Cryptozoology

Mall of America Mandrill

Click on image for full version of all the comic panels by Steven Stwalley. I thought you may find amusement in a comic strip I drew that is appearing in the news weekly City Pages in the Twin Cities on the “Mall of America Mandrill.” I’ve been enjoying your site for some time and put a reference to your name in there (you can take comfort in the fact that I didn’t base the character’s appearance on you!). Enjoy!Steven Stwalley I asked Steve’s permission to share his strip – please click on the above panel visible to see the entire [...]

The Giant Snake of Carter’s Lake

Lake Monster. Kalamazoo, Mich., July 21 – The big snake which is said to exist in the neighborhood of Carter’s Lake, Barry county, and known as “Carter’s snake,” has been seen again this week, this time by Henry Marble. The snake is variously reported as fifteen to twenty feet long. Marble was terrified and came to Sexton McElwain’s with his horse on the run. Hunts have several times been organized to kill the snake without result.Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 21, 1894. Thanks for this historical item from Jerome Clark. For more information, please see Chapter 8, [...]

Happy Birthday Debunker of Yeti!

Today, July 20, 2007, Sir Edmund Hillary is 88 years old. Hillary’s name will always be linked, in my mind, to his World Book Encyclopedia-supported trek to Nepal in 1960, supposedly, to search for the “Abominable Snowman.” In reality, it actually allegedly was more about a spy mission against the Chinese, hidden in the media glare of a debunking Yeti expedition. The members of Hillary’s team (1) bought a bear skin that was declared to be a Yeti’s so it could be revealed to be a bear’s, (2) obtained a ritual religious object known to be made in imitation of [...]

The Day of the Triffids’ Kieron Moore Dies

In 1969, on July 20th, a man walked on the moon. Five days ago, one of the first men to walk with a Triffid died. Irish actor Kieron Moore, 82, died Sunday, July 15, 2007. He is one of the lead characters, Tom Goodwin in the motion picture, The Day of the Triffids. Playing an alcoholic biologist, Goodwin finds his core and ends up fighting the Triffids with vigor, while his character’s wife (played by Janette Scott) is credited with screaming a lot. The humans are stereotyped; the Triffids are not. For more on the acting career of Kieron Moore, [...]

Three Eel-Like Catfish Discovered

News and photographs of new fish species are routinely published in Practical Fishkeeping. Above are photos of the new Mexican catfish discovered in 2005. This week, the magazine is noting three new eel-like catfish species. Belgian scientists have described three new species belonging to the African eel-like clariid genus Channallabes. Publishing their results in the latest issue of the journal Belgian Journal of Zoology, Stijn Devaere, Dominique Adriaens and Walter Verraes of Ghent University describe Channallabes ogooensis and C. teugelsi in one study and C. sanghaensis in another. The eel-like clariids of Africa are also rediagnosed in the first study, [...]

Lake Kenosia Giant Snake Caught

Lake Kenosia’s Monster Caught. Danbury, Conn., – The strange monster which has frequently been seen in Lake Kenosia has been captured. It is a monster serpent of an unknown species and its immense size was not exaggerated by those who saw it at various times. Warren C. Baker, a charcoal burner who has a pit near the lake, was driving along the shore last evening, when he found the serpent, lying dormant and nearly frozen on the sand. Its immense size frightened him, and he drove to the hotel for aid. The serpent was securely bound with ropes and brought [...]