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Skeptic Dogs Maine Mutant

Cryptomundo reader and Skeptical Inquirer managing editor Ben Radford has taken on the “Maine Mutant” in a SI column published on Sunday, September 24, 2006. Click on image for full-size version Photograph by Michelle O’Donnell. Used by permission. In “Mystery Monster Dogs Maine” Radford overviews the story, getting all the facts right, more so than most retellings of the events. He even quotes me correctly: When Maine monster hunter Loren Coleman was shown a photo of the creature on Aug. 13, he stated, “This is a dog, probably a feral dog or a hybrid, but a dog.” Then Radford mentions [...]

Mystery Cat Photo: Decatur, Illinois

What kind of feline is this one photographed near Decatur, Illinois? According to the Eastern Puma Research Network (EPRN): “This mystery cryptid animal was caught on film by the wife of an EPRN associate member, who had gone hunting at 0530 hours in November 2004…The animal was filmed at 0547 hours in an area that empties into Sangamon Run…..EPRN knows it is not a black puma nor a housecat due to its features. It was estimated to weigh 40 – 60 pounds. I have my own thoughts, but, first, what do you think?

Bring On Kraken!

Modern images of the Kraken come via Jules Verne’s book and from remembrances of the 1954 sci-fi movie named after his book, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That’s about ready to change, in a small way, after the September 23nd broadcast of Kraken on the Sci-Fi Channel. Early reviews are what might be expected, as people sometimes make more fun of the name than the subject. Take for example, Kevin McDonough of United Features Syndicate in his contribution, with the oddly headlined "’Kracken’: Well, the title’s good" : You have to love a movie called "Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep" [...]

Mothman Producer Dies

Executive producer Barry Conrad (above, right) and his producer partner Lisa McIntosh (above, left) have been working on their documentary project about the Flatwoods Monster, Kelly Creatures, and Mothman for over five years. Their production company has completed several documentaries that have been broadcast on the Biography, A&E, Discovery, Sci-Fi and TLC channels. When the crew visited me in Portland, Maine, on April 19, 2002, they were here to interview and tape me about Mothman, my book on the topic, and the then just-released Richard Gere The Mothman Prophecies movie. They did this, intriguingly, in a live production event in [...]

New Walking Shark Find by Coelacanth Discoverer

There’s good discovery news out of Indonesia, in various widely reported dispatches, such as by our buddy David Pescovitz over at Boing Boing, in his notes, "Dozens of new undersea species discovered off Indonesia ." Pescovitz writes: Researchers from Conservation International discovered dozens of new species in the water off Indonesia’s Papua province. This epaulette shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti) walks around the bottom of the sea on its fins. From the Associated Press: The team from U.S.-based Conservation International also warned that the area–known as Bird’s Head Seascape–is under danger from fishermen who use dynamite and cyanide to net their catches [...]

New Champ Sighting

Lake Champlain Monster researcher Sean Clogston is reporting the following new sighting of Champ from eyewitness Scott Joy: I would like to report a sighting I had on the September 7, (9-9:30 am) [2006]. I was riding the ferry between Plattsburgh, New York, and Vermont. As we were crossing I was sitting in my truck (I’m an OTR* truckdriver ). I was looking toward the north end of the lake when I noticed what I thought was a wave or wake from a boat, approx 2ft high at the peak and maybe 6-8ft long. I thought that it was strange [...]

5931 Big Cat UK Sightings

Mon 18 Sep 2006 It’s a jungle out there as exotic beast sightings in UK soar AMANDA BROWN MORE than 10,000 sightings of wild and exotic animals have been reported in the UK since 2000, and the figure is set to grow, according to a new study. Some 5,931 sightings of big cats, 332 of wild boars and 3,389 of sharks have been reported. The British Big Cat Society has reported a dramatic increase in sightings of the creatures in recent years, with 2004-5 figures already up 3.5 per cent on the previous year’s study. Animal sightings since 2000 also [...]