses. (News source.)

"The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent investigator Ken Holmes to the scene. No positive identification of the animal was made at the time. Mr. Holmes later stated that he would “be astonished if the animal were an orangutan” since its reported nocturnal behavior was not like that of a primate.
"'More than likely it’s a large fox squirrel,' he said.
"Tell that to Windy Tyson, who lives in the Hills of Glen development. She initially reported being awakened during the early morning hours to hear loud screeching and howling outside her home. To her, it sounded like a monkey.
"About the same time, another Baker County resident whose property backs up to the Little St. Marys River reported hearing something in the darkness outside her home about 12:30 am. Startled and curious, she raised her second-floor bedroom window, hoping to hear it again. The creature shrieked once more." ...
"The Baker county resident who first reported seeing the creature and prefers to remain anonymous, spotted the animal on his property the morning after Ms. Tyson heard its nocturnal calls. While working out in his barn, he saw it from about 20 yards away beside a dog pen.
"He believes the animal may have been attracted to the scent of several boxes of donuts in the back of his truck. He went to investigate and watched as it climbed to the top of a tall tree nearby.
"'I can tell you that it was not a squirrel,' he declared. 'It absolutely was a red spider monkey. Some of them get really large. It weighed between 40-50 pounds and had a very long tail.'" ...
"More reports of strange noises in the night have followed, as recent as November 14. One resident, who doesn’t want his identity or location revealed to discourage trespassers and curiosity seekers on his property, reported something 'calling' from the tree behind his home. He has heard similar sounds before made by monkeys in the jungles of Central and South America where he has spent time. To him, what was up his tree was no animal native to the woods of Baker county.
"'My dogs were going crazy in their pens. I could tell something was moving around in the tree branches,” he said. “It jumped from the branches and landed on the tin roof of a dog pen directly underneath. Only something large and heavy could have made the noise it did when it hit the roof.'" ...
"Sightings of unusual animals are not unheard of in Baker County. Several years ago, numerous Glen St. Mary residents reported seeing a strange creature crossing Hwy 125 late at night. One resident, Mark Lyons, described the creature as having reddish, orange fur, short forearms and walking upright."

Ape or Squirrel?

A Florida Fish & Wildlife investigator thinks the "orangutan" seen in Baker County was just an orange-phase fox squirrel. From the news:

"Fish and Wildlife investigator Ken Holmes said the creature is not behaving like a primate, especially with its nocturnal activity." ...
"On Oct. 30, Holmes said he got a call about the mystery animal stealing the sweet snacks from a bear hunter who lives near Macclenny. Holmes looked into the tall pine tree and saw something 100 feet up moving around but couldn't confirm if it was an ape, squirrel, monkey, raccoon or even a cat.
"So Holmes decided to lay doughnuts at the base of the tree to lure the creature out. The animal left but wasn't seen or captured.
"From the way he was eating the doughnuts, Holmes said it probably wasn't an ape.
"'Orangutans are messy eaters. If the animal were an orangutan, you would expect to find pieces of donuts or fruit scattered all over the place, rather than just neatly nibbled,' Holmes said."

Big Cat Roundup

Mountain lion sighting in Missouri. (News source.)

Mountain lion (or coyote) sighting in Indiana. (News source.)

Big cat spotted at St. Leonards (UK). (News source.)

Texas Canine Identified

No surprise, the Cuero, TX, carcass of a strange canine turns out to be a coyote with hair loss. (News source.)

Halloween Season Brings Out Monster Tales

Once again, we're in for more creature stories for the Halloween season. Here's an article from Tennessee.

Wolf in Massachusetts?

An 85-lb. canine was shot in western Massachusetts after attacking and killing sheep. Due to its wolflike appearance, it is undergoing genetic testing. (News source.)

NC Varmint

Bolivia, North Carolina, has reports of a large feline stalking the area, possibly killing two local dogs. A large paw-print taken near attack, however, features claws, which points to a canine, not a feline. (News source.)

4-Wheel Drive - The 4 Legged Chicken

If a chicken has four legs instead of two, does the cost of a drumstick get reduced?

A chicken born on April 1st, yes April Fools Day, has four little legs.

The chicken was born in Arkansas to Robert Holmes and has been named 4-Wheel Drive.....

A Two-Faced Pig - Literally

We have all heard the saying - "You're a two faced liar". This is just a figure of speech of course, but recently a pig was born in China that literally and figuratively had two faces......

This shows that every so often the world does indeed give way to genetic accidents. We have seen the four-legged duck, the five legged calf, and more. Now a new two-faced pig.

For the Chines, this is very fitting. After all 2007 is the year of the pig........

Hairless Gray Fox = Piedmont Odd Animal from 2006

Professor identifies mystery creature

By Tom Steadman

The odd-looking animal spotted in several Piedmont counties last year evidently was a hairless gray fox.That's the conclusion of Jaap Hillenius. He examined the carcass of a similar animal that had been hit by a car in the Charleston, S.C., area.

So it wasn't an exotic cross-species, though some central North Carolina residents who spotted the animals had reported it having the head of a cat and the body of a canine.

Just a fox sans hair because of a mutant gene, said Hillenius, associate professor in the biology department at College of Charleston."That's the best we can think of," he said.

"There was no obvious reason for hair loss — no mange or malnutrition. It was normal except it didn't have hair follicles in the skin."Hillenius sent part of the carcass' tongue to a UCLA lab, which confirmed it was a fox, he said. His findings were presented last weekend at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston."It had been seen in the area, and people were so interested in it," Hillenius said.

Three years ago, interest was high in the Piedmont. Sightings of similar creatures were reported in Guilford and Randolph counties; in 2006, one was seen and photographed near Raleigh.

Area residents theorized it could be an Australian dingo, an escapee from the nearby North Carolina Zoo or even some new species.In May 2004, Asheboro businessman Bill Kurdian snapped a picture of one of the creatures feeding on corn he and his wife had put out for wild animals. After the sighting near Raleigh last year, state wildlife officials guessed that it could have been a hairless fox.

Hillenius saw Kurdian's photo Tuesday and said the animal seemed similar to the one he examined. The fox ID makes sense, Kurdian said ."I know that when he was out there, foxes would come up and feed next to it," he said. "There were no signs of aggression. They went up and smelled each other. There was no sense they feared each other."Kurdian had hoped to trap the animal so it could be identified.

But it disappeared about a year ago, he said.Still, his nighttime photo of the mystery creature remains on numerous Web sites."You wouldn't believe the number of people who have asked me about that," he said.Hillenius said his first goal was to identify the creature.

Now he wants to know how many are around. Evidently, there are more than a few. Sightings have been reported in Alaska and Colorado, in addition to the Carolinas.

Jamaica: Scott Town Monster

This is an odd one. Apparently, there's a strange beast which has been reported in the fields near Scott Town, Manchester Parish, Jamaica. From the Jamaica Gleaner:

"There's something strange lurking in the bushes in Scott Town, Manchester and it has the whole town abuzz. It's unlike anything anyone there has ever seen before. The creature has been spotted in Maas Helton's banana field more than once and now the shaken man is afraid to leave his bed at night.
"'Di first time me see di sinting, mi just took off! Mi nah go lay lay and mek it nyam mi raw!' Mass Helton said.
"He's a short fellow with graying hair and he has noticeable trouble pronouncing the letter 'v', but his memory of the first time he encountered the mysterious beast is impeccable.
"'It was around 3 o'clock inna di morning. Mi decide fi get up early and go inna mi field. Mi and mi dog go round a di back and mi only see when the dog walk off. So mi stand up one side fi see where him a go. Den mi hear one digging noise and mi look and see something a dig up di banana tree. Mi frighten now and bend down behind one bush and a watch. Mi see di dog walk up to di creature and den mi just hear whoo, whoo! When mi hear dat mi gallop weh left all di dog! Dem bwoy out a road say mi too fraid, but mi nuh care!' Maas Helton shouted.
"He said the creature had four long and narrow legs like a goat and a long face with an obvious snout. It was furry and about twice the size of a large dog.
"'It front foot hab on four claw and it move very fast. If you quint too fast then you miss it,' he said.
"Now news of the strange animal spread across the community like wildfire and soon, plans for a public execution were put in place.
"At the crack of dawn the next day, almost everyone from the community turned up at Maas Helton's home, wielding machetes and carrying torches. 'Dem come say dem ready fi kill di brute. Everybody ready fi chop him up. Anyhow dem did ketch him, a murder,' Maas Helton said.
"But they didn't catch the creature and Miss Eva, who walked up to join Maas Helton, knows why.
"'Him nuh love noise. Di creature only come out a night time. My cousin see it down by Miss Mama garden. Anyhow him hear noise, him dig off,' she said.
"Miss Eva is a strapping woman who had a bunch of clothes pegs attached to the bottom of her blouse. She said she was washing clothes at the back of her house when she heard us talking about the beast.
"'People say dem afraid since the beast deh bout. But I not afraid. I not locking up myself inside the house. I must go church and no devil will stop me from go church! Mi nuh fear no foe! Him haffi go nyam mi!' she said adamantly.
"Now most people who live in the community are farmers and are more than a bit agitated that this beast has been running around in their fields and stealing pumpkins and melons. So now the men of Scott Town have devised what they think is an ingenious plan to catch the strange creature. Their plan is to make some giant traps and place them on everyone's property. If that doesn't work, then they plan to all spend the night in the bushes and wait for the first sign of the beast. 'We going to use some melon and catch him. Him always a trouble people melon and plantain. We going to put out some melon and wait pon him. We haffi ketch him!' Maas Helton said.
"By now a crowd had gathered and everyone was talking about how they could possibly catch the beast. I asked Maas Helton what kind of creature he thought it was.
"'Well mi see it and mi really nuh know. A man tell mi dat it could be a kangaroo. Another man tell mi dat is a duppy. Right yah now mi nuh really certain. All mi know is that any day mi spot it again, mi a go dig off,' he said.
"Miss Jane, an elderly woman wearing a cap, spectacles and a pair of running shoes, walked up to join us. She too had her fair share to say on the matter. 'These are the last days! That is why all a dem creature yah leggo pan di earth. God is calling his people! Repent!' she said to nobody in particular.
"This silenced the others for a few seconds and then Maas Helton spoke up again.
"'Di creature look like him have relation with the dog dem, for when him come round, the dog dem nuh mek nuh noise. Mi have four big dog and none a dem ever make noise when di creature come around. Is like him hypnotise dem wid him eye dem,' he said.
"The others seemed to agree. Dwayne, Maas Helton's son, chimed in. 'Yes! Is like him have some kinda magic. More time him look like him can disappear. Mi nuh know what it is, but it must be evil!' he said.
"As evening approached in the rural town, everyone scattered, each heading to his own home. It was to be another night of waiting in fear. Waiting for another sign of the Scott Town monster."

The obvious conclusion here is that an animal (unrecognized by these individuals) is being given an paranormal aspect. A "duppy" in Jamaican folklore is a spirit creature, usually with bad intent. The descriptions don't give a good picture of what the animal actually looked like, but it could be one of several Central American mammals (assuming some exaggeration in size) which are often kept as pets or could have been accidentally brought onto the island by some other means. Coati, perhaps?