Cryptozoology

Cougar Eats, Gator Attacks, and Hyena Kills Humans

Just in case you forget, as you go out looking for cryptids, yes, animals do attack. Animals are doing what animals do. Two surfers have been killed by sharks off the west coast of Mexico this spring, and people continue to be have less than warm and fuzzy encounters. There are breaking announcements and news this week of some violent and deadly confrontations of the natural history kind. A cougar attacked, killed and partially ate a New Mexico man living in a trailer, authorities announced on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. A search party found the body of Robert Nawojski, 55, [...]

Giant Ocean Platypus of Alaska?

In Karl Shuker’s book, Extraordinary Animals Revisited, there is a subsection entitled “The Cryptic Case of the Colorado Platypus.” In actuality, the largest part of those two pages are devoted to a story of a supposed sighting of a platypus off the coast of Alaska. Unfortunately, the investigation of the case is distracted by how the initial eyewitness labeled and linked what he saw with an exotic known animal’s name. People associate “seen cryptids” with the animal world they know or have seen on television. But, of course, platypuses are Australian, freshwater, and usually no bigger than 20 inches long, [...]

Longing for Linsangs

What is one of the world’s rarest carnivores? It’s the linsang. But what’s a linsang? Of the figurine collection above, can you pick out the linsang? (The answer is below, as I share images of almost a dozen of these animal replicas for this discussion, in the last third of this posting.) During my trek in pursuit of replicas of the most unusual cryptids and animals, I made an amazing discovery of this scarce animal and its kin modeled as hand-painted small figurines. How is it that an animal so near extinction but unknown generally would have a replica made [...]

Champ Enthusiast Off To China

Cryptozoology will soon have another friend in China. Champ enthusiast, Winooski (Vermont) native and Brandeis University student Eli Harrington will leave Friday, June 27, 2008, for an eight-week internship at Voice of America’s Beijing bureau and will likely report on activities at the Summer Olympics. Maybe he’ll report on the Yeren too? Or those mysterious Chinese lake monsters, in his spare time? The opportunity came together quickly, Harrington said. Brandeis encourages internships and work experience, and one of his professors mentioned Harrington, 20, to a former colleague who worked for Voice of America. After a few phone interviews, he was [...]

Happy St. John’s Day

St. John’s Day The date June 24 is one tied to some of the weirdest happenings. Enjoy the day, and keep a watch out for the unusual to occur. What’s that behind you? Here is a rundown of some previous events on this day: Knights Templars display “Mysterious Head” at Poitiers (1308). Founding of the Order of the Garter (1348). John Cabot discovers North America (1497). Galileo released (1633). “Woman of the Wilderness” utopian community arrives in America (1694). “W of W” angelic visions (1701). Grand Lodge of Freemasons inaugurated (1717). Ambrose Bierce born (1842). Red rain, Italy (1877). Ice [...]

Panther Researcher Dies In Plane Crash

An internationally known expert on the endangered Florida and cryptid eastern panthers, David Maehr, 52, died young, doing what he loved, looking for wildlife. The University of Kentucky associate professor was killed on Friday, June 13, 2008, when the single-engine Piper Cub airplane he was riding in crashed mid-day near Placid Lakes Airport in central Florida. The pilot, citrus grove owner Mason Smoak, 33, also died. Maehr was the only passenger. Within the cryptozoological community, Maehr was known for his work exploring the existence of the eastern puma, and his research on the rediscovery of the Florida panther. Maehr was [...]

Wild Yangtze Alligator Rediscovered in Anhui

Fishermen in the eastern province of Anhui (near Hefei) have found a wild Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), which is being called a living fossil, and tracks of another, local authorities said on Monday, June 23, 2008. The Chinese or Yangtze alligator is native only to China. It is smaller than the other alligator species, the American alligator, growing to an average of 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. Some Chinese specimens have been known to be 7 feet long. Unlike the American Alligator, the Chinese alligator is fully armored; even the belly is armored which is a feature on only [...]