Evidence

Mega Hog or Mega Hoax?

The new season of “MonsterQuest” airs on Wednesday night, May 28, 2008, with their lead-off program, “Mega Hog.” (Check your local listings.) Here is the program overview: “Do wild hogs in the United States grow to monstrous sizes? Many think so. In Georgia an 1100 pound hog was shot and killed, and in Texas beasts almost as large have been reported. But are these creatures raised and fattened up in a pen, or are they wild hogs, naturally more aggressive, that have somehow reached gigantic proportions? A MonsterQuest examination meets victims of vicious wild boar attacks, looks at the existing [...]

Top 10 New Species of Old and Recent Discoveries

The above is a new species with the common name of the “shocking pink dragon millipede” and the scientific Latin name of Desmoxytes purpurosea. It was first found on 28 August 2006, and first described in Zootaxa 1563: 31–36, 2007. It’s May. The end of May 2008. But apparently there is one more “top ten list” for 2007 that needs to be published. The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) has announced their list of the top ten new species described in 2007, which includes at least a couple extinct animals, as well. The media appears to be confusing this [...]

Black Panther Killed: What Species Is It?

The breaking news headline says it all: “Deputy kills jaguar … or was it leopard?” Neosho, Missouri — A Newton County deputy shot and killed a large, black cat of uncertain species Monday morning, May 19, 2008, when the animal, either a leopard or a jaguar, charged him. Capt. Richard Leavens of the Newton County Sheriff’s Department said Vickie Sanders, 61, called shortly after 6 a.m. Monday to report what she took to be “a black panther” at the door of her home at 9555 Orchid Drive, southwest of Neosho. When Cpl. Donn Hall of the Sheriff’s Department arrived, he [...]

Not Lizard Man

DNA testing has shown an attack on a family van some blamed on the legendary Lizard Man appears to have been actually done by a domestic dog. Something chewed up the front fender of Bob and Dixie Rawson’s van in February 2008. Bite marks were left on the wheel wells and blood was found on the vehicle. The Item of Sumter reported that a veterinary lab in California tested the blood and found it came from a dog. But Bob Rawson isn’t sure, saying it would have to be one big dog. Lee County Sheriff E.J. Melvin isn’t convinced either. [...]